Krystal Harding's Blog

Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind.

She was more than a ghost by the time he found her. Her body, cold to the touch, had been lying there lifeless under the old oak tree by the river for the last several hours. The guttural scream that came from his lips ripped at her soul as she watched him from up in the tree as he cradled her body.

He cried as he begged her to come back to him. Screaming his apology into the wind. If her soul didn’t stay tethered to this spot, she wouldn’t have heard a word. The memory of his name was a blurry wisp that danced around her. Evan. The wind seemed to remind her of the man who she thought loved her enough to save her.

He looked back from where he came to look at the older man standing a few feet away. The dark grey hair that was once deep black void of light, was now twinkling in the setting sun as he limped to where Evan stayed. Tears dripping down his cheeks like a faucet that was left on.

The older man dropped to his knees as he finally reached them. Sobs breaking out of him as he took her body from Evan. “How could this happen?” He looked at Evan with all the sadness of the world. His green eyes slightly fogging with age.

Evan just sat there, staring at her body. Once vibrant and full of life. Now nothing more than cold, pale death was before him. The older man tried to stand with her body in his arms, but failed. He pulled a phone from his pocket.

“Yes, 9-1-1. We found my daughter’s body!” He exclaimed into the phone as sobs cracked through his voice.

“No, there’s no pulse! She’s cold to the touch.” Another moment of silence passed as the person on the other end asked questions.

“We’re north of Canterly drive. By the river. You can’t miss us. There’s a large oak tree.” More silence. Evan seemed to fidget with his hands as he stepped away from them.

“Her husband found her.” The man nodded, looking at Evan. “Yes, his name is Evan Langley.”

Evan stopped moving as the old man spoke to the operator, giving details like height, weight, hair color, eye color and build. The older man gave them his description as well before handing up.

“What did they need that for, Patrick?” He asked slowly. Patrick looked at him, confusion taking over his face.

“They wanted our descriptions so they could find us easier.” Patrick still cradled her body, pushing her now dull blonde hair back from her face. “Her clothes are soaked. Did you pull her from the water?”

“No. She was lying under the tree.” Evan replied, looking out at the water for any signs of life. He went to check the rivers edge, but Patrick stopped him.

“Don’t move around too much. The police will want to canvas the area. The less we move about, the easier their job will be.”

“But what if her camera is down there? Maybe she got a picture of who did this.” He tried to explain, but Patrick shook his head.

“They’ll find it. Don’t contaminate the scene anymore.” Patrick didn’t move from her side. She watched him gently squeeze her hand hoping for movement that never came.

She watched the scene unfold over the next hour or so. Her body being placed in a black bag, placed on an ambulance and taken away. Yet, she could not follow. She watched as police questioned Patrick and Evan separately. She listened as other officers speculated with each other what could’ve possibly happened to a swimmer who was physically fit, to drown.

The images of hands grasping her throat tightly and water bubbling around her flickered through her vision. She saw the eyes of the man who took her life from her as she secretly cursed him with her dying breath.

I will haunt you for eternity. No peace. No rest. You’ll confess.

Her attention snagged on a flicker of silver in the water, glistening in the fading sunlight. An officer must’ve seen it as well, she moved over to the flickering light and scooped a silver locket from the river. She opened it to find a picture of the deceased and Evan on one side with a picture of a dog on the other.

She put it in a in an evidence bag before logging it in with the rest of what they were finding.

“We found a camera, Chief!” A sandy blond male yelled from behind a bush a few yards from the tree. Patrick pushed past the officers and looked at the camera.

“That’s my daughters! She had that when she went missing!” Patrick sobbed. The officer turned the camera on as the boot up sound played, Evan went still. A noticeable shift from the grief stricken male he was when her father found him.

“Should you be looking at that out here? The battery could die, then you won’t be able to view it until later anyway.” Evan protested. The officers looked at him then to her father.

She jumped from the branch she was sitting on long enough to look over the cops shoulder and see the face of the man who killed her. Something deep inside her knew already, but the confirmation was there. A video, began playing of Evan and another woman, a brunette with long legs and a sinful smile, making out on a bed.

The officer quickly pressed the next button before her father could see what was on it. He flicked through several photos before finding another video.

Clearly taken from behind the bush on the ground, the frames played out as Evan gets in her face. She confronted him about the other woman, the fact that she had evidence and wanted a divorce. The video was loud enough for those gathered around to hear as he refused the divorce, telling her that she can’t afford to leave him.

The final frames showcased her handing him a manila envelope, assuming them to be the divorce papers, then him slapping her before wrapping his hands around her throat, pushing her towards the river where she took her final breath.

The Chief looked at Evan who was red in the face with anger. Patrick was unaware of the officers discovery. Unaware how his son-in-law had betrayed him and stole his daughter from him.

She weaved through the throng of people even know that didn’t matter. They couldn’t feel her, hear her, or see her. All that mattered was that she knew who killed her. The memory of the pain and suffering she endured rushed her all at once.

“Evan Langley, you’re under arrest for the murder of Lily Langley. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say or do can be used against you in the court of law.” The chief officer was reading Evan his rights as they placed cuffs on him and led him away.

Patrick stood there in disbelief as another officer took him away to his vehicle to break the news of what truly happened. Officers cleared the scene and took her camera with them to use against Evan in trial.

They say the most dangerous thing is the scorn of a woman. I’d say it is actually that of a ghost who knows the truth, and can get away with anything with enough rage to pierce the veil.

In honor of book 4 in my debut series coming out, here is a look at all the books so far, including book 4, and the tropes that you can find in the series.

The Cerulia series is a Reverse Harem Romantasy that is super spicy and follows one stubborn yet clumsy girl as she finds her way through family secrets and lies,war, death, love, and finding out about herself in the process.

Books 1-3 are currently available on Amazon and KU. A Realm of Sea and Smoke (Book 4) will debut on February 6th <3

If you want to view the post and are not currently following me on IG. Feel free to click on the picture It’ll take you right to my page.

This year will see Luna getting closer and closer to the end of her journey and the beginning of multiple other journeys within the Cerulia world as a whole. I am thrilled to bring this story to life for everyone.

When I started this journey, I honestly didn’t think anyone would read my story or even enjoy it. I was wrong. A Realm of Wind and Rain has spawned off two more books and a slew of ideas for the rest of the series and the world itself. I’ve spoken before about just doing it. Just write the book, just make the change, just do whatever it is you’re stopping yourself from doing. Bet on yourself.

I’m glad I did. Book 4 of my Cerulia series, A Realm of Sea and Smoke, will be coming later this year. I will be releasing more details in the coming weeks about the storyline and plot and what characters will be prominent in the book.

What TV shows did you watch as a kid?

Honestly, I was a Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network kid. I watched some Disney but Cartoon Network had the anime.

I was a major fan of Pokemon (still am) and I remember watching the first episode when it aired here in the US in September of 1998. I would switch between channels to watch Pokemon and Digimon in the mornings before school because that’s what I wanted.

Toonami was my favorite afternoon programming hands down. We had Tenchi Muyo!, Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, Outlaw Star, Gundam, Zoids, Ronin Warrior. It was the best! The adult swim took over the anime game with Trigun, InuYasha, Cowboy Bebop, Bleach, Big 0, Yu Yu Hakusho, Ghost in the Shell. I could keep going lol.

My point is I grew up in the great day of Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, Angry Beavers, Invader Zim, Static Shock, Kim Possible, Action Hero Now, there’s a lot. It was probably the best time to grow up.

So yeah, I didn’t just have 1 favorite, I had tons.

I have officially started a Patreon channel that will include exclusive content, like NSFW artwork (that will later be available for purchase), exclusive editions with my upcoming releases such as The Book of Wrath. I will be posting early access content on my Patreon as well.

What Patreon?

Well, as an indie author, I do not have the backing that traditional published authors have. All financial responsibility falls on my shoulders and as much as I love commissioning artwork and I would love to turn all my books into audiobooks, that is not the easiest case to do since it’s all very expensive. I was thinking about doing a Kickstarter to help me get my next few audiobooks done and help get more covers made, but if you don’t meet, your goal on Kickstarter, you don’t get anything. It is all or nothing.

What type of content will I have on Patreon?

I will have bonus content for the Cerulia series, including art, bonus chapters, deleted scenes that didn’t make it into the books, Character profiles and so much more.

I will also be releasing details and character profiles for all my books in the future on Patreon as well.

What is the link?

www.patreon.com/ARealmofWindandRainSeries

Will there be special tiers?

Yes, in the future I will be doing specialty tiers that will have their own special content.

As for now I am starting out with a basic paid tier that is $3 a month for access to all that is there. When I make the other tiers there will be options to upgrade for more stuff.

My favorite season is the season of the witch, aka Fall. There is so much magick in the air this time of year. The veil between worlds is the thinnest and the air just seems to come alive. I love the warm colors of the leaves as they change color, apple picking and pumpkin picking at orchards, the sounds of children laughing as they run house to house on Samhain (Halloween) getting treats from the neighbors.

Fall has always been my favorite season. Curled up with a nice book or watching horror movies. It was always the best time. Jumping in leaf piles as a kid was so much fun. I will always talk about fall/autumn in my books. The colors, the scents, the feel of the chilly air, the fashion. Fall seems like such a wonderful time of year to be yourself and really learn about yourself.

At least that is how I feel about Fall. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

I’ve had a lot of fears in my life. Some I still have to this day, one being death and dying. I think that one I won’t overcome until the day comes. I think it’s more the fear of the unknown. I dance the line with curiosity and fear of the unknown.

One of the biggest fears I have is not being good enough. I mean this in the sense of being a good enough daughter, a good enough mother, good enough at writing, good enough at cutting hair. In sense it’s part of my depression and anxiety. This one however, I have been working on getting over it. When I start to feel like a crap daughter, I call my mom or send her a text. When I doubt myself as a mother, I sit with my kids, or I look at them and remind myself that I’ve got them this far. As for my job, I look at pictures of previous work vs the now work I do and see the growth. Finally with my writing, I do read my reviews. The fact that I have 5- and 4-star reviews baffle me! It means the world to me because I never thought anyone would even read my books to begin with.

It’s becoming easier to overcome my fears by just doing what makes me scared. If I let me fears overtake my life, I won’t be able to move forward. So, I will continue to move forward and take my fear by the horns.

Since I have been writing the Cerulia series since day 1, I have decided I need to actually keep myself accountable and do a tracker to keep my life together. Book 3 is coming along nicely and I have a feeling there will be a lot of WTF moments and I will be getting a lot of emails and DMs about what directions I’m taking. Some people have fallen in love with characters that I planned their demise from day one. Who knows, I may change my mind, or I may not.

I am currently working on 3 books at once, however I will be keeping track of 2 of these books live. The third book I am working on is kind of a secret project, but not so secret.

I have been posting for my discord channel with everything that’s going on. I keep things updated there constantly. I’m pretty sure people get annoyed with my updates. But no one says anything.

So without further ado, here is the accountability for my first of seven deadly sins series!