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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice

@sagecollins.bsky.social

400 followers 140 following 3.1K posts

Mad scientist, testing H2O to keep it safe from supervillains & polluters. Prolly posting about writing, workouts, games/tv, or cats. Maybe about mud. She/her. No LLMs/AI allowed

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 16d

Ice cream orders:

Sunny Ray: birthday cake w/ hot fudge, whipped cream, & rainbow sprinkles. Add more scoops w/ other flavors, please!
Jack Frost: plain vanilla…until Ray adds some toppings
Daisy: coffee
Ski: lemon sorbet
Mother Nature: strawberry
Father Time: green tea
#UnhingedPit #YA #LGBT #F #Q

a glass bowl filled with ice cream scoops and chocolate covered strawberries .

Alt: A collection of ice creams: a sundae with lots of flavors, cones with rainbows of scoops, an ice cream bar on a stick, a cone with fresh strawberries on the soft serve…

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Sage like the Pumpkin Spice

GiannaMarie @giannamarie.bsky.social · 2h

If you've been on the fence about querying me or I requested your material from #DVPit and you haven't sent your package over, now's your time!

I hope to reopen in early November. When I do, I'll announce it here. :)

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Reposted by Sage like the Pumpkin Spice

GiannaMarie @giannamarie.bsky.social · 2h

All right, it looks like October is shaping up to be a delightfully busy month for me! I won't have the time to consider taking any new clients for a few weeks, so I'm going to shut my QM form for a little while, starting THIS SUNDAY, October 12th.

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 2h

Ooh, I did not know this one!

Reposted by Sage like the Pumpkin Spice

Brigid Barr-ied Secrets 👻 @brigidbarryme.bsky.social · 3h

Random question, would anyone in the BlueSky-verse be interested in a giveaway of a signed paperback copy of Straw Girl (and a potential second place prize of a couple bookmarks or something)?

Enough like/share/repost and I'll do one.

*Lower 48 US only, other RPP authors not eligible

a man wearing glasses is standing in front of a blackboard and saying `` anyone ? '' .

ALT: a man wearing glasses is standing in front of a blackboard and saying `` anyone ? '' .

media.tenor.com

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 5h

#QueerPrompts

I have to consider what ex-BF is doing that’s causing problems & it might be a curse that my 2 girls have to break. It’s one of the things I’m still developing.

Past books have no actual curses, though Blake has a lot of bad luck with workings (better luck once he starts studying)

🌈CJ Aralore @cjaralore.bsky.social · 20h

#QueerPrompts October 9: Curses or bad luck in story?

Graphics: The background is pumpkins surrounding a stack of books. The border has broken chains saying "BANNED", a rainbow saying LGBTQ History, books wrapped in tape or chains, pride flags, and cute Halloween characters.
Text: "October 2025" on top and "#QueerPrompts" and "Host: @CJAralore" on the bottom, all in a rainbow font.
Center text is:
#QueerPrompts October 9: Curses or bad luck in story?

Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 6h

So annoying!

Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 6h

Thank you so much! 💙

Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 7h

It's shipping Draco and Hermoine

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 7h

Interesting, because I took the word "endearing" at face value, & thus chose the most endearing, good character. There are characters I love, but that I don't feel are as easy to quantify what would endear them to others

Strong voice & vulnerabilities help with my villain MC (who is loved by betas)

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 7h

It's been a long time since I had a new novel to talk about. I'm used to answering BlueSky (and others) prompts by talking about established characters and plots.

I appreciate #PlotTober because it's given me things to think about as I work out what I want the story & characters to be.

Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 7h

May be some family dynamics at play, which I'm still working on. She has a magical family that she might be trying to run from (though she gets along w/ her sibs). Possible "soulmate" requirement for magical people that she's not interested in, but her family may have some necromancy in their past

Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 7h

#PlotTober

MC's confident in herself & her lack of romance. Friends try to matchmake for her, lamenting she doesn't have what she gives others, but she's secure in her (aro)aceness

She has some greed, which sets off the rivalry aspect. But she also legitimately cares about her clients/peers

Ange @gunsmile.bsky.social · 18h

#PlotTober Day 9: MC personality & behaviors

Answer the prompt on the card by quoting this post. Remember, answering a prompt is always optional. Even if you don't share it publicly, I hope the prompt encourages you to think about it privately.

#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt #WriteSky

#PlotTober - a WIP plotting game by @gunsmile.bsky.social

9. What are some personality traits and behaviors, both positive and negative, that you think would suit your main character(s)? How do these traits affect your main character's goals and motivations?

Remember: Use the #PlotTober hashtag, engage with others, and have fun!

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 8h

That is incredibly nice, thank you! 🥰

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 8h

I knew you’d have a good battery one today 😁

Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 9h

Once upon a time, I thought this was a nice dystopian book where Noah learns about the Wizard of Oz & plays with a Nwissy. So everytime you have one of these creepy scenes, I have to remember that maybe it’s actually a very scary book! 🫣

Anyway, you can really feel Noah’s fear in here

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 13h

From A Paranormal Bromance *3*

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Reposted by Sage like the Pumpkin Spice

ouinne @ouinne.bsky.social · 23h

The only correct take on a fundamentally anti-human technology.

Screenshot of David Simon interview
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Reposted by Sage like the Pumpkin Spice

Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 13h

Blake & Ren continue facing fears on their quest to make Ren alive again. I’m sure Blake’s right, & it’ll be fine…

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
From A Paranormal Bromance 👻🔋

Black text, green background, “battery” highlighted blue

"Stay with me," I say, moving forward now that I can see.

"Wouldn't be anywhere else," he whispers. "Where are we?"

"The funeral home." I imagine we weren't anywhere until there was light enough to see, but now we're at the top of the stairs.

"No. No no no. We're not going there." He wraps his arms around one of mine, as if he can stop me from going down. "Call off the quest."

"Look, I know better than last time and you're already touching me, so we can't be facing the same thing. It's just scenery. Just a setting meant to scare us." I'm not talking about how my legs are shaking. It might be the setting that's creepy as hell. But it might be that there's one of the Lost down there, ready to take my emotions away and use my powers as a battery. Or it might just be Gram's dead body down on a slab, calling to me to mess with it.

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 13h

Blake & Ren continue facing fears on their quest to make Ren alive again. I’m sure Blake’s right, & it’ll be fine…

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
From A Paranormal Bromance 👻🔋

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 16h

Excellent! Your practice pitches really paid off!

Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 18h

#AwesomeCharacters

To me, Sunny’s most endearing trait is how hard he works with unmatched cheerfulness. He also genuinely tries to do the right thing, even when he’s not sure what that is. He fights furiously for those he loves, even when he’s outmatched, which he often is

Charlie Delta (has been a ghost this whole time! 👻) @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 1d

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters

What is your character's most endearing/compelling trait?

What is something about them that you think will make a reader invested in them and their story?

Is it also the thing you like best about them?

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 18h

Wow, congratulations!

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 20h

I’m working on the nuances of it, but right now I believe she can sense the person’s (current) match by touch. There may be an aura thing involved, too

Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 23h

Ooh, I like the pitch with themes

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Sage like the Pumpkin Spice @sagecollins.bsky.social · 1d

In this #YA #SF reimagining of WHITE CHRISTMAS, Hale & his celebrity BFF have 1 week to plan a blockbuster episode & save their futuristic-TikTok show, but planetary power outages & weather-system glitches thwart their ability to film. No snow, no show.

🌈 pan MC, trans LI, ace BFF

#DVPit #Q