E.J. Powell's Blog

August 1st, 2025.

Wow, can't believe how fast the months have gone by. A couple of interesting things that've happened since I last made a post.

In March 2025; I went to Kentucky to meet up with nine friends that I've been gaming with the last few years. Hard to imagine that I only knew three of them personally, and the rest were strangers. I highly recommend making sure you have at least one-two friends you've known longer and trust them to keep you safe. An Airbnb housing ten people (and yes, unfortunately, I was the oldest of the group.) Not to worry though! It was a grand time and we all got to know each other closer than ever before. It was something I was glad to be apart of. And we've made plans for next summer in 2026 to get together, this time, in Michigan.

June quickly sped up and I got to volunteer at a local church campground for the second year in a row. The Holy Spirit dwelled in the tabernacle that last night before camp ended the following day. All of my campers went down to the altar and fervent prayers and tears were whispered and shared. It was a memorable experience and something that doesn't get to happen every day. Watching a transformation in my campers take place; lives that were changed for the better, and those still searching/struggling reminds me that God works in everyone, but at different paces.

July 4th, 2025. Normally a day of celebration to those that have fought for our Independence. My husband and I, my brother-in-law, and some of our good friends helped us move into our first home! It was exhausting, but at the same time, exhilarating to finally have not just our own place again; but our very first home. Our tuxedo cat loves it there already; she enjoys finding the sunlight spots throughout the house and loves cuddling with my husband. The other cat, an orange tabby, he's had a rougher transition and it's taking him longer to destress; but that'll come with time.

Now, for the moment you've been waiting for. New Releases announcements!

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July 31st, 2025: "The Golden Chance" (Angels' Realm: Fairy Tales. Book 2)

August 1st, 2025: "Starling Alien Collection" (Books 1-4) e-book release.

August 2nd, 2025: "Starling Alien Collection" (Books 1-4) print release.

September 2025: "Instincts" - Poem (Through Her Eyes Anthology)

November 1st, 2025: "Song of the Wolf"
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UPCOMING RELEASES:

1. Tattooed by His Mark (A Wolf's Mark Saga #1) Revised and rewritten.

2. Destiny, She Awaits (A Tame, She Must #2)

3. Churning Waters (Ocean Turmoil Duology #2)

4. Arrow, She Draws (Never After Tale #3)

5. Hell's Angel (Angels' Realm: #5)

6. The Croaking Curse (Angels' Realm: Fairy Tales: #3)

7. Midnight Strikes (Dark Tales #2)

8. A Tale of Nottingham (Twisted Pages #4)

9. Shadows of the Divine by E.J. Powell & M.S. Dreamweaver (Divination: Egypt. Book 1)

10. Tides of Ruination by E.J. Powell & M.S. Dreamweaver

Good evening dear readers,

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and are looking forward to winter being officially over. (I hate the cold, the ice, the snow, and everything involving the concept of winter.)

A little bit of an update on upcoming releases for the remainder of 2025.

1. "Falling For Grace" (AR #4) released today (February 1st, 2025) in "Evil Hearts: A Monster Romance Anthology". Only the first 8 chapters are available to read. The remainder of the story will be available later in 2025.

2. "Bethlehem's Angel" (AR Novella) releasing sometime in 2025.

3. "Uncharmed" (DT #1) releasing March 1st, 2025.

4. "Starling Dream" (Starling #4) releasing May 6th, 2025.

5. "Beloved of Land & Sea" (OT #1) releasing June 3rd, 2025.

6. "The Golden Chance" (ARFT #2) releasing July 31st, 2025. (Might push back the date, depends on what goes on.)

7. Starling Alien Collection (books 1-4) releasing August 1st, 2025.

There might be a couple more releases, otherwise that's what is releasing this year. I'm having to take a step back from doing anthologies for a while, as that is what seems to be weighing me down. At least for now.

This past year in 2024 into 2025, is a bit rough. My family hasn't been in the greatest of health and unfortunately, one of my family members is only going to gradually get worse as the days progress forward.

Thus, I'm trying to get as many stories published as I can. Because eventually there will come a time, where I will be absent from writing for a while. A long while.

Happy October!

Wow. I can't believe how fast summer went by and now we're stuck in autumn. >.<

Anyways, here's an updated post of of upcoming releases for the end of 2024 into 2025.

1. November 1st, 2024: Star Light, Star Bright: A Limited Christmas Collection Anthology. (My story, "Bethlehem's Angel" Angels' Realm: Novella)

2. January 2025: Uncharmed (Dark Tales #1)

3. February 1st, 2025: Evil Monsters: A Monster Romance Anthology. (My story, "Falling For Grace" Angels' Realm: #4)

4. June 3rd, 2025: Beloved of Land & Sea (Ocean Turmoil #1)

5. September 2025: A Catastrophe: A charity anthology. (My story, "A Cheetah's Love")

Well, I hope everyone enjoys their upcoming holidays. Until next time. ;)

Blessings can come to us in all different aspects of our lives; a new job, a new job, a new place to live, a new friend, etc. We have to be thankful and grateful no matter what happens or takes place.

This is true especially for my family and I during these past two months...

At the end of January this year, my husband and I received a notice from our landlord, they were jumping the price on rent and we couldn't afford it. Thus, we lost the place we called home and had to move in with my parents at the end of Feb.

In the middle of March, my husband decided to put in his two week notice at his previous employment for Walmart to work for a new company as a part of maintenance crew for 300+ apartment buildings with a good friend of ours who was kind enough to get my husband this job.

He went to said new job on April 1st, and seems like a good fit. April 2nd, Tuesday, he got up for work in the morning and headed out in our car. Sadly, it would be the last time we could ever use our 2019 black Kia Soul. My husband was just outside the city where our friend lives so they could carpool, when my husband was rear ended. He got whiplash and fractured a vertebrae in his lower back. While he's doing well for someone with a fractured bone, our car sadly got totaled, and now we are without a car.

Blessings can come in all shapes and sizes, we just have to be willing to accept and receive them. To lose our home meant staying with my parents for a time until we can find someplace better. To decide to leave a job to start a new one takes courage, but leaving an old job that paid less, to begin a new job that pays more is a blessing. To almost losing my husband in an accident, his blessing was having minimal injuries but returning home to me overall alive and well (for the most part.) To finding the blessing in knowing we totaled our car but can look for a new one.

Life happens. Sometimes it sucks, but we have to look at the blessings to overcome the hardships. The grief. The things that happen when we least expect it. Never take anything you have for granted.

Just in this year alone, only 4th months in. We've lost our home and our car, but we still have each other. Never forget the blessings and the miracles that God performs. He protected my husband the day of the accident, He knows what we need before we know it ourselves. Never forget what God can do. This year is our season of being in the wilderness, for my husband and I to fully rely on God and see what He can and will do.

Small blessings can lead to bigger outcomes.

Well, guys, we made it to 2024. I can honestly say that I hadn't been expecting to have lived for this long, but that's the beauty of the unknown. Not knowing when our last day might be, and making the most out of our decisions and how we spend our time with loved ones.

Unfortunately, right before Christmas, we had a family friend pass away. We aren't sure what the cause of death was, all we know was that he was heading home from helping out at our church, was driving home and had a medical emergency. His car along with several others got into an accident, and they pronounced our family friend dead at the hospital, but when the EMTs got to him, he was already gone. Standard protocols were taken before the coroner could pronounce him dead. It struck hard, how close we can lose someone in the span of hours. We had just seen our family friend that Sunday the 17th, we didn't get a chance to ask about his holiday plans. The next day, he took his last breath on Earth and went to be with our Savior.

We must always remember how precious life is. Make the most of our days spent on Earth and help one another out in any way shape or form that we can.

Anyways, enough of the grief. I hope everyone had a good holidays if they celebrated. Mine was spent with my family, and I spent New Years Eve over at my friend's place, ringing in 2024 without my husband. He had to stay home because he had work at 5am and needed his beauty sleep.

SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO. Let's get the updates you've been waiting on >.<

May 7th, 2024: A Cursed Blessing. (My original spin on The Princess & the Frog retelling.)

July 9th, 2024: Of Seas & Storms Anthology. My story will be "Beloved of Land & Sea" (the full 13 chapters.)

September 30th, 2024: Castle of Secrets Anthology. My story will be "Uncharmed" (My dark retelling of Lady Tremaine and how she came to despise her step-daughter Cinderella.) (Trigger warning: this will not be for the faint of heart. Read at your own discretion).

November 1st, 2024: Star Light, Star Bright Anthology. My story will be "Bethlehem's Angel" (My original spin on how Jesus was born and the events that led to His birth. The true meaning of Christmas told through the perspectives of two Angels.)

Those are what are planned for publishing this year. I may have more, I may not. It'll really depend on how things go and if I still have a job. I've been searching, and lemme tell you, it's definitely hard to find something that'll be good on my health mentally, physically and emotionally.

I do hope to publish a few more stories this year, like the full rewritten, edited version of "Tattooed by His Mark" and hopefully, finally, the sequel that I've been neglecting to get edited all this time. >.<

And I'm starting to plot the outline for the sequel for "Tame, She Must" as that is long overdue.

Well, that's the update for now. I wish everyone the best.

-E.J.

I hope everyone had a good Friday the 13th weekend!

I spent my weekend enjoying time with one of my best friends that I unfortunately don't get to see very often. We ended up going to the Vampire Diaries convention in Illinois. Whoo-Whee! Let me tell you, two days of specular actors that came out and that we got to meet was amazing.

I got to meet Michael Marlarkey for a second time (he played as Enzo). I got his signature for someone special >:)

Then I met Nathan Buzoic (Kol in The Originals) I loved that he signed a photo I have of him and Danielle Chapman (Davina in The Originals).

The final thing was meeting Joseph Morgan (Klaus in the show) on Saturday. He was hilarious up on stage with Daniel Gillies, I had the pleasure of meeting Daniel in May at a different location along with Marlarkey.

And then finally, we got to the second day of the convention where I got to meet Candice King (Caroline) holy crap guys, she hasn't aged a day! :O She's 37 years old and was in her 20s when the show first began.

Then I met Paul Wesley (Stefan). I promised my friend that I wouldn't tell Paul that I laughed when his character died in the show at the end of season 8. Instead, I did tell Paul that he did a good job playing as The Ripper. He signed a photo in gold for me.

AND FINALLY, I MET IAN SOMERHALDER. (Damon Salvatore). I was so excited. When I got to his table, he asked if he could sign in silver because he "wanted to be different." from Paul's signature. "Sure. Different is better. And you're the best!" Is what I told Ian. He appreciated my saying that and signed in silver. Then he lifted the photo, kissed the picture of him and Paul, and heard a song playing on the speakers in the ballroom. He took one look at me, AND SERENADED ME. IAN SOMERHALDER AKA DAMON SALVATORE SERENADED ME.

Guys, my legs turned to liquid, but I kept my composure and left with a stupid grin on my face and squealed on our way home.

Ian and Paul are definitely exactly as they're in the show. Paul is quiet, standoffish, and Ian is the fun-loving guy with a bit of a bad boy complex. I'm so glad I had the pleasure of meeting them. <3

Date: August 18th, 2023...

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had a spectacular summer. :) Mine was pretty...flexible so to speak.

So, when we last left off in June, I was in the process of looking for a job. I managed to find one, only lasted for a week due to some shady business, but nonetheless it was better than nothing.

My summer months of June and July were spent somewhat working and just vacaying at home. Since being home all the time, I felt a bit...depressed by the situation, thus writing was at a minimum unfortunately. Blissful endings when an author chooses not to write when it's her passion. :( Oh well, things happen for a reason after all.

In the beginning of this month, my friend from NYC (yes, the same one that invited me to her home in April 2023) visited me again. We had her first BBQ-s'more night, we stayed up north at my grandparents, went to a Christian concert to see For King & Country (My all time favorite band that I've now seen between 9-10 times). Turns out, my friend is definitely a city girl...LOL. She started freaking out when we walked in the 40 acres of woods my grandparents own, and could not handle the idea of having the entire upstairs to ourselves be in the dark because the house is older and creaks and groans. She was petrified from seeing all the horror movies out in the world. She definitely did it to herself. Unfortunately, we did have to make an unexpected trip to my friend's house further south of us because his cat passed away. But my friend from NYC did manage to learn how to dig a shallow grave and said she could be a farmer for certain. To make my friend smile after his cat's passing we went to a county fair; where my NYC friend got a chance to buy a cowgirl hat and we got to see our first rodeo. She was fawning over one of the cowboys and was too much of a coward to call out to ask if he were single and for his phone number.

We tend to take the littlest things for granted where we live. The stars, the woods, the insects, etc. But overall, didn't have too much of an eventful summer.

NOW FOR THE NEW BEGINNINGS...

I did manage to find a job, so my writing schedule will still be on time, just might take a while.

September 21st, "Castle of Shadows" will be released. Print will come a little later on.

November release: "Chosen: Fight Like a Girl" will be available. Print will come a little later on, maybe sooner.

I am currently still working on my story, "A Cursed Blessing" my princess & the frog retelling with a twist you won't see coming.

But I also have a new story that I'll be working on as well for a Christmas anthology I'm setting up for 2024. My story is one you won't want to miss..."Bethlehem's Angel" a novella to my Angels' Realm series. You all know the true meaning of Christmas and how Jesus was born. However this time, we're going to learn about the experience through the Angels' perspectives.

That's all for now. Until next time!

Hello, everyone!

Date is: June 5th, 2023. And boy, have you guys missed out on quite a lot that has happened to me over the past few months since you last read something from me at the beginning of the new year.

February and March were constantly working, working, working. >.< Ugh, whoever said adulting was fun...THEY LIED. THEY'RE LIARS!!! Don't listen to them one bit. I'm still waiting for Peter Pan to swoop in with some pixie-dust and send me on my way to Never Land.

Anyways, so April is where we discuss what I made a decision to do. With a friend that persuaded me, I took a once in a life time experience and traveled by bus to a whole different state to NYC. The Big Apple. Where they drop the ball every new years' eve. I can't believe I still went for almost a solid week. (I had a family emergency and had to come back a few days sooner than expected).

First of all, traveling as a young woman is a bit terrifying. But I had a couple of God encounters on the trip that made it all the worth while. We were waiting at a bus station for our transfer bus, and I spoke with two other ladies. One was fresh out of high school, the other closer to 30s like myself. The lady in her 30s mentioned how she had a boyfriend back home watching her kids. I told her, don't worry, God's watching over them. She was surprised to find a God lover as she put it and handed me a notebook. A notebook that was heartbreakingly sad. In said notebook were letters with a recent entry about how, "I just want to give up. I'm so tired. I can't do this anymore God. I want to come home. I don't want to go back to my family." Immediately I closed the notebook, hugged her hard, and we said a prayer right then and there, in front of more than twenty people, but I didn't care! God was showing me someone who needed my help. I told her to go back home to her family and that God would always be there for her. You'll never know someone's story until you get to know them. SO NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER.

Anyways, that was the second God encounter. My first God encounter on my trip to NYC was this.... (A bit of background info about myself: I get anxiety when other people are driving and get worse when it starts to rain, sleet, snow, etc. Bad weather? Better be ready to handle ME and the WEATHER.) Anyways, so as we were on the bus to our first stop, it started to rain. I had just recently watched a Facebook video of a bride & groom who were going to be married and how the bride told God that if He weren't there during the ceremony then she didn't want to be married at all. But God had shown up by providing a rainbow halo (as I call it) around the entire sun and it stayed there until the ceremony was over and had started showing the rainbow right as the ceremony began. So, in regards to seeing that, I had asked God to show that He was with me on this trip that was verrryyyy last minute and I had no idea what I was doing, as this was my first time traveling by myself to a whole other state and I was kind of worried that something might happen. A couple minutes later, I heard God's voice whisper, "Look up and see." I lifted my head and looked out the window. A large arc of a rainbow appeared in the dark clouds off in the distance. Vibrant and glorious. The promise from God Almighty. I started to smile and then watched as it faded immediately before appearing on the road beside the bus on the highway, if the windows could open then I would've been able to reach out and touch it. Then it disappeared from view entirely and I was at peace.

My third encounter was on the way back. I was nervous because I was heading home a few days early and I was nervous about just heading home in general. I asked God to show me another rainbow, that He was close by. Then again I heard His voice tell me, "Look up and see." I did and saw a part of a rainbow with the sun shining and not a dark cloud in the sky. That rainbow stayed for well over a half-hour until it eventually disappeared. God does answer, in case you were wondering. It's just on His timing, not ours.

Otherwise besides those God encounters, NYC was pretty cool. But I'm definitely a country girl at heart. My friend allowed me to stay with her; together we did stuff even she hadn't done. We toured and went up to the 93rd floor of The Summit and saw the Statue of Liberty from a distance. I got my picture taken in front of the Empire State Building (late at night. I was half tempted to pose like I was in the Elf movie). We went to the Ice Cream Museum, I got to see a band in a VIP section of her security job. We walked around the Rockerfeller Center, I got to see where they drop the big ball every New Years' eve. We walked in St. Patrick's Cathedral (it was beautiful!) and got to ride a subway pretty much everywhere. While it was nice visiting, I definitely was glad to be back home.

So, that was my traveling by myself experience. Then came last month, May...

In May, my late cat's birthday came around and it was definitely hard for being his first birthday without him. Then my 4th year anniversary with my husband. That next day, the 12th we welcomed a new nephew to our ever growing family. (We have about roughly 14-15 nieces and nephews just on my husband's side.) Then in the middle of May, I went with my friend to Tennessee for a Vampire Diaries Convention!

My third trip to Tennessee was a blast. Each night we stayed at a different hotel. We stayed in Louisville, KY and got to tour Fort Knox and saw the Patton museum and of course, paid our respects to the fallen. We went to the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY. That was amazing to think of just how big Noah's ark truly was. We then stayed in Nashville, Tennessee for the Vampire Diaries Convention where I got to meet and get an autograph from Michael Marlarkey (Enzo) & Daniel Gillies (Elijah Mikaelson). Have to say, not a huge fan of Daniel anymore, not after how he acted during the panel he sat in on. Michael and Michael Trevino (Tyler Lockwood) were hilarious together! Trevino actually wished that him and Caroline had ended up together. And Enzo had said he would've let Bonnie go and find a new love and not haunt her. They both wished they could've gotten a fight in with the Salvatore brothers instead of getting what they got in the end. (Won't spoil it).

Anyways, after the TVD convention, we traveled to Lebanon for a gun & knife show (I got a couple sharp knives and a Pirates of the Caribbean sword for my husband). Then to Chattanooga where we went to McKays bookstore (it's huge!) and let me tell you, I hated driving in Chattanooga. There's one hill we took at a steep decline. 0.6 elevated pressure change and I about passed out at the wheel. >.< Never driving there again that's for sure! Then we traveled up to Gatlinburg. That was cool and got to visit some local shops in the area.

So, that was the end of my traveling vacay times, but then two days after I returned back from Tennessee, I was fired from my employer for basically having too many points and their third-party not wanting to work with me about my medical issues. Unfortunately, employers will be employers.

Thus to my current predicament, looking for said job, cat sitting on the side, and overall trying to write in general.

BUT THAT'S WHERE SOME GOOD NEWS COMES INTO PLAY.

I've got a couple of works that are publishing within the next few months...

1. Castle of Shadows releases in September.
2. Chosen: Fight Like a Girl releases in November.

I'm currently working on a project called; "A Cursed Blessing" a fairy tale retelling of The Princess & the Frog, but less about princesses and princes, and the overall tale. This is a twist you won't see coming ;)

I hope everyone is doing well. And I will be able to get back with you guys here soon! Stay tuned <3

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and have been safe.

So, yesterday on Dec. 31st, 2022... I updated on Instagram and Facebook, that I had published 11 books in 2022. To say I'm surprised is an overwhelming statement.

In honor of that, I'm hoping to publish as many books this year if I'm able too.

But I also realized that I lost a lot of loved ones in 2022 and I truly hope that will not be the case for this new year as well.

I lost a client (caretaker), a beloved pet (mainecoon/tabby cat), a friend (suicide is never the answer), a cousin, a classmate (OD), a family friend (one of my BFFs mom), another cousin, and lost my great-aunt right before Christmas.

I pray that you'll get the help you need if you're experiencing depression and seek the medical attention for the pain you're in. I also pray that everyone has a blessed New Year in 2023.

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Now, to let you all know of a couple upcoming releases...

January 5th, 2023: "The Unseen Protector" the graphic novel comes out as an e-book on Amazon! Unfortunately, I've had too many complications with getting the print format ready, so I have to go through Ingram Sparks to publish the printed version. I'm hoping all will be okay with that. I've never published through that website before.

April 4th, 2023: "Warrior Angel" the third book in my Angels' Realm series releases on Amazon as both e-book and print. You met Angelica and Liam in TUP, and then met Gabriel and Jezza in Tarnished Halo. Now, it's time to meet Michael and Ivy!

I've got at least two anthologies that I'm working on coming up. "Castle of Shadows" and "Chosen: Fight Like A Girl" will both be releasing later on this year.

I hope to have a couple more books release this year if I can help it, one of which will be the long awaited sequel for "Tattooed by His Mark" and hopefully the sequel to "Tame, She Must".

Stay safe everyone and happy holidays!

Hi everyone!

Hope y'all had a great last few months. So, a bit of an update on upcoming releases heading your way here soon. ;)
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1. Paranormal Unbound: A Collection of Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Short Stories (Shifters Unleashed): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09...

**** Features my story, "Last Chance" rewritten version.****

Available for free on Amazon kindle for a limited time.

2. Shifter Time: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Anthology (Shifters Unleashed): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B...

**** Features my story, "Song of the Wolf" extra bonus content.****

Available for free on Amazon kindle for a limited time.

3. Mischievous Monsters: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09...

**** Features the first 12 chapters of my story, "The Frost Realm". ****

Available both on kindle and print for a limited time.

4. Tarnished Halo (Angels' Realm Book 2) releases hopefully November 8th, 2022.

5. Shifter Christmas Howlidays: A Paranormal Romance Anthology (Shifters Unleashed): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B...

**** Features my story, "Tiger Love" (a prequel and novella to Tame, She Must) ****

Available on December 1st, 2022! (Also my birthday).

6. "The Unseen Protector" graphic novel hopefully will be released December 2022 or early January 2023.