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gunsmile.bsky.social
Ange
@gunsmile.bsky.social
1.5K followers 140 following 6.6K posts
36, she/her. Gamer, storyteller, polytheist. I like to write books about monsters, romance, and monster romance. 🇵🇭🇺🇸 amshilling.com

Current projects:
—THE DEVOURING, cosmic horror thriller
—THE CRUCIBLE OF THE BROKEN MOON, space opera romantasy

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gunsmile.bsky.social
Ange @gunsmile.bsky.social · Apr 6
New pinned post for new followers. Hi, I'm Ange, and these are my interests:

📚 books (fantasy, historical fiction, romance, horror)
✍️ writing & drawing
🎲 TTRPGs (Degenesis, Vampire: the Masquerade)
🎴 Magic: the Gathering
🎮 video games (The Last of Us, Disco Elysium)
♟️ board games & mahjong
gunsmile.bsky.social
Some key thoughts as I compile beta reader feedback:

- "WHY did I write so many chapters???"
- "OMG NO NOTES FOR THIS CHAPTER? HELL YEAH."
- *distractedly rereading my own writing* "I LOVE THIS STORY!!! 😭😭😭"

#WritingCommunity #AmEditing #AmWriting
December 1, 2025 at 8:50 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
Finally got my flu shot + COVID booster combo! 💪 I made a hearty lunch of padakjeon with plenty of leftovers, just in case I feel too unwell over the next couple of days to cook. Back to combing through beta reader comments!
December 1, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by Ange
hookandquillpress.com
Hey gang, time to unveil more of our 2026 plans...
Announcing the Hook & Quill Zine!
This will be a quarterly zine sharing more of our shortform pieces & artwork. They will be available for individual sale, but they will also be distributed to supporters of our Patreon & Ko-Fi!
a purple and blue image with the text: Announcing Hook & Quill Zine! Available for individual sale or as rewards for our supporters on patreon & ko-fi hookandquillpress on both sites
December 1, 2025 at 6:49 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
In THE DEVOURING, the antagonists are merely doing what they believe is right and necessary to save the world. It just so happens that a mistake they make brings Jason and Ayana, the MCs, into the mix.
cometkins.bsky.social Ian Haramaki 🏳️‍⚧️✨ @MFF C8 @cometkins.bsky.social · 5h
Why is the antagonist of your MC their antagonist? What caused the friction? #WritingPrompt
December 1, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Ange
hookandquillpress.com
Hook & Quill Press is proud to present From Tree to Book Writing Group Podcast. Our first episode is airing this month, hosted by @annawwrites.bsky.social, @sgledoyt.bsky.social, and @eliwoodsgheist.com.

hookandquillpress.com/from-tree-to...
December 1, 2025 at 3:26 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
I'm starting off my day being frustrated as all hell with Microsoft Word's "combine documents" feature. Why is it so fussy and buggy?! All I want is for everyone's comments and tracked changes to show up properly!
December 1, 2025 at 2:57 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
November review:
• 27,698 words written for THE CRUCIBLE OF THE BROKEN MOON
• COTBM Draft 1 Act 1 complete

December goals:
• Begin THE DEVOURING Draft 5

#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting
December 1, 2025 at 1:41 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
In COTBM, science is technically available for everyone to study, the reality is that socioeconomic circumstances may hinder that pursuit. It differs from planet to planet, society to society. For the Katorgans, it's relatively easy, as scientists keep the Fleet running. #DecemberWorldbuilders
kiraofthewind.com Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 16h
Welcome to the first week of #DecemberWorldbuilders! This week is about SCIENCE (broadly speaking) (you can play along even if you're writing pre-industrial fantasy!)
Today's Q: Can anyone in your world participate in scientific research? Or is it reserved for elites?
MonthlyWorldbuilders prompts daily feed card #DecemberWorldbuilders Hosted by Kira of the Wind Week 1: Science 1: Science in your fictional world: is it available to everyone? The image shows a cozy town during winter with warm lights. Large mountains are in the background. It is blurred. Snowflakes are around the top words
December 1, 2025 at 1:38 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
My friends have been working hard on Hook & Quill Press for several months now and I'm very excited to see what they have up their sleeves for 2026! Please consider following them and boosting their efforts! 🐙
hookandquillpress.com Hook & Quill Press @hookandquillpress.com · 7h
Great news, everyone! Hook & Quill Press is launching today as an indie publishing company, supporting and supported by the writing community (and one octopus). We have plenty of exciting announcements for your feed today, but here's a quick teaser...
#writesky #writingcommunity #quillbert4ever
December 1, 2025 at 1:33 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
Hello #Smutcember! I'm Ange, a horror, fantasy, and romance writer.

For this prompt game, I'll focus on Jason and Ayana, the MCs of my cosmic horror/revenge thriller, THE DEVOURING; and Daemrin and Lex, the MCs of my space opera romantasy, THE CRUCIBLE OF THE BROKEN MOON. #WritingCommunity
lizzieblackwood.bsky.social Lizzie Blackwood @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social · 16h
Welcome to #Smutcember, folks!

To start things off, introduce yourself and the work(s) or characters you plan on discussing this month. You can focus on one relationship or several, it's up to you!

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
#Smutcember, a bluesky writing prompt game hosted by @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social & @hookandquillpress.com Blurry black & white background that looks like a couple heavily making out. Prompt: Introduce yourself and your participating works or characters.
December 1, 2025 at 1:29 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
belong → belongings

Lex makes one of the hardest decisions of her life in an early chapter of THE CRUCIBLE OF THE BROKEN MOON, my space opera romantasy. #WIPSnips #WritingCommunity
Lex took a deep, steadying breath. She thought of her bedroom in the Golden Palace and the lifetime’s worth of her belongings on its shelves and walls: Childhood dolls faded with age and love. Her clar dorn board, its stone pieces worn smooth from countless games. Her late grandmother’s beloved harpa and the books of sheet music she’d inherited. Her thoughts traveled from the bedroom through the rest of the palace. They lingered on the ancient tapestries with their gorgeous forest scenes; on the massive kitchen where the cook snuck her fresh sickleberry scones, even as an adult; and on the rear garden at the height of summer, when the snowbelles were in full bloom, filling the air with their delicate fragrance. How her mother loved those flowers. If she left, would she see her room again? Taste sickleberry? Feel the warmth of the Belenosi sun? Smell the snowbelles and know her mother was nearby? It doesn’t matter, Lex thought bitterly. Mother’s dead. And if I don’t leave, I’m next. She met Talna’s gaze. “Offworld, then. Let’s do it.”
December 1, 2025 at 1:24 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
WIP update: Surprised myself by adding 500 words to COTBM's first draft today, which means it's at nearly 27,700 total words. Not a bad way to close out the month.

Starting tomorrow, I'm pivoting back to edits for THE DEVOURING. #WritingCommunity #AmWriting
December 1, 2025 at 4:02 AM
gunsmile.bsky.social
Every time I play Vampire: the Masquerade with my friends, I become obsessed with my vampire characters all over again. The urge to write an original story with them is so strong, but I really cannot prioritize it right now.

This is truly a curse.
December 1, 2025 at 3:53 AM
gunsmile.bsky.social
From Chapter 3 of THE CRUCIBLE OF THE BROKEN MOON, my space opera romantasy. Lex, the FMC, speaks with her mother Neve about marriage, politics, and the difficult situation at home. #Lovember #WritingCommunity
Neve clicked her tongue. “Handsomeness has nothing to do with marriage, Lex, and you know that. Those romance books you’re reading are getting to your head. Remember: marriage for us noble- women is all politics, like a game of clar dorn. You have to look for all the ways to protect your king—or to capture the enemy’s. Marriage can afford us these openings.” In any other situation, Lex would’ve appreciated the analogy to the beloved board game she played with her mother on quiet evenings. Life was more complicated and messier than the pure logic and stra- tegy at the heart of clar dorn, though, and she couldn’t set aside her emotions so easily. “You could do much worse than House Gasari,” Neve said. “And if Zirone is as weak-willed as the rumors claim he is, then you’ll be able to influence him better. That will be your power.” “I don’t feel very consoled by the thought of manipulating my future husband,” Lex said, sounding more bitter than she intended. “What about your power? If marriage is all politics, then how come you haven’t been able to stop Father? And don’t tell me you want public executions or schools losing funding or babies starving to death in the countryside.” Neve gave Lex a sharp, reproachful look. “Of course not. You know as well as I do that your father’s transformation happened so slowly, we were unable to see it until it was too late. Love blinded me, and it blinded you, too. I want nothing more than for you to go into a marriage with eyes open, unclouded by feelings, so you don’t have to live through this heartache a second time.”
December 1, 2025 at 1:04 AM
gunsmile.bsky.social
I haven't written it yet, but I want Lex to fall in love with Daemrin through how safe and cared for he makes her feel, and I want Daemrin to fall in love with Lex through her courage and tenacity.
cometkins.bsky.social Ian Haramaki 🏳️‍⚧️✨ @MFF C8 @cometkins.bsky.social · 1d
What made your MC really start to fall for their love interest in your book/wip? #WritingPrompt
November 30, 2025 at 7:48 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
November's blog post is up on my author website! I reflect on the month's writing challenge and how @gersande.com's advice reshaped my mindset for it. amshilling.com/2025/11/30/c...
November 2025: Challenge, start!
I decided to challenge myself again this November, as I had done with NaNoWriMo in 2016, but it didn’t go quite like I’d planned or expected.
amshilling.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
This is not Daemrin's first encounter with an obnoxious Air Traffic Control, unfortunately.

From my space opera romantasy, THE CRUCIBLE OF THE BROKEN MOON. #WIPSnips #WritingCommunity
Immediately, a woman’s voice crackled over the open comms channel. “This is Dun Crunath Air Traffic Control. Do you copy?” “Copy.” He eyed the spaceport in the distance. “This is Marauder, requesting landing at Dun Crunath Spaceport.” “Unregistered spacecraft are not permitted to land at the spaceport. Please turn around.” He made an I told you so gesture at Stavro, who shook his head in obvious exasperation. Into the mic, Daemrin said, “Check again, lady. Marauder is a registered ship.” Silence, then: “I’m sorry, but—” Oh, no you’re not. “Is it your first day on the job or what? Open up the fucking Federation Spacecraft Registration Database I know you all have in your datapads under quick access, open the fucking search, and type FED-3670-302-KAT.” He recited the letters and numbers in his clearest Imperial. “The designation’s Marauder.” Another silence, longer this time. Stavro began to fidget with his safety straps. Finally, the woman said, “Acknowledged, Marauder. You may dock at Landing Pad 37-F. Be aware that Dun Crunath has an open hand policy; all weapons must remain on your vessel.”
November 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
I wrote a little more than 27k words out of my 30k goal, which is a fairly good attempt. I finished Act 1 of THE CRUCIBLE OF THE BROKEN MOON, so I achieved a solid milestone. I'll return to it in 2026, after I publish THE DEVOURING. #Writevember #WritingCommunity
gunsmile.bsky.social Ange @gunsmile.bsky.social · 1d
#Writevember wrap-up!

We've reached the end of the month. How did you do overall? Are you satisfied with what you produced? Do you have more to write for it, or are you ready for Draft 2? Answer the prompt by quoting this post.

#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt #WriteSky
#Writevember a November writing challenge prompt tag hosted by @gunsmile.bsky.social November 30: Monthly wrap-up! How did you do? Remember to use the #Writevember hashtag, engage with others, and have fun!
November 30, 2025 at 3:48 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
#Writevember wrap-up!

We've reached the end of the month. How did you do overall? Are you satisfied with what you produced? Do you have more to write for it, or are you ready for Draft 2? Answer the prompt by quoting this post.

#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt #WriteSky
#Writevember a November writing challenge prompt tag hosted by @gunsmile.bsky.social November 30: Monthly wrap-up! How did you do? Remember to use the #Writevember hashtag, engage with others, and have fun!
November 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM
gunsmile.bsky.social
THE PIVOTAL “OH…” MOMENT IN A ROMANCE!!! 😩👌
November 30, 2025 at 3:29 AM
gunsmile.bsky.social
COTBM is a space fantasy, so the answer everywhere is: ships!

For intergalactic travel, people use spaceships as you might expect. They can also travel through atmospheres, so airplanes do not exist. Aerodynamics is moot because the technology is fantastical enough. 🧵
charliedeltawrites.bsky.social Charlie Delta 🦊🐐 @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 1d
Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters

What methods of transportation do your characters usually use to get around?

Horses, ships (water, space, air), cars, walking, other?

Does transportation ever cause your characters difficulty?

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
November 30, 2025 at 1:48 AM
gunsmile.bsky.social
I spent the first full day home after Thanksgiving travel simply resting. My husband and I ordered takeout, I read the Draw Steel rulebook and made my character, and will probably finish out the evening with either more reading or video games. Thus begins my real vacation.
November 29, 2025 at 10:46 PM
gunsmile.bsky.social
Only 3? Fine.

Shoutout to @audconnelly.bsky.social for her incredible sense of humor and unprompted snippet shares; @eliwoodsgheist.com for her constant support, good advice, and encouragement; and @isaacxisaac.bsky.social for being such a wonderful presence in the #WritingCommunity.

#Lovember
November 29, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Ange
aealexander.bsky.social
Looking for comp titles for you query letter? If you write fantasy, sci-fi, or horror, check out my Resources page for searchable databases of traditionally published, standalone, and first-in-series novels from the past five years. #Querying #Comps
Resources — Allison Alexander
Access resources for writers, including comp-finder databases and a list of books on the writing craft.
www.aealexander.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Ange
hookandquillpress.com
Friends, Quillbert is feeling a little lost after finding himself at this cabin. I asked him again what he was looking for, and he handed me this note (transcribed in next post).
Let's help Quillbert out, and cheer him on so he can fulfill his quest!
#writesky #writingcommunity #quillbert4ever
"There's a place where magical stories are being told by some of the kindest and best writers I know, and I have pledged myself to help them." A yellow plush octopus looking out despondently at a forest pond while sitting on a porch swing
November 29, 2025 at 6:14 PM