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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her)

@samarcand.itch.io

1.1K followers 2.6K following 1.6K posts

Girly Trans Soul Rebel, author & reader. So many books. So many comics. So much tea. Pronouns:she/her Author of The Long Sleep, Down Among The Yla, Ghostkin, The Princess and The Elephant, Stories From The Corner of the Room and All The Books Of Earth.

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · Dec 7

I'm a trans, femme lesbian writer of (mainly) science fiction and fantasy.

I've got 8 self-published books - three novels, 2 short story collections, a children's picture book and a memoir of my transition.
samarcand.itch.io
ko-fi.com/samarcandbooks
linktr.ee/samarcand

Samarcand Books

samarcand.itch.io

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 1h

Sex: Electric Boogaloo

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 1h

Damn. Got there before me.

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 3h

work land in my inbox every fortnight is a privilege.

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 3h

Although I don't have as much to say about this installment as I have about previous ones, that doesn't mean it wasn't as good as them. It was fantastic and I devoured it. Kaya has once again shown how good a writer she is. She has consistently knocked it out of the park and having more of her /3

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 3h

say too much about this episode because of potential spoilers. The violence is epic and the while thing is building up with the ultimate Big Bad maneuvering behind the scenes.
I loved seeing more of the Maidens doing their stuff as well as seeing the cryptid people really coming into their own. /2

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 3h

#150 The Holy Hammer Falls by @gothgreenwitch.bsky.social
And Kaya goes into full Action Movie mode (with monster fucking).
This was a really exciting episode with the human hunters being evil bastards and the citizens of Marrowmont showing what incredible badasses they are.
I don't think I can /1

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 5h

I'm so looking forward to this tomorrow. Please come and join me from 8pm UK time tomorrow evening and then stay until as late as you want when @cpt.janey.gay takes over after I've gone to bed.

#TransSlumberParty! @transslumberparty.com · 6h

OMG WE ARE *SO* BACK!!!!! 😁

TransSlumberParty returns! Back at our original start time & length, with new hostess @samarcand.itch.io to kick off the "UK" portion of our party, leading into @cpt.janey.gay's time-honored USA-based chicanery.

Wanna join the party?

DM us for info & the link! 🏳️‍⚧️😴🥳

An ad for tomorrow's TransSlumberParty with a purple background and pink stripes, featuring little images representing the hostesss. Text: TRANS SLUMBER PARTY

OCTOBER 25TH, 2025 3PM-?AM EST

AN ONLINE PARTY JUST FOR TRANS/GNC FOLKS HOSTED & BROUGHT TO YOU BY

ELLEN MELLOR & CAPTAIN JANEY

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 8h

about the Supreme Court ruling is produced, she asked if I would advise her.

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 8h

She was really good and actually seemed to have some understanding of and sympathy for the trans community. She seemed surprised when I told her about the YouGov/Good Law Project survey published yesterday but also could understand where we are coming from. When/if the proposal for what to do/

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 10h

could we argue that they are covered by this requirement?

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 10h

Has anyone ever suggested that by segregating trans people, the government might be breaking the law? The GRA states that it's an offence to disclose someone's trans identity if they are only aware of it in an official capacity. As the gov will have a list of everyone who has applied for a GRC /

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 12h

I'm going to see my MP in a couple of hours - she's Labour, but she seemed reasonably open to what I had to say about the trans community.
Does anyone have anything they think I should say. (About trans issues only - I only have 15 minutes so can't really bring up anything else.)

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 1d

I'll have to watch it again. Maybe it's time for Ewan MacGregor season.

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 1d

To say the least! It's ages since I saw that film. I can't remember if I liked it or not.

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 1d

I'm watching Long Way Round again. God damn, Ewan MacGregor was pretty in 2004.

Reposted by Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her)

The Orion @gettheorion.bsky.social · 1d

It's Science.

star trek deep space nine fan art illustration of Jadzia Dax. Her arms are crossed in front of her, she looks annoyed. To the right, the colorful text says "trans people existing does nothing negative to your life you cry baby bitch."

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 1d

Fantastic

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 2d

My mum took me out for lunch today so for first time in forever I decided to do a proper full face of make up - foundation, eye shadow, the lot. It was nice. I kind of miss doing this on a regular basis.

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 2d

This is the article: aeon.co/essays/getti...

Getting down and medieval: the sex lives of the Middle Ages | Aeon Essays

Medieval people feared death by celibacy as much as venereal disease, and practiced complex sexual health regimens

aeon.co

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 2d

Reading an article on medieval sexual practices and I can't believe this phrasing wasn't deliberate

Photo of text on an ebook screen.
The text says:

Unsurprisingly, the medieval Church took a rather dim view of this practice: most medieval penitentials (handbooks for confessors) identified masturbation as a sin, and imposed heavy penances for it - typically around 30 days of fasting, but sometimes as much as two years. On the other hand. masturbation was usually placed towards the bottom of the hierarchy of sexual sins, and confessors were permitted to make some allowance for those (including unmarried youths) who lacked another outlet for their desires. This caveat reflects the Church's awareness of contemporary medical teachings: it was impossible to ignore the fact that medical authorities from Galen onwards had recommended masturbation as a form of preventative medicine for both men and women

The line "On the other hand. masturbation was usually placed towards the bottom of the hierarchy of sexual sins" is highlighted.

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 2d

This is a lovely, hopeful article which I think we all need at the moment.

glassalmanac.com/china-confir...

China confirms solar panel projects are irreversibly changing desert ecosystems

China’s giant solar parks aren’t just changing the power mix—they may be changing the ground beneath them. Fresh field data point to cooler soils, extra moisture,…

glassalmanac.com

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Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 3d

I was expecting the mafia to be involved somehow. They had been built up as this huge threat and then they just get forgotten. It annoyed me. And I recognise that I'm getting annoyed at a 55 year old film and massively overthinking the whole thing but, y'know, that's my entire raison d'etre. 5/5

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 3d

Charlie has choreographed this amazing heist (okay, using someone else's plan but he still put it together and pulled it off) and then doesn't tie down the gold so it doesn't stay stable? And he lets the coach driver just go full tilt around those bends? He deserves for it to go tits up. /4

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 3d

watched it in so long.
There were two bits of the older one that I didn't like though.The first was the sudden violence when they are actually stealing the van. It just came out of nowhere and felt like an intrusion from a different, much darker film.
And the ending just doesn't work. 3/

Ellen Mellor 🏳️‍⚧️ Samarcand Books (she/her) @samarcand.itch.io · 3d

Not that it bothered me. I hated the subject and the teacher (his favoured method of communication with pupils was to call them 'Bonzo' if they weren't one of his favourites) so I was happy to just sit back and watch a film. But it's the association of the film with the class that meant I hadn't 2/