Note to Self (127) Where Have I Been?

I know, I owe you an explanation. Well, I’ve been busy. Like extremely busy. I finished the third draft of Volume 1 of my trilogy The Manicheans (and it’s not the last draft!!). I also started writing a YA fantasy novella, Death by Chocolate that will be serialized through my publisher Curiosity Quills. We’re looking at launching episode one very soon. In the meantime, I’m writing like a mad (wo)man. I also take care of a column Sweet Fantasy Bytes on my publisher’s website. You can check it here. What else has been happening in my life?

Sigh. I’m good. I take every opportunity to move forward on all my projects and I think the blog takes the hit for my literary indiscretions. Well, I promise to come more often as soon as Death by Chocolate surfaces and gets you distracted for a bit.

In the meantime, here’s a short synopsis to keep you hungry for more.

Los Angeles, present time. Julie is seventeen and her life is far from easy. She just got dumped by the love of her life on Valentine’s Day. After getting into a fight in school with her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, she drives miles away from home. It isn’t her first time running away. Her parents immediately block her checking account and Julie must survive on the little money she has left. She saves cash for gas, and decides to steal for food.

One day, she meets an old Gypsy woman outside the grocery store. The Gypsy works as a psychic and wants to read Julie’s future in exchange for a home cooked meal. Julie accepts the woman’s offer.

The tarot cards predict a very dangerous journey. Julie must fight her own demons if she wants to achieve greatness and fulfill her destiny. A boy will follow her and guide her in her search for truth. Julie doesn’t take the Gypsy seriously and decides to leave. But before passing the threshold, the Gypsy gives a box of chocolates and orders Julie to eat one.

Julie wakes up in a strange place she doesn’t recognize. Her first encounter with her guide, Evan, leads her to a cave. Julie must first defeat darkness before reaching the light, and only then a harder battle will start. Evan acts as her protector and makes her promise to never leave his side, but he doesn’t give her the answers she wants to hear. Julie gets frustrated. She breaks her promise and runs away. Shortly thereafter, Julie is found and imprisoned by a tribe of indigenous people who want to sacrifice her to their Gods. Julie meets a young Mayan boy, Paolo, who works as a servant in the jail where’s she being kept. Now alone in a scary parallel world involving the Mayans and the end of the world, all she has left is the box of chocolates the Gypsy gave her. Every chocolate she’ll eat will give her new powers but she must stay careful. Her life is in danger. When reaching her final destination, Julie will have to make an important choice in order to get a second chance. Will she move on from the past and stop running away? Will she finally make amends and become a better person?

Death by Chocolate. Coming soon.