Don't be afraid to feel. Fear is never strength.

There are a lot of people in this world who seem, on some level, afraid of their own emotions. They mask them with sarcasm, irony, logic, substance abuse, denial, or some other form of distraction.

I am one of those people, and it’s silly. Why are we, as a culture, so ashamed to feel? What’s weak about crying? Emotions are the very thing that give power to all we do. The more emotion you can poignantly convey when you create, the more powerful and moving your creation. The more emotion you feel in a touch, or when you look out over a stunning natural vista, or greatest of all when you see the sun dapple on a weed in gravel and suddenly understand that it’s marvelous, the more you understand about life and the more you appreciate it.

The ability to feel strongly is a gift. Don’t hold back.

Tumblr

I blog a fair bit over at Tumblr... if you're on there, let's stalk one another ;)

http://sad-eyed-dolls.tumblr.com/

Shadowvale!

Well dear readers, Shadowvale Productions is now live and accepting all kinds of guest submissions (for writing, art, and if you are a cover designer, you can showcase your work in the shop or gallery).

I am the web designer, maintainer, and a major contributor -- I made all the graphics and did the custom CSS and the whole bit. Come check it out!

Poetry: "2013"

 Note: This was supposed to be a post and doesn't follow any of my usual rules for writing decent poetry, it's just an emotional mindspill and not intended to utilize imagery or anything remotely artistic. It's a diary entry that was easier to write in poem form, and that's all.

2013

Today I'm thinking

About the end of the world

2012, and all that.

Yeah, nothing happened--

The year ended,

Christmas cheers said as best we could

While my brother lie in bed

Head bandaged

And we didn't know

If he would ever be the same again

As he lay in recovery,

Our rabbit died, ten years of companionship

Became a pile of dusty shavings, ash

Gone out with the garbage

And seen again only

By the body swerving

To move around a cage no longer there

Goodbye, little friend.

As my brother suffered,

Struggled with life and death

Physically, and metaphorically

Someone decided it was okay to turn a corner

Near the end of our street

At twice the speed

You should

There went Daddy's nice shiny

Brand new car, ebony flecks

Of paint and metal

Bursting under the sun

Like confetti

And my father's speech slurred and his vision blurred

And nobody knew why until they saw

The scans of blood on his brain

Now he lie in recovery too,

And there was no money, no sick leave

No security, no, he'd never been that wise

Or any kind of wise at all

In 2012 we were going to finally

Move out to the country,

My waking dream since I was tall enough

To see out the car window and know there were trees,

Seas and seas of trees,

Somewhere out there

Now that was taken away, too

I'd quit my job in the city for it

I was left with nothing

But poverty

Real poverty,

Not you the kind where you shop

At Walmart

And can't afford the latest xBox games

And think all your friends

Look cooler than you do

The kind of poverty

That becomes your daily companion

Braying hunger and worry and uncertainty and

Fearing to touch anything precious to you

Because if it breaks, it's gone

And if it doesn't break

You'll probably have to sell it

The kind of poverty that eats at your dreams

Like it eats at your body

And convinces you it's pointless

Everything's pointless

There is only suffering

And bracing

Cowering

Frozen with rage as much as fear--

A burnt out tree-trunk

Standing jagged against the wind

Yes, we made it to 2013

There was no bang

But I think I heard

A whimper.

New art!

Finally got around to doing some new PS art. It's going to be a background for a premade book cover I'll be offering for sale; if you want to 'reserve' it, let me know.

I also completed the cover for my upcoming book of poetry, Woodsmoke. I hope to have it out mid-2014.

Guest post: An Exciting New Adult Paranormal Thriller: Empath (Flawed #1) Book Release and Giveaway

I'm very excited to announce the release of my latest New Adult novel Empath, the first book in the Flawed Series. Read on to find out more about this paranormal thriller and be sure to enter the giveaway at the end for an awesome prize package.

The Struggle of an Empath

Supernatural empathy isn’t a gift, it’s a curse. Anywhere she goes, Jade’s emotions are replaced by those of the people around her.

Jade grew up in a suburb of Colorado Springs, protected from other people by her parents. Now she faces college—and the world—with nothing to shield her from unwanted feelings.

When Cam, a classmate with a major crush on her unintentionally hijacks her emotions, Jade struggles to keep from being carried away in feelings of attraction. When Ethan, a psychopath with a thirst for fear, fixates on her, the emotional impact could be lethal. </ p>

Caught in a deadly trap, Jade must untangle the emotions and find a way to use her empathic curse to overcome this killer or be overcome by him.

Empath eBook Now Available

Get your ebook copy now at any of these sites (paperback copies are not yet available, but coming soon! ):

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Barnes & Noble

Kobo (coming soon!) | iTunes (coming soon!)

Prize Package Giveaway

To celebrate the release, I'm running a giveaway for two lucky winners.

Grande Prize:

A rare, autographed proof copy of the paperback

A 12" X 18" poster of the cover art

Empath notebook

Empath collector's button

Second Prize:

An autographed paperback copy</ h4> a Rafflecopter giveaway Becca J. Campbell is the author of the New Adult Romantic Science Fiction novels Foreign Identity and Gateway to Reality, and Sub-Normal, a series of short stories. An avid lover of stories that tiptoe the line between fantasy and reality (even when they plunge off one side or the other), Becca looks for new angles on bridging the gap between the two. She holds a special place in her heart for any story that involves superpowers or time travel. Her passion is defying the limits of her own creativity. You can find her on her Author Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Amazon

Abandoned places part 3 -- The Hotel del Salto

"Abandoned (Haunted) Hotel in Colombia

The Hotel del Salto is located near Tequendama Falls on the Bogotá River in Colombia. It was opened in 1924 and shut its doors in the 1990′s. The hotel’s Gothic design is perfectly enhanced by a river and waterfall. Some say the hotel is haunted and no one wanted to stay there. Others state that the adjoining river was extremely polluted and they had to close. For whatever reason, the hotel stands as a beautifully macabre landmark for lovers of classic architecture, urban exploration, and maybe a few ghosts."

I would LOVE to go here, my god... so gorgeous.