iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 3h

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! This week I... Wrote 5.5 new pages by hand Since printing out my 40,000 word manuscript I've worked on... 92 printed pages (structural edits) 44.5 new pages written by hand #writingcommunity #amwriting #writersofbluesky 📚✍️

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Everyone knows the economy is 📉 right now, but bills still need to get paid. I'm trying to get monetized on YouTube, so if you like #writing and #bookish stuff, go check it out! If you're trying to do the same, leave your channel in the comments and we can give eachother some watch time 🤝 📚💙📚⏰️📚✍️

youtube.com

Marina Gabriela 📚 Author

Nerd. Author. Day Dreamer. Canadian Fantasy Author in Ottawa 📚🇨🇦 Check out what I'm up to! ⬇️ https://linktr.ee/marinagabriela.author Join Amaya on Eltaris ✨️🐉 https://marinagabriela-author.my.canva...

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to my fellow Canadians! 🇨🇦🍂🍁 If you plan on #writing your #book over the #longweekend and you need a writing buddy, come hang out and say hi to my cat, Fluffy! She interrupts for 2 min, but then it's straight back to work 🤓✍️ #writingcommunity youtu.be/p-GyDcBPKHc?...

youtu.be

Write with me! 50min work & 2min cat visit, cozy pen & paper, no music real time. Home office vibe✍️

YouTube video by Marina Gabriela 📚 Author

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy writing update! I've managed to do quite a bit since printing out my first draft. It's pretty satisfying to see it all counted up, but I'm only about half way through the story. Queue Bon Jovi song 🎵WHOOAAA we're halfway there🎵 #writingcommunity #wip #amwriting 📚⏰️⚔️💙✍️🪐

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Had too many scratches on my laptop so I decided it was sticker time! It was fun to figure out how the large character themed "Eltaris" stickers should be organized... iykyk And if you have no idea what I'm talking about - check out my bio🤓 ✨️🐉 #booksky #artsky

Stickers on a silver laptop.

Abstract character art by Margh
Blue dragon by Elisa Serio
The brown dragon was a freebie from a market so I'm not sure who the artist is.

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

If you need a writing buddy, but you hate joining live videos (just like me), I've posted a new writing session up where long form videos go! No pressure, just calm background music and someone to work with while you get things done. youtu.be/riign2xga_k?... #writingcommunity

youtu.be

Write with me! 49min, no breaks. Cozy music, no edits. Pen & paper handwriting, home office vibe ✍️

YouTube video by Marina Gabriela 📚 Author

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! Added 8 hand-written pages this week. I'm about halfway through the story, so there's steady progress! #writing #writingupdate #wip #writingcommunity #writer

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Finished a book, so I got to grab a new one from the #tbrjar! Thoughts on The Children of Hurin by J.R.R Tolkien in the comments 🤓 📚💙📚⏰️📚💬

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Wild to think I made this 2 yrs ago over on the clock app. This is before I had published Eltaris. Before anyone had read it, before markets and signings and interviews. What a wild 2 years it's been, and I wouldn't change it for the world - thank you for being here! 🤓🫶 #writingcommunity #booksky

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! Slowed down a bit this week since I'm not feeling 100%, but I still made some progress 🤓 #writingupdate #writingcommunity #writing #wip 💙📚⏰️🪐⚔️

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! At this point I'm surprising myself with the amount of pages I'm going through and/or writing each week. I thought I had done much less than that! #writingcommunity #writingupdate #writingprocess #writing #writer 📚💙⏰️🪐⚔️✍️

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update!

This week I...
Edited 32 printed pages
Removed 16 printed pages that were no longer working

I'm in the second act of my manuscript now and I just stopped at a gap I found in the story, so I'm sure I'll be back to handwriting next week!

Going through structural edits manually like this has been great for me - I think I'll be doing it this way as much as I can from now on.

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I'm trying something new! If you need a writing buddy or someone to work with while you tackle your to-do list, check out the video link! I also didn't realize how retro-looking the colours in my set up are until I filmed it 😂 #writingcommunity #amwriting #work #writing youtu.be/uJzU66I7g1c?...

youtu.be

Co-work with me! No music, no edits, no breaks, 36 minutes ✍️

YouTube video by Marina Gabriela 📚 Author

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! I wrote more pages than I thought I had this week 🥳 This week I... Wrote 7 new pages by hand Edited 4 printed pages #writingupdate #amwriting #writer #wip #writingcommunity 📚⏰️

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Most of you likely don't know, but I have a bit of an alter ego. I also have a YouTube channel @cheapcheery where my partner and I share recipes and ideas to help people save money in the kitchen. Long story short, we're doing a fundraiser with Food Banks Canada to raise $1,000! oal.lu/ZiUBB

oal.lu

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The fifth (and final) day of the author visibility quest! Stick around and see how it all unfolds 👀 #amwriting #canadianauthor #writingcommunity #books #readsky 💙📚✍️📖💰📚🪐📚⚔️

First, I wrote to the stars.

Now I write to the Earth.

I'm still writing.

Last year, my debut novel "Eltaris " was published. If you like the idea of a fantastical and mythologically- inspired story set among the stars, then "Eltaris " is for you. It has a lot of similar themes as "The Midnight Library " by Matt Haig.

This year, I've been working on a new project . It's a dystopian science-fantasy story set in a future Earth where the planet has flooded, and not much of humanity is left. Our main character was born on a military ship and travels to Land, though she's heard stories of the monsters that live there. Or were the true monsters on the ship after all?

So, what have I done so far?

40k words typed (and printed out)
44 .5 printed pages structurally edited
12.5 new pages written by hand to fill story and structural holes
3 new ideas mapped out for act 2 and 3

I'm learning a lot as I go, and actively working on my new novel. I hope you join me as I follow my dreams and my author journey unfolds!

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The scratches on my laptop were starting to bother me so... stickers will probably cover the entire laptop very soon 😅😂

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🤟🎵I got another confession to make🎵 🤟 Do you read every day? I try but I definitely don't succeed all the time. Day 4 of the author visibility quest! #reading #read 💙📚✍️📖💰

I don't read every day.

I know I probably should, but in this wild world we live in time has, unfortunately, become a luxury in a lot of ways.

I certainly still read regularly, but sometimes life gets in the way and I'm just too tired at the end of the day to sit and read. I also listen to audiobooks from time to time (which can definitely help get my reading up) .

I love being able to slow down and enjoy the process of reading a paperback, but I go in bouts of really busy times with plenty of distractions (sometimes it really is "that damn phone") and then I'll read a bunch of books relatively quickly.

None of this means I love reading or storytelling any less, it simply means I'm human, and the modern world is not designed for us to easily slow down. In fact part of me loves reading even more because it's one of the few things I get to slow down for, if I can manage to do so.

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Do you ever get stuck with your creative projects? What works for you? I'm by no means a seasoned pro... I'm a new pro at best, so I'm learning a lot as I go! Day three of the author visibility quest! #writer #authorsofbluesky #amwriting #creative 📚💙✍️📖💰

What happens when I get stuck in the middle of my writing project?

I always get stuck, at least once during a writing project.

It's inevitable for me. The words will be flowing nicely, things will be picking up and then... I hit a wall. It may be because I have too many ideas and I've bounced all over my manuscript (while very effectively confusing myself), or I'll run out of ideas completely.

If I'm in the realm of "no ideas", then the best solution is usually to stop adding words to the project and dive into more worldbuilding research. Admittedly, it works best in the early stages of the process, not so much near the end.

If I'm still full of ideas , but with nowhere to put them, usually a change in scenery helps me. Sometimes thats as simple as taking my laptop from one room to the other to sort out my thoughts, and sometimes it's more complicated. My most recent project got stuck around mid August and couldn't get un-stuck until I printed out what I had and now I'm writing new parts by hand. It's been working great so far!

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Do any of the same things inspire you? Day two of the author visibility quest! #writer #authorsofbluesky #amwriting #creative #writing 💙📚✍️📖💰

There are so many things that inspire me!

The world at large (the good, the bad, and the ugly).

The beauty of a well-crafted story in any form. To me that mostly means books, film, music and some visual art. I hope to be half as skilled as them one day.

As I was writing Eltaris, a lot of mythology (and a curiosity as to why those particular stories stuck around) was a large chunk of my inspiration.

For my new book project, my... displeasure at the current state of the world is fueling a lot of the topics and themes I'm including, as well as a sprinkle of hope, partially inspired by the solarpunk movement.

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Get to know me! I'll be doing a full week of bookish behind the scenes posts, so follow along 💙📚 #readersofbluesky #writingcommunity

Library books, used books, and a few new books too.

I usually read within sci-fi and fantasy, but I also love dystopian, mystery, classics, and literary fiction. I've been reading since I was tiny, so if a synopsis sounds interesting to me, I'll usually try it out, regardless of genre.

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

This post idea was inspired by Orin Steele's post about her own author dreams. Thank you for sharing! Of course I have about 1637242 more dreams that I could mention, but these are the ones I've been thinking about the most lately. What are your dreams? #author #dreams #indieauthor 💙📚⏰️⚔️🪐✍️📖💰

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! Since printing out my 40,000 word manuscript, I've gone through 44 printed pages and I've written 5.5 new pages by hand. I'd say this has been a great decision for me and my creative process! It's been much easier for me to see what's missing.

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

📢BOOK SALE📢 Singing Pebble Books is having a store-wide sale to celebrate 38 years in business! Go support a small business and an indie author all at once 😎 there's lots of Canadian authors of all genres, and they ship Canada-wide! Happy reading 💙📚🇨🇦🪐⚔️ #booksale #bookstore #buycanadian

singingpebblebooks.ca

Eltaris by Marina Gabriela | Singing Pebble Books

Ripped from her life on Earth in the dark of night, 20-year-old Amaya Eltanin finds herself entangled in a mysterious mission to restore Eltaris - a red planet where light shines from its core and mag...

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I've been struggling at this point with my #WIP. I've written roughly 40k so I decided to print out what I have and write what's missing, by hand. I was getting a little too distracted and lost in all the digital files, so I'm hoping this'll help get the ideas flowing again! #writingcommunity📚💙✍️📖💰

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I'll be at the Clocktower pub this weekend! If any of you are local to Ottawa 🇨🇦 come swing by and say hi, there'll be a bunch of us cool local authors there! Check out the post below for more info. 📚💙🪐⚔️📢✍️📖💰 #ottawaevents

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

No dystopian science-fantasy writing update today. Instead, I've taken a little break from it and started a project I've been meaning to tackle for months! It's about how I published "wide" as an indie author. Those of you who read my Substack newsletters months ago got a little sneak peek!

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Anyone else crashing out about the amount of AI being forced into the publishing industry whether you like it or not? Or alternatively, making sure they can take your work to train generative AI models in some way?? 🫠🫠🫠 #writingcommunity

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

While I was writing my first book, I didn't really listen to music while writing, but for my current project I've been collecting songs that remind me of it: Good Girls - Josie Edwards Uprising - Muse They Don't Care About Us - Michael Jackson Some Type of Skin - Aurora Continued in the comments

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! Words added: 3,267 I've been wandering around, bouncing between act 2 and 3. I've outlined, but found myself a bit directionless anyway 😅 Any fellow writers experience something similar? #writing #writerlife #workinprogress #writingupdate #writer

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! Words added: 1,152 I panicked a bit this week when my laptop crashed and I was having a hard time getting it to boot up again. Safe to say, I've been backing up my writing files every day since 😅 #writingcommunity #reading #writing #writesky

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Welcome to Eltaris. This is one of my favourite scenes with Amaya, and there's a twin scene later on in the book that mirrors this one. In my (very biased opinion) I think it's an impactful display of character development. Part 6/35 #bookquotes #bookish #reading #quotes #eltaris

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! Words added: 3509 Interesting things I researched: The mold that creates penicillin needs to be fermented for it to be at it's most effective state. Water lillies & irises can help clean microplastics. #amwriting #writingcommunity #write 🧡🚀📚🖋📖💰📚💙

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Amaya has a terrible first night in Eltaris, as nightmares reach for her in the dark. Part 5/35 Check the 🔗 in my b1o for the full list of global bookstores that stock "Eltaris" by Marina Gabriela! #booklove #storytelling #eltaris #fantasyreads #bookrecommendations

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

My laptop just crashed and I needed to restore it to gain access again 😰 There might not be much of a writing update for my current WIP this week. I don't want to take a chance and boot it up to write before trying to fix it. Thankfully I was able to back up my files so at least there's that!

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! Words added: 2,810 The FMC has found another person, and a creature he calls a "dog". Having been born on a ship, she's never seen anything like it! #amwriting #write #writing #writingupdate #writingcommunity 🧡🚀📚🖋📖💰📚💙

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Part 4/35 Good ol' mind games with Araphel 😅 Sharing snippets from my debut fantasy novel, Eltaris. #bookquotes #writing #books

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Eltaris is a fantasy story in a sci-fi setting. The box comes with unique character art and goodies too! $38 CAD, international shipping, and you get to support #antiai small businesses and creatives. 📚📢💙🪐⚔️ #indieauthor #author #bookish #bookbox #sale #reading mythicmanuscripts.ca/products/elt...

mythicmanuscripts.ca

Fantasy Book Box: Eltaris

🌿 What’s Inside Your Book BoxDiscover a beautifully curated reading experience celebrating indie authors and immersive storytelling: 📚 Signed Bookplate Edition~A copy of ELTARIS by MARINA GABRIELA (so...

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Part 3/35 This chapter has one of my favourite scenes (the protagonist and antagonist make a deal) but it's a little too long to share here, so this is Amaya trying to cautiously figure out what's really going on at the beginning of the chapter. #bookquotes #eltaris #indieauthor #read #books

"Knowledge and understanding mattered more now than ever."

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy weekly writing update! Words added: 2,535 I'm well into the second third of the book! The FMC has met some strange new people (and creatures) on the Land. #writingcommunity #amwriting #writersofbluesky

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Dystopian science-fantasy novel writing update! Words added this week: 2,259 I think act 1 is set for now! A sunken world, a cannibalistic society, and a protagonists hope for something better. I'm following Lenore to the Land... let's see what it has in store. #writingcommunity #author #wip

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Part 1/35 My favorite line from the prologue of Eltaris happens to be the opening line, and our first peek inside Amaya's head. Meet Amaya, our FMC as she goes on a mysterious adventure through Eltaris - a fantasy story in a sci-fi setting. Abstract character art by @madebymargh #writing #books

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

I just finished reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. That cliffhanger!!! So frustratingly good! I'll definitely be hunting down the rest of the trilogy. #scifi #dystopian #bookrecommendations 📚💬

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Reposted by Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author

L. Bay Riley @lbayriley.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

My debut YA book, The Lost Rival, is now available! The first entry in the #HeirsofAlighieri series introduces you to young demon Hunters Beatrice and Mara, as they do their best to follow in their father’s footsteps. shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params... #WritingCommunity #BookSky #WriteSky

shop.ingramspark.com

The Lost Rival

In this first entry in the Heirs of Alighieri saga, Beatrice and Mara face those who seek to watch the world burn. Will they rise to carry their father's torch, or be swept away by the very darkness t...

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

I've permanently lowered the price of my Ebook for Eltaris (a fantasy story set in space) to $9.99 CAD through major retailers. There's also a permanent 30% discount on it via my Ko-Fi page. You can also pay what you can/want through there! ko-fi.com/s/9930d0758f... 📚🪐⚔️💙📢💰✍️ #sale #books #writesky

ko-fi.com

Eltaris E-book - Marina Gabriela's Ko-fi Shop

Support me directly, and get a 30% discount! The Eltaris E-book typically retails for $9.99 CAD. This is an epub file, so it's compatible with Kindle...

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Just a gentle reminder from your friendly neighborhood indie author... Every day is a good day to go support your local library! #library 📚💙 📚🪐 📚⚔️ 📚⏰️

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

So excited to finally start Dungeon Crawler Carl! The DnD nerd in me is very happy right now 🤓

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Marina Gabriela 🇨🇦 Author @marina-gabriela.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

So... Amazon is amazon-ing. Amazon.ca decided to list my book at a 68% discount!! My loss is your gain. If you like the idea of a fantasy version of The Midnight Library, or a fantasy story set in space, Eltaris is for you! #booksale #readsky #booksky 📚⚔️ 📚🪐 📚📢 📚⏰️ www.amazon.ca/Eltaris-Mari...

amazon.ca

Eltaris: Gabriela, Marina: 9781069341303: Books - Amazon.ca

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