hexes for exes

INTRODUCTION

EVERY SUMMER, four families make their yearly exodus to the British seaside town of Briarville. For Livia Wong, the trip had been tradition ever since she could remember. Summer was always spent alongside the pristine beaches with the dreamy-hued sunsets, along with her best friends. The trip is awaited with anticipation, not fear.

Until this year.

Livia didn't leave Briarville last year on good terms. It wasn't all her fault, of course not, but she was partially to blame. Being no longer on talking terms with your two closest friends is one thing. Having them as your neighbours for the entire rest of the summer, while your parents and other friends have no idea something is wrong?

If there was ever an idea of hell on earth, this would be it.

The plan was simple: Livia was eighteen, about to head to university. If she made it through this summer, she could leave Briarville in the distant past and never have to think about it again. She had no illusions about resuming their friendships. Some cracks existed far before you noticed, some wounds were made without anyone even realising.

But it was going to be okay. She might not be on talking terms with the Calvert-Egerton twins anymore, and she might have always been on horrible terms with Sarah Hepburn, but she still had Brie and Lila. And her little sister, Pamela.

Still, eighteen years of friendship was never something that would simply go down the drain. And those hard feelings still lingered.

Livia had some work to do if she wanted to make it out this summer unscathed. Her heart had been broken once, she was not going to let it happen again.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

AUTHOR'S NOTE

the first version of hexes for exes was written in 2019, when i was 12 years old. the second draft was started the year after, in 2020, and was my first ever completed novel. this is a product that has been in my brain since probably late 2018. this novel is more than four years in the making, and has more or less documented the way my writing and my person has evolved throughout all these years.

now, at sixteen, i want to give it another try. my writing has changed drastically since those earlier days, and i think i'm far better capable of doing those characters in my head justice than when i was younger. i am far more similar to the characters in age now and far more experienced.

this story has had many changes over the years, but the core of it remains the same: a group of friends in a small town in briarville, with too many ghosts between them that they cannot escape. livia and the gang are more family than characters to me, and i cannot wait to introduce (or re-introduce, if you've stuck around for that long) you to them.

the original version of hexes for exes is currently taken down, but i will probably completely reupload it in the coming few weeks. it might be fun, to compare my old writing to that of my new, and maybe laugh at my old idiocy while you're at it :)

to those of you who have stayed around that long, i congratulate you, and also offer some of the following reminders: this plot is drastically different to the two previous iterations of this book. the characters are the same (though james and jack mchill have been renamed to amphion and zethus calvert-egerton, since i already have far too many jameses in my works & it sounds far posher), and the general themes have been retained. but this is still a very different piece of work than the older versions of hfe.

with that all said and done, do enjoy :)

First Draft:
Started: 24th April, 2019
Completed: 20th January, 2020

Second Draft:
Started: 20th January, 2020
Completed: 13th September, 2020

Third Draft:
Started: 23rd November, 2022
Completed: 24th April, 2023