Harper L. Carnes

List of daily post prompts for indie fantasy authors for March. Today's is: characters’ phobias?

#FantasyIndiesMarch Q8

I wouldn’t say the characters have phobias so much as traumas. Sebastian especially has moments where he reacts in specific ways to the memories of past harm or loss.

List of daily post prompts for indie fantasy authors for March. Today's is: Saturday snippet?

Sebastian sighed, his head tipping back. "You said you'd leave me alone for the rest of the night." There was a pause. Then, softly, Elias retorted, "That was before you got yourself drunk, little rabbit. Leaving you alone was a mistake. You clearly need me.”

#FantasyIndiesMarch Q7
Saturday snippet.

List of daily post prompts for indie fantasy authors for March. Today's is: Risks in WIP?

#FantasyIndiesMarch Q5

The risks for Sebastian are that he could lose his life, his job, his child, or Elias.
For Elias he could get dragged back under Mara’s control, lose Sebastian, or get himself killed trying to keep him alive.

I’m writing one handed about vampires while donating plasma. 😅

List of daily post prompts for indie fantasy authors for March. Today's is: Do your characters believe in luck or fate?

#FantasyIndiesMarch Q4

I don’t think they do. I think with what they’ve gone through in their lives it’d be painful to think the losses they experienced were fated to happen.

List of daily post prompts for indie fantasy authors for March. Today's is: Lies or rumors in WIP.

#FantasyIndiesMarch Q3

Sebastian lies about Elias killing someone because he’ll sound like he’s lost his mind if he says a vampire did it.

Let's meet Micromelo undatus, also called "miniature melo", a species of "bubble shell" sea snail.

She's got a little art deco backpack!

These snails live in shallow waters at locations around the world (Hawaii, South Africa, Japan).

List of daily post prompts for indie fantasy authors for March. Today's is: Character’s guilty pleasures.

#FantasyIndiesMarch Q2

Each other. 😏
Joking aside, I think it’d be Elias reading outloud to Zoe, and Sebastian pretending not to be listening, but enjoying hearing the story and Elias knowing it the whole time.

Thank you for sharing it with me. 😊

That’d be amazing. Thank you.

List of daily post prompts for indie fantasy authors for March. Today's is: Introduce yourself & WIP with emojis.

#FantasyIndiesMarch

Me: ❤️‍🩹☕️✍🏻🏳️‍🌈

WIP: 🧛🏻🕵🏼🏳️‍🌈🫀🫁🌶️❤️‍🩹🍆💦

I got the procreate app. I’m not sure where to start learning how to use it though. I went to art school, but ended up falling more into traditional media like painting (specifically oils) rather than digital.

I’d really like to get to a point where I can do art of my characters and for covers.

Two dogs rest on their owner—one golden-brown dog in the foreground and a yellow lab lying along the owners legs. A TV mounted on the wall is playing a close-up of a man’s face from Heated Rivalry. The room has hardwood floors, neutral walls, and wooden trim, with shelves holding bags and plush toys above a half wall. A small umbrella hangs from a hook, and a iPad with a notebook cover sits on a nearby table.

Sunday snuggles and Heated Rivalry.

A tan dog named Minnie wearing an orange collar is curled up across a person’s lap as they recline in a black leather chair, their legs in plaid pajama pants and socks stretched out toward a hardwood-floored living room with a bookshelf and TV stand.

A cozy reading corner with a wooden desk holds a white mug of tea with a sunflower design, a candle under a small heat lamp, and a decorative library-style book counter. A plush orange butterfly toy sits on the shelf, and a “Book Nook” sign hangs on the wall above, with striped curtains along the side.

Settled in to read in the dedicated reading space I set up. The Minnie has decided to join me.

I’ve been getting TMS boosters done because the depression and trauma is obviously creeping back in. I blame the current state of the world for it not lasting longer.

I was literally just talking about this kind of thing a few days ago.

To do this, anti-trans lawmakers in Kansas moved fast to change the law, overrode the governor’s veto, and pushed for the legal changes to go into effect nearly immediately. That kind of power—to void gender on official documents, to compel gender conformity—is terrifying and it will not stop here.

#HorrorWritersChat 4

Cannibal husbands WIP raises the gay guy from the dead after he dies. Does that count for subverting bury your gays or is that a thing all on its own? 😅

#HorrorWritersChat 3

My stories can deal with anything from homophobic bullying in high school to being a survivor and dealing with trauma.
I write these things in because it gives me a way to hold power over what hurt me and the ability to explore choices I didn’t get to make.

Anna and Paul grieve Tracy without freezing Sebastian out, and try to make space for who he loves after her. Paul especially tries to be a support for him since Sebastian’s own father left when he was young.

Kailey is by far my favorite outside of Zoe. She’s Zoe’s nanny, but doesn’t let that stop her from calling Sebastian on his poor decisions when he makes them. And he makes them a lot.

You only see Zoe’s mother Tracy in mentions and flashbacks/dreams. She’s the one who picked Zoe’s name and was a very sweet and loving person. She’s mentioned as having passed at the start of the story, but very much haunts the narrative.

Zoe is biracial (black/white) and is just 5 years old. She loves stories, playing at the park, and drawing.

#HorrorWritersChat 2

All of my mains are queer.
For black characters I’ll focus on the ones in my vamp & detective WIP.

Hey #HorrorWritersChat 1

I’m super late joining.

I’m Harper. I write romance into various types of horror subgenres. Cannibalism crops up a lot. 😅

While I need to catch up on the show, I’ve been really enjoying watching Lestat and Louis in the Interview With the Vampire tv series.

I do. Which I’m grateful for.

I’m really struggling today with the SA trauma. Just keep numbing out or crying or in pain. I’ve come to realize that I was likely set up to have this happen to me by someone I’d trusted at the time with my traumas. I don’t understand why so many people cared so little for my wellbeing and safety.

Which is probably why there’s so many stories out there of abuse and SA survivors encountering this.
My score wasn’t even high enough for a BPD diagnosis. My autism score was, and my PTSD level was the highest thing on the assessment.

(and in my case how autism plays into it as well) then they jump to what they do know, which is typically BPD.