Jessaca Willis's Blog

In case anyone missed it:

Soul of the Crow is participating in a cover competition this month! She's in 6th place right now, but I really think she can make it to third with a few more votes!

You can vote for Soul of the Crow on AllAuthor here. Thanks in advance!

In the Chamber of Dreams, there are eight doors, each leading to private rooms—private dreamlands—with their own personalities and appeals. In fact, I’m basing each of the dreamlands off one of the seven deadly sins...

Hello readers! I'll make this quick: if you weren't already aware, I write for the voice of Melinoe, the Goddess of Nightmares, on the In The Pantheon blog.

It's loads of fun, and she's just starting a new arc so I wanted to share it here. Enjoy!

Read the full post Seven Deadly Dreamlands here.

And be sure to check Melinoe's feed bi-weekly for new installments of her story. Where will the Dreamlands take her next?

"What's with your love of Halloween?"

I get asked this question a lot but I rarely answer it honestly. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because of bad timing. Maybe's it's because I'm worried to share something that deep? Maybe it's just because I work so hard this time of year to be happy that I don't want to risk opening up that wound.

Fair warning, this is not a happy story.

This year is different though. This year, I think it's finally time for me to be honest with myself and those around me.

In 2014, I was living with two roommates in my first apartment ever, and I wanted to do something special, something memorable, so I decided to throw a Halloween party. Anyone who knows me though, knows that I don't half-ass things—I went all out for this thing! I decorated the entire kitchen in black lights and glowing blood and set it up like a butcher scenery with a table full of themed-treats, sweets, and munchies. The living room was blacked out with hanging sheets of black fabric (boy that was a pretty penny...) and decorated like a tomb or a crypt, with a handmaid skeleton-in-stalks prop, more black lights, and tons and tons of spiderweb. The hallway/stairs was also all done up, with more cobwebs and a dozen candles and ghost wall-clings, leading our guests into the bathroom, which, as you can probably guess, was also decorated from ceiling to the floor.

It took me an entire week to pull off, but by the time the day came, I was so proud of myself!

The day after our party, as I nursed one of the worst hangovers I've ever had, I found my cat dozing in the closet. I realized it was the fourth day in a row I'd seen her in that very same spot. It was then that I also realized that I hadn't filled her food dish or water dish in days—not because I'd forgotten, but because there was still food and water in it, meaning she hadn't touched it.

I can't describe the guilt I felt in that moment for being so caught up in that stupid party to even notice that my cat hadn't eaten, let alone moved in days.

I rushed her to the vet that very moment and it was then that we learned she had kidney disease. She passed away five months later.

I, of course, blamed myself even though I knew logically that this was likely a disease she'd had for years that was only just then exhibiting side effects. Regardless of how long she'd actually been ill before I noticed, mostly I couldn't forgive myself for letting her pain and suffering go on so long without me noticing. I was so ashamed and devastated.

By the time the next Halloween rolled around though, I knew I would do nothing but spend the entire month distraught and depressed, so I decided to give myself a little distraction. This is when Halloctober was born. That year, I created a calendar and scheduled myself to do one festive activity every day all month long. Sometimes it was little things like painting my nails, other times it was watching classic horror movies, or going to haunted houses. All that mattered was that I was keeping myself busy rather than moping about all month long—for me personally, I believe that our loved ones deserve better than seeing us like that...wherever they may be.

To my surprise, I actually wound up having fun that month, like, the most fun I'd had all year. At first, that happiness made me feel guilty again but then I realized, what better month and holiday than Halloween—the day we honor the dead—to celebrate the holiday every day of the month.

Halloctober became a tradition for me after that. Every year it got a little easier and it made me feel a little more connected to my late cat (my childhood pet). Every year I looked forward to it more and more because of the significance the month started to hold for me.

Then, in October 2017, my other cat died of kidney disease and I miscarried my first pregnancy. If I thought I'd known devastation and guilt before then, I was so sorely mistaken. These two events nearly knocked me into permanent darkness. I lost the will to "celebrate" Halloctober because all I wanted was to join my deceased loved ones.

But, skipping Halloctober that year wasn't an option for me. You see, we had already been celebrating it all month with my partner's daughter, so she was expecting the festivities, the games, the fun. I had to push through, and thanks to my partner, I was able to.

After that October though, I wasn't sure if I'd be celebrating Halloctober again. I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to. The month was starting to represent too much pain and loss for me to find it within myself to be happy.

But then, I found out I was pregnant again. I was faced with a decision: what traditions did I want to impart on my children. I reflected on the past year, on the joy the month had brought my partner's daughter, and thought about how much joy it could continue to bring our new child and our family. With that in mind, it wasn't a difficult decision to make.

But life likes throwing you curve balls. The next October (2018), my brother's dog died of a sudden illness. HIs dog, much like my two cats, had been like children to the both of us, so his loss was just as heartbreaking as all of the others. But, there was something fitting about it too. I found a sort of bizarre, cold comfort in knowing that all of our pets had chosen this month to depart (or start their departure). It was like they wanted to leave when they knew we'd still have good things to celebrate.

A week later, I had my son, born on the same day that my second cat had passed, turning what would've been a day of mourning into a day of life and celebration.

This year, I chose to celebrate Halloctober not only to fortify the tradition with my growing nuclear family, but because it is important to me to remember those I've lost. Every time I do an activity this month, I think about my two cats, my brother's dog, my unborn child, and how much joy they brought me, and I'm thankful that now, because of them, I now have a family tradition that my children enjoy, something that makes them unique.

I wanted to write this post because today is Halloween and it is the first Halloween I've worked since before 2014. I usually take the day off because, as you can imagine, this day can be quite the rollercoaster for me, and today has already proven to be challenging. But my hope is that by getting some of this off my chest that I can enter the afternoon and evening feeling a little more centered and grounded, reminded of the importance of the day, and that although some of my loved ones are no longer physically here, they are always in my heart.

Hello readers!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am obsessed with Halloween! So much so that I've decided to make not one, but TWO of my books FREE today and tomorrow!

BOOK ONE: BLOOD AWAKENS

Supernatural powers, the end of the world, and blood. Lots of blood.

★★★★★ "Unique, original, beautifully written, addicting, and so much more."

★★★★★ "Hurray for characters of color that are well done."

★★★★★ "Fantasy books are my all-time favorite genre especially when it involves powers, superhuman/vampire qualities to the characters and plot. But these powers were so unique."

People called Sean a blood guide, though he never fully understood why. As far as he knew, he could hear heartbeats and heal people. It wasn’t until he walked in on his brother’s brutal murder that he learned of the darker nature of his power: blood speaks to him, and he to it. With a simple song, he can command it to do whatever he wants, and in that moment, he showed his brother’s murderers no mercy. Now Sean must fight to keep his inner demons in check and his path to redemption begins with the establishment of a sanctuary for people like him, people with powers, the Awakened.

Two years after the Awakening, after the wars that destroyed entire societies and brought about "the end of the world," Graciela and her brother Santiago are struggling to survive. Graciela is one of many who never Awakened, but she’s watched as her brother’s power as an empath—the ability to sense other’s emotions—has brought him to the brink of death. Together, they set across Central America in search of a cure, or at the very least, safety in a crumbling, dangerous world. What they find is a sanctuary called Hope, the same one Sean governs.

But they soon discover that even from within the compounds of the sanctuary, no one is safe. Not when there are people in the world with unimaginable power and an insatiable bloodlust.

Fans of The Young Elites, Year One, and Shatter Me will devour this diverse post-apocalyptic paranormal fantasy.

Get your free copy of Blood Awakens here

BOOK TWO: THE DEMON IN THE MIRROR

The students at the Academy of the Forsaken keep winding up dead. The thing no one can figure out though is how on earth is a human serial killer disposing of demons and angels so easily?

First-year demon, Eureka Belvedere, finds herself stuck in the middle of the otherworldly murders, and if she's going to survive, she needs to learn how to use her powers.

This Kindle short story is a YA paranormal about demons, angels, and what it's like being the new girl at school where students are dropping like flies!

The Demon in the Mirror is perfect for fans of Harry Potter, The Dark Artifices, and The Black Mage.

Get your free copy of The Demon in the Mirror here

Thank you so much for your readership and enjoy your Halloween!

As an author, you're not supposed to read your reviews, at least, a lot of other authors will tell you not to. Apparently, it can be discouraging.

But for someone like me, a masochistic perfectionist people-pleaser, I not only can't NOT read my reviews, but I read them regularly and reflect on how to make sure I'm giving readers what they want.

In a few of the reviews I've received for Blood Awakens, I've seen readers express excitement for the book and anticipation for the sequel—which is so exciting to hear! But behind their words, I sense there trepidation. They're thinking, "Here is a brand new author who released one book. Who's to say she'll ever release another, and who knows how long it'll take."

As a reader myself, I know the pain of waiting for the next book in a series you love. I picked up A Court of Thorns and Roses right when it first came out, so then I was stuck waiting that year for the next, then another year or so for the one after that. It's the hardest thing to do when you love a story and its characters!

So, in response to the trepidatious reviews I've read, I wanted to write a blog post giving my readers an update on Puppets Dream and the timeline I'm working with.

First off, you should know that Puppets Dream has already been written, so obstacle one: check! I finished writing it in 2017, but then went back to do a major rewrite of book 1, so it's been on the backburner a little while.

Currently, I'm in the process of correcting some of the major plot issues that I created by rewriting book 1, but things are honestly going smoother than I anticipated. My goal is to complete this revision by the end of August, so I can send it to my editor so she can work on it in September.

SIDE NOTE: While she has it in September, I plan on editing the other book I've been working on Soul of the Crow. My plan for this book is to send it down the traditional path of publishing though, so I anticipate a much longer process from ink to paper, so don't go getting your hopes up. BUT, I thought you all might like knowing regardless.

Once I get Puppets Dream back from my editor in late September/early October, then I will begin implementing the corrections she's made. Because October is such a celebratory month for me (we do 31 days of Halloween, plus it'll be my kiddo's first birthday), I expect to be editing all through October and November.

My goal is to finalize formatting in December so that the book can be ready to publish near the end of the month, or early January.

However, because as I mentioned earlier I am a perfectionist, and because I don't believe in pushing out a product that is less than perfect, if I feel as if I need more time to make Puppets Dream all that it can be, I do intend on extending this timeline, and I hope that readers can understand that. My ultimate goal is to write books that people will enjoy, and sometimes that might mean taking a little more time to make sure they're as close to perfect as they can be.

Thanks for reading, and since the weekend is right around the corner, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. <3

When I was a freshman in high school, I was in all advanced classes: AP English, AP Pre-Calc, AP History...but then I was expelled (that's a whole other story). I transferred schools and started attended an alternative school that prided itself on never giving any homework.

Suddenly, I became unchallenged. Because it was no longer required of me to study for hours to pass my tests, and because I had started working in an environment that catered your education to your own sluggish pace, I stopped pushing myself and started doing the bare minimum.

Now, I work in education, and someone once told me that if you expect your students to fail, they will. If you expect them to not turn in homework on time, then they won't turn in homework on time. And if you expect your students to excel, they will.

During my sophomore and junior year, the bar I set for myself was just to graduate with as little effort as possible.

The story of how I flipped my outlook on education and goal-setting is a good one, but tonight I'm using it as a metaphor for a different narrative: my July 2019 NaNoWriMo goal.

For those of you who don't remember, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a non-profit that hosts digital "camps" for writers and encourages folks to set daily writing goals to help them achieve their writing dreams.

For NaNoWriMo this month, I set the highest goal I've ever set: to edit 105,000 words, the entire word count for book 2 of The Awakened Quartet, Puppets Dream.

During the first week of NaNo, when I was editing the first few chapters of my book—chapters that have already been edited half a dozen times—my word count was flying! Minimal edits were needed because of an already polished manuscript, so I was cruising through page-after-page. I was well on my way to editing my full novel in July.

Then, come week two, editing became a slog. I got stuck revising chapter six, then chapter seven, and then eight. The story itself just wasn't as smooth as the previous chapters. Determination had me trying to push through though, desperate to reach my NaNo word count. But finally, I realized that editing had become challenging because the plot itself needed a makeover.

I took a couple of days off from editing to take a deeper look at the story. I created a chapter breakdown for the plot and took a closer look at my characters' story arcs. I even read some of the reviews that Blood Awakens received, to better ground myself in what my readers liked and what they expect to see in book two.

Then, and only then, was I able to return to the manuscript and begin editing again with integrity. And when I came back to it, I felt a renewed sense of purpose and fulfillment. I knew which holes needed to be filled, which scenes to be added or scrapped, and where I'd backed my characters into deadends.

I wrapped the month up by hitting just over 100,000 words.

So, did I reach my NaNoWriMo goal? Not exactly; not on paper. But did I reach my ultimate writing goal of polishing a manuscript so that I can produce quality novels to my readers? In every way that counts.

But this post isn't about me and my NaNo goals. During this month, I realized that had I set a goal of 40,000 I likely also would've just barely crossed the finish line. Had my goal been 10,000, I would've stretched out my editing time, until the night before the final date when I'd skate in at a cool 10,002 words.

I'm not writing this post to pat myself on the back. I'm writing it because I believe in the power of setting high expectations for yourself. I believe in knowing your comfort zone and challenging yourself to push past it. I believe in setting goals and working your ass off to achieve them.

So dream big, people. Because we are capable of incredible things if we don't set limitations on ourselves. <3

Supernatural powers, the end of the world, and blood.

Lots of blood.

Hello fantasy, apocalyptic, and paranormal readers!

If you don't have your ebook copy of Blood Awakens yet, it is available for $0.99 from now until Friday (usually $2.99)!

Buy your copy from Amazon/a> now!

Yikes! Apparently, holiday weekends are like arsenic to writing goals. After taking just TWO days off from writing, I am already 8345 words behind schedule.

Gasp! Panic! Alarm!

Have no fear though, my only plans this week are to write! This book isn't going to edit itself after all.

For all the other writers out there participating in NaNoWriMo this month, how are you writing goals going so far? Let's keep each other honest and focused!

I'm so glad you asked! NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, an initiative to help writers write an entire book in one month!

Each year, there are a few different NaNoWriMo's, and this is the second one 2019 has seen so far. I spent the last one (I believe it was March) writing a new book in a new series because I like to alternate between projects. But now that that mysterious book has been written, it's time for it to take the back burner while I edit book 2 of The Awakened Quartet, Puppets Dream, which just so happens to be my NaNo goal this month.

I wrote Puppets Dream during another NaNoWriMo event a few years ago, so it is ready to be under my knife—erm, pen!

My goal is to edit all 105 thousand words so that I can get it off to an editor by the end of the month.

To any other writers participating in NaNoWriMo this July, good luck to you in your writing goals this month!

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