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C A Malin

@camalin.net

260 followers 390 following 540 posts

I'm a fledgling author, in the process of writing and self-publishing my first novel, a Regency/Fantasy crossover titled #Ellamir 🇬🇧 | He/Him | 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Ally | AI-phobic More socials & content | linktr.ee/c.a.malin

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C A Malin @camalin.net · Sep 1

It's so exciting to be writing my first novel: #Ellamir, a #Regency adventure #romance, featuring characters exceedingly similar to some of the most memorable #JaneAusten creations, trying to maintain decorum in an increasingly chaotic high #fantasy world. Coming in 2026!

#Fiction #BookSky #Authors

On the left, a portrait of a young woman in Regency dress looks out at the viewer, while on the right, the novel's tagline reads: "Handsome, clever and rich, Miss Ellamir Oakhall lacks neither fortune nor consequence and is decidedly not in want of a husband..."
Below this, the novel's title: "Ellamir" by C A Malin - the Bluesky tag @camalin.net and the hashtag #Ellamir

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Reposted by C A Malin

Tara S Ghoul @tarasgeir.bsky.social · 3d

From ‘an untouched journey’ about a space pilot taking her telepathic wife on a secret, galactic, anniversary trip.

Gloria tries to safely fly through a field of cast off diamonds without destroying her ship. #writingcommunity #writesky #writingprompts

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 3d

Hi hi, WIPperSnippers! 😊

Happy to be able to use this exchange again from my #JaneAusten x #Fantasy crossover WIP #Ellamir: it's the first explicit discussion of the Elves, a race largely misunderstood and maligned by the villagers.

#WIPSnips #WritingPrompts #Romantasy #SFF #IndieAuthors #Elves

A snippet from Ellamir by C A Malin:
Hannah listened, but at first she heard nothing; then suddenly, as if brought to her by the sunset breeze, she caught the softest strain of a long, high chord suspended on the air. It was joined by another; Hannah realised then that it was voices, singing somewhere in the distance.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"Elves," said Maqine.
"Oh! goodness! What shall we do?!"
Maqine looked at her quizically. "What d'ye mean, what shall we do?" she said.
"Elves," said Hannah in an urgent whisper, "Are they coming? Should we run?"
Maqine's puzzlement was quite reasonable: she had no fear of the elves, had a certain amount of experience of them, even called a few of them friends; but among the citizens of Upthorpe, of all the outsider creatures that surrounded them and posed a threat to their - to any - civilised community, elves were the most dreaded and reviled. They were unnatural, supernatural in fact, quite inhuman; they sought only to trouble the lives of good people, taking their livestock and even kidnapping their children; they carried magic within them, dreadful wild magic of terrible power, quite uncontrolled; it was said that they could destroy your mind if you should happen to look at them in the wrong way.
"Everyone is afraid of them," Hannah explained, when Maqine seemed unconcerned, "they say they are dangerous."
"Well, I suppose they can be," said Maqine, "but there's elves and elves, if you know what I mean. Most of them are quite harmless, unless you get too close to their settlements. It wouldn't do at all to wander into their world, but out here we're quite safe. Listen… isn't it beautiful?"

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Reposted by C A Malin

Jan Karlsson @jangoeswriting.bsky.social · 10d

Stretchy synonym again. ‘Claws’ instead of ‘paw’. S’all I got.🤷🏻‍♂️

From ‘Prophet Hearing’.

#WiPSnips

“Well, I could always pay someone else to do it. They do say two mages are better than four.” None was better than any, but Tibias didn’t have the time. “The mage is Hugot Muckleflup. Are you going to do it, or should Cribb, here, put away this bag of Coin he happens to be bouncing on his palm in a nonchalant fashion?”

He was, too. Tibias had taught the boy the technique to make it just the right amount of enticing to the right person. Of course, he’d had to have the boy steal the Coin purse earlier, but he couldn’t get around to it himself at the moment. If this were some kind of projected sequence of images, created by brilliant minds to entertain the masses, pictures of Coins would flash in Gulpor’s eyes, but it wasn’t, so they didn’t. He did lick his lips, though, fingers reaching, tentatively, like claws, toward the bouncing bag.

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Reposted by C A Malin

Tara S Ghoul @tarasgeir.bsky.social · 10d

I had paw in 'First to Fall' but it was a spoiler so here's one from it's sequel, about a group of companions trying to find a cure for a terrible plague. Alitzah is wondering who the wizard could be. #writesky #writingcommunity #writingprompts

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 13d

It is kinda stressful right the way through, which usually I would find off-putting, but something about the way it's written instead made me not want to stop reading. I was expecting a lot more trauma TBH, I think because of the film being so terrifying (much more than the book, I felt)

C A Malin @camalin.net · 13d

I was pretty blown away by it, to be honest. I had avoided it for decades because of the shadow of the film, which is waaaay bleaker than the book it seems.

I felt that the mythical story passages served as a respite from the tension for the reader, as well as cheering up the rabbits! Very clever

C A Malin @camalin.net · 13d

Best of luck! I know how hard it is.

I went over to vaping a few years ago, and because I make my own liquid, I've been reducing the nicotine in it - it didn't make me want to vape *more*, but the idea of stopping completely terrifies me. But I must do it some day...

C A Malin @camalin.net · 13d

This was on my mind when I commissioned some art and changed my PFP.

Interestingly, I don't find a moot's PFP change on BSky disruptive generally, but it does throw me a bit when it happens on Discord. Wonder why that disparity?

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Reposted by C A Malin

Jan Karlsson @jangoeswriting.bsky.social · 13d

It sounds like a plan … a terrible plan, but a plan …

From ‘Prophet Hearing’.

#WiPSnips

“So, correct me if I’m wrong, but your solution is to let this worm crap information into my brain that could, possibly, be the catalyst for the End of All Things? To allow the prophecies to be spoken and thus usher in a time of great darkness and suffering for, at the very least, this city and, quite possibly, the entire world?” It was a good thing his walking stick was by the door, because he could see it walking its way around the back of Hugot and Gulpor’s heads. “Is that what you’re saying.”

“Absolutely not!”

“Not in the slightest!”

“It would be utterly ridiculous to even countenance such a thing. Beyond ridiculous. Utter nonsense that …” Hugot’s shoulders slumped and his hat nearly tumbled from his head, saved by a swift hand. “Yes. That's what we’re saying.”

“And the jar and butterfly net?”

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 13d

No "swift" for today's #WIPSnips so it'll have to be "fast"

Hannah gets a most peculiar feeling upon meeting a new neighbour, and it's not just because she has red skin, horns and a tail! ❤️‍🔥

So begins the #sapphic subplot of #Ellamir, my #JaneAusten / #Fantasy crossover novel

A snippet from Ellamir by C A Malin:
"Oh! why, I suppose I am… Miss Wright, Miss Hannah Wright… very pleased to make your acquaintance I am quite sure," she blustered, for her heart was now beating awfully fast, "I suppose I am a local, certainly, for I live at the school… in the village... yes, very bright, very bright indeed, and so hot that… goodness! I am quite at a loss to… that is… you seem awfully busy… have you been working very hard, and under this very hot sun…?"
"Oh, only for half an hour," said Maqine brightly, "I'm always this colour."
Hannah swallowed and caught her breath, blushing even harder, because even though she had never met anyone who looked quite like Maqine - had never met anybody who looked very different from herself, in fact - she was certain that it was deeply impolite to allude so openly about someone's appearance, even if you hadn't meant to. But Maqine apparently did not care; rather she seemed to think it extremely funny. Laughing heartily, she swiped at Hannah playfully with her tail and cut off her stammered apology by saying "Well now, never mind it! Just my bit of fun. A person ends up with a whole sackful of icebreakers when they look like I do!"
"Oh! goodness, well, yes, most amusing," tittered Hannah, trying desperately to look like she enjoyed the joke, "I suppose you do, but I think you look very nice! I mean, very… oh! forgive me… very nice…"

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 13d

Of all the remarkable things about Watership Down, this is the one that really impressed me - how the reader is, like the rabbits, held in a state of constant apprehension even when they're doing something cosy like homemaking or nestling together.

Aud Connelly @audconnelly.bsky.social · 14d

I actually really love some cozy stories and admire the authors who can keep up the tension/interest in those plots, cuz sometimes I struggle to maintain story tension when characters aren't screaming and fighting for their lives. 😆

Probably the biggest skill area I'd like to improve upon.

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 14d

There are some very pretty editions out there... the Penguin cloth-bound is particularly lovely...

C A Malin @camalin.net · 14d

I'm sorry!! It's so compelling I raced through it 😆

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 14d

Yeah, I already decided I can't read Plague Dogs

C A Malin @camalin.net · 14d

This. I just finished WD and found it a lot less traumatic than I expected - so the question is, why make the movie so upsetting?!

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 14d

I just read your favourite Bigwig deliver the best line in the entire book (all in Lapine)

C A Malin @camalin.net · 15d

Same! He's the rabbit I most identify with, I think, though I also identify with Hazel as he has a leadership style I really like and try to use myself, recognising others' strengths and helping them contribute to the whole with kindness and encouragement

C A Malin @camalin.net · 15d

Do you have a favourite rabbit from WD, @tarasgeir.bsky.social ?

I'm trying to decide mine...

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 15d

Yep, turns out they're a militant bunch, generally speaking...

C A Malin @camalin.net · 15d

Excellent choice!

Reposted by C A Malin

Jan Karlsson @jangoeswriting.bsky.social · 15d

Bit of a synonym stretch. ‘Interest’ instead of ‘absorb’.

From ‘Prophet Hearing’.

#WiPSnips

It was always the way of the gods to not take too much of an interest in the dealings of the Mortal Realm, because that only encouraged them and there were only so many days in eternity to be wasted on people wanting blessings on their favourite sports teams. Money didn’t change hands when gods made wagers, they dealt in more esoteric, more ineffable commodities. Favours, mostly, but favours of gods were usually worth having, even if that favour was owed by Klart, who the other gods refused to allow near the dice in case he got snot over them.

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 15d

A #WIPSnips entry today from my second WIP, #Temeraire

Commander Valliers finds himself in a peculiar position, aboard ship as a mere passenger and therefore powerless to do anything but wait for the outcome of his most dangerous enterprise yet

#Regency #NavalFiction #HistoricalFiction #AgeOfSail

A snippet from Temeraire by C A Malin:
Valliers stood by the taffrail, absorbed in anxiety. He had never felt so strongly the peculiar circumstance of being upon another officer’s quarterdeck, outranking the officer of the watch and holding theoretical authority yet, through immemorial custom and common decency, being forced to only observe, a mere passenger. Great responsibility weighed upon him, yet he was powerless to do anything other than watch and wait, a most oppressive state of affairs. He dared not even pace, as he would have done aboard his own command, for fear of drawing attention to himself, reminding the hands and warrant officers that there was a Commander aboard, second only to the Captain himself who slept only a few feet beneath them. Once the task was accomplished, Valliers could remain below deck, or restrict himself to the fo’c’sle and waist, a more comfortable arrangement by far for himself and the crew, but until then, he could not possibly be anywhere else but here at the centre of command, so suffer he must.
A cry from the foremast, not very high up, and moments later, a midshipman scrambled up from the half-deck and saluted the first lieutenant.
“Sir, the signal, to port, sir.”

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 15d

YAY! I am already hrair pages in and loving it, Aud-rah - no real trauma, but very suspenseful, and awfully good 🐇

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C A Malin @camalin.net · 15d

Ishara Yar.

I'd like to have seen her struggle against her inner bad girl and strive to meet Starfleet's exacting standards in her pyjama onesie.

But to be honest, bad girls usually get a raw deal in Trek so perhaps it's for the best we only saw her once...

Ishara Yar - who looks like a female variant of Val Kilmer in Top Gun - on the bridge of the Enterprise-D in a weird blue onesie

C A Malin @camalin.net · 16d

Nick Cave would make an amazing Vorta