Shadows Fall

“No matter how many hits I receive,
I have the comfort of knowing who I am
and what I’ve overcome.”

No, this life of mine has never been easy. It seems as though I’ve been fighting some kind of war during every stage. A fight to survive. A fight to fit in. Make friends, not acquaintances of convenience. Try to live a life that had some sort of meaning after everything that happened. But school didn’t make that easy. It felt like an uphill battle and I was a well-tuned wheel, ready to roll down to the bottom with an unceremonious splat. I kept getting up. Kept trying. After all, I’d survived worse. So I pressed on and realized the bottom of that hill became a chasm. One that awaited to swallow me whole and devour me in the next instant. A place where shadows fall and never retreat.

But I’ve come to the realization that this life is what you make of it. No matter how many punches or kicks I receive, I have the comfort of knowing who I am and what I’ve overcome. This life of mine was never a competition, except the ones I set for myself. And to the ones that have thrown hits of their own, I hope you find peace within yourself. I’ve never been a competitor and I never will be. I’ve never been an enemy, except the one created in your head. I’ve never been more than an easy mark to trample over when the time was right. And I suppose that fault is mine to bear for putting that welcome mat on my revolving door.

© Sarah Doughty

I repeat, this life of mine
was never a competition,
except the ones
I set for myself.

While this came pouring out of me this morning, I realized I had a lot of feelings about this that needed to come out. So consider it more of an essay about one aspect of my current situation.

This was written for day fourteen
of November Notes.
Shadows Fall by Random Forest

Pretty Lights

“Don’t put dangerous things under
a pretty light and call them beautiful.”

If fiction is truth disguised in a lie, then poetry is the same, on a much smaller scale. But there should be a line no one crosses. If you don’t have intimate knowledge of something, don’t write about it. Don’t tell lies as truths. And don’t romanticize something dangerous. Ever. Especially if you know little or nothing about it. It’s not only irresponsible, but it’s reckless and could cost lives. Be careful what you put out into the world. You never know what your words will do to someone.

© Sarah Doughty
2018

Self-harm might be better than suicide,
but it’s still incredibly dangerous
and needs to be treated
by a licensed professional.

The State Of Things

“Here’s the thing: I’m not okay.
I haven’t been for some time.”

Here’s the thing: I’m not okay. I haven’t been for some time. And it seems that it’s only been getting worse as the days go by. I am at a loss for what I should do. Let me restate that. I know what I should be doing, but I cannot seem to force myself to do it. Instead, I’m seeking reprieve from life in something I never thought I’d enjoy instead of writing out my thoughts and really doing the thing that has always helped me — write. Yet here I am. Not writing. Well, I’m writing this little update, it’s been years since I’ve written fiction with any substantial amount of time. And I honestly don’t know if or when I’ll be able to snap out of this funk and just do it.

So that’s where I am. Don’t give up on me yet. I haven’t admitted defeat.

© Sarah Doughty

I don’t think I ever will.

Feature Friday – Rebecca F. Kenney

Heya Lovelies,

Here’s Day 8: Feature Friday

This week’s feature goes to Rebecca F. Kenney.

This week’s Feature Friday goes to the talented Rebecca F. Kenney. I know I’ve featured her before, but I have two reasons to share.

1. I recently read Pawn of the Cruel Princess and really enjoyed it. 2. She gave me some of the best feedback I’ve received on Enduring The Flames and I’m feeling very good about the changes being made. Gratitude just doesn’t cover it.

On Twitter, I’m taking part in a month-long series of fiction prompts. I’m sharing them here as well.

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Stronger Than Blood is the latest installment of the Earthen Witch universe, following Marcy and Liam’s journey. It is now available at Smashwords and their network of retailers.

Until next time,
Sarah

Catching Up

Heya Lovelies,

Here’s Days 5 & 6: Themes in WIP, Hardest part about writing

Throughout my series, there’s one overarching theme.

It’s all about finding a place where you can be yourself — home and finding the people that become your family.

In Enduring The Flames, Zoe and Vlad’s tale does have that, too, but the biggest theme through the story is about earning redemption and finding hope.

The hardest part about writing my series is the canon.

In my head, the word building, the magical systems, all the breakable rules are all there. As the series continues, I try to cover all necessary events/backstory without confusing people. I tend to forget in the early drafts that i need to ease readers back in the story. I’m working on trying to remember this going forward.

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

One-Line Monday – Real

Heya Lovelies,

Here’s Day 4: Real

From Just Breathe.

“Everything is real. If you believe everything can be real — and I’ve yet to discover an instance where it hasn’t been true — then you can prepare for them.”

~Connor

© Sarah Doughty

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

Guilty Pleasures

Heya Lovelies,

Here’s Day 3: MC’s Guilty Pleasures

Throughout my series, Angela has one that sticks out.

Wherever Angela is stressed or just needs something soothing, she turns too hot chocolate with whipped cream. Every time she drinks it, she ends up with the whipped cream on her upper lip.

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

A Late Saturday Snippet – Pupils

Heya Lovelies,

Here’s Day 2: Pupils

From Enduring The Flames.

[Vlad’s] pupils flashed like a cat’s eyes against the overhead lights, marking him as one of the undead, and I froze.

Not because of the flash — I had seen that many times before on others like him.

It was why they flashed.

Though he was a vampire, he wasn’t dead. Blood still flowed through his veins by the
force of his slow-beating heart. But his widening pupils, however infinitesimal it was, caused them to flash. And that told me something excited him.

Something about me.

© Sarah Doughty

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

Hello July

Heya Lovelies,

Here’s Day 1: Introduce Yourself & WIP

With a moodboard & cover, of course!

For those of you that are new here, allow me to introduce myself: I’m Sarah Doughty, a novelist, poet, and all-around wordsmith. But I’m not like other writers. I write because I must. It’s my therapy.

Perhaps my biggest love when it comes to the written word is fiction. Both in writing and reading. I’ve been primarily working on my Earthen Witch universe series, which are adult urban fantasy romances. These books have spanned across two standalone novellas and six novels — with the seventh releasing in August.

Final edits for Enduring The Flames are nearing completion, and I’ve been receiving valuable feedback from my beta readers.

I’ve talked about my upcoming plans for an anthology trilogy a few times. Later this summer, I hope to plot it out and begin writing the first installment.

Without further ado, here’s the moodboard and cover for Enduring The Flames:

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

Fantasy Indies July

Heya Lovelies,

On Twitter, I’ve been taking part in fiction prompts. I participated in daily prompts during January, February, March, April, May, and June. Once again, L. V. Russell of @fey_girl63 and Chesney Infalt are hosting prompts for the month of July. Feel free to join in.

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Until next time,
Sarah