Demon slayers, forbidden love, and release day!

We honestly thought writing a fast-paced novella would be a quick project. The premise for Encircle - the first of the Celestial Descent Series - came from a reader prompt years ago for a fanfic. We wrote the story and posted it on Ao3 and Wattpad, where it was met with a positive response. So when we decided to publish it, we thought, How hard could it be? A little editing, a little refinement, and these demon slayers would be ready for the world, right?

Not exactly. The original draft didn't have the gripping tension or the deep character development this world required. The action felt flat, the villain lacked teeth, and the stakes just weren't high enough. We knew we couldn't just hit publish... we had to make it bleed, and we had to make it beautiful.

Many parts needed to be re-written. Chapters needed to be added to create the world we envisioned. And a whole lot of editing was required to refine the prose and the diction.

In the end, the word count went up from 30K words to just over 38K. Plus, we divided up the chapters for better pacing and went from four chapters to seventeen.

We also decided to release a Spanish version. Seemed like a great idea at the time. But that meant even more work:

• Translating, editing, prose, diction... x2
• New cover design with different dimensions (more pages). The Spanish version has 20 more pages!
• Setting up a separate product on KDP
• Doubling our marketing efforts

Looking back now, it's hard to believe this is the same story we started with.

And because publishing books apparently also means becoming amateur graphic designers, we couldn't resist adding a few bonus features. We created some fun in-world artifacts and tucked them into the book. One before the story... and one after it.

And of course... the book cover needed to meet the standard of the story we were building. After many iterations with our designer, we can't be happier with how this turned out:

The effort it took probably took as long as a new story from scratch. It was not the 'path' we envisioned, but... this is the 'price' we pay for the end-product we demand from ourselves.

If you're looking for an action-packed romantasy with unforgettable characters and a world you'll want to disappear into, we'd love for you to give it a try.

I have this thing about the stories I stand behind: I write stories for them to be enjoyed more than once. Pair this with the incredibly high standards of my partner in crime, C.C. Towers, and you have one special project that we can truly stand behind.

Thank you for following this journey with us. It means the world to have you here. We hope you enjoy Encircle as much as we loved bringing it back to life.

With gratitude,

❤️JJ

The Celestial Descent Series begins with 'Encircle' is now available on Amazon KDP and bookstores:

• English Version: Learn more
• Spanish Version: Coming on Sept 15th, 2026