L. Bay Riley
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lbayriley.bsky.social
L. Bay Riley
@lbayriley.bsky.social
170 followers 130 following 1.2K posts
An aspiring author and sustainable gardener. Ive come a long way and have a long way more to go. Always trying to improve my craft.
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lbayriley.bsky.social
L. Bay Riley @lbayriley.bsky.social · Feb 24
Character Name: Beatrice, Heir of Alighieri.
Height: 6’0
Weight: you know the rules
Personality: Beatrice is a fine balance between impetuous and measured. She prefers to meet her problems (and enemies) head on, thinking in the moment. That isnt to say she is against teamwork. Whether she is
lbayriley.bsky.social
A spirit that calls herself Lachesis plays a big part in the story One Fateful Night. The story is part of my Alpha Magic World project.

Other than her, there is an evil spirit the twins Macy and Stacy encounter during one of their stories. (They are also part of the AMW project).
serraleta.bsky.social Serra Leta @serraleta.bsky.social · 1d
Day 16
Switching to something different, spirits! Many different interpretations with this across various folklore, so keeping it broad with whatever you might have cookin'!
#Writing #WritingPrompts #Critterary
#Critterary - A January writing prompt game. Today's Theme: Spirits. Youkai! Nature Spirits! Specters! 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 kappa holding a cucumber, and art of a floating skeleton wearing a cloak. Background is a leafy jungle.
January 16, 2026 at 2:00 PM
lbayriley.bsky.social
In Heirs of Alighieri, Mara’s first major challenges are giant, colorful geckos. That are sadistic. Did I mention they their blood has paralytic properties?

The Queen of the geckos, Torssa, has gone through at least 4 different iterations. At one point she was an ally to Mara. (At first to combat-
serraleta.bsky.social Serra Leta @serraleta.bsky.social · 2d
Day 15
Heading back to animals and let's go back to some scalies/shellies - reptiles! Whether your turtles are ninjas/heroes, your crocs placid, or your snakes liquid/naked/solid(us), let's chat about these adorable critters! 🐊🐢🦎🐍
#Writing #WritingPrompts #Critterary
#Critterary - A January writing prompt game. Today's Theme: Reptiles. Lizards! Snakes! Turtles! 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. Photo of a gecko on a planet, and photo of a crocodile with its head poking out of water. Background is a leafy jungle.
January 15, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
wizardzone.net
Game category change: Conveyoring
#gamedev #indiedev
January 14, 2026 at 8:17 PM
lbayriley.bsky.social
I almost forgot about one that I wrote about 😅. In Heirs of Alighieri, during the Tower of Fear arc (the last of “Part/Phase 1), Beatrice faces a demon called Sobek.

Other than being associated with water, there isnt much traditional resemblance to the Egyptian goddess.

Sohek is one of the four-
serraleta.bsky.social Serra Leta @serraleta.bsky.social · 3d
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 3:59 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
ossuary.bsky.social
Death, sex and nineteenth century occultism.

Dr. William Savage didn't learn anything from being murdered in jail. His first act after being resurrected was to sleep with a spy from an invading country. But how hard can it be to rebuild a life just because there's a war on?

#bluepit #lgbt #fantasy
January 13, 2026 at 4:59 PM
lbayriley.bsky.social
Haven't done anything with water dwellers, although aquatic life (fresh or salt) fascinates me. Well, like all of Mother Nature 😆

But to round out this light post...

🎶Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming! 🎶
serraleta.bsky.social Serra Leta @serraleta.bsky.social · 4d
Day 13
Today we're going to a different world, under the sea... 🌊🐬🐠 Aquatic animals! Surely some of them have a porpoise in some of your stories? 🤔
#Writing #WritingPrompts #Critterary
#Critterary - A January writing prompt game. Today's Theme: Aquatic Animals. Fish! Water mammals! Crustaceans! 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. Photo of a dolphin, and photo of a stingray. Background is a leafy jungle.
January 13, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
mycelialwriter.bsky.social
Enslaved by the Azantium Empire, Mæve discovers a world of star-born trees—sacred to the Lumani, exploited by her captors—and a fragile peace unraveling. As she fights for freedom, she awakens a power long forgotten.
🌿 The Chrysillium Tree 🌿
#BluePit #BluePit📖 #A #F #P
a dark starry moodboard of woman's hands working herbs, an open cage, the pole star, the moon over the water, a woman with purple eyes lying in a field, a starry night sky, an owl, herb on a wooden desk.
January 13, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
emmajuned.bsky.social
Being a guitarist in SKIN DOLLS is all that keeps Sana’s depression at bay. When they break up, she has to navigate their lifelong friendships, fears, lust and bizarre danger in a world that is falling into the pit. Hope is the rarest of resources when a demon is king. #bluepit📖 #NA #H #W #ND #LGBT
A girl with black and red hair A goth girl An idol type with blonde and blue hair A punk type with blue hair. All art by megwynrose
January 13, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
rosalindhawkins.bsky.social
When a strange bloom reveals magic she was never meant to have, a quiet bookshop clerk is forced into the magical society hidden within 1920s America. There, she must learn to defend herself against the authorities who deem her too dangerous to exist. #BluePit 📖 #W #A #WF #F #R #HS #WritingCommunity
An Agent's Guide to Secrets of Ink and Enchantment, by Rosalind Hawkins. Historical Fantasy Romance, ≈100k Words (Draft in progress). Background is a dark purple leather, with the outline of a raven in the bottom center. Pitch: After a strange bloom reveals magic she was never meant to have, Clara Wells, a reserved bookshop clerk in 1920s America, is thrust into a magical society that survives through secrecy, regulation, and control. Her employer-turned-mentor, Asher Thorne, has taken it upon himself to protect and teach her rather than throw her to the wolves as would be 'proper'. The guidance meant to keep her alive evolves into something far deeper and more intimate, even as the danger to both of them grows closer by the day. This novel explores how trust can become an act of rebellion in a world that treats those it can't understand as a threat to be erased. Comparisons to A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness: Intimacy unfolds under constant risk of discovery. Love is a destabilizing force in a trauma informed system. One partner acts as a guide through an unfamiliar system. Comparisons to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke: Magic is governed through formal institutions, controlling who may safely belong and who is othered. Othered individuals the system cannot process lead to catastrophe. Context: A character-driven historical fantasy where personal relationships collide with rigid and authoritarian magical governance. Romance Tropes: Slow-burn romance. Trust built through shared risk. Mutual pining. Forced proximity. Deliberately equalized power. Trust before intimacy. Partners against the system. (Images of a ring of skeleton keys hanging up, the sculpture "Psyche revived by Cupid's kiss", and two wooden wizard/fantasy style wands laying crossed on a table.) Story Features: Adult historical fantasy. Teaching driven by responsibility, not authority. Hidden magical society operating alongside the mundane world. Character-first narrative focus. Late escalation of physical intimacy. (Images of a shelf of dark liquor lit from behind, shelves of well-maintained antique books, and an open book with a wooden wand sitting on top of its pages.) Book Excerpt: “Really though, if you could get a potion that did anything at all, what would you ask for?” In that instant, Mr. Thorne dropped the tea cup he had been polishing. It shattered on the wooden floor in front of the desk. He cursed under his breath as he lowered himself to the floor to address the broken porcelain. “I’d certainly take a luck potion, but Lord knows I’ll never be able to afford that,” Mr. Thorne stated, far too seriously for the topic at hand. He then looked up and met Clara’s eyes, startled. It was as if he was surprised by his own answer. He stood, setting the fragmented tea cup on the counter before straightening his hair. “What about you, Clara? If you could make a magical elixir of any kind, what would it be?” Clara thought about it for a moment, looking out the window. The depressing weather was starting to catch up with her. “Well, something to give me energy and lift my spirits would be nice today.” Mr. Thorne grinned at this response, retrieving two still intact tea cups and lifting them in front of him. “It just so happens that I have the perfect potion for you steeping in the back.” (Excerpt from Chapter 3, condensed)
January 13, 2026 at 5:00 AM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
mycelialwriter.bsky.social
Conscripted into a brutal war against the mystical Lumani, Rowynn keeps a dangerous secret—an uncontrollable magic rises within her, the very magic the army seeks to destroy. Her only solace is in a mysterious demon who visits Rowynn in her dreams.
#BluePit #BluePit📖 #A #F #P
Star of Shalik Moodboard that is dark, starry with photo of moon over the ocean, a celestial study, a dark starry man, the inside of an observatory, the silhouette of a woman, a castle, a starry sea, and a man's hand clad in a dark blue starry robe.
January 13, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
racthoh.bsky.social
Racthoh's Tale:

Racthoh, an exiled elf confronting profound loss, demands vengeance from those who destroyed his home and family. Alongside a compassionate Paladin and a struggling minotaur, they navigate a war-torn world of forgotten gods, necromancers, and dragons.

#BluePit📖 #F #A #Q
January 13, 2026 at 5:27 AM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
ajandersonauthor.com
A Classic Fantasy Plot x Modern Storytelling & Themes

A collection of characters that are heavily burdened by their arduous pasts must deal with the return of a legendary evil, while also deciding whether they will define themselves or let history damn them.

#BluePit #BluePit📖 #P #Q #A #F #M #D
Cover art displays a young blonde woman standing before a canvas and turning back toward the viewer. Her hand is raised toward the canvas, which is tattered to reveal what is behind it: a landscape of ruin, caused by a great volcanic eruption in the distance. Pictured are the covers for the video game Elden Ring, manga Vinland Saga, and novel The Lord of the Rings. Elden Ring features a warrior knelt before a corpse with the titular rune in the background. Vinland Saga features a farmer looking wistfully into the distance. The Lord of the Rings features the emblem of a sinister yellow eye, surrounded by runes and fire.
January 13, 2026 at 6:36 AM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
chrisakins.bsky.social
EARTHLINGS!

BODY SNATCHERS x THE RUNAWAYS

When a 2nd generation alien sleeper cell is ordered to abduct her human friend, she saves her and goes rogue. Now her fellow operatives must track her down, but should they help her to sabotage the coming invasion instead?

📖 #Bluepit #W #YA #SF
Title of EARTHLINGS! over a view of the planet fl group of second generation aliens sleeper cells have spent their entire lives assimilating to human culture and gathering intelligence for the home world. To them, the eventual overthrow of farth has always been a distant goal meant for future generations. Now, when ordered to abduct and replace a human girl they have betriended, one of the alien operatives realizes that they have grown to care more for their found home and family than they do for their own people. She sabotages the abduction and goes on the run with the human girl. Her friends are ordered to track her down; but now questioning their own mission, they find themselves wondering if the entire invasion is a mistake and if they have more in common with these Earthlings than they ever thought...
January 13, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
serraleta.bsky.social
THE GAMES GODS PLAY X 12 KINGDOMS X A MAGICAL GIRL RETIRES

Aurora yearns for belonging, but her dreams have become more horrific, eventually becoming true. When a group of strangers enters her home, she finds out the idea of 'fantasy' was walking here on Earth, all along...

#BluePit📖 #NA #F #R #W
Lights of the North. A New adult contemporary romantic fantasy by Serra Leta. Background is a snowy mountain with the northern lights overhead. Pitch. Aurora finds herself a visionary for god-like warriors, in a hidden war for Earth against a force of eldritch horrors. Joining a collective of Spirits and their Lightning Guardian, her anxieties deepen. Eager to seek approval as a competent member, Aurora is conflicted when she develops feelings for their Guardian commander. With time running out, Aurora must overcome her insecurities and sort out her emotions, in order to prepare for their final war. Background is a nighttime sky full of stars above some trees, and a lightning storm brewing. Comps & Tropes. The first comp title is The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen with the related themes of: contemporary setting, romance with a godly being, and a series of high-stake challenges. The second comp title is The Twelve Kingdoms by Fuyumi Ono with the related themes of: fish out of water, hidden world, and disguised beings. The third comp title is A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon with the related themes of: 1st person, past tense, swept up in a prophecy, and subverted expectations. The overall tropes include: found family, emotional scars, learning to love, and forbidden romances. Background is a red flamed fire. Snippet. The large, looming figure bent down on one knee, studying me. I was nearly flattened on the ground, staring at the one towering over me. He leaned in closer. Time was slowing down. My muscles stiffened and I stared – I was watching a dangerous predator ready to sink its teeth in and finish the job. I tried to think of a way out, but it came up blank. I saw something I shouldn’t have. I was going to die right there. “Rise,” he commanded. The power in his voice reverberated throughout my body. The weight holding me down loosened, and I sat up with ease. Words escaped me when a large arm stretched out. Somehow, I was compelled to take it, feeling safe to do so. Before our hands made contact, a static spark struck me from his fingertip, and I was instantly transported back to that snowy pathway under the northern lights. Background is the top of a body of water.
January 13, 2026 at 5:17 AM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
tamarasharker.com
"The Fruit of War: Stone and Flesh" is the first book in an epic fantasy series steeped in gothic themes.

It follows Fîeron, an undertaker-psychopomp in a world recovering from an unprecedented war, as he is forced to flee one burden for one far greater -- and darker.

#BluePit 📖 #OS #A #fruitofwar
A dark green banner split in half by a subtle gold border. The left half features a book cover with white text that reads “The Fruit of War, Book 1: Stone and Flesh”, by Tamara S Harker. It shows a man’s hand holding a purple-red fruit cut open to reveal a small skull. In the background is a shadowed orchard with fallen soldiers lying on the ground. The right half of the image describes the book, including a tagline of "Nothing truly dies -- it merely changes." and a launch date of 1st March 2026, both in red text. A donut-shaped pie chart lists its genres as 70% epic fantasy, 20% dark fantasy, and 10% gothic horror. The blurb of the book, in pale green text, reads: "A weary young undertaker is tasked by a dead hero to find an artifact that began – and ended – a recent war. In doing so, he gathers an eclectic group of veterans and greenhorns almost by accident. Yet finding the artifact is only the beginning, and in solving the riddle of the hero’s last request, they are only met with more questions – about the war, their alleged enemy, and the very nature of their world." Finally, green text reads: "For readers who like their fantasy intelligent...immersive...and simmering with ghosts of the past...both figurative and literal." Two quotes from a five-star Goodreads ARC review: "...an ambitious and richly imagined fantasy..." "...an excellent read and a superb debut. It's the kind of book that reminds you of the joys of classic fantasy, with its intricate storytelling, memorable characters, and a world that lingers in your mind long after you've turned the final page."
January 13, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
amberjollyauthor.bsky.social
When a dead woman resurfaces with the magic of Jack Frost, she’ll have to decide if revenge is worth the process of losing love and ultimately herself.
🤍❄️🥶🩸💀

-Dual timeline
-Witty banter
-Revenge
-Love triangle with suspected killers

#BluePit📖 #W #R #PN #SP #A
January 13, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
vampireantihero.com
SONG OF ACHILLES x INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE x IRON DRUID

Cypress lives a normal life until they get bit by a dog and his life goes down the drain. Out of options, he moves into a run down church in the middle of the woods, but nothing is entirely what it seems.

#BluePit📖 #A #PN #F #LGBT #OV #P
The cover of Lemon Balm by Artemis Quinn and Auden Eris-Everen. It's purple, with silver filigree around the sides showing a bat holding a moon in its paws. In the center is a bundle of lemon balm held together with a bow. A man fiddles with his shirt sleeve in front of a bright orange art-deco mural. Lemon Balm Contemporary Dark Fantasy with vampires, werewolves and witches, hidden in plain sight, horror and romance elements Soft Magic System LGBTQIA+ (ace-spectrum and nonbinary) rep 1st of a series 1st person POV vampireantihero.com A vampire stands in front of an ornate stained glass dais with their head tilted to the viewer's left, crying blood. They're holding a rose in their hands, and the vines are trailing up their arms. The border is art deco, and behind the border are pretty flowers and drawn traces of white thorns. There is a stone beneath the vampire's hands that says "Now I Lay me down to sleep."
January 13, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
bettebergeron.bsky.social
Loving the #BluePit📖 posts!

✨Preparing to query✨... SEA CURSER

Seeking solace at a retreat on a solitary Maine island, Nan instead must save her friends from ancient forces or be lost to the sea.

🌊Maine sea mythology
🌲Closed setting
🫂Loss & Redemption

#A #SP #W #amquerying #writesky #agentsguide
Photo of footsteps on a beach with the caption: What ancient evil awaits off Maine's iconic coastline.
January 13, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
scarletvmitchell.bsky.social
Bayle, the butler, needs to help turn his employer's antique orbital into an academy. Nora is determined to protect her cottage from a corporate land-grab. If they put their heads together, they could solve each other's problems.🥰
Unfortunately, it may also tear them apart.💔
#BluePit 📖
#A #R #SF #W
A baroque sitting room, a butler' uniform, an apple tree, a couple of space stations over a planet, a grand imperial staircase, a cozy thatched room cottage, a well-dressed prim and proper secretary
January 13, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
longwaydownbook.bsky.social
HOZIER x COCO x GOBLIN x TRESE x CONSTANTINE(2005)

👻Catch that killer!
🐈‍⬛International cast
❤️‍🔥Slow burn poly rep
✨Grumpy x Sunshine
🖤 Love across lifetimes
💀 Reincarnated Death Gods
💜 Healing grief & trauma through found family
🕯️Samhain, Día de Muertos, Fèt Gede, Undas

#BluePit📖 #W #A #SP #F #PN #R
There is a grid of nine square photos with a dark blue background around them. All the photos are darkened and desaturated. In the top left photo, Tylor, a pale Northern Irish man with long, dark curly hair and wearing a black suit, is squatting close to the ground beside a tree trunk with his hands clasped one over the other. The top middle photo is a series of silhouettes of gravestones, the faint outline of a mountain in the background. The top right is a paved bridge that extends into fog, with metal railings on either side and branches along the top edge of the image. The centre left photo is a blurred, dark image of lines on a road and a streak of a headlamp above. The centre middle is a starry night sky surrounded by black silhouettes of tree tops. Centre right is a lighter photo of a roadway and field beyond, with a white Mini driving on it. The bottom left photo is of several leafless young trees beside a lake. The bottom middle photo is a low-angle shot of a cobblestone wall and memorial obelisk atop it. In the bottom right image, Naveena, a British-Indian woman with brown skin and long dark hair, moves along a hedge in a black leather jacket with a wary expression on her face. There is text overlayed all the photos. It says: "The Pitch. Tylor & Naveena are keeping secrets: he can talk to the dead & she is Death herself. No mortal can do what they do. The day they meet, they discover they've been looking for each other. Can they work together to save a missing girl, & themselves, before it's too late?"
January 13, 2026 at 5:12 AM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
scarletvmitchell.bsky.social
The only place depressed goth-girl, Helena, feels at home on the cheery campus is the dark, haunted chapel. When the stones come alive to warn her of a demon invasion, she becomes entangled in a cosmic war.
And falls for a gargoyle.❤️
Don't Let the Forest In x City of Bones
#BluePit 📖
#YA #F #Q #LGBT
Moodboard for Rooted in Stone, sapphic gargoyle urban fantasy. Tagline”Somewhere away from this world, indistinct, infinite, and unknowable… What was beyond that veil?” 10 very dark, moody, grayish images around the edge include the hazy spires of Notre Dame with birds lying across, the Milky Way, a crow coming in the land, a gargoyle peeking over a ledge, a shadow crouching in a corner with piercing eyes, a young woman with black hair over her eye, a crow in front of a grave, a graveyard statue of an angel, and the interior of a church with a stained glass window. In the center of all this, is a bright painting of a natual landscape done in vivid sunset colors.
January 13, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
rammwriter.bsky.social
Pagans x Strike

📖 Author wars
⚫️ Black humour
🔱 Romans vs Celts
🗿 Stonehenge Rules
🌞 Winter Solstice, baby
💰 Karens & Kevins
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Refined English snobbery
📵 21st Century Luddites

#BluePit #W #A #M #PN #T 📖 🦋
January 13, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
rammwriter.bsky.social
A celebrity author builds a Stonehenge replica as a publicity stunt, unwittingly activating powerful ley lines. As middle-class England is gripped by paganism, two reporters must find a way to quell increasingly violent religious fervour. Before the sacrifices begin.

#BluePit #W #A #M #PN #T 📖 🦋
January 13, 2026 at 5:05 AM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
zprospero.bsky.social
A KINKY WEREWOLF X VAMPIRE SEX COMEDY

Wulf discovers being a werewolf means no orgasms, unless he wants to howl down every cop on the city on him, so his two hot roommates help him train to resist.

But when Sky, vampire S&M club owner comes, will Wulf?

#BluePit 📖 #P #A #F #R #Erotica #LGBT
At the top is the title text “Good Boys Don’t Howl” On a background of a brick wall lit with the colors of the bisexual pride flag is the shadow of a howling werewolf and a rain of red feathers. Over the shadow is a neon mouth with red lips and white vampire fangs and a blue and purple hand with a raised index finger in a shushing gesture. Below that is a tagline: “pop goes the werewolf”
January 13, 2026 at 5:35 AM
Reposted by L. Bay Riley
chloemarcus.bsky.social
92K - Dual POV - YA FANTASY

🏰 HERS - FANTASY
🛝 Childhood Friends
👭 Sister Bonds
👩‍🍼 Inherited Magic
🏃‍♀️‍➡️ Leap, Then Look
💋 Kiss, Marry, or Kill?

🧌 HIS - HORROR
💑 Childhood Sweethearts
💕 Self-Sacrificing Loyalty
💀 Soul Selling
🤔 Anxious, Overthinker
🫀 Cannibal Witch

#Bluepit #bluepit📖#YA #Fantasy
January 13, 2026 at 1:01 PM