Tessera

Lena Cole

@lenacole.bsky.social

Fashion historian and romance writer! Read my sapphic Cinderella retelling, The Happy Secret of It All: https://books2read.com/u/470Rd7

87 Posts68 Follower 340 Folgt

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · yesterday

I'm aspec, and the way I write romance is strongly influenced by that: my characters tend to be *fascinated* at first sight. Something about them seems unexpected and charming, and that leads each character to spend more time on the other. #SumLuv

📚 Ellie Rhymer! Spaceships and Scoundrels 📚@ellieyellu.bsky.social · 2d ago

Meet cutes don't have to be "cute"! They are a plot device 🧡 But! Let's talk about how they DO feel about each other early on! Is it fairytale love? Is it *lust* at first sight? Hate at first sight? All?? Snips here are welcome (always welcome if you want to answer anything with a snip) 🧡 #SumLuv

Romance Writers Summer of Love #SumLuv @EllieYellu Day 3: Love at First Sight. Do they fall in love at first sight, or does it take them a little longer?

Moby Dick @mobydickatsea.bsky.social · 2d ago

Damn me, but all things are queer, come to think of ’em.

Ellie Lieberman @ellielieberman.bsky.social · 3d ago

2- #SumLuv- Wilhelmina Nightingale is the ward of her kind uncle, who has 3 daughters younger than her. She has been with his family since she was young, treating her as one of their own. A friend of her uncle's offers to sponsor one of his daughters in the ton - 1/4

📚 Ellie Rhymer! Spaceships and Scoundrels 📚@ellieyellu.bsky.social · 4d ago

Who are you writing about? What makes a romantic story about them interesting? Note there will not be a character art or face cast prompt, so feel free to do that here if you'd like! Don't forget alt text for images if you post them. #SumLuv

Romance Writers Summer of Love #SumLuv @EllieYellu Day 2: Character Introductions. Who are your romantic leads?

Iosefka DV is in the mines 🏳️‍⚧️@seffydv.bsky.social · 2d ago

Archetypes are something we fall back on by the nature of subconscious mental associations built up through generations of art and human interaction. They're baselines extrapolated by mental associations. You'll play off them even when you aren't trying to, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · 2d ago

At the beginning of Happy Secret, Patience and Will have a meet cute in the palace garden - but it's a spin on the classic Cinderella tropes, since it's a quiet and private moment rather than the traditional ballroom + first dance. #SumLuv

“Sorry,” said the person in a mellow alto tone, and she realized that they were a woman. “Didn’t mean to give you a scare.”

“It’s … it’s fine.” Her heart was still hammering, but it was slowing down as she breathed.

The other woman cocked her head as she took Patience in, even going so far as to fix a monocle in her right eye. That was downright unsettling. What did she think about what she saw? To distract herself, Patience took a bite of a strawberry tartlet, only for the crust to crumble in her glove and her palm to be filled with custard. Typical, truly typical.

📚 Ellie Rhymer! Spaceships and Scoundrels 📚@ellieyellu.bsky.social · 3d ago

"In which somebody runs into somebody else, and then something falls, and they begin to talk, and their eyes meet and they realize they are attracted to one another" —Rodger Ebert Do you have a classic one? Or one that passes 😆 Did you avoid altogether? Snips welcome! #SumLuv

Romance Writers Summer of Love #SumLuv @EllieYellu Day 3: The Meet Cute. How do you feel about it? Do you have one?

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · 2d ago

Hot take, but I think archetype/trope talk gets under people's skins due to insecurity that they're being called unoriginal. The fact is that originality comes from what you do with those tropes, how you flesh them out and make them more complex.

DD Ward ..."Sapphic Dr. DOOM"@ddwardiswriting.bsky.social · 3d ago

Apparently Day 2 of #AugCharWork provoked some ruffled feathers. Some people felt strongly that characters shouldn't adhere to any archetypes. I'm going drop a hot take here. Your favorite characters are built from archetypes. ALL. CHARACTERS. ARE. BUILT. FROM. ARCHETYPES. They are story DNA.

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · 2d ago

I don't have the exact word, so I've got to go with a synonym today. #WIPSnips #WriteSky

“Of course,” she said, and registered an sharp rise in giddiness when Catherine’s smile widened in satisfaction and excitement. “Anything you like.” When they went back out to the carriage, she ordered the coachman to St. James Street, and luxuriated in the way that Catherine very nearly laid her head on her shoulder as he drove.

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 3d ago

Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips! The word for August 3rd is "thrill" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
August 2 - thrill
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · 3d ago

My novella, The Happy Secret of It All, is a Cinderella retelling set in the 1920s, featuring the somewhat rakish Prince Will(helmina) and sensible housemaid Patience. Available on all platforms! books2read.com/u/470Rd7

The cover of The Happy Secret of It All, with a blonde woman in a monocle and pinstripe suit dancing with a brunette in a pink gown.

Ian Haramaki 🏳️‍⚧️✨ @ Megaplex C9@cometkins.bsky.social · 3d ago

How about we get a Yuri promo day going today? If you’ve got Yuri tell people about it and where to buy it! #WritingPrompt

Dani Finn 🐙 🏳️‍⚧️ 📚@danifinnwrites.bsky.social · 3d ago

Songbird-themed yuri is free this weekend! Once they mate, sister thrushes ditch the male & live with a lifelong female partner. Lady Alessa has offered her hand in marriage to whoever brings her a sister thrushes, unharmed, in closed hands. danifinn.itch.io/sister-thrush

Sister Thrush by danifinn

Songbird-themed yuri

danifinn.itch.io

Ian Haramaki 🏳️‍⚧️✨ @ Megaplex C9@cometkins.bsky.social · 3d ago

How about we get a Yuri promo day going today? If you’ve got Yuri tell people about it and where to buy it! #WritingPrompt

Adregem ཐིཋྀ @adregem.bsky.social · 3d ago

Aaaand Light Wielding, which I am so fond of but which agents apparently hate. Sunday is the protagonist and her love interest is ... not super easy to describe. Sunday is a modern girl who takes a cosplay sword into a fairy tale land and gets roped into helping the king kill a demigod. #SumLov

📚 Ellie Rhymer! Spaceships and Scoundrels 📚@ellieyellu.bsky.social · 4d ago

Kelly Heard @meankellyjean.bsky.social · 3d ago

she’s an Olympic-caliber avoidant, he’s a good guy who can’t handle mixed signals she’s from old money, he’s a former foster kid who has sacrificed for stability years ago, when their youthful environmentalism got out of hand, she confessed to something he did & derailed a promising career

📚 Ellie Rhymer! Spaceships and Scoundrels 📚@ellieyellu.bsky.social · 4d ago

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · 3d ago

Olympia is the rake - she's had several public affairs with noblemen and private ones with ladies, and she gets away with it by being the Fast Mrs. Farrar. Catherine, otoh, is not even a member of society (country vicar's daughter) and likes it that way. They're a classic odd couple! #SumLuv

📚 Ellie Rhymer! Spaceships and Scoundrels 📚@ellieyellu.bsky.social · 4d ago

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · 3d ago

Hi! I'm Lena, and I'm working on a Regency romance between (to be pithy) a female rake and a wallflower while serializing a different novel set a couple of decades later. I've been writing for ... gosh, at least 25 years, altho I've shifted back and forth between fanfic and original #SumLuv

📚 Ellie Rhymer! Spaceships and Scoundrels 📚@ellieyellu.bsky.social · 5d ago

Welcome to 🧡 Summer of Love 🧡 a daily prompt game for everyone writing in the romance genre! What's up? What are you working on? How long have you been writing? Tell us everything! Well, tell us enough 😅 I'm excited to chat with you this month. Don't forget to tag #SumLuv

Romance Writers Summer of Love #SumLuv @EllieYellu Day 1 Introductions: Welcome! Introduce yourself!

Andrew Jack @andrewjack.bsky.social · 5d ago

Every writer I know, and for my sins I know a lot of them, is absolutely 100% delighted for you to get their book out from your local library.

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · 4d ago

The first chapter of MARY MARCHBANKS is up! What do you think? marymarchbanks.wordpress.com/2026/08/01/b... 🌈💜

Book I – Chapter I

The Marchbanks family had been a fixture of —shire since the time of Good Queen Bess, and although it had never accrued any grand honors, my great-grandfather had been granted the rank of baronet f…

marymarchbanks.wordpress.com

Kate Strasdin @katestrasdin.bsky.social · 5d ago

For decades, the pleating technique associated with Fortuny’s famous Delphos and Peplos designs were attributed to the man himself, but evidence shows that it was created by his wife Henriette Nigrin. It is all thanks to her that these shimmering wonders exist. #PalazzoFortuny #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Partial view of an aqua pleated silk dress with a hand stencilled silk belt and small decorative murano glass beads

A black and white photograph of Henriette Nigrin, Mariano Fortuny’s wife wearing a loosing fitting gown and standing front of a length of fabric

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · 5d ago

I am always up for an ask game!

An image of a white peice of crinkled paper with black text and decorative symbols over it. It is titled “A Writer Ask Game” with the words “One like, One answer” at thebottom. There are a couple decirative symbols of pen flourishes, a book, and a keyboard. It has text reading “by Theodore Snapdragon” and 75 questions. The questions are as follow (truncated for BSky character limits): What’s your favorite part of writing?
What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever written?
Do you usually write happy, sad, or other kinds of endings?
Who is your favorite author?
What’s your favorite type of scene to write?
What’s your favorite type of symbolism?
What’s your least favorite part of writing?
Where do your ideas come from?
What’re your favorite themes?
What’s the most wholesome thing you’ve written?
Have you ever had writer’s block?
Do you have a favorite character?
What drives you to write?
What’s your favorite part of your current WIP?
Do you have a favorite of your writing projects?
Do you enjoy editing?
What’s the saddest thing you’ve ever written?
Do you like long or short form writing better?
What’s the hardest thing to write?
What song(s) inspire you to write?
Do you have a specific type of reader in mind when you write?
Is your prose more purple or beige?
Do you have any monsterous characters, metaphorically or literally?
What’re your favorite books?
Do you usually write with specific themes in mind, or find them during writing?
Does being a writer impact how you see the world?
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever written? The shortest?
Would you say you love writing?
Is there a specific author you want to be like?
What’s the most annoying task in writing?
What’s your biggest grammar pet peeve?
Which of your characters do you find yourself thinking of the most?
Do you have other passions besides writing?
What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever written?
How do you establish setting in your writing?
Do you enjoy writing dialogue?

DD Ward ..."Sapphic Dr. DOOM"@ddwardiswriting.bsky.social · 7d ago

Oh. This looks fun. Let's play! 1 like = 1 answer

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · 5d ago

There are cat pics in it, btw!

Lena Cole@lenacole.bsky.social · 6d ago

Just sent out my latest newsletter, announcing the pen name adoption! Also, big big news about Mary Marchbanks, the novel I've been planning to serialize, and a discussion of an 1839 portrait from the Gibbes Museum of Art. buttondown.com/lenacole/arc... #WriteSky 🌈💜 🗃️🪡

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · 6d ago

Writing Nécessaire — With A New Name

After the extended rumination in my last newsletter, I made the momentous decision to switch to a pen name for all of my fiction: Lena Cole. (I had been...

buttondown.com

Autumn Wolff | Lesbian Author & Narrator @autumnwolff.bsky.social · last wk.

I’m calling everyone out.

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · last wk.

#WIPSnips - assist. The beginning of Olympia's crashout ...

And how many marriages in society were based on adoration, even between people who deserved it? Not that Olympia knew many people who deserved adoration in London, but even in theory … Marriage was a cynical venture, undertaken for the purpose of uniting wealth with title or beauty with power, and after her own career, her very deliberately undertaken marriage, she could scarcely deny Catherine the opportunity to do the same. That was the happy result to be desired from taking the girl under her wing. That was what she ought to be concentrating her attentions upon.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, of course. Yes, please court her — consider yourself to have a standing invitation to pay calls when we’re at home. If there’s anything I can do to assist you in your endeavor, you must let me know.”

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · last wk.

The #WIPSnips word for July 28th is "assist" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 28 - assist
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · last wk.

Hard to choose just one, but Xie Lian and Hua Cheng really do make me melt.

Hualian

Alt: Xie Lian being cute with Hua Cheng's silver butterflies, while Hua Cheng watches him with a chuckle and then kisses him.

static.klipy.com

Sophia_Nyx 🏳️‍⚧️@sophianyx.bsky.social · last wk.

Name your fav gay couple in media.

Nora Shear @norashear.bsky.social · last wk.

Oh I like this #WIPSnip game. In this one, Paige is convinced she was chosen to enter Midnight's Ball as some kind of cruel joke, and she's determined to not let herself be played.

An image that reads:

"If you were convinced you wouldn't be chosen, why are you here?"
Paige exhaled. "I was making a point to a friend."
"What kind of point?"
Do I really want to get into this with him? She thought of giving him a toss-off answer, but his face was still set in that gentle curiosity. Fine. You get the truth. "That I don't get picked for things like this. I never get into exclusive places."
Leo’s brow furrowed, and she was surprised at how few wrinkles he had. "Why wouldn't you get picked?"
He's got to be joking.
Except he was still sitting there, hands dangling between his knees, looking at her like she'd just said the sky was red. She shoved her hands in her coat pockets. "Come on. You can't be serious."
"I'm very serious. I don't understand."
Paige leaned forward, examining his expression. "Really?"
"Truly."
Not even a twitch. Either he's a great actor or he's not lying. "You really think I get into places with this face?"
Leo sat up, an incredulous look transforming his features into something darker. "What's wrong with your face?"
Paige laughed before she could stop herself. Definitely a good actor. “I don't know what you're up to, but I don't appreciate being lied to."
The darkness in his face deepened, turning his green eyes stony. "I'm not lying."
"Whatever." Paige leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. "I should have known better than to be honest with you."
Whatever his game is, I'm not playing anymore.

From NO SKY LIKE MIDNIGHT, by Nora Shear

Star decorations are in each corner, and a meteor decoration is above the text.

DD Ward ..."Sapphic Dr. DOOM"@ddwardiswriting.bsky.social · last wk.

Here's a #WIPSnip game! Show a snippet of your MC grappling with their fears and doubts. I'll start!

Blair didn’t look up. “Not when I’m thinking straight. But when she’s trying to seduce me, I’m less certain.”

“That’s her powers. That’s not you.” Nadia said.

“What if it is me. You said that her aura lower inhibitions, not that it changes desires. What if there’s a nasty dirty little part of me that wants it.”

“That’s not the real you.” Nadia said.

“The countess thinks it is. She wants to strip away everything else until that all that’s left of me.”

“Then she doesn’t want you. Not like I want you.” Nadia said.

Blair looked up. Her eyes glistened.

“What am I, if I’m not a hunter? What am I, if I can’t resist her?”

“You’re a human. And a good person.”

“What if I’m not? What if, when I break, I’m not the person you love?”

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · last wk.

Trying to figure out how to start my next newsletter in a way that both reassures people that this is still me despite the name character and doesn't make them think it's a piece of overly familiar spam.

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · last wk.

In the section of the book I'm currently working on, Olympia is in fact being actively driven insane by a) falling in love with Catherine despite her belief that falling in love is Bad and Stupid and b) trying to make sure that Catherine has a good marriage and moves on from their relationship.

[ OC Questions ]@ocqotd.bsky.social · last wk.

What would drive your original character off the deep end? Is there a particular thing that could make them go insane? (Outside, you know, an Amulet that makes you go insane. It IS an option though!) #OCASK #OCQOTD #OCSKY

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · last wk.

Me but with romance ...

G. Willow Wilson@gwillow.me · last wk.

When you write superhero comics, some days you wake up and think "it's all been done before" and feel panic. And some days you wake up and think "it's all been done before" and feel free. The challenge is navigating yourself from the first to the second so you can get some actual work done

Alex Larkspur 💛📚🌻@applesncinnamon.bsky.social · last wk.

#WIPSnip Game! Felix from A Harvest of the Heart struggling with his anxiety!

He flipped the hat over, running a finger against the nearly invisible seam on the inside. Nerves danced around his heart again. Once the seam was undone, there'd be no going back. He'd need to finish the job or be hatless. And what was a witch without his hat?
Despite the fear that threatened to swallow him whole, he picked up the small, sharp pair of scissors. He hated that uncertainty and terror ruled him as they did. The moment that doubt crept in, all he wanted to do was hide from the world. It was his biggest flaw and greatest shame. After a lifetime of spiraling thoughts and panic that could seize his entire body, he didn't understand why he couldn't just act normally.
Biting down on his lower lip, he hooked the thread between the scissors and held his breath. His hands trembled. Maybe if he didn't fix his hat, he wouldn't go to the festival. Then he could hide from the possibilities that the world was offering him.
But he pictured Henry's smile. Henry's large warm hand resting over his. That was worth it. He was worth fighting against the never-ending monster made of pure panic that wanted to dominate his life. He could do this.
With a sharp inhale, Felix snipped the thread.

DD Ward ..."Sapphic Dr. DOOM"@ddwardiswriting.bsky.social · last wk.

Here's a #WIPSnip game! Show a snippet of your MC grappling with their fears and doubts. I'll start!

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · last wk.

Olympia: then everything will be RUINED oh my god I'll be setting myself up for a horrible letdown and betrayal, did I learn nothing the last time?? #JulyInterviewFic

DD Ward ..."Sapphic Dr. DOOM"@ddwardiswriting.bsky.social · last wk.

#JulyInterviewFic. (Answer in character as your OC) Question 27. Finish this statement: If I let myself love then ____________.

Lena Cole @lenacole.bsky.social · last wk.

Catherine: My parents are responsible for my good moral sense, and particularly my understanding that vanity is abhorrent. They taught me that real joy is to be found in helping others from my proper position. [Olympia is desperately trying to enter the chat] #JulyInterviewFic

DD Ward ..."Sapphic Dr. DOOM"@ddwardiswriting.bsky.social · 2w ago

#JulyInterviewFic. (Answer in character as your OC) Question 23. How has your personal background and upbringing influenced your life?