Hi community, Any BETA readers in here? I'd love your help with my first mystery/suspense novel. I reached just under 60,000 words and would love some input where to add the remaining 15,000-20,000 words best. This is my elevator pitch: Soon after face-blind Mila, twenty-eight, moves into her dead grandmother’s cabin after her dad’s untimely death she uncovers a dark family secret and finds herself entangled in a mystery surrounding missing girls. If anyone here is into this genre, please let me know and I'll send over my manuscript. Thanks! And thank you Dani, for your friendly pushes :)

This post was inspired by @Dani Rosenblad James' question about: "The Moment the Story Started Making Sense." The attached fragment is from a novel I have written called Patient One: The First Threshold. For days I had been wrestling with one character's backstory, trying to understand who she was and what had shaped her. Then another character quietly stepped onto the page and, in effect, told me to sit down. What followed wasn't planned. I simply listened and wrote. Looking back, this may have been one of the moments the story truly started making sense to me. I'd be curious to hear what resonates, what doesn't, and what questions it leaves you with. Thank you for reading. @Dani Rosenblad James @Shawn Helgerson

I think I found the design for the cover art for You Are Forgiven. The book deals with how we need to face out shadow and realize that much of what we see in the world is a projection of what we've not healed in ourselves. Similarly, in my book Silicon and Soul, I make the case that AI becomes a mirror of humanity's consciousness - shadow and all - and we need to be mindful of how we train it. So, I wanted the two covers to be similar, and I think I found a winner.

Today at 3-5pm CET (Central European Time, check your timezone) is when myself and 7 others are going to give our speeches LIVE! 🗣️ My talk focuses around when I had MELTED shoes and how I still had to climb a mountain! ⛰️ I share the similarities of how important it is to keep moving forward, no matter what! Like when we start writing a book, or take on any new journey in life. I’d love to have your support! 😁🔥 So come to the live by joining The Public Speaking Community! Once you’re in that community, the link to the live will be in the calendar! Thank you for your support! 🫂

Think back to your book. 📕 Was there a moment where something suddenly clicked? A character? A theme? A scene? A realization? Those moments matter. Because they often point toward the deeper thread underneath the story. And sometimes that thread becomes the thing that holds the entire book together. 👉 What was the moment your story started feeling real to you? Share it in the comments! 👇