Tali Shammas
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talishammas.bsky.social
Tali Shammas
@talishammas.bsky.social
280 followers 490 following 170 posts
JD/MBA/PhD Candidate-turned Fantasy Writer ✍🏻
Currently editing my sapphic gothic fantasy with art-based blood magic 🩸🎨 rep: Marilyn Biderman & Brenna English-Loeb at Transatlantic Agency
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talishammas.bsky.social
✨Announcement✨

Absolutely thrilled to announce that I've been chosen as a WriteHive mentor this year!

I could not be more excited to read all of your pitches and be a part of this fantastic organization.

Swipe to see my wishlist and important dates!

@writehive.bsky.social
#HiveMentor
#WriteHive
October 27, 2025 at 5:17 PM
talishammas.bsky.social
THE COLOUR OF BLOOD: Stasi enters a deadly art contest, wealthy elites kill magical women, & survival is paid in blood

HOUSE OF HUNGER x MEXICAN GOTHIC x A DOWRY OF BLOOD

🇱🇻 Latvian myths
🔥 Feminist coming-of-rage
🩸 Art-based blood magic
🖤 Sapphic rivals-to-lovers

#questpit
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[ 🧡🦄📚 ]
August 6, 2025 at 4:08 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
In THE COLOUR OF BLOOD, a gifted artist enters a deadly competition where the cost of survival is blood.

HOUSE OF HUNGER x MEXICAN GOTHIC x A DOWRY OF BLOOD

🇱🇻 Latvian mythology/folklore
🔥 Feminist coming-of-rage
🩸 Art-based blood magic
🖤 Sapphic rivals-to-lovers

[ 💜😱 ]
[ 🧡🦄📚 ]
August 5, 2025 at 1:12 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
In 1900s Latvia, Stasi mixes blood with paint to create reality-shaping art, but when she enters a prestigious art competition and discovers wealthy elites are killing female artists, she risks her forbidden sapphic love and life to stop them.

#WIPPIT #HF #H #R #LGBT
The Colour of Blood, a feminist coming-of-rage 70k sapphic horromance, featuring Latvian mythology, examination of colonialism and misogyny, art school rivals-to-lovers, generational trauma, a unique paint-based blood magic system, and all the barbed banter ("Mind your step, lest you trip over my affairs.") Excerpt from the Colour of Blood: I draw the imbuing knife across my palm and wince. My skin is accustomed to this ritual, dulled to the sting. But today, the blade finds something soft, something still capable of pain, and sinks its teeth in. Blood wells fast, eager, filling a shallow groove in my palette. I carefully pour water into the next. Flickering candlelight reflects on the pools. The water skitters under the light, but the blood is thicker, darker, slower to settle. Yellow may be my most loathed colour, but red has always been my favourite. The colour of love, of rage, of life. The colour of blood. Tropes, themes, and comps, including Blood Over Bright Haven, Mexican Gothic, and Juniper & Thorn. Blurb: In 1900s Latvia, female artists combine blood with paint to yield reality-altering art. Stasi, an ambitious artist, is selected to compete for a coveted year-long residency at the Von Nachtraben estate, home to Europe’s most powerful paint magnate. For Stasi, the competition is a chance to elevate her social standing, earn her emotionally distant parents' approval, and escape the brothel where she's secretly working. But when a talented competitor suffers a gruesome death during the first trial, Stasi suspects the competition’s purpose is not recruitment but the elimination of the world’s strongest magical women. Stasi's unease turns to horror when she uncovers a hidden laboratory in the estate where the Von Nachtrabens craft a toxic green pigment engineered to weaken women who paint. And when she tries and fails to escape the estate, she realizes participation in the competition is no longer an option but a compulsion. As a forbidden sapphic romance kindles between Stasi and her childhood rival—and more women vanish—Stasi must navigate deadly trials, competitors willing to sell each other out to advance, and the Von Nachtrabens’ insidious web of control. To stop the elite intent on silencing women who dare stand against them, Stasi will have to risk her love and her life.
May 23, 2025 at 3:10 PM
talishammas.bsky.social
#ND & emotionally volatile Nora only wants to survive college, but when her foster sister is kidnapped by a ruthless Fae queen, Nora faces a realm where her emotions can be used against her & the brooding Fae prince who would keep her there.

#questpit #Q #A #RF
Agent's guide for A FAE FORGED IN IRON, a 99k adult romantasy. Tropes, themes, and comps listed for A FAE FORGED IN IRON, including a neurodivergent FMC, a lost foster sibling, a dual world, and only one horse. LGBTQIA+ & disability rep. Comps are The Serpent and the Wings of Night for the power struggle, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers, and search for identity; Spark of the Everflame for the fight against injustice and oppression, found family, and royal palace intrigue; and From Blood and Ash for the FMC's hidden and developing powers and the kidnapper-turned-love-interest storyline. Nora, a neurodivergent student, wants two things: enough money for her next meal and to know why her intense emotions flicker lights, slam doors, and wilt flowers. When Nora’s dysregulation causes her foster sister to vanish, Nora joins group therapy to temper her feelings. There, she meets dangerously handsome Ash—an undercover Fae prince. Ash abducts Nora, transporting her from Earth to Itheca—a Fae realm where emotions are weapons. Ash claims he’s working with Ithecan rebels to overthrow his mother, an evil Queen who kidnaps human children. Nora uses her powers to attack the Queen’s associate and discovers the Queen has kidnapped her foster sister and is using children’s unbridled emotions to create a spectral army that will consume human and Fae energy. Ash demands Nora wield her emotions to help fight the Queen. But Nora distrusts her ability to rein in her turbulent feelings. Ash’s arrogance turns persuasively charming, and Nora starts to believe in not only him but also herself. But what if falling for him is a trap devised by his mother? The fate of Nora's sister and both worlds hinges on Nora's ability to regulate herself but also to know when to let her feelings fly at their full force. Excerpt from A FAE FORGED IN IRON: Using my powers in the caves felt euphoric. Like my body knew what to do, on instinct. Like it’s what I was made to do. Sure, I had no self-control and probably gave myself a mild concussion, but I can’t deny that letting my emotions flow through me felt right. I’ve been floundering here on Earth for almost twenty years. Even before my parents died, I never truly felt like I fit in. After so long trying to be normal—like everyone else—I’m tired of it. Maybe it’s not what I was meant to do.
May 7, 2025 at 2:02 PM
talishammas.bsky.social
In 1900s Latvia, Stasi imbues paint with blood magic to create art that becomes reality, but when she discovers a plot to eradicate blood-magic women after entering a prestigious art competition, she rises against those who threaten her kind.

#W #A #HR #S #H #questpit
Cover image for the agent's guide of my 70K sapphic horrormance with magical realism elements titled The Colour of Blood. Tropes, themes, and comps for The Colour of Blood: 🔥 Coming-of-rage 🇱🇻 Latvian mythology and folklore 🎨 art-based magic system 🌲 Sentient baltic forest ⚔️ Rivals-to-lovers 🛌 Only one room 💕 LGBTQIA+ rep Comps are Blood Over Bright Haven for misogyny, feminine rage, and colonialism; Mexican Gothic for sexism, exploitation, and generational trauma; and Juniper & Thorn for Eastern European Setting, creepy mansion, and gothic horror. Blurb for The Colour of Blood: In 1900s Latvia, women wield blood magic that, when combined with paint, creates art capable of shaping reality. Stasi, an ambitious artist, is overjoyed when she's selected to compete for a coveted year-long residency at the Von Nachtraben estate, home to Europe’s most powerful paint magnate, but she soon learns the competition is far from idyllic. When a talented competitor dies during the first trial, Stasi suspects the competition’s purpose is not recruitment but the elimination of the world’s strongest magical women, making women easier to control. Stasi's fears deepen when she discovers the Von Nachtrabens have developed a toxic green pigment to weaken women like her. As a forbidden romance kindles between Stasi and her rival, and more girls vanish, Stasi must navigate an increasingly dangerous maze of deception, power, and control to stop the wealthy elite that would have her kind silenced forever. Excerpt from The Colour of Blood: I press the heels of my palms into my eyes until sparks bloom, white light piercing darkness like the moon trailing a path across the night sky. During my childhood summers in Tiraine, I was taught the story of Mēness, the moon god who traverses the sky atop a white horse. Mēness was married to Saule, the sun goddess. When he was unfaithful, the goddess sliced him into pieces, creating moon phases. Like the sun, I too will carve into pieces those who tried to break me.
May 7, 2025 at 11:01 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
My WIP is set in Riga, Latvia, in the year 1900, and the setting is integral to my story. In addition to the social and political context of the time, this project has allowed me to delve into the hidden stories of my cultural background and learn more about myself as I write. #CRPDamselflies
An aged photo of Riga in 1900.
April 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
talishammas.bsky.social
In 1900s Latvia, Stasi imbues paint with her blood to create art that becomes reality, but when she discovers a plot to eradicate blood-imbuing women after entering a prestigious art competition, she rises against those who threaten her kind.

#posterpitw #ya #na #h #r #hf
Movie poster for The Colour of Blood, a Young Adult / New Adult sapphic horrormance with a unique art-based magic system steeped in latvian myth and folklore with a rivals-to-lovers trope and Faustian bargains. A coming-of-rage story: their love is dangerous but their magic is deadly. Querying soon - seeking literary agents and editors!
April 19, 2025 at 12:15 PM
talishammas.bsky.social
Neurodivergent and emotionally volatile Nora only wants to survive college, but when her foster sister is kidnapped by a ruthless Fae queen, she faces a worse threat than final exams: a realm where her emotions can be used against her.

#posterpitq #F #R #A #ND #OS
Movie post for A FAE FORGED IN IRON, a neurodivergent ownvoices story featuring a dual world with found family, a slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance plot, only one horse tropes, and LGBTQIA and disability rep. It's an adult romantasy out in the querying trenches about emotionally volatile Nora who sets off to save her foster sister after the girl is kidnapped by a ruthless fae queen. Seeking literary agents and editors in the querying trenches!
April 19, 2025 at 12:14 PM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 18:

I forgot to post an update yesterday, so I've merged the two days. In extremely exciting news, I've finished my first draft of the manuscript! It's only at 64,500 words, so I'll have to add about 10k during my first round of edits, but she's done! #writetoberspringfest
April 19, 2025 at 1:12 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 16:

Guys, I'm getting so close to the end! It's wild! I absolutely adore this story, and I am so, so excited to bring it to a close (then let it sit for a few days and get to work on editing). #writetoberspringfest
April 17, 2025 at 3:38 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 15:

I was pretty down yesterday, so I wanted to make up for it today - and did I ever make up for it! I had a huge writing day, and the end is in sight for this WIP. This may be one of my favorite projects I've worked on, and I am so excited to finish! #writetoberspringfest
April 16, 2025 at 2:22 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 14:

Today was mid. I did some outlining, which I'll have to edit tomorrow, but that's okay. #writetoberspringfest
April 15, 2025 at 2:59 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 13:

Ended up with almost 3k words today and broke 50k on the WIP! I can't believe how far I've come with this piece, and I absolutely adore it. So excited to finish! #writetoberspringfest
April 14, 2025 at 2:24 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 12:

So today was exciting because I came up with a plot twist that I super love for a character I was struggling with—so I'm pretty happy about that! Also met my word goal even though I cut a bunch of outlining, which is always nice #writetoberspringfest
April 13, 2025 at 1:28 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 11:

#writetoberspringfest update: It's 8:30pm and I am donezo. Normally I'd have another couple of hours left in me—not today. I got 2k words down, of which I am very proud, and now I shall sleep for I am exhausted.
April 12, 2025 at 12:34 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 10:

Wrote my favorite line so far today and got a pretty decent word count! I can't believe I'm halfway done the manuscript - and I could not be more excited to edit this one. #writetoberspringfest
April 11, 2025 at 3:08 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Is this a trend here?

// the main character // the love interest //

Meet Nora Barrett ✨ and Asher Dagan ⚔️ from my dual-world #ownvoices Adult Romantasy A FAE FORGED IN IRON
April 10, 2025 at 4:29 PM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 9:

Did a bunch of editing today, so my word count suffered a bit, but I still managed to surpass my daily goal! It was a bit of a rough day (little man was at home with an ear infection), so I'm pleased with my progress.
April 10, 2025 at 2:19 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 8:

Pretty happy with the progress I made today! I doubt I'll be hitting my 90k goal, but it looks like at least 50k is super doable - and then I'll be more than halfway done! Exciting stuff! Side note: I love today's quote. #writetoberspringfest
April 9, 2025 at 1:35 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 7:

Minor progress today, but I met my goal, and progress is progress! Weekdays are hard, especially Mondays since I'm catching up on all the housework I fell behind on over the weekend, so I'm trying to be proud of myself. #writetoberspringfest
April 8, 2025 at 2:11 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 6:

Not only did I blow my #writetoberspringfest goal out of the water today, but I realized I haven't changed the date on my graphic since April 3rd. You win some, you lose some! Seriously though, this challenge has been incredible for my productivity.
April 7, 2025 at 2:29 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
I like this one!

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
Ash. I turn the name over in my mind, weighing it, tracing every letter as I scratch at the skin beside my nail. One of the single-pane windows in the room slams shut, and I jump, digging my nail into my cuticle. A pinprick of blood blooms, and I bring the wound to my lips. The taste of iron tingles on my tongue.
April 6, 2025 at 11:56 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
Day 5:

Definitely met my #writetoberspringfest goal today - and got some edits done on the manuscript I'm querying to boot! Was a very productive day; I'm pleased.
April 6, 2025 at 1:20 AM
talishammas.bsky.social
“Nothing is crueler than the hunger gnawing at my bones."

#RF #Q #A #OS #CMe #agentguide #agentsguide #1stLinePit
April 5, 2025 at 12:07 PM