iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

A while ago I wrote this article with links to tutorials on how to make book covers that: - don’t use AI trash - look illustrated-ish - require no skill in illustration lyonspen.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...

lyonspen.substack.com

How to Make a Book Cover

for authors who can't draw good and stuff

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Author C B Lansdell @cblansdell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I finished something this year. Nature, technology, and a subdued kind of magic coexist. None of the characters are human. I've been told it has a gothic feel (haunting architecture and tragic monsters). The audiobook for Book 2 is in post production. books2read.com/cblansdell/

The Apidecca Duology is out now. Soulful FMC, hot mess MMC, Dual POV, sci-fantasy blend, new terminology, character focused.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Well, sort of, not really 😂 the work is never-ending. I have an extremely long case backlog, so I’m probably 70 or so names behind on the tldr list, and a couple hundred in the case files

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Sorry for the late reply! I figure it’s easier go show the labeling process 😂 most of them I have already marked on the main list, the names, labels, and links just need to be added to the tldr list 🤷‍♀️

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Just an FYI, I am still running my AI author list if you’d like to be kept up to date on which authors are using AI and how with receipts 💖 I am also still looking for someone to help with small tasks in the project, mostly the VAMP CREW labels 😅 There is a new channel where anyone can post 🧵

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Matt Falcon @mattfalcon.com · 13/07/2026

I haven't marketed on here lately, because I just didn't want to. Now my FFS people are gonna force me to make something they can help push out into the world. And while this isn't a baby, its emergence was a long and arduous process that I for some reason want to repeat.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Do you happen to have a screenshot of the actual email so I can add it to my evidence file on discord?

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Grimoire Ink Reviews @grimoireinkreviews.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

An Exile of Water & Gold by @joshuawalkerau.sffinsiders.com "Truly, few things are more exciting to me in a book than when real-world natural phenomena are woven into the story in unique ways." Read @lyonspen.bsky.social's review here grimoireinkreviews.wordpress.com/2026/06/10/a...

grimoireinkreviews.wordpress.com

An Exile of Water & Gold by Joshua Walker

Reviewed by E.L. Lyons It is known amongst the people that I love trees. And this book did them great justice, for which I am quite appreciative. The magic system incorporates the mycorrhizal funga…

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Lynn Strong | Cozy fantasy author @lynnstrong.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Hey #boksky, #writesky, #artsky, #romancelandia... link tree is going to start shoving things into AI without consent. This thread has some alternatives.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

This is an example of how the TLDR list is set up 💖 And in each case file, I will include a screenshot of your replies here stating what you use genAI for! By adding yourself to the list in this way, you can be absolutely sure of accuracy and showing that you respect your readers.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Y’all know that I have my public genAI author list. But I have never made a call for submissions! If you would like to be included on the list and you feel I might have missed you, please reply here and include what you use it for in your authorly endeavors 💖 🧵

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

- making a new, better spreadsheet for the non-AI artists - adding to the list of anti-AI authors Qualifications: - hatred for GenAI in the arts - doesn’t mind being villainized with me discord.gg/PH9hzRWN

discord.gg

Join the LyonsArt Discord Server!

Check out the LyonsArt community on Discord - hang out with 57 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

If anyone hates AI and has free time, my art discord has a few tasks that need doing that I’m behind on: - looking at the case files and adding names to the tldr AI author list - labeling tldr names with the proper emojis based on the manner of AI use (cover, writing, etc.) shown in receipts 🧵

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

It’s not about people not picking up the satire, it’s about them knowing it was a joke post but cropping out the name and such so that no one could see the original post/poster.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

It’s not good satire, but it’s also not a serious post. And those style guides choosing to have different serial comma guidelines predates AI by a significant period. That comma debate was happening some 15 years ago when I was in uni.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Or, hear me out, this is just a girl who is not in the book community and does nothing but troll post. Zero authors have been canceled for commas or em-dashes. This is fearmongering.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

How is trying to get people to stop fearmongering over crap that’s not happening defending her?

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Does that look like me? Does that look like my name? I’m showing the context that everyone’s cropping out. 1. That this person isn’t even in the book community, and 2. She is just a troll. Her entire account is literally just trolling.

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Hel ✨ || Untwined is out now!! 🌀🪷 @helynalc.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Have you heard about my 1st book?👀 🚀🤖 A hopeful, swashbuckling space opera with the honest, colorful camp of Star Wars & the drama and found family of Firefly and Wayfarers. #BookSky 1. loner smuggler captain rescues grieving queen 2. alien apocalypse tech breaks containment 3. ✨shenanigans✨ ensue

A photo of Helyna, a white woman in her 30s with blondish hair and glasses, holding her book, Skylark in the Fog, up.

A "trope map" type of graphic with the mockup of Skylark in the Fog in the middle. The book's cover depicts a bright blue, turbulent rift in space in the shape of a bird taking flight on a starry background. A small, cylindrical spaceship is zooming out of the "eye" of the bird, leaving two streaks of light behind it. The main colors are light blue and purple. The author name and title are written on the cover with big white blocky letters.

The "tropes" around point with arrows at the book.
- a prickly space pirate with commitment issues
- a runaway queen with AI powers
- a half-brainwashed soldier trying to find himself
- wormhole machine shenanigans
- cute robots & alien BFFs
- shady galactic empire vs rebels
- the cycle of hate and war, the meaning of home
- humanity sucks
- humanity rules
- Star Wars and Firefly vibes with awesome women and strong platonic bonds
- a swashbuckling adventure, now with extra trauma! (and perhaps healing)

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

No one is trying to take y’all’s serial commas. Please chill.

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Joel Flanagan-Grannemann @servantand.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

From Queen of Thorns. This scene was sort of inspired by my little cousin who would make chainsaw noises at the dinner table. I don't drink coffee, but we do have mugs that we collect and display. But my knee is aching so I can't go and find one right now.

“Would you stop that!” Spear cried, her frustration finally bursting free. Alexander stared at her for a breath, then resumed beating alternately on the table, his bowl, and his chair with his spoon. They had done their best to ignore it. Urged by Lily’s sharp glare, they had all eaten while Alexander beat on the table. “He only wants attention,” Lily had explained, eating her porridge calmly. “Ignore him.” Spear did her best, truly she did. She’d focused on Aurora, feeding her porridge watered down with Mother’s Milk. After each bite, she’d wiped her daughter’s mouth with a cloth. Then she’d wave another spoonful, flying it into a laughing Aurora’s mouth. But her eyes kept darting toward Alexander, who beat louder whenever she looked at him. Canin had tried to distract the boy, offering drops of their precious honey or pieces of fruit if he would just eat. Alexander had ignored him, letting his breakfast go cold in silence, except for the drumming. Lily had appeared to remain calm. The only evidence of her tension was her white knuckles gripping her mug. Finally, Aurora, picking up on Spear’s anger, had begun to fuss, and knocked a spoon full of porridge back at her mother.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Keep a tally of how many posts you see upset that these things are being seen as signs of AI, vs how many posts are from people in the book community who genuinely believe they are signs of AI

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Zero authors have been mobbed or canceled for using em-dashes or serial commas Zero I am begging the book community to stop falling for slopaganda meant to make it sound like witch hunting is some huge issue

media.tenor.com

a man in a suit and tie says it 's not real on a screen

ALT: a man in a suit and tie says it 's not real on a screen

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Premee Mohamed @premeemohamed.com · 01/04/2026

I've seen people trying to defend it today by saying "No, no, I just use it to brainstorm, bounce ideas, I do the actual writing" and with all the kindness in the world I need to tell you: if there is a stage of writing you are not good at, you need to get good, not use the plagiarism machine.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Worth noting that it is a hot mess. Jake has been helping lately with free covers, but for the bulk of the work, it’s just me, my ADHD, and my spite

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Just a reminder that I have an art discord 🧍‍♀️ -public AI-using author list with receipts -non-AI artist and author list -free ebook covers -diy cover tutorials -AI in the news -in defense of things accused of AI -other shenanigans discord.gg/9wvaXFnH

discord.gg

Join the LyonsArt Discord Server!

Check out the LyonsArt community on Discord - hang out with 49 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

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E.L. Lyons, Epic Fantasy Author @lyonspen.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

If you would like to see my latest how-to cover video, it’s over on my twitter, IG and tiktok. I turned this photo into this cover, pretty much exclusively with the smudge tool and my finger in procreate pocket, plus a sepia filter in adobe express.

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Matt Falcon @mattfalcon.com · 28/03/2026

Here’s a hardback and a couple of paperbacks. There’s emotion magic, dragons, magic drugs, a dystopian-type world, more creatures, family issues, friendship, loss… I could go on, but don’t you already want to read this??

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Matt Falcon @mattfalcon.com · 27/03/2026

What’s the best way to tell people I have a book they can get on amazon, itch, kobo or mattfalcon.com?

mattfalcon.com

Matt Falcon - Fantasy Author

Matt Falcon is a Dutch fantasy author, writing in English. His debut novel released in December 2025 and he's currently working on book 2!

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Grimoire Ink Reviews @grimoireinkreviews.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Starlight Jewel by @lyonspen.bsky.social "E.L. you may as well efface me now, because I don’t think I could enjoy anything more in this world of yours, than what I just read..." Check out the full review from Jeremy grimoireinkreviews.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/s...

grimoireinkreviews.wordpress.com

Starlight Jewel by E.L. Lyons

Reviewed by Jeremy Schwab ★★★★½ “Starlight Jewel” book 1 in E.L. Lyons ‘Gifts of the Auldtree’…let’s call this book what it really is, absolute elegance in written form! From the cover,…

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Grimoire Ink Reviews @grimoireinkreviews.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Your Blood and Bones by @jpatriciaanderson.bsky.social "This reads like a dark—perhaps a little grotesque—fairytale. Gauzy prose on a delicate frame." Read @lyonspen.bsky.social's full review here! grimoireinkreviews.wordpress.com/2026/03/09/y...

grimoireinkreviews.wordpress.com

Your Blood and Bones by J. Patricia Anderson

Reviewed by E.L. Lyons I’ve been too overwhelmed by my to-do list to read much of anything lately, and this ended up being the perfect little bite of something that I needed. I think it qualifies a…

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HL Tinsley @hollytinsl3y.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

Credit has to go to @lyonspen.bsky.social for being the first person I've ever interviewed in arctic conditions 🥶check out this awesome panel with @stevepannett.com @skbalstrup.bsky.social and @authoriseult.bsky.social

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Grimoire Ink Reviews @grimoireinkreviews.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Austringer's Wrath by @lyonspen.bsky.social "Some of the characters are just so damaged, that all I wanted to do was hug them, and give them a home where they can feel they belong." Read Lesley's full review grimoireinkreviews.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/a...

grimoireinkreviews.wordpress.com

Austringer’s Wrath by E.L. Lyons

Reviewed by Lesley Bennett-Chaney ★★★★★ I read this as an ARC, and wow…it is a stunner!! I was so ready for this follow up to Starlight Jewel, and to see where Axly and co. would go. We…

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Author C B Lansdell @cblansdell.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

#FantasyIndiesNovember Day 5: Last, current and next reads Last: Austringer's Wrath – @lyonspen.bsky.social Current: Serpentus – @ajcalvin.bsky.social Next: Unlucky Evans, Cursed Odds – @williamjadams3.bsky.social and I really want to get to Daughters of Tith by @jpatriciaanderson.bsky.social

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J. Patricia Anderson @jpatriciaanderson.bsky.social · 24/10/2024

Introduction thread! 🥰🍁🌳 Hello, I am an indie fantasy author with one chonky, very different high/epic fantasy series starter (will be 5 books when done) 🌳✨ and one standalone dark fantasy with horror elements novella 🩸🐦‍⬛☠️ published so far 😎 1/X

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Natalie Kelda @nataliekelda.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Proof copy arrived and it's looking gorgeous 🤩 10 days until I have a finished trilogy out in the world! If you need a dark spacey fantasy series with slow burn romance and mental health rep, give it a go! 📚 💙

Hand holding paperback book which has a green cover with a dark forest on a spacey sky. A glowing blue bird soars above and the title is in gold lettering across the bottom: Verselva Blues.

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