“A good story is a dream shared by the author and the reader. Anything that wakes the reader from the dream is a mortal sin.” ― Victor J. Banis #books #booksky #indieauthors #authors #writingcommunity #readers #quotes #writer #📚💙 #story #sin

#FantasyIndiesJanuary Day 19- Weaknesses Jaris' weakness is a false sense of politeness; a people pleaser. Meanwhile Junalee learns to assert herself, but doesn't learn how to pick her battles, definitely to her detriment. Marvee is a push over. And Menther: indulgence is his weakness, for sure.

👑 Royal family drama 💍 Arranged marriage ⚔️ War and strategy ✨ Magic 🔥 Original mythology Come join Dokiro, Ambea, Danola, and others as they set to put the right family back on the throne- whatever the cost. Book 1/10 of the series #AStoryOfDainu #IndieAuthors #📚💙 #WritingCommunity #EpicFantasy

Had company over today, so I didn't get to my regular online updates. Instead, let me just leave this Saturday nugget of wisdom: Keep the humanities human. Art, literature, dance, song, music, poetry... Never let them give our souls away to algorithmic computation. The arts are of/for/by PEOPLE.

#FantasyIndiesJanuary 16- #FreeFriday You guuuuuuuuys!!! 🤩🥰❤️😭🥳 Seriously, #IndieAuthors, #Booksky, and the #WritingCommunity are the absolute best!! So excited to meet more of you, and go on these adventures together!!

"Where there is no human connection, there is no compassion. Without compassion, community, commitment, loving-kindness, human understanding, and peace all shrivel. Art and literature are antidotes to that." - Susan Vreeland #art #literature #readers #writingcommunity #connection #LifeIn2026

#FantasyIndiesJanuary 15- recent reads Last: 铜钱龛世 vol 2. It's cute, but like- everyone said My Su Li's THE author to read...It's a children's book. Current: Forcing myself to pause 将进酒 bc it's so damn good, and I'll be devastated when it's over! Next: I'm excited for the next volumes of 天宝伏妖录.

"Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations." ― Ray Bradbury #writingcommunity #authors #characters #books #stories #booksky #indieauthor #ForThePlot #quotes

#FantasyIndiesJanuary 14- What do I hope to improve this year? It's fascinating to me that when I first started writing these books 20yrs ago, the prose was heavy and elevated and expressed emotion so well! Now, it feels very YA. I want to vamp up my prose... Without being suicidal again, though.

"Authors must spend months, years making fantasy believable in a single work, while reality runs rampant in complete chaos elsewhere." - Don Roff How hard it must be to write dystopian literature these days! #writingcommunity #indieauthor #writesky #reading #books #booksky #quotes #📚💙

#FantasyIndiesJanuary 13- Character #PetPeeves Jaris quickly learns he hates alcoholics. Junalee comes to despise hypocrisy. Menther is easily peeved by any inconvenience. He also hates being corrected. And Marvee will rip on anything that's fashionable to rip on.

"Don't just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person." - Epictetus #books #reading #learning #discriminating #literature #quotes #ThinkBetter #ImproveYourself #EducateYourself #booksky #writingcommunity

FantasyIndiesJanuary 12- #Shoutout I've never met any of you in person, but a big thank you for all the support and encouragement to @stephens.website @tebean.bsky.social @kevin-gallant.bsky.social @tamarasharker.com @amworleywriter.bsky.social @fozmeadows.bsky.social @willelm.bsky.social

So pumped for #bluepit tomorrow! I can't participate this time, since I'll be at work all day- boooo! But know that I'm so excited to see all the incredible stories this amazing community has to offer Y'all are rock stars!! 🤩🤘📚💙 Best of luck!!

“Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” — Gloria Steinem #writing #author #books #writesky #booksky #indieauthor #quotes #DoIt

Three hundred years after the rightful lineage is exiled, the heir comes to reclaim what is his. Taking Ral Palace is easy- keeping it is another story. #AStoryOfDainu #EpicFantasy #BookSky #AmQuerying

#FantasyIndiesJanuary 11- #Lore So, this is gonna have to be a 🧵, cause there's too much! Firstly, #AStoryOfDainu is an entirely original universe. It is not based on European myths of dragons and elves, or Arabic myths of gen and sorcery. It is an original mythos,with original ppls and languages.

“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” — Franz Kafka #books #writingcommunity #indieauthor #booksky #writesky #HeWouldKnow #quotes #WriteWhatYouLove #stories

#FantasyIndiesJanuary #SaturdaySnippet Opening scene of "High Winds and Low Whispers". #AStoryOfDainu #WIP #EpicFantasy #Quotes #AmQuerying

#FantasyIndiesJanuary 9- #FridayPromo A Purnma has three stages in life: scaly childhood, fleshly adulthood, and winged old age. Jaris spent his scales across the world. Now as an adult, he must learn to sail through hypocrisy, arrogance, and manipulation if he ever hopes to finally soar.

#FantasyIndiesJanuary day8- strengths I write #EpicFantasy bc I am very good at elaborate, vivid, almost opulent descriptions within a distinct narrative voice. My beta readers described my writing as "GoT meets Pride and Prejudice meets Miyazaki." (!!!) By contrast- Brevity? Never heard of her!

“Just because you’re a slow reader doesn’t mean you’re a bad one.” — Joe Walters Reading is not a race. It's not a contest to see who reads the most. Did you enjoy what you read? Did you learn? Did you use your imagination? Did you change prior biases? Then it was enough. #📚💙 #reading #books

Melt, and no more be seen

#JanuaryWorldBuilders 7- what inspired you to create your world? Oh boy! Strap in for a thread! 🧵 The short answer is loneliness. I had grown up with lots of siblings, only to be entirely isolated overseas in my teens. This, paired with a family history of "wild imagination" (ie, BPD),...

#FantasyIndiesJanuary day 7- first line of WIP, High Winds and Low Whispers. It had been twenty-seven years since they had seen those pillars. #AStoryOfDainu #FirstLine #Quotes #indieauthor #WIP #epicfantasy #booksky

“Woke up this morning with a terrific urge to lie in bed all day and read.” — Raymond Carver #Same #reading #books #booksky #readers #morning #indieauthors #quotes

#FantasyIndiesJanuary 6- Tropes I want More poly rep!! More child-free rep!! More gay-is-normal/expected-and-irrelevant rep!! Now, do I write those? No. I mean, in my fan-fics, yes, but...

#BluePit is ready to kick off 2026! Creators in the #WritingCommunity, #GameDev & #IndieDev, #TTRPG, and #Comic communities get ready to pitch or promote your projects! #BluePit will be taking place on Jan 13th, 2026! And #BluePitHype starts January 8th! #WriteSky #Writers #AmAgenting #LitAgents

“Reading is an active, imaginative act; it takes work.” ― Khaled Hosseini #reading #books #booksky #quotes #act #work #readingcommunity #indieauthor

#FantasyIndiesJanuary 5- Writing Habits The most successful year I've ever had, in which I finished two whole books, I didn't have a set word count "goal", rather I just kept track of how many I wrote. That alone gave me the confidence and motivation to keep doing more every day. Highly recommend!

“It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own.” — Arthur Conan Doyle #books #booksky #reading #homelibrary #quotes #sherlock #adulting #readingcommunity #indieauthor

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 4- something terrifying Any and all of the Katakoy. Even if some are kind, they're still too mighty to not fear. Also the Dost. Those guys will kill ya dead. "Sea serpents" that love MEAT. In a spooky vein- The Hall of Souls in Ral is pretty ominous and creepy to outsiders.

#FantasyIndiesJanuary Day 4: MC's goals. Originally, Jaris and Junalee were sweet, naive, young people who just wanted to share their knowledge and adjust to being "home". In the end, Junalee wanted "to bring a tide to a puddle", and Jaris just wanted to feel an ounce of joy again.

#FantasyIndiesJanuary Day 3: #SaturdaySnippet Dhrisamie - the "welcome home" specialist - has just told the four cultural reps that they'll be getting the thrill of a lifetime today: meeting their maker! Their lack of excitement was not what Dhrisamie was expecting...

“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” — Victor Hugo #books #reading #readers #booksky #writingcommunity #quotes #literature #learning

All the various ways Death mistrested Lisgro to make him so obsessive and shitty. We know he wasn't "the one" she wanted, but we don't know HOW she punished him for not being "Him". We also NEVER see a Wupi in the entire series, despite their repeated mention. #AStoryOfDainu #JanuaryWorldbuilders

#FantasyIndiesJanuary Day 2 Jaris has returned to his homeland after years of maritime adventures. He was told he would be welcomed as a hero. He was told his insights were invaluable. He was told his fellow Purnma were the greatest beings in Dainu! He was lied to. #Booksky #IndieAuthor #📚💙

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ― Albert Einstein #quotes #intelligence #books #reading #booksky #writingcommunity #ReadToChildren

Excited to participate in this month's #FantasyIndiesJanuary! My name is Duke, and I am writing an epic fantasy decalogy with entirely original mythologies, histories, and languages. The series is called #AStoryOfDainu, and this month, I'm promoting book 3: "High Winds and Low Whispers".

My 2026 goals: - learn 5 new words per week, and use them in natural conversation - read 25 books - jog/elliptical 45 min, 3x per week - learn 3 new songs on piano and 5 on ukulele - make 3-5 new friends - write >1000 words per week in my books / complete one one of them #HappyNewYear one and all!

You’re going to be okay. Someone will hate your book. You’re going to be okay. Someone will not get what you’re trying to do with your art and judge you. You’re going to be okay. You’re going to keep creating, in 2026, because you need it and because the world needs you to. Okay?

"I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature." - John Steinbeck #quotes #booksky #writingcommunity #writesky #literature #indieauthors #writers #humannature #Steinbeck

“There are many little ways to enlarge your world. Love of books is the best of all.” — Jacqueline Kennedy #books #reading #worldview #booksky #writingcommunity #indieauthors

“Books are a form of political action. Books are knowledge. Books are reflection. Books change your mind.” ― Toni Morrison #booksky #books #quotes #politicalaction #indieauthor #writingcommunity #reflection #PowerOfBooks #reading

Writing is hard, but you know what's harder? Having a million thoughts echo in your head without an opportunity to develop and come to life. They'll haunt you if you keep them to yourself, so #KeepWriting #Authors #Writers #Booksky #IndieAuthor

“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” — Jim Rohn #quotes #booksky #books #reading #readers #riseabove #writingcommunity #indieauthor #library #literature

Across eleven tribes of magic, three unifying principles exist: family, justice, and peace. But Dokiro, the rightful heir to the queen's throne, may only claim two of these, and no throne is claimed without consequence. #AStoryOfDainu #booksky #SaturdayPromo #indieauthor #originalmythos #📚💙

"Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know." — Alberto Manguel #books #reading #findthewords #writingcommunity #writesky #readers #indieauthors #quotes #darkness

Which quote do you like the most?

"That's what fiction is for. It's for getting at the truth when the truth isn't sufficient for the truth." - Tim O'Brien #booksky #books #stories #reading #writing #writingcommunity #indieauthors #fiction #truth