~CRK

@authorcrk

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~CRK@authorcrk· Jun 17

#WIPSnips #Writesky #indieauthor Sharing lines from Cocoa and Beau now! It’s a script for voice acting C&B🐾 Beau is a young poodle who is usually grumpy. He’s trying to enjoy the simpler things like his brother Cocoa. So, he’s looking for a stick to take home today (Using “form” as the word)

B: Where am I supposed to find a stick? Probably at the park. It statistically has more trees. Let’s go to the park

A: Well, all right

B: Huh. Look at that. Which stick do you think is better?

A: None of them

B: Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud

A: Quiet, Beau (half-laughing)

B: This one. It has superb form and construction (mouth full) Let’s go home and show him

A: All right…

~CRK@authorcrk· Jun 14

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #indieauthor #writingcommunity ZCN⭐️Book 2 Zena shows off her hyperfixation with penguins. To this day, I do still remember quite a few things about them, and I have seen all species you can see in captivity! Would love to see them in the wild someday

“Whatcha workin’ on, Z?” Kiki chirped, hopping up to me.
“I have to do a project board for school. I’m doing it on penguins.”
“Of course you are,” 5 teased with a wide smile as he stood behind me.
“Did you know there’s actually 18 types of penguins?”
“Wow, really?!” Kiki belted.
“And they all live in the Southern Hemisphere. Not just Antarctica but also Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and South America. None of them live in the Northern Hemisphere. The northernmost penguins live in the Galapagos, which is right by the Equator—I guess that’s technically the Northern Hemisphere.”
Kiki examined my board with interest as I glued on different pictures of penguins. Some had crest feathers, some had yellow feathers on the sides of their heads, some had spots, some had red eyes. “Which ones do you like the most?”
“I like the Little Blue ones. But Emperors are the best. Guinnie looks like an Emperor.”
Kiki examined the cut-out portrait of the Emperor on my board and squinted at Guinnie, discerning her. All the while, Guinnie posed on the table with confidence, flippers on nonexistent hips, like she were a Queen sitting for a portrait.
“But she’s too short,” Kiki said sadly.

~CRK@authorcrk· Jun 14

#LGBTQWriteAThon #writesky #writingcommunity #indieauthor #queerwriters From ZCN⭐️Book 2 Zena and Guinnie are both lone… penguins?

I hurriedly changed my clothes to the usual swishy pants and a t-shirt with a penguin sporting blue camouflage. The design, of course, prompted Guinnie to jump me as though she’d found a long-lost friend.
“Do you get lonely, Guinnie? Maybe I should get you a friend.”
To my surprise, Guinnie dropped herself to the floor, tied her flippers across her yellow chest, and defiantly shook her head no.
She’s just as proud as I am, I reflected with a parental smile.

~CRK@authorcrk· Jun 14

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #indieauthor ZCN⭐️ Book 2 A VERY incomplete thing I am still wavering on. Zena is starting to question the Angel of Battle and whether Ne was truly the hero Zena thought Ne was. This is dialog between Johnnie and Zena. Johnnie’s doubt about the AOB mirrors Zena’s.

Do you do any festivals or things, too?
Yeah, but only Carsi are involved. They don’t like inviting outsiders
Right. Makes sense
D
But. That might change. We’re hoping so, anyway
D
There’s one about the Angel of Battle… A festival
Oh
D
(I looked around. Being surrounded by the pure crystalline swords, all perfectly-carved, decorated, and beautiful. It intimidated me. I felt like I was shrinking, and I wanted to disappear.
D
Well, the Elders all revere the AOB as a hero, but. Ne sent kids to war
Yeah
And segregated Realworldlians
I guess?

~CRK@authorcrk· Jun 11

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #indieauthor ZCN⭐️ Book 2 Just Jamesy being awful again 🙃

I put up a poster detailing the afternoon’s events and set up everything around Seed Hotel so kids could pick and choose what they wanted. I was happy with the variety, and I felt like it would work out well.
“What, like Bozo’s Buckets?!” Jamesy cried out. “And how are these Olympics events?!” Jamesy complained. “It’s not the Special Olympics!”
“Jamesy!” Kiki elbowed her cousin. She hated his blunt remarks, but it was even worse now with Bergamot sitting next to them.
“No, it’s good for those of us with limited physical abilities,” Bergamot added. She was in her automatic wheelchair today.
“Intellect is a sport, too, ya know,” I said, crossing my arms.
“What, you’re going to show off your bad aim?” 5 teased me.
“Quiet, you.”

~CRK@authorcrk· Jun 10

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #indieauthor ZCN⭐️ Book 2 Recently added. I hate having to include moments from my not-so-fun childhood, but it’s important. The “emergency key” will most definitely come back later.

I woke up with a violent sickness to my stomach. It felt like nausea, so I sat by the toilet, but I couldn’t throw up. I clutched my stomach and fell to the tile floor. Groaning, I could feel the chilling tile against my face and arms. My mom yelled at me, saying I was faking it, but I said I wasn’t. I didn’t know why I was feeling sick. I didn’t know why I was in so much pain, and I didn’t want to feel that way anymore.
When my mom left to take a shower, I locked myself in my room. I never locked the door to my room, and it felt wrong of me to do so. I buried myself under the covers and tried to sleep in my bed. But the knots in my stomach kept me from relaxing.
The doorknob to my room shook. My mom slammed her fist on the door. The pain in my stomach intensified. Suddenly, there was a clicking sound, like a key or a paperclip. The door opened. My whole body froze. How did she get in the door?!
I peeked out from under the covers. I saw my mom put a golden metal stick on top of the wood around my door. It was an emergency key meant for the tiny holes in my bedroom and bathroom. I locked myself under the covers. I refused to go anywhere. I felt sick and in agony.

~CRK@authorcrk· Jun 9

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #indieauthor ZCN⭐️Book 2 Always love interactions between Zena and Ima! The protagonist and antagonist, who are more alike than they understand or want to admit

I figured that was her intention, but hearing her say it out loud stings me. “You’re genuinely terrible, Ima.”
She flinched at this.
“Plants are our friends!” Rose cried out. She lingered in the doorway of the greenhouse, keeping a safe distance. Her hand trembled from gripping the doorway so hard.
Warmth splashed against my face and stung my cheek. Ima got me while I was looking at Rose. I snarled at Ima.
“You’re so ruthless. You only think of yourself.”
“Shut up! You don’t know me!” Ima cried out, firing more orbs of flaming light at me.
Slicing my hand through the air, I cut through the fireballs with sharp blue boomerangs. “I don’t need to.”
Im barred her fangs at me. She punched at the air, but no powers manifested. “You think you know everything! You’re the callous one!” Ima ran off, looking like her pride was wounded. Halfway across the yard, she burst from the scene in a flicker of embers and ash. I assumed she could transport just like 5 could.
In a way, I felt bad. Like maybe I hurt her feelings.

~CRK@authorcrk· Jun 8

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #indieauthor ZCN⭐️Book 2 Zena struggles with doing household chores, feeling bad the new home is in disarray because her mom works all the time. But Zena was never taught how to do things around the house (Note: Marie calls Zena “Sands” as a nickname)

As I stared awkwardly at the piles of fabric, Marie came up behind me and asked what I was doing.
“My mom usually does the laundry every day, but…” I said, sadly. I stared blankly at the clothes, analyzing the processes for getting rid of them.
“Well, we can do it,” Emmy declared, making the task sound easy.
“No, I don’t want to mess it up,” my voice quivered as my eyes ran around the different piles in the cramped room that smelled strongly of chlorine like a swimming pool.
“Laundry is easy to do, Sands. You just put your clothes into the machine, and it does it for you.”
“But bleach can kill you.”
“Only if you drink it,” Marie enforced, waving her arms.
“But I don’t know if laundry detergent has ammonia in it.”
“You don’t use bleach on everything, anyway.”
I wondered about that. I guess my mom really only used it for the towels and underwear. I looked down in defeat and let Emmy pass me.
“You know more than I do…”

~CRK@authorcrk· Jun 7

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #indieauthor ZCN⭐️ Book 2 More of Zena struggling 🥲 When I was a tween, I realized I was forgetting a lot, but I didn’t know it was due to dissociation and depression and trauma. So, I wrote down a lot of things and hoarded ideas and papers.

As I fell asleep, all I could hear in my mind were names of places buzzing in my head.
Winter Wonderland, Water World, Christmas Town, I*V City, Wonder Prairie, Fantasy Prairie, the playground, Trampoline Land, the amusement park, Angel Prairie, the pool, Seed Hotel, the ice cream parlor…
I couldn’t sleep. I whipped out my notebook and started writing everything down, my hand guided in the dark by my instinct. I kept writing and writing and writing, hoping someday everything would come back to me. Hoping that someday everything would finally make sense. Hoping that someday, eventually, I’d finally find myself again. The me that was lost among jumbled memories and scattered thoughts like paper strips in a giant shredder.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 22

#WIPSnips #Writesky #indieauthor ZCN⭐️ Book 2 More of the volleyball game between Zena’s team and Team Rainbow. We get to see some of Zena’s inner strategic monologue (read: Z’s INTJ is showing lol)

The girl in green sent over a serve, and Calla used her height to block it back over. Yellow bumped it up, with Orange stepping in to set up Red. 5 spread his legs to a defensive stance and stood ready to strike, but Red just hit it over naturally. Relief swept over me. We had a chance to hit it someplace. I wondered if we could somehow get it over to Emmy. But I hated that the others couldn’t read my mind, and Kiki set the ball to 5, who smacked it over behind Yellow. She tried her best to catch it, with Orange assisting. But Red got upset and bumped into the trio trying to fix the mistake herself, causing the ball to slip through the cracks.
“Hey!” Yellow cried out. “I got it!”
“No, you didn’t!” Red chastised.
Purple, with a calm voice, called out to Red, “Stay in your spot.”
I started to realize the girls weren’t the pinnacle of teamwork I thought they were. Though it seemed they worked as a unit, it could all fall apart because of Red.
I served over, trying my best to hit it by Emmy, and she took the hint to miss it in a convincing way. Red yelled at her, but she insisted it was an accident.
We were still ahead, and time was running out. I felt assured.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 21

Having CPTSD/DID/ND/chronic pain/depression/etc is just learning to accept that you are not stupid, it’s just sometimes your brain doesn’t work. Like it just doesn’t have the capability to think right now. So you have to either do a task that you can do on total autopilot or pick something that takes zero effort and brainpower to do because the brain just doesn’t have the energy to think right now

~CRK@authorcrk· May 21

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #indieauthor ZCN⭐️Book 2 Zena is trying to recreate her notebook that was destroyed (symbolic of lost memories) plus is upset she keeps forgetting things lately. This was a real thing for me back then: dissociation and depression were ruining my memory

I hadn’t heard Inner Self lately for some reason, but I did get random phrases and such in my head sometimes. Like I’d remember a name of a place or a detail, like a flashback or a realization. Then I’d write it down so I wouldn’t forget it again. Inner Self told me she was trying to organize all my memories, so I assumed that’s what was happening when I had those flashbacks.
I hated that I kept forgetting everything, so I got a special binder notebook with an attached accordion folder to keep all my thoughts in. Whenever I remembered something or thought of something important I wanted to think about, I’d take out the aqua and navy notebook and quickly scribble it in the pages.
I had read through the entire Book of Legends since 5 gave it to me during I*V’s change. While I didn’t find anything about The Curse, and while some of it made no sense to me, I was glad I read it. Because it reminded me of some of the things I had known before. Like how Calla always practiced her singing because of her special ability of Sound Wars as the AOI’s Vessel. Or about I*V’s surrounding worlds, each with their own distinct cultures and environments.
I was still upset about the Curse thing, though. I couldn’t accept that the AOB was taken over by the Curse and that there wasn’t anything written about it in the Book of Legends. I desperately needed to make sense of it, even if I had to make stuff up about it myself. So I wrote down all I knew about it so far:

~CRK@authorcrk· May 20

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 The first big battle between the teams! We play volleyball against the Rainbow Girls in the hopes of winning Marie back to our team. Leo decides to be the referee

As we oriented ourselves, Kiki called out, “Hey, don’t we need a referee?”
Red dismissed the idea, but I asserted we needed someone to keep track to make sure no one cheats.
Leo immediately volunteered, raising his arm high and wiggling it around. “Ooh! I’ve always wanted to sit in the tall chair!” He sped over and climbed up, looking around like he just inherited a kingdom. He switched on the electronic board, and the timer started counting down in big yellow numbers.
I gulped. Kiki passed me the ball, and I set it in my left hand, bumping it over the net with my right fist. Red immediately jumped up and spiked the ball back over, disorienting Calla in the process.
“Hey!” Kiki yelled.
Leo sighed. “That’s one point…” he muttered disappointedly. The screen changed.
Red was the kind to play aggressively. I was upset at myself for not foreseeing this. As I thought ahead, Jamesy shouted out:
“You’re playing dirty!”
Red shrugged and smiled. “You’re just not good enough.”

~CRK@authorcrk· May 19

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 Just another day of the friends’ family dynamics and Jamesy being a brat

“Call?! You’re on his side?!” Kiki screeched.
“He is just acting out. I will help him come to his senses.”
“Calla has a ‘mother sense’ about her,” 5 teased. “And Jamesy is an especially childish brat.”
If I didn’t know better, the look Call shot back to her brother said something along the lines of “I have experience with that.” I was sure I had just imagined this, since I have no idea what facial expressions mean, but in a later interview for compiling my notes for these books, Call actually confirmed this! Can you believe it?
“Who are you calling a childish brat?! After some of the things you’ve done!” Jamesy lashed out.
“Oh, shush. That’s all in the past,” 5 pacified.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 19

I used to have a system for keeping track of chapter progress, but I had to somehow convert it to my phone. So, I chose to visualize progress using moon phases! The closer it is to a full moon, the closer the chapter is to being done!

A list of numbers with a blue background. All of the numbers have boxes next to them, and some are checked. Next to the numbers are various moon phase emojis

~CRK@authorcrk· May 18

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 The ZCN series includes a lot of nature imagery and especially a lot of birds! Here is an example of one such instance of using birds and birdsong to parallel the moods of the characters

The white-throated sparrow kept getting buried by the chickadees whistling. They sounded similar in a way. The forest was barely swaying, but I could hear some of the further trees creaking like rocking chairs. I still couldn’t believe I were actually there—at my house, in the backyard, sitting with the kids and cherishing the sleepy sky. Everything felt far away, like reality was slipping off my skin like water droplets gliding off a duck’s oiled feathers.
With a trilled scream, a mourning dove perched on the crest of my house. She bobbed her neck and wings before settling on her feet and looking up vapidly at the sky. Her throat enlarged, and she started crying out a soft wail. I wondered what it must be like to be a mourning dove. To sit on top of people’s houses and cry about nothing. Maybe they mourn for the people in the houses, filled with empathy and pain that they can’t do anything about it except cry. Or maybe they just sound like they’re crying, and we only attribute a false story of sadness to them. Maybe mourning doves are actually content.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 15

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 Zena discovers 5’s journal, which becomes a kind of subplot underneath everything else. The things 5 writes about are quite mysterious

Thinking of 5, my eyes halted at his sleeping bag beside me. Folded neatly, there wasn’t a single imperfection except for a lump under the pillow. Curious, I squinted my eyes and uncovered the sunken treasure—a plain notebook. The cover was simple with neon shapes studding a midnight sky, and I recognized it. He’d borrowed it from one of my rejects. While plotting my revenge on him for stealing one of my kin, I subconsciously flipped through the pages as though it were my own and made note of the used paper.
Only seven pages were coated with writing; the others stood woefully blank. It was reminiscent of all the unfinished ones I owned—save for the neater structure of boxed paragraphs and the meticulously bound letters conforming to the lines. And no title page. I have to admit I was too nosy for my own good and began instinctively reading the first page.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 14

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 Substitute word: coffee Marie is hanging out by herself today, trying to get away from her annoying cousins. Leo keeps her company and helps her feel better

“You must be desperate to get away from the popular girls, huh?” Leo suddenly made conversation, snapping Marie out of her daze.
“They drive me insane.” Marie snuck a swig of chocolate milk from the carton. “They’re wearing old styles, already drinking coffee, and Red has everyone on puppet strings. We all have to be exactly like her, or else she gets mad. It’s really stupid. She’s been like that since forever.”
Leo folded his arms, looking like he was in deep thought. “Sounds awful. I don’t get popular girls. Wanting to be like everyone else is limiting. It’s a scary thing, like being put in jail.”
“Yeah, I can tell you’re definitely not someone who follows the norm.”
“Of course not!” Leo declared proudly. He put a big handful of mini candy cookies in his mouth and supported his head with his other hand. “They haven’t had a hit in years, anyway. Why are they still acting so haughty?”
“Well, they’re hoping to make a comeback. But I really don’t want that to happen.” Marie’s stomach felt queasy at the thought. To her, Leo didn’t know how right he was when he said the word prison.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 14

And the most dangerous event is?!

Spin chair hurdles
Yes, an event utilizing a spinny chair. So far, we have used ice packs, random metal squares, yoga balls, bouncy balls, an extending dog leash, and now a spinning office chair as sports equipment. I was the kid ever. Also, HOW WOULD YOU DO HURDLES IN AN OFFICE CHAIR. That’s literally the definition of “not safe for work”!!

~CRK@authorcrk· May 14

Honorable mentions… Only because this reminds me how old and decrepit I have become 😅

Scooter hurdles
This is the third most dangerous event. Because I can kind of see it, but I also don’t like what I see.

Hurdle gymnastics
This one takes first prize for the most dangerous-sounding event. Let’s combine back-breaking gymnastics with hip-snapping hurdles! I guess I’m just too old and broken now to have fun anymore…

Swingside jump
As opposed to swing jump, which is jumping straight ahead, this event forced you to contort your body as you swung and to jump sideways somehow. And that triggered my scoliosis so bad when I thought about it that I put it here in the hopes someone else would see this and feel the same pain I felt.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 14

The second most dangerous-sounding event!

Slide stunts
Doing gymnastics routines and stunts on a slide. That sounds like a parents’ worst nightmare. The games I came up with as a kid sound so dangerous now that I’m surprised I had never once broken a bone or gotten injured as a kid. I must have been indestructible.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 14

ZCN⭐️ Book 2 is all about the Kids’ Olympics, with events made up by yours truly. It was a real thing kid me did. And kid me was very creative. And that creativity scares me now. Here’s the top 3 most dangerous-sounding events kid me created!

Bouncy ball tobbagan
This just sounds reckless and dangerous. How would this even work?? Bouncing on a yoga ball but down a hill? Have 911 on speed dial!

~CRK@authorcrk· May 13

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 Just one of many interactions between me and my mom. This one is tame compared to the others, though. Even though the story isn’t entirely about us, I still wanted to inject some daily moments. Just to keep in mind what it was like

My mom trotted upstairs to finish the laundry and to clean the bathtubs. Her pink razor phone, left in the kitchen, started blaring “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up” by Barry White, and my body became paralyzed. I wanted to call up to her, and say her phone is ringing, but it felt like a cinderblock was in my throat instead of my voice. Nevertheless, I told myself I should push through it anyway. And I cried out “Merm,” the nickname baby me gave her. There was no response. I tried again.
“You know I can’t hear anything over this fan blaring!”
Then turn it off, I wanted to say. But being dismissed again made my throat even tighter. I grabbed the phone and walked it upstairs to her. Then returned downstairs.
She went in her room and closed the door. She didn’t close the door often. I always knew what it meant when her phone rang, when she locked herself in her room and talked with him for hours. It made me feel like I was in on a horrible secret, even though she was already divorced. I left for the basement. Being with my friends always got my mind off things. Things and feelings I couldn’t explain.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 12

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 This chapter, a new team joins us for the Olympics! Leo introduces us to his adopted brother, whom he calles Stripes as a nickname. Leo explains where this name came from. Leo is a wacky kid lol He’s one of my favorites

Stripes looked up at us slightly with silvery blue eyes and shared a smile. His cheeks sunk, showing off dimples on either side of his face.
“Where does ‘Stripes’ come from?” Marie quizzed.
“It’s the name I gave him! Cuz he earned his stripes!”
“What?” The thought went over Marie’s head.
“He’s a tiger!” Leo declared, holding up his hands like he was showing off fierce claws. “And he earned his stripes! You know, like Tyson the Tiger says!”
“You mean the cereal box mascot?” I parsed out.
When Leo nodded enthusiastically, Marie slapped her palm to her head like she couldn’t believe Leo’s childhood idol was a cereal box mascot.
“Lion, tiger, and bear. Oh, my,” Jamesy noted lifelessly.
“My mom named him D’Angelo,” Leo trilled in a thick accent, “But I like my name better.”
“What, did you name him when you were two?”
“Stop making fun of me, woman!”

~CRK@authorcrk· May 11

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 This chapter, Zena meets Panda from Team Animal, who enjoys playing hand tennis, too. Zena enjoys meeting someone with the same interests. Based on reality, we were in fitness centers a lot because of my mom.

“Are you OK?”
“Huh?”
“Your arms,” I clarified, pointing.
“Oh! It’s athletic tape! I can probably take it off now,” she commented, peeling away the purple stretchy material from her left arm.
“Oh. I think some people at the fitness centers use those.” I added, “My mom does personal training, so I’ve basically lived in fitness centers.”
Panda became animated, her face glowing. “That’s cool! My uncle does personal training.”
“Yeah. My mom always brought me to work. I even got to help out sometimes.”
“That’s great!”
I got to fill the vending machine and keep track of the inventory. Plus, sometimes I’d get to make flyers for classes and such using the computer because I was good at making posters. It felt nice to have a responsibility and not just hang out in the day care center all day doing nothing. I always felt like an adult, and working made me feel respected.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 10

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 This chapter introduces a new character who identifies as plantkin. Jamesy is always making fun of everyone, but his off-hand remark comes back to haunt us later… (Chapter is unfinished so that’s why the note in brackets 😅

[we go back to the events; J and L are looking on in the distance
“Why are kids so weird nowadays?” Jamesy commented, apparently oblivious of his permanent baby voice he forced.
“It ain’t weird! It’s just how you express yourself! I mean, I’m a lion!” Leo chimed in proudly, pointing his thumb to his chest, which caged his proud lion heart.
“Yeah, and I’m the Keeper of Fate,” Jamesy returned, rolling his eyes.
“Hey!” Leo yelled, chasing after Jamesy.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 9

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 Book 2 is mostly about Marie (Emmy) being taken by her rich and famous cousins. She used to be part of their pop group, The Rainbow Girls, and doesn’t want to be associated with them anymore. The oldest, Red, is a big bully in this book.

Red darted over and snatched Emmy by the arm. “And who said you could be on their side? You’re on our team, remember?”
Marie tugged her arm in resistance. “Only for the Olympics! That doesn’t mean they’re no longer my friends!”
“That’s what you think. This isn’t a game. Stop hanging out with them, Indigo.”
“My name is Marie!”
“Hey!” I stomped my foot and smacked Red’s arm away. “People aren’t your property! They’re not like the fancy things you buy!”
Leo stepped in. “Yeah! Let her go!”
“She’s our cousin. Get your mind off of justice for a second.”
“Aren’t we here to play volleyball? You can sling insults all you want while we’re playing. Let’s just get this over with.” 5 took command disinterestedly, poking his fingers into a volleyball and convoying it to the net.

~CRK@authorcrk· May 8

#WIPSnips #WriteSky ZCN⭐️ Book 2 Sharing stuff from ZCN book 2 now! There’s a lot of worldbuilding in this book, and we get to meet a lot of different side-characters. I enjoy talking about the Native people of I*V, and one of the kids on Team Prairie shares some information to Zena here

“We believe everyone in our community is family, so I have a lot of little siblings I look after.”
“Ah, that’s neat.” I thought quietly for a moment. “I was wondering, too: Do you craft things like Johnnie’s people do? He’s from Winter Wonderland.”
“No, we Nirlà don’t craft things, but there’s another people to the Northwest that do. They’re called the Cäy people.”
“Oh.” I asked how to spell everything so I could write it down later. I guess I*veenian English changed the spellings phonetically, so Cäy would be Chaye and Nirlà would be Nerlah. I always liked learning new things, so I was enjoying asking. And I liked that Bluestem, again, didn’t mind my questions. She liked hearing about Johnnie, too. I forgot what he said his people were called.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw my friends arriving. “Sorry.”
“For what?! I love answering questions.”
“I mean we have to do the events now.”
“No problem. Good luck!”
“You, too.”

~CRK@authorcrk· May 7

Hey, I’m ~CRK! (Yes, with the ~) I write character-driven novels about mental health, trauma recovery, and self-acceptance. You can find all my finished books and WIPs on Itch! Here are images of my finished and upcoming books! ZCN Book 2 & Orch School Saga coming 2027! authorcrk.itch.io

ZCN & Friends: The Angel’s Curse
(ZCN Series Book 1)
Zena refuses to accept that her hero, the Angel of Battle, has given up in the fight against evil. And even worse, that Ne has become the very evil the two of them have fought against all these years. With an ominous final warning, the Angel warns Zena that she, too, will someday fall prey to the dastardly Volea Villain’s curse.

MG fantasy
Trans flag, autism spectrum infinity, mental health symbol, POC/diverse symbol

Beyond the Further Sea

a novella in journal entries and poetry

A mysterious shared journal
that crosses time and space
lands in the hands of five teens
grappling with grief, mental illness, and a feeling of otherness. In this space, they can all feel like they’re not alone, even if none of them can truly meet each other. But they are all connected by one thing: a girl named Charlotte
YA contemporary, experimental
Mental health symbol, POC/diverse symbol

$ZCN & Friends: The WARP Kids’ Olympics (ZCN Series Book 2) The adventure continues as Marie is taken by her cousins, the famous Rainbow Girls. While Zena and friends use the Kids’ Olympics as a battle to win Marie back, Marie must deal with her past as a child star and her fractured relationship with her twin sister. Meanwhile, Ima is up to no good again, and Zena learns painful truths about the unbeatable Villai Villain and the Curse! MG fantasy Trans flag, autism spectrum infinity, mental health symbol, POC/diverse symbol, progress pride flag$

Orchestra School Saga
Book 1: accelerando, affretando

Francis is an autistic savant who
can learn piano pieces after playing
then only once. But this ability does
nothing to help him with music theory!
As he struggles behind everyone in
classes and is teased for his strange
behavior, he wonders if studying music
is really worth it. Especially as Claire, the
person who gifted him music and his first
love, isn’t even here anymore. But Francis
pushes forward, even as he’s forced to
conform to Classical standards, losing
more and more of Claire in the process…
YA/NA drama, contemporary
Trans flag, autism spectrum infinity, mental health symbol, POC/diverse symbol, progress pride flag

~CRK@authorcrk· May 6

How work on the new WIP has been going 😅 #writesky #writingcommunity #meme #indieauthor