🗞The M.I.D Newsletter | Issue #8
Deep In The Mind
Author Makitia Thompson
From the Desk of Minds In Design
Editor’s Note
There is something fascinating about the mind.
Not the simple mechanics of memory or imagination, but the deeper terrain beneath it, the place where stories begin before they have language, where emotions shape ideas before they become characters, and where entire worlds quietly form long before anyone else can see them.
Welcome to Issue #8 of The M.I.D Newsletter, Deep In The Mind. This issue feels particularly fitting for the moment we’re in. Minds In Design is growing, new stories are finding readers across the world, and some of the most ambitious projects I’ve ever written are beginning to take their place within the catalogue.
In this issue we’ll explore several different layers of that growth.
You’ll find updates on the Where Time Can’t Exist series, including the release of the long-awaited sequel The Day That Broke Time. We’ll talk about my newest horror novel What Removes Us, which has already begun making waves among readers of atmospheric horror. I’ll also share insight into my quotation series The Mind’s Keepsake, my book of the month selection, and a writing tip that might change the way some of you approach storytelling altogether.
For those of you who are writers, creators, or dreamers in your own right, this issue is also meant to serve as a quiet reminder that creativity is not a straight path. It is something far more complex, something that asks you to wander into your own mind and come back carrying something worth sharing.
So wherever you are while reading this, whether at a desk, on a train, in a quiet room late at night, I invite you to read this issue all the way through.
Because everything you’re about to read connects.
This newsletter is not simply an update. It is a glimpse into the expanding universe of Minds In Design, and the imagination that continues to shape it.
About Minds In Design
For those encountering this newsletter for the first time, welcome.
Minds In Design is an independent creative publishing space founded by author Makitia Thompson. At its core, the brand exists for one simple reason: to bring imagination to life in ways that linger long after the final page.
From psychological novels to cosmic horror, poetry collections to quotation series, Minds In Design explores the many ways stories can reveal the hidden corners of human experience. Every project published under the M.I.D name shares a common thread; emotional depth, immersive storytelling, and the willingness to explore questions that don’t always have comfortable answers.
Stories, after all, are not just entertainment.
They are mirrors.
They reflect the fears we rarely speak aloud, the love we struggle to define, the mysteries we cannot explain, and the quiet moments that shape who we become.
Minds In Design exists to give those reflections a home.
Whether through novels, poetry, short fiction, essays, or quotation collections, the goal is always the same: to create work that readers carry with them long after the book has been closed.
If you are here because you love stories that challenge, haunt, comfort, or awaken something inside you, then you are exactly where you’re meant to be.
What’s New in the M.I.D Universe
The Minds In Design universe has been expanding rapidly in recent months, and there are two major releases that deserve special attention.
Both represent different corners of my writing life, but each explores the same central question: what happens when reality begins to bend?
The Day That Broke Time
The second novel in the Where Time Can’t Exist series, The Day That Broke Time, is officially available now and can be found across major retailers, including Amazon.
This sequel pushes the story of Burrington beyond the boundaries readers first encountered in Until Time Remembers. What was once a curse confined to a single town is now evolving into something far larger, something capable of reshaping time itself.
The novel follows Amber, a descendant tied to Burrington’s violent past, who begins seeing ghosts that no one else can perceive. These spirits do not appear randomly. They are drawn toward her as the fracture spreading from Burrington widens, distorting reality in ways that begin to affect the modern world.
Through the guidance of Frank Harlow, a man whose connection to Burrington extends beyond death, Amber begins to understand that the curse is no longer contained.
It is expanding.
Seasons shift without warning. The boundaries between past and present blur. The dead appear where they should not exist. And somewhere within the growing fracture lies the key to stopping it.
But the truth Amber uncovers is more terrifying than she ever imagined: the curse did not simply escape Burrington.
It evolved.
The Day That Broke Time has already received five-star reviews on Amazon Canada, and readers of the first book are beginning to uncover just how much larger this story is about to become. Find it here: The Day That Broke Time
What Removes Us
Alongside the release of The Day That Broke Time, another project has found its way into the world: my slow-burn cosmic horror novel What Removes Us.
Set in the quiet town of Brackenridge, the novel follows Jesse Calder, a man who begins noticing something deeply unsettling.
Certain people appear surrounded by subtle distortions in the air.
Moments later, they disappear.
At first Jesse believes the pattern is coincidence. But as the disappearances continue, it becomes clear that something far older and far more patient, is at work.
The town has been losing people for longer than anyone remembers.
And the pattern is almost complete.
Currently ranked #1 in New Horror Releases in Canada on Amazon, What Removes Us is a quiet, atmospheric exploration of inevitability, observation, and the terrifying presence of something that may never fully reveal itself.
For readers who enjoy slow-burn horror, small-town mysteries, and stories where the unknown remains disturbingly unknowable, this novel might stay with you longer than expected. Find it here: What Removes us
The Mind’s Keepsake Series
Beyond novels and short fiction, another project that continues to grow is The Mind’s Keepsake quotation series.
This collection exists for readers who love language itself, the rhythm of words, the quiet power of a passage that feels like it was written for a specific moment in their life.
Each book in The Mind’s Keepsake gathers quotations and reflective passages that explore themes of love, loss, resilience, curiosity, and the strange mystery of simply being alive.
These are books meant to be revisited.
Not necessarily read once and shelved, but carried, returned to, opened at random, and lived with.
The series is currently available across major platforms including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, select libraries, and more.
For readers searching for words that resonate beyond the moment they’re read, The Mind’s Keepsake offers a quiet companion. Find the series here: The Mind's Keepsake
Writing Tip for Authors
One of the most common questions aspiring writers ask is simple:
“How do I write something that feels real?”
The answer is rarely about plot structure or genre rules.
Instead, it begins with honesty.
Real stories do not come from perfect characters or neatly resolved emotions. They come from contradictions. From moments where people behave irrationally, where fear overrides logic, where love complicates everything.
If you want your fiction to feel authentic, begin by observing real life carefully.
Pay attention to how people hesitate before answering difficult questions. Notice the way memories change when someone retells them. Watch how silence can say more than any dialogue ever could.
Then bring those observations into your writing.
Authenticity in storytelling is not about copying reality. It is about capturing the emotional truth behind it.
Book of the Month
This month’s book of the month is my poetry collection Because I Felt Everything, which has received five-star reviews on Amazon.
The collection is built around one central idea: that feeling deeply is not a flaw.
In fifty poems, Because I Felt Everything explores the full range of human emotion, from heartbreak to healing, anger to softness, silence to hope.
The poems do not attempt to tidy emotion into something simple. Instead, they acknowledge what many of us already know: healing is messy, nonlinear, and often uncomfortable.
The book is written for those who feel too much in a world that often asks them not to.
For those who stay longer than they should.
For those who continue loving even when it hurts.
For anyone who has ever been told they were “too emotional,” these poems offer something different: permission. Find the collection here: Because I Felt Everything
Makitia’s Writing Corner
If you are struggling to write a story, try writing a poem.
Poetry has a way of bypassing the pressure that often stops writers from beginning. It allows emotion to lead instead of structure.
Many of my novels and short stories began as poems, small fragments of feeling that eventually revealed larger narratives hiding beneath them.
A single line can become a character.
A metaphor can become a setting.
An emotion can become an entire story.
Sometimes the best way to find your next idea is to stop trying to write a story altogether and simply write what you feel.
Article of the Month
This month’s highlighted article explores an idea that sits at the intersection of identity, literature, and vulnerability.
The piece, “Why Vulnerability Is Sacred in Black Writing,” examines how emotional openness in Black literature has often been misunderstood, minimized, or flattened by audiences expecting constant resilience.
Yet vulnerability has always been central to Black storytelling, not as weakness, but as reverence.
To write vulnerably while Black is to preserve interiority in a world that has historically tried to deny it.
The article explores why returning to vulnerability remains an act of creative courage and cultural preservation.
You can read the full article here:
Article
Free Content from Minds In Design
One of the most important commitments I’ve made as an author is ensuring that readers can experience my work even before purchasing a book.
Through my blog mindsndesign.blogspot.com, readers can explore free stories, articles, and additional content connected to the Where Time Can’t Exist series.
This includes short fiction expanding the mysteries of Burrington, writing advice for aspiring authors, and essays exploring the publishing industry.
For readers who enjoy discovering new worlds without barriers, the blog serves as a gateway into the broader Minds In Design universe.
Upcoming Projects
With the release of The Day That Broke Time, attention is now gradually shifting toward the future of the series.
The third installment of Where Time Can’t Exist is currently in development, though it will take time before it reaches readers. The scale of the story continues to expand, and I want to ensure the next chapter receives the time and care it deserves.
In the meantime, several other projects will continue appearing over the coming months.
These include new poetry collections, quotation books, short story collections, and passage compilations designed to explore different corners of the emotional and creative landscape.
Readers can also explore my existing catalogue, including:
The cosmic horror novel What Removes Us
The thriller-romance I Only Ever Wanted You
The psychological novel I Am The Unspoken, following Madeline’s attempt to reclaim herself after trauma
All works are available through major retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Indigo, Bookshop.org, Fable, and select libraries.
Connect With Me
Readers who would like to stay connected can follow Minds In Design across several platforms:
Each platform offers different glimpses into the creative process behind Minds In Design, from book updates to writing insights and behind-the-scenes reflections.
Parting Words
Every story begins in the same place.
Inside the mind.
Before a character exists, before a world takes shape, before a single word appears on the page, there is simply an idea waiting to be explored.
Minds In Design was created to honor that moment, the instant when imagination decides to become something real.
My goal as an author has never been to produce stories quickly or endlessly.
It has always been to create stories that linger.
Stories that remain in a reader’s thoughts long after the final sentence. Stories that ask questions instead of answering them. Stories that remind us how powerful imagination can be when we allow it to fully exist.
Thank you for reading Issue #8 of The M.I.D Newsletter: Deep In The Mind.
And thank you for continuing this journey with me.
Makitia Thompson
Founder, Minds In Design
#MindsInDesign #Makitia #TheMidUniverse #Makitiabooks #WhereTimeCantExist #MidStories #TheDayThatBrokeTime #UntilTimeRemembers #WhatRemovesUs #MakitiaThompson
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