Okay, I've had some time to myself to scream properly. Now I can just be in my regular sappy yapper mode.
Well, hello! If you're here, that means you finished reading ISOK (or at least I hope you would before peeking >.>), so you have my huge, huge thanks! ♡
This book has been such a pivotal step for me in many different ways. As a writer, as a person, when it comes to posting my books here on Wattpad... you name it. There was one period where I was convinced I'll eventually just nuke my account and never finish this book, but that didn't happen in the end. Even though I often wanted to throw this book into the nearest fire and some comments made me feel really bad not just about this book, but about myself as a writer in general. But still, I found my way to the end, and I'm so grateful for everything this little journey had to offer.
During last year's Open Novella Contest, I was just sitting on my couch one random day in March, thinking about random silly things until this idea of a young girl who loves swords and can shapeshift running away from home to pursue her own freedom randomly spawned into my head. I was immediately sold on it, and since it was the ONC season (and I have the unfortunate curse of coming up with new ideas when I'm supposed to be writing my little novellas), I decided to leave it for next year's ONC season. It seemed just the right length for a novella, and I was right. At 27.8k words, we wrapped up the first draft!
That number may seem small, but man, this book really challenged me a lot. xD On the surface, you may think there's not that much worldbuilding involved here (which makes sense, because this is supposed to be a casual novella, after all), but this spark of an idea actually led me to insane worldbuilding heights. Seriously, early 2023 was a wild time for me.
As for Kasena... well, she quickly grew to become one of my favorite characters ever. She has that curious, adventurous side of me that would love to be active 24/7 and see the whole world. Sadly, I'm too broke and dysfunctional to actually do that, but it's okay, she'll travel the world for me too. ;-;
The fact that I love her so much feels kinda ironic considering that she never gets her own POV. And yes, I'm the one most saddened by that T^T Why can't I just change that and write her POV? Idk, Past Nina said so. (Just kidding, that actually makes a lot of sense for her character v.v)
There is a potential Kasena spin-off in the works. When will you get to see that? Who knows shrugs innocently. As for this draft, I'll probably rework it sometime next year, because the rest of 2024 is packed for me. I also have an idea for a potential ISOK prequel that will mostly focus on Kardin (because I ended up liking him more than I expected T^T), but will that really happen? Who knows. Maybe next ONC season if the right prompt comes around.
But for now, this is the end of the road for us. Not for Kasena tho. She still has her fair share of adventures to go on.
By the way, wanna hear a fun fact? Don't worry, I'll say it anyways :D Remember that quote from the very end of the book? There's actually kind of a funny story behind it. Did you know it was written back in 2019? Because it was. Almost exactly 5 years ago, in fact. It's funny because I wasn't even fully writing in English back then, but I wrote some poetry occasionally. I wasn't exactly stellar at it, but I made a separate category for it titled "i wasn't high when i wrote this" because I swear I wasn't. The stuff I wrote just sounded kinda nonsensical, but it made sense to me, okay >.> Every now and then, I'd think of a random quote that I'd also put in there, and that's how this one came to be. Today, that category has nearly 200 notes (mainly because I switched to writing down my poetry in a notebook). This was the 23rd!
Okay, I think I'm done with random reminiscing about the past. XD Once again, huge thanks to everyone who reached the end (or is yet to reach it at the time of me writing this). Everyone from book club members, my friends, people who randomly stumbled here, I'm sending hugs to you all. I won't be tagging anyone in particular, but the people who've been consistently supporting me on this journey and encouraged me to write more know who they are, and I'm insanely grateful for their support. ♡
Now what's next? If you'd like to read more from me, here are some of your options!
- If You Forget: YA Mystery/Thriller novella about a girl who suffers from amnesia following a kidnapping case. When she starts finding mysterious clues around the house, she realizes the situation she's in might be more sinister than she originally thought. Completed, but a very old draft (seriously, I'd say anything is a better option than that one >.>).
- Call of the Weaver: The first book of the "Chronicles of Eviri" trilogy, COTW is a NA Fantasy novel following Nirah, a young girl who learns that she is one of the infamous Eviri who have magical powers. In order to save her mother, she agrees to go to Camp Eviri and train to join the army, but once she finds out she has the same powers as the Weaver—a figure who had plagued Hetri for centuries—her life becomes a lot more complicated than it used to be. Ongoing, currently on a short hiatus (but returning soon!).
- Poison of Vengeance: The first book of "Poison of Vengeance" duology, POV is a NA Fantasy Romance (MxM) novel following Kalin, a man who is desperate to avenge the death of his fiancée, teaming up with the assassin who killed her in order to find a mysterious gemstone that will bring her back to life. Ongoing, currently on a hiatus.
Did you know I also have a discord server for my friends and readers? Because I do! It's a pretty quiet place because it's mostly just me yapping about my books (which I really love to do, in case you haven't noticed by now >.>), but hey, if that's what you want to see more of, it might just be the right place for you! You can also read some old drafts I had online that are now unpublished, such as Coffee With the Devil, Flames of Olnedia, and Lavender Street, as well as hear ✨exclusive✨ details about my new books, and even read some parts—or in some cases, even full drafts—before I post them on Wattpad! I'll post the link in the inline comment here ——————>
That's it for now. I hope to see you around soon! ♡
11/16/2024
YOU ARE READING
In Search of Kasena (ONC 2024) | ✓
FantasyTorn between following a family tradition of being a bounty hunter-one that he's not particularly fond of-and following his dreams of being a private detective, Niel has always struggled to land himself a job and put the food on his table. Few peopl...
