arlen ren ✨

@arlenrenwrites

queer writer of otherworldly fiction ✍🏻 Trekkie 🖖🏻 X-Phile 👽 forever pup parent to Rufus 🐶🪽✨ he/they 🏳️‍⚧️ www.arlenren.co.uk

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¿Es tu perfil?Reclámalo y arlenrenwrites.dirty.social es tuyo.Reclamar perfil

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Jul 14

in my research, I have learned some truly cursed facts about sharks 😂 such as tiger sharks (and others) regurgitating their entire stomachs to remove indigestible objects and baby white sharks eating so many unfertilised eggs produced by their mothers in utero that their stomachs do...this

an illustration of a juvenile white shark in utero that has eaten so many unfertilised eggs produced by its mother that its stomach has massively distended beyond its body, from the book Shark: The Illustrated Biography by Daniel C. Abel and Sophie A. Maycock

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Jul 14

✨🌌🦈 Happy release day TSWBOO! 🌌✨🦈 can't wait to dive in!

a blåhaj shark sitting on a cream chenille armchair, holding a Kindle e-reader with Lizzie Blackwood's The Stars Will Be Our Ocean loaded on it

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Jul 1

✨🌌😎🌌✨

a screenshot showing that The Stars Will Be Our Ocean by Lizzie Blackwood has been preordered for Kindle

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Jun 26

excuse

a screenshot of a weather app showing a current temperature of 33°C that feels like 37°C

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· May 29

several of my writer friends have commissioned @/roscheriart and the results are always fantastic! @/iliibra is my personal go-to, here are some pieces I've gotten from them! @hadiyahsama.bsky.social, do you have any more recommendations?

a digital drawing of a white-haired teen boy and a pink-haired non-binary teen

a digital drawing of a white-haired white boy and an Asian girl with short black hair, back to back as they fight skeletal vampires in a tunnel

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· May 25

doing a spot of research... (seriously, this book is fantastic 🦈)

a medium-sized blåhaj on a blue sofa, reading "Shark: The Illustrated Biography" by Daniel C. Abel and Sophie A. Maycock

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Apr 23

happy birthday to Sam, MC of my ever-incomplete Alien WIP! 👽🥳 I don't usually give my characters birthdays but 23rd April is Sam's—theirs is the story I struggle the most to write, so maybe that's why they deserve this day of celebration 😅 and maybe this year I'll figure out their story...

a mood board with paranormal, alien conspiracy imagery

a marker and ink drawing of a pink-haired enby teen holding a torch in the dark

a pink-haired short Lego figure holding up a Lego rendition of the poster from Mulder's office in the X-Files: I Want To Believe

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Mar 14

I went into town to get a birthday present for a friend and ended up picking up a present for me, too...this needle-felted mandrake stopped me in my tracks because he's just so abominably cute!!! my sister, however, thinks he's creepy...he seems to be divisive 😂

a smiling needle-felted mandrake in a small plant pot

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Feb 14

hoping this will help me maintain productivity 😤

a photo of a candle from The Starlight Library with a beautiful teal label with mermaids and the words MERMAID LAGOON, scented with saltwater and exotic florals. in a caption, I explain how I work better with a scented candle lit and this candle is a gift to myself for when I work on Sharkfinn

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Jan 20

the rest of my doll clothes order arrived! here's Josie wearing her cute brown skirt 🥹 she's so adorable I can't 😭 I can't wait to try the other outfits on her, I might have to alter one of them to make it fit her giant feet 😂 now I just have to get my camera repaired! 😤

an obitsu doll with short dark brown hair, green eyes and bunny ears. she has an orange and green headband with a yellow bow on it and an orange flower in her hair. sitting on a shelf, she wears a yellow sweater with a white collar and pink bow, and a dark brown skirt with an off-white lacy trim. she has white lacy bands around her large bunny feet.

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Jan 15

the first of the doll clothes have arrived! some underwear (not pictured, of course) so that she finally has some modesty when wearing skirts or dresses 😅 and this really cute sweater that matches her yellow theme! (picture cropped because she has nothing to wear on her bottom half...yet)

an obitsu doll with short dark brown hair, green eyes and a roguish expression. she has brown and yellow bunny ears and a yellow bow on an orange and green headband in her hair, along with an orange flower.

she is wearing a yellow sweater with a white oversized collar and a large pink ribbon. a white cat decal is on the sweater with the word SWEET in pink below

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Jan 1

I can get behind this. dysphoria and grief have teamed up to attack me at the beginning of this year, so I'm ready to attack it back 🐺

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Dec 24

errands: complete time to get festive 😈

a photo of the book cover for Candy Cain Kills Again: The Second Slaying on a Kindle e-reader, which is being held up in front of a decorated Christmas tree

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Dec 21

wishing everyone a bright solstice 🌅 let us leave our troubles in the darkness and look ahead to the light

a photo of some frost-covered leaves backlit by a weak winter sun

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Dec 12

this is so cute! I got a seagull, which I'm delighted with because the deranged screaming of seagulls never fails to amuse me 🍟 I name him Stephen 🥰

an illustration of a gacha machine with an open blue gacha capsule in the foreground, a charm of a seagull with a life ring and some chips in newspaper having emerged from the capsule

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Dec 8

all set for a night in with the family, catching up on The War Between the Land and the Sea 😋 festive flavours are from @jenkinsemporium.bsky.social 🍫

three bars of festively-flavoured Jenkins Emporium chocolate held up in front of a Christmas tree decorated with white and silver tinsel and blue and orange baubles

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Dec 2

thank you for posting this Azi, this seems fun! I did NOT realise that the first three chapters of Tithe all end in dialogue 😂 #amquerying

Chapter One. "You're going undercover, kid." - Jace

Chapter Two. "You're gonna be the one playing school here, kid," Jace muttered back. "Now stop your daydreaming and pay attention."

Chapter Three. "At Edgewater, we value vocational studies just as much as academic ones—I'm sure you'll find the facilities more than to your liking..." - Wentworth

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Nov 30

WHAT

a screenshot of the Clues by Sam landing page for the 30th November 2025 showing the puzzle's difficulty as "Evil"

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Nov 20

DESPICABLE

a screenshot of a weather app showing clear weather with a temperature of -2°C but feels like -6°C

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Nov 18

just finished reading Candy Cain Kills by Brian McAuley...what a book!!! a bloody, gutsy slasher with heart 🫀 and some very creative deaths, one of which had me like...

a meme of a stick person leaning so far away from their computer screen with a disturbed look on their face that their neck is five times as long as their body

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Nov 5

Enby teen Sam is supposed to put cryptids & conspiracies behind them. But when bestie Katie starts acting weird, Sam knows the cult on the edge of town is to blame. The only one who'll help them prove it is Casper, who's from the cult himself. Can Sam trust him to save Katie? #QuestPit #YA #W #H

The words "A Guide to The Langley Conspiracy by Arlen Ren" over a background of a gap in a chain link fence in a woodland. a silhouette of a UFO hovers in a gap in the trees.

Non-binary teen Sam is on their last warning. Their bully has been excluded from school, but they're having to resit the year. They're separated from their best friend, Katie - but she's barely spoken to them all summer, anyway.
Back at St. Jean's Catholic High School, Sam finds out why.
While Sam was ditching classes, kids from the commune on the edge of town joined the school, forming the mysterious "Astral Club" whose badge is pinned to Katie's lapel. Sam knows that Katie's weird behaviour must be linked to this "club", but no-one else seems to think there's a problem. No-one apart from Casper, the boy from the commune who's set on helping Sam investigate the conspiracy at the heart of St. Jean's.

character art of a white-haired boy with light brown skin drinking from a straw, and a disgruntled-looking white enby with pink hair. under the white-haired boy (Casper) are the words "what does he want?!", and above the picture of the pink-haired enby (Sam) are the words "hi, I'm Sam". themes are listed on the page: YA Paranormal, non-binary MC, "I want to believe", friendship breakup, queer refusal to conform.

a moodboard alluding to UFOs, disappearances, conspiracy maps, with two inspiration pieces of media linked to it via arrows: the X-Files and Twilight (yes, Twilight. I know. I KNOW.)

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Nov 5

Foundling Finn has a secret: he's terrified of sharks. When raiders attack his shark-loving community, he's the last person who can help. But when a terrifying-looking sand tiger shark shares its bond with him, he must venture across the Aedenic Ocean to reunite his shoal. #QuestPit #YA #W #F 🦈✨

a picture of a blåhaj pasted over a photo of the ocean, with the words "the complete guide to Sharkfinn by Arlen Ren" and "a YA eco-fantasy" with yellow sparkles

Pitch: When 15yo foundling Finn skips the age-old threshing ceremony, the resulting shark bite costs him his future as an atlaesi, protector of the shoal. But when raiders attack his home and its sharks, Finn must team up with fellow survivors Makina - and the terrifying-looking sand tiger shark whose anima he now apparently shares - to reunite their community and save their sharks.

As they venture across the vast beauty of the Nation of the Waves, they discover that the raiders' reign of terror extends far beyond their own tiny shoal, and that if they are to stop them, they must go to depths none would ever have believed possible.

Excerpt: The gentle waves lapped at the lone raftway that stuck out from all the others, right at the edge of the shoal's outer structures. At its end was the threshing pool. Finn's heart beat harder as he approached it, his legs starting to wobble. The sea lurched on either side of him, the water night-black and infinitely deep, the moonlight reduced to a glimmering sheen that gilded it. The submerged pool stretched to beyond where he could see its borders, with even the closest of its posts barely visible at all.

As if in response to Finn's presence, several fins broke the water.

Read if you like...The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke and Exodus by Julie Bertagna; animal companions, the magic of nature, epic adventure and eco fantasy. YA for younger teens!

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Nov 5

Twins Kyra and Kaden don't talk about what happened over the summer. But as their classmates disappear into the Pines, they have to start facing up to their problems before they're next. The issue is, they don't know who to trust—not even each other. Not even themselves. #QuestPit #YA #W #H

a photo of pine trees surrounding a river, with the writing "a guide to The Killer of Canderley Creek by Arlen Ren" over it

Kyra and Kaden Hawkins have had the summer from Hell. Kicked out by their mum, they've rejoined their dad in the town they grew up in, Canderley Creek, where two neighbourhoods straddle the estuary: the prosperous Pines and downtrodden Tides. Nothing has changed.

Except for the twins.

Now, as their classmates disappear into the woods, they have no-one to turn to, no-one to trust. Not even each other. Not even themselves.

YA Horror WIP

two chibi portraits of the main characters: a white gay trans boy with white hair with black bangs, and a white bi cis girl with black hair in bunches with white bangs. over a background of pine needles are the following themes: dual POV, horror whodunit, unreliable narrators, finding literal monsters instead of facing your problems, small town setting, there's something lurking beneath the earth

Comp titles and themes: Fear Street by RL Stone, Good Girls Die First by Kathryn Foxfield, Bad Creek by Peyton June. Ancient malignant entities! Horror where you don't know who you can trust! Creepy forest/creek settings!

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Nov 5

He's the only thing standing between college students and certain death. Unfortunately, teen monster hunter Daniel is responsible for more civilian deaths than monster kills, and unless he can find the key to a power he doesn't believe in, his new friends will pay the price... #QuestPit #YA #Q #UF

a picture of two teenage monster hunters - a white boy with white hair and an Asian girl with black and blonde hair - by artist iLiibra, next to the title "An Agent's Guide to The Tithe That Binds by Arlen Ren"

YA. Paranormal. 78k.

When an inept teen monster hunter is sent undercover to a prestigious college, he's horrified to discover that he's the only thing standing between its students and certain death. Failing to find his power, he instead finds a girl with powers she shouldn't have...who he shouldn't be falling for.

Longlisted in the 2024 Times Chicken House competition.

It was crouched on the edge of the building, instantly recognisable by its ashen skin and lipless mouth, eyeless sockets and gleaming fangs.

Vampire.

For fans of Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski, and First Kill by V.E. Schwab. Shared themes are monsters drawn to hunters, forbidden feelings, action-packed fight sequences and a secret monster-hunting society.

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Oct 30

When an inept teen monster hunter goes undercover to a prestigious college, he's horrified at how he's the only thing between its students and death. Failing to find his power, he instead finds an ally in a girl with powers she shouldn't have...who he shouldn't be falling for. #GhostPit #Q #YA #PN

a moodboard showing: a white boy with dyed white hair looking moody and mysterious; a red thread bisecting a white throat; a hand holding a wooden stake aloft; a brown-skinned girl with glowing amber eyes looking upwards; a hazy rendering of a classical painting with the words WE ARE NOT DESCENDANTS OF FEARFUL MEN overlaid; a skeletal snarling vampire

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Oct 28

first thing I did when I woke up this morning was sync my Kindle and there it was 😎 cannot wait to sink my teeth into it!

a screenshot of a Kindle showing the book Familiar by Cara Nox

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Oct 14

Creek WIP has two MCs, Kaden (left, he/him) and Kyra (right, she/her) - the incredible character art is by @iliibra.bsky.social ✨ they're twins who've had the summer from hell, kicked out by their mum and rejoining their dad in their childhood town of Canderley Creek... (1/2) #LGBTQWriteAThon

a chibi portrait of a white boy on a green background. he has dyed white hair in a wolf cut, with the lower layers and bangs undyed black. he has a silver septum piercing and black stud earrings, and is wearing a black hoodie.

a chibi portrait of a white girl on a green background. she has short black hair tied in bunches and white bangs framing her face. she has a silver nose ring and large silver hoop earrings, and is wearing a fluffy jumper over a mesh top. she wears a black choker around her neck.

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Oct 13

😎

the words THE FINAL GIRL in all white caps over a black and red background

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Oct 13

I skipped this prompt yesterday because I'd used my one good mention of the weather in an earlier prompt reply...but then I wrote something that just about fits this theme this morning, so I thought, why not share 🤷🏻 #LGBTQWriteAThon

a snippet against a dark background of trees with a scratchy effect. the snippet reads: "The wind picked up, freeing loose strands from around Kyra's face, and suddenly she was in the dark again, pine needles brushing her skin, something sharp on the air. She blinked, the weak light of the overcast day blinding to her. She dropped her face to the ground."

arlen ren ✨@arlenrenwrites· Oct 11

LITERALLY 🫠