Beta Readers are Out!
( ! ) For legal/copyright/publication reasons, these are non-published, non-registered, non-ISBN copies that are my personal gifts to a few folks that have followed me along this journey!
Happy New Year 2026!!
What a crazy 2025. Theo, Kai, and Ava took me on a journey I never knew I’d embark upon, and I am so grateful for them and you all for the opportunity.
My beta copies came in just in time for Christmas and I have sent out a few to select recipients to get their feedback! I am so, so, so excited about how these special edition personal copies came out.
I’m truly touched to have folks who will lend me a few days of their time to give some notes on this project. I can’t wait to hear people’s input on the book!
I’ve often mused about how I would feel about people giving me feedback about something I spent so much time working on. But, honestly, I’m very curious to see what my personal bookworms have to say! I’ve already been advised of some typos (argh!) and some suggestions for improvements, and I’m keen on incorporating that feedback into my next “final” draft.
I had a ton of fun in 2025 working on this and I can’t wait to see where THE PRICE OF CREATION goes next.
Best wishes to you and your loved ones this time of year!
Until we meet again, cordially yours,
—L.F.R.
A Few Milestones Before the New Year
Hey everyone! It’s been quite some time! After my first batch of updates the first week of September, I barreled down a few major milestones almost back-to-back! Here are a few key notes I wanted to share:
Submitted my final editor draft to my editor on ~9/19/25 to get grilled on the developmental aspect of the book!
Went to Iceland mid-October and got married in an insanely beautiful setting!
While there, my editor sent back her feedback! Oh boy, 16-page writeup and over 250 in-line comments in the manuscript itself.
Spent the next three weeks working through major plot points, clarifying, expanding, and if my editor would have it—cutting back the manuscript. (Spoiler Alert: it actually grew about 75 pages, oops.)
THEN, I got my final-beta draft over to my typesetter/page designer to lay out the manuscript in a clean, readable format for beta readers. He got my final layout done around ~11/18/25.
I printed a small number of personal, non-published beta copies as gifts for a few trusted readers…Will solicit feedback from a handful of family and closest friends to see where it lands to folks a little distant from the project!
Where I’m at now: As the year wraps, I’m taking time to reflect on what I’ve learned and consider next steps for the project. When beta notes come trickling in, I’ll reflect on those and see how to make Theo, Kai, and Ava’s journey all the more cohesive and engaging!
Appreciate everyone so much along this journey! Happy Holidays and all that jazz, be well and love one another!
Best,
LFR
Búðakirkja, ísland
Salt & Shadow: The Inspiration of Salina Turda
Salina Turda, Romania
I’ve had a few people ask what the pictures on the site are of and it occurred to me that most people haven’t heard of this amazing place. Walking through the narrow tunnels, spiraling wood staircases, and modern glass elevator genuinely feels like you’re transported to a whole new world! I visited Salina Turda back in May 2025 and remember thinking that I wanted to incorporate elements of it into the book (The Price of Creation).
First, some background: Salina Turda is a salt mine in Transylvania with written documentation first naming it as far back as 1271 CE. Salt has always been important and this place stands as a testament to its role in antiquity all the way up to the 1930s.
When you enter the mine, you walk about a kilometer into the center of an inconspicuous hill in the middle of Transylvania. Once you’re deep into the shaft, you forget where and when you are as you make your way into various chambers showcasing mesmerizing salt striations and nearly two hundred year old machinery.
Readers of tPoC will be transported to this place when references to The Mountain and passages within/without it are made!
If you ever find yourself in Romania, I strongly suggest making the trek out to visit this hidden gem as the scale of the hidden world underneath our feet is revealed to you around every corner, down every shaft, and up and down 26 stories (wear comfortable shoes!).
https://www.salinaturda.eu/
TripAdvisor
-LFR
Hello World!
Hi!
My name is L.F.Rosales and I’m an up-and-coming author (hah) currently working on the editing/final touches of my debut novel, The Price of Creation!
I have been so humbled and touched by the interest friends, family, and even some randos have shown in my book and the creative process! I’ve never written anything or set up a site, so I’m learning as I go! I hope to update this blog with random bits and bobs that occur to me as I work on the tail-end of the creation process of my first book.
As I get updates on the parts of the business that I know nothing about, I’ll make sure to keep you all in the loop! Until I have more meaningful updates on the book, I’ll kick off this series with some background on the magical place that inspired much of the aesthetic elements of this site, Salina Turda! Make sure to check out that post!
I’m sure I’ll have more updates to come as it relates to the structure of my universe, but for now I am envisioning a series kicked off with The Price of Creation (tPoC), with a few cardinal installments like Book 2 (already researching and taking notes on it!), Book 3, and potentially some novellas in between for a few characters that I introduce throughout the series that I feel are intriguing enough to have their own one-shots that tie into a larger arc!
Can’t wait to take you all on this journey with me!
-LFR
