Hyba Is Writing

July 2021 Writing Update It's the end of July, which means it's time to take a look at what I've been able to accomplish this month.    Bref:  I have written well over 10,000 words... for my academic research project, which wraps up at the end of July/first few days of August. As part of the research project, I've sent out dozens of copies of my thriller, Apartment , to respondents of my survey that opted in for it. I've written and published the Apartment Literary Companion , which is hosted on the Apartment website that I also put together this month. I've been working on the short story "Venom Sweet" - a project that deals with femininity and the societal expectations placed upon women alongside the restrictions that exist. I've written two entries for the new gothic horror serial fiction project Letters to Adam . I've dabbled in a little bit of art as I practice and prepare for making my own illustrations for my books, especially The Beast

Tag Game Round-Up #1 Writers on social media like to play tag games. It's a fun way to get involved with the community, read other writers' works, and share your own. Each tag game has its own rules. Because I enjoy playing these games, I've realized that I've shared quite a lot of snippets, quotes, and excerpts from my WIPs and published works through them, and I thought it would be a good idea to create weekly roundups of tag games and the writing I share for them! For now, the roundups will be a mix of old and new (I have probably hundreds of old ones to share!). I hope you enjoy reading these little snippets!   Beginnings & Ends #1 Rules: Share the first and last sentences in a scene/chapter/story. [ x ] I’m going to share the first and last lines of Chapter 1 of The Pirates of Sissa ! First Line: The sun was unrelenting as it beat down on the Ramadiyeen standing high on the border walls of the Empire of Sissa, keeping watch over the harsh Black Desert beyond t

Apartment Literary Companion Now Available for Free! Readers of Apartment might be pleased to learn that the first edition of the literary companion, which was supposed to be released alongside the book back in January, is now available in its first edition completely for free over on the shiny new Apartment website !   Check out the Literary Companion for Apartment here. As it states on the Literary Companion page, it is currently available in its first edition. I am quite transparent with the fact that I do believe it requires a more in-depth dive into the literary analysis of Apartment , and will therefore be more complete in future editions. However, I also believe that as a starting place, it's well-suited to get readers thinking and wondering about some of the themes and literary devices to be found in Apartment .  There are a few reasons that I've decided to launch the Literary Companion now: I want readers to be able to enjoy the full Apartment experience, and I'v

 Letters to Adam: #2 - An Abandoned Mosque Photo from JosepMonter at Pixabay.  ✍  Adam, I wonder if you are receiving all of my letters. As I do not expect a reply – where would you send it to?  - I can only hope that my letters are making their way to you, and that they are safe in your hands, insha’Allah. Will you keep the ones that arrive? I prayed at the mosque today. Abandoned as it is, there is dust everywhere, and the man who is meant to care for the grounds does not step foot inside. I suppose the fear of faith is still rooted here, though it is fascinating that the people continue to observe ancient rituals borne of ancient times. How strange, that they may turn their backs on religion so easily but clutch the ways of old so closely to their hearts. Every door boasts a fresh garland of flowers, every path an even number of stones, every person a little trinket to keep them safe. How fascinating. The mosque has been relatively untouched since it was last used. Perhaps there re

 Letters to Adam: #1 - In Baltia Photo by Markvin on Pixabay   Dear Adam, As promised, I have traveled day and night to reach this small town, and here I am at last. You know - of course - that I cannot refer to it by its true name, but you will understand, I think, if I name it anew: Baltia. It is everything I dreamed it would be - quaint and small, but the people as mysterious and tight-lipped as we were warned. But I am close, here, to what I seek. I can sense it.   It was no easy feat to secure lodgings in a town suspicious of even the most unassuming visitor, but I was able to pay my way into an inn when I parted with one of my amber prayer beads. Amber, it seems, is a desirable stone here. I have replaced it with an earring for the present, but I will admit it was disheartening to let go of such a piece.  There is a mosque here in Baltia, Adam, and it must be the one your books told of. It is older now, and perhaps not quite as grand as it was in the days of its prime, but it st

Marie/Elise : An Introduction It's been a long time coming, and I'm finally getting around to introducing my murder mystery novel-in-progress, Marie/Elise ! I've actually spoken about this a little bit before over on my Tumblr blog , but that was a long time ago and I'd put it away on hold, so I don't think there's anyone around that remembers all of that! 😂  I wanted to write a post that goes into the evolution of the story, but I figured that - you know - actually introducing it might be the way to go for now. Alright, so, without further ado, here's an introduction to my WIP, Marie/Elise ! This was a very old WIP intro graphic I made back when I was introducing this WIP the first time around on Tumblr. A lot has changed since then. Including what I want the design to look like. I'll make a new one soon! The story follows Adrian White after he moves to the affluent and gated town of Blackwood. All he wants is a fresh start - to leave his turbulent pa

👑 Diadem of Sorrows 👑 The diadem was nothing short of breathtaking. So smooth were its tendrils of gold, so warmly they glinted under the light of her torch, that for a moment she was hypnotized by the sight, her eyes honing in on the green jewel that was the centerpiece. It was exactly as she had seen it in the artist's sketch - and so lucky she had been, to catch such a priceless piece before it had been thrown out by the museum as nothing more than a worthless fake. But it hadn't been a fake, had it?   A cool chill settled into her skin, as though a cold breeze were caressing her. Surely, not everything had been true, but she'd been correct in guessing that the object itself existed. The other things - the warnings... No, they couldn't possibly be real. A folk tale, or an urban legend, perhaps. People back then were superstitious. She twirled the crown in her hands. A magnificent feat, for a society thought to be so primitive - delicate work, as though done by a ma

June 2021 Writing Update June is over, and boy, did it feel long . Between working on my academic project and writing here and there for Marie/Elise , my murder mystery novel, I feel like I did so much in a relatively short amount of time. It's no wonder that I hit a bit of a wall in the past week, feeling that burnout so strongly that I had to take some time off from my phone and computer.  This June, I had a writing goal that was spurred on by the fact that I'd written about 11,000 words for Marie/Elise back in May, and I'd basically decided that I was on such a roll that I wanted to see if I could make a reasonable goal for myself for the month of June while working on my academic project, which I knew would take up most of my time. I'd also completely revamped the plot, and I was so excited that the motivation for that really spurred me to continue writing and making time for that every night. Adding about 20,000 words in the course of the month seemed feasible, so