Question for #WriteSky and the #WritingCommunity: what are your thoughts on a shared pen name for cowriters vs just...two names on a book? As the publication realm creeps closer for #Shield&Scalpel, I'm wondering how to properly credit both Watson and myself for the work that we've done. [1/2]

An heiress A pirate What happens when the pirate captures the heiress, but the heiress LIKES THAT? And then the pirate GETS FEELS when she's not supposed to? *coming soon (summer?) to Wattpad* #booksky #WriteSky

Happy #Caturday! Sharing this sub-par photo of Magnus from last night because he rarely cuddles with me, but chose to be a member of Team Moral Support as I continue my final proof read-through!

Great news, everyone! @karkkidoesart.bsky.social and I have a fun little prompt game coming next weekend that we hope you'll like: #OCSpeedDating! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 💟𝟏𝟓𝐭𝐡-𝟏𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲💟, but here's a preview to get you thinking. You're welcome to respond graphically or just with text! 🥰

Great news, everyone! @karkkidoesart.bsky.social and I have a fun little prompt game coming next weekend that we hope you'll like: #OCSpeedDating! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 💟𝟏𝟓𝐭𝐡-𝟏𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲💟, but here's a preview to get you thinking. You're welcome to respond graphically or just with text! 🥰

Day 6 of #FebruaryWorldbuilders! <chanting> fungi fungi fungi I have a *plethora* of entries in my fictional herbarium; fictional flora is one of the main inspirations for 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑙𝑒𝑠ℎ as a whole. So, I'm glad we're narrowing this a bit to a forest-dweller! Let's talk about...drake ivy! 🧵

Day 5 of #FantasyWorldbuilders! (Catchup) The Sunrise Desert is in the east of Ícalar and makes up the majority of the country of Balaqalneyis. Though I can't go into much of the 'why' of its existence (including most of its features) without spoilers, I *can* highlight first that its sands... 🧵

Happy Waitangi Day! (TIL) I enjoy both reading and writing political plotlines, but only when they're grounded in character actions *and* they actually serve the plot (and scale accordingly to their relevance to that plot). I also prefer them interspersed with other plotlines! #PretendPanel

SFF Readers, do you like stories which centre friendship, or where friendship groups tackle plot problems? To help you find them, I've organised this 37 book bundle. It's an even split of Fantasy, SciFi & SciFi-Fantasy, available till Feb 15! (Book blurbs in link 😉.) 🌈📚🪐📚💙 itch.io/b/3486/frien...

A little under a month to go! Ícalar awaits! 😍 www.tamarasharker.com linktr.ee/tamarasharker #epicfantasy #fruitofwar #indiebooks #writesky #sff

Day 4 of #FebruaryWorldbuilders! I'm going to cheat a little and include a *cluster* of mountains, since I've talked about the Haaros -- a solitary mountain -- previously. The Horizon Watchers are the only significant mountains in the west of Ícalar, located totally in the country of Kiva. [1/11]

#Draft2Digital authors! Go opt in for Bookshop.org distribution! This is great news. www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Day 3 of #FebruaryWorldbuilders! (Catchup) Here we have (A) the map of Ícalaran tuya as rendered by the lovely and talented Melissa Nash from my notes, design brief, and (B) my original watercolor map with its removable cellophane layers! I'll brag about Melissa first! [1/4]

Let's try this again 🙂 Though this is by the shortest story I've written, I'm nonetheless happy that this gets to be my first published story. Hopefully this is only the beginning! #ShortStory #flashfiction #fiction #writing #WriteSky #fantasy

COPPER SKIN, OAKEN LUNGS is available NOW! 🎉 You can read my new post-apocalyptic fantasy novel wherever you enjoy eBooks or paperbacks. 📚💙 🔗 www.adamcbassett.com/copper-ash

Day 2 of #FebruaryWorldbuilders! 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑙𝑒𝑠ℎ takes place in Ícalar as a whole, but the story specifically spans two countries within it: Üstraria and Ünenshuut. However, the actual contextual scope is much larger. After the War of the Six wherein beings from Azgorach were summoned... [1/?]

Day 1 of #FebruaryWorldbuilders! (Catchup) The setting for 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑙𝑒𝑠ℎ is Ícalar, the continent atop the tuya of the same name. Ícalar is then divided into six inhabited kingdoms and an uninhabited holy site, and around it, wreathed in cloud, is the Precipice. However... [1/2]

We've got another anthology coming out soon! 😍

The past few days I've been conducting my final read-through/mark-up of my proof copy and feeling the inevitable muttering of the perfectionist goblin, who's been tempting me to feel horrified at my writing; these two ARC reviews coming in over the weekend had perfect timing! If I could... [1/3]

In fiction, A or B, never C. A to indicate a trailing-off that'll be followed by a new sentence. (That new sentence will obviously be capitalized.) B to indicate a drawn-out hesitation mid-sentence.

Only two days left before COPPER SKIN, OAKEN LUNGS is yours! Grab the eBook on sale, or pick up the special sprayed edge edition from The Crafty Bookstore before time runs out! And a massive thanks to @myyypod.bsky.social for the amazing review of this book. 🔗 www.adamcbassett.com/copper-ash

I'm trying something new on my website's blog -- indie interviews and reviews! I'm starting with fellow debut epic fantasy indie CE Wright, who's a #SPFBO contender this year and whom I've gotten to know since reading an ARC for him last year. Check it out! www.tamarasharker.com/about-tamara...

Having to strongly resist the urge to be involved in too many prompt series this month! 😣I'll enjoy reading y'all's responses, though!

Final day of #JanuaryWorldbuilders! Thank you, @kiraofthewind.com, as always for hosting! I will always heartily recommend @worldanvil.com even at the free tier! It's a bit of a learning curve but a great place to organize your own worldbuilding wiki. I'm contemplating making... [1/3]

Time for the #FantasyIndiesJanuary monthly wrap-up! + Slow but steady progress on Book 2! 💪 + Most of my marketing experiments have been fun, if not overwhelmingly successful. I've learnt a lot! 📝 + I feel like I'm beginning to find my people! 🥹 + Approx. 28 Days until 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑙𝑒𝑠ℎ is here! 😱

Day 31 of #WritingInJanuary! I log all my stats every 30th, and I'm *so* encouraged to see modest but steady growth in both my socials and things like my freebie downloads. I've also been so fortunate to have received five ARC reviews this month of four stars or more! More than that... [1/2]

All of you participating in #PretendPanel have been so kind and generous! Thank you for being so welcoming, and a special thank-you to @hiriadunning.com as always for hosting! All I'd ask in return is that you keep an eye out for 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑙𝑒𝑠ℎ come 1st March! See my pinned post for more. ❤️

Happy weekend, #PretendPanel friends! Catching up for yesterday. I'm already fairly prolific, but I want to my output to increase and moreover, become more consistent. It may involve adopting an atypical schedule and if so, the fella and I need to find something that works for us both!

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Day 30 of #JanuaryWorldbuilders! Oh, fun question! I actually thought about making this a weekly post of mine once I'm in the weeds of Book 2! "What tabs I had open this week." 😂 Bioluminescence, grafting, mangroves, asexual reproduction, Egyptian coffin texts, and...the Great Siege of Gibraltar!

Day 29 of #JanuaryWorldbuilders! (Catchup) Once I'm done finishing up my prequel novelette in time for it to be my new reader magnet (😬), I'll be diving into Book 2! The greater arc and scope of the series is opening up to me, and while I've already done some outlining and a lot of... [1/3]

Day 30 of #FantasyIndiesJanuary! 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑙𝑒𝑠ℎ really begins as more of a cut-and-dry epic fantasy, even if it is more of the cerebral mystery sort, with its gothic horror flavors on the lighter side. I'm looking forward to really cranking up the gothic horror in Book 2 and bringing in... [1/2]

Day 29 of #FantasyIndiesJanuary! (Catchup) (Interpreting this as not my own!) I have a few favorites, either because I think they're well-written or just because I love them! Among them: Verin from WoT, Major Motoko Kusanagi from GitS, Askeladd from Vinland Saga, and Dr Tenma from Monster.

Day 30 of #WritingInJanuary! I don't think you could catch Fîeron dead at a gala of any kind. 😂

Day 29 of #WritingInJanuary! (Catchup) I have an array of antagonists, though most aren't front-and-center in 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑙𝑒𝑠ℎ; I'd say a modest portion are redeemable (or at least would make for an interesting subplot to try to redeem, even if it ultimately fails). I can't talk about... [1/2]

This is promising! While it's only for indie *booksellers*, any and all indie-focused recognition efforts are good news. www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief...

🔴ATTENTION🔴 #WritingCommunity & #ReadersCommunity! In celebration of its inclusion in #SPFBO, my debut novel will be available for FREE on Amazon from 2/11 - 2/14! If you've had this on your TBR, this is your chance to snag it! Set your calendars & get ready to read!

A little over a month from now, the clouds will part to reveal Ícalar! As something of a teaser, I’ll be sharing some of my chapter epigraphs in the run-up! www.tamarasharker.com linktr.ee/tamarasharker #epicfantasy #fruitofwar #indiebooks #writesky #sff

My Writing Breakdown: Cozy: . . . . . Thrills: 🍎🍎🍎. . Mystery: 🍎🍎🍎. . Angst: 🍎🍎. . Sex/Spice: . . . . . Violence: 🍎🍎🍎🍎. Horror: 🍎🍎🍎. . Gore: 🍎🍎. . . Comedy: 🍎. . . . Cringe: . . . . . Representation: 🍎🍎. . . (Being modest here since it's subtle.) Genre(s): Epic fantasy, dark fantasy

Day 28 of #JanuaryWorldbuilders! Rehashing myself a little in that I'm focusing again on the War of the Six. At face value, the prelude to it was disagreement over the application of the newly-discovered ìkam fruit, which I've covered in a prior post, but the actual inciting conflict... [1/6]

Day 27 of #JanuaryWorldbuilders! (Catchup) While there isn't much by way of large-scale weaponry at the start of the "Stone and Flesh", siege *tactics* and specialists have been used frequently in the past. The Mulîr of the Üstrarian Itoqîr, for example, have sappers. It'd also be remiss... [1/3]

Day 28 of #FantasyIndiesJanuary! In the vein of nervous tics, Fîeron tends to twist his memento mori ring on his thumb when anxious. In terms of lifestyle habits, he's pretty disciplined because honestly, he can't afford not to be. Among them are things like leading daily supplications... [1/2]

Day 27 of #FantasyIndiesJanuary! (Catchup) The scope changed a little, and the plot both deepened and straightened out a little -- though it remains complicated and pretty cerebral, I took out a lot of unnecessary twists and turns to either save them for later or discard entirely. [1/2]

Day 28 of #WritingInJanuary! I feel like such a party pooper for these last two days, because I can't share the most accurate response to this either, because spoilers! 😭 Suffice it to say, it's not exactly an unfamiliar setting, but it's made lonely by a conversation that happens in it.

Day 27 of #WritingInJanuary! (Catchup) I can't actually share what *snippet* I'm most proud of, because spoilers, but honestly I'm most proud of "Stone and Flesh" taken as a whole. It's the way it reflects back on itself that I love the most over any single part!

A little over a month from now, the clouds will part to reveal Ícalar! As something of a teaser, I’ll be sharing some of my chapter epigraphs in the run-up! www.tamarasharker.com linktr.ee/tamarasharker #epicfantasy #fruitofwar #indiebooks #writesky #sff

I've been grateful for and love all of my early reviews, but it's especially satisfying when someone really latches on to what you were aiming for! Things are feeling grim and stressful right now but little things like this are helping keep me going. A great start to the morning!

Fîeron came from two parts: I knew I wanted a specific role as my MC, and then I filled that framework with an already-developed character from a past project! I talk a little more about why I wanted a funeral director as my MC in the blog post below. [1/2] www.tamarasharker.com/about-tamara...

This week from my #ShortStory vault In a barren landscape, a dreamer encounters stones strewn about with uneasy questions. Can the dreamer find relief in his restless dreams as he loses faith in the guiding precepts of his life? #fiction #writing #WriteSky #fantasy

Day 26 of #JanuaryWorldbuilders! Ah, I can't resist going back to the Itoqîr for this one. Important contextual reminder: Itoqîr culture is based heavily on myths of the Great Sky Drake, so they have something of a draconic theme, and the number eight since it's sacred to her. Firstly... [1/9]