I Published a Book.

Vows After The Fall is officially out in the world today.

I can finally say something that still feels a little ridiculous when I type it: I published a book.

An actual book that strangers can buy and read.

Vows After The Fall is the first book in my Blood After Ruin series, a collection of shorter, fast-paced lesbian romance stories set in a post-apocalyptic world with vampires, fragile human settlements, arranged marriages, power struggles, and women who are very, very into other women.

It is also the first book I am publishing as Cleo Rosevale.

I created the Cleo Rosevale pen name because I wanted somewhere separate to play.

My books under my own name are larger projects. The Crystal Princess has been part of my life for years. I love it deeply, but it also takes a very different kind of creative energy.

Rosevale is different. These stories are shorter, faster and spicy.

They give me room to experiment, follow an idea because it sounds fun, and build worlds without feeling like every book has to become this enormous multi-year undertaking. The drive to give life to these stories became Rosevale Studios.

That part might actually be what excites me the most. Rosevale Studios is my little one-woman story studio.

I am writing the stories, building the worlds, directing the covers and branding, managing the publishing, building the website, creating the systems behind everything, planning future books, and slowly figuring out what else Rosevale might become.

I am not going to stop at books. I have always loved stories more than any particular medium they come in. If one story belongs in a book, great. If someday another wants to become a game, an interactive story, or something I haven't even thought of yet, I want the studio to have room for that too.

For now, though, it starts here. With one vampire romance.

Vows After The Fall follows Vera Zambrano, a human woman sent into an arranged marriage with Marcella Balestri, the vampire ruler whose protection could mean the survival of Vera's people.

This book is also the beginning of Blood After Ruin, a world I already know I am going to be spending a lot of time in. Which funny enough, came to me in the form of a dream years ago. It has remained in my "story vault" until now.

There are more books coming and more pieces of this world that I haven't shared yet.

For now, I wanted to stop and enjoy the moment of being a published author. Cleo Rosevale is me, and it is not something I am hiding. The only reason I created Rosevale was to be able to clearly keep my books separated depending on spice (Rosevale) or no spice (my own name).

It's all me. So, welcome to Rosevale.

Here is the link to my new book: Vows After The Fall.

I have a feeling we're going to make a lot of things here.

Yours,

Maritza aka Cleo Rosevale