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Darkhaven – Operation: Chocolate Overload Hardcover Edition

Created by Kel E Fox

YA urban science fantasy meets queer magical space opera in this sassy epic adventure, with the first book in a new hardcover edition featuring extra scenes, bonus material and custom interior formatting.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

The food fight is ON!
10 months ago – Thu, Nov 20, 2025 at 09:45:40 AM

Look out, Donovan. Gabby is comin' at ya with a chocolate pie and a grudge. Which is to say: we hit the stretch goal! 🎉🧁

There will now be an extra bonus scene featuring superhuman mean mentor Donovan getting into a food fight with mentee Gabby, who might not be Donovan's match in any other kind of fight, but in this one she has the edge. Intuition is, after all, a superpower.

On to the next!

A scene from Darkhaven in an alternate POV – Keraun.

Keraun is Gabby's enigmatic 'god of lightning' love interest, and he offers Gabby a way out of her magical dilemma as they bond over a jar of Nutella.

Fun facts about Keraun:
- He's from a much older human civilisation on another planet
- He attended an academy for magical intergalactic pilots
- He's on a secret mission from a power much higher up than he is
- He pretends to be cocky and confident, but he's actually pretty nervous a lot of the time

If we get to $850, I'll write one of their scenes from his POV. I won't tell you which, because spoilers 😉 But please spread the word and help put Keraun in the hot seat! Maybe we'll find out what he thinks of this Nutella business...

Speaking of Nutella, the universe wants to know: how do you eat yours? Substitute any tasty 'spread' if you like. Poll below 😁👇

Thank you so much for all your support so far! 

Kel

FUNDED! Woohoo! Now who wants a food fight?
10 months ago – Mon, Nov 17, 2025 at 12:54:27 AM

We FUNDED! This tasty edition is happening.

Now the fun really begins – stretch goals! First up, we have a bonus scene, inspired by a post I made on Bluesky a while back. It goes something like this:

WHO: Gabby and supersoldier mean mentor Donovan.

Gabby throws a cup of Milo. Donovan, after a moment of stunned bewilderment, retaliates with vodka. Gabby picks a strawberry off the pavlova and hits Donovan's eye. Donovan, regretting having thrown her vodka away, hurls the whole pav at Gabby's face. And is immediately mortified that she has stooped so low as to be in anything as ridiculous as a food fight. FFS.

(Gabby meanwhile is smirking and licking her fingers like the cat that got the cream)

Personally, I'm not big on food fights. It sounds gross to me – I don't like being sticky, and I'd be struck with a compulsive urge to clean every time something hit the walls or the floor. And I can't think of anything Donovan is less likely to do. But that makes it all the more fun, because how is Gabby going to goad her into such shenanigans?

We'll find out if we get to $750! 

Please help make the food fight happen by sharing the campaign with your bookish associates. Let's cover Donovan in cold Milo! (Because let's face it, she deserves it.)

Meanwhile, do vote in the Choose the Deluxe Milkshake if you haven't already, and do ask your friends to back up your choice with their votes (I mean, they can choose their own thing. But the results will be published in the book and you want your favourite to win, right?! 😉 Not that it's a competition or anything. Everyone's a winner in milkshake land.).

Happy voting!
Kel

Thank you to the Early Birds!
10 months ago – Fri, Nov 14, 2025 at 08:23:19 AM

Hello and welcome to the first update for Darkhaven – Operation: Chocolate Overload! 

We are well over 50% funded, and it's only day 2 of 21! Thank you so much to everyone who jumped in with early pledges – I am so grateful for your support and enthusiasm.

One of the fun features of this project is the Chocolate Polls, where you get to be part of the action. While Gabby is lamenting her career choices and that she'll never figure out what to do with her life, we're tackling the big questions:
  • Preferable flavours of milkshake
  • Best M&M colour
  • Superior method for eating a Malteser
  • How to consume Milo
  • Optimal way to eat Nutella

And we're kicking off with perhaps the most important, your go-to chocolate in a crisis. Peruse the list, pick your favourite, and if – shock! horror! – your favourite isn't listed, shout about it in the comments. Or politely mention it. Whichever vibe most suits your chocolate.

Every few days, a new poll will drop, and results from the polls will be incorporated into the Operation: Chocolate Overload annotations. 

Please vote! For, er, science. Or at least entertainment. And please do ask your friends to vote – we want this to be a comprehensive study of life's great questions, after all.

Happy chocolate polling!

Kel