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Austin Worley

@amworleywriter.bsky.social
1.5K followers 790 following 1.5K posts

Author of Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Romance | Published Poet | Amateur Astronomer | Avid Reader

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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 12h
10/5 #OctoberWorldbuilders Tarik believe those who venture outside in a sandstorm are cursed to become undead. It’s not true, but there’s a grain of truth to it, as sandstorms often lead to disorientation and death. Bodies left out in the desert regularly become possessed.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
10/4 #OctoberWorldbuilders The Malkaana is home to salamanders, and not the amphibious kind! These salamanders are flightless draconids who subsist on cacti and camels. Their arcana allows them to banish excess body heat, a very useful adaptation.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
10/4 #FantasyIndiesSpooktober For Arlise, bravery is being afraid and doing what needs to be done regardless. Earc, by contrast, sees bravery as something loftier, larger than life. He doesn’t think it’s something he can be, and his views lead him to kinda idolize Arlise.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
10/3 #OctoberWorldbuilders Most of the caravan towns are built into cliffs and other rock formations (think Petra or Mesa Verde), so stone is the main building material for settled Tarik. This goes a long, long ways towards keeping their homes cool despite the heat.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
10/2 #OctoberWorldbuilders The Malkaana is home to the Tarik, a loose collection of nomadic tribes and caravan towns with a common tongue and matriarchal culture. Each is led by its own Amira; no one has ever united the Tarik.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
10/2 #FantasyIndiesOctober Free Friday: I was at Tulsa vs. North Texas last night. First game I’ve ever attended, and I couldn’t have chosen a better one! Back and forth the whole time, and our seats were excellent. Here’s our look at the TU touchdown that sent it to overtime:
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
(Belated) 10/1 #OctoberWorldbuilders The Malkaana, or Sea of Sands, stretches across the middle of Anura, from the Adirene Gulf to the Drachenrüchen Mountains. About two thirds of it is sandy desert, while the western third is much rockier, but both are very harsh.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
(Belated) 10/1 #FantasyIndiesSpooktober Hey all! I’m an author of fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and (lately) horror. This month, I’m working on… -A few horror drabbles -“By the Light of the Mad Moon”, sword & sorcery flash fiction -My continuing project, “Love Abides”
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
9/30 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Monthly Wrap-Up: Didn’t have a lot of time to work on “Love Abides” this month, but I did just finish a sci-fi horror drabble and make some headway on a flash fic entitled “By the Light of the Mad Moon”
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
9/29 #SeptemberWorldbuilders Books: Sharp Ends, The Heroes, and Red Country by Joe Abercrombie; Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock, A Dance with Dragons by GRRM (Reread) Games: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (yay, remaster!), Helldivers II, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
9/29 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Me? Definitely an introvert. My characters tend to be the same. Tanis from “He Who Sows” and Madi from the Whippoorwill stories are the only extroverted POVs who come to mind.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
9/28 #SeptemberWorldbuilders Magic is energy manipulation in Anura, and that includes the reflection, refraction, absorption, bending, or creation of light. Darkness isn’t a discipline per se, but you can bend light away from someone’s eyes or banish all of it in an area.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
9/28 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Life’s too short and too full of other stuff to read to not DNF books I’m not enjoying. Usually, though, I don’t outright label it a DNF. I just stop picking it up eventually. Every now and then, I’ll come back and read it all the way through.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
9/25 #SeptemberWorldbuilders By and large, fire is the main source of light. Hearths, candles, torches, oil lamps, etc. However, in ancient times, Tyria and Khosalla both discovered they could enchant gemstones to create artificial lights in a variety of colors.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
9/25 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Music I’ve Been Inspired By: Siera Ferrell’s rendition of “Here I Am” perfectly captured the vibe I want to give the romance between Arlise and Earc. Exactly what I didn’t know I was looking for at the moment!
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
9/24 #FantasyIndiesSeptember All royal dynasties in southern Anura claim descent from Torsten, who drove out Tyria and made an organized religion of faith in the Mother. Since he was the only son of the Mother Incarnate, this lets them assert a literal divine right to rule.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
9/23 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Lay/lie/laid is a tricky one. I don’t use them often enough to have the rule memorized, and I usually avoid using them at all if I can.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
9/22 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Autumn TBR: Oh geez, where to start? -The Bane of the Black Sword -Stormbringer -The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, Volume 2 -The Flowered Blade by Taylor Hubbard -Steal the Dragon by Patricia Briggs And those are just on the shortlist!
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
9/21 #SeptemberWorldbuilders Pearl diving is so central to selkie culture it might actually be the reason they became shapeshifters in the first place. Their sealskins allow them to dive much deeper for much longer and in colder conditions than human divers.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
9/21 #FantasyIndiesSeptember “In the Web of Fate” has Cania Maro, a carnomancer who’s throwing lavish games showcasing her arcane discoveries in the hopes of building enough popular support to win a seat in the Ninety-Nine or even become one of the two shophets of Tyria.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
9/20 #SeptemberWorldbuilders Arlise has been at sea before, with a brief stint aboard a corsair in her adventuring days, but she’s not very fond of it (at least not until she meets Earc). Things tend to go disastrously for her at sea, and she’s not a strong swimmer.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
9/18 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Free Friday: I totally missed it in all the busy-ness of the last few months, but the drabbles I sold last year have been released in Mistletoe & Vine, an anthology from Iron Faerie Publishing! Super proud of these little stories😊
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
9/17 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Arlise would probably write a memoir (she’s led quite the eventful life) or a field manual for the Order. Earc? If he could write, he’d probably do a how-to guide on whittling.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
9/15 #SeptemberWorldbuilders Oh, a bunch! “Sacrifice” is the most recent, with Arlise waking up on the beach beside Earc. She knows it’s time for her to return to duty, hates to leave him again, but gets up anyway. Her sacrifices are worth it if it makes a better world for him.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
9/15 #FantasyIndiesSeptember I have a sneaking suspicion Arlise would call me a sadist for the wringer I’ve run her through over the years😆
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
9/14 #FantasyIndiesSeptember In “Love Abides”, Arlise comes to realize she isn’t as alone as she thought after her husband’s death. His love for her continues to shape who she is, what she does, and the world around her.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
9/13 #FantasyIndiesSeptember I’m normally very organized, though every now and then something slips towards organized chaos. In her youth, Arlise was a mess. She’s a lot more organized since joining the Watchers, but she also doesn’t have much *to* organize.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
9/12 #QueerPrompts For the untitled flash fic I started this week, the obvious takeaway is a willingness to fight back can always make a difference, no matter how badly you’ve been beaten down. The greatest utility of heroes is their ability to give others that willingness.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
9/11 #FantasyIndiesSeptember “The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane” really reminds me of autumn, partly because I first encountered the character one fall and partly because the dark fantasy vibe evokes autumn for me, especially with the stories in Europe.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
9/10 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Knowledge is pretty important to her success as a Watcher, so Arlise is always looking to better understand who (or what) she’s dealing with on a given case, but she’s not going to compromise her morals to obtain it.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
9/9 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Maybe healing? It would certainly be useful, considering how often she’s in danger. On the other hand, she’s seen so much of the dangers magic poses to its users that there’s a good chance she’d reject the choice entirely.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
9/1 #QueerPrompts Recent/Current Reads: I’ve been on a Joe Abercrombie kick recently, with “Sharp Ends”, “The Heroes”, and now “Red Country”, but I’m also listening to the audiobook of “Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937-1945”
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
9/7 #FantasyIndiesSeptember I thought I had a pretty good grasp on my version of sirens in “Love Abides”, but as I worked on the story, they went in a more unique, pterosaur-inspired direction, which was a pleasant surprise!
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
9/6 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Yes. Once “Love Abides” is done, I’m planning on circling back around to finish “In the Web of Fate”, which has been in limbo for a while now.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
9/5 #SeptemberWorldbuilders Winter in Tyria is fairly mild, since it’s near the tropics. Tyrians consider the universe to have been born from the winter solstice and mark it with raucous debauchery from dusk to dawn, a festival known as Diluculum.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
9/4 #SeptemberWorldbuilders Storms batter the eastern isles of Vyspa throughout autumn, so the selkie clans who dwell there are unable to trade with the outside world until winter. For them, it’s a time to hunker down and tend to more local concerns.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
9/3 #SeptemberWorldbuilders Tyria marks the summer solstice with the Flagrantine Games, an Olympics-esque religious athletic festival with tons of different events culminating in the ritual liberation of chosen slaves otherwise destined for the altars of the sun god Thuruht.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Belated 9/2 #SeptemberWorldbuilders Years in Anura actually start with the arrival of spring, a tradition originating with the Tyrians, who mark its first day (Sollertia) with displays of artistry and craftsmanship to celebrate the renewal of the universe.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
9/3 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Education doesn’t play a direct role in “Love Abides”, but the training regimen Arlise went through to join the Order of Watchers included a lot of material on monsters and arcane threats, which she draws on in her confrontation with the sirens.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
9/2 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Mostly, I choose my next read based off of whatever titles on my TBR list fits the current mood.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
9/1 #SeptemberWorldbuilders “Seven Tears on the Tide” stretches from late summer through autumn to early winter. Autumn in particular influences the plot, since the autumn storm season strands Arlise and her fellow Watches with the selkies of Quiet Cove.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
9/1 #FantasyIndiesSeptember Hey, everybody! I’m an author of fantasy, sci-fi, and romance currently working on a series of short stories about my recurring heroine Arlise Dun. One of them just released today! My main WIP: “Love Abides”, a character-driven dark fantasy tale.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
“One Bitter Note” is out now in this new anthology! There’s blood on his hands. Blood on his boots, too. And if Hunold isn’t careful, a chance-met traveler will discover how he makes music fit for the gods…and what he’s done with the children of Hameln. 🔗: www.amazon.com/Whispers-Iro...
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
8/31 #AugustWorldbuilders Valenza seems nice. Since it’s one of the Colonia, it’s got some of the most advanced infrastructure in the world (running water and good sewage are a big +), but it’s also freer than the rest of the Colonia and safe from outside threats.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
8/31 #FantasyIndiesAugust Didn’t accomplish much this month, being nose to the grindstone on revisions for a client’s novel, but I’ve got a haibun out on submissions and “One Bitter Note” is out tomorrow! Even better, I finally nailed down a good blurb for it😮‍💨
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Belated 8/29 #AugustWorldbuilders Pretty much all of my worldbuilding stuff is done in Word (I use Office Professional 2021), stored on my hard drive, and backed up on multiple flash drives. I do have a map and some drawings from when I started, but the map is non-canon now.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
8/30 #FantasyIndiesAugust As a reader and a writer, when it comes to novels, I prefer standalones these days. Series are quite the time investment, and you’re rolling the dice on whether they ever get finished.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Belated 8/28 #AugustWorldbuilders Magic comes from the Outerworld, a parallel dimension which serves as almost the subconscious of the universe. The emotions and ideas of all dreaming creatures influence it and can concentrate into alds or demons.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Belated 8/27 #AugustWorldbuilders Typically, magic takes mere seconds to cast, but more complex fields (like healing) or rituals (like summoning alds) can take hours due to their intricacy.
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Austin Worley @amworleywriter.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
8/28 #FantasyIndiesAugust Free Friday: Setting aside the literary, I was fortunate enough to have clear skies for the lunar eclipse! Definitely the best partial I’ve ever seen😍 Here are a few of my favorite shots from last night…
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