This is Ink & Intrigue—the blog where romance ignites, secrets simmer, and every love story hides a twist. I’m your blog host, Sheila Kell, romance author and lover of plot twists, slow burns, and morally questionable book boyfriends.
Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to an author whose stories explore family relationships, growing up, and falling in love—Chelsey M. Ortega! If you love dark fantasies that bring a touch of forbidden love, you’re in for a treat.
Chelsey is known for evoking nostalgia in readers through characters reminiscent of modern American young adults. Her latest release, To Sign Or Not To Sign (within the Creepy Spooky Love anthology), is a suspenseful forbidden love short story that will leave you guessing until the end if the main character will indeed sign her name.
In this spotlight, Chelsey shares how she took on a challenge from an old college professor and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at To Sign Or Not To Sign.
Whether you write love stories, devour them, or dream of doing both, you’re in the right place. Let’s get into it and give a warm welcome to Chelsey M. Ortega! 💖
Before we start, I want to share a quote from To Sign Or Not To Sign: Stella continued with the hearts left on her desk, and her heart pounded as she ate UR, NAME, IN, HIS, BOOK, U, WILL, DIE.
Hello, thanks for having me!
I was first introduced to the short story genre in a stuffy basement classroom during my undergrad years. My professor was a stuffy old man who hated fantasy and hated anyone else’s opinion but his own. He argued that fantasy was a weak and lazy genre of storytelling because the author can do whatever they want, and they don’t have to follow any rules. My classmates and I tried to explain that fantasy authors create rules in their world-building that they then have to follow. Our defense fell on deaf ears. Our final for that class was to write a short story. I wasn’t brave enough at the time to attempt a short story in a fantasy setting, but fifteen years later, I would finally be ready. Everything I write always ends up with magic and romance in it – no matter how it starts.
A couple of years ago, I attended a webinar workshop dedicated to writing short stories. After a crash course in how to write a short story, the instructor gave those in attendance a prompt. That prompt, plus a subconscious desire to prove my old college professor wrong, led me to write To Sign Or Not To Sign.
Stella Curseman is an 18-year-old dark witch who is getting ready to sign her name in the devil’s book. Her human crush mysteriously knows about this rite of passage and is desperately trying to convince her to back out. Will Stella follow through with what she’s been preparing her entire life for? Or will she listen to her handsome crush?
My original plan for this story was to have it be my readers’ magnet for subscribers to my blog and newsletter. Then I saw a call for submissions to an upcoming anthology, Creepy Spooky Love. The call was for short stories that had a love or romantic theme with a spooky twist. To Sign Or Not To Sign was perfect for that.
There are a total of 9 spooky romantic stories in the anthology, and they are all entertaining and heart-pounding. I’d like to highlight my favorite two (other than my own):
Love and Hair by Suebird Sparrow is the shortest story in the anthology, and has the most scream-inducing ending. An immortal monster loves long, beautiful hair, and targets women with that physical attribute.
Meat Cute by Lissa Sharpe is the final story in the anthology, and it definitely deserves that spot. In this finale, a young woman hides out in an abandoned building during a tornado and discovers she’s not alone. The monster hiding with her is both terrifying and intriguing.
The Creepy Spooky Love e-book is available for pre-order on Amazon and will release on February 10, 2026. I will also be hosting an author event celebrating the release at the Springville Library in Springville, Utah (for any of your readers who may be Utah residents) on February 18, 2026 from 7:00-8:30 pm.
Two unique aspects of this anthology are: 1) It will only be available for purchase for one year. 2) Physical copies can only be purchased directly from the authors. This timeline allows authors to regain their full ownership of their stories to do with what they want. My plan is to write a full-length novel that continues the story, and To Sign Or Not To Sign will serve as the prologue.
If you like horror mixed with romance, spooky mixed with romance, or suspense mixed with romance, then you’re sure to find a favorite story within Creepy Spooky Love.
Chelsey’s BIO
Chelsey M. Ortega is a teacher by day and award-winning author by night. History is her first love, and any story involving magic and romance, her second love. She especially loves witches and is still awaiting her acceptance letter to a well-known school. Chelsey received her Bachelor’s in History Teaching from Brigham Young University. In addition to writing, Chelsey teaches high school U.S. History and ELD. She lives in Utah with her husband, three children, and two cats.
I hope you loved getting to know Chelsey M. Ortega and hearing from her main character in her latest release, To Sign or Not To Sign. If you haven’t added this to your TBR yet, now’s the time—trust me, you won’t want to miss it. 💖
You can connect with Chelsey M. Ortega here:
🔗 Website: www.chelseymortega.com
📱 Socials: Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | BlueSky
🛒 Grab her books: Amazon
Thank you for joining me in spotlighting a fellow author who’s giving us all the feels. Stay tuned for more author features, book talk, and behind-the-scenes romance goodness.
Until next time—keep reading, keep swooning! 💖