Lizzie Blackwood

@lizzieblackwood

She/her. Queer Romantic Speculative Fiction writer, artsy craftsy person, and certified bog witch. 🚫AI PFP by @roricomics.bsky.social Website: lizzieblackwood.com Links:

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Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· 29d

Time for an image share, #PretendPanel! Show us behind the scenes of your writing and worldbuilding process. This could be maps, image references, storyboards, or even just a wall of sticky notes or a dry erase board where you scribble out your thoughts! Anything visual that's helped you write.

#pretendpanel
a daily prompt tag hosted by @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social
JULY 18th: Image share: maps/references/planning
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New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 17

It's Friday and I have a fresh haircut - let's dive back into #PretendPanel! Pulling back the curtain, what visual aids (if any) do you use when planning your story? Do you try to pin down specifics, or just cultivate the vibe?

#pretendpanel
a daily prompt tag hosted by @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social
JULY 17th: What visual aids do you use when planning your story? (ex. moodboards, reference images, quick sketches, commissioned art, etc.)
Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts
New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 15

Jumping into #AwesomeCharacters today thanks to @professoremily.bsky.social's subtle coaxing. 😆 Meet Dani Gavilan (they/them) from #TSWBOO! They're a low-level technician with Earth's diplomatic delegation who is surprisingly gifted in "improvisational engineering" and signal hacking. (1/3)

A non-binary human with warm tan skin and short, curly chestnut hair wearing a dirty blue jumpsuit kneels to play with a small silver droid. Art by Nuke Illustration

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 14

LIZZIE FACT: I'm already way behind on facts but it's ok because I have celebration sushi. 🤤 I shall eat, as the sharks do, the freshest of ocean fishes.

An elaborate spread of sushi rolls and nigiri.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 14

BOOK FACT: The Reshketh are described as having sensitive bioluminescent bands known as elatria that are an evolution of the lateral line, but to visualize them, I was actually inspired more by comb jellies than sharks!

A transparent oval-shaped jellyfish with rainbow colored bands of bioluminescence running up half of it.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 14

BOOK FACT: Long-time followers will know this, but for YEARS, this book went under the working title of Shark Smoocher. I'd picked that as a laugh back when this was just a self-indulgent side project, and it stuck with me a long time. Even made a joke cover for it!

Fake book cover reading "SHARK SMOOCHER: The Jaws of Love by Lizzie Blackwood (*an only somewhat real novel)" with badly photoshopped figures of a white woman with blue hair gazing lasciviously at the camera next to a grayscale male torso with a shark head in front of a starry background

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 14

✨🌟✨OUT NOW!!!✨🌟✨ The Stars Will Be Our Ocean is available now in epub and paperback! All purchase and review links are available at lizzieblackwood.carrd.co Buyers guide in the thread below! 🧵

Graphic showing the cover of The Stars Will Be Our Ocean (The title texts floats among a starry background mingling with nebulous blue gasses with the author name “Lizzie Blackwood” at the bottom. Two figures float together at the center, holding hands as though dancing and smiling at each other. The figure on the left is a sharklike humanoid with a finlike crest off the back of his head wearing complex but form-fitting armor. The figure on the right is a human woman with pale skin and short black hair wearing a back jacket, shirt, pants, and boots.) with the caption "Out Now! Her world is dying. His world cast him out. Together, they can change a galaxy."

For fans of Mass Effect, A Memory Called Empire, and The Shape of Water comes a story of love between outcasts caught in the mire of intergalactic politics.

First contact with the vast spacefaring empire of the Reshketh seemed like a miraculous boon for Humanity, trapped on a dying Earth. But in pursuit of an alliance, something has gone terribly wrong, and it's up to cultural advisor Jenna Kalandra to figure out why before it's too late. The only problems are that she has no information, no connections, and her own Ambassador hates her just for existing.

Jenna isn't one to give up easily, but she'll need the help of a mischievous Al, an inventive Human tech, her no-nonsense ex-girlfriend, and one charmingly unprofessional Reshketh security guard named Tarek to survive her Ambassador's wrath. Can these misfits find a way to save the alliance (and themselves) before prejudice dooms Humanity? And can Jenna's friendship with the roguish Reshketh become something deeper when no one knows who to trust?

"There's hope yet, even if it's hard to see the shape of it. You taught me that. But no matter what happens, this time right here is ours."

Graphic with the caption "If you liked..." over the title images of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, The Shape of Water, and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, followed by the caption "You may enjoy..." over the cover image of The Stars Will Be Our Ocean.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 13

✨🌟✨24 HOURS REMAIN✨🌟✨ Or something like that, I don't actually know what time zones all the sites are gonna begin processing orders from. 🤣 But IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!

Screenshot from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask with white text on a black background reading "Dawn of the Final Day -24 Hours Remain-

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 12

"I can't read but I know Mama is happy about this book so it must be good. Also, I chewed on it a little and that was fun." ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Nona

Close up of the face of a gray and white tuxedo cat with green eyes, white whiskers, and a white blaze up her nose as she looks lovingly up at the camera.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 12

"AWFUL BOOK. DID YOU KNOW MAMA SAT IN FRONT OF THE AWFUL GLOWING RECTANGLES FOR HOURS AND DAYS AND YEARS WORKING ON THIS AND DID NOT CUDDLE ZUKO ONCE THE WHOLE TIME???" ⭐ - Zuko

Close up of the face of a fluffy black cat with gold eyes looking somewhat disgruntled.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 12

✨🌟✨THREE DAYS TO GO✨🌟✨ And I'm too tired for marketing. 😅 Let's see what my cats think of my book! "I could sleep on this." ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Selkie

Close up of the face of a beige tabby cat with gold eyes and a brownish pink nose.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 12

#TBBChat A5: Jenna is pictured on the right below! She is optimistic, dedicated, loyal, trusting to a fault, emotional, quick to cry, gutsy, self-deprecating, stubborn, a lover of the fine arts and the garbage ones, funny, awkward, and always compassionate.

Two figures on a featureless gray background.
From left to right:
1) Tarek: A tall non-human figure in dark gray body armor with dark gray skin and a shark-like face with a fin-like crest walks and talks to the figure beside him.
2) Jenna: A white human woman with short black hair and all-black pants, shirt, and jacket carries what looks like a colorful cell phone while looking up at the figure beside her and smiling.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 11

Thinking about things from the other side, #PretendPanel: As a reader, do you prefer lush, detailed descriptions, or books that leave things vague so you can fill in with your own imagination? Is this different or the same as your writing preferences?

#pretendpanel
a daily prompt tag hosted by @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social
JULY 11th: As a reader, do you prefer lush, detailed descriptions, or books that leave things vague so you can fill in with your own imagination?
Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts
New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 10

AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, A BRAND NEW PIECE BY @nushdeco.bsky.social! This dreamy illustration is her take on the archives where Tarek and Jenna spend many important moments, and it's so, so lovely with so much personality.

Two figures (a white human woman in a jacket and pants smiling up brightly at a sharklike humanoid in armor holding a book) float between balconies in the dim light of a multi-story library-like facility full of bookshelves, art, and coral-like decor.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 10

Next was my first foray into NSFW art with this beautiful commission from @razielnsfw.bsky.social. I got super emotional about how intimate and full of personality this piece was, and how it demonstrated so much of why I loved these characters and the way they love each other.

Grayscale illustration of a couple intimately entangled on a rock by a calm body of water reflecting the stars. One is a white woman with short black hair, bite marks on her thigh and shoulders, blushing across her cheeks and chest. On top of her is a sharklike humanoid with fin-like appendages on the arms and back of the head and glowing lines down the sides of his face, neck, and body.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 10

Then of course there's my gorgeous cover art illustration by @aowna.bsky.social. I knew I wanted something that felt wispy and dreamy, something that evoked both the depth of space and the flow of water, and Aowna DELIVERED. I'm so happy with how it turned out!

Background is a starry, nebulous region of deep space, all rendered in shades of blue. To the left is a space station with a domed top and a long, tapering stem, looking somewhat like a white mushroom. To the right, a couple appears to be dancing in zero G. One partner is a sharklike alien in body armor, the other is a white human woman with short, dark hair and black clothes.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 10

✨🌟✨4 DAYS UNTIL RELEASE✨🌟✨ Time for an art appreciation post! The first art I ever commissioned for this book were these character illustrations by @nukeloop.bsky.social. This was my first time seeing these characters outside of my head, and it was ✨magical✨. More in the 🧵 below!

Four figures on a featureless gray background.
From left to right:
1) Tarek: A tall non-human figure in dark gray body armor with dark gray skin and a shark-like face with a fin-like crest walks and talks to the figure beside him.
2) Jenna: A white human woman with short black hair and all-black pants, shirt, and jacket carries what looks like a colorful cell phone while looking up at the figure beside her and smiling.
3) Dani: A non-binary human with warm tan skin and short, curly chestnut hair wearing a dirty blue jumpsuit kneels to play with a small silver droid.
4) Esti: A Black woman with voluminous shoulder-length hair and gold jewelry wearing a well-tailored blue jumpsuit stands with arms crossed smiling down at the figure beside her.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 10

It's time once again for #PretendPanel! This week, we discuss visual descriptions in prose. As a writer, how much detail do you like to include in your visual descriptions?

#pretendpanel
a daily prompt tag hosted by @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social
JULY 10th: How much detail do you like to include in your visual descriptions?
Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts
New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 9

✨🌟✨FIVE DAYS TO GO!✨🌟✨ Need to get a better vibe for The Stars Will Be Our Ocean? I've got comps! And more than that, I'll tell you WHY ... 🧵

Graphic with a starry blue background reads:

"If you liked..."
Showing cover graphics for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, The Shape of Water, and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

"You may enjoy..."
Showing the cover art for The Stars Will Be Our Ocean

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 8

And last but not least, a statement most sincere:

"Survival can be an act of love. Take it from a member of a species that glorifies self-sacrifice as the highest expression of civic duty: Sometimes the most selfless thing you can do is just stay alive for the people that care about you."

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 8

Then there's Patches and Jenna speculating over some spectacularly slapdash strategies:

“Jenna, I am not sure I like this plan."

"Oh, I fully hate it. Yet here we are."

"What will you do if they respond with aggression?"

"Die, probably. I wish I could say I have a clever backup plan, but it's all hope and bullshit from here on out."

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 8

And something ever so slightly salacious from love interest Tarek:

"I appreciate your attempt at decency, but you should know that I'm here because I choose to be. You are here because I chose to bring you. So banish that guilt, little Human." He turned and offered a bright, if somewhat threatening, smile. "I assure you, you are incapable of using me in any way I don't want to be of use."

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 8

✨🌟✨SIX DAYS AWAY✨🌟✨ Perhaps I can seduce you with a string of snippets? Starting here with subtle snark from Jenna:

We may have all been there to secure the future of Humanity beyond our drowning, burning planet, but only some of us were meant to have our faces remembered by history.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 7

DAN, you wonderful madman, I am gonna cry! 😭😭😭💜💜💜

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 7

I may not, but if it's anything like this, you might enjoy my book. 🤣

Meme showing a photo of Japanese Parliament members in suits scrambling in to silence one old man with a death grip on the microphone. Caption: WOULD

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 7

Yesss heed the call, abandon convention, SMOOCH THE SHARK! 🤣

Photo of a heterosexual white couple in wedding clothes kissing in an aquarium tunnel surrounded by swimming sharks. The woman's reflection on the glass wall of the tube makes it look like she's kissing one of the sharks.

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 7

✨🌟✨ONE WEEK AWAY!✨🌟✨ Would you? 😘🦈

Staggered white text on abstract background reads "You wouldn't smooch a shark" in the style of the "You wouldn't steal a car" PSA meme, courtesy of https://youwouldntsteala.website/editor.html

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 4

Happy Saturday, #PretendPanel! Continuing the theme of visualization: How do you decide what you want your characters and settings to look like? Do the details hold significant importance for you, or do you mostly follow a vibe?

pretendpanel
a daily prompt tag hosted by @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social
JULY 4th: How do you decide what you want your characters and settings to look like?
Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts
New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 3

Happy Friday, #PretendPanel! I'm your guest host, Lizzie Blackwood, here to start us off: There are many ways the brain may process and internalize visual information. Do you have a “mental picture” of your story as you write? If so, what does that look like? And if not, what do you "see" instead?

#pretendpanel
a daily prompt tag hosted by @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social
JULY 3rd: Do you have a “mental picture” of your story as you write? What does it look like for you?
Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts
New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!

Lizzie Blackwood@lizzieblackwood· Jul 1

✨🌟✨IT'S RELEASE MONTH!✨🌟✨ My debut sci-fi romance, The Stars Will Be Our Ocean, officially releases July 14th! If you like... 🏳️‍🌈 Queer space opera 😘 Slow-burn alien/human romance 🫂 Hurt/comfort and found family Then check out my purchasing and review links at lizzieblackwood.carrd.co