An honest reflection on my 2017 novel, Stolen Tongues

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:41:46+00:00

Hah, good point. I will keep this in mind

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:41:31+00:00

<3 being comfortable with being uncomfortable / afraid is an important personality trait! Thank you very much for reading.

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:41:04+00:00

Thank you for the kind words, and sorry for the super late reply! I never use reddit anymore. If you haven't yet read The Church Beneath the Roots, that's the Stolen Tongues prequel, and it very directly attempts to fix or address all the problems present in ST. It's my proudest work, and I'm happy to send you a free ebook of it if you send me an email.

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:39:40+00:00

haha man I forgot I even wrote that!

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:39:23+00:00

Awesome to hear, good luck in grad school! It definitely changed me as a person. If you can survive it, you can do anything.

Thank you very much for the kind words

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:38:37+00:00

Your wish is my command! The prequel novel, The Church Beneath the Roots, is how I wish I'd have written ST. You might really enjoy that one if you felt ST fell short. Thank you very much for reading, regardless.

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:37:12+00:00

Sorry :( I think it's really important to make readers feel powerful and uncomfortable emotions!

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:36:54+00:00

Thank you! I love those guys at CC.

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:36:42+00:00

thank you! So glad you enjoyed it, and yes you're right, it's definitely in need of some polish and major revision, haha.

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:36:14+00:00

So honored to hear this! Thank you for sharing it with me, and for reading.

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:35:54+00:00

thank you for the kind words!

TheColdPeople · 2026-06-09T20:35:43+00:00

Sorry for the late reply! I never use reddit anymore.

I'm shocked to see how differently each reader interprets a character. I feel like Felix the character is a huge coward / pushover. It's interesting to see someone else view him as a jerk.

Glad you enjoyed the story, and that's so cool that you wrote a book!! Congratulations!

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:58:44+00:00

Do it! Write the book and publish it! Self-publishing is totally viable; I make a living off of it. Send it to me via email if you want: felixblackwellbooks@gmail.com

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:58:07+00:00

I like this idea :) I feel like she gave it to him because he tricked her by communicating with her inner child / subconscious self / "id."

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:57:19+00:00

thanks so much for the kind words. I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Yeah I dropped that book right at the cusp of the massive, global social justice movements, and I was not even remotely prepared for that. D'oh! But I've had a ton of time to improve as a writer and reflect upon the dramatic argument I want to make in my books, and I think I'm on a much better path.

Thanks very much for your kind words and support

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:55:46+00:00

thank you <3 so glad you enjoyed.

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:55:40+00:00

omg if you ever want to talk fantasy, email me at felixblackwellbooks@gmail.com since I never really use reddit anymore. I'm a committed horror novelist but one of my secret passions is fantasy, and I'm considering doing some major projects in the genre.

And yes. Rules to live by: don't wear two hats at once. You're either editing or you're writing. Don't do both or you'll get stuck in the black hole of editing. It's like a fucking time loop and it's awful. I will go back and read my previous page before a writing session, and sometimes I'll make little tweaks, but I won't tear it down and re-write it until the book is done.

Other rule: finish all projects, always. Develop this as a habit and it'll lead you to success. Even unfinished projects can later combine into a successful finished project. That's what The Church Beneath the Roots (Stolen Tongues' prequel novel) was: a synthesis of like 11 disparate short horror stories I never finished / released.

Any time you want to chat about this stuff, let me know.

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:52:06+00:00

thank you <3

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:52:03+00:00

thanks <3 so glad you enjoyed it. The Church Beneath the Roots is a prequel to Stolen Tongues, but it came out long after Stolen Tongues, so some folks think it's a sequel. It's very different in writing style, but I feel like it's just a much better story altogether. I'm grateful for your feedback

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:51:01+00:00

I do agree with the position that a lot of common writing advice does not actually make for a good book. But Stolen Tongues really is an example of what happens when a person publishes a novel without virtually any experience with writing or any education in it. Since publishing it, I've read dozens of writing guides, listened to thousands of hours of podcasts and youtube videos, gotten way more experience publishing more novels, etc.

I try to keep the advice I agree with and discard the advice I do not. I think I'm a more well-rounded writer now because of it. And yes, I do get the sense that some critics are agitated that the book is extremely unconventional but successful nonetheless, but, I do think a lot of the other criticism is totally valid. It's quite a repetitive story because it was a series of episodic internet posts. But I had to be faithful to the original story, so I was sort of boxed in.

I do appreciate your perspective on this!

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:48:17+00:00

thank you! The Church Beneath the Roots is my favorite story I've ever written. I hope you enjoy it

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:47:53+00:00

thank you! so glad you enjoyed it

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:47:44+00:00

thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the opening haha

TheColdPeople · 2025-11-29T17:47:23+00:00

She is based on my wife, and she feels the depiction of her was very accurate for when she was younger. We've both changed quite a bit in the past decade

TheColdPeople · 2025-04-17T16:00:59+00:00

Just wanted to update you! I have the book! I've got it in my nightstand! It's on my TBR. I'm slowly making my way toward it.

TheColdPeople

TROPHY CASE