Contemplations

“This is where I meet my end.
And I wonder what I’m leaving behind.”

This is where I meet my end. Where the world is no longer technicolor, but monochromatic tones fading into infinite black. A blanket of obsidian. This is where my soul sits. At the edge of oblivion. Wondering where I’m going next. What happens from here. Why this time has come so soon. So suddenly. This, at the opening of an endless chasm — an abyss of nothingness — is where I contemplate my end.

Was it enough? Did I live to the best of my ability? Did my loved ones love me as fiercely as I did for them? What will they remember, now that I’m nothing more than a memory? And I wonder, when I meet my end, will there be anything left of me to look back at how I lived? How I survived? How I loved?

Or will I be nothing?

© Sarah Doughty

Remember this: you are never alone.
You are NEVER nothing.
You matter.
So when you see the sun rise
again for a new day,
try to remember how much
you are loved.

For SH-R.

Fancast

Heya Lovelies,

Here’s Day 19: Fancast of MCs

This was NOT easy.

After crawling the internet for three nights, I have finally pulled a cast together. Though I know the chances of these books and their stories will ever make it on screen are very, VERY low, it never hurts to dream.

Thus far, the novels in my series universe follows four main couples — Aisling & Connor from Just Breathe, Focus, Listen, and Safe (for now), Angela & Salvatore from Home, Marcelline & Liam from Stronger Than Blood (for now), and Zoe & Vlad from Enduring The Flames. Told through first-person perspectives — primarily the women), the plots for these books aren’t driven by the romance, but they are, nevertheless, important.

Introducing the Earthen Witch series universe cast

from left-right, top-bottom:

Connor: Thomas McDonell, Aisling: Odeya Rush, Salvatore: Eduardo Verástegui, Angela: Kiersey Clemens, Marcelline: Gal Gadot, Liam: Nicholas Hoult, Zoe: Renee Olstead, Vlad: Henry Cavill

On Twitter, I’m taking part in another month of fiction prompts. I’m sharing them here as well.

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If you want to stay up to date with news and gain access to exclusive, subscriber-only content, sign up for my newsletter.

Until next time,
Sarah

Sweet Pot

“As his shadow filled my vision,
fear washed over me and I braced
for what was to come.”

The vehemence in his eyes hit me like a brick wall. The chill that traveled down my spine only added to the sense of foreboding. I wasn’t sure what to expect. And I suppose that was the point. Ratcheting up the fear to sweeten the pot. It was something he liked to do. Part of the hunt in his ritualistic hunting grounds. There was no escape. So I was forced to wait and hope that this time, it wouldn’t be so bad.

© Sarah Doughty

I wasn’t always so lucky.
But it could have been
much, much worse.

Floodgates

“When I hear my soul speaking,
I remember you.”

And these are my floodgates. When the world opens up and the rains come crashing down at terminal velocity. When my lungs finally learn how to inhale oxygen once more. When my veins stop pumping blood and instead use ink to sustain me. This. This moment. I come alive. The world goes silent, even though there’s so much noise that surrounds me. Even though the cacophony can be deafening, so can the silence. That is when I hear my soul speaking. That is when I remember you. That is when I think about us.

© Sarah Doughty
2018

That is when I remember us.

Inspired by the lovely @kkfosterlyrics.

Colors

Heya Lovelies,

Here’s Day 17: MC’s Favorite Colors

Let’s begin the rundown.

Aisling

At the start of the whole series, Aisling didn’t show a preference for any specific colors. Though she tends to wear colors — specifically her shirts, ranging from bright jewel-tones to pastels — she never specifies any specific preference.

In Just Breathe, she notes how she enjoys the darker tones of Connor’s clothes, and the rich brown of his eyes. But as she gets to know him and the constantly-shifting faint glow of his aura (something only emitted by supernatural creatures and seen by them) based on his emotions, she considers dark blue — even before she learns the significance of the color (sadness) — to be a solid dislike.

Angela

Readers don’t learn the full extent of Angela’s love for green (nature) until Home, but she does wear the color often prior to her book.

Marcelline

Marcelline is a bit of a mixed bag in Stronger Than Blood. She’s not only a fish out of water, but in a rags-to-riches sort of situation when she arrives, looking for Liam and safety. Before fleeing her hometown of New Orleans with the last three members of her extended family, she and her large family were so poor that none of them could afford to be picky.

As she begins to settle, readers see that she tends to gravitate more towards the darker colors — most notably black.

Zoe

In her prequel novella, Zoe’s focus is all about trying to save her sister’s life — and to do that, she needs more knowledge and power to pay the dark witch’s ransom. In the end, she darkened and until readers see her again in Enduring The Flames, she capitalizes on her status as a dark witch to make other supernatural creatures think twice before trying to harm her.

She never minded wearing black, but she hated her physical appearance. Gone was her fiery-red hair, replaced by a bluish-black. Her formerly bright green eyes were so dull they were almost white with an outer ring of black. And her skin tone lacked that rosy tint altogether, making her look more dead than alive.

At the end of Safe, readers witness her restoration as a light witch and with it, her natural physical appearance. To her, that’s all that matters.

On Twitter, I’m taking part in another month of fiction prompts. I’m sharing them here as well.

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If you want to stay up to date with news and gain access to exclusive, subscriber-only content, sign up for my newsletter.

Until next time,
Sarah

Forevermore

“There was one thing I knew
with certainty. I would forever
be powerless against you.”

The warm, spring air nipped at my cheeks. Pricking like tiny knives peppering my flesh in quick succession. It’s the same feeling I have in your presence. It’s as if I’m caught in some spell, feeling your eyes linger upon my skin. I find myself craving more of that sensation. Almost as if it’s a drug and I’m a willing addict. There was one thing I knew with certainty. I would forever be powerless against you.

© Sarah Doughty

And I just couldn’t bring myself to care.

One-Line Monday – Waking Up

Heya Lovelies,

Here’s Day 16: One-Line Monday

One of my favorites from Focus.

Sometimes the worst part about waking up is the waking. Leaving behind the comfortable silence.

~Aisling

On Twitter, I’m taking part in another month of fiction prompts. I’m sharing them here as well.

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If you want to stay up to date with news and gain access to exclusive, subscriber-only content, sign up for my newsletter.

Until next time,
Sarah

Exceptions

“And it’s here. In this place.
Where I feel you the most.”

And it’s here. In this place. Where I feel you the most. It’s in the grass. The leaves that kick up with the breeze that always seems to smell of you. The way the trees sway, as if they’re dancing to a tune I cannot hear. I long to hear that melody. I long to hear your voice once more. The way you used to speak to me. In those low, secretive ways that only you could master. Under the shade of the trees with the birds singing their songs and the sunbeams slipping between the cracks in the canopy. Together. Those are the moments I remember. And as I stand here alone, in this place we used to call ours, everything is the same as it was. Except for you.

© Sarah Doughty
2018

Except for you.

Inspired by the lovely @kkfosterlyrics.

Animals

Heya Lovelies,

Here’s Day 15: Pets, Animals, Familiars

This is a bit complicated.

Ever since the start of Just Breathe, readers have been exposed to a variety of animals, but they aren’t what they seem.

First, there’s Bugs, a typical-looking Russian Blue — a beautiful gray coat and brilliant green eyes. As the series continues, readers find that he’s not just a cat. He’s not only the oldest member of the whole group by several millennia, but he’s also a gatekeeper between realms — a Sphinx. The son of Sekhmet. In his true form, he’s magnificent, a large lion with wings on his back and a man’s face framed by a bearded mane.

Then there’s Shadow, Connor’s best friend and werewolf. Most of the time, his preference is to remain in his wolf form. He’s far bigger than any normal wolves — hitting about two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, all-white coat, with light brown eyes.

On Twitter, I’m taking part in another month of fiction prompts. I’m sharing them here as well.

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If you want to stay up to date with news and gain access to exclusive, subscriber-only content, sign up for my newsletter.

Until next time,
Sarah

Warnings

“These are warnings.
Cautionary shadows.
Urging me to watch my step
as the future draws near.”

Tombs beneath my feet echo through my bones. Taunting me. Through unseeing eyes, I feel their inhabitants moving, writhing around to some unheard tune. It nags at my subconscious, as if whispering a question in my ear so low that even I cannot hear it. And though I don’t understand what they’re trying to tell me, I feel their intentions nonetheless. They are warnings. Cautionary shadows. Urging me to watch my step as the future draws near.

© Sarah Doughty

Foreshadowing never felt
so harrowing.

This is what my dreams feel like sometimes. As I sense some impending danger, it manifests in strange ways. Probably to make sure I don’t forget that feeling when I am awake.