Weather warning

The cloud got off the bus, black and heavy

with rumbles already rippling across it.

It had started out light, peaceful cotton,

but was soon forced to drift into a haze of vapour.

Words began to weigh it down

and the darkness spread as lightning grew in its belly.

When finally it stepped through the threshold to home,

the crackles broke out and kicked down the flood gates,

roaring all the while.

 

After, free of all it’d carried,

it settled into a cosy nook of sky

next to the sun’s evening rays,

not a touch of storm in its makeup.

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To the clouds

My wings quiver as they warm,

blood rushing to each muscle.

I step into my pose, coiled, waiting.

Then: leap!

Out they stretch as I skydive down,

ignoring the gasps, the hisses, the boos,

and as my fingertips stroke the weeds,

I catch the updraft and soar.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

There was a lock around my heart,

chains dragging behind me, longer than Jacob Marley’s.

I thought I’d have them forever,

but it turned out that words are a great corrosive,

eating into the toughest metals.

They didn’t come from me, I was too much

on the inside, struck dumb by expectations and resigned attitudes.

They came from you, from a single offer you made

of trying to help me solve a puzzle.

Neither of us realised the puzzle

was ourselves.

Releasing dark

The black is seeping from your eyes

more and more

it won’t run clear, never, no.

 

Lightens with every drop that splashes on the floor.

Lavender green, a million dreams

we can hold

without worrying

they’ll be stained.

Brilliant morning

I see the edge of the world as the water spills over and falls

splashing my fingers as I turn on the tap

 

The mist in the house smells of everyone but me

I suppose it would, for who knows their own smell?

 

I watch parts of myself spiral down the drain

no longer needed for the travels ahead

 

I hum as my toes sink into the grass, morning frost

making it soft crystal needles

 

I am awake now

The newness of it all

The rainbow gave birth

Pink wisps merging with opalite tears

At having finally released its heavy cargo.

There is no gold

There never was

Only the after image of a woman stepping free

After years of being locked in

Invisible chains.

Keep sake

My heart is a trinket box

previously filled with costume jewellery

lovely in its own way

but I have sensitive skin

and you know how metals react with sensitive skin

over time.

 

I wore it often

thinking that I always would

claiming the style matched my own

even on days it turned my skin green

or threw up a rash.

 

It wasn’t until after a decade had passed

that it occurred to me I’d been avoiding

the obvious truth.

No matter how much I adored it

it was not a true match.

We weren’t compatible

in the way I thought

and gradually it had spilt out of my heart-box

leaving me empty.

 

Empty

enough to be filled

with something truly precious.

Not a trinket

not a necklace

not another box.

 

A living beating pulsing heart.

My own.

Gifting season

Surprise!

 

A moment of passing,

threads of an old tale.

 

That’s all it took.

And it brought me back to myself.

Threw back the years.

 

With you, I’m how I was then.

That same core is still here, working the cogs

through the grime and the grit.

They’re tarnished, they’re beaten, they’re dented,

but when you held up the x-ray mirror,

I could see it was still me.

 

The me I always want to be,

but fear to let out in case

she gets hurt, ridiculed.

 

You unfastened her chains

and released her

regardless.

 

And she found she was safe.

You made her safe.

 

You.

Roar

And my own I can keep.

Sound from my throat

Vibrates out through my lips.

Chest full, strong lungs.

What do I want to say?

 

Everything.

 

Everything, but words

Cannot begin to convey it.

Update on The Origin Stone!

Greetings!

It’s been a while since I’ve done a book update, so apologies if you have no clue what The Origin Stone is. For you guys, here’s the low-down: The Origin Stone is my first YA book, and it’s set to be released in late Feb/March 2019 by Nuff Said Publishing.

Here is the premise:

Emily Renzi thinks she’s going crazy. After her parents move to a quiet village, she senses that something is off about the house they’re living in. Dreams of strange creatures invade her sleep, and mysterious shapes appear in the garden. Confiding in her older brother, Ru, they research the house’s background and find that a scientist disappeared there during World War Two. Afterwards, sightings of strange creatures were whispered around the village. Could the creatures in Emily’s dreams and the ones rumoured about be the same? And if so, what do they want from her? As she struggles to piece together the truth from the fiction, she finds out that beasts aren’t always monsters – humans, however, are a different matter.

I’ve been spending the last few weeks combing through the manuscript with my editor, and we’re now in the final stages. Which means…I have ARCs! They are digital only copies, but still, if any book bloggers/vloggers are interested, they can get their hands on The Origin Stone early.

We’re also nearly there with the cover design, which I’m also super happy about. Despite The Origin Stone being my first YA, I wrote the original draft years ago, so it’s been a while in the making. And in a few months, it’ll be out!

Honestly, having my Half-Wizard Thordric trilogy and The Door Between Worlds published was exciting enough, but with The Origin Stone, I’m practically beside myself with glee.

I will be holding a few giveaways for ARCs at some point down the line, so look out for those when I announce them here and here.

As for now, I have to make my way to my day job and pretend I’m calm and collected. *sigh*

Kat out!