New Beginnings, but Like in the Video Games
Soul Bard Productions, LLC: Soul Bard Academy, The Merna Annals, and Me
A common mechanic in video games is to give you, the player as main character, all of the best powers, armor, teammates, options, magic, and more for the first few minutes of the game. After you have a test as the player of how far you can build and grow throughout the gameplay, the plot (writers, fate, whatever you want to call them here) chuckles and says, “Fool! YOINK! Let’s start you at square one and go on a real journey to get that glimpse of ambrosia again.”
That’s been this entire summer for me, sunwalkers and lovelies. When I was released from my final position as any type of K12 English teacher in April 2023, I said I would do what I could between then and my next, full-time position to build my business. I knew that transferring out of the teaching profession would take time—and I had plenty of it on my hands. While I spend the first half of summer working temporary positions in project management—the projects didn’t last long. The bills were piling up. So, I started editing. Before I knew it, I was submitting paperwork to make all this formal. To make all my wildest dreams since all the way back in college come true.
Soul Bard Productions, LLC is here. She’s overseeing everything and connecting all the dots. And yet, I look back on the last three years with gratitude for those who have brought me here in one way or another.
You don’t have to be a workaholic to make great strides. Not when it is something you love to do. At the heart of it all, my soul’s intent with Soul Bard Academy, The Merna Annals, other books I wrote, and even the social media or writerly services I offer… is to encourage others to keep living their dream. Misfit or not. Popular and rising star or not.
Our souls have their stories to tell. Many of us carry age-old tales engrained deeply into our ancestors—either seemingly by genetics or a curse that happens to at least x number of people a generation or so. Many of us write to heal those wounds. Some of us do it because we’re the black sheep, and others express themselves in writing because they’re the golden child. The common throughline here? Their stories both deserve to be told.
Am I perfect at what I do?
I opted to stop drinking that poison because it was hindering my love of expressing my soul. I hope you find release to do the same with yours—whatever creative process it is that you feel most expressive with included here. Whether it be writing, drawing, arting, dancing, musicing—whichevering. Take care of yourself. You’re always worth it.
Sincerely,
Jenna O’Malley
Your Soul Writer
Are you in search of a writing coach or need a developmental editor without breaking the bank? Check out one of these links! https://www.jennathesoulwriter.com/coach or https://www.jennathesoulwriter.com/editor
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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT!
The Covenant of Shihala
by Kyro Dean and Laya V Smith
*FANTASY ROMANCE*
Lying is easy. You simply must either care far too much or far too little. But even human eyes will give away true intentions soon enough.
For ten years, street musician Ayelet has been on the run from the faceless slave master who tormented her childhood. Traipsing across the Middle East, the Ottoman empire, and Eastern Europe, she only stays ahead of the faceless man because the sight of a wisp or the jewel-toned eyes of a djinn warn her when evil draws near. Far from the ghosts of mythology and fairytales, she knows djinn for the demons they are. So she keeps moving and forsakes love for anyone or any place.
But lost souls long for homes, and when she returns to her country of medieval Turkey and meets up with an old friend, she finds herself lingering. One last performance, one last song. Then she will leave. But evil rarely waits, and when Ayelet sees a djinn watching her from the back of an eager crowd, she knows she stayed far too long.
Jahmil Amir, the displaced heir to the throne of the magical land of Shihala, has his own problems. Betrothed to a wretched djinn queen and in search of his mysteriously vanished army of darkontes, he has no time for music or love. Instead, his heart is consumed with revenge and the desire to obliterate the bloodthirsty hoards that destroyed his home.
When lava giants and bone-crunching ghouls from an ancient world force them together, the magic fire of djinn and Shihala have different plans for the fated lovers. But while love tempts them both with a promise as beautiful as it is forbidden, evil continues to stir.
For the Faceless Man will not be forgotten. After all, unbeknownst to her, he spent years forging Ayelet into an instrument of cataclysmic destruction. Now, she must find the strength to fight against the destiny that has been carved into her bone, or a power will be unleashed that will end both worlds: Qaf, the land of djinn cities, and earthly Ard.
But can fated lovers turned eternal enemies overcome the fates laid upon them by a force far greater than themselves? Or will revenge and fear end not only their love, but the very hope for home they both long for?
The Fires of Qaf historical djinn series consists of standalone epic fantasy romance novels that all tie together in a larger world of magic and djinn fire. They can be smoldering but are not explicit and each follow their own hero and strong heroine couple that embark on a magical and sometimes dark fantasy journey. They can sometimes cover tough topics that might be hard to read for some, but always focus on people's experiences and not issues. Kyro Dean and Laya V. Smith are paranormal and fantasy romance writers with 16 more books written and coming on a monthly basis.