Dear Writing Diary Entry #24

After 14 Years, I’m Finally Published! + An Excerpt from My New Fantasy Short Story

January 8th, 2025

In this entry, I discuss my recent publication and launch of my debut fantasy short story LAST MASQUERADE AT THE CAROUSEL HOUSE. I will also include a special exclusive excerpt from my story at the end.

*Final Reminder: If you would like to read and review a free advanced copy of my debut fantasy THE FATED, you can apply here. Those selected to receive an advanced copy will also receive a free copy of the short story I’ll be discussing in my diary entry below along with some fun graphic art I made for those who leave reviews.

Dear Writing Diary,

It’s officially 2025! After months of preparation in 2024, I’m thrilled to be kicking off the new year by publishing my fantasy short story LAST MASQUERADE AT THE CAROUSEL HOUSE! It is available on Amazon now for a limited time at a reduced price of $0.99 (and live on Goodreads), however, I will be uploading it to other ebook platforms soon. To recap, this short story can be described as follows:

I. What is THE LAST MASQUERADE About?

Chloe Gong’s These Violent Delights meets Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death in this short dark fantasy tale about a young woman who must fight to survive when she attends a masquerade only to learn the devilishly handsome sorcerer behind the invitations has vicious plans for his guests.

Yuina Lun is trapped by her own life. Forced by her uncle into a miserable engagement with a controlling fiancé, she is looking for a night of blissful distractions when they attend the masquerade at the Carousel House. Built by Kiro Raidenn, the most powerful sorcerer on the continent, the house is a revolving masterpiece of lavish architecture and dazzling magic. Even more captivating is Raidenn himself, who Yuina can’t help but be attracted to despite the aura of mystery and danger that surrounds him.

Yet as the night carries on, the guests begin acting strangely before succumbing to disturbing and deadly enchantments until Yuina confronts Raidenn in order to save the survivors as well as herself. But first she must uncover a secret about her own nature and past that holds the key to her salvation…and ultimately her freedom (See an excerpt of this short story below).

II. The LAST MASQUERADE’S Launch & Facing Rejection

Over the past few days I’ve had so much fun launching this story. I created and shared a Spotify playlist full of songs that I listened to when writing this story back in 2023. In the coming days, on my social media platforms, I plan to post and share behind-the-scenes glimpses of my creative process for designing the cover of this story (I’m excited to discuss this process further in-depth in a later Dear Writing Diary entry as well!).

One particularly touching milestone for me was when the LAST MASQUERADE ranked as the #1 New Release of fantasy short stories on Amazon:

I’m well aware these rankings can change within seconds, but seeing that wonderful orange badge below the title made me so happy. After all, I once believed this story—like all my other works—might never be shared with the world. I wrote this back in 2023 in the hopes it would be included in an anthology for a small publisher, but the story was rejected both from that press and another I submitted it to. At the time, the prospects for my other fantasy novels didn’t look very hopeful either (one hadn’t sold on submission to publishers and the other never made it to submission at all before I parted ways with my agent). As a result, I was very discouraged and often questioned the value of my writing and doubted I would ever get published.

I’m immensely glad I pushed through though, so that I could connect with readers and hear how they enjoyed this dark fantasy short story I once thought would I would never be able to publish. To my delight, some readers even said they wished this story could be expanded into a novella or full novel because they wanted to experience the worldbuilding and romance for a little longer. Since there are many elements of this short story that are similar to the tone and writing of my debut fantasy novel THE FATED that will be published in February, I’m hoping readers will resonate with it as well. Like THE LAST MASQUERADE, the novel takes place in a luxurious setting, has elements of both mystery and magic, and contains a sweeping love story.

Here's to seeing what writing adventures this new year holds.
-K

P.S. For whoever’s reading this entry, I have enclosed an excerpt of the short story in case it piques your interest.

III. Excerpt from THE LAST MASQUERADE AT THE CAROUSEL HOUSE

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When people recall the night of the last masquerade at the Carousel House, they remember the flames. Orange tongues of fire that devoured the curtains and columns bleeding with melting paint before swallowing the structure like an insatiable beast. They remember the screams too, cries that pierced the night followed by sirens of the fire brigades and ambulances too late rushing towards where the house lay on the outskirts of Korin City.

But whenever I think back to that night, the first thing I recall is the music.

The jazz notes softly wafted on the chill air through the automobile window as we veered up the winding lane, surrounded on either side by banyan trees. Trees whose branches stretched down towards us like skeletal hands, descending close enough to scrape against the roof of the automobile and sending my uncle cursing at the driver as if it was his fault.

Perhaps I remember the music so vividly because the notes were a welcome reprieve from the silence stretching between myself and Tinxu, my fiancé, over the course of the drive up to this point. He was my fiancé in name and status only, considering he never once pretended he loved me, and I had voiced multiple times how much I despised him in return. The only reason we were marrying after all was so he could gain the prestige of my family’s reputation while I—along with my uncle—could secure the most lavish of futures. A lavishness I couldn’t care less about and yet my uncle prized beyond everything else, even my own happiness.

I remember watching the twisted trunks of the banyans outlined by moonlight as we sped past and wondering what would happen if I raced out of the automobile towards them. Would their branches shield me from my uncle’s wrath and Tinxu’s searching gaze long enough for me to escape? Or would the ancient trees wake to life as they once did and drag me beneath their roots until I screamed no more?

But then the banyans vanished as we made one final turn and the house itself rose into view, vanquishing all other thoughts in my mind.

“A damned abomination if I’ve ever seen one,” my uncle grumbled from the front seat, and like always, I disagreed with him.

“A masterpiece, you mean,” I said, drinking in the sight of the five stories of windows and open doorways like the finest champagne.

Because just as all the stories had claimed, the Carousel House was a true masterpiece. Its ivory walls and gilded columns rose as tall and majestic as those of any palace before disappearing beneath pointed eaves with statues of dragons and phoenixes at the corners. Most significant was the feature that had given the house its name—that is, the house revolved. Not at a dangerous or even dizzying pace, of course. But still, at a speed that allowed us as well as any other occupants of the automobiles driving up the lane to view the masquerade, already in full swing, through the windows from every angle.

“Your uncle is right,” Tinxu echoed beside me. “It’s an abomination.”

But even as the words left his mouth, I spotted the familiar hunger that tended to surface in his eyes whenever he saw something he wanted but didn’t have. Yet.

After all, he had once given me the same look before we were engaged.

In that moment, I was tempted to ask both my fiancé and uncle why we had bothered attending the masquerade in the first place if they found the architecture so offensive. But I already knew the answer.

No one who received an invitation to the Carousel House refused.

The automobile halted before a stone archway framing a marble staircase which led to the house. To both my uncle’s and Tinxu’s annoyance, I made a point not to wait for either of them before striding towards the entrance.

Unlike the harsh light that too often illuminated so many places in Korin City, orange and turquoise lanterns painted the stairs and guests in warm glows of golds and blues. The smell of perfume and jasmine permeated the air. Past the rustling of the trees from the wind, the music I first heard on the drive rose in volume with every step until I could recognize the rasp of an erhu and strum of a jazz bass drifting down towards me.

It was about this time I recall first feeling his eyes on me, a sensation I can only describe as an uncomfortable warmth creeping along my face and neck, as if someone was standing too close although no one was around me.

Instinct sent my head snapping up until my eyes landed on the silhouette of a man standing in a window on the third floor. A midnight blue tuxedo clung to his tall frame, and his hair was ash white despite the fact his stature and jawline spoke of a man in his twenties or perhaps thirties. Like the other guests mingling and dancing past the windows, he wore a mask, and yet unlike the others, no smile softened his lips as he stared down at me.

Then without warning, he turned and disappeared from sight, leaving me shivering from the absence of his gaze just as Tinxu and my uncle reached me, their faces bearing matching expressions of disapproval at my independent exit from the automobile earlier.

“Leave my side again without my permission, and you will regret it,” Tinxu hissed, wrapping my right arm around his almost painfully. “We wouldn’t want people to think we aren’t engaged now, would we?”

“Of course not,” I said through gritted teeth, all too aware of my uncle’s glare piercing into my back. “I’m certain your reputation would never recover from the tragedy.”

Tinxu’s grip on my arm tightened, but I was saved from another reprimand when a couple nodded at us in greeting as they passed by, their happy smiles and affection on their faces so at odds with the forced civility on Tinxu’s and mine. It was in times like these when I felt the most trapped, the most at war with my own life. The ache of helplessness in my chest often took on a sharpness that twisted deeper, unleashing a burning sensation that pulsed throughout my body like a current of electricity. A burn that I often feared might one day erupt into a fire that engulfed everything around me.

My mother had possessed magic after all. A trait that, to my uncle’s disappointment and relief, I had never seemed to inherit. Disappointment because he would have been thrilled if I had the ability to magically conjure up gold with a snap of my fingertips. And relief because he knew all too well how I might have killed him during one of our many fights had I possessed the power to fling lightning from my palms.

“Your masks,” a smooth voice said, and I glanced to my right at the butler standing at the top of the stairs.

“I’m not wearing one of those ridiculous things,” my uncle snapped when the butler held out a mask covered with the carved ears and nose of a gray wolf, its lips twisted in a snarl revealing jagged teeth.

“Please, sir, it’s all in good fun,” the butler insisted. “Besides, Lord Raidenn personally designed each mask for his guests. Refusing to wear the one he created for you would be the greatest insult you could possibly—”

“Alright, alright, fine, I’ll accept the damned thing,” my uncle growled, ripping the mask from the other man’s hand and donning it in one impatient motion.

The butler smiled before turning to Tinxu and handing him a mask with green scales like those of a snake. How fitting.

“Here is yours, miss.” The butler passed me a mask embellished with gold roses. Their delicately carved petals boldly contrasted with the wickedly curved thorns etched along the edges.

Just as Tinxu’s mask encapsulated his personality, so had mine. After all, my uncle once remarked I was as pretty as a flower—until I opened my mouth and unleashed my sharp tongue. Even more surprisingly—or disturbingly, I suppose I can now say looking back—the mask’s size and shape both perfectly fitted my face, being neither too tight nor too loose. Within seconds, I had almost forgotten I was wearing a mask at all.

“Watch your step, please,” the butler instructed, ushering us through one of the house’s doorways while the structure continued swiveling like a carousel—albeit at a much slower pace.

The jazz music and opulent surroundings washed over our senses like the most intoxicating plume of opium smoke. Chandeliers hung from nearly every open space in the ceiling, the thousands of tiny crystals inside reflecting myriads of colors as they swayed with the house’s movements. Mirrors framed with diamonds covered the walls while lacquered furniture spanned the marble floors.

But even the most extravagant material elements were nothing compared to its magic.

*Read the rest of the story here on Amazon for only $0.99 for a limited time.

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P.P.S. Whoever’s reading this, if you’ve enjoyed these glimpses into my writing life, could you please hit the subscribe button? I would love to share more of my writing journey with you in the future. :)