Our First
Table of Contents:
Dear, Reader
Weekly Story
Upcoming Projects
Current Reads
Upcoming Content
Dear Reader,
Oh, to grab someone by the corneas and breath essence into their eye sockets worthy of a few tears? Can you feel your heartbeat in my echoes? The entrancing lull of your insides for more, to consume, to devour, to dominate?
Was that good? How does one keep your attention, exactly? What does one even write in a newsletter? I've either snatched you by the hackles with my humor, coerced you into pity to subscribe, or you've simply arrived here by your own volition. If you are among those of the latter... seriously?
You chose this?
You're weird, I like that.
Truth be told I've never understood what people like about me, so my guess is that in someway you understand what it's like to be too much? Too much emotions and sensations and worries? Your soul overfilling with passion, without the strength of a damp to control it? Un-reigned and overambitious, a jack of all trades, but refusing to be a master of none?
For a long time I worked for perfection, for an evolution beyond the confines of my weak human body with a decaying human mind. I can't let anyone read my work until it's completely finished. I can't fall behind this deadline. I can't let my disabilities keep me from success. From power. From hope. From remembrance.
I still struggle with that, but moving forward I aspire to heal. I am who I am. I am human, no matter how I pretend otherwise. That means I can't think as fast as others. I can't work a seventeen hour shift then write a 90,000 word novel on the back of a napkin all in one year. Honestly I don't think any of us can, but I know this won't stop me from becoming A Great. Because my stories have value, no matter long it takes them to be finished.
It’s hard enough living and liking who you are, when you love who you aren’t. The idealized version you project for validation that you're enough. So I hope you can find some solace, dear reader, in my ramblings of overtly poetic encryptions. You're not alone, and by the flesh of our pores and the determination in our veins, we will succeed.
Thank you for joining me on my journey of literary healing.
Yours, Harley Galarneau
Weekly Story - Jan 01
The Hearth of Privilege
We owe our warmth to the waves.
There are machines called furnaces and heaters that pump ivory vents with a thick aroma of protection and vibrance. Oftentimes we leave these outlets plugged in much longer than we pertain to a room — we like to know our surroundings are always warm, even if we are not to reap the rewards at every moment. There is a comfort in normalcy, in maintaining a sameness that keeps us safe and full of light. We burn brighter with its echoing hues of crimson and olive, we paint our skin in its ashes and shine behind cameras that capture my glowing essence. A phoenix rising from the embers.
I take to the stage, my wings arched and gaze strong. I can’t tell the difference in shades from my own flames to the pigments splattering each step I glide upwards on. The world doesn’t call me out on it though, red is simply red. Besides, I’m the one in motion. Eyes can only focus on a still object for so long.
There are no dips or valleys on my flesh, only clear lakes, still from dams and without rushing water to cause any ripples. My thin and poised lips are sun-kissed by a fine powder of scarlet, though when the moisture dries I find the colour hardening into a cracking blackened maroon.
There is a young woman in the audience. I glance at her maybe once or twice — if I deem her disruptive enough, of course. She keeps pointing to some solid splash of red off in the distance, and anger coils up my throat like a serpent’s tongue. Others shift their eyes to the sight slowly, straying for a second or two before returning back to me.
A tickle of salt leaks down my plump and rosy cheeks, and the distracter is dealt with swiftly. I divert the sisters with flashes of my own torn and ethereal scars. Look how I bleed. Look how we bleed.
Somewhere in my distance, a swarming tsunami pushes forwards. In my peripherals it appears as though it’s not even moving at all, but I’m not particularly inclined to move my head. My neck has been stiff and aching lately. It takes work to jut out my chin and jaw just so to cover symptoms of excess skin.
I am a creature born by blood and maintained through deceit. In the corners of my gaze I can recognize the familiarity of its shades even now. Ashes are the best source of rebirth after all, and a Phoenix knows where its lip shade stems from. The answer is always within our lines of sight.
I won’t look at it again.
Upcoming Projects
Dum Spiro Spero
Genre: Historical Horror
Synopsis: This is a story of Spero, a young boy possessed and corrupted by the sadistic egregore, Solus, who seeks to escape the mortal husk that confines it. Following Spero’s two siblings, Alice, a heartless privateer weighed down by the responsibilities of her stature, and Felix, a cowardly scholar who lacks the courage to weave his own path, as they embark on a vast quest across the world to recover the assimilated Lunar Stories in order to manifest a newfound literary power entirely—one that could undo the grief and failures of their supernatural past. Told through the omniscient directions of the antagonist itself, Dum Spiro Spero is a historical fiction novel that incorporates horrific imagery to convey humanity’s never-ending battle with Fear and the importance of Responsibility, Courage, Love, Recovery, Freedom, and Hope in the metamorphosis of ruptured minds.
Expected Spring 2026
How To Kill A God
Genre: Science Fiction
Synopsis: This is the story of Elian, a cold scientist forced to fake her death by mangling her body into a machine to escape her partner. Hellbent on destroying every ounce of her stolen work, she alters her existence into Eris, a feral robotic mercenary with a fervor for the dramatic. In her ambition, she encounters Cae, a cyborg bounty hunter tasked with returning her back to the very factory that had restrained the mind beneath her wires. Through the futuristic and technological advanced wastelands of what was once Earth, How To Kill A God critiques the destructive pursuit of perfection within the scientific field, and the lengths in which humanity will go to escape itself.
Expected Winter 2026
Current Reads
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
I first read Iron Widow when it came out almost four years ago, and I absolutely loved it. The strength of the narration and the all too prevalent themes drew me in immediately, and I binge-read it to completion all in three days (that's a big win for me, I'm a slow reader).
Hoping to get out of my three month reading slump, I figured I should give the story another spin, especially since Heavenly Tyrant (Book #2) was released a week ago.
I'm only 160 pages in, and I'm in love all over again already.
I implore anyone interested in science fiction, intersectional feminism, vengeance, and Chinese history to read Iron Widow.
Upcoming Content
Newsletter
The purpose of this send-out is to connect with my audience more in a medium I'm actually comfortable with: writing. I'm thinking of calling it Cyrus Rays, as my online portfolio is Cyrus Literary Productions, and all my socials are The Cyrus Archives. Cyrus means Sun, if you haven't caught on yet. You, readers, are my rays, metaphorically and literally. These past months have been both exhilarating and difficult, and the former thanks to your support on my Tik Tok and website. I couldn't have asked for a better community of writers, and it is my intention for these newsletters to be weekly, so I can better connect with everybody.
Ask Box
There will be a special segment in these emails where you can submit on an online forum writing and/or editorial questions, which is already up on my second Instagram, @cyrusliteraryproductions.
Youtube
Previously I've been uploaded one video a month, typically a week long vlog. Into the new year, I plan on uploading a video every week on Sunday. These videos will be regular vlogs, book reviews, writing advice columns, and anything else you guys request.
Tik Tok
Fluid uploads will continue as normal.
On my personal account @thecyrusarchives, uploads are fluid. However on my second account, @cyrusliteraryproductions, posts occur regularly and in accordance with those on my Tik Tok.
