Arts and Crafts with Elexis Bell: Trying New Crafts

Arts and Crafts with Elexis Bell: Trying New Crafts

If you’re anything like me, you probably went through a lot of hobbies before you found the one that stuck. Or maybe you’re still searching for the one that really holds you hostage.

I’ve always been the type to get into whatever my friends were interested in, learning a little about it, gaining some level of proficiency with it, then testing out a hobby that another friend enjoyed.

I’ve tried out everything from blacksmithing to photography, graphic design to mechanic work. I tried my hand at duct tape wallets and sewing and candle making.

I even decided to bind a book myself a couple times. Once in an attempt to make a secret compartment book without desecrating a book to do it, and another time to make a cool little journal. The compartment book was a success. The journal pages were bound, but I never attached the cover.

It took a long time to find an art form that I truly wanted to stick with (and pursue professionally), and yes, of course, I mean writing. I’ve been a writer since I was a child, but never had the guts to pursue it as anything more than a thing I did every now and then, something I did and hid away from everyone.

Now that I’m brave enough to dream of being a full-time writer, now that I’m brave enough to chase that dream, it’s become clear that being a writer doesn’t stop with writing.

The thing about being a writer, especially a self-published one, is that you have to know about a lot of things, or at least be willing to research them.

Want to write a character who’s an artist? It’s probably best to take a drawing or painting class so you don’t have them ripping canvas out of a drawing pad.

Want to write a character who loves gardening and preserves all their own food for winter? 

You should probably plant a garden or at least speak with someone who’s done it so you realize that frost is a killer, deer and rabbits are terrible creatures, and the odor of vinegar will saturate the entire house during pickling.

And that’s just the writing portion. Self-published authors have to either pay for the creation of their graphics and covers… or make them. And the only way to really justify making them yourself is if you have some sort of background in graphic design.

So, all those years of dabbling without ever settling on one specific craft have actually served to inform my writing and aid in the pursuit of that yet-elusive dream of being a full-time author.

Instead of stopping to research things mid-writing session, I can just draw on all those classes, all those little adventures in new hobbies learning from people I knew.

Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on marketing graphics or covers, I can just think back to all those art classes and graphic design classes and make them myself. (Though, I still seek feedback from other people before finalizing anything.)

So, don’t be afraid to try something new.

If you see a new craft that you want to try out, do it. In the end, when you find one you’re truly passionate about, all that experience can inform the craft you stick with.

A Heart of Salt and Silver

Elexis Bell

Genre: Dark supernatural high fantasy romance

Date of Publication: 11/3/2020

Cover Artist: Elexis Bell 

Tagline: With eternity on the line, is love worth the risk?

Book Description: 

Ness, a demi-demon with a conscience, just wanted a peaceful afternoon in the Forest of Immortals. But Elias, a reckless mortal, went and spoiled it. Not that he wanted to be chased by psychotic vampires.

After saving his life, Ness agrees to help him find his estranged father and his Pack. But that means facing Nolan, the werewolf ex that holds her heart.

Now, Ness must decide. Use Elias to forget Nolan at the cost of his soul or crawl back to her ex and hope he still wants her even though she broke his heart.

But in a world sprinkled with immortals, broken hearts might be the least of their worries.

Fans of gritty fiction, compelling romance, and imaginative takes on magic and the afterlife will love this dark supernatural high fantasy romance.

Amazon

Excerpt 2:

With my good arm, I pull my leg up to bend the knee. Hiking the hem of my dress up, I reveal torn muscle and shredded skin. I wince as the fabric moves over it, tugging flaps of skin in directions they aren’t meant to go.

Elias’ hands set to work, scooping water up, and pouring it over my thigh. Each drop, gentle as the administration of them may be, pulls a moan of pain from my lips. Wrapping fingers tightly around a stone, I do what I can to bear the pain without making Elias feel worse.

The blood washes away, revealing the true devastation wrought by the dead wolf’s jaws. My leg hangs open, dark muscle showing itself to the sky as it was never meant to do.

“Itand have mercy,” he whispers, calling on the goddess of fortitude.

But she’ll spare no blessings for the likes of me.

“What do I need to do?” he asks. His eyes roam over me, and one hand finds its way to my cheek. Brows knitted together, he clearly longs for something to do, some reassurance that I’ll be ok.

Does he want me to be alright for the sake of spending more time together? Or merely for the sake of having an escort for the rest of the trek?

I hope for his sake that it’s the latter. But the well of loneliness within me wishes for the former.

Either way, there’s nothing he can do.

“My body will mend itself,” I tell him. “It’ll hurt, but it’ll mend. It’s already started.”

His eyes drop to my arm, my leg. The bleeding has stopped, and the cuts aren’t as deep as they were mere seconds ago. Had he seen it when the wounds were first inflicted, he likely would’ve been sick.

“I wish you would’ve let me help,” he murmurs, sliding his hand along my jaw until his thumb finds my earlobe.

Exhaustion pulls my inhibitions low. Despite myself, despite the guilt churning within me, I lean into his caress.

Nolan won’t want me back, anyway.

My heart shrinks from the thought, and I close my eyes, nuzzling my cheek into Elias’ palm.

“Letting you help would’ve been a terrible idea. They could never kill me. They had no salt, no silver. They couldn’t say any incantations.”

I pause, squeezing my eyes tight against the horrid images which flash before them. I don’t want to see the ways they could’ve hurt him. I don’t want to watch them tear him to shreds. I don’t want to see his blood on the ground.

“They could’ve killed you, though,” I whisper.

Suddenly desperate to see him alive and healthy, to ease my conscience just a bit, I open my eyes. Sure enough, he’s there, face inches from mine. The moonlight glows in his magnificent eyes, but the blood of the Howlers still adorns his face.

Reaching for his sodden shirt, I lift a corner of it to his face. Wiping away the dried blood, I memorize the strength in his jaw, the kindness in his eyes. I trace the small kink in his nose, a remnant from a previous fight.

From a distance, it’s almost impossible to notice, but this close…

My eyes drop to his lips, full and soft. They part, but only to speak.

Confusion wrinkles his brow. “If they couldn’t kill you, why were they sent after us? To maim you and kill me?”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. I stifle a groan as my thigh stitches itself together. “They sent them to find us. They know where we are, now. They know which way we were headed. They’ll find us.”

Those words sew our lips shut, for we both know. This won’t be the last of the vampire and his pledge. And if this was just the search party, what awaits us down the path?

About the Author: 

Elexis Bell is a quiet nerd with too many hobbies, including everything from gaming to shower-singing and even archery, weather permitting. She specializes in sarcasm and writing stories that make people feel. She's made a home for herself with her husband, their dog, and a small army of cats.

She writes dark, gritty stories, sprinkling gut-wrenching emotions over high fantasy romance, thrillers, post-apocalyptic romance, and science fiction.

For further information, follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, or check out her blog on her website.

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