#what's your name little dragon

[selkies-world]

Buy "Stars: Defied"

Buy "What's your name, little dragon?"

[selkies-world]

See, this is why I keep trying different ways to market my books. This attitude. And it's why my marketing is still all over the place.

Because one of my books is a cutesy one for little kids & for parents to approve of. It's about a baby dragon and found family. It's about finding where you belong and making mistakes along the way, and it's about self-acceptance and self-love. It's about recognising the beauty in being different and realising that actually, looking the same as those around you doesn't necessarily mean you belong with them. Maybe you belong in the place where nobody looks the same as you, but they treat you as their equal, because they don't give a flying fuck if you're a dragon who hops like a bird and flies like a bat and barks like a racoon and headbutts trees like a deer and fishes like a bear and sticks your tongue out like a snake, because that's all you and they love you for you. It's about accepting yourself and your quirks. Yes, it's aimed at queer families and queer kids, and yes, it's aimed at trans kids and trans families. Yes, it's based on how I acted out when I was questioning my gender & denying who I was. Yes it's a paralel of my own experiences because they're the most honest part of myself that I know are the most human experiences a person can have and yes, the best way I know to get that across to kids and families is by dressing it up as a dragon that's abandoned then adopted by a whole forest of queer animals.

But if I say all of that??? Hah. No chance - people scroll past with an eye roll, or they think that's too complicated for a child to understand and turn their nose up at it.

So what do I have to say instead?

"Hey, wanna read a cute story about a little dragon who has always thought he's the only dragon in the whole world, before learning there's a whole land of other dragons and soon learns the value of family and friends when he has to make a very big decision?"

Does it cheapen it? Yes. Does it make me sound like a sales assistant selling reduced sale items that are about to go out of season? Yes.

Does it work? Also yes. Because unless it is about something they are interested in, people do not give attention to long-ass posts.

Meanwhile, my other book is for older teens and adults who read YA, and it's about 2 socialites, 1 with a very public drug addiction & 1 with a future waiting on a silver platter for him to scoop up if he follows in his strict Catholic father's footsteps. It has graphic drug use and implied gay sex scenes & referenced past sex scenes and dozens of sex references. It has pages upon pages of swearing and cussing and anxiety spirals and did I mention the drugs? It's not full of eloquent prose, because one main protagonist spends 95% of his on-page time off his face or in withdrawal, surrounded by other addicts, and the other protagonist is having a crisis over questioning his faith and his sexuality which he's been feeling guilty about for years. And sometimes writing isn't about being eloquent and graceful and poetic; sometimes it's about portraying a character as accurately as possible, and when that character is in his early 20's with everything in his world getting turned on its head while he's off his, that means writing 20 variations of the word fuck across a 250 word spread with different intonation each time.

"But what's it really about?"

It's a book about being newly 20-something and being thrown into the world of adulthood with 0 training, because schools do not teach you how to adult & social media worships youth and surface-level naivity and beauty over information and morals. It's about not knowing shit about anything other than everything you know you don't know shit about, while society rolls its eyes and looks down its nose at you for not magically knowing everything they learned from literal decades of life experience and mistakes that you haven't had the privilege of making yet. It's about love and friendship and toxic patterns and toxic relationships and breaking the cycle of abuse. It's about discovering and exploring yourself. It's about rediscovering the world around you. It's about reevaluating your entire fucking life and values and questioning beliefs you've held your whole life because they're the ones your parents raised you with and it's about separating your own identity from the 2D version of you that your parents and friends expect you to be, and the fact all of that is beyond terrifying.

But if I say that? Nobody cares. Or if they do, it's to say its too much.

So instead, what do I say?

"Hey, wanna read a YA romance book about gay guys meeting at a rave & falling head over heels for each other, having 1 date in a cemetery and practically getting engaged after knowing each other for 3 days?"

"Hey, hey, hey, wanna read a modern, gay version of Romeo and Juliet, with a twist ending?"

Because that is what will make people click to buy the book.

But you know what else sells books? Fandoms.

Anyone who's studied marketing will tell you that the best, most effective way to sell something is to have a community force driving it. In the world of books, that community is fandoms.

It's tumblr goblins and trash pandas and trash puppies and possums. It's people whose one fear is you seeing what's in their doc files. It's people who hyperfixate on a comfort character. It's people who kin. It's people who celebrate fictional characters' birthdays. It's people who dress up as their favourite character for Halloween or cosplay, even if nobody else will get the reference. It's people who, when you ask them what their favourite book is about, break into a soul-deep cold sweat & laugh nervously because they can't describe the plot without either incriminating themselves, exposing something deeply personal or sounding like an absolute whackadoodle.

It's fandoms and stans and everyone you call cringe.

The books that do best are the ones with characters who have been adopted by fandoms. Those are the books that have people writing soliloquy after soliloquy about tiny, miniscule plot details. Those are the books that spread like wildflowers to new readers and gain a life of their own. Those are the books that get more and more traction. Those are the books that get good ratings. Those are the books that are more than a book; they're stories.

Word of mouth used to be enough. Advertising in newspapers and magazines used to be enough. Advertising on TV used to be enough. A poster or banner used to be enough. Simply being placed on a shelf in a bookstore used to be enough. But it's the 21st cursed century, and nobody uses bookstores, and nobody talks to each other anymore.

So yeah, I'll make memes about my books & characters. I'll make my own art and podt it online with tagsyou think are cringey. I'll tag my stuff with fandom-esque etiquette. Because I know - from a life of growing up online and of growing up in those fandom spaces - that the authors who have the comfiest thrones are the ones presiding over fandoms of trash puppies burning garbage in a scrapyard while howling and hissing in 7.5 dialects of trashyard all at once. It's the authors who created characters which people adopted as their blorbos and meow-meows.

So yes, I will market my books as if the characters in them are already blorbos and precious little meow-meows. Because I know I need people to adopt them as exactly that - and for others to see them as problematic faves and soft boys and wet boys and sad boys and babygirls - for my books to do well enough for me to be able to live on those earnings.

Because I don't get paid by the hour, or per word. I don't get paid a set price for every 10k words I write and edit, and I don't get paid per creation. I get paid a percentage per book sold.

And the best way to ensure books sell is to have a community talking about them online across multiple social media platforms.

If that means I have to drag my own blanket and snacks up onto the roof of a car in this scrapyard and throw a Molotov cocktail into a trash can by myself and wait for someone to come over, wondering what the light and smoke is for, then so be it. Because that is what makes people care about a character or a book enough to bother reading posts about them for long enough to get to the author's link. That is what makes people give a rats ass about anything an author creates.

If you you really hate the way authors have to market our books these days, do us a favour and do it for us, because each time our marketing gets complained about, we lose potential buyers.

☆ My Books ☆

Before you bitch about how authors are marketing their books, do this one thing:

Shut the fuck up unless you are volunteering to do all the labor required to market a book, because it's really fucking hard, people don't pay attention to posts about original content 90% of the fucking time, and giving a short, pithy teaser is how book marketing fucking works. Click the links and read the full book description if you want to know more.

Seriously, shut the fuck up.

[puppyeared]

my attempt at making a fursona

[chiropteracupola]

"Are you finished with my portrait yet? Show me!" "Cipacton, I can't draw you if you keep moving!"

[vaguely-concerned]

spite plays with the whetstones when lucanis cleans his knives oh my god... 🥺🥺🥺

(also the thing they're doing here with 'trauma will create a tantruming toddler in your head that refuses to settle for anything but total truth and authenticity and won't be bought off with bullshit or banished by abuse or neglect, you have to actually listen and care for it even when it's being ugly'......... they are cooking with this metaphor and it's also consistently so hilarious in action I can't fucking believe they laid off mary kirby for so many reasons but this is one of them. I also like the complexity of the relationship here -- even right at the beginning of the arc lucanis has some tenderness for and understanding of spite's fundamental innocence in having been put in this situation too, for all the resentment and fear and frustration that's also there. and if spite didn't actively force him to every step of the way I don't think lucanis would ever have actually faced up to and acknowledged the fact that he has y'know. the actual needs of a human being and can't persist on coffee and workaholism alone. it fucking sucks that all of this happened. but also. there's a crack in everything that's how the light gets in etc. like. god. okay then I guess)

[steamedlotusroot]

reminder that ao guang, dragon king of the east sea, has a son and a daughter named “third kid” and “dragon girl” respectively

[aldoodles]

April - Connect

[multishipperbish]

i don't know how this would work vis-à-vis the island at all lmao. maybe some metaphor about how the dragonets of destiny are forced to fix the war alone even though they're kids ++ something about the LOTF kids being. kids. whatever. i just wanted to draw some dragons chat. close ups under cut cause i'm proud of these dragons finally

[which-qsmp-egg-would]

Poll's Origin Story (kind of)

Stardust wanders. That's their whole thing. They are a spirit, or more accurately an... entity? Minor deity? It's a little complicated, but what is important is that they wander, and they wander wherever they want. One day, they ended up in just the right place at the right time.

That little egg that Stardust found ended up being Poll, Of course.

It's a little hard to glean how long Poll was in the Federation labs and why they were made. Like many of the other eggs, Poll doesn't talk about what happened (if they remember at all) and generally pretends like it never happened. As far as they could figure out though, Poll had gone through all the testing and was in storage until the right set of islanders arrived.

Having spent their entire life surrounded by Federation employees, Poll's dragon form was *very* different from what it is today, to say the least.

After spending a little while around Stardust, their form changed to the one we know and love! Although since their papa is a shapeshifter too, their form resembles the dragons their genetics are from instead of their papa.

[ferberus-skull]

Look hard at my stripes. There'll be no more after me.

[fantasymoongirl999]

Omg why did no one tell me about Ninjago????

I swear the fandom and this show have me in a chokehold!!!

I'm over here close to tears on the couch watching a show made for 7 years olds and hysterically yelling “Just let the child have his father!”

Like duuuude!!

I was obsessed with the movie when it came out, how in the world did I not know there was a whole 15 seasons of this??? And apparently an entire new series??? Huh????

Literally these past few months I have done nothing but unhing my jaw and Kirby slurp Ninjago content. (You fanfiction writers are amazing!! You guys have single handedly ruined my sleep schedule and have infested my mind!) My friends are so tired of hearing me talk about this dumb show, but my gosh I will not give this up until they join me!!

[redbootsindoriath]

Whichever anon sent me this today, thank you. There's no way you could have known, but a couple of days ago I suddenly and without warning lost a cat that I raised from the day he was born. When I saw this in my inbox I was confused at first, because what...checkmark...huh...but then I realized that it meant somebody had sent me something--out of the blue, just because--at a time that I really could use something good in my life, even something silly and fun. So, really, thank you. And green is my favorite "real" color, so having one of the checkmarks be green is pretty neat.

I've not really been able to draw anything worth anything lately, believe it or not, so here's the last picture I have of my Night Furry. He loved drives and walks, so earlier this summer on a road trip I took him to the top of the continental divide for a little hike.

(Yes, he's wearing a harness. He had an adventurous and independent temperament, so there was always a risk of him running off to explore someplace where he shouldn't go alone. I didn't just make him wear it because I'm a cruel and stifling cat butler.)

[nartml]

i miss my little brother

[morganaseren]

Hi there, hope you are well? For the prompts thing, Niamh and Leliana for no.17? And Bethany and Niamh no.6?

Prompt #17 - almost kissing. but somebody walks in. “HOLY FUCK, ABOUT TIME THIS HAPPENS! I’M SO SORRY, PLEASE CONTINUE-” they grab your jaw and kiss you infront of them.

AU: Where It's Just You and Me

"Leliana?" Niamh's wintry-grey eyes were wide with absolute disbelief upon opening the door of her penthouse only to see her standing on the other side. Leliana could hardly blame her. She saw then how those dark brows furrowed immediately with concern. "What in the world are you doing here? All the news outlets said you cancelled the remainder of your tour due to a sudden bout of illness! You should be recuperating! Why would you risk your health this—"

And then Niamh's words were lost as Leliana closed the distance between them. Reverently, she cupped the other woman's face between her hands, drawing a soft gasp from her as Leliana led them back further into the living space.

"If I was ill of anything, it was heartsickness," she confessed. "I've been going out of my mind for weeks because I've missed you so much." Her voice broke on the last few words, and in an attempt to seek solace, Leliana pressed her forehead against her lover's. Like a balm, the gesture caused the aching fatigue in her bones to simply melt away. "I was on the stage, yes, but my heart was here with you."

"I've missed you too," Niamh whispered in turn. "You linger in my thoughts like no other ever has, but I feared admitting so would have kept you from pursuing your dreams."

"They are not so fragile that I cannot share them with you. There will be more tours," she reassured. "Much as you showed your world to me, I wish to show you mine, and, if you'd be agreeable to such a thing, we can build upon our dreams together." This close to Niamh, Leliana could also see the way her eyes softened with such affection at her words.

"Together then," Niamh promised, pressing one of her hands over her own as she leaned into her touch.

Leliana smiled broadly at that, and she ducked her head just the barest bit, but it was enough for her to catch Niamh's eyes dilating with clear interest. Before her lips could touch hers, however—

"Niamh!" came a cheerful, bellowing voice that startled them both out of their moment as they turned in the direction of the still open doorway, listening to the voice coming from down the hall. "Your favorite sister in all Thedas has arrived, and I've come bearing my personal remedy for heartache in the form of wine, ice cream, and a plethora of snacks to clog your arteries along with any thoughts of woe!"

Saoirse's towering form appeared in the doorway then, but her arms were laden with so many bags that it was impossible for them both to see the other woman's face and vice versa. As such, Saoirse continued speaking, unaware of what she'd interrupted.

"Truthfully, I thought I'd never have a chance to do this for you." She chuckled. "You take your role as a museum director so seriously that I half-considered the building to be my in-law at this point! I suppose that would make family gatherings rather... amusing, now wouldn't it?"

And Leliana couldn't help but bite her lip upon seeing Niamh's expression of absolute suffering at her sister's humor.

"Hah! See what I did there?" Saoirse crowed, basking in her own wit. "Amusing! Because it sounds like a museum! Oh, and thanks for leaving the door open by the way! It was a pain in the arse just trying to press the buttons in the elevator, and I nearly—"

"Saoirse," Niamh finally deadpanned in response.

"Hm?" The other woman paused in her tracks then, lowering her arms enough that they could finally see her over the veritable mountain of bags she was carrying. Grey eyes—a darker pair from the ones she adored—blinked then as Saoirse took in the scene before her gaze widened in sudden realization.

"Oh. Oh! It's happening!" She nodded decisively. "Right then! Act like I'm not here! Pretend I'm a phantom of the night if you must! A feather swaying soundlessly in the breeze! A mere figment of your imagination!"

Yet, despite Saoirse's claims, there was little missing the way in which the woman loudly trampled past them to likely offload the bags in the kitchen. As she did, Niamh grasped the lapels of Leliana's leather jacket to pull her closer. Such unexpected initiative pleased her, and Leliana smiled before ducking her head again to—

"Niamh! Why is your freezer so full?! I don't have any place to put the ice cream!"

Confused, Leliana looked over Niamh's shoulder to see that Saoirse had poked her head out of the entrance to the kitchen. As for her lover, Leliana had to stifle her laughter, for she had never seen Niamh look so aggravated. The other woman sighed as she closed her eyes, likely tempering her patience with her older sister.

"Saoirse, more than half the content in there is yours from your shopping spree last week after complaining that you couldn't find anything close to those items in the Free Marches."

"Oh, right." She blinked owlishly before looking down at the tubs of ice cream in her arms.

"I'm so sorry," Niamh mouthed to Leliana then, but she merely shook her head in amusement, unbothered. Satisfied that they weren't to be interrupted again, however, Niamh released one of lapels of her jacket to slide her hand up to her neck, where she cupped the back of it, drawing her closer—

"Well, since these are gonna melt before you two lovebirds manage to peel yourselves away from one another, I'm just going to take all the ice cream to your theater room and eat them."

"Saoirse!" Niamh responded back in a rare snap as she looked over her shoulder, well and truly annoyed now.

"What?! Don't you know it's bad to refreeze melted ice cream if it's been sitting out for too long? I'm trying to be considerate!"

Before an argument could occur, Leliana caught Niamh's jaw between her fingers before pulling her in by the waist. She caught the brief look of surprise in those pale eyes before Leliana tilted her lover's chin up and pressed her lips against hers.

Oh, Maker, how she had missed the absolute taste of her... --- Prompt #6 - “do you want to dance?” they lean against the doorframe, a pause before walking towards you with a fond smile, “if you insist.”

AU: Where Love is More Than Just Your Name

They'd both met when they were merely children, and at the time, Bethany had thought Niamh was the prettiest girl she had ever seen. Then, after having grown up beside her over the course of a decade, she'd been more than convinced Niamh was now the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

But then Niamh had turned that thought on its head—in that quiet, understated way of hers—upon winning Highever's annual spear tournament.

Besides receiving an assortment of prizes and accolades, the victor would also be awarded a bouquet of roses. As a matter of tradition, the individual flowers within it could be given to people the victor recognized as having supported them throughout the tournament. How many roses were given away was up to individual discretion, but upon receiving the bouquet, Niamh had simply walked up to where Bethany had been waiting in the stands with the rest of their friends and family.

She could still remember the way her heart pounded upon seeing the captivating smile on Niamh's lips before the other woman presented her with the entire bouquet. Bethany had never blushed harder than she had that afternoon after Niamh had spoke but a single sentence:

"I gift this to the most breathtaking woman in all Highever."

As was typical with the aftermath of every tournament, the entire teyrnir had erupted into absolute merriment. Food, drink, and dance filled the streets in abundance, and such festivities would likely continue until dawn.

She and Niamh had wandered through the various stalls with their respective siblings to search through wares and taste the treats only available during the annual event. The entire time, Niamh had remained steadfast at her side, much to the envy of every man and woman, whom had tried so earnestly to win both the heart and favor of the youngest Cousland.

Bethany studiously ignored the knowing grin on her older sister's face, especially as Niamh wrapped an arm around her waist as she helped to navigate them through a thicker section of the crowd.

Night soon descended upon Highever, and with it came the Harvest Dance out in the main courtyard of Cousland Castle. Isabela had drawn her out as a partner as a means of distracting her when Niamh had momentarily left to play hostess to the visiting Teyrn Loghain and his daughter Anora. Of the latter, both she and Niamh had practically been friends upon birth, and for a time, Bethany was sure only someone of noble birth like Anora would be worthy of Niamh.

But, if anything, she had long learned that Niamh could still surprise her in the most unexpected of ways.

"Alright, Sweetness. I can see that I can't hold a candle to the attention you're so desperately trying to give dear Bright Eyes over there." Isabela said, startling Bethany out of her thoughts, especially as the other woman let go of her hands. Her sister's lover was smiling, however, apparently not the least bit offended. "Go and grab your sweetheart. I'm sure she's just as eager to spend time with you."

And with a bump of a hip against hers, Bethany found herself stumbling in the direction of Niamh, who was still talking with Anora while her father had opted to go up and greet Highever's Teyrn and Teyrna at the raised dais. Anora had spotted Bethany before Niamh did, but that was to be expected, considering the other woman's back was currently turned to her. With a smile, Anora said something to Niamh, who looked curiously over her shoulder then. There was little mistaking the smile that blossomed across her face as those grey eyes met hers. Bethany also wasn't entirely sure how Niamh could make something so simple as leaning against a wall look so... attractive, but she abruptly shook such thoughts from her head before gathering up her courage.

"Do you want to dance?" she asked hopefully.

Bethany's heart fluttered as the other woman's crossed arms fell back to her sides, especially as she saw the red fabric of her scarf displayed so prominently around Niamh's bicep. Niamh had worn it much like a trophy all day, and for a woman like Niamh, who rarely wore such accessories, anyone who saw it recognized the gesture for what it was:

Niamh's heart was now spoken for.

She swallowed nervously as Niamh casually pushed herself off the wall before walking toward her. At that moment, Bethany swore she'd never tire of the way Niamh looked at her then.

"A dance with you?" She grinned winsomely before offering her hand. "Always."

[selkies-world]

What's your name, little dragon?

Once, there was a very strange egg. Nobody knew who it belonged to.

When a little dragon hatched from the egg, everyone was even more confused!

Unable to find the dragon's parents, the birds, bats, bugs, and all the other animals in the forest decided to work together and raise the little dragon themselves!

But there's just one thing: the little dragon doesn't know his own name.

The other animals try to help, but only a dragon can name another dragon.

But with no other dragons in the forest, the little dragon has to choose his own name.

Suddenly, the little dragon has a very big decision to make!

What's your name, little dragon? is the first book in the Essentia Forest series for children. All of the books are pitched at 3-7 year olds (a 3 year old would need it read to them, a 5 year old would need help reading it, a 7 years old would be able to read it by themselves).

What's your name, little dragon? deals with the struggle of self-identity & self-acceptance - something queer children and families often struggle with. It features nontraditional family dynamics, and a fun cast of adorable characters who children and adults can relate to.

Check it out on Amazon here, or at any of the links above ♡

...........................

To all of the proofreaders & dragon experts who helped out with this book: thank you, and I'm sorry it took so long!

[dirt-str1der]

I literally had a dream about reading the worst fan fiction like fucking ever kiryu was just randomly a yandere and nishiki was trying his best to survive also kiryu turned into a dragon (deez nuts) halfway and let nishiki kill him for being a bad boy but he was so upset about having to kill his bro that he just lay in the corpse for a bit and thats when i decided to stop reading and i literally opened tumblr in my dream to complain about how bad it was like the writing went back and forth from being terrible to incredible and i found myself enjoying some parts and despising others. I skipped the first few chapters so i had to tab back out and read the summary like why are they in a beach resort and the summary didnt just tell me nothing but it was also double spaced between each line and very fucking irritating and while reading it i kept thinking this is extremely ooc and boring like they would not fucking say that