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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 9d

Vel hails from a conquering empire, a land where grass is razor steel and trees grow fruit of solid gold. When the swirling chaos parts to reveal an alien world of rolling green hills, she sees a chance to be more than an instrument of war, if her queen doesn't destroy it first.
#DVpit #F #A #LGBT

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 9d

Different languages, cultures, needs, and philosophies of magic hinder Vel's mission of peace. She crosses a border revealed by shifting arcane tides, desperate to bridge the gap between two peoples. One warmonger races behind her, another waits to meet her in the strange land.
#DvPit #F #A #LGBT

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 9d

Azen only use magic to shape themselves. Humans only use it to change the world around them. A deep sea of unreality always separated them, but when it receeds their differences push them towards war. The Azen Vel strikes out for peace, soon gathering unlikely allies in the strange land
#DvPit #F #A

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 9d

In ARCANE HEART, ghosts of the past threaten to drag us into our old ways, and the allure of violence is ever present.
The world is hemmed in by swirling chaos that dissolves reason, sorcerers must cut out their hearts for power, and are always at risk of losing their humanity.
#DVpit #F #A #LGBT

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 9d

Vel hails from a conquering empire, a land where grass is razor steel and trees grow fruit of solid gold. When the swirling chaos parts to reveal an alien world of rolling green hills, she sees a chance to be more than an instrument of war, if her queen doesn't destroy it first.
#DVpit #F #A #LGBT

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 9d

A race to stop a brewing war, featuring:

📚 Polyglot dodging conscription
🪒 Surgeon of dubious morals
⚔️ Failed revolutionary turned imperial knight
⚒️ Common laborer turned sorcerer’s apprentice
✨ Old women wielding phenomenal magic power
🌈 Queer characters of all stripes
💖 Polyamory

#DVpit #F #A

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 9d

WITCH KING X PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE
When the mists part to reveal a continent rich with unknown wonders like grass and humans, war weary sorcerer Vel and her family strike out to forge a peace, before her queen draws blood and mires their people in another bloody war of subjugation.
#DVpit #F #A

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 10d

I love trying to imagine what could connect those four images. Definitely grabs my interest!

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 10d

The most darling of my current WIPs is The Odyssey x BLAME! A man returning to his husband and child, after a war loses him inside the unknowably vast castle in which they live. Crossing whole countries all within those stone halls, whose purpose and method of making has been lost to time.
#DVparty

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 12d

A meme featuring my MC barely surviving an encounter with an incurious and willful enemy.

#DVparty

A meme from the Pirates of the Caribbean. Norrington says, "you are without a doubt the worst sorcerer I've ever lost a fight to". Jack Sparrow responds, "Ah, but you did lose a fight to me". Flames spout from his fingertips.

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 13d

The bent and twisted trunk of a great iron tree formed a makeshift bridge over the eastern river. Rough black bark mottled with reds and greens, branches buried like speartips into the opposite shore. The Rust had ebbed away, inhospitable bedlam resolving into a vast and unknown continent.
#DVparty

#DVpit - Diverse Voices Pitch @dvpit.bsky.social · 13d

DAY 3 of #DVParty, a community event to get excited about the work of Diverse Creators before our pitch event, #DVPit on Oct 8th, 2025! All diverse writer or artist invited to participate!

Today's Prompt: Post your opening lines!

#DVpit rules & info: dvpit.carrd.co
#Writersky #booksky #artsky

#DVParty
Day 3 (October 4, 2025): Post your opening lines!
Post on Bluesky with the #DVparty hashtag.
Open all day!
Please use alt-text if you post images. No AI generated images allowed.
Have fun and make friends leading up to #DVpit!
More info at dvpit.carrd.co
Follow us at dvpit.bsky social for more updates!

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 14d

Elyain's cold demeanor made them the favorite scion of the royal house, with a heart of silver that lets them wear any face they desire. They were content with their work as a surgeon, until they fell for a wayward traveler. Now they are following that love into new and strange lands.
#DVparty

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 14d

At a young age, Vel underwent the procedure to be a sorcerer, replacing her heart with quicksilver. Though she longed to use it to travel the world, for love of her spouse she used it for war instead. Now, with a new world revealed, she has a chance to shed the past and reclaim her dreams.
#DVparty

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 14d

At a young age, Vel underwent the procedure to be a sorcerer, replacing her heart with quicksilver. Though she longed to use it to travel the world, for love of her spouse she used it for war instead. Now, with a new world revealed, she has a chance to shed the past and reclaim her dreams.
#DVparty

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 15d

Amano really does have the sauce, doesn't he? Lodoss has been on my list for so long I really have to get around to watching it.

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 15d

My pitch image for Arcane Heart, a fantasy novel of exploration and unlikely alliances.

If you're struggling to find images for yours, I sourced mine through rawpixel's public domain collection. Nowhere is perfect, but I've had good luck avoiding the slop there.

#DVparty

A pitch image for Arcane Heart. The background is blue and the text is white and gold. The comps are, “The queer forged family dynamics of The Witch King by Martha Wells,” and, “The cross cultural politics of Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.”
Accompanying images and their labels are: An anatomical drawing of a skeleton and a heart with the text, “Sorcerers are literally heartless.” A burning roman city with the text, “Vengeance at the cost of peace.” Gustav Klimt's Pallas Athena (A painting of Athena clad in gold on a dark purple background) and Where Nature's God Hath Wrought by William Wendt (A painting of a rocky hilltop surrounded by green fields and copses of trees). Between them it says, “A protagonist from a forest shrouded in iron and gold, to whom green grass and timber trees seem alien.”
The words, “Defamiliarization,” “Unlikely allies,” and “Visceral magic,” are scattered in the remaining space.

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 17d

Have any of you guys read this Lord of the Rings book? It's pretty good.

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 17d

I got a 7th edition starter pack as a birthday present, but it was just fun art collectables to me (Thorn Elemental my beloved). A college roommate taught me how to play, around the Conspiracy/Khans releases. He always had the best board games so I trusted his recommendation.

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 18d

WITCH KING X PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE
When the swirling mists part to reveal an unknown continent, war weary sorcerer Vel and her family strike out to forge a peace, before her queen draws blood and mires their people in another bloody war of subjugation. #PreDV #F #A

(Rev. 2)

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D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 18d

I think the first two lines paint a good picture of the inciting tension and the problems we might see, but I would make either "her own secrets" or "an offer he can't refuse" a little more explicit so we have a better idea of where the story goes next.

2 1

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 18d

Thank you! That probably is redundant with the "unknown" descriptor. The punchier the better.

1 1

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 18d

Points one and three are very intriguing, gete interested 100%. 2nd is important to include, for sure. The two plot threads for the MCs are succinctly and well described, but it might help if there was a glimpse of how they intertwine.

1

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 18d

Definitely grabs you, gives the inciting incident and the general thrust of the plot, plus a tidbit of personal connection to complicate things. Punchy and to the point.

1

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 18d

In ARCANE HEART, ghosts of the past threaten to drag us into our old ways, and the dark allure of violence is ever present.

The world is hemmed in by swirling chaos that dissolves reason, sorcerers must cut out their hearts for power, and are always at risk of losing their humanity.

#PreDV #F #A

3

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 18d

Vel hails from a conquering empire, a land where grass is razor steel and trees grow fruit of solid gold. When the swirling chaos parts to reveal an alien world of rolling green hills, she sees a chance to be more than an instrument of war, if her queen doesn't destroy it first.

#PreDV #F #A

1 2

D.M. Shields @spacerelated.bsky.social · 18d

A race to stop a brewing war, featuring:

📚 Polyglot dodging conscription
🪒 Surgeon of dubious morals
⚔️ Failed revolutionary turned imperial knight
⚒️ Common laborer turned sorcerer’s apprentice
✨ Old women wielding phenomenal magic power
🌈 Queer characters of all stripes
💖 Polyamory

#PreDV #F #A

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