💕Regan Schell💕
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reganiswriting.bsky.social
💕Regan Schell💕
@reganiswriting.bsky.social
790 followers 910 following 790 posts
She/they. Published author & poet. Professional editor @ Second Eyes Editorial. No AI ever. TERFs begone! I write SFF romance & raunchy stuff as @elizamaresauthor.bsky.social

reganschell.net
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reganiswriting.bsky.social
Here's a sneak peek at my new short story, MOTHERING!

Read the whole thing here: www.crayfishmag.com/regan-schell...
MOTHERING — by REGAN SCHELL When Mari leaves the building, no one waves goodbye. It’s bad luck, they say, to watch a blade-bearer leave. Especially one who might not return. Mari doesn’t mind. Everyone knows the rite is dangerous business, and she’d never ask for special treatment. But that doesn’t stop her hands from shaking as she treks across the grassy field outside her home, aiming for the edge. She wraps one around the cross-body strap of her satchel, runs her fingers across its hempen threads, and remembers all the women who have made this journey before her. Were they all so nervous? And who was the first to understand what was required of her?
October 3, 2025 at 3:34 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#WIPSnips

From Chapter One of BETWEEN VIRIDIAN TREES 💙📚
She took stock of him again and again, and she realized with a twang of concern that he was standing much too close to the tree line. Close enough that a forest-kin could take a bite out of him, if it so pleased. “What are you doing at the edge of the wood, sir?” Minot called. “There are beasts within.” The stranger tilted his head at Minot, a curl of red hair falling across his forehead. She thought he might be smiling at her now. “There are beasts everywhere, miss,” he replied.
September 18, 2025 at 4:08 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
Don't mind if I do...
A yellow emoji rubbing its hands together with a menacingly gleeful expression on its face.
August 10, 2025 at 1:54 AM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#questpit #Q #A #RF #PR

🌳BETWEEN VIRIDIAN TREES🌳

Overworked candle saleswoman Minot dreamed of adventure — but she never expected she would witness a murder, kick off a national scandal, trade words with a god, AND fall in love, all in one week.

So much for her simple, uneventful business trip. 🤦
Agent's guide page 1. Upon a dark and mysterious forest background is the text: "An Agent's Guide to Between Viridian Trees, a novel by Regan Schell. 130,000 words | Adult Romantasy | Complete Manuscript" The Pitch: After her father’s chronic illness leaves her near-penniless, candle saleswoman Minot Cardevine travels to the capital to close a high-profile deal with the leader of her nation’s church. Unfortunately, her simple task is swiftly derailed, first by the sudden reappearance of a mysterious stranger, then by the bloody assassination of her client. To stop the violence, Minot must follow her stranger into the den of a monstrous god, where she discovers the ancient lie at the heart of her country’s faith — and the forgotten truth that might save its people from a deadly plague. Comp Titles: Princess Mononoke (Environmental destruction, vengeful forest spirits) and Blood Mercy by Vela Roth (forbidden love, misunderstood magical beings). Tropes, Themes, & Features: cyclical violence, generational trauma, historical narrative, fate versus choice, humans versus nature, magical disease, strange dreams, monsters in the forest, budding industrialism, high stakes, and complex female antagonist. Excerpt: Each time Minot’s father told the story, its beginning was the same. A long, long time ago, deep, deep in the woods, before even the ancient witches ruled the primordial land, there existed nothing but monsters and chaos. The sky was an endless sea of black; the oceans vast and bubbling. Humans had not yet risen as the masters of the world, but were still like to creatures themselves. And it was then, in that benighted time, that the beasts of eld laid claim to the forests. Auguste Cardevine recited the tale almost every night, but unfailingly, Minot listened with bated breath. He spoke the words with his jaw set hard, voice thin, like he was recalling a memory rather than telling a fairy tale. And when he reached the part about the mountain, his timbre grew dark as the night, and Minot had to lean in close to catch each rumbling syllable. This was her favorite bit; the one she replayed in her mind during the smallest hours, when she was meant to be sleeping. For in that far off time of fantasy, nestled in the bowels of a rocky crevice, there was a boiling vat of pure, untamed magic. From its mouth sprang a never-ending stream of horrors — all shaped and birthed by the evil spirit-god Ashira. The Mother of Monsters.
August 6, 2025 at 5:15 AM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
I find this section of the article particularly relevant to the ongoing "discussion" of erotic/pornographic materials being censored from the internet en masse.

Anti-porn advocates love to say porn harms people, when really the harm comes from the shame & vitriol they themselves spout.
"Having moral conflict over your porn use (PPMI) does turn out to be bad for you. But that's not because of the porn. Instead, higher levels of moral conflict over porn use predict higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and diminished sexual well-being, as well as religious and spiritual struggles. In one study by Perry and Whitehead, pornography use predicted depression over a period of six years, but only in men who disapproved of porn use. Continuing to use porn when you believe that it is bad is harmful. Believing that you are addicted to porn and telling yourself that you're unable to control your porn use hurts your well-being. It's not the porn, but the unresolved, unexamined moral conflict."
July 31, 2025 at 7:57 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

day 30 - I'm currently reading THE FOX WIFE by Yangsze Choo, and after that I plan to finish THE SHADOW OF THE GODS by John Gwynne

day 31 - I'm working on a steamy sapphic Victorian vampire horror-romance novella over on @elizamaresauthor.bsky.social
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. the last two prompts are "Reading plans for August" and "tease an upcoming project"
July 31, 2025 at 5:59 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
Today’s adult purchase: a Dutch oven worth €150 that I found at Homegoods for $60.
A blue cast iron Dutch oven sitting on a granite countertop
July 30, 2025 at 7:55 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

One commenter on my dark romance serial told me they wished they could have the story as a book on their nightstand. That was probably the "review" that made me the happiest so far!
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. today's prompt is "share a review of your work"
July 29, 2025 at 8:23 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

All the "action" scenes are very spoiler-heavy, so have this actual usage of the word "action," from Chapter Seventeen of BETWEEN VIRIDIAN TREES 💙📚
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. today's prompt is "Snippet: Action" To Minot’s great surprise, Ramona’s eyes swam with a sudden rush of tears. It made her hazel irises look like twin lumps of amber. She dabbed them with her sleeve. “Perhaps there is some hope, after all,” Ramona said. Incredulity tugged at Minot’s brows. That was… certainly easier than she thought it would be. But before she could reply, Ramona was already leaping into action.
July 28, 2025 at 5:05 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#WIPSnips

from Chapter Eight of BETWEEN VIRIDIAN TREES 💙📚
With a soft exhale, she slipped through the door and gestured him inside. Minot found a match and lit a few tapers, washing the room with a warm yellow glow as Vic hung his jacket and satchel over a chair. He was already giving Minot one of those sorry expressions. “Don’t apologize,” she interjected. “I know you’re thinking about begging my pardon.”
July 28, 2025 at 1:40 AM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

Helen Oyeyemi comes to mind! She's so good at weaving genre threads together.
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. the prompt is "a fav genre-bending author"
July 28, 2025 at 1:35 AM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat (day 26, catching up)

Minot would work for Bath & Body Works, 15x employee of the month award recipient.
Vic would be a travel vlogger with 35 subscribers.
Mervis would sell herbal tinctures at the farmer's market.
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. today's prompt is "your MCs are transported in time -- what are their new roles?"
July 28, 2025 at 12:20 AM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

You're not just building a place; you're building a culture. Cultures are shaped by environments, and not just in the obvious ways like food & clothing, but also music, rituals, religions, language...

Do some anthropological reading on peoples whose conditions mirror those in your work!
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. today's prompt is "Worldbuilding tip"
July 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

When it comes to SFF art, I'm a big fan of classic cover-art illustrators like Frank Franzetta, Boris Vallejo, Brom, and Michael Whalen.
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. today's prompt is "an SFF artist you love"
July 24, 2025 at 7:49 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

Based purely on aesthetics, here's the main three, plus the antag just for fun:

Minot = I could see someone like Katherine Langford or Louisa Jacobson
Vic = Thomas Tapy (picture him with red hair tho)
Mervis = Elizabeth Debicki
Aventona: Morfydd Clark
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. today's prompt is "who's playing your characters in a movie/tv show?"
July 23, 2025 at 4:12 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

My MC Minot is the only child of a working class family in the rural village of Valerian. When she was 12, her mother died of illness, leaving Minot's father grief-stricken and paranoid. She left school at 17 to work at the chandlery, and at 21 became her father's caregiver.
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. today's prompt is "share character backstory"
July 22, 2025 at 11:16 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

The only use of the word "texture" in BETWEEN VIRIDIAN TREES 💙📚🌶️
The prompt list for SFF Chat July. Today's prompt is "Snippet: Texture" Harriet gave a brief demonstration, then Minot began to fold like a woman possessed. She said nary a word, focused on the texture of the linens in her hands and the procedural way they were to be tucked and smoothed and shaped. It was almost too easy to focus this way. She breathed deeply, rhythmically, and her mind was quieted. Harriet did not try to fill the vast silence as they worked.
July 21, 2025 at 3:47 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#WIPSnips

From Chapter Eleven of BETWEEN VIRIDIAN TREES 👀
💙📚
Fear whipping through her, Minot cracked her eyes to find a figure in muddy boots standing on the broken remains of the Bishop’s wine goblet. It was a woman — tall and lean, with short-cropped black hair and thickly muscled arms. A ragged black cloak hung from her shoulders, and in her left hand she clutched a long silver sword. The glint of the blade froze Minot in place, eyes unblinking as the moon.
July 21, 2025 at 3:46 AM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

I don’t read much horror but I loved the NEVER WHISTLE AT NIGHT anthology of indigenous dark fiction!
The prompt list for SFF Chat July. Today’s prompt is “a favorite horror author”
July 20, 2025 at 7:04 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat (day 19)

Minot: Werewolf
Mervis & Vic: Ghosts
Benoit: Mad scientist
Ramona: Gorgon
The prompt list for SFF Chat July. Today’s prompt is “your MCs have been transformed into classic horror monsters — what are they?”
July 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

My (extensive) TBR got interrupted by an unexpected book-gifting by a coworker.

So yesterday I read HOLD STILL by Nina LaCour. I’m not especially fond of YA, so I struggled with some genre conventions, but I still found the prose itself solid and, at times, compelling.
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. Today’s prompt is “TBR checkin”
July 19, 2025 at 3:13 AM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

BVT has plenty of dark themes. One of the central ideas of the novel is cyclical violence -- the idea that retribution and revenge create a web in which victim and perpetrator exchange roles over and over, until no one is sure who started the harm in the first place.
the prompt list for SFF Chat July. today's prompt is "Dark themes/moments in WIP"
July 17, 2025 at 4:50 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#SFFChat

BETWEEN VIRIDIAN TREES has a whole playlist, but this is the song I think best encapsulates the novel:

"The King of All Birds" by Aoife O'Donovan
youtu.be/jBRGuK8UShs?...
prompt list for SFF Chat July. today's prompt is "WIP Theme Song"
July 16, 2025 at 2:39 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that topples all our success. The fertile earth, the straight tree rows, the sturdy trunks, and the ripe fruit. And children dying of pellagra must die because a profit cannot be taken from an orange. And coroners must fill in the certificate- died of malnutrition- because the food must rot, must be forced to rot. The people come with nets to fish for potatoes in the river, and the guards hold them back; they come in rattling cars to get the dumped oranges, but the kerosene is sprayed. And they stand still and watch the potatoes float by, listen to the screaming pigs being killed in a ditch and covered with quick-lime, watch the mountains of oranges slop down to a putrefying ooze; and in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
July 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
reganiswriting.bsky.social
#WIPSnips

Minot's formal introduction to Vic's sister, Mervis, from Chapter Eighteen of BETWEEN VIRIDIAN TREES 💙📚🌶️
He thrummed and started to reply, but the tavern door swung back open with an obtrusive thud. Minot turned, expecting Tomas or the courier, but instead found a tall, broad-shouldered woman in a pale-blue blouse and matching skirt. Her brown boots and hip satchel were edged with traces of road-dust, and her fine-sculpted face was pink and ruddy from the sun. A mass of curly hair crowned her regal head, so blonde it was nearly white, and equally pale eyelashes framed a pair of familiar eyes. Minot recognized her instantly. “Fitras!” Vic exclaimed. He stood in a flash, abandoning his stick, and rushed to hug his sister. Minot smiled to herself and rose to join him.
July 15, 2025 at 4:49 PM