Carrie Byrd
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byrdwrites.bsky.social
Carrie Byrd
@byrdwrites.bsky.social
1K followers 230 following 800 posts
my first word was a paragraph ✨ sapphic romance writer at Ylva Publishing ✨ LOSER OF THE YEAR out now! ✨ THE SECOND DRAFT coming in 2026 ✨ she/her 🌈✡️📚🏈✨ https://linktr.ee/carriebyrd
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byrdwrites.bsky.social
Post-spay! The nurse said she behaved perfectly the entire time & that none of the staff wanted her to go home 🥹
A red miniature poodle-looking dog wearing a cone, in a dog car seat, looking absolutely done A piece of paper that says “Francie was brave today! This is to certify that I showed extreme bravery throughout today’s medical procedure. Presented with pride, love, and cuddles.”
August 27, 2025 at 8:23 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
More incentive to come meet some amazing sapphic romance authors next month at Sapphyre: @writingroslyn.bsky.social & I are bringing Francie with us! How could you not want to meet this perfect sweet baby angel, I ask you?

Event info here: www.eventbrite.com/e/sapphyre-a...
An adorable puppy with curly red-brown hair sitting on a gray couch with her feet on a teal blanket, looking at the camera.
August 21, 2025 at 2:54 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
For today’s #lesficfri theme “sleep,” a short excerpt from THE SECOND DRAFT, my forthcoming sapphic romance about an icy socialite who realizes she’s in love with her free-spirited best friend, catalyzing a journey of late-in-life self-discovery that changes everything. Out in 2026!
“Six,” she said. “I’ve been with six people.” “All men, I assume.” “Of course they were all men. What, do you think that I’ve been sleeping with other women this whole time? That I’ve spent my entire life as some sort of secret—” Anne stopped, her cheeks warm. “You can say the word,” Sadie said gently. “Lesbian. It won’t hurt you. It’s not going to grab your purse in some gay alley and run off butchly into the night. And you don’t have to claim it for yourself either, you know. It’s just a word.” No. Sadie was very wrong about that. It wasn’t just a word. Not at all.
August 15, 2025 at 5:19 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
To celebrate Day One of GCLS, @writingroslyn.bsky.social & I are doing a little cross-promo in-person giveaway 🥰 The first con attendee to find me and tell me their favorite supporting character in any of Roslyn's books will get a FREE signed copy of the bestselling THE WOMAN FROM THE WAVES! 🌊
A photo of a paperback copy of Roslyn Sinclair's sapphic romance novel THE WOMAN FROM THE WAVES, standing on a table, next to a postcard with art of the two main characters.
July 16, 2025 at 12:18 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
The perfect way to kick off June. Happy Pride from Philly! 🌈
Two people in flag decor at Philly Pride A person dressed as a transformer in trans flag colors at Philly Pride The Philly Pride march A little girl holding a sign that reads “More love, less hate” and “we are a rainbow family”
June 1, 2025 at 5:40 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
Want to read the new spicy short story prequel to Loser of the Year, but didn't sign up for my newsletter in time? You're in luck! New subscribers to The L Byrd automatically receive a download link & get 12,000 words of angst, steam, & inconvenient feelings absolutely FREE 🔥 shorturl.at/Pxig4
The cover of The Passion of Jillian Reed: A Loser of the Year Short Story, by Carrie Byrd, depicting the back and head of a woman with short brown hair, wearing a gray sports bra.
May 17, 2025 at 2:59 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
My next newsletter drops Thursday, with a 12k FREE short story that’ll have you turning up the AC 🥵 If you want to see inside Jillian's brain, or wondered what happened on that fateful night 18 years ago (no spoilers!) this one's for you. I’m so excited to share it.

Sign up now at the link below!
A trope map for Carrie Byrd's short story "The Passion of Jillian Reed," with the following: "sapphic awakening," "one night stand," "opposites attract," four chili pepper emojis, "free for newsletter subscribers," "oh no, feelings," "secrets," and "prequel to Loser of the Year." “Tell me I’m wrong about you, then.” Jillian immediately went rigid. “What?” she said, mostly to buy herself time to think. The girl didn’t mean that. Jillian didn’t even know what “that” was. Oh yes you do, her traitor brain murmured. You know exactly what she means. “I try not to stereotype.” The girl cocked her head, and even through the dim light Jillian could make out the sharp look in her eyes. “Sometimes I get it wrong. But I really don’t think I got it wrong with you.”
May 12, 2025 at 9:14 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
🚨COMING NEXT WEEK🚨

College soccer star Jillian Reed only care about excellence. But when an unexpected encounter at a party results in a passionate one-night stand, Jillian faces a choice. Will she embrace her own desires? Or will she continue to deny the truth of who she is?
A cover for a short story by Carrie Byrd, titled The Passion of Jillian Reed: A Loser of the Year Short Story
May 8, 2025 at 9:46 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
🚨COMING NEXT WEEK🚨

College soccer star Jillian Reed only care about excellence. But when an unexpected encounter at a party results in a passionate one-night stand, Jillian faces a choice. Will she embrace her own desires? Or will she continue to deny the truth of who she is?
A cover for a short story by Carrie Byrd, titled The Passion of Jillian Reed: A Loser of the Year Short Story
May 8, 2025 at 9:46 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
Final exam season has its little joys
A screen cap of a final exam question: 14. Two characters in a romance novel are sharing a hotel room, then discover there’s only one bed. What trope is this? a. Friends to lovers b. Grumpy/sunshine c. Forced proximity d. Marriage of convenience
May 7, 2025 at 12:50 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
🥳 AUDIOBOOK RELEASE! 🥳

Today’s the day! The audiobook version of Loser of the Year is now available on Audible and Audiobooks.com. I’m so thrilled with Krystal Hammond’s sizzling take on Mattie and Jillian, and I hope you will be too. Get it here: tinyurl.com/39mvx3n2
A screenshot of the first chapter of Loser of the Year by Carrie Byrd on audiobook
April 22, 2025 at 12:42 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
Loser of the Year is a finalist for three @goldencrownls.bsky.social awards: Contemporary Romance: Long Novel, Debut Novel, and the Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award. I’m thrilled, grateful, and very, very overwhelmed.
April 18, 2025 at 6:59 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
🚨 The audiobook of Loser of the Year, read by the fantastic Krystal Hammond, drops April 22! 🚨 You can pre-order here from Audible or Audiobooks dot com: tantor.com/loser-of-the...
The cover of the Loser of the Year audioboook
April 12, 2025 at 3:53 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
IT IS MID APRIL
a screenshot showing 37 degree weather that feels like 25 degrees
April 12, 2025 at 1:48 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
I mean it didn’t NOT do that
A t-shirt with an image of Jesus and the words “Catholic School Made Me a Girl Kisser”
April 9, 2025 at 9:36 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
My book is for sale at the Leipzig Book Fair in Germany! 🥰
A table with books for sale, with Loser of the Year by Carrie Byrd front and center.
March 30, 2025 at 1:53 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
“Middle age isn’t some ditch at the dead end of Discovery Road, beloved.”

My next book, The Second Draft, is out from @ylva-publishing.bsky.social in 2026! An ice queen, friends-to-lovers sapphic romance with two 50+ late bloomer MCs, TSD is about how it's never too late to become yourself 💛👠✍🏻🌵🔥
The Second Draft Icy socialite Anne Lowell is perfectly fine. Now divorced from her husband of thirty years, she’s got her best friend and neighbor, the dazzling Sadie Rosenthal, to brighten her days. But when Anne is rocked by a sudden realization that her feelings for Sadie might be more than friendship, she comes face-to-face with a truth she’s spent her entire life trying not to see. Sixty is far too late for an epiphany that changes everything. Isn’t it? Out 2026 from Ylva Publishing
March 19, 2025 at 2:25 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
Repost with a photo of yours that would make a good album cover. 📸
A Southern California beach at sunset, with two very tall palm trees in the foreground and a seagull mid-flight between them.
March 16, 2025 at 11:39 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
Making a Kahoot quiz for our midterm review (it's seriously wild how much the students get into a middle school throwback + a chance to win candy). Anyone know or want to guess what the correct answer is, and why? I can't give you candy, but stickers are on the table...
A multiple-choice quiz question, asking "Which of these events is MOST responsible for the widespread pathologizing of queerness?" Possible answers: 1) The release of the Kinsey Reports in 1948 and 1952; 2) The frequency of same-sex sex in Victorian England; 3) The "invention" of homosexuality in 1870; 4) The conviction of Oscar Wilde in 1895
March 15, 2025 at 1:34 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
The cover of @anakwrenn.bsky.social’s forthcoming sapphic dystopia is one of the best covers ever made by @ylva-publishing.bsky.social, right up there with The Music and the Mirror and The Lily and the Crown. Just stunning. I’m so excited for the release in May!
The cover of Ana K Wrenn’s The Wilding of Em’s Path, featuring a silhouette of a woman’s profile with branches and blowing leaves over her face, set in an illustrated forest backdrop.
March 14, 2025 at 1:50 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
Absolutely, completely gobsmacked and so, so grateful for these bidders’ generosity. You better bet I’m creating the best annotations anyone’s ever annotated
A screenshot of the auction listing for Loser of the Year, showing 18 bids at $675.00
March 6, 2025 at 8:14 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
The best goddamn sports team in America
As per ‘The Sun’, a well-placed insider revealed that discussions between the Eagles’ players and the front office reached a conclusion that it would be a “massive no” to accept the White House visit invitation. Further, an unnamed player reportedly stated that “pretty much everyone” was on the same page with regard to their refusal. “We represent a city and a state that is pushing for equal rights, respect, and values that respect every human being.” “We won’t forget what happened and the criticism we received for taking a stand against racism, and we won’t back down from our values of respect, integrity, and equality.”
February 24, 2025 at 12:03 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
The wait is over! Loser of the Year's audiobook is coming to your ears in just two months, narrated by the supremely talented Krystal Hammond ⚽🎭
The cover of Carrie Byrd's Loser of the Year, with headphones around it, on a green blackboard background, with the words "Audiobook coming April 22!"
February 19, 2025 at 12:29 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
I screamed, I shouted, I yelled obscenities, I teared up, I briefly became a floor person in the best possible way after Smitty’s TD catch. It was the best night I’ve had in a long, long time.

THE PHILADELPHIA FOOTBALL EAGLES ARE SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS. GO BIRDS FOREVER 💚🦅
A woman wearing a Jalen Hurts jersey on her stomach on the floor in front of a TV showing the Super Bowl, with a 33-0 score on the screen.
February 10, 2025 at 12:25 PM
byrdwrites.bsky.social
Did I just order a miniature of my D&D character before we even play Session 1? MAYBE

She's a cocky & charming butch with a stubborn streak a mile long, a high body count in both senses of the phrase, & emotional walls so immense even Reinhold Messner couldn't climb them. I love her so much
Screenshot of a Dungeons & Dragons miniature: a blonde woman with her fists raised in a fighting stance
February 9, 2025 at 12:46 PM