#WritersCoffeeClub 1 — Introduce yourself & your work.

Hi, I'm Alina, a sci-fi author ✋ 👽 I love exploring other worlds, weirdness, connections, technology, etc. I have a blog where you can find cool sci-fi books.

I've got a dystopian sci-fi thriller Entanglement that readers call mind-bending & unpredictable. https://alinaleonova.net/book

My new book #WildFlowersElectricBeasts will be published soon! Set on a different planet with 2 species of humans it combines elements of solarpunk & cyberpunk.

#WritingWonders 22 — What makes your hero feel weak?

For Balika it's grief, feeling like she doesn't belong anywhere and not being accepted.

For Sammah it's loneliness, violence, helplessness against the forces that have control over him, betraying his friend.

But feeling weak and being weak are different things, and both of them will prove that.

#AmWriting #WildFlowersElectricBeasts

Oh, by the way, I forgot to brag. Got #WildFlowersElectricBeasts from my sensitivity reader today, and they really liked the asexual representation 😊 I won't even have to correct anything 😮 Now waiting for my proofreader to finish with the book, and it's ready for the world!

#WritingCommunity #AmWritingSciFi

#WritingWonders 6
Sammah: Lots of things make me angry. I tried to put my jacket on a hanger the other day, and it fell off. That pissed me off. I even kicked it [chuckles and scratches the shaved side of his head]. Loud noises are annoying. But that's trivial, right? You want something real? Manipulation. I *hate* when people try to use me! Fuck them.

Balika: When strangers come to my land to destroy it. I'm not just angry, I'm furious!

#WildFlowersElectricBeasts

#WritingWonders 16 — process of creating the setting

I had so much fun with world-building! Figuring out how everything works, and creating whole cultures, customs and traditions, especially for Balika's tribe and the other tribes she meets on her journey, thinking of language barrier and awkward cultural differences, etc. — loved it! I got some complements about it from the beta readers and my editor, too 😊 I wanted this world to feel real!
#WildFlowersElectricBeasts

#WritingWonders 15 — What’s your setting: urban, rural, natural, something else?

My 2 MCs are different species of humans, and they live in completely different environments, so the setting is split.

For one of the MCs, it's urban, with a mix of solarpunk and cyberpunk.

For the other one, it's a wild rainforest in the beginning, and then also a desert and an ocean shore.

#WildFlowersElectricBeasts #AmWritingSciFi

Here are some fun facts about my WIP #WildFlowersElectricBeasts 😊
If you follow Writing Wonders, you might have already seen all that. If not, you'll learn about scents and sounds in the story, relationships between characters, attraction, illicit substances, and more.
I've stolen the idea to turn my May WritingWonders responses into a blog post from @ryansouthwick (with his permission 😁) and it turned into something like a fun interview.
https://alinaleonova.net/blog/wild-flowers-electric-beasts-may-ww

#AmWritingSciFi #writing

Here are some fun facts about my WIP #WildFlowersElectricBeasts 😊
If you follow Writing Wonders, you might have already seen all that. If not, you'll learn about scents and sounds in the story, relationships between characters, attraction, illicit substances, and more.
I've stolen the idea to turn my May WritingWonders responses into a blogpost from @ryansouthwick (with his permission 😁) and it turned into something like a fun interview.
https://alinaleonova.net/blog/wild-flowers-electric-beasts-may-ww
#AmWritingSciFi #writing

The last stage before publishing is proofreading, and I've just contacted some proofreaders to find the one 😊 Every day I'm a bit closer to publishing #WildFlowersElectricBeasts — so excited!

#AmWritingSciFi #writing

I've got my editor's notes on #WildFlowersElectricBeasts, so I'm doing the last round of revisions now. I'm so close to publishing it! 🔥

#WritingCommunity #writing #AmWritingSciFi

#WritingWonders 7 — What does your MC look like? Share art, pics (face claims), and/or mood boards.

The only thing I have where you can see my MCs is the cover.

#WildFlowersElectricBeasts #AmWritingSciFi

#WritingWonders 1 — Share 3 fun facts about your favorite side character.

1) She is an activist;
2) She has no filter, says whatever she thinks and swears creatively;
3) She's in a polyamorous relationship with 2 other people.

#WildFlowersElectricBeasts

I've just finished revisions based on my beta readers' feedback & sent #WildFlowersElectricBeasts to the editor! 🥳
I'm super excited about this! The betas have already helped me make the story so much better, and I can't wait for professional input 😊
Side note: I was sure that the deadline was May 1, but it was actually May 31 xd My mistake motivated me to work much faster 😁
The downside is that together with other responsibilities it's been pretty stressful and my brain is fried.
#amwriting

It's time for a #CoverReveal 👀 I'm super excited to show you the cover of my upcoming sci-fi story #WildFlowersElectricBeasts!

One planet. Two species of humans. Two people who will lose everything if they don't stand up to an unexpected common enemy.

#amwritingscifi #SciFiBooks #writing #WritingCommunity

Okay, I'm in love with the final version of the cover for #WildFlowersElectricBeasts 😍 The designer has been tweaking it for a few days, and I think it's perfect now! Cover reveal coming soon 👀

#writing #AmWritingSciFi #WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 7 — Name one sound and one scent that occurs in your MC’s worst nightmare.

For Sammah it's the sound of his tormentors' voices and the smell of his own sweat that smells like fear. It's a recurring nightmare, and even though he often recognizes it and knows that he's dreaming, he can't wake up from it until it runs its course 😢

#WildFlowersElectricBeasts #amdwritingscifi

The first round of cover creation for #WildFlowersElectricBeasts is over! Now I get to choose 6 finalists. I've already got 5 that I like the most, but I'm not sure about the last one — there are a few candidates 😅 In the next rounds, the finalists will refine their work, and then I'll have to choose my one and only cover, even though I'll probably want to get them all 😆

#amwriting

#WritingWonders 30 — How has your vision of your MC changed since you wrote the first page?

I knew almost nothing about my MCs when I started writing! I'm trying a new approach with a new WIP I barely started, but with #WildFlowersElectricBeasts I was getting to know my characters as the story progressed. They turned into real people with past, traumas, habits and annoying behaviors. They've made choices, some of them bad, that led them to a change within. They ended up truer to themselves.

The first cover designs for #WildFlowersElectricBeasts have rolled in, and I'm sooo excited! There are a few I like already, and I can't wait to see more 🥰
As a side note, a lot of artists use AI to generate images, and some of them get great results. I believe it helps them create the designs faster and get exactly what they want instead of looking for stock images. That's an example of AI helping artists do their job and earn money. 1/2

I've just created a contest for a cover for #WildFlowersElectricBeasts on 99Designs, and I'm so excited! 🤩 Can't wait to see what the artists will come up with (but I also know it will be very hard to choose)!
So, I guess, cover reveal coming soon-ish 👀
If you're a cover artist on 99Designs who'd like to try it or know someone who might, here is the link: http://99d.me/e/q5fy

I'm almost squealing you guys 😅