Mel Starkicker
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starkicker.bsky.social
Mel Starkicker
@starkicker.bsky.social
170 followers 310 following 310 posts
"I'm a song about the song that once said something new."
Teacher. Drummer. Author. Cocker spaniel fan. ❤️ music.
🏳️‍🌈🥁🎸🐶
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starkicker.bsky.social
Mel Starkicker @starkicker.bsky.social · 3d
#QueerWriters #WriteSky #lesfic #sapphic #BookSky

Act 5: I finish writing the book and eventually share it with the world
Note: MC is a much better singer/guitarist than I am 🫣
starkicker.bsky.social Mel Starkicker @starkicker.bsky.social · 21d
A story in five acts:

Act 1: I wrote a song.
Act 2: I wrote a story inspired by said song
Act 3: I recorded the song
Act 4: I'm uploading the song to bluesky because maybe people will like it?
Act 5: idk... I lied, there's only four acts-- for now.
starkicker.bsky.social
From a work in progress. Its appearance shows up just as a memory triggers for Julie that reminds her that some things are worth fighting for.

#QueerWriters #WriteSky #lesfic #sapphic #BookSky #WIP #WIPSnips
A screen grab from a work in progress. It reads: A page fell out of the binder and fluttered to the floor. Julie picked it up and held the page in her hand. All the air escaped from her lungs as recognition of what exactly she was holding overwhelmed her. She lowered herself to the floor and sat there staring at the loose page surrounded by disorganized memories and the smell of dust. She ran her fingers over the ticket stubs glued to the sheet. The print had faded with time, but she could still make out the name. “I remember this concert,” she whispered. It had been Julie’s idea.
November 27, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
cathypegau.bsky.social
Get thee to the sale!
🏳️‍🌈 The @bywaterbooks.bsky.social Reader Appreciation Sale is ON!
👀 25% off all ebooks & paperbacks
📚 Build a bolder, queerer bookshelf
💣 Code: GIVETHANKS25
🚫 Ends Dec 1
👉 Grab your next favorite
bywaterbooks.com
#SapphicBooks #QueerLit #BookSale #LGBTQIABooks
bywaterbooks.com we are all stories Our annual reader appreciation sale now through December 1st Take 25% off all ebooks and paperbacks Coupon code: GIVETHANKS25
November 26, 2025 at 9:59 PM
starkicker.bsky.social
#QueerWriters #WriteSky #lesfic #sapphic #BookSky #WIP

Intro to chapter 8 of one of my current WIP. Went with a synonym with the same vibes as impede.
a screen grab of text from a work in progress. It reads: Lunch with Shannon had quietly become part of Jacqueline's new routine. Not every day--Shannon's schedule was unpredictable--but often enough that Jacqueline found herself noticing when she wasn't there. It was a strange feeling of befriending that Jacqueline found both disconcerting and destined to fail. Eventually Jacqueline would leave. Investing in anything here was a waste of time. Jacqueline knew that, but knowing didn't stop her. It didn't stop Shannon either.
November 26, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
adregem.bsky.social
Here's my one and only use of the word "impede" across every WIP from the last 20+ years from an #UrbanFantasy I never really did anything with #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Paranormal
They were all laughing and relaxed, many of them nursing cokes or bottled water—not, I noticed, beer or any of beer’s more potent cousins, which is what I would have expected to see in a large gathering of college and high-school aged people sitting around an abandoned dam in the middle of the wilderness. I could guess at the reasons why, though I hadn’t really been given a primer on alcohol use in shifters: They either felt the alcohol would impede their ability to shift, hunt or otherwise participate in the ceremony, or (more likely) the alcohol in their bodies wouldn’t survive transformation, so what was the point.
November 26, 2025 at 3:06 PM
starkicker.bsky.social
#debut #QueerWriters #WriteSky #lesfic #sapphic #BookSky #WIP

Julie is unimpressed with her family.
November 26, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
leewinteroz.bsky.social
Cover reveal!

Artist Sienna is mistaken for an intern at a luxury goods emporium & meets her past: Jasmine, a former curator who shredded her art years ago. Sienna, now 34, decides to prove herself to an icy boss who doesn’t even remember her.
Office tension, banter, slow-burn sparks.
📖 Early Jan
Cover of When She Flies by Lee Winter shows a sexy ice queen in a red dress surely about to break a young artist’s heart. Send flowers
November 25, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
ylva-publishing.bsky.social
💘 COVER REVEAL 🕊️🎨💼

@leewinteroz.bsky.social's When She Flies: artist Sienna is mistaken for an intern and meets her past, ice-queen CEO Jasmine who once shredded her art. Now Sienna interns at 34 to prove herself.

Expect office tension, sharp banter, slow-burn sparks.

📖 Out early 2026.
November 25, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
licoricemint.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #lesfic #sapphic #QueerWriters #LicoriceAndMint

From Licorice and Mint: Ch. 12 - Made of Silk

archiveofourown.org/series/1962421
“While you’re waiting, care to help me sort through this stuff? It’s all Wali’s new shit, grime, ruff, 8-bar…he’s convinced it’s gonna be the next big thing. Now we just gotta find somewhere to put it all.” The other woman gestured to the crates littering the floor by the counter. “Besides, it’ll give you something to do.” Nat nodded, grateful for something to do with her hands. The Silversun Pickups song, like most of their music, had hit a chord with her anxiety. After everything she and Vola had been through together, was she really going to be so quick to believe the worst? The question warred with the hurt and shame still hovering in the wings. For a few moments, she and Ahn-Me opened boxes in silence, stacking plastic cases in neat piles. Behind the door, the voices rose and fell, the words unintelligible.
November 25, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
chel-c-cam.bsky.social
So many of these “debates” about themes and tropes and POV in romance all assume that a man is one of the MCs and I’m just over here writing sapphic romance and wishing people would remember it existed.
November 25, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
hookandquillpress.com
Hello, friends! We came across this fellow, and don't quite know what to make of him. He calls himself Quillbert, and says that he's on a crucial mission to investigate some exciting book news. I'm not entirely sure where he's from, but this news does sound exciting...
#writing #writingcommunity
A yellow plush octopus sits in the middle of a star drawn on a sandy beach.
November 24, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
m-walshwrites.com
#amwriting #WIPsnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky
“Listen, Lock,” she continued. “I didn’t bring it up on the ship because I was still dealing with it myself. But what happened in Seba … sometimes we make mistakes even when we’re doing our best. We get caught up in our own …” She trailed off, and it occurred to him that he almost never saw her at a loss for words. “Seria,” he said. “You have nothing to feel guilty about.” “Don’t I? I was there, too.” She shook her head. “My point is, I understand your pain better than you think. But you can’t lash out at something that isn’t there. I’ve come with you this far because I want you to get it out of your system. We did what we could for those people in Seba, and now we’ve protected this village from brigands. If that’s still not enough, then maybe we really should just go back to Aster.”
November 25, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
caseyadamsstark.bsky.social
This is from a weird west sci-fi short I didn’t finish in time. Maybe I’ll get back to it someday. #WIPSnips
Our twin suns kiss the toasted land in tandem during half our solar run. Sol Prime is the one we spin around. Sol Twain is a neighbor, close enough to wreck havoc on the climate but independent of our planetary system. At least that's how the astronomer on the mountain explains it. He's an odd duck sitting up there by his lonesome, peering at the heavenly bodies and fiery balls of gaseous substances day and night; putting ink to paper in the form of equations and angles and symbols that some here in our valley might call devil language.
November 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
papadjinn.bsky.social
System → series | Tok finds himself in a temple under the eyes of different Gods than his own True Mother and he doesn't feel comfortable.
#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #bvm #bipoc #amwriting #Fantasy #SFF
The stone temple was smaller than the wooden one that was built within the Uesn village, but it was still big enough to fit many series of people. Yet Tokonus could not help but feel a sense of claustrophobia under the gaze of the stained-glass windows. The young lord was not beholden to any other divine than the True Mother, but that did not quell the anxieties that bubbled up inside him. Tokonus was uncertain the length of the ceremony, but he only hoped that it would not last. This space with its pews, statues, and holy servants in their sacred garb did not feel safe – not for the Lukshen; not for the stranger.
November 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
adregem.bsky.social
Not many of these ... here's one from my #DarkFantasy Death & the Dreamer. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy
At first, the necropolis looked like another village, rising from the flat plane of boundless meadow in disordered gray and brown shapes. As we got closer, the shapes grew taller, and faces appeared in them, most of them effigies of the god of death, but I also recognized the goddess of children, the god of journey, and the god of storm and sea. Traditional graves were scattered over the foreground, people whose families could afford to leave them in the shadows of the gods but not in the consecrated abyss of the underground system.
November 25, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
bywaterbooks.bsky.social
🏳️‍🌈📚 To every writer pushing through the noise:
✍️ When the world shrugs—write.
💣 When everything feels like it’s cracking—write.
🫥 🦴 When you feel alone—trust the stories in your bones.
💯👉 Someone out there needs what only you can give them.

#AuthorSky #SapphicBooks #LGBTQBooks #QueerLit
A purple square image with the words: Your Work Will Pay Off. Includes a purple hand outlined in yellow, pointing at these words. Also includes a white Bywater Books logo with a yellow sun rising behind the lighthouse, and in yellow the Bywater Books URL: BywaterBooks.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
elizalentzski.bsky.social
I’ve been skating around this announcement, so let’s make it official.

My next novel is Stick Around—a second-chance romance about a sports journalist and a professional women’s hockey player in the twilight of her career. More soon! 🏒❄️❤️

#amwriting #lesfic #wlw #sapphicbooks #ireadindies #PWHL
November 25, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
thelesbianreview.com
New Release: The Rookie by S R Silcox

A grumpy ex-jock, a bubbly ops manager, and a contract that changes all the rules.

#NewRelease #LesFic #Book #lesbianromance

buff.ly/6LEGlGM
November 25, 2025 at 2:03 PM
starkicker.bsky.social
Izzy and Julie like The Cure's "Friday I'm in Love" -- the poppiness of it be damned.

#debut #QueerWriters #WriteSky #lesfic #sapphic #BookSky #WIP
isaacxisaac.bsky.social Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 2d
Today's random #Lovember #WritingPrompt for the #WriteSky #WritingCommunity:

What's something (someone!?) your character(s) love that nobody else around them does?
November 25, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
jrdn-michelle.bsky.social
#wipsnips *system* (some vibes kinda. to me they are vibes.) charlie and angelique call on the guardian king for help in finding angelique's best friend, who charlie done got kidnapped #writesky #lesfic #queerwriters
Sam sighed. "Fine. Show me the picture. But we're going stealth. No way I'm letting Thana know I'm there." As he spoke, there was a glint in his eye that I didn't like. I didn't know what it meant, but I knew it was nothing good. "Now, wait--this isn't smart, Angelique. There's a reason she let you see Nani be carried off. She's baiting us," I told her, trying not to let pleading come through in my voice. In my gut, I knew it was the wrong choice. "For what? She had us. She left us behind," Angelique pointed out. She glared at me intently, trying to blast me to smithereens with her eyes for daring to question her plan, or breathe in her direction. "She had us in the forest where I had control of everything. Not in the city where those powers are limited without harming a whole lot of people," I said, feeling heat prickle at the back of my neck. It seemed like each time I tried to reason with Angelique was more frustrating than the last. "This isn't the jungle." "Will you two please stop? You're giving me a hernia.” Sam’s voice was poisonous, and he rubbed his stomach as if he was trying to hold his guts in. "Shut up," Angelique snarled, then paused, seething at me. She pointed her finger at me, jabbing me in the chest. "If something happens to Nani, I'm making you pay for it." When she finally conceded, I managed to relax, but only slightly. "Pay for it how?" I asked in amusement, unable to help myself. "Before this gets soggy, I'd like to continue about my day. Sebastian was supposed to come over last night and nothing. I waited all night in nothing but my--" Sam chattered on. Shaking my head, I ignored him. He cut himself off when he realized he didn't have an audience, scowling and turning back to the portal. “Just give the girl a pack, Charlie. And tell her to stop being rude," he said dismissively, sweeping through the portal.
November 25, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
redhawkkj.bsky.social
Only 3 today.

1st is the Upmarket Western/Romance series
2nd is the MG standalone
3rd is the WIP w/alternate POV chps from dual MC's. This's from medical coder 'Kylan's' side

No more snips from me until the 30th. Will support.
#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #sapphic #lesfic
November 25, 2025 at 9:07 AM
starkicker.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #debut #QueerWriters #WriteSky #lesfic #sapphic #BookSky #WIP

Very, very WIP.
She rolled her neck and shoulders, trying to ease the tension from muscles that had been braced since landing earlier that morning. Jacqueline took a long, controlled drink. The freshness of the botanicals and the sting of the gin gave her system enough of a jolt to make it through the rest of the day. Only then did she allow herself to relax. She leaned back, crossed her legs under the table, and tapped her foot almost imperceptibly along with the song playing from the jukebox. The foot tap was the compromise she made to avoid singing along to the chorus of “Sweet Caroline”—not that anyone would notice if she joined in with them.
November 25, 2025 at 9:56 AM
starkicker.bsky.social
"How to cook without without making your partner sick and other tips for the queer home chef"

#QueerWriters #WriteSky #lesfic #sapphic #BookSky
cjaralore.bsky.social 🌈CJ Aralore @cjaralore.bsky.social · 3d
#QueerPrompts November 24: If your MC/character(s) wrote a cookbook, what would it be called?
Graphics: The background galaxies and stars. The border has stars and planets in the colors of the pride flags. Text: "November 2025", "Safe Space", and "You're A Star" on top and "#QueerPrompts" and "Host: @CJAralore" on the bottom in a rainbow font. Center text is: #QueerPrompts November 24: If your MC/character(s) wrote a cookbook, what would it be called?
November 25, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
kristygardner.bsky.social
If you’ve ever wished The Road had more lesbians and better coping skills, good news: my bisexual end-of-the-world novel is 99¢ on Kobo & Amazon for a hot minute.

Go get it before my publisher puts it back to reg price: kristygardner.com/links

🌈📚 🌎📚 💙🪐📚 💙📚 🌈🚀💫

#booksky #sapphicbooks #sff
kristygardner.bsky.social Kristy Gardner - Queer Sci-Fi & Horror Author @kristygardner.bsky.social · 5d
My publisher just told me my apocalypse book is 99¢ on Kobo rn, which feels free. If you want a queer survival story with messy feelings, feral hope, and a bi disaster trying not to die in the woods, this one’s for you.

Get it: kristygardner.com/links

🌈📚 🌎📚 💙🪐📚 💙📚 🌈🚀💫

#sapphicbooks #sff
November 25, 2025 at 12:40 AM
starkicker.bsky.social
Never have I related to a post more than this one.
A screen grab of a social media post with text that says: "You look tired" Yeah well the enemies didn't become lovers until 2am greg.
November 24, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Mel Starkicker
caradelaney.bsky.social
Tomorrow... 👀

👉 books2read.com/potions-and-honey

#sapphfic #romantasy #romancelandia
A trope graphic for the book Of Potions and Honey by Cara N. Delaney. The cover is featured in the centre. Surrounding it are the followeing tropes: small town setting; grumpy/sunshine; bi4bi sapphic; cosy romantic fantasy; sassy cat and goblin dog; saving the town with the power of friendship (and a great plan!) A small box contains the pre-order URL: books2read.com/potions-and-honey
November 24, 2025 at 4:14 PM