Hel ✨ || Untwining... 🌀🪷
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helynalc.bsky.social
Hel ✨ || Untwining... 🌀🪷
@helynalc.bsky.social
1.6K followers 280 following 2.5K posts
author of SKYLARK IN THE FOG (2022) and IMBUED (2024) • she/they ✨ // #SFINCS judge 2025 // • we reach forward • // NO genAI or LLMs

All links in one place: helynalclove.com/links
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helynalc.bsky.social
#AMoRaR #BookSky

I do not own nearly as many paperbacks of my indie faves as I'd like to, but here's a nice spread of some that I do!
Paperback books laid out on a couch. The Shadow and The Scream by Rebecca L. Fearnley The Crescent Moon by E. J. Doble Rivers of Eden by R. E. Levy The Binding of Bloom Mountain by Siggy Chambers (Vesper Doom) The First Sin by Cheyenne Brammah Kill Your Darlings by L. E. Harper River in the Galaxy by Natalie Kelda Sloe Moon Tall Trees by C. M. Kuhtz In Somnio, a Tenebrous Press collection Audacity omnibus by Carmen Loup The Goddess of Nothing At All by Cat Rector I Don't Seem So Bright in a Well-Lit Room by Sean Browning
November 22, 2025 at 3:26 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
I finally finished writing the sequel & closing installment to my dark fantasy duology about a woman with missing memories and hostile magic facing her traumatic origins to save or doom her fractured world.

Coming in 2026! 🥀

Read Imbued:
books2read.com/imbued
helynalc.itch.io/imbued

💙📚💙🪐
#BookSky
A graphic for Imbued by Helyna L. Clove. On the top, with large letters "If you like", then the cover of several books and media: - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin - Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo - The Necessity of Rain by Sarah Chorn - The Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson - Star Eater by Kerstin Hall - Dragon Age Origins the video game Below, it's written "Then try:" with the cover of Imbued. Further labels for this book are: - protagonist with magic and amnesia - lush, tropical world - reluctant hero (crossed out) villain (crossed out) ??? - dreams and visions - queernormative society - very slow-burn side-plot romance - C-PTSD representation - dead gods and failed magic experiments - a dark, intimate tale of self-discovery and defiance books2read.com/imbued
November 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
Without downloading new pics, describe your gender!
A photo of a white nudibranch (sea slug) which looks like a fluffy bunny with little brown ears.
November 13, 2025 at 9:03 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
I have received the beautiful paperback edition of @akairondragon.ca's epic science fantasy debut, The First Sin yesterday!! 🤩💜 With cute stickers and awesome art cards and bookmark!

I cannot wait to read it again! #BookSky #fantasy #scifi
I'm holding the paperback book of The First Sin by Cheyenne Brammah. The cover is a painting-like depiction of a dragon-person with golden and green colors on his body and winds standing in a red desert with his back to the viewer. There's a huge spaceship in the background. And also a moon. A photo of the book on a table, surrounded by art cards, stickers, and a bookmark.
November 12, 2025 at 11:27 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
little burnt croissant is here for you! 💜 I hope it gets better for you!
A tortoiseshell kitty lying on her side curled up on a bed with a blue-yellow blanket and gray pillows on it.
November 12, 2025 at 8:07 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
Convincing you to read my novel by the first sentence. Share yours if you want!

Skylark in the Fog // Imbued
A screenshot of the start of the first chapter of Skylark in the Fog by Helyna L. Clove Chapter 01: Wild Lark Chase The moment the first missile crashed into the Skylark, Captain Jeane Blake realized she had gravely underestimated the danger they'd gotten themselves into. A screenshot of the first sentences of Imbued by Helyna L. Clove Prelude Magic was always going to be my downfall. I'd known that from the start.
November 11, 2025 at 12:58 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
my partner ordered surprise Halloween donuts and is this true happiness I'm experiencing?? 😭😭🥰🥰🥰
A plate of 12 donuts decorated as monsters and pumpkins and haunted houses.
October 31, 2025 at 10:41 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
It's release day for Magic, Maps and Mischief by @davidgreenwriter.bsky.social!

Check out this #ownvoices autistic cozy fantasy with an older main character, queernormative world, ace rep, and themes of acceptance and love of all types! 💜✨ #AceWeek #BookSky #fantasy

mybook.to/magicmapsand...
The cover of Magic, Maps and Mischief by David Green on a background of dark wooden pattern. The label above is: Love Legends and Lattes? Read this" The label below is: "Found families, mysteries, and finding your place. Own voice autistic cozy fantasy out now"
October 24, 2025 at 7:41 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
my beautiful friendship with Stephen King continues
Screenshot of a Goodreads profile called Stephen King rating my book Imbued to 5 star.
October 22, 2025 at 12:36 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
oh no it happened to me too
A Goodreads screenshot where a profile called Stephen King sent me a friend request. It's obviously not the real Stephen King.
October 22, 2025 at 9:57 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
also, bookmail ✨

series: collected #BookSky
A paperback copy of Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer placed on a dining table.
October 21, 2025 at 12:17 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
The main character of my dark fantasy, Imbued, is bi and demi, and the romantic relationship with the LI (also bi) is very slow burn, placing a lot of emphasis on trust and gradually getting to know each other. #fantasy #BookSky #AceWeek

books2read.com/imbued

2/2
The cover of Imbued by Helyna L. Clove A digital art of the two main characters, Calla and Gray, in Imbued, standing facing each other. Calla is a woman with brown skin, auburn, wavy hair, wearing a green loose shirt. Gray is a man with shoulder length black, wavy hair, brown skin, and short mustache and beard, wearing a black jacket. Calla is holding a sphere of light between jer hands and both of them are focusing on it. The art was made by Talli Morgan at tallimorgan.com
October 21, 2025 at 9:36 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
It's #AceWeek! I'm ace...ish. I write ace-ish. #BookSky

The space smuggler main character of Skylark in the Fog, Jeane Blake, is ace, and the book has been described as very ace-friendly, as it focuses on platonic relationships, deep friendships. #scifi

books2read.com/skylarkinthefog

1/2
The cover of Skylark in the Fog by Helyna L. Clove A character art of Jeane Blake from Skylark in the Fog. She is a white woman with blonde hair in a ponytail, wearing a brown jacket, a white tank top, and green cargo pants. Labels around her art say: - captain, lanehunter, human - smuggler, scavenger, coward, angry, stubborn - lonely (but it's crossed out) got some things to work through - not: your chauffeur, your tour guide, your responsibility - and definitely not: the heroic type The art was made by @nightshading
October 21, 2025 at 9:36 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
It's the perfect time to read my introspective dark fantasy, Imbued.

Hostile magic. Dead gods. A woman's quest for her lost past and agency. How do you save the world if your weapon is the trauma that shaped you?

Why is this the perfect time?
Well.
...
*runs away*

books2read.com/imbued

#BookSky
The cover of Imbued in the middle with labels around it pointing at it with arrows. The cover features a white calla lily surrounded by lush, thorny vegetation, its stalk pulled towards the ground by golden magical threads. The style is painting-like and the main colors are white, purple, green and gold. - childhood trauma-induced amnesia - violent magic - manipulation - very reluctant hero (crossed out) villain (also crossed out) ??? - telepathic flirting - queernormative society - failed magic experiments and dead gods - dreams & visions galore - demisex romance (slowburn no spice) - "I am a weapon."
October 20, 2025 at 10:04 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
I may not have hope for the future but I did beat the building snake so who's...who's the real boss spoilers it's me
A screenshot of a Steam achievement for Expedition 33: "Beat the Serpenphare".
October 20, 2025 at 5:30 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
Today, @voicesofvalhoon.bsky.social's debut fantasy, Songs of Broken Bells is out in the world!! ✨ #BookSky #fantasy

If you like lovingly built worlds with wholesome characters on a journey that tests their loyalty, read it!

My review: tinyurl.com/43urcnmp
To buy: books2read.com/songsofbrokenbells
The softcover of Songs of Broken Bells displayed on a wooden counter with bells on gold and white ribbon hanging to the left of it. Text at the top says “Available now!” Text surrounding the book says “meddling saints, corrupted magic, queernormative setting, the real adventure was the therapy we got along the way, found family, F/F and M/NB romances, paying the price” Text at the bottom of the picture “50% of revenue Oct 17-24 will be donated to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund” Cover description: It features the four main characters arranged in a diamond formation, a stained glass design at the top with a sun on one side and shadows on the other, and a string of cracked bells on the sides. Liadan is at the bottom, holding up a candle. She has orange skin, silver hair, black rams horns, and black markings on her arms. She's wearing a green cloak and a yellow dress. Vasil is to her left. He is also holding a candle. Vasil has brown skin with a bark-like texture with patches of paler skin and moss. His hair is brown and curly. He is wearing a green caftan with yellow filigree. Minno is on the right, also holding a candle. They have pale skin, blonde hair with braided sideburns, and round framed glasses. They are wearing a white shirt with part of their kilt (in a brown and blue tartan) draped over one shoulder. Aila is behind the other three characters with her wings wrapped around them. She has pink skin, magenta hair styled in pigtail braids, and small pointed horns. She has a red scarf. Cover art by heavenlystarr (Yune)
October 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
Natalie's Inner Universe series is a journey into a world where sailships roam between planets and floating cities, and people's lives are turmoil and grief.

With an emphasis on characters and mental health, it's a heavy but fun and gripping adventure. #BookSky

The new book is out! Link below!!
A screenshot from Amazon that features the three covers of the first trilogy from Natalie Kelda's Inner Universe series, River in the Galaxy, Outer Universe, and Quarantine Thirteen. The beautiful cover of the new book in the series, Verselva Blues by Natalie Kelda featuring a scene as if we're looking up from between a forest at night at the sky that is green with stars and galaxies shining bright. There is a blue bird-creature flying above.
October 14, 2025 at 2:23 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
#WIPSnips

A new peek into Untwined if anyone dares! 👀 A somber one, too.
We circled the room once, twice, three times, me leaning on Aesh but mostly using my own strength to move. Trying to find my home in my battered body again; re-inhabiting a house that was once familiar, now empty and crumbling. “How long have I been in here?” I asked after finishing in the water closet and scrubbing at my skin for long minutes in the attached small bathroom to get rid of the sticky, blood-soaked dirt covering my whole body. I was disgusting. At the same time, vaguely happy that I was lucid enough to worry about such things. “Five days,” Aesh replied. Shame flared up in their eyes, but they could have said any number, I would have believed it. It felt like years. It felt like a single, long night. “I’m sorry.” “Please, stop saying you’re sorry.” “Alright.”
October 9, 2025 at 12:23 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
Y'all. y'all. have I ever shown you the Diagram I made for the magic stuff in Untwined 😭😭🫠🫠

Redacted some stuff because spoilers, also, small spoilers for Imbued's world, and also not everything is Perfectly correct anymore, because.........logic (😭😭) but

isn't it beautiful
Oh goodness, please don't ask me to ALT text this. Okay I'll try. It's a hand-drawn diagram of sorts about the "magic system" in my books Imbued and Untwined. The basic setup is that on the top there are orange swirling lines depicting the Ae, which is from where all magical potential (=life energy) comes into the material world. The Ae is labeled as "pure energy", "movement", "potential", "action but static in itself? potential for action". There are vertical orange lines coming from the swirly Ae towards the middle of the page. On their ends, there are little spheres. These symbolize every living thing's magical source and their connection to the Ae. There's a label that says "a mage is able to manipulate life energy and the world with it". And also that the connections have "determined width and capacity, but can be extended with imbuing to a point". The lines of connections are at the same time also arrows pointing down towards the bottom of the page where there is a dark blue "sea" of sorts". The arrows are labelled with "constant pull" and "passive". One little sphere is depcted to fall down into this sea, leaving a little sploosh after it, the sea protruding like when you drop a stone into water. It's labeled as "when someone dies, their material returns [REDACTED], consciousness survives (sometimes) with life energy that returns to the Ae. death = stops resisting, bunch of energy frees". The sploosh is important. There's also a section where a bunch of spheres are depicted as falling down and it's labeled as "corrupted zones, lots of people dying (or imbued)" and that makes a huge sploosh from that sea. There's a big sphere on the right which has a name that's reducted. It's depicted in the process of falling down and the sploosh continually coming up. It's labelled as "letting go of the Ae, controlled fall, "potential" gain, can use immense energy until death". And also "negative action, magic & its antithesis both". I promise, it's all very cool.
October 9, 2025 at 8:26 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
Add the book on GR: www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...
ARC applications are open: forms.gle/Rx9Fsa479x9F... (comes with the first book!)
Trigger warnings: www.catrector.com/coalgetsinyourveins

The artist of the stunning cover: @scherville.com

RUN GET IT GO!

#BookSky #indieauthor #fantasy #horror
The cover for the novel Coal Gets In Your Veins by Cat Rector sits behind the cover of Learning To Bleed. The text below reads “Apply for an ARC now!"
October 1, 2025 at 1:11 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
I am DELIGHTED to hype up the cover reveal of @catrector.com's gothic horror romance, Learning To Bleed! 🖤🩸

The sequel to Coal Gets In Your Veins is coming out Spring 2026! If you enjoy dark and brave stories about vampires, generational trauma, grief, and love, check out the links below! #BookSky
The cover of Learning to Bleed by Cat Rector, the sequel to Coal Gets In Your Veins. The cover is in the style of a classical painting, with a blush-grey background. In the foreground are two characters locked in a dipping embrace. Spencer, a pale man in a dark blue turtleneck sweater and jeans, with blonde bed-head hair, is holding up another character as she loses control and seems to be falling. His expression is lost and loving as he looks down at her. Laurel is leaning back in his arms, her long brown hair in waves over her back, her face up to the sky as her expression of uncontrolled rage stares upward. Her eyes are red and her mouth is wide open, showing her vampire fangs. A pool of blood soaks into the shoulder of Spencer’s sweater, coming from Laurel’s hand as it hangs above his shoulder. Laurel wears a tank top and red and black plaid. A red mist obscures their legs, making room for the title and author text. The cover artist is Scherville.
October 1, 2025 at 1:11 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
And here are my allocated novellas in the #SFINCS novella competition for Round 1!

You will find my reviews mostly on Goodreads and Storygraph -- and I might resurrect the blog on my author site for them...maybe! 😅 #SFINCS3 #BookSky
A graphic with a starry blue-green background. The label is SFINCS3 - The WIPS - Hel's allocations Below, a mosaic of book covers. The Dregs by Thomas J. Devens The Bestowed: Champion of the Condemned by C. Ryan Crockett The Devil Owns Primetime by Sirius Daughters of the Blue Moon by Millie Abecassis Good Girl by Olga Werby Parasitic Omens by Jessica A. McMinn Proxima Station by Mike Mollman The Incident at Peeling Head by E. L. Montague Watcher by J. P. Relph and Mathew Gostelow The Butcher's Lot by Cate Baumer
September 25, 2025 at 11:27 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
Roughly one more day to get the Bi Visibility Itch Bundle organized by @impavid.us which means - 50 books from bi creators for only $50!

Support us and read cool books!! ✨🌈

#BookSky #indieauthors #books #scifi #fantasy #horror #authorcommunity #readingcommunity #writingcommunity #booksale
A screenshot of the itch bundle page with a VAST medley of book covers.
September 22, 2025 at 3:21 PM
helynalc.bsky.social
My space opera has dark stuff (grief, trauma, character death), but in the end, it's very hopeful! If you like big sci-fi books with vast worldbuilding that is still character-centered, perhaps you'll like it.

books2read.com/skylarkinthefog

And it's on hoopla too!
Helyna L. Clove: Skylark in the Fog The cover of Skylark in the Fog in the middle on starry background. The cover features a bird-shaped, bright blue tear in space and a spaceship zooming out of it. The trope labels are: - a prickly space pirate with commitment issues - a runaway queen with AI powers - a half-brainwashed soldier trying to find himself - wormhole machine shenanigans - cute robots & alien BFFs - shady galactic empire vs rebels - Star Wars and Firefly vibes with awesome women and strong platonic bonds - the cycle of hate and war, the meaning of home - humanity sucks - humanity rules - a swashbuckling adventure, now with extra trauma! (and perhaps healing)
September 21, 2025 at 7:34 AM
helynalc.bsky.social
#SciFiSeptember Day 7: "star"

Specifically the lack of a star here, as Roy takes a walk in the Foggy Cities, during his forced stop there.

(in any case, lots of star and stars in this book, especially because a variety of swears and curses also include them :D)
The long walk through the busy labyrinth of Central managed to drive the stiffness from his limbs. The air smelled musty and sour, and although the foggy night sky didn’t promise variety in the local weather, the act of putting one foot in front of the other alone was invigorating. Without a central star to provide a day-night cycle, the blue backdrop of the lane and the intermittent rolling fog must have illuminated the Cities in dim light at all times, but the people in charge had arranged to imitate daylight and evening darkness, using projections to the inner surface of the shields in some areas, and in other regions applying strange contraptions made from mirrors and reflectors. The unkempt streets with the pubs and storefronts showing architectural styles from various corners of the galaxy were charming in a way and so different from the unchanging blazing glare in the endless, monochrome underground corridors of Hurricane that Roy had to pause and marvel at it. He felt lost here in a way he hadn’t for a long time. The crowd surged on the streets, colorful and rowdy, not caring about him at all. As if he was invisible. Or like he belonged here. And for a moment, he allowed himself to imagine. Why not? But he banished the thought. He still had to find that apocalypse machine. After that, he could be an idiot if he wanted to.
September 7, 2025 at 12:22 PM