iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

when the enemies finally realize they might also be lovers (and they were both girls)….

Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Poor August, her love interest is so much hotter than she is...what ever will she do... #WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky

Black text on a white background, reading:

She leaves my room in a swirl of golden skin and pink silk, and I spend at least two minutes with my head in my hands contemplating what I’ve gotten myself into. Then I get my ass up and get dressed in the most amusement park-appropriate attire I have at my disposable: periwinkle bike shorts, a baggy t-shirt I thrifted that says LEGALIZE GAY in bold rainbow font, and my pristine white sneakers. I braid my hair in two pigtails and pop my UF baseball cap on my head, which does nothing for the outfit—curse you, orange and blue—but will at least protect me from the sun.

It feels like a fun outfit until I see Kenna in the lobby. Her leonine figure stands out against the cheap furniture, all long limbs and golden aura. Her white sneakers are almost identical to mine, but that’s where the similarities end. She’s wearing a pale pink sundress, a matching visor with a high ponytail, and chunky white sunglasses.

She looks like Sunshine Barbie, while I look like the mom sweatily searching for it in Target.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

this is so stupid but i love it. they're in their optimistically nihilistic (aka, nothing matters so we might as well party) era of being stuck in a time loop and the sexual tension is starting to become unbearable. Oh, and August still thinks Kenna is straight. #SnippetShare #WriteSky

A screenshot of black text on a white background that says:

“We’re out,” I say, walking backwards while Kenna gets the door. “Thanks for having us!”
Marigold stands halfway out of her chair. “You’re—excuse me?”
“Dropping out,” I clarify. Kenna sticks a finger through a belt loop in my jeans and tugs. “Bye!”
When I turn, Kenna’s finger stays stuck in my belt loop so that her arm wraps around my waist and our chests collide. She looks breathless, and I feel much the same, but for very different reasons. She’s so much taller than me, it would be easy to press my mouth to her throat.
Her tits press against my collarbones, and I stifle a pathetic whine.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

ok so it’s not the face and it’s also not really a caress, but i do love this semi-accidental neck touch from literally the second time Addie and Jacob meet. #RomanceWriters #WriterSky

A screenshot of black text on a white background that reads:
““Thanks.” I take him in, too—he’s dressed in a simple black suit with a crooked black bowtie. “You look nice, too.” It’s rude to adjust his tie, isn’t it? Or would it be ruder to leave it crooked when we’re about to go to an event where it’ll be photographed?
Jacob’s Addie would be aware of our image, I decide. As soon as I reach out to tweak it, Jacob tips his chin up to make space for my hand, not questioning what I’m doing. I wonder if it’s a holdover from his boy band days, when he would have had people adjusting his hair and makeup and clothing constantly, or if he’s naturally pliant. Probably the former.
My knuckle inadvertently brushes his neck and for one brief moment, I feel the jump of his pulse under my skin. Is it possible that he’s just as nervous as I am?
“All fixed.” I reluctantly pull my hand away. “Now you’re perfect.””

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

a bit more than one line, but some context is needed. this is from the current middle of my #WIP, so about 25k in. August and Kenna are in a time loop and know that Madison is walking off to be murdered. #HumpDay

An excerpt of text reading:

As Madison walks by, I brush her wrist with my hand. “Madison! Do you want to wait with us?”
Her nose crinkles patronizingly as she smiles. “Oh! No, thank you. I need to go get something in my dressing room.”
I can’t tell her that the only thing she’s going to get back there is a knife between her ribs, so I look to Kenna for assistance.
All she offers is a thin smile. “Hurry back!”
“Oh of course,” Madison coos, head tilted like she’s talking to toddlers and just finds us sooooo cute. “Wouldn’t miss this for the world!”
She struts away then, and all I can think about how the blood is going to stain her light blue dress and make it purple.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

In Seeing Stars, Jacob is a former member of the disbanded boyband driVe, and Addie is a former fangirl—still would be, if they still existed. Now Jacob is a semi-successful solo artist, and Addie is a hater. Here’s a glimpse at their Spotify profiles: #A #Q #R #UnhingedPit

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Seeing Stars is not fanfiction—I swear. But it is inspired by a decade and a half of fangirling over groups like One Direction and Seventeen. So what if, in the world of the story, it was fanfiction? #A #Q #R #UnhingedPit

A mock AO3 listing for Seeing Stars as if it was a fanfiction within the world it is set—so, as if I had written a fanfiction about the real boy band driVe and a female character.

Tags include: Post-disbandment, romcom, fake dating, idol x fangirl, grumpy x sunshine, plus-size oc, and jacob prizer needs a hug.

The summary reads: Music journalist Addie inadvertently people-pleases her way into an interview with Jacob, her least-favorite member of the boyband she once obsessed over. With his manager pressuring him to start a PR relationship, he’s charmed enough by Addie to ask her to be his fake girlfriend.

As they get to know each other over weeks of public outings, both realize that faking it isn’t as easy as it seems. Addie dreads what will happen if Jacob finds out she used to be a fan, while for Jacob, a relationship with Addie might be his first shot at something genuine in years. Between Addie’s lie, Jacob’s tumultuous career, and both reckoning with the lingering effects of fandom culture, they’ll have to decide between who they really are and who they pretend to be.

The work has 89,000 words and 24 chapters. The readership stats are 120 comments, 395 kudos, 144 bookmarks, and 10,783 hits.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

evening weeding because it’s the only time working outside is bearable

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

For the snippet, a little about JJ, a character I hardly ever talk about here. She hits the boxes for a character who is an immigrant and (spoiler alert) a queer character. Hoping to one day write her story as a follow-up to Seeing Stars!

Black text on a white background that reads:

JJ—real name Jiwon Jeon, dance captain of girl group EVEREVER and Jacob’s ex—is shorter than me, but the chunky boots she’s wearing put us almost at eye level. She’s wearing a sheer black shirt over a sports bra, showing off her abs and a silver belly button piercing. Her long black hair is swept back over her shoulders, and her dark eyes sparkle at Jacob.
“Jiwonnie!”
She raises her fists and shadow boxes at his stomach. “Do not fuckin’ call me that, or I’ll steal your girlfriend.” She manages to toss a grin my way between fake punches.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

SO close 😅 this is all for Seeing Stars, my fangirl x idol romcom that I’m currently querying! #WriteSky

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

very obsessed w my new dnd character i think she is CYUTE!!

A digital painting of a blue-skinned girl with bobbed dark blue hair and large round gray eyes on an orange background. She’s wearing a cropped white tank top with visible hot pink bra straps, very short dark blue shorts, and brown cowboy boots. She is posed with leg bent at the knee and pushed in front of the other leg, one hand slightly outstretched down and to the side, and her other hand doing a peace sign by her face.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

#QueerPrompts i am a Humidity Hater, as is my main character, August:

A screenshot of black text on a white background that reads:

Humidity smacks me in the face like a wet towel off a locker room floor the moment I step outside. Today is the second of July, near the peak of hellish weather. The sun’s been out a couple hours now, and while the sky is clear now, there’s no telling what kind of storm will sweep through later. It’s a hallmark of a Florida summer: sun in the morning, rain in the afternoon, and always humid enough outside that it’s hard to tell the difference. I’ve lived in Florida my whole life, and yet the soupy air steals my breath every time.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

Happy birthday to one of my favorite movies ever made! I have this shark tattooed on me! Ask me about the homoeroticism of showing your homies all your scars and having an emotionally vulnerable conversation while drunk on a boat late at night 😍

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

i’m not super great at graphic design-y stuff, but here’s my collage for Queens of the Sun! once again the Tsuki x Lilly toxic lesbian meme is my favorite part #LGBTQWriteAThon

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Hit 30 books on the year! Well ahead on my goal of 50 💪 #BookSky

A log of all the books I’ve read so far in 2025, with columns for number, title, author, rating (which has been covered by a marker) and dates read. Every other line is lavender, and line 50 is gold to represent the goal line.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Do you love cozy, lighthearted romances that give you the courage to plant your feet and say “I am who I am and I don’t care if you like it!”? Then you’ll love Seeing Stars, the romcom I #amquerying. All that, and it’s had one full request ;) Agents, check her out! #JoyPit #A #CR #RC

An orange background with an array of gray-green buildings and light yellow stars. Text in the center reads: agent’s guide to Seeing Stars by Lily D’Anieri. Adult, contemporary romantic comedy, 89,000 words.

Text on an orange background reading:
PITCH

When people-pleasing music journalist Addie DiMarco is assigned a last-minute interview with pop star Jacob Prizer, she plans to keep it quiet that she used to be a megafan of Jacob’s now-defunct boy band. After a flop of a solo debut, Jacob’s manager wants him to enter a PR relationship to make him desirable again. Allured by Addie’s personality, Jacob convinces her to be his date to a gala. When the public responds well, one date becomes a 4-month contract.

As they get to know each other over weeks of public outings, they realize that faking it isn’t as easy as it seems. Addie dreads what will happen if Jacob—or the whole world—finds out she used to be a fan. Jacob is still struggling to find himself in the wake of his boy band days, and a relationship with Addie might be his first shot at something genuine in years. Between Addie’s lie, Jacob’s tumultuous career, and both reckoning with the lingering effects of fandom culture, they’ll have to decide between who they really are and who they pretend to be.

The headline reads TROPES & COMPS
Below are five book covers each pointing to associated tropes that it shares with Seeing Stars.
The tropes are:
1. Critique of celebrity culture
2. Fan X Idol
3. Black Cat MMC X Golden Retriever FMC
4. Dating in the spotlight
5. Fabulously Fat Heroine
6. Whimsical fake dating
7. “You’re the only person I let my guard down for”
The books (and each trope it represents):
The Comeback by Lily Chu (1, 2)
Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe (3, 4)
Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey (2, 3, 4)
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (4, 6)
Take a Hint, Dani Brown (5, 6, 7)

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

me when jacob, my ostensibly heterosexual romance mmc, started talking about his old bandmate in an extremely bisexual manner (to be clear: this thrilled me)

A two paneled meme.
Panel one: a shrimpy looking guy labeled “me, the author” saying “I’m in charge.”
Panel two: the batman villain Bane, labeled “Characters in my books who i literally wrote into being” saying “Do you feel in charge?”

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

PALM SPRINGS X BOTTOMS They’ve hated each other their whole lives. Now they have to work together to escape a time loop. And win Miss Florida. And deal with their growing attraction. And glass closets. Oh, and maybe they should solve that murder, too… #WIPPIT #NA #PN #R #LGBT #OWN #amwriting

A film poster promoting the novel in progress Queens of the Sun by Lily D’Anieri. It is bright pink and has a cartoon image of a pageant queen with her eyes Xed out in red. It conveys the following info top to bottom:

Tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, girlypop nihilism

Title: Queens of the Sun

Description: a sapphic timeloop romcom murder mystery disastacular

Directed by Lily D’Anieri

Tagline: if at first you don’t succeed, try again…and again…and again…and again…

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Two closeted Florida lesbians. One crown. Seemingly infinite attempts at the pageant. Mutual lust disguised as loathing. One dead body, but that’s not really the priority. Hello, the crown, remember? Only one can win, but they both have everything to lose. #WIPPIT #NA #PN #R #LGBT #OWN #amwriting

A collage of images giving the vibes of Florida, pageant queens, lesbians, and enemies to lovers. Images include:
An anime screenshot subtitled, “Don’t fall in love with me, okay? Because you know I hate myself. And I can’t be in love with someone who likes things I hate, right? I want to keep loving you.”
Another anime screenshot subtitled, “I loved the look in your eyes when I hurt you.”
A screenshot of two female kpop idols smiling cutely that says TOXIC LESBIAN
A cutout of two pageant finalists holding hands and waiting to hear winner.
A barbie doll being kissed on the cheeks by two other female barbies.
Text that says, “Love language: glaring”
Some cutout red stars.
A mossy sign reading “Do Not Feed Alligator”
Two pairs of pink safety scissors tied together with link ribbon.
Several cutouts of femme women making out.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Two rival pageant queens get stuck in a time loop, forced to relive the Miss Florida pageant over and over again. In this snippet, our MC August lays out what’s at stake before she even ends up in the loop: #WIPPIT #NA #PN #R #LGBT #OWN #amwriting

A screenshot of the following text:

If I win: a year’s worth of funding and a very shiny new accolade to add to my second year of med school applications, not to mention the possibility of winning Miss America.
If I lose: be evicted from my Gainesville apartment, return to work the register in my aunt’s boutique in Ocala, continue to get rejected from every med school on planet Earth, eventually die in a swamp—whether to alligator, water moccasin, or good old fashioned drowning, I don’t much care.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

#WIPPITStickyNoteQuestions Queens of the Sun takes place mostly in Orlando, with occasional visits to other parts of Central Florida. But my MC, August, grew up in Ocala and has lived in Gainesville, so theres a lot of NCF flavor in there.

A photo of an algae-covered sign nailed to a tree. It reads “DO NOT FEED ALLIGATOR.”

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

🤩Seeing Stars🤩 A fake dating idol x fan romantic comedy for fans of: 🎧 2000s romcoms like How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days 🎧 One Direction (in particular, Made In The A.M.) 🎧 fat women who are confident in their bodies 🎧 people pleaser x guy who loves her for her Now querying! #questpit #Q #A #R

Tropes and Comps. An array of book covers and tropes, with arrows connecting the books to the tropes they represent.

Tropes:
1. Critique of celebrity culture
2. Fan X Idol
3. Black Cat MMC X Golden Retriever FMC
4. Dating in the Spotlight
5. Fabulously fat heroine
6. Whimsical fake dating
7. “You’re the only one I let my guard down for.”

Comps (and the tropes they represent):
The Comeback by Lily Chu (1, 2)
Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe (2, 4)
Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey (2, 3, 4)
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (4, 6)
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert (5, 6, 7)

Text on an orange background. The headline is in and says EXCERPT. Below, the excerpt reads as following:

“Are you familiar with the group driVe? They’re defunct now, but they were quite big a few years ago. My daughter was obsessed.”
My palms itch. “I’m familiar with them.”
A massive understatement. driVe had been the band of all bands to me for a solid five years when I was in college and in my post-grad haze. I was a diehard Passenger and saw them in concert more times than I’d like to admit, thanks to the D.C. to New York to Boston Amtrak. I had an anonymous Twitter account dedicated to them that I only closed a few months ago when the random bot notifications got to be too annoying. When I started my music blog, it had taken a concentrated effort to review their releases unbiasedly when I so badly wanted to give them all perfect ratings.
I remember the day they announced their hiatus better than my college graduation. I was distraught. I still have Alec’s goodbye tweet memorized: “We hope you’ll wait a little for us.” Liar. They could call it a break or a hiatus all they wanted, but we all knew what it really was—the end. One Direction called it a break, too, and look where that’s left us.
I listen, hair on end, as Helen tells me about the band I once contemplated getting a tattoo for. “Well, they’ve all started going solo, and one of them lives in New York. He released an album, though it was a couple of months ago now.”

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

lovely word count moment while editing tonight

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

imagine going on a halloween date w your celebrity crush and you make him dress up like a puppy? addie you’re a genius for that.

A screenshot of text that says the following:

I slouch against my seat. Even though the windows of the SUV are tinted dark enough that nobody should ever be able to see me, I feel extra exposed tonight.
I think it’s the puppy ears. I’m tempted to take the headband off until we’re in the party, but Beck already told me not to—apparently, the hairstylist arranged my hair perfectly so that the headband is barely visible, and if I take it off and put it back on later, I’ll ruin the illusion. I’m not sure how maintainable the “illusion” of dog ears really is, but Beck will notice if it’s wrong in any photos.
It had been strange to have hair and makeup folks in my apartment, but luckily it had been a quick appointment. While the hairstylist integrated my headband into my short curls, the makeup artist had painted a brown patch around one eye and a black dog nose over my own. She’d wanted to add a pink tongue lolling out, but I put my foot down at that.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

my desk, aka The ClutterZone. Featuring at least 5 kpop idols (more not pictured), my friend’s cats, and a couple hockey cards. also 800 pens and markers just off to the side. I always listen to music while writing, but something different every day! #CRPDamselflies

A photo of a very messy desk. A laptop sits on a riser, and a pastel keyboard sits below it. The screen of the laptop shows a screenshot from Howl’s Moving Castle.
To the left of the keyboard are a stuffed parrot with a friendship bracelet around its neck, a painting of a polar bear, two stacks of sticky notes, and a skein of teal yarn. To the left is an empty water cup and paintbrushes, a sun lamp, a sashimi figure, a stuffed shark, some chapstick, and a kpop photocard (Wonwoo from Seventeen) in a holder.
On the wall behind the laptop is an array of paper memorabilia: several more photocards (Eunho from Younite, Seungkwan from Seventeen, and Jeongyeon from Twice), a holiday card featuring photos of cats, a photo of two little kids dancing, and a hockey card of Zdeno Chara.
On the front of the overhead part of the desk is a sticky note that reads “all good things ahead”

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

#CRPDamselflies my WIP takes place in New York City, which is relevant to how my MCs always feel like they have too many ryes on them (there are, after all, a LOT of eyes in NY, lol)

A shot down a New York City street in early autumn. The photo is taken from above the street, right in the middle, so that we’re looking down the road as much as possible.

There are several cars driving through, and trees lining the street wear leaves in varying shades of green, yellow, and red. Tall buildings rise on either side, so that we cannot see their roofs. The sky is cloudy with small glimpses of blue.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

August will stop at nothing to win Miss Florida. When she and her lifelong rival Kenna are thrust into a timeloop, it seems that they have endless opportunities to get the pageant right—until they start to fall for each other. Also, someone keeps killing the reigning queen. #PosterPitW #A #R

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

🤩SEEING STARS🤩 When her least-favorite member of her favorite (now disbanded) boyband ropes her into a PR relationship, people-pleasing Addie can’t say no. Her guilty conscience won’t let her lie for long—especially when their fake feelings become all too real. #PosterPitQ #NA #A #R

A movie poster for the unpublished novel Seeing Stars by Lily D’Anieri. It is a photo of a hand-heart from a concert with brief tidbits about the book, all in shades of yellow and orange. It conveys the following information, from top to bottom:

Quotes from readers: “so good I forgot you wrote it!” And “Giggling and kicking my feet the entire time.”

Tagline: fangirl turns girlfriend

Comp titles: The Stand-In by Lily Chu, The Brown Sisters Trilogy by Talia Hibbert, and Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey.

At the bottom it says Seeing Stars, a film by Lily D’Anieri. Querying Spring 2025.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

When you’re having a rough day and the only person you want to talk to is your fake girlfriend #WIPSnips #WriteSky #amwriting #RomanceWriter

A screenshot of text reading the following:

No, I know exactly who I want to talk to.
I call Addie.
She answers on the third ring, giving me just enough time to get cold feet but not enough to actually hang up.
“Hello, dear,” she says, voice chipper even through the tinniness of the speaker. My heart thrums a little harder at the term of endearment, and some of my anger dissolves instantly.
I swallow. “Hi, uh, honey. Oh—you’re at work, aren’t you?” I’d forgotten for a moment about 9-5 jobs, and that today is Friday. Suddenly the “dear” makes more sense—she’s acting.

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

working on my seeing stars poster for #PosterPit and feeling very

a poorly photoshopped cartoon frog on a cloudy background. Red papyrus font reads “graphic design is my passion”

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

FANGIRL DOWN x THE STAND-IN x HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN TEN DAYS 🎧 grumpy x sunshine 🎧 fake dating your former idol 🎧 plus-size fmc 🎧 what it means to be a pop star 🎧 the power of online fandom 🎧 finding control and giving it away again Querying soon! #romance #amwriting #WIP

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Lily Traina @lilytrainaauthor.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

So close to the finish line!! And even though it’s too long already, this is a fun milestone :)

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