Amy Clayton
LightNews LightNews
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
Amy Clayton
@amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
8 followers 17 following 22 posts
I'm an urban fantasy author trying to self-publish in 2026 ✨ YA enthusiast, map nerd, work smart not hard 💪
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Amy Clayton
trudieskies.readindiefantasy.com
Writing a book isn't about competition, it isn't about winning or getting rich, it's about sitting down with your fucked-up thoughts and weird ideas and putting them on paper to traumatize people who read them. AI will never get that part right.
February 8, 2026 at 6:30 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
Making these poor girls face ✨inferiority complexes ✨

#wipsnips #writesky
TONI God, I wish we could just have good relationships with Nana. But it feels like no matter what I do--or what Josephine did--Nana is never going to see us as anything but who we were at six years old. JOLENE What's so significant about six years old? Toni shrugs, helpless. TONI It's just--it feels like Nana will never see us as adults. JOLENE Or even as individuals. Toni is surprised that Jolene has noticed that.
February 6, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Amy Clayton
sagecollins.bsky.social
Have a cinnamon roll & watch out for those arrows!

My Drabble “The Aro Shield” is out on Rat Bag Lit for free!

ratbaglit.substack.com/p/the-aro-sh...
The Aro Shield
By Sage Collins
ratbaglit.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:12 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
This is part of the same conversation as my last snippet 🤭 I've apparently put a plot-bearing conversation in their equivalent of a beach episode lol

#wipsnips #writingcommunity
MARCO (CONT'D) I knew that some of Josephine's confidence was really armor--I'm in no position to judge. But more and more, I'm starting to wonder if it was some subconscious reaction to the reincarnation. Like she was trying to distance herself from you. JOLENE I don't blame her. Marco is shocked enough by this statement that he turns his attention back to her. JOLENE (CONT'D) If she's had the safety to be true to herself, why would she bother to conform?
February 4, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Amy Clayton
erininthemorning.com
Hey everyone!

Huge news! Our trans girl scout list has sold a total of 146,000 boxes as of today!

But MANY trans girl scouts only have 20, 30, 40 boxes sold.

I just resorted our list to put those on the top.

Go get your girl scout cookies and make a trans kid's day!
2026 Trans Girl Scouts To Order Cookies From!
This year, consider ordering your Girl Scout cookies from a trans girl scout to make their day!
www.erininthemorning.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:18 AM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
I was doing so good at the beginning 🙃 I know I *could* push harder today to get back above the trend line, but I don't think it's going to help my bigger problem of feeling like a cooked noodle. So I have to let my ego take the L :/
A trackbear progress bar for word count. The beginning is well above the trend line, but then there's a weeklong period of no update, and then smaller updates that cross below the trend line.
February 2, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Reposted by Amy Clayton
bmwillows.bsky.social
BLOODY SPADE & BLEEDING HEART are available on Itchio again, and both are 80% off for the week as well. If upper YA urban fantasy is your jam, consider checking it out! ♠️♥️✨

brittanymwillows.itch.io | #WritingCommunity #BookSky
A promotional graphic featuring 3D mock-ups of Bloody Spade and Bleeding Heart's, surrounded by a list of tropes/themes that appear in the Cardplay Duology. Text reads: Abundant hurt/comfort, inky body horror, hot-tempered fire wielder, bird girl with plant magic, a celestial deity with a penchant for murder, a budding QPR, returned magic, slow-burn romantic subplot, asexual panic, monsters born from malice, softhearted scythe-wielding girl, snarky cat-eared thief. Bloody Spade's cover depicts a black silhouette of a short-haired cat-eared boy with a glowing purple spade in front of him. Bleeding Heart's depicts a white silhouette of a girl with deer antlers and long flowing hair with a glowing heart in front of her. A poster featuring multiple characters against a sky backdrop split by a gleaming tower. Black tendrils of ink reach for one side of the tower, threads of light sweep from the other. On the lighter dawn-colored side we have the stoic-looking headmasters Hikaru & Elizabeth in the background, and a concerned Ellen and ferocious pistol-wielding Alexander in front. On the darker, ominous side, also dotted by bulging blue eyeballs, we have a smug Wiseman and a widely-grinning Kane in the background, and vaguely conflicted Cardan clutching a handful of forget-me-not flowers and forlorn winged Kyani in front. Centered in the middle-ground is Iori wearing a distant expression, ink pouring from his purple-glowing right eye and out from under the hand on his chest. A light cuts diagonally across the image, painting the characters in varying degrees of light and shadow.
February 2, 2026 at 6:14 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
Marco has been trying to avoid a key part of Jolene's situation: in order to be reincarnated, you have to die first ... (ft. "your birthmarks show fatal injuries in a past life" folklore)

#wipsnips
LIESE Why was Marco so surprised by the birthmark? JOLENE It must be related to how I'd died. Liese's lips part in surprise. LIESE But he would've known about that. JOLENE Apparently he didn't know Josephine had the marks. LIESE The one on your back is ...? (realizing, horrified) They line up. JOLENE I know Marco has been avoiding the fact that I died. It's not hard to guess why I don't remember anything after the tornado hit our house.
February 2, 2026 at 5:05 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
I don't have any "academy", but I did just write this scene discussing college 🤭 Jolene arguably got everything she wanted at the start of her story, but she can't *enjoy* any of it because she needs to pretend to be someone else.

#wipsnips #writesky
MARCO Josephine hates school. JOLENE (voice cracking) Why? MARCO I don't know. I guess she thought it was a waste of effort. Jolene starts to reply, but he holds up a hand to stop her. MARCO (CONT'D) I know. Even now, you'd still be much better off with a degree. But she's never done well with schoolwork. JOLENE But I've always wanted to go to college.
January 31, 2026 at 7:42 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
(a little late on this one, I was mostly offline yesterday for the strike) I still need to tweak this whole subplot so it's not so ... *obvious* commentary on some experiences, but man it's cathartic to draft.

#wipsnips #writingcommunity #writesky
JOLENE Why exactly are we here if neither of us wants clothes from the mall? TONI Because this is Nana's idea of quality time. Jolene gives her an incredulous look. Toni can't help but laugh a little. JOLENE Why haven't we ever suggested alternatives? TONI We have. The times that Mom's talked Nana into agreeing, it was somehow more awkward.
January 31, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Amy Clayton
monteiro.bsky.social
If you’ve been thinking to yourself “man, I really want to help people in Minneapolis, but I also some some cookies, AND I’d also like to help out trans, neurodiverse, and BIPOC youth“ boy oh boy do I have some good news for you!

digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/troop5...
Order your Faves on my Digital Cookie Site Today
That's right! You can order your favorite Girl Scout Cookies from me online, all while helping my troop and I do great things in our community and beyond! Check it out.
digitalcookie.girlscouts.org
January 29, 2026 at 4:17 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
My wip features phoenixes, humans that gain the ability to make demonic deals with others in exchange for selling their souls. And they also reincarnate rather than reaching an afterlife. I still haven't worked out a lot of the details though ...

#critterary
serraleta.bsky.social Serra Leta @serraleta.bsky.social · 14d
Day 28
Another overlap day for many, I'm sure! Stretching the term 'critter' again, yet can sometimes be valid! The godly, demonic, whichever being may fit here! 👼😈
#Writing #WritingPrompts #Critterary
#Critterary - A January writing prompt game. Today's Theme: Gods/Demons. All beings from the heavens to the underworld! Have you written anything featuring them? If not, feel free to discuss any random thoughts (fun facts, favorite media featuring them, gifs, etc.) Bottom Tagline: Celebration of all things creatures! Hosted by Serra Leta. Art of Zeus holding a thunderbolt, and art of Anubis. Background is a leafy jungle.
January 28, 2026 at 6:51 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
For a project that uses severe weather as an inciting incident, I don't have any good uses of "storm" drafted yet 🤦‍♀️ the next ten minutes for these characters was a good excuse to indulge my special interest in weather 🤭

#wipsnips #writingcommunity
JOSEPHINE If you're so concerned about the weather, why are we still here? No one's going shopping on a day like today. MELINDA We still need to do inventory. JOSEPHINE Inventory's not going to matter if we get hit by a tornado. MELINDA (exasperated) We're not going to get the tornadoes here. JOSEPHINE (deadpan) Right, just the hail and the microbursts.
January 27, 2026 at 4:54 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
I checked my wip + 2 projects waiting for revisions, and this is the only one I could find that's not "committee" or "noncommittal". In 200k+ of words!

#wipsnips #writingcommunity
GWEN Well, I have no idea why I got that out of the card. The Devil Reversed is about freedom from something holding you back. Gwen stares at the spread like she's committing it to memory, then scoops the cards up and packs her deck away. She opens her mouth to say something, but hesitates and then gives an embarrassed laugh. GWEN (CONT'D) What a great first impression, huh? TEDDY It's memorable, that's for sure. (pause) How often do your visions come true?
January 26, 2026 at 10:48 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
Had to come home from vacation a day early because of the snow 😩 but it is a relief that we got back before the mess started
A glimpse of the ocean from a high-rise balcony in Waikiki Hawaii. A snowy front yard and street as seen from the front porch.
January 25, 2026 at 7:30 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
I think "notice" is one of my crutch words 😅 #wipsnips
MOLLIE (CONT'D) One thing I am concerned about, though, is that she has a broad type of amnesia. MELINDA Amnesia? TONI (flat tone) She remembered Marco yesterday. MOLLIE Amnesia often doesn't work like it's depicted in media. Toni seems to bristle at the comment. Mollie either doesn't notice or ignores it.
January 25, 2026 at 7:22 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
This weekend I'm hoping to start revising a project with merfolk 🧜‍♀️✨ In that world there's an overlap between the fae and merfolk; humans are the ones that assign rigid labels to them.

#critterary
serraleta.bsky.social Serra Leta @serraleta.bsky.social · 28d
Day 14
Slower day yesterday, understandably with a couple events taking place on here!
Today we're staying in the seas (and other bodies of water) a while longer, to discuss aquatic creatures! Time to dip our toes into fantastic wonders and dark oceans.
#Writing #WritingPrompts #Critterary
#Critterary - A January writing prompt game. Today's Theme: Aquatic Creatures. Merfolk! Krakens! Leviathans! Etc.! Have you written anything featuring them? If not, feel free to discuss any random thoughts (fun facts, favorite media featuring them, gifs, etc.) Bottom Tagline: Celebration of all things creatures! Hosted by Serra Leta. Art of a cartoon cthulhu, and art of a mermaid combing her long hair. Background is a leafy jungle.
January 14, 2026 at 3:35 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
I want these so bad 🤩😩
Transparent sticky notes in the packages at a store.
January 13, 2026 at 11:16 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
Couldn't find "reflex" so I went with an example of one 🤭 #wipsnips #writesky
Too late, she realizes her statement is out of character. JOLENE (CONT'D) The Chen company sells clothes on ebay. It can't be that hard if Ezra can make listings. MELINDA Have you helped with that at all? JOLENE Not since the concussion. AUSTEN (to himself) Weird skill to forget. Jolene gives him a cold look. He actually flinches.
January 13, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Amy Clayton
lizkreates.bsky.social
Feeling one of 3 ways about my story at any given moment.

#acomicdiary #comic #amwriting #art #lizkreates
A 3 panel comic. Panel 1 is of a gray person hugging their script saying, "I LOVE this so much! This is the BEST THING I've ever written!". Panel 2: Is of the gray person crying beneath a bed sheets papers strewn about saying, "This is HORRIBLE! Does this even make sense? I can't do it, I'm not good enough!" Panel 3: Is of a gray person neutral looking at the script again, sipping coffee saying, "Okay, this wasn't as bad as I thought... I still like it."
January 12, 2026 at 3:24 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
I keep having to remind myself that I'm still two whole weeks ahead of my projected word count 🙃 #amwriting
A word count chart. The input progress is thousands of words above the goal progress line.
January 13, 2026 at 3:21 AM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
My cat tried to climb in my lap but he put his paw right on my laptop's power button instead 😭
January 10, 2026 at 6:36 PM
amyclaytonauthor.bsky.social
I don't know what to make for my first post 🙃✨
January 10, 2026 at 12:46 AM