Born from Fire

When I hear the phrase “born from fire” I usually think of something dramatic, profound, and typically dark. I don’t think of a cozy Christmas romance with kink sprinkles on top, and yet…

SPANKED BY THE KRAMPUS has been out for a few days now, and I was reflecting on where I was this time last year. Maybe a few thousand words had been written and I had no idea that I was actually going to see this thing through. I had just returned from a week on Cape Cod, a gift from my in-laws, to give us some respite from the chaos of life. An electrical fire had destroyed our adorable apartment by a river a few months before, and we were struggling in every way possible.

So, to the Cape, I went. I did a full moon ritual on the beach and visited Edward Gorey’s Elephant House. I found a place that did gluten-free fish and chips and showed my husband the galleries in Wellfleet I loved to visit as a kid (yes, I was a weird kid). We bought Christmas cards from local artists and puttered around quaint shops. My husband took dozens of pictures of birds and got excited about seeing a cranberry bog for the first time. 

And when we weren’t enjoying the idyllic quiet of the Cape in late fall, I watched Christmas movies and read romance novels. 

The peace and calm were deeply restorative. I could barely think straight when we arrived, keeping my shit together with sheer force of will, and after a few days, inspiration tickled at my brain. I am, in addition to loving mushy cuddly stuff, a horror fan, and there are seventeen jillion low-budget Krampus horror movies with more added every year. 

So that’s where the setting came from, but why all the psychology and therapy talk? The line about “struggling in every way possible” wasn’t a joke. Things were bad, but I knew from experience that they weren’t irrevocably broken. I just needed to do the work (I still do, healing isn’t linear) and find meaning and joy in small things, if that’s all I could do.

Writing gave me something to focus on, and I rediscovered my creativity, after a nearly two-decade-long absence. It’s been a weird and wild ride, but I’m enjoying myself quite a bit and don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

In writing news, I am working on my second novel, about grad programs and werewolves, and will have a Christmas freebie on my mailing list! I’ll be sending that out just before the holiday so, if you enjoyed Holly and Konrad’s chemistry, keep your eyes peeled!

I hope everyone has a happy holiday season!

With love,

Lizbet Castle

The Doubtful Guest grabs a snack.

The Canadian Werebear frolicking in the Atlantic… in November.

Nature therapy.

slow down!

If you saw could hear that title when you saw the picture, you might be a citizen of Azeroth. So, howdy neighbor!

I was thinking about slowing down today because I’m doing one last, final edit of Spanked by the Krampus (because as a self-published author I do not know when to stop) while also working on my next project.

Now that I have a novella under my belt, I can see a lot of ways that I’ve grown as a writer. One of the biggest ones — that absolutely stems from always fun and never stressful Self Work — is learning that it’s okay to take up time and space. If I want people to be transported from this world and the stresses of their life, well, guess what? I have to create a world where my readers can safely land and explore! Hesitancy and fear get in the way of creation.

Every word I choose is an invitation. My reader has the option of abandoning my work whenever they choose, so I have to make my invitation as lovely as possible. If I can’t have faith in my words and my worlds, why on earth should my reader?

So that’s why the wise words of the adorable Pandaren people are on my mind today. That, and maybe I could use a vacation at Sunsong Ranch.

Spooky Season:Silver Surfer as Christmas:Galactus

Crunching away at the edits for Spanked by the Krampus with increasing confidence and… oh no, wait, I’m terrified. But in an excited way!

If nothing else, this has taught me that I am capable of writing a book, I am capable of accepting both criticism and praise (neither is especially pleasant for me), capable of seeing a project through to the (almost) end and capable of working through pain and illness to accomplish something. I’m really rather proud of it. I think Holly and Konrad are adorable together, and I have a good feel for Hannah and Nico’s relationship as well. And their backstory might need to be told in a newsletter…

no pressure.

Self-promotion? Sure, no problem! Easy-peasy. I can… do… this.

After nearly two decades away from creative writing, I dipped my toe back in and then promptly fell into the pool, fully clothed. I didn’t intend to start writing as full-time as I’m able to, I thought it would just be for me.

I like to write about monster-loving curvy heroines transported out of their time and place. I like to write about magic and healing the human soul. I want to write books that are fun and sexy with a lot of heart and tenderness. I want to create worlds where everyone can feel welcome.

I hope to do a lot of creating in the near future. This site is a start to something bigger, and I hope you join me again.