Ashe Starling

Whew, It Lies Within reached 8k words today! 
          
          It took me longer than I expected to get two chapter for it out, but at least I'm (mostly) on schedule still. And if everything goes right, I've entered into the ONC and should have qualified for round one! (fingers crossed I filled out the dang form right, I'm always paranoid about that)
          
          I didn't quite get everything accomplished this week that I would have liked, but the plan still holds similar to last week: a chapter for WotW, and a chapter for It Lies Within. 
          
          See you this weekend!
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/407439206-it-lies-within-onc-2026

Hello! How have you been? Back in the writing grind I think? I figured I’d catch up! I think we haven’t talked since last year maybe

The next chapter of Will of the Woods is FINALLY up! I wasn't happy with it by  last weekend (and I don't know if i am now either) so i kept tweaking it till I got the story going in the direction I wanted it to. 
          
          Because of the delay, I've decided to publish two chapters of It Lies Within before the 28th, so I can focus on editing the first chapter and get it entered into the ONC, and then another for WotW this weekend (fingers crossed!) 
          
          See you then. 
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/397402334-will-of-the-woods

Here's a book club, for anyone looking for one right now!
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/401167092-%F0%9D%90%86%F0%9D%90%A8%F0%9D%90%A5%F0%9D%90%9D%F0%9D%90%9E%F0%9D%90%A7-%F0%9D%90%86%F0%9D%90%A5%F0%9D%90%B2%F0%9D%90%A9%F0%9D%90%A1%F0%9D%90%AC-%F0%9D%90%81%F0%9D%90%A8%F0%9D%90%A8%F0%9D%90%A4-%F0%9D%90%82%F0%9D%90%A5%F0%9D%90%AE%F0%9D%90%9B

Hi there! I’m a manager for an event hosted in the Dreamland Community Discord server called Write That Sentence. I just wanted to let you know that your book was used for this event where players are given the blurb of a book and try to guess its real first sentence. They’ll write what they think could be the opening line, and then everyone guesses which one is real.
          
          Only the first sentence of your story and its blurb are shared, and everything stays within the game.
          
          If you’d like to see what people came up with or just check it out, you’re more than welcome to join the server! I can provide the link, if you like. 
          
          No pressure at all — I just wanted to be transparent and let you know!
          
          - Cait
          

Happy Valentine's Day! 
          
          I hope you're all having a wonderful time with your loved ones today, or even just taking the time to express a little love for yourself!
          
          I'm here to wrap up the happenings this week, and let you know next weeks schedule. 
          
          On Friday, the next chapter of It Lies Within was uploaded, followed by a update on Chapter 3 of Will of the Woods. The chapters have certainly gotten shorter, and more to the point, so hopefully I avoid the drag I felt by Chapter 5 this time around. 
          
          Keep an eye out for updates on both It Lies Within and Will of the Woods next week. I'd love to say Eyes of Azyron would have something next week too, but I don't expect to be done with the portion I'm working on right now until sometime in March. 
          
          See you next week! 
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/397402334-will-of-the-woods

The next chapter of It Lies Within is officially up!!
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/407439206-it-lies-within-onc-2026

Some incredibly exciting news today!
          
          Eyes of Azyron has reached 5k reads! I am overjoyed and in slight disbelief that my story reached my ultimate goal in less than 2 years of its existence. I absolutely CANNOT thank everyone enough.  I don't have the words. 
          
          Thank you all for being such a lovely and supportive community, and responding so kindly to my initial act of bravery.  EoA was the first time I ever really shared my work outside of close loved ones, and I had no idea if people would love it or hate it. If I was any good at writing in the first place or if it was a hobby I should finally let go of. 
          
          Thank you for proving the doubting Thomas living in my head wrong. 
          
          I'll still be posting an update to It Lies Within later tonight, and WotW tomorrow, so keep your eye out for those. 
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/373151923-eyes-of-azyron

Happy Friday! Here's a quick recap of the week, and a list of everything that was published:
          
          On Tuesday, I released the first chapter of my 2026 ONC Story, It Lies Within.  I'm very excited to see how this one turns out!
          
          Thursday came with a two-chapter update to Eyes of Azyron, with a TBD on the next release, and then today I've re-released the first two chapters of Will of the Woods,  after editing and completely pivoting the beginning of this story. I'm not sure how it will land, but I do encourage people to check it out and leave me their thoughts! 
          
          As for next week, a release of the 2nd chapter of It Lies Within is planned, most likely on Thursday, followed by a 1-2 chapter re-release for WotW Friday or Saturday. 
          
          I'm hoping that if I type out a specific schedule it'll help me hold to it a little easier, and keep my writing a tad more consistent than it has been. 
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/397402334-will-of-the-woods

I don't normally post on days I'm not writing, but I figured I'd leave one today to make clarifications for the state of one of my works.
          
          Will of the Woods is an idea I'm keen on, and rather attached to, but part of the reason I haven't updated it is due to the fact that I feel stalled out and backed into a corner. My characters have started to feel inauthentic (to me), and I'd like to give them a second chance at being the characters they were meant to be. 
          
          So what that means, is there will NOT be a brand new chapter for WotW, but rather I will be un-publishing existing chapters and RE-publishing them after they're edited and the (major) changes to the plot line of the story are completed. 
          
          What WON'T change:
          
          1. It will still be a horror romance/stalker romance. (Beauty and the Beast inspired tho!)
          2. The underlying mystery around will and his strange house in the woods.
          3. Emmaline's connection to said woods. 
          
          What I am re-working:
          
          1. Character dynamics, and some minor character traits. 
          2. The addition of a "new" character. (Jess, Emmaline's friend.)
          3. The pacing of the plot, and the order of events. 
          4. Emmaline's reaction to Will, and their beginning relationship dynamics. 
          
          I've begun to realize there's parts of the story that desperately need attention, and I can't allow what IS good about it to slip through my fingers for the sake of "just writing something." In fact, I haven't even been able to stomach looking at the manuscript in months, and I know it contributed majorly to a bout of writer's block that extended my hiatus much longer than I would have liked. (Along with everything that happened  to me in Oct 2025 ) 
          
          So, folks, here's to second chances.