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xo-tanic.bsky.social
x.o.tanic
@xo-tanic.bsky.social
59 followers 140 following 12 posts
✦ dark nights + electric hearts + fallen stars + found souls
✦ drafting: ‘Heir of Starfall’ | dark romantasy
✦ she/her | moon child | coffee + chaos

“Hearts are where stars still burn.”
— x.o.tanic ✦ author of dark romantasy & celestial ruin
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xo-tanic.bsky.social
Anyone else get the #sundayscaries?

This week was my spring break, and I still have the “scaries” this evening.

Getting lost in the words to #relax

✍️

#writers #writing #artist #anxiety #sleepless #wordcount #amwriting
April 7, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
johnwgant.bsky.social
"It was ten o’clock in the evening, after another hot summer day, in a town north of Boston, with a dry wind coming out of the east looking like a steamy nor’easter as the trees bent in the face of it."

The Big Sleep X Blacktop Wasteland

#1stLinePit #A #SF Crime/Noir #Q 61K
A dark room is lit by two hanging lamps, centered on a desk, with foreboding hanging on every niche. The opening paragraph to the novel by J.W. Gant titled Running Until Tomorrow is Gone fills the space with white letters. "It was ten o’clock in the evening, after another hot summer day, in a town north of Boston, with a dry wind coming out of the east looking like a steamy nor’easter as the trees bent in the face of it. She wore a scarlet red dress, matching heels spiked to mid-calf, a necklace with a diamond pendant framed by the deeply plunging neckline, and a small red bag tucked under one arm. Her honey blonde hair, wavy cut with curtain bangs, looked only disordered enough to signal she didn’t care what anyone thought of it—or her. She was nothing an undercover private detective ought to be. Every eye at the luxurious party was on her."
April 5, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
jessgofton.bsky.social
It’s said my mother used her last breaths to tell my father I came into the world feet first, as though I was already prepared to run.

#1stLinePit #WIP #A #F #HF
An aesthetic board with nine square images. 1st row, left to right: a lit candle; a statue of the Madonna and child; two hands holding onto a rope. 2nd row, left to right: a man running his hand over a woman's throat; a shot from Matthias Stom's "The Judgement of Solomon"; the painting of a woman holding a white face mask. 3rd row, left to right: two gold roses against a black background; a shot of some white windows on a Dutch house; two pomegranates against a black background, one cut in half.
April 5, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
jundlife.bsky.social
"The desert was full of things ancient and unchanging and had always been a dangerous place."
#1stLinePit #F #Q #A #Writesky #Writingcommunity
April 5, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
jaxwolffwrites.bsky.social
Mick Martin was halfway through writing the words “coq au vin” when an eight-foot-tall rock golem rampaged after a rooster down the street just beyond the terrace of his family’s café.

#1stLinePit #WIP #NA #F #R
Moodboard of eight images. Top left: A figure plays a violin in a dark room. The image is shot in such a way that only the violin and one of the player's hands is visible. Center left: A man stands in darkness; his head is on fire. Bottom left: A wireframe of a dragon against a bright orange background Top/mid center: Alphonse Mucha's Emerald, featuring a woman staring intensely at the viewer as she leans against the head of a snarling serpent. A white line is drawn straight through the image to neatly divide the woman's head from the serpent's. Bottom center: The Lovers, from the Art Nouveau Tarot deck, featuring a couple just about to kiss. The card is lying on a white space, surrounded by red/white roses. Top right: A figure in white robes wanders through a very green forest. Center right: A bolt of lightning arcs above a mountain range in a very violet sky. Bottom right: A black hole swirls in a sea of violet stars and nebulae. When magicless Mick agrees to go adventuring with his mage best friend (and crush) Eleanor, the last thing he expects is to be stuck a dragon and bound to the gods' dead adversary. Now he and Eleanor must restore Mick's humanity, before his existence triggers a war.
April 5, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
emmaalmunshi.bsky.social
"Heat beats me down to a sweaty pulp, the sun ablaze and unforgiving like it’s trying to set the world on fire."

- To Ruin the Sky ⚡️

#1stLinePit #q #RF #NA #UF #OwnVoices
April 5, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
jpflynn.bsky.social
THE IMMORTAL’S ASSISTANT

Supernatural X Ninth House

“Ten minutes. It took ten minutes to get to her dad’s office—seven if she ran.”

#1stLinePit #Q #A #F #P #agentguide #litagents #querying
April 5, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
crystalbauthor.bsky.social
Here is my list for #1stLinePit #CMe

1. We Were Students
2. The Girl Within
3. Rutello: Maya, Warrior Queen
4. Find Me
5. The Compass
6. The Adventures of Marigold and Daisy: Beautiful Butterflies
7. Luna and the Golden Owl
8. Ghosts of Our Past
9. Kingdom of Treasures
Yellow Background. Top left picture is an orange flower and orange Butterflies. Top right pic is two little girls in cowgirl hats and dresses facing a sunset in a field. Title is orange cursive The Adventures of Marigold and Daisy Middle left pic is a rock house in a forest. Middle right is a weeping willow tree. The rest of the title with the same font Beautiful Butterflies and a monarch butterfly. Bottom left pic is an old woman in overalls by a wall of orange flowers. Bottom right pic is a field of flowers. Black background. Title in blue cursive font Luna and the Golden Owl First line of piture left to right: A great horned owl sitting on a stump in a forest with sunshine, a meadow with clover flowers and a sunset. A shadowed guy in front of a sunset. Middle pictures left to right: A hawk, an eagle and a crow. Bottom pictures left to right: Moon and stars, a shadowed woman with backing sunlight, a white owl on the ground. Bottom quote in blue cursive font: "Spread the light of love to everyone around you so that the world will be filled with this, the greatest of blessings." Black background Top left picture is of the fence and two buildings in Aushwitz. The top right is of an Auschwitz building with fall dead trees in front of it. Then in white font with teal edging it says the title The Girl Within. The middle left picture us a tank in a field. The middle right is the front of a large boat and a smaller boat on water. Then there's a quote that says "I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take side." - Elle Wiesel The bottom left picture is a blonde girl in a brown jacket and a black press vest that says press in white. She's standing in front of a tall brown building with lots of windows. The bottom right pic is a crowd of protesters in front of a building. Black background Top left photo is a group of students high school age in front of a school from behind. The words in black and orange We were Students. Below that a tank coming down a mountain hill onto a road with a forest behind it. Then below people running into a building. Then 3 pans cooking food over a fire on a grate. Top right photo: people on a trip type bus with a quote in war everyone loses. This truth can be seen in the eyes of every soldier of every world. Below that 9 jets flying in the sky. Below that people camping in a forest. Below that people camping in an open area by hills and a waterfall. Quotes down the middle: it takes minute effort to start a war but I er a million effort to restore peace. To know your enemy you must become your enemy. In the end we. Will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends. War doesn't determine who's right, war determines who remains. Attack him where he in unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
April 5, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
maggiekirton.bsky.social
"I’ll no longer call you Fae. I’ll call you by the name of the thing you’ve become within my soul… Vinur Mynn. My friend, in the old tongue.” ~KESSLER
📌 mybook.to/sagamankes...
#Free #kindleunlimited
Meet Vinur in The Old Oak Grows.

#epicfantasy #mustread #amreading #IARTG
April 6, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
taylorrenee.bsky.social
"If you could live for centuries—through famine and plague, through wars that razed cities and left ash in their wake, that not even a bomb crashing through your home could destroy you—would you choose immortality?"
#1stLinePit #Q #F #G #P Agents Guide ⬇️
If you could live for centuries—through famine and plague, through wars that razed cities and left ash in their wake, that not even a bomb crashing through your home could destroy you—would you choose immortality?
April 5, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
carosas.bsky.social
LATIN!A STUDY IN DROWNING meets SHARP OBJECTS

"At the crest of the hill, the town’s cemetery lay in the shadow of a stone-carved God, its vacant eyes staring into the mist. And Nora could see the academy from up there."

#1stLinePit #WIP #YA #F
April 5, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
kancollan.bsky.social
LEGENDBORN X AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

The wind has only spoken to me once in my life.

#Q #YA #F #Jewish #1stLinePit
A title card with the text "An Agent's Guide to THE WINDWALKER - Katie Collan - young adult urban fantasy 105,000 words" over a person with a red cloak standing in the middle of a grassy field. Comparative titles with arrows pointing to relevant descriptions. Titles include: LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn, A DEADLY EDUCATION by Naomi Novik, Nickelodeon's animated series AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER. Captions: Legendborn: "mysterious death of a parent", "strong themes of prejudice" ATLA: "elemental hard magic system" ATLA, A Deadly Education: "diverse ensemble (would rather die than get along)" All three: "magic rooted in culture" Pitch: "When fighters start disappearing from an underground tournament, a sixteen-year-old participant with wind powers must uncover the tournament's secrets before she loses a match and shares their fate." A mood board featuring eight panels with a corresponding color palette in the center, as well as the caption, "Believe in the wind and you'll prevail." From left to right, top to bottom: fire burning down a building; ocean water; the sky above the clouds; a cracked, rocky ground; a red-haired girl in a red cloak with glowing white eyes, holding a dagger hilt with a transparent blade made of air; a skyline view of nighttime Manhattan; a NYC subway track; a boxing ring that depicts two people practicing punches beyond the ropes.
April 5, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
byrachelrussell.bsky.social
Purple stained the lips of the girl paled by death. As if she had taken a sumptuous bite of a delectable fruit before drowning.

𝒶𝒹𝓊𝓁𝓉 𝓂𝒾𝒹𝓌𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓁𝓀 𝒽𝑜𝓇𝓇𝑜𝓇
🍂 #1stLinePit #WIP #A #H 🍂
April 5, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
milliesun.bsky.social
Cunning prankster vs resourceful lord = a marriage of chaos.
Threaten them and force them to unite against their common enemies, and all hell breaks loose in this low-fantasy romcom version of A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS X HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS.
#cupit #RF #RC #POC #A
moodboard for "Lady Han's Manual for Matrimonial Mayhem", chinese history-inspired fantasy romance, includes photos of female and male leads, plum blossoms and bamboo
February 14, 2025 at 5:05 AM
xo-tanic.bsky.social
When I’m not making progress on word count, I doodle characters and ideas from my project 🎨 🖊️

Just a vision I have for my FMC in my WIP. The face isn’t correct — I’m indecisive on expression!

#artist progress! 📚

#art #digitalart #oc #characterdesign #bookart #writing #procreate #wip #writer
April 5, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
charyoung.bsky.social
🎸 daisy jones x knives out 🗡️

“it begins with a murmur drifting upon the wind.”

seven suspects. one the killer of renowned rock star sam corvi. but who? only they can tell you

#1stLinePit #A #LF #M (almost) #Q
a moodboard detailing nine images related to my book ALL THE DEVILS aka devilswip. in order from right to left they are: london notably the landmark big ben, a band performing on stage, a sheet of music, a record store, the silhouette of a rockstar, some musical instruments scattered on a bed, two men running, a pile of evidence and finally a hand holding a cigarette the first pages of ALL THE DEVILS: prelude 21st august 2016 it begins with a murmur drifting upon the wind. at first, it’s small—unnoticeable, but soon that murmur, that slick sliver of sound that could one day change the world reaches humankind and becomes a hurricane—an untamed clamour among the silence. it ripples. it taunts. It waltzes upon the breeze like the destructive force it is and, in the end, is unstoppable. It cannot be contained. It’s there forever, a permanent echo in a vacuum, a scratch on a record, a soundbite of time. today, the murmur begins its devastating dance outside a block of flats overlooking the river thames. a white flurry of forlorn forensics leave the building with disbelief carved onto their weary faces. an unsettling stillness suffuses the space as the murmur passes from person to person. it’s him, rumbles the murmur. it’s sam corvi. he’s dead.
April 5, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
authorjulianne.bsky.social
#1stLinePit
After my mother died, the smell of smoke clung to me for days.
It was tradition in Doverum to burn the dead. It had been for longer than anyone could remember, stretching back through generations in a never-ending cycle of life and death, flame and ash.🖤
#WIP #YA #RF
A moodboard for THE BOG PRINCE. It features 9 images with an eerie, gothic vibe. Top row, L to R: A pair of dirty hands reaching out of the dirt, an ominous iron gate, a couple's legs lying next to each other on the forest floor. Middle row: A steam train emerging from the fog, a dark haired woman in an Edwardian-style dress regarding herself in a mirror, the ruins of a stone castle shrouded in mist. Bottom row: A long-haired man lying on his back in the dirt (it just happens to be Hozier, but shhh), a misty bog with rolling hills in the background, a couple's lips leaning towards one another for a kiss. A graphic of a green, cloth-bound book over a library backdrop. The text on the book reads: The Bog Prince. Everin unleashes dark necromancy magic when she reanimates the bog body of her kingdom's long-lost prince. To conceal her forbidden power and solve his murder, they'll need to work together to unearth centuries of rewritten history. But some secrets are better left buried... A passage of text on a green, cloth-bound book background. An illustration of a rabbit with a jawbone around its neck sits at the bottom corner. The text reads: After my mother died, the smell of smoke clung to me for days. It was tradition in Doverum to burn the dead. It had been for longer than anyone could remember, stretching back through generations in a never-ending cycle of life and death, flame and ash. The smell was as familiar as the scent of violet perfume, or the sting of seawater in my nose. But something about it changed for me on the day we burned Ma. The smoke burrowed in my hair, my skin. It draped like a cloak of death around my shoulders, impossible to shrug off. Ever since, I’d seen it as a bad omen. A reminder that all things would one day go up in flame.
April 5, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
xo-tanic.bsky.social
Here we go! Joining the #WritingCommunity on BlueSky and participating in #1stLinePit!

“Rain cleanses both the pious and the wicked.”

- Dark Fantasy
- Paranormal
- Buried Truth
- Rewritten History
- Dying Magic
- Folklore Inspired
- Found Family
- Unwanted Bonds

#WIP #F #R #P #NA #RF #CMe
April 5, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
keyganssmcclellan.bsky.social
"There are places where the skin of the world is thin. Where the atmosphere grows teeth: space can unfurl, convulse, or split like a frost-cracked tree; ghosts gather like mold. Visiting a place like that isn’t something you do unless you’re desperate or have a death wish."
#1stLinePit #F #A #Q soon
comp titles for pitched book (comp titles include Gideon the Ninth, The Jasmine Throne, The Bone Shard Daughter, and The Surviving Sky) (comparisons include lgbtq+, bio-magic, revolution, and explorations of power) mood board for pitched book (images include dripping blood, old pipes, a decrepit stairway, a forest glowing with magenta mist, and pale, ornate halls) pitch for "The Tower's Blood" (pitch describes the book as a queer, biopunk, adult science fantasy of found family, spies, eldritch horror, and class warfare)
April 5, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
mtaylorauthor.bsky.social
It was only quiet in the Thornewood on execution days.

HEARTLESS HUNTER x WHERE THE DARK STANDS STILL

#Q #YA #F #UF #1stLinePit #writingcommunity
To save her realm and her people from extinction, lone Dryad, Eryna, must hide amongst human high society and play their twisted party games to take back the magic that was stolen from her land.
April 5, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
booksbystevie.bsky.social
“Oh my god, you look so f*cking old!” Dylan shouts over the hum of the crowded restaurant. It’s been years since we’ve seen each other, and she wastes no time teasing me at first sight. 🎾 💕 👩‍❤️‍👨

#1stLinePit #C #Q #A #R
booksbystevie.bsky.social Stevie Greene 👩🏻‍💻 @booksbystevie.bsky.social · Feb 14
FANGIRL DOWN x CROSS THE LINE

A dating app creator and a professional #tennis player team up to save their careers from the break(ing) point.

🎾 Friends-to-lovers
🎾 Best friend’s bro
🎾 Fake “non-dating”
🎾 Dating for convenience
🎾 Mental health & chronic illness rep

#cupit #R #CR #RC #A #amquerying
April 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
emmaalmunshi.bsky.social
One last #1stlinepit nudge for the late night crowd (it’s 8pm here, which IMO means bedtime soon) ⚡️
emmaalmunshi.bsky.social Emma Al-munshi @emmaalmunshi.bsky.social · Apr 5
"Heat beats me down to a sweaty pulp, the sun ablaze and unforgiving like it’s trying to set the world on fire."

- To Ruin the Sky ⚡️

#1stLinePit #q #RF #NA #UF #OwnVoices
April 5, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by x.o.tanic
rebecca-linam.bsky.social
#1stLinePit 🫖Mrs. Henrietta March of Sheriton made it a habit to pay a social visit to her neighbor, Mrs. Pennington, once a week.
☑️small-town drama
☑️obstinate headstrong girl, 29 years old + single
☑️#humor
☑️scaring unwanted suitors
☑️BRIDGERTON x ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW
April 5, 2025 at 7:05 PM