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G.M. Gray

@gmgray.bsky.social

1.3K followers 650 following 2.3K posts

they/them Writer. Artist. Gun metal gray. I am writing queer normative sci-fi blending literature, genre, and weeby anime fun! https://linktr.ee/gmgraywrites

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · May 8

New trope list just dropped! If you're looking for queer-normative sci-fi involving some combination of drama, political intrigue, hopeful world building, and nonstop banter, check out Triple Strike!

books2read.com/u/mgxo8R
books2read.com/u/38N6AL
books2read.com/u/b5Ga6O
books2read.com/u/3yxOXe

A promotional image featuring all four covers of the Triple Strike series: Threads of Fate, Pasts Revisited, A Gathering Storm, Threads Unbound. Beside these images is the title "Triple Strike: A space opera light novel" followed by a list of tropes:
Found Family
Queer Normative
Sunshine x Grumpy
World-building Focused
Political Intrigue
Oblivious Ace Problems
Ensemble Cast
Swashbuckling Banter
Occasional Space Furries

A mood board with a background of stars titled "Triple Strike" in purple letters. There are eight images total. The top left is the largest, and it features a schooner sailing across what appears to be a sea of stars into a nebula. It may just be a reflection on the ocean as well. Next to this image are a sequence of three, small images. The top image shows an illustration of a smiling woman's face with dark skin and curly blonde hair against a background of flowers. She has a red bandanna. The next shows the hilt of a silver basket-hilt rapier on a background of wood. The third shows the bottom half of a ma'jenn's face. They have curling ram's horns, silver dreadlocks with bells intertwined in them, and dark skin. They are wearing a blue tunic decorated with silver embroidery. The next image on the middle left is a stock image of a map strewn with money, an old camera, a magnifying glass, and a passport. The image on the middle right is an illustration of Alan and Sven from Triple Strike. They are lying on a bed smiling at each other. Alan has darker skin and brown hair. He is shirtless. Sven has pale skin, lavender hair, and green eyes. On the bottom left, is another illustration from Triple Strike. It is Alan shirtless looking over his shoulder. He has his hair pulled up, and he is sweating. His dragon tattoo on his shoulder is readily visible. On the bottom right is a picture of a landscape with the Milky Way visible in the night sky.

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 8h

#OctoberWorldbuilders Day 10/11

Pyrean sand sailing is both cooperative and competitive. Since the skiffs need enough lift to rise off the sand, they were originally piloted solo or in pairs, but as the sport expanded to other biomes/planets, the boats were modified, allowing for larger teams.

October Worldbuilders prompt list

WEEK 1: DESERTS
1: Name of a desert in your world
2: What’s your desert society like?
3: Desert town architecture
4: Desert animals/plants
5: Myth/legend/religion about
desert
6: How do they survive?
7: Clothes/dance/music from
desert society

WEEK 2: SPORTS AND GAMES
8: Does your MC play a sport?
9: Board games in your book’s world?
10: Competitive game/sport
11: Cooperative game/sport
12: Equipment/pieces
13: History/famous figure involved in a sport/game
14: Strategy for winning

WEEK 3: INFRASTRUCTURE AND CITIES
15: Trade routes
16: Fire/police/hospital services
17: Where does their food come from?
18: Tech: Electricity? Steam power? Mills?
19: Sanitation, sewer system, hygiene
20: Who developed the infrastructure? Government employees? Soldiers? Private business? Are taxes or slaves involved?
21: Housing (Style? Architecture? Amenities available in your world?)

WEEK 4: AESTHETCS/VIBES
22: Share a moodboard or art
23: Aesthetics of a town/city
24: Overall vibe of your story/book/wip
25: Religious/cultural vibes/influences
26: Clothing and accessories
27: What feeling or thoughts do you hope your readers come away with after reading your story?
28: Something special about your world

Extra days:
29: Plans for next month
30: Recent character you’ve created
31: Which of your characters would you like to see someone cosplay? (Or who would you cosplay yourself?)

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 8h

Yeah but as I wrote it, I realized this maybe doesn’t count as true pantsing 😂

Reposted by G.M. Gray

Solomon Skalozub🌻🔱🍁 @sollizyy.bsky.social · 7d

Do you want a story with a charming trans man mc who is a swordfighter, rides a horse and wins the hearts of maidens? This one has a tragic ending but it does hit those notes too.

Solomon Skalozub🌻🔱🍁 @sollizyy.bsky.social · Jul 16

Reminder that I'm a transmasc author! I wrote this novella last year, main character is a trans man, I donate my royalties to various Ukrainian fundraisers, and if you can't afford to purchase, no worries, it's totally free to read on ao3, AFF and wattpad!

A promotional poster for Flowers for a Vinok, Roses for a Babushka, Poppies for a Grave by Solomon Skalozub. It shows the book cover, a drawing of the three lead characters with their arms around each other (Mykola, Amvrosiy and Solomiya) their clothes are slightly damp. There are three short reviews above it: "..a tale of heroism in a time of dispair..." - Dani Finn

"...a thrilling tale of oneself, love, and one's own sense of duty." - T. C. Rasch

"A heart wrecking story filled with love and horror.." - Kindle customer

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 9h

I’m a planner but I “pantsed” the first book of Triple Strike…I use quotes here because it was based on an old web comic so I kinda had an outline 😅. I do find myself outlining halfway through even when I try to pants, because it just massively simplifies overcoming plot holes imo.

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 14h

Thanks for the heads up!

G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 1d

I have never heard the term “life-maxing” before but if someone said this to me, I’m pretty sure I’d burst out laughing and say “you’re a twat” before I could stop myself 🙂‍↕️

G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 2d

👀

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 2d

#OctoberWorldbuilders Day 9

Cards are really popular on the Swallow (given the pyrean belief in Fate, they love games involving luck and wagers). And while I haven't specifically designed a board game, pyreans adore Earth's Age of Sail, so I'd be shocked if there wasn't a sailing-themed one.

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Reposted by G.M. Gray

Rebecca E. Reyes @rebeccareyeswriting.com · 2d

As the arcane vanish in the sacred imperial capital, a circus showgirl learns the city’s secrets.

books2read.com/u/mvw8Pe

Other characters include:

💀Glamorous necromancers
📸A ghost detective in a camera
✨Awkward holy people with guns
💪A shirtless strongman

The below⬇️

#Booksky💙📚 #SFF #Books

The book, Sigils of Malice, with arrows pointing to all of the awesome stuff in the book.

Flawed, Masculine female MC
The World's Smallest Unicorn
Reluctant partnerships
Magitek Science Fantasy
Cactus Dryad Entomologist
Tested Loyalties
Unique 1910's worldbuilding

Website is: www.RebeccaReyesWriting.com

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Reposted by G.M. Gray

Niranjan 🇮🇳 @ormakal.bsky.social · 3d

Check out these awesome LGBT sci fi books! My superhero book is part of this!

💙📚 🌈🚀💫 📚🌎 📢📚 🩷🧙♂️⚔️ 🪐📚 #booksky #queersky #scifi #queerauthor

October LGBT Science Fiction (Sci-Fi Romance included)

Searching for your next favorite story? Look no further! These authors have teamed up to offer a delightful selection of books.

books.bookfunnel.com

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 3d

Yeah but there’s a difference between what I like and what makes something good :P

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 3d

If you ask me what my books are about or comps or w/e, I can be pretty articulate and capable-seeming but if you ask me what makes them good/opinion-type questions I’m internally like “you got me! Probably nothing tbh! Sorry for wasting your time!”

Which is dumb and annoying. Wouldn’t recommend 🙄

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Reposted by G.M. Gray

Joharra Harper @joharraharper.bsky.social · 3d

PLEASE HELP! We are low on food and starving and could use some money. Anything will help! ko-fi.com/joharraharpe...

ko-fi.com

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 3d

Congratulations!

G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 3d

frfr 😭

I hope you get some traction on those posts regardless!

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 3d

Yeah, I definitely feel the "everything else happening" in my bones 💀. That may be it. I've been popping on to post this or that and check my timeline a bit, but it's honestly overwhelming, so I'm not interacting as much and maybe that's how others are feeling too 😭

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Reposted by G.M. Gray

Laika L. Gagarin @laikalgagarin.bsky.social · 4d

Need to hit 50% on this goal by the end of the month! Please share!
ko-fi.com/laikalgagari...

Support LaikaLGagarin

ko-fi.com

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 3d

I've never had much traction under the best of circumstances tbh, but yeah, the feeling of *crickets chirping* has intensified for me...

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 3d

#OctoberWorldbuilders Day 8

Alan fences! He loves fencing. He's extremely good at fencing (despite me screwing him in book one hahaha). His family heirloom, Drachewunden, is a sabre, and while he's very good at sabre-style combat fencing, he's even better at foil in sport fencing.

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 3d

#OctoberWorldbuilders Day 7

I'm late, but...traditional desert attire is what you'd expect: loose garb that fully covers skin, shawls for nose and mouth protection. Humans rarely visit Pyre, but it's standard procedure to issue breathers to the ones that do, given its dense, high grav atmosphere.

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 3d

I don't write much (if any) poetry these days, but I used to. I'm not a trained poet in any capacity (though I love poetry), so if the meter and flow or whatever seems to suggest I have no idea what I'm doing, it's because I don't 😆.

The title of the piece is "Elephant Graveyard." There is an ink drawing of an elephant skull with a broken tusk, a femur, and a broken rib cage. Below is the poem:

“It's time to lay these bones to rest,
So I follow ghost-like footsteps
Tracing trails I know but never walked.

This path is older than me and wiser,
And its rocks have worn smooth
Under those who came before.

With each step, I shed first skin then flesh.
By the time I arrive, I'm nothing but bone --
That too begins to bleach and crack.

There was no need to cling to these sins.
There was no need to fear this loss.
Ivory will also melt into dust someday.

If I have the right to pray, my last request is this:
May the hurt I caused wash away in the rain
Leaving only a good memory to haunt my bones.”

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 4d

Nothing making sense is the Jamie Hewlett special to be fair 😂

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 4d

Omg I love this movie so much. Lori Petty 😍

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 4d

Quote with two characters you like and since I don't know five people it’s a free for all 😊

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G.M. Gray @gmgray.bsky.social · 4d

Overcoming negative self talk yay! Also you're beautiful 💜

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