Month: October 2022

Happy Love Your Editor Day, Sam!

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

October 31 is Love Your Editor Day at The Wild Rose Press. My editor, Samantha Keating, is the reason why I even had a chance. I owe her so much. She has officially been my editor since August 2022, but I have been in contact with her since November 2021. 

When I was ready to query Bondwitch, The Wild Rose Press was my first choice publisher. When you query TWRP, you send your query to a general query email, so I didn’t know who exactly would be reading my query. Thirteen days after I sent my query I received an email from Samantha requesting the first three chapters! 

A little over two weeks after that, Samantha responded with a very detailed and helpful critique on what skills and style TWRP expects, which I did not quite meet. She explained that to improve my story to WRP standards would require a rewrite, so she couldn’t accept my full manuscript. She encouraged me to keep writing and not give up.

As more rejections came in from other publishers, and I had conversations with my fellow writers, I learned that Samantha’s helpful critique was a rare gem. I also learned that the suggestions she made to improve my writing weren’t unique to TWRP. Almost all publishers today want the same thing: show, don’t tell. I still really wanted to get a second chance with TWRP, so I got to work rewriting Bondwitch with the suggested improvements.

It took me four months to fix my manuscript. When it was ready, I emailed Samantha directly, and asked if TWRP allowed resubmissions. She responded that they normally don’t, but she was interested in finding the answer to a cliffhanger scene in chapter 2. She invited me to resubmit the first three chapters, and she would take a look at my improvements. Two weeks after that, Samantha requested the full manuscript!

I didn’t hear anything for three months – which, I understand, is pretty standard for a full manuscript request. Then, on my wedding anniversary, I was sitting at a table in Cafe Orleans, Disneyland when my phone alerted me to an email from Samantha. My heart rate accelerated tenfold. I looked across the table at my husband. “I’m scared to read it.”

“Just open it!” he said.

I clicked on the notification, read the first few lines of the email, and screamed in the middle of a Disney restaurant. Samantha had finished my story, and was pushing it forward to the managing editor, who has the final say. 

A week after that, Samantha emailed me that Bondwitch was being accepted by TWRP, and the official contract would be sent to me within twenty-four hours. She also told me that she would be my editor. Once again, I was in a public place when this email came through. This time, I was in a hotel lobby for a work retreat, so I couldn’t scream out loud, but I definitely teared up.

Samantha and I are currently knee deep in editing, and I love working with her. Her style of editing is to approach it from a teaching angle. For the content editing, she made comments for the first one hundred pages with the goal that at that point I would have learned from her comments enough that I can find and fix the rest on my own. At first I was nervous about that. I didn’t think I could do it. I thought I would need her to hold my hand the whole time. But she knew exactly what she was doing – and that’s why she’s the editor! I’m three chapters beyond where Samantha stopped making comments, and I can “hear” her in my head pointing stuff out as I read over my words.

I owe this wonderful journey to Samantha. She went above and beyond by giving me detailed feedback long before she was my official editor. She believed in me and gave me a second chance. And she is an amazing teacher. 

Happy Love Your Editor Day, Sam. I’m so grateful you are my editor. I look forward to our continued partnership.

Favorite Fictional Halloweens Part 3

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Unlike Harry Potter and Pretty Little Liars, my final fictional Halloween is not a larger series where Halloween has a small highlight. This one – and best one – is a movie whose plot surrounds Halloween: Hocus Pocus.

Hocus Pocus has everything I love about Halloween: fun costumes, witches, magic, trick-or-treating, and parties. 

I’m sure you know this story very well, but let’s do a quick summary. Max and his family move to Salem, Massachusetts just before Halloween. Max isn’t into Halloween, but gets roped into taking his younger sister trick-or-treating. In an effort to impress his crush, Max shrugs off his dislike for the holiday and disbelief in the town’s legend about three cursed witches, and lights the fabled black flame candle; bringing back the very witches that are meant to be a story for tourism. 

And here we have some of our favorite Halloween witches that have inspired countless trick-or-treating,  party, and cosplay costumes: Winifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson. These three sisters stay young by sucking the life out of children, and they have their eyes on Max’s sister Dani. On the surface, this is a really creepy and evil plot, but the delivery is so comedic, that the story can be enjoyed by all ages.

Throughout the rest of the movie we follow Max, Dani, and Allison (Max’s crush) as they try to evade the Sanderson Sisters while figuring out how to get rid of them. They get help from a black cat named Binx (who is really a human cursed by the Sanderson sisters) and a zombie named Billy. They sneak into the school, crash the party their parents are at, and do lots of running in the woods. There is also the constant hilarious reminder that Max is a virgin. As a child, I never noticed that. As an adult I find it hilarious and cringe at the same time. And as a mother, I pray my children don’t ask me what that means for several more years. 

I want to dissect a few scenes that were inspired by historical beliefs about witches. 

First is the scene where the Sanderson Sisters are hailed by a man wearing a devil costume. In the time of the witch trials, it was believed that witches made a pact with the real devil. Lucifer/Satan/The devil was a very real fear back then. Christians believed him to exist in the flesh, and that he could physically harm them. Christians believed that witches signed their name in a real book and that the devil would visit them and feed from them (a large mole indicated that was where the devil sucked, like a nipple). Witches were the devil’s bride the way nuns were Christ’s bride. 

To make this scene more tame, the Sanderson Sisters bow to the fake devil and he invites them inside. The man’s marriage is clearly on the rocks, so he enjoys their attention, thinking he’s playing pretend. His wife arrives and kicks them out. But since the Sanderson Sisters believed this man to be the real devil, it goes without saying that in the Hocus Pocus world, the devil is real.

Throughout the movie, Allison runs around with a container of salt, believing it will protect them from the witches. Salt has always been used to ward off evil throughout history. 

In the end, Max sacrifices himself to save Dani. He drinks the potion that allows the Sanderson Sisters to suck his life force out. Luckily for him, the sun rises before Winifred can finish, and she and her sisters turn to stone and explode into dust.

Hocus Pocus is almost 30 years old, and it remains a beloved Halloween tradition, and I imagine it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Favorite Fictional Halloweens Part 2

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

On Monday I covered a Halloween highlight from a book/movie. Today I’ll be covering my favorite Halloween special from a TV show.

Pretty Little Liars

Unlike the Harry Potter book series and movie adaptations, the Pretty Little Liars book series and TV show are not close enough to do a comparison. So, I will only discuss the TV show for this particular post. Specifically Season 2 Episode 13: “The First Secret.” This episode is the Halloween special for season 2. But before we dive deeper, a quick summary of the series for those who have never seen it.

Pretty Little Liars is about four teenage girls dealing with the disappearance of their best friend and leader, Alison DiLarentis. Each young woman has at least one scandalous secrets that only Alison knows. A year after Alison’s disappearance, they start receiving notes, text messages, and emails from an anonymous person (“A”) who knows the same secrets Alison does. The girls spend episode after episode trying to figure out who A is, prevent their secrets from spreading, and trying to figure out what happened to Alison. 

“The First Secret” is unique because it is a prequel to the pilot episode. It’s also entirely from Alison’s point of view. Up until this episode, any scene with Alison was a memory that belonged to Aria, Spencer, Emily, or Hannah. This episode holds information the four main characters don’t know. 

It’s Halloween, and the five main characters are going to a high school costume party. Even as a grown woman in her thirties, I still love dressing up for Halloween. Every year my husband and I match. Alison dresses up as Lady Gaga, Hanna as Britney Spears, Emily as Pocahantas, Spencer as Mary Queen of Scots, and Aria as a witch. Prior to Halloween day – and the party – Alison gives viewers a glimpse of two important details: the beginning of her issues with Jenna, and the knowledge that A existed long before Alison disappeared. 

Jenna’s family moved in just before Halloween, and she is invited to the Halloween party. She is buying a Lady Gaga costume, and Alison tells her not to because that’s who she is going as. Jenna says she’ll think about it, but “disobeys” Alison anyway. Alison overlooks this problem and offers Jenna her friendship and promises popularity. Jenna declines, making Alison angry. And the rivalry between the two begins – which we know will “end” with Alison setting off some sort of firework that causes Jenna to go blind. 

A was tormenting Alison long before they targeted Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily. In this episode, Alison gets a text from a blocked number that says, “I’m watching you. – A” During the party she gets a text that says, “Dying to know who I am? You’ll soon find out. – A” 

In between the two texts, Alison plays a prank on her girlfriends that goes too well. She texts them that she’s in trouble and needs their help. The girls go running to help her in a creepy house that had been highlighted earlier in the episode. They find Alison who claims someone locked her in there under threat of death. In an attempt to get cell phone service, they get separated from Alison, who gets locked in the room with a masked man. Alison and the man fight. Alison becomes confused as the man is fighting harder than he is “supposed to.” When Alison and the girls meet up again, she tells them it was a prank and the masked aggressor was their classmate Noel Kahn.

When they return to the party, Noel apologizes for not being able to make it to the prank. Alison then realizes that whoever fought her in the house was actually fighting her. This leads the viewer to believe that whoever attacked Alison in the house is A. 


The reason why I love this episode and added it to my series of favorite fictional Halloweens is first, and foremost, the costumes. I love how much effort the costume designers put into these special episodes in Pretty Little Liars, and they did not disappoint for this one. The second reason is the trope of the prankster becoming the one pranked. While Alison did succeed in scaring her friends, she also received her own fright from A and other classmates who despised her. Alison definitely reminds viewers to be careful who you harm, you never know who will bite back. 

Check back on Friday for part 3 of my favorite fictional Halloweens!

Favorite Fictional Halloweens Part 1

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Halloween is the best holiday ever. From cutesy blow-up decorations to haunted houses, almost everyone’s interests can be met. My home decorations are themed around traditional Halloween characters: witches, ghosts, bats, and black cats mixed in with my Harry Potter obsession. (You can watch a virtual tour on tiktok here.)

Halloween specials on TV shows, highlighting Halloween in books, and full length movies all about Halloween complete my entertainment for October each year. So, I would like to share with you my favorite fictional Halloweens.

First: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Chapter 10 Halloween in the Sorcerer’s Stone is the best Halloween in the Harry Potter series. 

Let’s start with the decorations. A thousand live bats bewitched to flutter near the walls and ceiling, and a thousand more bewitched to swoop over the tables. Have you ever experienced a cauldron (yes, that’s really what they’re called) of bats flying right above you? There was an alcove in my first apartment that a cauldron of wild bats had chosen for their home. The landlord either didn’t know or didn’t care because for the two years I lived there, an exterminator was never called. I actually really enjoyed hearing and seeing them as the sun set.

We also know that the Great Hall is filled with carved pumpkins and lit with candles. The movie gives us a more advanced visual. The jack-o-lanterns are floating, the ceiling is dark with thunder and lightning, and the tables are full of apple and pumpkin desserts and other candies in fall colors. This is exactly the sort of holiday party that I would love to host, but alas, I do not have the culinary and decorating skills to do so. 

In that same chapter, a more important part to the plot would be the  

What J.K. Rowling does with this scene is something I am practicing myself as a new writer. At this point in the book, Harry – and the reader – are still learning about magic, Hogwarts, and the wizarding world. So, when Hermione is correcting Ron’s “Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa” in charms class, Harry and the reader (at least, for our first time reading it) don’t yet realize that we are being set up for an important plot point. Ron’s loud complaints about Hermione send her to the bathroom to cry; which is where the troll ends up. 

There are some small detail changes between book and film. In the book, Harry and Ron see Snape going off on his own to the third floor (where the three headed dog is), then they see the troll walk into a room. They lock the door, only to hear Hermione scream from within the room. In the movie, they simply follow the troll into the bathroom. Harry and Ron attempt to fight the troll, with Ron being the victor as he chants “Wingardium Leviosa!” correctly, crashing the troll’s own club on its head.

“But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.” – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, pg. 179 

Once again, the book and movie go in different paths at this point; but the main idea is Harry eventually figures out that while the students were rushing to the dormitories, and the teachers were rushing to the dungeons, Severus Snape went to the third floor and was bitten on the leg by Fluffy (Hagrid’s three headed dog). This leads Harry to investigate, deduce that the Sorcerer’s Stone is being guarded by Fluffy, and Snape must want it for himself or Voldemort. All of this happened because Hermione angered Ron, and Ron insulted her in return. 

I know what you’re thinking, “I figured this out the first time I read it, why are you pointing it out to me over twenty years later?” Well, I appreciate it more now that I’ve attempted it myself. Making a seemingly benign moment full of important hints that the reader will remember later takes a lot of careful thought, planning, and at least a dozen rewrites.

This scene in the Sorcerer’s Stone will remain a favorite for me for the rest of my life. In fact, it inspired my classroom door decorations for this year. And maybe one day I will host a party that spectacular – or maybe on of my future characters will.

Check back in on Wednesday evening for Part 2 of my Favorite Fictional Halloweens.

Reading Apps Are My Guilty Pleasure

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Guilty Pleasure: “something, such as a movie, television program, or piece of music, that one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard.” – Google Dictionary

I bet if more people were open and honest about their guilty pleasures, they wouldn’t have to be guilty pleasures anymore. One of my guilty pleasures is to read fated mate romance stories on reading apps. Such stories can be found on Dreame, Readict, Radish, iNovel, iReader, Kindle Vella, and dozens of others. I currently have a reader’s account with Dreame and Readict. 

The stories on Dreame are either completely free, charge coins to unlock chapters, or are “wait-for-free.” Where a story lands is up to the author. The cost of a story is based on word count, so the more coins a chapter costs, the longer the chapter is. “Wait-for-free” means one chapter unlocks every 48 hours. Free coins can be earned by checking in and reading for a certain number of minutes.

The stories on Readict are completely free to the reader because there are 30 second ads to watch in order to unlock the next chapter. The reader can use coins to skip the ad.

How I came across these two apps was for research for my debut novel, Bondwitch. The main character is a teenage witch who is new to magic. She meets and befriends vampires and werewolves throughout her journey to grow in her magic. When I was world building for Bondwitch, I very easily figured out what kind of abilities and characteristics I wanted to give witches and vampires; but had no idea what to do for werewolves.

My prior knowledge came from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, and Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. As much as I love them all, they are considered older – though I personally struggle to accept that – and so I needed something recent. This led me to serialized fated mate shifter romances, and I fell in love with them.

The main plot behind a fated mate romance is that there is one mate out there for each “person” that is their perfect fit. A deity chooses the pairs, and reaching adulthood usually sets in motion the ability to find one’s mate. Conflict arises when mates do not want to accept each other, their parents disapprove, crazy exes become jealous, or one half of the pair is human or a different species. I believe these fated mate stories started with werewolves and other shifters (werecats, werebears, etc.), but have since branched out to include vampires, demons, witches, and even angels. 

My two favorite tropes for fated mate stories are: 1. One of the mates is a human, and 2. The pair are of separate paranormal species. 

In stories where one of the mates is a human, the reader gets to be slowly introduced to the paranormal world along with the human character. There are generally several funny moments where the human is completely confused with the paranormal character sniffing them and growling “mine!” like a caveman. The human character is also able to ignore the mate bond longer than the paranormal character, which allows for love to actually develop rather than jumping right into bed because of the “mate bond”. 

When the mates are different paranormal species, we get my favorite: forbidden love. 


As much as I enjoy reading these stories, I decided to take the shifters in Bondwitch in a different direction. So, there won’t be any fated mate plot lines, but there will still be plenty of swooning, sighing, and squealing.