ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ

Hello all and welcome to my yearly return to ONC2023 where I never manage to finish a single project 🤣 I'll keep this snappy cus' I know ya'll got plenty of writing to do, but welcome to Moonchild!

I am actually super excited to write this story and actually think it might be one I keep up with this year! The blurb is still under construction, so if you are confused don't worry, cus so am I!

My plot is as stable as a castle made of lime jell-o, so while I can't totally promise what you may encounter from this point on I'll share what I do know:

• This story is inspired by the Zodiac and respun as stories taken the form of gods and giving way to all creatures or myth and paranormal. So while there will be no mention of the Zodiac from this point on you will instead meet "the Ecliptic" and the 12 (or 13) gods that fall beneath it. While I won't spell out which Zodiac are which I'm eager to see you all play along as we unravel this pantheon together. I'll give you one to start Leo will be known as The Beast and be the patron god of werewolves and other shifters. Now only got 11 more to go!

• The second prompt I am using for inspiration is #15 (posted below). This prompt had sparked my interest but I really didn't know what to do with it at first. Then someone shouted "POLYAMOROUS LESBIANS" in the comment section and I was sold. For anyone apart of that comment thread, this ones for you ✌️

• This story is going to touch into a lot of genres and themes. While I am calling it mostly paranormal it's also dystopian, fantasty and heck it's even a murder mystery. Since I am clearly incapable of pinning down a genre you can bet that the characters themselves have a lot going on too so be prepared for themes of romance, grief, guilt, redemption, and a good ol' end of days. Now doesn't that sound fun?

• Lastly, this story will follow three characters. Lydie Abbott (a woman seeking redemption after years under the thumb of a dark and manipulative force known as the medicine man), Maybell or Mae Dupont (a girl trying to piece her life back together after a near death experience), and Moonchild (a god-to-be born unsure of their purpose and trying to navigate an unknown path). Their lives will twist and turn as they come together to uncover secrets that have been effecting all their lives.

Welp I can't think of anything else to say so with that scram! Go on, be free, I release you from your cage. Maybe read my book a bit, or don't, totally your call.

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Alrighty, so now that we've established that I have zero idea what i'm doing save for that I plan to emotionally traumatize you all, I just also wanted to give a heads up that this is still a very, very, very rough draft. There may be a few spelling mistakes and characters names may be subjected to change in later copies depending on how much I feel like screwing with you guys. So, if you hit a point where you catch some pretty dramatic errors feel free to point them out, don't worry, my dark heart can definitely handle it.

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| warning |

✨ contains some foul language, graphic scenes, descriptions of near death experiences, discrimination, hate towards lgbtq relationships and characters, themes of loss, and (fictional) imposed religious beliefs ✨

As the writer I recognize that some themes may be triggering for my readers so I will put disclaimers at the start of chapters. If you spot a theme that may be triggering for others and I have not listed please let me know.

It is important to note however that will not mature I would recommend this story be read by those at least 15/16+ as it will generally be a darker story.

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inspired by prompts:

79. Yᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴛᴛᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ Zᴏᴅɪᴀᴄs. Wʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ Zᴏᴅɪᴀᴄ ɪs ᴍʏsᴛᴇʀɪᴏᴜsʟʏ ᴋɪʟʟᴇᴅ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪʀsᴛ ᴏɴᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ sᴜsᴘᴇᴄᴛs. Fᴏʀᴄᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴜɴ, ᴀᴠᴏɪᴅɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ Zᴏᴅɪᴀᴄs ᴘʀᴏᴠᴇ ᴅɪғғɪᴄᴜʟᴛ. Bᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ғɪɴᴅ ᴇᴠɪᴅᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴀᴛ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ Zᴏᴅɪᴀᴄ ᴋɪʟʟᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀs, ᴡɪʟʟ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴏʀ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴋɪʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ?

15. Tʜʀᴇᴇ ᴡᴏᴍᴇɴ. Tʜʀᴇᴇ sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛs. Tʜʀᴇᴇ ᴛᴀɴɢʟᴇᴅ ʟɪᴠᴇs.

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There are worlds beyond our own. One above and one within. Places where stories become gods and their children are abandoned in the in-between.

For 11 years, Lydie Abbott has been followed by snakes. She's also been framed for murder by a pantheon of storied gods, chased by mobs crying witchcraft in the streets, and stalked by monstrosities made of stardust. And yet it always comes back to the snakes. She never considered that that is what would be the biggest drawback of making a dark deal with a fallen god.

Twelve lives in twelve years. That was the agreement she made with the Medicine Man the night she fled from the constellations. The night the Ecliptic known as the Wishgranter was murdered and Lydie was the one holding the poison goblet. The night she lost all hope in the gods that raised her and the mortals that refused to accept her. She doesn't know what she gave to the Medicine Man in exchange for revenge against the Ecliptic, but she knows that without meeting the love of her life she wouldn't have stopped killing when she did. And without the death of her wife she wouldn't have left it all behind.

Now all Lydie wants is to retire and redeem herself for the life of darkness she lived before. That was what Gastown was supposed to be; a haven for demi-humans and mythical creatures lost between worlds. But trouble just seems to follow her like a slithering serpent, as the land she's built for herself is taken from underneath her feet by a devout and jaded man willing to do anything to uphold his beliefs.

Trapped from all sides, a kind-hearted girl named Mae convinces Lydie to stop running and face her past. To clear her name once and for all and uncover who truly killed the Wishgranter all those years ago. Of course, neither one of them knew this would mean summoning an Ecliptic to earth; a haunting and unearthly creature known as Moonchild.

The murder of a god gone unsolved, a pact made with a harpenger of the apocalypse, and a town built on superstition on the verge of collapsing. Welcome mortals, to Moonchild.

©2017 Alexandra Katherine Pinto

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying form without written permission of the author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations embodied in the critical articles or reviews and pages where permission is specifically granted by the publisher or author. This book may not be translated, re-posted or edited in any way, shape or form.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Yeah yeah, you've heard it all before, now, on to the Zodiac!