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Blood Lies: A Collection of 7 Brotherhood of Blood Shorts

Created by J.S. Living

Lies and secrets cause Anastasia, Voica, Islyn, Indigo, Rimi, Mihnea, and Mihrihmah to go on journeys that will change their lives forever. Urban fantasy X Historical Fiction.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Less than 24 Hours to Earn Prizes, Reach Stretch Goals, and Get Blood Lies!
11 months ago – Mon, Sep 29, 2025 at 11:11:25 PM

Hey, hey Bloodlings!

Wow! I don't know if y'all have noticed, but we went from $750ish to almost $1000 in a day! But we're not quite at a thousand yet. We're still short about $100. I'm really hopeful that we'll make it and maybe even get as far as the extra two art prints at $1500.

But if even if we don't: Thank you!

I am ecstatic and amazed at how great you all have been. Truly. The amount of support is humbling. So, thank you. I don't know how many times I'm going to say it, but I feel like I need to so I can stress how much I appreciate y'all! 

Okay. That's all for the tears. I have a few more update-y things to tell y'all before the end of this campaign.

Here's the TLDR/BLUFF: The Prizes offered to the Leaderboard Team and Top Contributor include puzzles and metal bookmarks. I'm hopeful that we might be able to hit the $1000 and $1500 Stretch Goals in these last few hours. A gentle reminder that this is the last chance to get Blood Lies and the other campaign rewards. After today, any purchases for Blood Lies will be at full price. I'm one of the participants in The Book Bazaar, so I've got one more campaign this year: The audio production of Blood Ties: A Collection of Three Covenant of Blood Shorts.

Alright, let's get into it!

Prizes 

Thank you all for participating in Trivia Challenge! This was my first time doing it and, though it didn't yield the results I wanted (heated debates and passionate discussions, lol), I am happy to see that several of you took part. It means a lot to me that you took time to interact with the polls, questions, and discussions.

Now, at the beginning of the campaign, I promised a prize to the winning team members and one Grand Prize for the Trivia Champion. I never did reveal what the prize would be. So, today, I'm happy to reveal the Trivia Champion Prize and the Team Prize!

Trivia Champion Prize
To the Trivia Champion Prize Winner, I will bestow:
  • one (1) Covenant of Blood Puzzle; and 
  • one (1) metal bookmark ($31.98 in retail). 

View available variants of the bookmarks here, on my website or go to https://www.thejsliving.com/forreaders. Unfortunately, the Love is Forever Bookmark is only available if you choose to pay an additional $5. 

Trivia Team Prize
Each person on the winning Trivia Team will receive:
  • one (1) metal bookmark ($13.99 in retail). 

Choose between Angelo, The PI, Lizzy, and Liz. View available variants of the bookmarks here, on my website or go to https://www.thejsliving.com/forreaders. Unfortunately, the Love is Forever Bookmark is only available if you choose to pay an additional $5. 

Stretch Goals

I'm so happy to say that we've almost reached our second stretch goal! If we can get the last $99, I can include an eighth short story just for you. So, in these last few hours, let's try to make it happen! And, if by some miracle we hit $1500, I'll be able to throw in two more art print options. For clarity, these are the five prints currently available:


Currently, the other two characters are only available in the actual book. But, at $1500, we can unlock prints of them! And, of course, as the book moves closer to completion, I'll be able to show you the colorized version of these.

Last Chance

I'm putting you on notice: This is your last chance to back my project before the prices increase. It's your last chance to get any special rewards or items that are BackerKit specific, like:
  • the Challenge Coin (vote on the design!) for early backers, 
  • the Vampire Pins for returning backers, or 
  • the resin bookmarks for cross-collab backers.


After today, the prices will increase. Now, I do have a few extras of some of these rewards, so there's a small chance you can get them during my next campaign in November, but they only exist until supplies run out. And, this may be that day.

So, don't chance it! Don't miss out! Uncover the Lies and Pledge today!

Oh, yeah, my next Campaign!

I was actually going to wait a bit longer before I announced this, but I guess now is as good a time as any: My next campaign is only one short month away from now!

The Book Bazaar

For my new campaign, I'll be participating in The Book Bazaar, a crowdfunding effort created by, for, and with indies in mind.

Join a variety of authors, small press, and indie publishers as we celebrate all things book with a number of simultaneous literary crowdfunding campaigns. Find your new favorite author, series, anthology, or stand-alone at The Book Bazaar event running November 12th, 2025 to December 3rd, 2025.

Here you won’t find just novels, you’ll also find projects funding audiobooks, anthologies, poetry, picture books, comics, and more!

Don’t miss out! Subscribe to get notified of when The Book Bazaar launches, last-minute reminders, and collective project updates!

Blood Ties: A Collection of Three Covenant of Blood Shorts the Audiobook Campaign

Do you love audiobooks? Do you want to support BIPOC creators? Do you want to immerse yourself in urban fantasy and historical fiction?

Then check out my campaign for Blood Ties: A Collection of Three Covenant of Blood Shorts the Audiobook!

Blood Ties the Audiobook is a short story collection turned audiobook production that blends urban fantasy with historical fiction.

Anyone can read Blood Ties since it's part of a series of interconnected standalones, which means you can enjoy it without reading the introduction novel. Previous fans of The Covenant of Blood will enjoy these additional stories in their new format; and new fans will be introduced to the Bloodlines Series. 

Why did Liz want to take control of Lizzy's body? What happened to Dmitri on that fateful night he and Lizzy were separated? And why did Angelo follow through with a wedding he was forced into?

If you've ever wondered about the answers to these questions in The Covenant of Blood, or if you're just looking for a couple of fun short stories to read, today is your lucky day. All these questions, and more, will be answered in Blood Ties: A Collection of Three Covenant of Blood Shorts.

Follower Reward

If you follow the project between today and 11 November, you'll get access to a sample of the Bloodlines Recipe Book. And, if you back the project once the campaign starts, you'll get access to the full recipe book! Each recipe will be personally tested by me, and you can watch me try them out online via YouTube:

Early Bird Reward

Plus, if you missed the Early Bird reward for Blood Lies, you have a second chance to grab a Challenge Coin by pledging early to the Blood Ties Audiobook. These one of a kind Challenge Coins will only be available for 2025, so you don't want to miss out. 

Cross-Collab

I also have a new cross-collab partner for this project: Sword and Spiral Press! They're funding The Dark Side of Super the Audiobook, which is a collection of dark, gritty, short stories with a realistic takes on super powers that will shock you with their conclusions. We're cooking up a goodie to give you (no pun intended) and it will be announced when the campaign starts on 12 November. 


Reservation Reward

And, I'm doing something new for this campaign: If you reserve a spot for $3, you recieive a collection of three (3) Oracle cards! But, you have to pledge to receive the reward.

So, what are you waiting for? 

It's time for you to Listen to the Voices, and Find Your Family Ties! Follow the Blood Ties Audiobook so you can be the one of the first people to hear the stories come to life! 

Poll Package 3, New Poll, and Thank You!
11 months ago – Sun, Sep 28, 2025 at 05:05:39 PM

Hey, hey Bloodlings! It's ya girl J.S. Living here, wishing you happiness, healthiness, and wealthiness. 

My health isn't so great these days because, honestly, I wanted to send this update earlier today. Unfortunately, my chronic fatigue and brain fog was debilitating. It still is, but I needed to get this update out since we're less than two days away from the campaign ending. But, I promise to keep it short and sweet. So, here are the thre things you need to know:

First, Poll Package Three is up! 

The video is below. As usual, I've also included the transcript. It reads a little different because my recordings don't always go the same way, but the content is the same. You can also watch this on Instagram or directly on YouTube.

 

Video Transcript (More or Less)
I think I told y'all I'm an earlier update that one of my Bachelors degrees is in Anthropology. What I didn't tell you any was one of my favorite assignments from that time.

It's some time between 2014 and 2016, and we're told to go to a religious service that doesn't fall into our faith and write a short essay on the experience.

When you live in the south, there's no shortage of churches, synagogues, etc.  to choose from,  so I decided to go to the Unitarian Church. I'd never been there, and a family friend suggested. So, I went. And proceeded to participate in the most interesting algamation of religions ever. It really opened my eyes to other cultural practices.

So, of course, now, when I write, I try to embody that same feeling by looking up information regarding the fae and other creatures in my books.

Of course, Blood Lies and the Brotherhood of Blood won't be my first foray into shapeshifters, known as transformers in other world religions/mythology. But, it will be the first time I explore them as a species. And, honestly,  it's the same for demons. How could I not when they're so interesting. And knowing they were considered the cause of illness in Ancient Egypt was kind of the thing that cemented it. I also plan to explore more hybrids through the lense of Mihnea's and Voica's marriage because I think that'll show significant cultural differences between the supernatural species and how those family dynamics work.

It should provide a healthy mix of anthropology,  sociology,  and psychology in the stories. But don’t story! It'll still be a form of escapism a la WBs Anastasia, which is currently on Disney+ (which I saw before the boycott). Anyways, I would say it's crazy that one of my characters is also banned Anastasia, but the name was common for that time period.

Anyways, that's all I've got for Poll Package 3. Sorry it was so late! 

Second, I have a poll for you to vote on!

At the beginning of the campaign, I asked you all what Early Bird reward you preferred. The votes indicated you all preferred the Challenge Coin. So, if you backed my campaign in the first 48-hours, it's time to vote on which design you want for it! The poll is only open until 30 September, so make sure you vote ASAP.



Last, Thank You!

The campaign is coming to a close, so I figure it's as good a time as any to say thank you! I appreciate you all supporting me and this book. So, thank you all for believing in it as well! 

Let's try to close the campaign out with a bang! 

I'm still hopeful we'll reach the $1000 goal, especially since we're only short by a little over $200 and it would help mitigate some of the editing costs. After all, there's still the possibility for y'all to name a character for $150. Or, to order a book box filled with goodies. But, even if we don't hit the $1000, I still appreciate each and every one of you. Once again, stay happy, healthy, and wealthy. 


XOXO 

J.S. Living

Stretch Goal Update, Art, and an Excerpt!
11 months ago – Fri, Sep 26, 2025 at 09:44:46 PM

Hey, hey Bloodlings!

I was trying to wait to give you another update until Poll Package 3 and the cooking videos were ready, but that just didn't happen. Since I have chronic fatigue, my plans don't always pan out accordingly...no pun intended. 

Anyways, I'm sorry I don't have fun videos to post in here. But! I do think I have something better to show you: More art and an excerpt from the book! 

Before I show you that, though, I wanted to remind you that there's only four days left in the campaign and we still haven't hit Stretch Goal two. We're only short about $260ish, give or take a few. 

Now, I'm still manifesting that we'll hit this $1000 stretch goal, and I can throw another short story in the mix and maybe hit some of the other stretch goals too. So, I figure it's time I revealed what those are to see if, maybe, you all can share and get a few more people on board. 

So, here they are: 

Hopefully that helps. Now, as promised, here is some of the concept art and an excerpt from the book! 

I made an audio version and posted it on YouTube for an audio-visual experience. 


But, I also created just a visual presentation for those of you who would like to read it yourself with the pictures remaining stagnant.



And, because I'm an overachiever, here's the plain text for those who don't want audio or visual aesthetics.

First Meeting

The water is cool on my skin as I ascend from the ocean to the beach. When my nose breaks the surface, and I breathe the fresh, salty air, I know I’ve made it. I grin. Mother obliged my request to be tutored on land so I know how to fend for myself. I’ll spend a few years here and then return to the Selkie Queendom.

The sun is still rising, which means I’m right on time.

I use my teeth to pull the skin up and off my flippers, as if pushing up sleeves. As I do, human hands are revealed. From there, the rest of the transformation is easy. I use my human hands to pull the rest of my skin off like a coat and slide it off my now naked body. 

The wind blows, drying the slick wetness of the sea from my body. The corkscrew coils atop my head are so tightly wound that I’m certain it will take several days to dry without some kind of cloth to aid me. But it doesn’t bother me. I enjoy the freedom of nudity, and will never understand why humans cover themselves up when the weather is this perfect. 

A bell rings distracting me from my thoughts. 

That’s the signal cousin Valentina told me to listen for. I run toward the nearest cave, being sure to hold tight to my skin—which has transformed into a coat—and use the sunlight from outside to guide me to the hidden alcove inside. There, I find a large wooden box about the size of a suitcase with ancient symbols carved on it. I place my Selkie skin on a nearby rock and pull the case from its hiding place. Then, I look for five specific runes. When I locate them, I lay the case on the ground and press the carvings in the sequence I spent days memorizing. 


It opens.

🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

I hope y'all enjoyed the excerpt and the look at more of the concept art.

Let's aim for the $1000 goal! Also, don't forget to support my cross-collab partner, Shiloh Walker and to back some of the other Nightfall Printopia Projects. This one in particular is only $87 from it's goal as of the posting of this update! 




Time is of the essence, so let's try to go out with a bang! 


XOXO

J.S. Living

I'm Going Live! Or, at least, I want to...
11 months ago – Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 05:42:35 PM

Hey, hey Bloodlings! 🩸🩸🩸💉💉💉


I hope you're happy, healthy, and wealthy!

I don't know if you saw my Instagram post earlier today, but I was Today-Years-Old when I learned you have to have fifty (50) subscribers on YouTube before you can livestream. Ridiculous, right?

The thing is, I only have eight (8) followers right now. For the most part, I don't know who they are, but I'm so glad they've subscribed before I've even figured out what to do with the channel.

Which is where you come in!

I would love to livestream trying out recipes from the Danube region with y'all! I was planning to do this tomorrow around 2:00 or 3:00 PM, you know, chat with y'all about fun facts and ideas for my books while trying out recipes from the area majority of my characters originate from. I could also talk about other things, like my writing degree, writing tips, character development, etc. But YouTube, like Instagram, foiled my plans. Mainly YouTube though since that's the platform contracted with BackerKit.



So I can't livestream unless y'all to hit that subscribe button on my YouTube channel.

I promise this isn't a trap. Hitting the subscribe button is completely free, takes about three (3) seconds, and I promise not to flood your notifications with random videos of my cat (unless, of course, you want cat videos?) or other unwanted spam. I mean, even if you take a look at the page now, you'll see most of the videos are from 2022 and 2023, and that I've only recently begun to add other things to the channel. After all, my go to for most of my posts is Instagram. But I digress. 

The point is that, if you're not sure about subscribing, that's fine. But, here's what you'd be getting in return: 
 
The privilege of being among the first fifty (50) people to witness whatever chaos I decide to livestream. And, trust me, there will be plenty of chaos. That chaos could be art, could be cooking/baking disasters, could be me trying to figure out how livestreaming works. Who knows?

One thing is for sure though: It's going to be an adventure for all of us!

So, here's my promise to you:

I won't spam you, I won't send you thousands of notifications, and you probably won't receive much information about the channel outside my BackerKit campaigns (and I'm using plural becuase I have faith you'll continue supporting my projects.) when I tell you I have a new livestream happening.

All you'll recieve from me is good vibes and the knowledge that you helped me reach a simple goal of hitting YouTube's minimum follower count.



So, if you're ready, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/@thejsliving

Thanks for being awesome, and sorry for the shameless self-promotion! Promise I'll make it up to you with quality content... eventually. 

XOXO

J.S. Living


P.S. Have you all been answering this weeks polls? I've posted one at the bottom of this email just in case you've forgotten! 

P.S.S. We're still over $200 away from the next stretch goal. Let's try to hit it this week so you can get your reward! 

Sorry I've Been MIA, Poll Package 2, and we're almost at Stretch Goal 2? 😲😲😲
11 months ago – Tue, Sep 16, 2025 at 06:30:19 PM

Hey, hey Bloodlings! 

Long time, no post, right? 

Sorry I've been MIA. I give an explanation in the video below; but, in short, the chronic fatigue got me, and is still getting me.


But, today I powered through and mustered up the energy to give you Poll Package 2 because it was important to me you have a fighting chance in the Trivia Challenge! 


So, watch the video below, on YouTube, or Instagram. Or, just read the text version (the script deviates a bit, but the information is the same, I promise!). 


The rest of the TLDR: Let's reach Stretch Goal #2 so everyone can get an additional short story for FREE, support my fellow creators, and don't forget to answer the poll at the bottom of this update! 



Poll Package 2 Video




Poll Package 2 Text

Hey, hey Bloodlings! What's up? It's ya girl J.S. Living. 

I hope you're feeling happy, healthy, and wealthy. I'm wearing my pink and teal glasses, a grey and black romper, a red sweater, and my Spirited Away bonnet because IT HAS BEEN A WEEK. And, on that note, I need to apologize.

I'm sorry I've been MIA for a bit. I had an event this past weekend, and my chronic fatigue and personal life didn't want to take a backseat this time, so I had to deal with that. Still dealing with it, honestly. But I'm here. Ready to chat, and to give you the Poll Package for Backerkit week 2.

If you've already pledged to my campaign, thank you so much! 

If you haven't had a chance to do so, I want to remind you that every dollar helps, and $2 gets your name in the book! 

Okay. Okay. Enough self-promo. I know you're here for Trivia answers, so let's jump into it.



As you may know, Blood Lies is a companion to The Brotherhood of Blood, or BoB. A lot of the things I wrote in the first draft of BoB definitely stuck, while other things came to me during the first set of edits, or entirely after when I conceived the ideas for Blood Lies. One example of this is Indigo and Islyn being twins. In BoB, they've always been siblings, and their backstory is pretty tragic. But it didn't occur to me that, the reason their stories were so sad, was because they shared a womb. Now, I know their journeys are separate but intertwined, and that makes their stories more worth it to tell. 

Now, unfortunately, I can't write every human character from BoB into Blood Lies, but the ones with fascinating tales to tell? Love them! 

Especially because I majored in Anthropology, the study of people and their culture, back in undergrad.   There, I learned that stories matter. Perspective matters. And it's our job to record them.

Another thing I learned from those courses is that our species, homo sapiens, are the most violent, self-serving, cut throat, form of human there ever was. So much so that we basically eradicated the species before us, homo naledi, just so we could be on top. There's also a rumor that called the Uncanny Valley theory that may have something to do about it, but I like to chalk that up to coincidence.



The reason I'm telling you this is because I want you to understand the level of crazy you're going to be dealing with in Mihrihmah's story. Now, Mihrihmah herself is a bit timid.   But her father...well, he's an assassin and specializes in killing people. Unlike his daughter, though, he's a run of the mill human. Just obsessed with revenge and getting the job done. That said, he's not a fully fleshed out character at the moment, so I don't want to say too much about him. Just remember when you read Mihrihmah's story that her father is HUMAN. 

What I don't know is if he's mixed with something else. Take for instance werewolves or Selkies. They have human forms, but they can also take on the forms of animals like wolves and seals respectively. If I were to mix her father with something else, would we still be able to call him human? Or, is human a term relegated only to homo sapiens? 

Why don't you tell me your answer in the comments? Like this content? Want more? Comment "Blood Lies" to pledge to my Backerkit project, play Trivia, and learn more fun facts about my book! 

Alright, let's do this thing!


We're about halfway through the campaign, and it's time for you guys to shine by sharing my campaign, and a few others, with your friends, family, and socials so we can unlock Stretch Goals together!

When we reach $1000 on my campaign, everyone will receive an additional short story. Now, I can't say from who yet (because I have four ideas and I want y'all to vote on them as we get closer to the end of the campaign), but I have so many cool ideas for how to give them to you and what kind of paper I'd use.

I'm really excited about this Stretch Goal, and I hope you are too. As of 16 September, we're only $277 away, so let's make it happen! 

But, let's be real: I can't do this project without y'all. And neither can my fellow creators. So, please continue sharing and pledging. Here's a few projects that could use some love: 


J.03 Am I Human? ($281/500 as of 9/16)



My Assassination Target is My Childhood Crush ($336/$500 as of 9/16)



Echoes: A One-Shot Horror Comic ($3313/$6000 as of 9/16)



What Dwells Beneath the Heart ($506/$555 as of 9/16)



One more thing!

Don't forget to answer the poll below!