E.C. Alice
LightNews LightNews
banner
ecalice.bsky.social
E.C. Alice
@ecalice.bsky.social
120 followers 490 following 53 posts
Aspiring romantasy author and astrology addict 🔮

I use the power of ADHD and mild-but-diagnosed OCD to write gothy, surreal fairytales.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
ecalice.bsky.social
E.C. Alice @ecalice.bsky.social · Oct 5
My attempt at an #AgentsGuide for my #gothic #romantasy, A Spell for a Raven’s Wing.

#AmWriting #AmQuerying #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
Text against a black background, two corners decorated by haunting branches of bluish-gray leaves. From the top, it reads: “An agent’s guide to,” “A Spell for a Raven’s Wing,” “New Adult Gothic Romantasy,” “101k words.” Text against a black background, two corners decorated by haunting branches of bluish-gray leaves. It reads: “PITCH: In the blood-stained forest, there’s Thalia: a young woman banished to a cabin for an unspeakable crime. In the walled city, there is Emerentius: a young man suppressing unnatural instincts, and the shadows that seek to sabotage him. As their lives unfold, Emerentius falls in love with Kalliope, refusing to care that this royal beauty may be using him—while Thalia’s pet raven suddenly transforms, revealed to be a man of a hunted race she’s forbidden to touch. What seems to be a story of parallel lives shatters under weight of the truth: that Thalia is the child of Emerentius and Kalliope, and the murderer of them both.” Text and images against a black background, two corners decorated by haunting branches of bluish-gray leaves. At the top, it reads, “Comps, Tropes, & Themes.” Beneath is the cover art for five media titles, which make a crown over these lines of text (explaining the tropes and themes): Coming of age / Forbidden love / “I can make him worse” / Corrupting magic / Generational trauma / Soulbonding. The titles, in clockwise order from the bottom left: “Shinsekai Yori - From the New World,” which features five anime teens in their bright school uniforms standing against and atop a brilliant blue sky, a short-haired schoolgirl reaching a friendly hand towards the viewer. “Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë” the classic novel with a dark teal cover of a grim house set on a treacherous hill, framed by spindly tree branches. “Mushi-Shi,” the manga cover featuring a man with short white hair in a long green coat traversing a dense, well-lit Japanese forest. “Grendel, by John Gardner,” has the titular Grendel, a thin bear-like monster, howling at the heavens as he stands profile to a murky yellow sky and desolate brown earth. “Fruits Basket - Season 1,” has the main characters standing on a staircase leading up to a bamboo fence around a traditional Japanese home. Closest to the home is a tall, blonde delinquent girl in a school uniform, a shorter girl with a long black braid in the same uniform, beside a man with short dark hair wearing a traditional yukata, looking out over the staircase. Closer to the base are two young men in school uniforms, the one with dark hair leaning closer towards the girl before them, and the one with brilliant orange hair leaning back, standoffish. The central focus is a friendly-looking girl with long brown hair, two yellow ribbons woven into it, who holds her book bag in one hand and faces the viewer with a brilliant, optimistic smile. Text against a black background, two corners decorated by haunting branches of bluish-gray leaves. It reads: “EXCERPT: The brush of fingertips across my cheek startled me from my spiraling. He’d reached for me, curious touch like the ruffle of his feathers. My sights snapped to him, finding myself transfixed by those eyes, which watched me in a way I’d never been watched before. I felt I would be consumed by the intensity of it, even as it bathed me in warmth. All the things that had been whispered to me about shifters, throughout my life, weaved around me then. Barbaric. Bestial. To allow them to live was not only perverse, but dangerous. Yet, I couldn’t apply those things to how he looked at me then. Consuming though it was, his touch was gentle. I wasn’t afraid. Still silent, he bent down to me, nose brushing past my temple into my hair, where my raven had once nestled from my shoulder. The sensation was so familiar, I couldn’t help but close my eyes. New, though, was the heat of breath across the fine hairs of my neck. “Yours,” he whispered.”
ecalice.bsky.social
Wild magic is a crime, those born with it killed the day it manifests. Only two have avoided the axe: a witch imprisoned in the forest, and a man haunted by shadows. But when both fall in love with someone forbidden to them, they must decide if love is worth their lives.

#Q #R #F #DR #Questpit
A mood board for the novel. The top left image is of a full moon against a dark blue sky, framed by dark branches the viewer is looking up through. The top right image features the hands of a fighter wrapping cloth around his hand. The center image is of a Victorian library of black wood and dark red curtains and couches, a fire glowing in the hearth. Superimposed text reads, “I would burn this city if it would keep you with me.” The bottom picture is of the feet of a wolf lowering to rest in snow, the whole image cast in a cerulean gleam. Artwork is not mine, all rights belong to their respective owners. No AI images (as far as I’m aware).
November 5, 2025 at 5:29 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
#Romantasy lovers, what’s a pet peeve that makes you put down a book?
November 3, 2025 at 12:28 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
Been suffering insane writer’s block the past few months, I’m hoping doing (unofficial) NaNoWriMo knocks something loose.

#WritingCommunity
November 1, 2025 at 12:53 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
#WIPSnips - October 31

Today’s word is “monster.” Decided to dip into my enemies to lovers WIP for this one.

#AmQuerying #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Romantasy
There was someone in the tree. Back slumped against the great trunk, long legs balanced across a sturdy bough, his head nodding towards his shoulder as he dreamt. His black hair was long enough to sway with his hand where it dangled to one side, spidery strands sparsely draped over his sleeping face—a delicate one, almost feminine in the gentle slopes of his features, from soft lips to smooth brows, a contrast to his strong jaw. Serene, and young, draped in blue mage robes splattered in red. It was nightmarish, realizing who I was looking at. How dare he look like that, after all that he’d done. Monsters didn’t have the right to look peaceful against the setting sun. They didn’t get to look beautiful.
October 31, 2025 at 11:32 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
#WIPSnips - October 30

Romance, dumb young love, your roommate/crush suddenly turning into a bird. Today’s word is “spell.”

#AmQuerying #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Romantasy
Maybe that was why I leaned nearer to him in turn, fighting my own tongue-tied silence. His fingers touched my cheek, the way they had that first night—I felt my pulse rushing. Was this why he’d kept so distant? There was this pull between us, one that demanded the space between narrow, my own hand eventually brave enough to reach to his face as well. His skin was smooth, soft, even along his jaw. The closer I came, the stronger that scent of maple wrapped around me, whispered me closer. A knock on the door. I yelped as Celeste burst into feather, swooping up to the loft as I fell into his pile of garments, wanting to perish. “Coming!!” At least that spell was broken. I sighed, all but kicking myself as I shoved his clothes under the couch and rushed to the door—how could I have forgotten? Ianthe knocked again, her playful triple rap-pat-pat, and I did my best to tell my shaking knees that those last few moments were completely, wholly, inconsequential.
October 30, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by E.C. Alice
josie.zone
UPDATE: @pengarr.postes.club FOUND WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR

GOD BLESS

www.graceguts.com/poems-by-oth...
I have a spelling checker, It came with my PC. It plane lee marks four my revue Miss steaks aye can knot sea. Eye ran this poem threw it, Your sure reel glad two no. Its vary polished in it’s weigh. My checker tolled me sew. A checker is a bless sing, It freeze yew lodes of thyme. It helps me right awl stiles two reed, And aides me when eye rime. Each frays come posed up on my screen Eye trussed too bee a joule. The checker pours o’er every word To cheque sum spelling rule. Bee fore a veiling checker’s Hour spelling mite decline, And if we’re lacks oar have a laps, We wood bee maid too wine. Butt now bee cause my spelling Is checked with such grate flare, Their are know fault’s with in my cite, Of nun eye am a wear. Now spelling does knot phase me, It does knot bring a tier. My pay purrs awl due glad den With wrapped word’s fare as hear. To rite with care is quite a feet Of witch won should bee proud, And wee mussed dew the best wee can, Sew flaw’s are knot aloud. Sow ewe can sea why aye dew prays Such soft wear four pea seas, And why eye brake in two averse Buy righting want too pleas. The original verse that inspired the preceding poem is as follows, written by Mark Eckman in 1991: + Mistakes I Cannot Sea I ran this poem thru it I’m sure your pleased to no Its letter perfect in it’s weigh My checker tolled me sew.
October 27, 2025 at 10:26 AM
ecalice.bsky.social
#WIPSnips - October 26

Today’s word is “hat.” Not a lot of those in this fantasy dystopia, but helmets galore!

#AmQuerying #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Romantasy
The cold of remembering sealed my lips. I thought of all the angry black sigils I had seen marked up Alkiviadis’ arms, the times he had he rolled up his sleeve to help me with a task. I remembered the offhanded way he had recounted to me of the number of shifters he had killed in his enforcement. I remembered how cruel his dark eyes turned when he spoke of them, the air an impenetrable ice that could not be reasoned with. He would kill my raven. My begging would not move him, my tears could not erode his resolve. I knew that, then. He was exactly as unknowable as those helmeted guards, watching me, always, for signs of sin.
October 26, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by E.C. Alice
direkris.itch.io
You'll pry these Oxford commas out of my cold, dead, third thing hands
October 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
Because I can’t come up with a good clip for the WIP Snip today, thought I’d try something new!

The first character to speak in Raven’s Wing is a little raven shifter asking a guardian spirit why his father isn’t home. It definitely isn’t his last appearance.

#AmWriting #AmQuerying #WritingPrompts
charliedeltawrites.bsky.social Charlie Delta @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 19d
Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters

Who is the first character in your story to have a spoken line?

Are they an MC? Antagonist? Side character?

If they are a side character, do they show up throughout the story, or is this their only appearance?

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
October 23, 2025 at 11:12 AM
ecalice.bsky.social
#WIPSnips - October 19

Have some magic school, protectiveness and misplaced aggression. Today’s word is “trial” (close enough to “test”).

#AmQuerying #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Romantasy
I knew this was only a test. That whatever history Matthaois and I had, he did not intend to hurt Kalliope, and that any inclination I had to the contrary was imagined. Yet, the sight of him standing over her, smug as he was when he threw me to the dirt, it churned something in me. An anger deep under my skin that bubbled, raising the fine hairs down my arms. I wished on him the strain she felt, tightening, constricting around his heart. The praceptor had knelt to check Kalliope, nodding in approval before he raised his hand once more. “Matthaois, release.” But Matthaois couldn’t. The sparks remained as he suddenly clutched at his ribcage, cursing—only when he hunched over did Kalliope shoot up, clearly startled.
October 19, 2025 at 12:01 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
“Is this relatable or is this my incredibly specific neurodivergent quirk,” I ask, sobbing into my word doc.

#AmWriting #AmPanicking
October 17, 2025 at 3:09 AM
ecalice.bsky.social
#WIPSnips - October 15

Thalia and her grandfather have a somewhat terse relationship. Today’s word is “care.”

#AmQuerying #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Romantasy
"Have you had any more accidents?" This was a question asked sharply. Despite the twist in my stomach, however, I managed to reply with a smile—because I was not entitled to my pain. "No, I've been very conscientious. I only cast the magic Conservator Alkiviadis supervises. He says I have been a model student, even." I’d found myself smiling more, then, proud of the progress I’d been making. I regretted it at once. “I don’t care how you delude yourself on your own time,” he sneered. “Don’t subject me to your cheery little charade.” I stared at the ground to hide the fact some of my smile lingered, forced. Emotions were the gateway to horror. He didn’t understand. My smile was the only thing that kept the gateway closed—I couldn’t let it go, no matter how he scowled.
October 15, 2025 at 11:35 AM
ecalice.bsky.social
#WIPSnips - October 13

Another short excerpt from Raven’s Wing. Today’s word is “push.”

#AmQuerying #AmWriting #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Romantasy
Frozen in my resolve, I was forced to witness his heartbreak. Disbelief became pain, became anger, became sorrow. I saw tears shimmer across those eyes like sunset. Before he shut them, jaw tight, teeth bared. It hurt, to watch as I broke him. But I had to. He couldn’t stay here, with me. He deserved more than this. Finally, Taran turned from me. He went to the window, which was still barred by Alkiviadis’ chains—before I could stop him, he’d grabbed them. I could smell his skin burning, I saw the angry blisters left on his palms as he threw the chains aside, before pushing open the panes. He didn’t look at me again. “If this is what you want.”
October 13, 2025 at 2:06 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
Pitch contest complete!! Thanks for bearing with me through the repeats.

PreDV and DVPit were so much fun. Best wishes to everyone who participated, there were so many great projects and they all deserve homes.
October 9, 2025 at 12:30 AM
ecalice.bsky.social
The day Thalia’s magic manifests is the day it kills her parents. Devastated, broken, she’s eager to accept the terms of her exile: to obey, repent, and remake herself into a model citizen. All complicated when she finds herself falling for a wild man her people want to hunt.
#DVPit #R #ND #MH #DF
October 8, 2025 at 9:26 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
Thalia’s magic is a crime, her own parents slain by its manifestation. Resigned to her exile in a forest cabin, she wishes to think of nothing but atonement—until the day she wakes to find her pet raven is now a young man, standing in her living room, confused by his own hands.

#DVpit #F #R #ND
October 8, 2025 at 7:11 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
When Thalia’s magic kills her parents, she’s confined to a forest cabin. To return to society, she must suppress her abilities and follow all laws. But when she discovers her rescued raven is a shifter, a race her people hunt, she must decide if acceptance is worth killing her love.
#DVPit #F #R #MH
October 8, 2025 at 6:12 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
The day Thalia’s magic manifests is the day it kills her parents. Devastated, broken, she’s eager to accept the terms of her exile: obey, repent, and remake herself into a model citizen. All complicated when she finds herself falling for a wild man her people want to hunt.
#DVPit #R #F #ND #MH #BVM
October 8, 2025 at 4:11 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
Thalia’s magic is a crime, her own parents slain by its manifestation. Resigned to her exile in a forest cabin, she wishes to think of nothing but atonement—until the day she wakes to find her pet raven is now a young man, standing in her living room, confused by his own hands.

#DVpit #F #R #ND
October 8, 2025 at 2:20 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
When Thalia’s magic kills her parents, she’s confined to a forest cabin. To return to society, she must suppress her abilities and follow all laws. But when she discovers her rescued raven is a shifter, a race her people hunt, she must decide if acceptance is worth killing her love.
#DVPit #F #R #ND
October 8, 2025 at 12:11 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
Today’s the day! I was only able to come up with two(ish) solid pitches, so please forgive repeat posts today. Crossing fingers.
dvpit.bsky.social #DVpit - Diverse Voices Pitch @dvpit.bsky.social · Oct 7
TOMORROW (Oct 8th) is #DVpit! Any unagented Marginalized writer or artist seeking out representation is invited to participate from 8AM - 8PM ET!
Please make sure you review our rules & guidelines before the event: dvpit.carrd.co#faq

#writersky #booksky #artistsky #weneeddiversebooks
#DVPit Rules -#DVpit (Diverse Voices Pitch) is a Bluesky event for marginalized creators that have been historically underrepresented in publishing to pitch their work to agents & editors -Post your pitch on Bluesky on Wednesday, Oct 8, 2025 between 8AM ET - 8PM ET -Only post once per hour (6 max pitches per project) -Must have a polished, query ready manuscript or art portfolio. -Pitch must include the #DVpit hashtag (illustrators pitching their art must use the #DVArt hashtag) -A like from an agent = a query request -A repost from an editor = interest in submission once you've signed with an agent -A like from an editor = editor who takes unagented submissions -Please do not like or repost a pitch if you are not an agent or an editor. Support other creators by replying to their pitch or quote-reposting their pitches -Visit dvpit.carrd.co for more detailed guidelines. #DVpit 2025 has 70+ Agents & Editors committed to participate & boost marginalized creators from the following literary agencies and publishers: Andrea Brown Lit Ash Literary Azantian Literary Agency Dystel, Goderich & Bourret Folio Literary Management Gallt & Zacker Literary Gelfman Schneider Literary Hachette Grand Central Publishing Little Brown Books for Young Readers Harper Collins Harlequin Hanover Square HG Literary Inked in Gray Press Jill Grinberg Literary Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency Macmillan Feiwel & Friends Farrar, Straus & Giroux Roaring Brook Press Saturday books Wednesday books Mad Woman Literary Neighborhood Literary New Leaf Literary & Media Open Book Literary Page Street Publishing Park, Fine & Brower Penguin Random House Ballantine Berkley Delacorte Labyrinth Road Penguin Workshop Viking Root Literary Simon & Schuster Aladdin Atheneum Atria McElderry Sheldon Fogelman Agency Sourcebooks Stonefruit Studio Triada US Writers House Zando
October 8, 2025 at 10:30 AM
ecalice.bsky.social
This advice is going to change my life.
dreamwisp.bsky.social Jennifer Kretchmer @dreamwisp.bsky.social · Oct 7
Because it feels relevant as we continue to evaluate the media and our representatives’ statements, my favorite way to identify the active vs. passive voice.
A post by Rebecca Johnson: “I finally learned how to teach my guys to ID the passive voice. If you can insert "by zombies" after the verb, you have passive voice.” A tumblr respond from mightymur: “The final, brilliant word on passive voice. "She was killed [by zombies.]"<--passive "Zombies killed [by zombies] her." <-- active”
October 8, 2025 at 1:32 AM
ecalice.bsky.social
#DVParty - Day 6

He’s an abomination that shouldn’t exist, bursting with vengeful power that can’t be contained. She’s the daughter of his enemy, raised to slay him. But he’s not what she thought. And soon she doesn’t know whether she should kill the monster, or destroy it all by his side.
#WIP #DF
All images are royalty free, found on Pixaby. They’re arranged in a montage, featuring: 1. An ominous cloud of blue smoke. 2. A log on fire. 3. Half of a deer skull resting in a tree bough. 4. A shrouded woman with four lines of vertical writing tattooed on her upper back, half a mandala over her spine. 5. A hand slowly drawing a dagger from a sheath. 6. A bloody hand holding a white rose, its petals smeared with red. 7. A murder of crows gazing over a forest bathed in green light. 8. A dark forest with an uncomfortable yellow glow. 9. Closeup on the silhouette of a man and a woman, their foreheads pressed together. It seems intimate, though the contrast with the surrounding horror is stark. 10. A number of shadowy hands pressed against a sheet, as though trapped. The central shadow pressing into the sheet could be a head, or something else. 11. A lone wolf standing against a vivid sunset, the sky almost entirely magenta. Superimposed on the montage is a quote, "Are you one of those who dance for our deaths?"
October 7, 2025 at 12:19 PM
ecalice.bsky.social
#WIPSnips - October 7

The word today is “safe.” Small quote from Kalliope in “A Spell for a Raven’s Wing.”

#romantasy #AmQuerying #AmWriting
“I know he isn’t harmless. I can feel the careful blunt of his nails against my forearms, their points carefully filed every day since Lia was born. (I miss them, but I can never tell him that.) He still has that intense, wolfish gaze. I know he would do unspeakable things for me, if only I asked. But I like the quiet of our lives. I can tell he does too. So, I expect the danger in him will lay dormant, docile even, for as long as she and I are safe.”
October 7, 2025 at 11:19 AM
ecalice.bsky.social
#DVParty - Day 5

Novel as a playlist.

Highly recommend them all, but specifically “Curses” by acloudyskye. Two years ago I heard it, listened about 200 times, and got this story in my head about a familiar who falls for an imprisoned witch. Thus, Raven’s Wing was born.

#DF #R #ND #MH
A screenshot of a short Spotify playlist with a big green play button, set across a black background. Tracks top to bottom: “Curses” by acloudyskye “Complete Collapse - Acoustic” by Sleeping with Sirens “Lighthouse” by Iamthemorning, Mariusz Duda “Null Moon” by Akira Yamaoka “salva nos II” by Yuki Kajiura “L.L.I.B.” by Sal3m, NOVELISTS, Amael Durand “Cascade” by Satron Paint Samuel, Drew Gooden “Follow You” by Bring Me the Horizon “No Mercy” by DeathbyRomy
October 6, 2025 at 12:02 PM