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Byron is getting Cora's help to gather some birthday supplies for the twins. You can really tell Byron knows his brothers well, based on his planned gifts 😂

From Byron's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

She flipped the list over to see the last few items on his checklist, cocking her head in surprise. “These are new,” she said, tapping them. “Notebooks and pens and sample vials – for Poe, I assume?” Byron nodded. “And marshmallows and chocolate. I would guess those are for Kip?”
“That kid eats sugar like it’s what keeps him alive,” Byron mumbled.
“And the condoms?” she asked, with that crooked grin of hers. “Getting ideas, are you?”
He blushed harder than he had yet. “No, those are for Kip, too. He’s…very social.” He cleared his throat, trying to get back the heat of his blush. “I just want him to be safe.”
“You know they give out condoms for free at the medical center, right?”
“In this dimension they do. Besides, they’re meant as a gift.”
“Ah, yes. And the cake – is that for Tennyson?”
Byron snorted. “The twins’ birthday is next week. I’m trying to plan ahead.”

November 14, 2025 at 2:28 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

When Poe introduces his brothers to the dimensional spacetime ordination unit (aka The Absolute Unit). The things Poe thinks of as simple... 😂

From Byron's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

“It must use power, right?” Tennyson asked. “So why can’t it run out?”
“Oh yes, it needs a ton of power. But it’s running on half a cup of uranium. That’s enough to keep it running for the next three centuries. We’ll be fine.”
“Uranium?” Byron asked, and all three of Poe’s brothers took a big step away from the large machine. “We were carrying that thing.”
“Don’t worry – it’s shielded,” Poe said, then scowled when his brothers all took another step away. Apparently, they couldn’t even trust him to do something as simple as build a radiation shield.
“Who the fuck gave Poe access to uranium?” Tennyson asked, looking absolutely horrified.

November 13, 2025 at 3:47 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

Tennyson, once again proving the one person he really can't figure out is himself. 🙄😂

From Tennyson's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

A moment later, Emmanuel re-emerged and tossed something at Tennyson. He caught it, realizing it was a t-shirt.
“The hell is this?” he asked, letting it unfurl in his hands. It was dark blue and printed with information about some 5k charity run that had happened a few years ago.
“A t-shirt,” Emmanuel said. “Obviously.”
Asshole. “And what am I supposed to do with it?”
“Wear it, I would think,” Emmanuel said. “Unless you like parading around with fist-sized holes in your shirt.” He stretched a hand out quick as a viper, reaching behind Tennyson’s back, fingers slipping through a large hole in the cotton to prove his point. His fingers skittered across Tennyson’s lower back, fingertips smooth and hot against his skin. Tennyson’s breath hitched, and his traitorous instinct was to lean into the touch.
Instead, he jerked away with a scowl. “Why would I want to wear your clothes?”

November 12, 2025 at 2:13 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

Enjoy this week's #WritingPrompt - a new random word list! How would you use this list to inspire a scene or paragraph? Bonus points for including all six words in one sentence!

#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingInspiration #WritingInspo

Decorative leaf wreath with writing prompt text: Use the following words in a scene or paragraph: wine, migrate, slide, arrogant, stream, kidney. @NicoleLSoperGorden

November 12, 2025 at 1:01 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

All subscribers will have the chance to vote for a free story for the holidays in my Nov. 15 newsletter. Which will you vote for? 👀

PLUS all subscribers get my story Sweetening the Deal for free just for joining! Linktree in bio 🙂

#BookSky #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #ReadingCommunity #FreeStory

November 11, 2025 at 5:06 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

I do technically have one burger, but it comes in a very spoilery scene - so you get Kip's abominable sandwich preferences instead 😂

From Tennyson's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

“Hey Tennyson!” Kip yelled.
“No,” Tennyson yelled back.
“What’s for lunch?”
“I said no.”
“Aw, come on. I’m hungry!”
Tennyson stuck his head into the dining room with a scowl. “Why do you just assume I’m going to make lunch for you. Last time I checked, you have two working hands and the ability to make a ham sandwich for yourself.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Poe said. “Last time Kip made a ham sandwich, it had both ketchup and marshmallow fluff on it, plus blue cheese and honey roasted peanuts.”
“Hey, that was a good sandwich,” Kip said defensively.
“That was a culinary abomination and an insult to pigs in any dimension,” Tennyson said. “But that doesn’t mean you should assume I’m making you food.”

November 11, 2025 at 3:33 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

🥺 He hoped she never left. 🥺

A snippet from Hearts of Bark and Scale, a sweet romance set in a dark fantasy world. Out now!

Character art by shayndl_art 💜

#BookSky #WriteSky #Romance #Fantast #FantasyRomance #Romantasy

November 11, 2025 at 3:27 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

I'm sure it's the dancing Kip misses... 😂

From Tennyson's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

“The dimensions leading up to this one have all be dimensions without human civilization,” Poe said thoughtfully. “This dimension seems stable and relatively safe. If we don’t find blufanglite here, maybe we should set this up as a local base camp while we explore nearby dimensions, so we have somewhere safe to return to.”
“Oh, please!” Kip said. “I’ve missed people.”
“We’re people too, asshole,” Tennyson muttered.
“Sure, but I know all of you,” Kip said. “And I don’t think any of you would dance with me, except maybe Cora – but Byron probably wouldn’t like that.”

November 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

That surreal moment when you're presented with evidence of the alternate version of you that lives in a different dimension...

From Byron's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

With a flourish, Alex turned the tablet around to show the screen to Cora. She sat up, snatching the tablet. Byron leaned close enough to look at the tablet with her. On the screen, a photo of Byron smiled back. It looked like a high school graduation photo, taken directly from a yearbook, with Byron wearing a letterman jacket. His hair in the picture was longer than Byron had ever worn his, brushing his shoulders, and he was clean-shaven. The small scar Byron had through his left eyebrow, an injury from his high school football days, was missing in the photo. While the boy in the picture was smiling, it was restrained and a little harsh around the edges.
The entire effect was disorienting for Byron, an uncanny valley creepiness that seemed to climb his spine. It wasn’t helped by the name under the photo: “Frederick “Freddie” Byron Atlas.” So close to his name, but with first and middle names swapped. The high school name and graduation year were correct, but the senior quote underneath wasn’t anything Byron had seen before.

November 9, 2025 at 5:27 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

Poe is 19 (and already working on his PhD), just for context.

From Byron's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

Poe tilted his head to one side, and Byron could see that calculating look in his eyes. “Are you familiar with Dr. Chary’s work with the cosmic microwave background? Or the Singh-Albrecht M-space equations?”
Anil gave an amused snort. “Can’t say I’ve heard of either. Theoretical physics? Been a couple decades since my last physics coursework, theoretical or otherwise.”
Poe gave a slightly disappointed nod. “Suffice it to say this device is a practical test of the Singh-Albrecht theory.”
“Aren’t you a little young to be trying to solve unified field theory or whatever?” Anil asked with a good-natured chuckle.
“It’s not an age thing,” Byron said, tone tighter than he had intended. “Poe’s been making his professors feel stupid for years.”

November 8, 2025 at 8:51 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

Being rushed by a group of men in postapocalyptic armor right after talking about zombies is fine, right? 😬

From Tennyson's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

“There better not be any fucking zombies here, Poe. Can’t you check your stupid END?”
“The extradimensional navigation device isn’t some kind of science fiction scanning device,” Poe said, waving the END in Tennyson’s direction in annoyance. “It’s just the thing that lets us travel between dimensions and—”
He was cut off by a sudden rush of movement and roaring of voices. A group of men dressed in leather and metal rushed out of a nearby alleyway right at their group, yelling and waving assorted weapons.

November 7, 2025 at 2:20 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

Tough word today, so we're going ✨vibey✨. Here are the opening lines of the penultimate arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse (aka Poe's arc).

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

Poe Atlas wondered sometimes if bad luck was part and parcel of being a genius. Or maybe it was less bad luck, and more a tendency to make stupid mistakes. Yes, geniuses can be stupid, and yes they can make the kind of big mistakes that changed – and possibly ruined – lives.
He’d certainly been collecting those.

November 6, 2025 at 2:12 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

In a quiet postapocalyptic dimension...

From Poe's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

“Do you think all of the people in that city died?” Annie asked.
To be honest, Poe hadn’t wanted to think about that possibility. If they combed through the streets and buildings down there, would they find signs of death? Skeletons, maybe? Or had all the people evacuated before the city fell? Either way, there was no sign of human life at all now, so it likely didn’t matter.
Or maybe it mattered to Annie, he amended, seeing the worry on her face as she studied the overgrown city below.
“Maybe they all left,” he offered. “An evacuation.”
Annie didn’t reply, but her gaze stayed on the city until their trail led away from the cliff edge and into the woods again.

November 5, 2025 at 2:13 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

New prompt for Writing Prompt Wednesday! What do you think about this one? What kind of story or scene does it inspire for you? Share your ideas below!

#WritingPrompt #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting #WritingInspo

Decorative leaf wreath with writing prompt text: The bigger the clouds got, the more he realized they were talking to each other. @NicoleLSoperGorden

November 5, 2025 at 1:01 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

Community support is needed now more than ever, and there's an immediate need for support for resources to help keep families fed in the US. And the good news is I'm giving gifts to people who donate! See images for details.

#BookSky #ReadingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #CommunitySupport

Image of two people passing a heart between windows. Text reads: Community Support is Needed! Help feed people and get free books! Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

How it works... 1. Donate to a food bank, soup kitchen, etc. 2. Send a screenshot of your receipt to me (sopergorden@gmail.com) 3. Get my ebooks for free 4. Donate enough for specified gifts (arrow to next slide)
Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

Communities make change. Thank you for helping make the world a better place! Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

November 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

A bit longer than usual, but I wanted to get that whole emotional punch in the scene just for you all to suffer through - er, I mean enjoy. 😅

From Tennyson's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

“I’m not much of a cook,” Emmanuel admitted. He looked around the well-appointed kitchen with a hint of sadness on his face. “This kitchen doesn’t usually get much use, honestly.”
“Awfully expensive kitchen for someone who doesn’t cook.”
The sadness in Emmanuel’s expression seemed to sharpen for a moment, as if Tennyson had slid a knife between his ribs. Then he ameliorated his grief with a soft, sweet smile. “My grandma was the best cook. This kitchen was her sanctuary. Grandpa and I saved to add something new every year for Christmas and her birthday.” He stepped forward to run a hand over the stainless steel topped kitchen island, where Tennyson’s cookies were currently sitting. “Christmas when I was 15.” He turned to point at the spotless stove. “Her 75th birthday.” The pristine stand mixer. “Christmas the first year after my grandpa passed away.”
For a moment, the grief overshadowed his expression again, and he turned to study Tennyson’s cookies instead. Tennyson wasn’t quite sure how to respond to this show of vulnerability. It felt oddly like Emmanuel was rolling over and showing his soft underbelly while Tennyson held a knife. Suddenly uncomfortable, Tennyson set down the small tongs he had been using to arrange candied lemon peel.
“No one has made cookies in this kitchen since my grandma passed away, two years ago,” the boy said, staring at the plate of baked goods with his jaw set.

November 4, 2025 at 4:04 PM

Reposted by Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

Merlina Garance

@merlinagarance.bsky.social

Deadline 31st dec
DM/use contact form on merlinagarance.com and I'll give you my email adress
5500 words max
Remuneration: No upfront payment because I simply can't afford it.
Ideally will discuss with all authors about donating at least part of the royalties to related charities
#books #anthology

November 1, 2025 at 10:41 AM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

Sorry, Poe, but I'm pretty sure that names sticking... 🤭

From Byron's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

“What the fuck did you say this thing was?” Tennyson asked, flicking the corner of the machine with a fingernail.
“Be nice to the machine,” Poe muttered. “It’s our homing device.”
“You called it a…something something unit,” Byron said.
“It’s an absolute unit,” Kip chimed in, making a show of wiping his brow.
“Please don’t refer to my genius invention by an aging cut-rate meme,” Poe said, rolling his eyes.

November 3, 2025 at 2:16 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

Hearts of Bark and Scale is available through Kindle Unlimited, Amazon ebook, or paperback from most major booksellers. Get your copy today!

Available at: buy.bookfunnel.com/1dx00okh5i

#BookSky #Fantasy #Romance #Romantasy #WriteSky #ReadingCommunity #WritingCommunity

Background image of desert dunes at sunrise. Foreground image of cover art for Hearts of Bark and Scale by Nicole Leland. Text reads: The world is blood and pain, but still there's love. Now Available!

November 3, 2025 at 1:00 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

This snippet is even thematically appropriate for spooky season - spooky scary skeleton 💀

From Poe's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

He flicked off his flashlight and instead thumbed a switch, turning on the overhead lights. They half-blinded Poe for a minute, and he had to squint his eyes while walking, almost barking his shins on a second metal stool he hadn’t noticed before.
Next to him, Annie let out a sudden squeak, gripping his arm again. His attention snapped to her, then followed her gaze to a corner of the room at the end of one of the shelves, a little gap between the shelf’s end and the wall. Slouched there like some kind of needlessly detailed Halloween decoration was a human skeleton. The clothes were mostly gone, but tenacious threads of tendon and wisps of hair still clung to the bones like moss and spiderwebs.

November 2, 2025 at 6:26 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

Putting the safety algorithms on Poe's extradimensional navigation devence (aka END) to the test...

From Byron's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

“World +2 looks a lot like…downtown any city?” Byron said, looking around in semi confusion.
“World +3, actually,” Poe said, checking the readings on his device.
“What?” Byron asked sharply, gaze snapping to Poe. “What happened to +2?”
Poe shrugged. “The safety algorithms kicked in and bounced us to +3 instead. Must be something about +2 that makes it unsafe or inaccessible.”
“Ooh, like what?” Kip asked. “Alien invasion? Cthulhu monsters? Zombies?”
“More like an unbreathable atmosphere, temperatures too hot or cold for our tolerance, extreme radiation, or something else like that,” Poe said rolling his eyes.

October 31, 2025 at 2:22 PM

Reposted by Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

Merlina Garance

@merlinagarance.bsky.social

For Halloween and because this book needs more love, have it for free! Only today and on itch!
merlina-garance.itch.io/motherly-sto...

💙📚👀😱📢📚 #books #book #fantasy 🌈📚 🎉 📚 #freebooks

Cover description: A photograph of a statue. The statue is situated in the lower left corner of the cover. It’s a woman, naked, holding fabric over her head, and smiling. Behind her is a dark forest. The title, Motherly Stones, is written at the top of the cover, in white. At the bottom is the name of the author, Merlina Garance, also in white.

https://merlina-garance.itch.io/motherly-stones

Blurb: Rish and Toni have been friends almost all their lives – despite Rish’s life long crush on her. When one day, Toni shows up excited to have been appointed to appraise the abandoned castle on Paicrich Island, off the coast by which Rish lives, he has a bad feeling and offers to go with her. Little did they expect the castle to have a life of its own…

October 31, 2025 at 1:00 AM

Reposted by Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

Alex, Hisui's #1 Pokémon Documentor

@authoralexharvey.bsky.social

Do YOU like dark fantasy? Creepy queers? Disabled baddies? As a Halloween gift, ASMLP is on sale for 99 cents until November 1st! Get it where you get most books.

books2read.com/u/bMDy87

Available now at your favorite digital store!

A Sharper, More Lasting Pain by Alex Harvey-Rivas

books2read.com

October 30, 2025 at 7:54 PM

Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

@nicolelsopergorden.bsky.social

A little longer than usual just to accommodate some siblingcore bickering. You're welcome. 😉

From Tennyson's arc of The Atlas Brothers Break the Multiverse

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AmWriting

“Was he using magic or something?” Kip asked.
“Magic’s not real,” Poe said.
“Says who?” Kip demanded. “If literally every possible dimension exists, then there has to be a dimension with magic, right?”
“Dimensions still follow the laws of physics,” Poe argued.
“I don’t know how he did it,” Tennyson said, before things could devolve further into a debate about the feasibility of magic. “I don’t think he even knew how he did it. He seemed to think it was some innate ability that he had that no one else could do.”
“Like magic!” Kip said.
“There’s no such thing as magic,” Poe said.
“Hey,” Byron interrupted before the twins could start bickering again. “Let Tennyson finish.” He turned to Tennyson, a question on his face. “So…was it magic?”
“How the fuck would I know? I’m not a witch or whatever. All I really know is that he has to be able to talk out loud to make it work, and he can specify at least some of the characteristics of the dimension he travels to.”
“Like a magic spell,” Kip said under his breath, eyes wide, and Byron tossed something that looked like an inverted pinecone at the boy’s head.

October 30, 2025 at 1:37 PM

Reposted by Nicole L. Soper Gorden / Nicole Leland

Rachel Bowdler / B.B. Woods

@rachelbowdler.bsky.social

I’ve discounted a few of my books for the itch.io Halloween sale! If you like cosy sapphic romances, fantasy, or eerie mysteries, you might want to grab a few of these 👻🕷️🔪⚔️🍂

🖤 5 books for $6.70 or $1.34 each!
🖤 all sapphic novellas

itch.io/s/165252/halloween-sale-2025

Halloween Sale 2025 by Rachel Bowdler/Bryony Rosehurst

A bundle by Rachel Bowdler/Bryony Rosehurst, $6.70 for 5 games

itch.io

October 29, 2025 at 12:39 PM

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