Happy Holidays + Sneak Peek!

Hi guysss!

It’s been rather silent on this blog since gen 2 ended and I’m not back yet. There won’t be any new chapters until next year (unless I seriously pull myself together and snap photos for gen 1 – let’s not expect too much though), BUT I am ready with a little sneak peek. Basically, the next thing I’m posting is Lia’s story, which you’ve probably heard me talking about here and if you’re following on Tumblr you’ve definitely seen lots of pictures.

The first three chapters are written and edited and the first one has pictures, too. That’s why, as a little holiday treat, I want to share a little sneaky peek of the first chapter. The story is… still unnamed. I seriously don’t yet know what to call it. But I do have the first chapter. It’s called The Hermit, and you can read a little bit of it below.

Enjoy. ❤️

One – The Hermit

Lia stepped out of the car and right into a deep mud puddle. She felt the heel sink in with a sickening, squishy sensation and had to grab the car roof to not sink in further. The rainstorms of the last few days had turned the whole forest into a muddy nightmare, already difficult enough to drive through to get to the far-off cabin. And now her best heels were ruined.

“You okay there, Lia?” called Costanza from inside the car.

“Perfectly,” she said through gritted teeth.

Constanza got out of the driver’s seat and took a deep breath through the nose, her face lighting up like it was kissed by the sun.

“Oh, I do love this place,” she said. “I know you’ll love it, too, Lia.”

Lia looked up, trying to scrape mud from her shoe with a stick. She reminded herself of her work and how important this was—it was her chance to gain valuable experience and possibly to make a name for herself as a journalist… That didn’t mean she would love it, however.

“I’m sure I shall love it,” Lia lied with as bright a smile as she could muster.

It was a white lie, but Lia thought it necessary. Besides wanting to get ahead in her career, she wanted to make amends. Her relationship with Costanza hadn’t always been as jovial as it was now and her insides still twisted, thinking of the things she said. If Lia had been in Costanza’s shoes, she wouldn’t have spoken to her again, let alone befriended her… but that was why she was married to Lorenzo and Lia wasn’t.

“I used to love coming here when I was younger,” Costanza continued, looking around the place with a dreamy sigh, “but we got to go so rarely.”

Lia, finally done scraping her shoe, took a careful step mostly on her toes to see if she could keep from sinking in again. She managed a few steps, then the other shoe sank.

Damn it.

“You don’t want to wear shoes like that out here,” said a gruff voice.

Lia looked up with equal parts excitement and apprehension. The man who owned the house was the son of an author she had enjoyed unusually much. So much so, in fact, that she would have gladly gone to one of those ghastly signing events with multitudes of people, just to get a signature. Of course, her father never would have allowed it and Stefano Como died before she left, so now all that was left of him besides the books was the man who stood looking at her stiffly.

Teodoro Como. He was a giant of a man, broad-shouldered with a square jaw and dark grey eyes. His arms and legs were solid, swelling with muscles, and the little she could see of his chest above the top button of his shirt was chiselled. Most strikingly, his hair had streaks of grey, despite the fact that he couldn’t have turned forty.

He was oddly attractive, even though she had never before been attracted to a man who looked like him. His shirt wasn’t tucked in, his boots were dirty, and the hand he offered her was rough with the callouses of someone who worked hard every day. Considering that his father’s books were known for elegance and refinement, as well as a masterful grasp of subtle humour, he was not what Lia had expected.

“Teodoro Como, I assume?” she said.

He nodded shortly and replied in a deep, rumbling voice: “The very same. You’re the journalist lady?” he asked.

“Rosalia Cavalcante,” she said. “I’m very happy you agreed to consider me for the biography, Mr. Como.”

He made a non-committal sound in his throat and turned to Costanza. Lia blinked a few times, thinking it must be circumstance. He must be in bad sorts today to talk like this. He wasn’t… actually like this ordinarily. Surely.

“It’s so good to see you, cousin Teo,” said Costanza, walking over to give him a hug. “I hope you don’t mind my coming as well. I only wanted to make sure Lia could find her way.” When he spoke again, his voice was an annoyed grunt.

“Sure, if she couldn’t find it herself, I guess it was necessary… You should probably come inside.”

Then he abruptly turned around and went into the cabin. So, she must assume, he was like this.

So, I hope you enjoyed this little peek at what’s to come. This is only about a third of the final chapter and there’s not much action, but it’s an idea of what the story is going to be about. It’s also a bit of a look at some of the editing techniques I’ve learnt recently and which I’m excited to do more with! I’m still not completely sure about when I’ll start posting for realsies, but my best estimate is I’ll post the first chapter in the beginning or middle of February.

Until then, I hope everyone is having a wonderful time. I don’t know if I’ll find the time and energy to post more on the blog before the new year, so if I don’t, I’d like to wish everyone happy holidays and a happy new year. I’ll see you all at the latest in 2020 – I can’t wait.

Cheers!