out now!
VOID
Los Angeles. 2019.
Idris makes a deal with death to bring his wife back from the dead, sending him and his brother, Perseus, on three trials that test their relationship through alternate universes and forces them to confront their trauma by entering their dreams and memories.
Idris leads. Perseus follows. That’s the way it’s always been. But when Percy relives and leads a horrifying mission Idris committed as a soldier, and when Idris is tasked with stopping a masked vigilante’s killing spree who is hiding in 1945 L.A., a great rift forms between the brothers.
A rift that bleeds into each brother’s trial. Crash-landing on a cursed island near present-day Brazil with no moon or sun and with dangerous Brazilian and African mythological creatures, Perseus meets Naeva, the chieftain of an indigenous all-female warrior clan. Together, they venture to the Machulkhan Temple where Perseus confronts the secret wish he made behind his brother’s back. There, he’s transported into the darkest depths of his subconscious mind, forced to face the trauma of his past romantic relationships with men. If he succeeds, he’ll save Naeva’s world and bring peace to his soul… but a shape-shifting beast will do everything in its power to stop him.
Stranded in Karcerem, a medieval and oppressive city ruled by a mad king with a vendetta against him, Idris escapes in search of the Temvum Stone, an item capable of traveling through parallel universes and other people’s dreams. Staying one step ahead of the mad king, Idris ventures through a lost kingdom in a desert, a college of magic, a library run by the dead, and the dreams of the last bearer of the stone: a teenage girl who’s walked the same path as he. She warns him not to use the stone. And her words stay with Idris long after he’s transported into an alternate timeline, questioning if reuniting with his dead wife is truly what he needs to move forward with his life.
Content Warnings
Blood and gore, depictions of physical and emotional abuse, strong language, nudity, sexual content
REVIEWS
“I would say Void’s crowning achievement is the wealth of characters that bring you into their world and feel their plight- while stringing along anticipation of what the next trial will hold. Seeing the story through the eyes of many characters carries the reader through each world with the perspective of someone native to that time and place. The insight borrowed from each new set of eyes prepares you for what obstacles are ahead while one of our brothers is processing his own surroundings. This is a novel about finding yourself through your pain and not succumbing to it. Void will stick with you because there will be moments in life when you want to have your wishes granted and your problems fixed for you. The Stones said it best:
“You can’t always get what you want/But if you try sometimes, well, you might find/You get what you need”
-Julie (not Judy)
OUT NOW!
TO TAME A DAME
Los Angeles. 1928.
Adam Bosch, a young millionaire obsessed with life’s greatest gifts: money, booze, and women, hurls down a rabbit hole one night when he meets a beautiful and intoxicating dame like no other, Antonia Seranov, as cold and hostile as the Russian winters of her homeland. With her, his charm and good looks prove useless. With her, doubt creeps in for the first time. With her, he’s no player but a pawn in a game he knows not how to play. And the further he falls, the more danger that awaits.
Thrust into the Underworld of LA, he bears witness a meeting filled with…
The chief of police, an aggressive man with an aggressive appetite.
A teenage girl playing the detective in a world she’s yet to fully understand.
And Antonia’s twin brother, Alexei, as beautiful and intoxicating as she, and another advocate for life’s greatest gifts: money, booze and… men.
There, Adam witnesses the seeds that call for the end of one kingpin and the rise of another. A brilliant and bloody scheme that tangles all these characters and the one unknown variable.
Adam.
Wrapped around Antonia’s finger for reasons of business and pleasure, the one question he must ask himself is this…
Is she worth the madness?
Content Warnings
Blood, violence, gore, alcohol consumption, language, nudity, sexual content
REVIEWS
“He does a wonderful job of establishing the vibrant backdrop for this saga… this story offers a tantalizing taste of the series’ potential.” — Kirkus Reviews
About the author
Traditional bio
Diego Ornelas-Tapia is the author of To Tame a Dame, a noir, and Void, a speculative journey. Originally from Los Angeles, Diego now lives in San Bernardino, California where he currently writes his books at Klatch Coffee. A proud self-taught writer, he is currently working on another novel, practicing his Spanish, and learning all sorts of things to become a better writer and human being. You can learn more about Diego on his website, venturesome-dreamer.com, and sign up for his newsletter, diegotapia.substack.com.
Yeah, na, I’mma do my own thing Bio
I’m a fictional author who writes in various genres. I also manage my own Substack where I share my thoughts on life, mental health, and behind-the-scenes content in my books. Currently, the stories I’ve got lined up deal with fucked up people trying to do better in life, who are trying to become better human beings but are failing miserably.
I knew I wanted to become a fictional author when I was in fourth grade, but I didn’t officially pursue it until my early twenties after the end of a relationship that forced me to do a lot of introspective work in order to, you guessed it, become a better human being.
I released my first self-published novella, To Tame a Dame, in the summer of 2021. Although my first full-length book, Void, never found life in the traditional publishing route, I can wholeheartedly say that I’m gosh darn proud of it. In the words of the kind and misunderstood Walter White, “I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. It made me feel… alive.”
What sets me apart and what should you know about me?
With each book, I like to challenge myself by trying something new. The book I’m working on now, a modern The Catcher in The Rye sprinkled with Squid Game and Fight Club elements, is the first book I’m writing in first-person. More than that, though, it’s the first book I’m really pushing myself with my boundaries.
What do I mean by that?
Well, there have been times creating this book where I, the author, have stopped and intervened in the middle of a violent or controversial scene that I just know will cause a major backlash. “Should I censor or cut out this part?” I’d wonder as I re-read what I just wrote, fearing the backlash I’d get in the future.
“No,” I’d reassure myself after a moment. “Fuck no. This story must be told as is, come what may.”
I challenge myself. I try something new with each book, unafraid of the risk. THAT’S what sets me apart. THAT’S what you should know about me.
“My books are like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.”
Stats
Sun Sign: Virgo
Moon Sign: Aries
Rising Sign: Gemini
MBTI: INFJ
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Musings about mental health and life, talking about my books, and contemplating about whatever the fuck I want.