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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 1d

#LGBTQWriteAThon
I was hoping to have a link this week but still no word from the publisher 😕

But I will share something that's been making me happy lately! My friend Laura's book, Between Sun and Shadow, is fantastic! And it's available for pre-order now. Go check it out 👇
a.co/d/fTeFdp7

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 2d

#LGBTQWriteAThon
Letti's flag is first (pansexual), the rest are Éd's (trans, genderfluid, and lesbian)
❤️🧡💛💚💙🩵💜🩷

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 3d

#LGBTQWriteAThon
Ummm frankly I have no idea 😅 Urban romantasy? Magical realism? Just straight-up romantasy? Is it even romance? I'm really not sure 😅 It's Sapphic tho, I can at least tell you that 😆

AmaraJLynn💎🌌🌺GEMS & STAR FLOWERS coming soon! @amaralynn.bsky.social · 4d

#LGBTQWriteAThon October 8:

What genre is your WIP?

#writesky #queerwriters #writers #lgbtqwriters

Image: a burnt orange background with two jack o' lanterns. Text: #LGBTQWriteAThon Use the tag and follow the feed on BlueSky! Tag @LGBTQWriteAThon in photos on Instagram! October 8: Genres.
BlueSky: @amaralynn @rebeccafrostwrites.com Instagram: @LGBTQWriteAThon @amarajlynn @krakengoddess

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 5d

#LGBTQWriteAThon
My WIP is set mainly at a magic university, the Roanoke Institute, though they visit a few other places. The time period is 1968-69, though wizards are much more progressive and technologically advanced so it doesn't really reflect the time period in ideology, technology, or jargon

AmaraJLynn💎🌌🌺GEMS & STAR FLOWERS coming soon! @amaralynn.bsky.social · 5d

#LGBTQWriteAThon October 7:

What is the setting and/or time period of your WIP?

#writesky #queerwriters #writers #lgbtqwriters

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 5d

#LGBTQWriteAThon
I don't set goals often (except in my Finch app lol) but let's try:
-Finish the chapter I'm on (it's very heavy) and start another
-Work on fixing my outline for the rest of the book
-Finish typing up my notes for my proofreading course
-Do some self-care stuff
-Make my wife smile ❤️

AmaraJLynn💎🌌🌺GEMS & STAR FLOWERS coming soon! @amaralynn.bsky.social · 6d

#LGBTQWriteAThon October 6:

Goals day! What are your goals this week?

#writesky #queerwriters #writers #lgbtqwriters

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 7d

#LGBTQWriteAThon
The trees have mostly changed by now, a tapestry of reds and oranges surrounding us. It makes me homesick for the wobbly leaf-cluttered streets of Marais in the late fall, as families gather to start preparing for the holidays. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad—and grateful—to be here...

AmaraJLynn💎🌌🌺GEMS & STAR FLOWERS coming soon! @amaralynn.bsky.social · 7d

#LGBTQWriteAThon October 5:

Line share day! Today's theme: fall

#writesky #queerwriters #writers #lgbtqwriters

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 7d

#LGBTQWriteAThon
Honestly? Kind of awful 😅 but I was able to write (most of) a really heavy scene I was struggling with so at least there's that 🤷

AmaraJLynn💎🌌🌺GEMS & STAR FLOWERS coming soon! @amaralynn.bsky.social · 8d

#LGBTQWriteAThon October 4:

Check in day. How was your week?

#writesky #queerwriters #writers #lgbtqwriters

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Reposted by Zena Bates-Zellers

A. Lawrence @akiwitch.bsky.social · 8d

It's October so you should absolutely read Ghost Punch, my horror comedy series. Think legends and lattes meets supernatural. It's funny, it's spooky, there's found family, a nonbinary character, an amnesiac Victorian ghost, everyone is queer, and there are three books out!
mybook.to/GhostPunch1

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 8d

#LGBTQWriteAThon
I don't have a link yet but I have a short story being published in an anthology this month! I'm really proud of myself for finally putting a story (the beginning of Éd and Letti's story) out into the world. My OCD stops me from doing a lot but my story is out of my hands now

AmaraJLynn💎🌌🌺GEMS & STAR FLOWERS coming soon! @amaralynn.bsky.social · 9d

#LGBTQWriteAThon October 3:

It's promo Friday! Today, promote something you're proud of! Don't forge to boost others awesome things, too!

#writesky #queerwriters #writers #lgbtqwriters

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 9d

...So, when a series of poisonings plagues campus, Éd... Well, they try to fix it 😅 But the culprit is a slippery s.o.b. Even worse? He's the same incel who's been tormenting them since childhood. He says Letti is "his;" that he's the "alpha." But real werewolves are all about family, not dominance.

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 9d

#LGBTQWriteAThon please go easy on me, I've never made a moodboard before 😅

My current WIP is set at a magic university and follows a nonbinary shapeshifter, Éd, and their soul bonded werewolf mate, Letti. I made a moodboard for each of them. Everything Éd does, they do for Letti, and vice versa...

A collage of pictures, including a dragon, two swords, a dark academia classroom setting and a person in a rainbow shirt flipping the bird, surrounding the quote, "I finally have a family, and I'll protect them at all costs."

A collage of pictures alongside the quote, "They are my beginning, my middle, and my end. There is no other." Pictures include a woman in a dress holding a sword, a dark academia classroom, a hand glowing with rainbow healing magic, a wolf, the silhouette of a large family, and the "fated mates" tarot card.

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 10d

Okay #LGBTQWriteAThon, let's go (hopefully 😅)

Hi! I'm Zena or Z (any/all pronouns) and I'm working on draft 4 of my debut novel (short story that started it all coming soon!). It's a Sapphic romantasy about a nonbinary shapeshifter and their adoptive werewolf family, which includes their fated mate

AmaraJLynn💎🌌🌺GEMS & STAR FLOWERS coming soon! @amaralynn.bsky.social · 11d

Welcome to #LGBTQWriteAThon!

Introduce yourself and your goal this month!

Remember to use the tag so others can view your posts, and please feel free to quote the daily posts, it's actually the easiest way for me to keep up with you all!

Happy October and happy writing!

#writesky #queerwriters

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · 19d

Happy #bivisibilityday to all of the bi people out there! Every last one of my siblings included 😆
🩷💜💙

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Sep 10

Holy crap, a book containing a short story that I wrote is coming out in LESS THAN A MONTH! This is not a drill! I repeat: NOT A DRILL omg

a man standing in front of a crowd with the words everybody panic

ALT: a man standing in front of a crowd with the words everybody panic

media.tenor.com

Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Jun 30

Not me, a chronic rewriter, going into draft four and deciding to not only cut over a hundred pages of the last draft (after literally cutting half of draft two) but also rewrite the whole thing in dual pov...
Please help my OCD is not helpful for writing 😩

Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Jun 9

#QueerPrompts Day 8:
Éd is a nonbinary lesbian. Letti is pan. PJ is pan and trans. Lucha is gay and trans. Honestly, almost the entire cast is queer 😆

Day 9:
Éd knew they were different from a very young age. Their mother kept them away from humans, saying it was for their protection but they knew

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Jun 9

Whoops. Time to play catchup 😅
#QueerPrompts day 6:
My villain is proud of his family's obscene wealth (which they mainly got through illegal dealings. Naturally.)

Day 7:
Éd is not good at overcoming shame. Their whole character arc basically centers around sucking up their pride to ask for help 😅

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Jun 6

#QueerPrompts day 5:
PJ: It’s mostly my pride that’s injured.
Éd: Your pride?
PJ: Lucha saw the whole stupid thing. Now he’ll never even look at me like- like anything but a little stupid kid who needs to be rescued.
Letti: Did Lucha… rescue you?
PJ: Yes! How could you not get that from my dispair?

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Jun 4

#Writers, where do you find your critique partners and/or beta readers? I really need to find a good critique partner. I've been in and out of a few discord servers but big groups really intimidate me and the small groups aren't very active 😕 I'm willing to try dipping into a big group but 🤷

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Jun 4

...accepted into their university, the Roanoke Institute. It's the most prestigious magic academy in North America, offering seventeen colleges with various degrees across all fields of magic study, and most of my characters are, frankly, shocked they were accepted 😅 but here they are

Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Jun 4

#QueerPrompts day 4:
My two main characters, Éd and Letti are proud of their love story. They're soulmates (essentially) who met when Letti's family took Éd in after their biological mother died. The two started dating before the adoption was finalized.

My characters are also proud to have been...

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Jun 3

#QueerPrompts day 3:
Wizards definitely do have pride celebrations but werewolves in particular go hard on theirs. There are various festivals throughout the year, but June through August is considered pride season with events nearly every weekend. Werewolves, in general, frickin love parties.

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Jun 2

#QueerPrompts day 2:
Most of my MCs' family is queer, including almost all of their siblings. Éd (MC) is a nonbinary lesbian. Their cousin, a gay trans guy, also spends most of his time with the family. Queerness is somewhat more accepted in magic society, but it's especially so in werewolf culture.

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · Jun 2

#QueerPrompts (let's try lol) day 1:
I'm Zena (any/all pronouns) and I haven't published yet but I have a short story coming out in October. I'm a queer, disabled, ND cat mom and wife in Colorado

My WIP (& short story) is about a nonbinary shapeshifter who was adopted by a family of werewolves 🫶

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Zena Bates-Zellers @zbzwrites.bsky.social · May 26

Hey #writers, raise your hand if you've written three drafts of your novel and then realized you needed to change roughly the entire thing. Again. 🙋 Oh just me? Cool... 🤦 I'm just really glad I realized it before jumping into draft 4, I guess 😅

a man wearing headphones and a hat is saying " i am an idiot "

Alt: a man wearing headphones and a hat is saying " i am an idiot "

media.tenor.com