It has taken me some time to write this, and for good reason. I needed time to gain strength and clarity in tackling this sensitive and difficult topic. The insensitivity I have witnessed lately hasn’t helped, either. 

As you know from a previous blog post, I fell ill at the end of 2024. However, this illness turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It gave me some time to rest for the first time in over six years, which was very helpful in steering me toward my goals. After I healed, I felt optimistic and excited about the year ahead. 

Then, as fate would have it, I received a very unexpected phone call a couple of days before Christmas and hours before the winter solstice that my brother, who wasn’t even 50 years old, had passed away. I was in utter shock. It has not been easy to deal with, but I am doing my best to carry on. 

Being transparent…

In my life, many people have passed judgment on me, assuming I am this “tough woman.” However, this just isn’t true. I have feelings too, and it hurts just as much when someone craps all over them or if something tragic happens like this. The truth is, I come off as “strong” to these people because I’ve had to be…for survival. 

It is NO ACCIDENT that the leading male protagonist in my book is the way he is. He is my Anima…he is my insides. He is my past and the wounded me. The abuse he endures is also my pain. My main character is also me; she is my strength and resilience. She is my connection to the divine and the memories of lives once lived. 

I’m sure many of you have heard the phrase, “Write what you know.” 

Well, that is precisely what I did. 

Why did I do this? Because I wanted to let others out there who have endured abuse know that they aren’t alone and that they can take back their power. I also wanted to let anyone who has suffered in a similar situation know that there are those whom you can trust and who will love you for who you are, so please don’t give up. Not everyone is cruel. Through much heartache and personal discovery, I have finally learned that there are gentle, kind men and powerful women who love unconditionally. The key to overcoming the hellish situations I have endured was never to stop believing that I deserved good things in life and to know I was worthy of love BECAUSE I AM LOVE. As someone who was incredibly hard on myself growing up, it took time and patience to learn, but I was a willing student. Patience isn’t a virtue for nothing. 

The characters in my book are the epitome of love, showing how love can heal and bring growth. Writing these books (the second is on the way) and sharing them with all of you has also helped me heal and grow. 

But how could it not? 

If it were not for the support of my husband and best friend, there were a few times I might have given up on myself. He is my rock. My son and daughter are my heart. They keep me going and help give me a purpose for being here. The world can be harsh, but it doesn’t have to be! Changing your perspective, flipping the script on the negative stories others tell you or you tell yourself, makes all the difference. That said, I wanted to move on to my next topic. 

Clearing the air.

This blog and all of the images contained within the posts (and only on my blog!) are from stock images, my photos (like the one in this post), or ones that I created using the same software that video game designers/developers use (which, yes, I have paid for).

 My husband and I used to be big into shooting stock photography, which we would sell on various stock photography websites. If you want to understand stock photography, you can google it. Still, to sum it up, stock photography is used in everything from product packaging to presentations for corporations and even billboards. We have amassed thousands of images over the years because of this.

Many stock photos are free on some websites and paid apps, but you have to pay for the best ones, much like the software/program I used to make my character images and portraits for my blog. AI technology was used to create these images, the very same tech used on your social media apps, phones, and computers. If you have ever played a video game or bought one from this mega billion-dollar industry, you are using technology and supporting creators who use AI. 

As I graduated from art school (Cum Laude! No joke), this technology was becoming even more prevalent than it already was. They were offering more and more classes for video game design and digital art, which I would have loved to take, but I was at my limit with how much art school costs, and I just wanted to graduate already and get on with my life. AI has been around forever, and people have been using and creating with it this entire time (decades and decades, folks. Educate yourselves and read about it.)

It wasn’t until some shady people stole images off social media apps from hardworking artists and then turned around and sold them as their own by tweaking them with AI that anyone even cared or paid attention to things that were AI. What these people did to these artists was not ethical or correct. I am glad these people were exposed for what they were doing. 

HOWEVER-

to demonize EVERYONE because they want to use this technology is nothing less than absurd, considering EVERY single human with a cell phone or social media app, sees a doctor, or plays video games, USES AND SUPPORTS THIS TECHNOLOGY! IT’S EVEN IN YOUR CAR AND TV! Hell, it’s in new refrigerators and appliances. It’s everywhere, and it’s here to stay. This is the age of Pluto in Aquarius, after all! This is just the beginning, so strap in and get used to it. This is nothing compared to what will come. People need to chill with the hypocritical tattletale behavior. It’s exhausting.

The ugly truth is that people want to complain because it is easier than being proactive and doing something constructive with their lives. Some are just plain jealous, so they seek to hurt others because they are miserable inside. What they don’t understand is that every hostile act they commit brings more pain and self-loathing into their lives. It’s plain ignorance at work in this situation, and with ignorance comes fear, and fear breeds hate. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the time or space for hate! I’ve had more than my fair share of it and don’t ever care to spend time with it or around it. A wise woman once said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

And she was right.

As evidenced by what I write in my book, I do not fear technology. I embrace it.

 Will some people use AI to do evil or bad things? Yes! But will most people use it for this reason? NO! 

I used this technology TO HAVE FUN and to see what I could do with it. I like a good challenge (like RAE) and have never worked with something like this before. If you don’t understand the process game developers go through to create characters or worlds, google it and do actual research before you pass judgment. I used images of myself for a few of the females! (I bet you can’t guess which ones.) And even in part for the males! YEP! HA! If you have Snapchat, you know about the filters that can turn you into a male if you are a woman (And guess what! That app uses AI). I was laughing my butt off creating these, which gave me the idea of using my face as a seed image to work around. 

I created these images for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY! I wanted to see if I could take pictures from my mind of the individuals I have encountered in my dreams and bring them into a realistic image before me. I wanted to manifest them into being so that others could see what I saw each day as I wrote and to show what the people looked like in my actual dream state.  

This WAS NO EASY TASK. It took months of severe eyestrain and going through more than one pair of blue light glasses to perfect them. My husband and I then tweaked things with post-processing to get them just right.  

This whole process was a blast and much more complicated than I initially expected. If you don’t believe me, then go ahead and try it yourself. Again, keep in mind that I was not just trying to create some “hot guy” or “pretty woman”; I was trying to take the EXACT person I saw in my head and make them into a realistic image for all to see. 

Creating and writing my characters certainly brought a huge smile to my face and was a constructive way to release much pent-up crap that needed to be let go of, which I’d been holding onto for decades. See how that worked? It was a win-win. I got to heal and bring joy into my life, and all of you get to be entertained! That is what this is, after all…entertainment. So RELAX, and please enjoy it. Reading my book is a way to have fun, spend time away from the mundane world, and step into something extraordinary. 

With all this said, I have a message for the people out there who do nothing but look for reasons to hurt another, complain, backstab, or tear others down because they have reached success…

If something is hurting you, or you need to express your feelings instead of pointing fingers and being petty or jealous, why don’t you try pouring that energy into something creative or constructive that improves your life? Why don’t you try going after your own dreams?  Set goals, meditate, touch grass, work out, and eat healthy. Take care of your body. When you do something nice, it’s incredible what happens. If you still can’t comprehend what I am saying here, then please seek a suitable therapist to heal your heart. It needs tending to. You deserve happiness, too. 

-May love always fill you and find you,

A.S. Aurelia