Christine Rains

Fantasy indies Spooktober with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the seventh, and the theme is villain's goals.

#FantasyIndiesSpooktober
Day 7

WIP #1 - The villain wants total power and dominion. Cue the Imperial March!

WIP #2 - There's no villain. Just characters with conflicts and a blizzard to snow them in.

Thanks @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social @lvrussell.bsky.social

Fantasy Indies Spooktober with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the sixth, and the theme is monsters in your WIP.

#FantasyIndiesSpooktober
Day 6

WIP #1 - Plenty of monsters, but the MC wants to avoid dealing with them at all. She stays in the walled village where it's safe... For now.

WIP #2 - The monster is the weather. A Christmas blizzard!

Thanks @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social @lvrussell.bsky.social

Fantasy Indies September with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the third, and it's Free Friday or share something you are proud of.

Images of a woman not seen above the shoulders wearing a black dress similar to Wednesday Adams. She's holding a pumpkin with the number twenty-eight written on it.

#FantasyIndiesSpooktober
Day 3

28 days until Halloween! 🎃 I'm proud of my son who decided marching band was too stressful after last year, but still wanted to support the band and is helping with props. Next competition is tomorrow.

Thanks @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social @lvrussell.bsky.social

The Sheep: A Ghastly Game where Sheep are the Apex Predator Band together to protect the remnants of humanity from hordes of mutant sheep.

Just in time for October, I got an ad for this horror game: www.kickstarter.com/projects/339...

Fantasy Indies Spooktober with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the second, and the theme question is: do you or your characters like scary things?

#FantasyIndiesSpooktober
Day 2

Do I like scary things? Yes!

Do my characters like scary things? No. WIP #1's MC must live with them, but WIP #2's MC would scream if she saw a monster mask.

Thanks @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social @lvrussell.bsky.social

Now in Orbit, Space Squad 51. Where Disaster Meets Comedy! Kickstarter-exclusive editions packed with comedy, calamity, and cosmic chaos.

Check out Now in Orbit, Space Squad 51. Where Disaster Meets Comedy! by MPax on @kickstarter.com #booksky www.kickstarter.com/projects/mpa...

An image of several pumpkins. The text reads: Happy October.

It's my favorite month of the year.🎃 Happy October!

Fantasy Indies Spooktober with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the first, and the theme is introduce yourself and your WIP.

#FantasyIndiesSpooktober
Day 1

Spooky greetings! It's my favorite month of the year. I'm Christine Rains, a multi-genre author. This month I'm working on a Christmas romance for my pen name, and some horror shorts for myself.

Thanks @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social @lvrussell.bsky.social

Fantasy Indies October prompts by @ChesneyInfalt & @LydiaVRussell 1. Introduce yourself & WIP 2. Do you/your characters like scary things? 3. Free Friday or share something you are proud of 4. Saturday Snippet 5. What are your characters afraid of? 6. Monsters in WIP 7. Villain’s goals 8. Spooky month book recs 9. Favourite paranormal creatures 10. Free Friday or explain your WIP with emojis/gifs 11. Saturday Snippet 12. What do your MC and villain think of each other? 13. Spooky Shelfie 14. Villain’s henchmen and/or followers 15. What would you/your characters wear to a Halloween ball? 16. Tricks and/or treats in WIP 17. Free Friday or share a photo of autumn decorations 18. Saturday Snippet 19. Scary moment in WIP 20. Morally grey character(s) 21. Scary movie/tv show recs 22. Creepy poem or flash fiction 23. Who would your characters dress up as for Halloween? 24. Free Friday or share your Halloween plans 25. Saturday Snippet 26. How would your MC react to a haunted house? 27. Goosebumps or Point Horror? 28. Guilt or regret in WIP 29. MC’s worst nightmare 30. Is your MC brave? 31. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

🎃 #FantasyIndiesSpooktober 🎃

All genres welcome! You can use the prompts for WIPs or published books.
Feel free to ask the hosts questions!

Love,
Faeries at Fantasy Indies
@lvrussell.bsky.social @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social

Fantasy Indies September with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the 30th, and the theme is the monthly wrap up.

#FantasyIndiesSeptember
Day 30

WIP #1 (cozy fantasy) has stalled. I wanted a cozy story, but it has grown darker. I'm debating if I want to fix that or just let it flow naturally. WIP #2 is done, and I started a new WIP #2.

Thanks @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social @lvrussell.bsky.social

How Willpower Backfires When You’re Facing Writing Procrastination - Master Writer Mindset Discover why willpower fails at writing procrastination—and how to break free with strategies that fit your creative brain.

How willpower backfires when you're facing writing procrastination. #authors #writinglife #writingcommunity masterwritermindset.com/2025/09/28/h...

Fantasy Indies September with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the 29th, and the theme question is: are you or your MC an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?

#FantasyIndiesSeptember
Day 29

I'm an introvert. The MC from WIP #1 is an ambivert, and the MC from WIP #2 is an extrovert. We've got all the 'verts covered! 😅

Thanks @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social @lvrussell.bsky.social

Thank you! I'm excited to see it next Friday. I really loved Avenue Q and I've heard Book of Mormon is funnier.

Fantasy Indies September with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the 26th, and the theme is Free Friday or share something you're looking forward to.

#FantasyIndiesSeptember
Day 26

Happy Friday! In one week, I'll be going to see Book of Mormon. I've done my best not to spoil it, but the few clips I've seen, it's hilarious! Tonight is game night. I'm breaking out my dice! 🎲

Thanks @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social @lvrussell.bsky.social

Fantasy Indies September with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the 25th, and the theme question is: what would be your MC's favorite subject in school?

#FantasyIndiesSeptember
Day 25

WIP #1 - The MC would love practical classes like home economics, cooking, or everyday electronics. She's probably like literature, too, for the stories.

WIP #2 - Her favorite subject would be science.

Thanks @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social @lvrussell.bsky.social

The kids always end up creaming us. 😂 I'm just happy to have cultivated another gamer in the next generation, and he, in turn, brings his friends into the TTRPG fold.

That's awesome you improved your game dexterity and could play all those games. Video games are a great way to work off energy through mayhem. Sometimes I still hop on Fortnite to just be crazy! 😅

Fantasy Indies September with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the 24th, and the theme is an interesting fact from your WIP's world's history.

#FantasyIndiesSeptember
Day 24

In my cozy fantasy, each town has a tree that is key to the health of the town. They are sentient, but only a few know it. I've always been fascinated by the lore of a world tree.

Thanks @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social @lvrussell.bsky.social

The most dexterity I have was playing Fortnite with my son when he was younger. Thankfully we moved on to playing tower defense games, which I liked much more. Now he's a teen and only wants to play with his friends. Thankfully he has a group that likes TTRPGs as well as video games.

I've not heard of Life is Strange or Plague's Tale, but I will look them up. I'm more of a builder too. In cozy games, I want to build up things rather than go out to do dangerous quests. My lack of gaming dexterity does affect what I like to play too. 😂

We've done a lot of campaigns over the last ten years too.

Two of my friends recently moved as well, and one was our most enthusiastic GM of the group. We still have hybrid games, but they don't want to run anything online. The 2020 lockdown taught me I don't want to either.

Yes! That's what I do too. I get weird looks from some other authors when I say that my characters lead the way not the plot.

I've not heard of either of those games, but after a quick google, they look awesome. I enjoy horror games, but most of my group does not. (When we played Curse of Strahd, it was a much more comic campaign than a scary one!) I'm sorry one of the players wasn't trustworthy. It's hard to find that.

In the book's notes at the end, King did mention he had a hard time writing the book, and even his wife told him the first drafts weren't good enough. He was going through a rough time in 2023 when he wrote it.

That's awesome! It's too bad you haven't gotten a chance to play. I love the concept too, and I wish my group was more interested in it. I want to bring back my shotgun wielding nun! 😅

Fantasy Indies September with each day of the month listed with its theme. Today is the 23rd, and the theme question is: what grammar rule catches you out?

#FantasyIndiesSeptember
Day 23

"Never start a sentence with a conjunction." I've tossed this grammar rule out the window a long time ago. Editors will nab me for it, but it's a matter of creative style.

Thanks @lvrussell.bsky.social @chesneyinfalt.bsky.social

What types of video games do you like to play? I used to play a lot of RPGs, but I can't seem to find the time or energy for games that take over 100 hours these days. I play Dungeons of Eternity with friends on the Oculus VR, and I'm nearing the end of Blue Prince on Steam.

I do understand GM burnout. I'm lucky to have a group where most of us like to be the GM, but only sometimes. We typically rotate who runs. Right now we're playing Blow 'Em Up which is almost done. Then we'll have a one shot of Magical Kitties Save the Day, and after I'm running MotW.

Do you ever purposely choose themes for your stories or do they unfold naturally? If I try to outline or plan something, my story will go off in another direction. My muse is rebellious!