Gryphon Knight Atoned Frontispiece

When a Book Nears Completion- January 23, 2026

Dear Reader,

It's always nice when a book nears completion. It feels a lot like stepping into the light after traversing a long, dark tunnel. Gryphon Knight Atoned has moved to the entrance of the cave and stands looking out at the wide world beyond. The story has been written, rewritten, revised, read-through, edited and proofread.

The thing is, the wide world is much harsher than the dark tunnel. So the story needs to be presentable when it steps into the brightness of day. Carrying around the dust and grime of the cave won't endear people to its message.

Marchand D'Aragon as a gryphon

I must write the story description, create videos, get the audio files, and create quote cards. This story needs all the bells and whistles to make it speak to noble dark fantasy story lovers wherever they are, and these lovely bits must adorn the Druid Dominion Miniseries.

The muse wants more than I can do all at once, but patience has never been her thing. She's a bit of a tiger after all, but I will do my best to create all the things she demands.

If all the crazy behind-the-scenes shenanigans ruin the fantasy for you, I apologize. I should have written about all of that this way:

"Long ago, when tigers smoked, Ophelia Kee chain-smoked, and the dream consisted only of remnant wisps from a slow-burning pipe packed too tight in a frenzy to expand the story once more."

And now a word from our sponsor, Ophelia Kee.

Shameless Self Promotion

Thread Quote Card

Thread, the entry point into the world of the dream.

Unraveling chaos with each tattered thread

A thousand years ago, chaos escaped into the dream. By 2016, shadowy evil forces using madness were wreaking havoc on the balance of magic, and erasing necessary parts of an ancient prophecy. In danger of losing its magic, the dream attempts to use broken pieces and replacement parts to weave a new tapestry. Choosing the right building blocks isn’t easy.

In this exhilarating prequel tale, meet Luke and Eli, two characters with fascinating pasts and complicated secrets, before they become the king and queen the dream needs them to be. Luke Mendez is a retired military man. Having anxiety, he spies the beautiful girl next door, but then struggles to introduce himself. Eli Miller, the high school history teacher, worked tirelessly for years to break free from a terrible relationship. She moved to Tyler to start over.

Thread is the story of a lonely direwolf shifter and a lone tiger shifter in a time before the two of them meet each other. It sets the stage for A Pack Forms, an enthralling urban fantasy with a paranormal romance tale in the epic Draoithe Saga by Ophelia Kee. If you enjoy the story before the story, Thread is your free introduction to a new series.

Welcome to the dream…

Behind the Scenes

Tiger at Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day around the corner, I suppose I should consider some sort of marketing or promotional campaign... but I'm not. I would rather continue my efforts to publish the backlog of manuscripts.

I've bemoaned my lack of funds and whined about how difficult marketing is for years. They say if you want different results; you have to do things differently. They also say that if you want better results, remain consistent. I have done them all with the limited funds I've had available. The results remained the same.

I'm building the dream, tired of wrestling with marketing advice, and focused on telling the story. It came to my attention: the "if I build it, they will come" approach doesn't actually work to sell books, but maybe I'm not really selling books. I'm selling the dream, and not everyone will enjoy it as I have. That means I need to finish it in my lifetime, under the constraints I live with, so it may stand as a beacon for those few who wish to escape.

Tiger business person

Will I give up writing? Never. Will I quit publishing? Not likely. Will I ever spend time or money on marketing? Probably not unless the day job ends, and I have time to learn what I'm doing.

Some people are comfortable handing money to other people to run ads or craft paid email marketing promotions. I don't pay for things I don't understand. And what I've learned so far with what little money I have wasted is that I do not know enough about how to market effectively.

If you found the dream through any of my unhelpful attempts at marketing and promotion, then I shall claim the victory and lift my mug to the valiant dead, the corpses of all my half-assed attempts to spread awareness of the Draoithe Saga. Thank you for your continued support of my creative efforts. I won't let you down. Now where did I leave that pipe?

5 ways to help an author poster

I need to get back to creating video extras. Leave your comments and questions. I love to hear from you. If you found this post worthy, please feel free to share it. If you are listening on YouTube, don't forget to like and subscribe for more original stories and audio adventures! Special thanks to @OkMusicWriters for Enter The Dream. Thank you for stepping into the dream once more. I hope you have a lovely weekend and will discover a grand story. Please remember when you read, be kind and leave your reviews. Until my next post, welcome to the dream…

Be Careful!

Happy Reading,

Bye-Bye,

Ophelia Kee

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