Ashely Sevin

Okay! So I just posted the first chapter of another project I'm working on. Some of you might have noticed that I unpublished a couple of drafts that I was experimenting with. 
          
          Ultimately, I decided to trash those stories because I felt like I wasn't going to be able to follow through with them, and I would rather unpublish an incomplete story rather than have it clog space. 
          
          I do these kinds of things all of the time, lol. It's part of my creative process where I'll get fascinated with a new idea and want to expand on it, only to find out later that I'm bored of it already. 
          
          Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of my new story "Pact Society." It's based on my other Novella, but considerably toned down and more melancholy. The more I re-edit Burdened Bloodlines, the more I'm inclined to "reboot" it as a way of speaking. 
          
          Considering it was my first book that I put online, I'm super proud of it, but I think a lot of the ideas, concepts, and themes used in that book are interesting, and I want to explore them in a more "believable" or "realistic" setting (I know magic and the supernatural can never be real, per-say, but I have a strange obsession with magical realism in stories).
          
          So thanks again to all of my followers and readers! I'm sorry if you were looking forward to seeing more of Victorage or Howling Scream, but more than likely, those stories are never coming back.

Phew! So, I posted the first two parts of two new series  I've been teasing for a while. I haven't had the confidence to post them until I finished my first novella. Now that it's out of the way, I feel like I'm floating on air, lmao.  
          
          When I was initially writing Burdened Bloodlines, I intended it to be published at some point, so I think I put a lot of stress on myself because of that. Also, it was the first written work I had ever put online, so there were a lot of things I was learning from formatting chapters on Wattpad, to editing with new software, to networking with other authors. 
          
          Now that I'm more experienced, I've learned to take it easier with the expectations I set for myself. I've never been good at scheduling or upholding a strict routine, but I tried with Budened Bloodlines, which made the whole process of its creation bittersweet at best near the end. 
          
          Anyway, I'll update Victorage and Howling Scream weekly with sporadic chapters for each. One week, I might have two chapters for Victorage and only one chapter for Howling Scream or vice versa the week after. 
          
          I also tried to keep a minimum of 1500 words per chapter, but I'm lifting that restriction. I've always been a succinct writer with little wordage, but I felt I wasn't providing enough content unless I was reaching a certain word count.

Burdened Bloodlines is finished (for now at least)! Any new changes will be done later when I'm preparing for publishing. Now that I'm done with my first novella, I'll be working on my next book, which I hope to be slightly longer. 
          
          If you've been following me for a while, then you've probably noticed that I like to come up with ideas, but I find it hard to follow through with them, lol. I've been chipping away at Howl Scream,  but I feel as if it's too much like Burdened Bloodlines. 
          
          I want to step away from the dark, emotional tone of Burdened Bloodlines and focus more on the aesthetics of Goth media rather than the depressing storytelling. For me, what always made media in the 90s cool wasn't the doom and gloom and edginess, but the wacky characters and genuinely slick aesthetics. 
          
          To that effect, I already have an outline for my next book that I hope to start next week. It's based more on fantasy than horror with a flair of gothic steampunk.

Hello readers! I have posted the final chapter to Burdened Bloodlines! It's been a fun journey and I look forward to writing more stories to share. I've already done a ton of editing for the first 10 chapters, and I'll be sure to touch up the other half as well. After this round of editing is over, I'll mark the story as complete and move on from there. 
          
          There are plans in the works for self-publishing a physical copy for Burdened Bloodlines. However, I want to redesign the cover, and I want to have at least three editors other than myself do a read-through before publishing anything to the paper. 
          
          In regards to my next book, the work-in-progress I have right now is called "Howl Scream" and will focus on a young college dropout who learns of skin-grafting, an occult form of shapeshifting into beings such as werewolves. The tone and vibe are similar to Burdened Bloodlines. I can't say when I'll start publishing chapters for it, but it'll be soon!
          
          Thanks again for your continued support! It means the world to me!

Okay! So I know last week I promised a chapter for my next book, but I just couldn't bring myself to post it just yet. It's missing some pizzazz that I feel is necessary for a story like this to work, and already, a lot of the ideas and themes that I had wanted to explore have been thrown out or changed entirely. 
          
          In the meantime,  however, I've found my second wind for finally finishing up the first draft of my first novella planned for publishing. A lot of firsts, so I'm expecting a lot of mistakes, but with any luck, I'll be able to turn writing creative works into a full-time career. 
          
          I have the 18th chapter of my newly named book "Burdened Bloodlines" planned to release early on the 1st. If all goes well, I should be able to finish the book this week. Originally, I was going to release chapter 19 and then wait until next week to release the final 20th chapter, but I'd rather just wrap it up now while I'm still energized about it. 
          
          After that, I have big plans in store. I want to start streaming on YouTube. Nothing special, just playing video games, chatting, and editing my novella. I'm also thinking of making a TikTok where I'd post quick reviews of books I've read on and off Wattpad. All while working on "Kinefolk", the name for my next story centered around skinwalkers and lycanthropes.

Hey readers! I hope you all are having a good time during the holidays. As you've probably noticed, I haven't been posting as much lately. Not to worry, things will be picking back up soon. My other job has been taking up most of my time and some family obligations. 
          
          We are getting close to the end of "Burden by Blood." I posted the fifteenth chapter a couple of days ago and I estimate the story will be wrapped up within the next five to ten chapters. It was planned from the beginning to be a small novella and I have no plans on expanding its length. 
          
          I've considered the possibility of writing a sequel based on the POV of another member of the Pillar, or perhaps a prequel that focuses more on the conspiracy of the secret society. However, my next upcoming project will not be affiliated with the Cult of the Hidden Idol series at all. 
          
          Starting next week, I will continue to provide two chapters a day, but only one chapter will be dedicated to "Burden by Blood." The other chapter will be for a story that I'm currently still outlining, but it won't be as dark or as gory as my other work in progress. It's aimed at young adult audiences rather than new adults with a focus on animals, spiritualism, intense battles, and solitude. 
          
          With all that being said, I will continue to update, edit, reformat, etc., Burden by Blood. It's a gothic fantasy world near and dear to my mind, heart, and soul. I will never forget the passion and work I've put into it, and I can't think of anything worse than leaving it incomplete. 
          
          Happy Holidays! As always, thanks for the continued support, comments, votes, and reads. Peace out!

Big update! So I released the first chapter of the week on Tuesday, but I didn't announce it because I just now finished redoing the formatting for my book!
          
          Hopefully, the shorter chapters will make it easier to read on mobile. I'm a bit old school when it comes to writing stories (just now getting around to reading the 10th anniversary of American Gods by Neil Gaiman) so I tend to be wordy with blocky paragraphs, which look good on paperbacks but not so much on smartphones. 
          
          Anyway, I'll be posting the next chapter sometime this weekend!

Decided to remove some of the AI art in my stories. I'd like to replace it with something that captures the feeling of what I'm going for, but I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet. I'm a horrible artist, lol but maybe I can learn to do something in Photoshop, not too sure yet.

Chapter 8 was released earlier today, making it the second post this week! I've also been going through my previous chapters, updating grammar, plot things, and some other stuff. 
          
          At some point, I'll probably reformat the first 3 chapters to keep it in line with the others in the future. 
          
          Anyway, thanks for continuing to read my story, and I hope you're all having a good week

Chapter seven has just been released! Sorry for not posting a second chapter last week, but I've come down with a cold recently so I might not post another chapter this week, but we shall see. 
          
          Anyway, thanks for continuing to read and comment on my ongoing book. It means a lot to me, so thank you again.