Today I went over Chapter 29 of The Forgotten Bruja for another structural edit, and something has officially shifted.

Camille is still not in the story.

I know. I know.

But the hill is.

Up until this point, Hallowthorn Hill has mostly been something Isadora has read about. Something she has researched, questioned, and tried to understand through old documents, stories, and the pieces of history her mother left behind.

In Chapter 29, that changes.

The hill stops being something Isadora reads about and becomes something she experiences.

And let me tell you, I was squeezing my stomach the entire time I was reading.

That is exactly the kind of dread I love.

It is not necessarily the loud kind. There is no monster jumping out from behind the bushes yelling, BOO! Instead, it is that quiet little moment where something happens, and you think, Wait. Is that what I think it is?

Then logic comes swooping in.

No.

Of course not.

There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for that.

Right?

That back-and-forth is one of my favorite things to experience as a reader because it carries me from one sentence to the next. I want to know if my suspicion is right. I want another clue. Then I want the story to convince me I imagined the clue in the first place.

That is the space Chapter 29 is starting to live in.

Is the writing completely polished yet?

Absolutely not.

There is still some clunkiness I will have to deal with during another pass, but that is not what this edit is for.

Right now, I am doing what I have started calling my does-it-make-sense pass.

Does the chapter logically follow what came before it?

Do the character’s decisions make sense?

Does the emotional progression work?

Does the tension carry me forward?

Am I planting enough information for what happens later without standing in the middle of the page screaming, LOOK! THIS IS IMPORTANT! REMEMBER THIS!

Because apparently that last one is a problem I have.

The more I revise The Forgotten Bruja, the more I realize I have to keep pulling myself back.

I know how this story ends.

I know what the hill is doing.

I know what Isadora is becoming.

I know where every strange little thing is eventually leading.

Isadora does not.

And neither should the reader.

That sounds obvious until you are the person writing the story and you are so excited about everything coming that you start sprinkling answers everywhere like confetti.

I have had to remove things because they revealed too much too early. I have softened moments. Delayed explanations. Changed observations that made Isadora sound like she understood something she absolutely should not understand yet.

Because horror needs room to breathe.

Especially this kind of horror.

I want the truth to come in small dosages, like medicine measured into a spoonful of syrup.

Just enough.

Then another dose.

Then another.

Until suddenly the reader realizes they have swallowed the whole thing.

And I am impatient.

That is probably one of the funniest things about writing a slow-burn gothic horror novel. I chose a genre that requires restraint when restraint is sometimes the exact thing I do not want to practice.

I want to show you the creepy thing.

I want to explain why the creepy thing matters.

I want to tell you what that other creepy thing from ten chapters ago means too.

No, Joa.

Put it back.

Thankfully, revision exists to save me from myself.

That is what I am enjoying about these structural passes. I am not trying to make every sentence beautiful yet. I am looking at the bones of the story.

Does it stand?

Does it move?

Does it make me feel something?

Chapter 29 does.

And more importantly, something has changed now that Isadora has experienced Hallowthorn Hill for herself.

She can still rationalize.

She can still question what she saw.

She can still tell herself there must be another explanation.

But there are some things you cannot unread.

And there are some things you cannot unsee.

The hill is no longer just history.

It has entered the story.

And now Isadora has to decide what she is going to do with that.

Want to Be Part of The Forgotten Bruja Before Release Day?

The Forgotten Bruja officially comes out April 27, 2027, but there is still a whole lot happening between now and then, and I would love to bring some of you along for the ride.

Want to be a beta reader?
Beta readers get an earlier look at the manuscript and help me understand how the story is landing before the book reaches its final form. I am especially looking for feedback on things like pacing, character development, confusing moments, emotional impact, and whether all that slow-building dread is actually doing what I think it is doing.

Want to join the cover reveal team?
If you love talking about books online, you can help me give The Forgotten Bruja its first big introduction to the world. Cover reveal team members will get the cover ahead of the public reveal along with graphics and information they can use to share it on social media when reveal day arrives.

Want an ARC?
ARC readers receive an Advance Reader Copy closer to publication so they can read The Forgotten Bruja before its April 27, 2027 release. If you enjoy gothic horror, complicated families, ancestral magic, buried histories, slow-burning dread, and women being asked to carry things they never volunteered to inherit…this one might be for you. ARC readers can help an indie book tremendously by sharing honest reviews and talking about the book before and around release.

Not ready to commit to any of that? Join my newsletter.
That is the easiest way to stay in the know. You will get writing updates, cover reveal news, ARC announcements, release information, behind-the-scenes peeks, and all the other little things happening as The Forgotten Bruja makes its way from my laptop into your hands.

Whether you want to help shape the story, reveal its face to the world, read it before everyone else, or simply watch this strange little book grow from the sidelines, there is a place for you.

Come join me. The hill is waking up, and April 27, 2027 will be here before we know it.