P.S.C. Willis 🌈🖋️ Crying Out for Magic - Out Now!

@pscwillis.bsky.social

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Pronouns: any A meet cute across worlds: get 'Crying out for Magic' from Space Wizard Science Fantasy or https://books2read.com/cofm Fan of tea, cake, and cats. Writer of optimistic queer sci fi and fantasy from flash to novel length pscwillis.com

A large storage box labelled 'Blank notebooks'

A screen shot of the backerkit campaign for Common Bonds 3, which shows it is 500 Canadian Dollars away from its goal with 12 days left to go

A slice of lemon meringue pie in front of a cup of black tea

The cover of Crying Out for Magic wearing headphones, with the word 'give away' and audio waves in the background

An image requesting votes in the BFS Awards for 'Crying Out for Magic' in best novel and best newcomer, Space Wizard in best indie press, Lesbians in Space in best multiauthor anthology, and Tales & Feathers in best magazine.

A purple lightning background overlaid with text, which reads 'Loneliness was the biggest plague affecting the human race, and just because someone near them had caught it, didn't make it Elba's problem - in fact, the best advice with plague was to retreat to a safe distance from the person affected.' (from 'Welcome to the Mess').

A mug of hot horchata and an ereader displaying the cover of Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

Text reads: Do you want...?
Tired demisexual and chaotic bi own voices rep
University decisions
Trees with opinions
Friendship break up
Friends > relationships (especially toxic ones)
Stop glamorising the grind and take up crafts

Dazed and Uprooted has been signed by Space Wizard.

(Post is on a green background, bordered by leaf motifs with images of a bike and a sewing machine).

A pain au raising with a few bites taken out of it

A laptop keyboard with a cartoon book timer placed on top of it

Quote reads: "Tell me you have hot gossip or I will be forced to throw this flapjack in your face, and that would be a criminal waste." Ellen dropped into one of the blue plastic chairs of the college snack shop.

[Underneath, a picture of a rectangular baked oat bar].

A picture of the above named pastry along with a cup of tea

Chapter 15 - answers in a teacups. Fun fact: in my drafting process, chapter 15 was one of few chapters with an actual title. I never thought up enough to make it worthwhile, but I was sad to let this go as it was SO perfect. The chapter features both characters finding answers in cups of tea in different ways.

Title: Crying Out for Magic - Read Along in Real Time.
Large central text 'TFW you bring the 'you hang up'/'no you hang up' energy to a hug.
Arrow points onwards.

A journal titled 'Editing Progress for Welcome to the Mess.' The journal is decorated with doodles of lightning, a trash can, a laptop and soup. It appears on a purple lightning background. This aesthetic continues throughout.

Protest banners displaying 'duck ice' and standwithminnesota.com which is a site for donations.

A picture announcing Crying Out for Magic as a finalist in the categories:
- best light read
- best friendship
- best setting
- gay or lesbian rep

A quote from chapters 8 of Crying Out for Magic:

It could be magical, said the back of his mind, as he ran a thumb over one of the symbols. That was the part of his brain that he wasn’t supposed to be listening to anymore. He was supposed to engage with reality, or whatever. But something about the symbols drew him in. He’d memorised a few different symbol systems (another side-effect of not having a life) and he didn’t recognise these. They were a mystery to throw himself into, even if that was the opposite of what he was supposed to be doing right now.
And they only wanted £1.95 for it.
And he didn’t want to have bothered someone for nothing.
“Sure. I’ll take it,” he said.

A calendar for the read along in real time of 'Crying Out for Magic' with Chapters 6 and 7 on Monday 5th, and chapters 8 on Sunday 10th

Crying Out for Magic read along in real time questions.
Ch 4 - when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Ch 5 - Where's a place that makes you believe in magic?

Author's answers
Ch 2 - green (cos purple is my fave and I want to save that for free time but green is second fave)
Ch 3 - a shirt with icecreams, camper vans and hotdogs on

A calendar with chapters of Crying Out for Magic on.
1st = ch 1
2nd = 2 and 3 (and 4, with a note that this year doesn't fit the book's timeline exactly)
3rd = 5

Promotional poster for Crying Out for Magic reading/signing happening from 4-6pm at the Castle Tap, Reading.

Text post: Kindness creates magic, but magic's running out. Comment below, if you could only use magic for one household chore, what would it be?
Find out more about the magical world of Galdorsfarne by attending the reading this weekend.

A poster for the above event, which takes place 14th December, 4-6pm at the Castle Tap, Reading. Includes details on promotions, such as a discount on the book, and free stickers/bookmark with proof of ebook purchase.

Tom, from Tom and Jerry, striking a sneaky pose in an open doorway

A sparkly background. Title reads 'Crying Out for Magic (out now!)'

Quotation reads: I met this guy, and I think he might be perfect for me and now I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.” He flopped face-down on her bed.

“How come?” Ellen lay down on her stomach beside him.

“There was this boy at the library. We got talking.” He slowed down. “There was a boy and we got talking” was pretty much the whole story, but he wanted to relive it properly—to make Ellen understand how great the afternoon had been. “He’s cute, and he’s a dork and we talked all afternoon about books.”

“So, has Library Boy read all your favourites?”

“Nope.” Niall grinned.

“Okay. I’m surprised that’s not the end of the conversation as far as you’re concerned.” She raised her eyebrows. “You have vetoed people over lesser crimes.”

“But he wants to. I started him on them today. So, it’s even better. I get to watch him discovering them. We talked through what he’d read so far, and it was like getting to read them again for the first time—having all that excitement about what might happen.”

A post requesting nominations in the Indie Ink Awards for the book 'Crying Out for Magic.' Suggested categories - best cover artist, best light read, best setting. Nominations for this or other categories can be made at: indiestorygeek.com/story/10082

A yellow background and text reading 'Some kind of arts thing'

A sparkly background titled 'Crying Out for Magic (out now!)'. Quotation reads: He was never sure how welcome his questions were—well, no, that was a lie; he was entirely aware how unwelcome most of his questions were, but he was often tempted to ask them anyway. He was supposed to be good. He was meant to toe every line toeable. But he so rarely saw evidence of the spells they didn’t use any more.

“What does it do?” Draven peered at the markings. They were like the runes they traced in the air or inscribed in things for spellcasting, but he didn’t know these ones.

“It’s a spell for bringing a little good into someone’s life,” Mage Starkweather said, speaking slowly and carefully. “We don’t have any shortage of goodness,” she reminded him.

But there was one in Mage Gaskin’s lifetime? He held that
question back.

A sparkly background. Heading: Crying Out for Magic. Quotation: Draven and Yvette’s tram shuddered to a halt outside the home of free thinkers and wild ideas. The Energy Makers’ Guild was at the end of the line, and there were so few passengers left the tram had switched to electric so as not to be a selfish use of magic. He could see the generator building in the near distance, technically under the purview of his new guild though he hadn’t given it much thought. No one else had either, judging by the way it sat off to the side.
Out now!

A swirling, colourful background overlaid with text. Title reads 'Crying Out for Magic.' Quote reads: “What type of tea is this?” he asked. He hoped that was a normal question. Forcing Niall onto books had been a good distraction earlier, so long as Draven remembered not to make stupid comments about the realness of magic. “I don’t know. Probably bulk buy standard teabag tea.” Niall shrugged. This didn’t answer Draven’s question. He had never come across tea in bag form, and thus was not sure what was considered standard. He poked the teabag experimentally. “May I open this?” he asked. (Out now!)

Left column: The trunk of a tree with a person’s figure in it, a heart made of daisies, a snapped tree, a bicycle.
Middle column: a white girl with freckles and bobbed brown hair standing in a field of flowers.
Right column: a dish of ice cream with two spoons in it, a dark toned shot looking over someone’s shoulder as they fill out a complicated looking form, phone with text messages reading ‘He’s my bf not yours’ ‘Stay away from him,’ a Black person with paint smeared over their face.

A crocheted granny square in the colours of the asexual pride flag (purple, white, grey, black) on top of a laptop.

The cover for 'Crying Out for Magic' by P.S.C. Willis which features two teenage boys in front of different ruined buildings, leaning towards each other across a bright green divide.

A fake movie poster for the book 'Crying Out for Magic' with the tagline 'Two worlds. Two boys. One amazing love story.' The poster shows a split image of someone jumping in the sunset and a beach with castle ruins.

A spoof movie poster for the MS 'Dazed and Uprooted' (a YA contemporary fantasy about finding what you love). Three banners depict the main characters. Descriptors above them read 'Spreadsheet brain demi sexual' 'chaos brain bisexual' 'curious tree spirit.' Underneath, are compliments for the book framed by movie award laurels.

Mood board:
Left column: The trunk of a tree with a person’s figure in it, a heart made of daisies, a snapped tree, a bicycle.
Middle column: a white girl with freckles and bobbed brown hair standing in a field of flowers.
Right column: a dish of ice cream with two spoons in it, a dark toned shot looking over someone’s shoulder as they fill out a complicated looking form, phone with text messages reading ‘He’s my bf not yours’ ‘Stay away from him,’ a Black person with paint smeared over their face.

Mood board:
Left column: The trunk of a tree with a person’s figure in it, a heart made of daisies, a snapped tree, a bicycle.
Middle column: a white girl with freckles and bobbed brown hair standing in a field of flowers.
Right column: a dish of ice cream with two spoons in it, a dark toned shot looking over someone’s shoulder as they fill out a complicated looking form, phone with text messages reading ‘He’s my bf not yours’ ‘Stay away from him,’ a Black person with paint smeared over their face.

Mood board:
Left column: The trunk of a tree with a person’s figure in it, a heart made of daisies, a snapped tree, a bicycle.
Middle column: a white girl with freckles and bobbed brown hair standing in a field of flowers.
Right column: a dish of ice cream with two spoons in it, a dark toned shot looking over someone’s shoulder as they fill out a complicated looking form, phone with text messages reading ‘He’s my bf not yours’ ‘Stay away from him,’ a Black person with paint smeared over their face.

A countdown post announcing one month to go until the author's book.

A 'Happy Indie August' post listing elements of the author's book (Crying Out for Magic - meet cute across worlds, wholesome queer romance, lots of tea and libraries, lets you explore North East England) and things about their publisher (Space Wizard Science Fantasy - publishes exclusively LGBTQIA+ fiction, keeps bees and grows veggies, is all round lovely human, has adorable cats who deserve treats).

A book shelf including 'Boy Like Me' by Simon James Green

Flower background with the cover of Maurice by E.M. Forster. Caption reads: Didn't love it, but glad I read it. Here's why ->

A video of the author speaking

Two teenage boys reaching out to each other, divided by a vivid green line. Different ruined buildings are in the background of each side.

A mood board with a bright purple banner across the middle and the words IT'S BEING PUBLISHED in bold, black caps.

Moodboard:
Left column: hand holding crystals, cup of tea, old books, hands making a heart with rainbow lighting.
Central column: silhouetted figure standing amongst fireworks, a book hovering in an open circle of other books with text around it reading 'That world deserves magic... it's crying out for it,' a boy with his back turned to the camera.
Right column: hands holding a paper rainbow heart, a Tyne and Wear metro train, a modern library, Tynemouth priory above the beach.

Left column: The trunk of a tree with a person’s figure in it, a heart made of daisies, a snapped tree, a bicycle.
Middle column: a white girl with freckles and bobbed brown hair standing in a field of flowers.
Right column: a dish of ice cream with two spoons in it, a dark toned shot looking over someone’s shoulder as they fill out a complicated looking form, phone with text messages reading ‘He’s my bf not yours’ ‘Stay away from him,’ a Black person with paint smeared over their face.

A book print fabric in dark blue/grey tones

A park full of spring flowers

A sign that reads 'Secondhand bookstore - bibliovores' around the edge of a circle. In the centre sits a sideways book with eyes and an open mouth/pages. It has a long body, making it into a 'book worm."

A still from the movie Encanto of Mirabel singing 'And I'm fine, I am totally fine.'

A ground level shot of a cat at dusk, sitting on a light embedded in the ground so that it is uplit with a mysterious glow.

An image with drawings of little post-it notes with hearts, smileys and sparkles around them. Title reads 'Leaving Myself Notes While Proofreading' Post-its read: THIS IS A GOOD CHAPTER AND YOU DON'T SUCK. Makes sense/generally fine. You should be proud of yourself.

Background image: a purple lightning storm. Centre text reads: 'Welcome to the Mess - Adult Fantasy.' Arrows above read: '39k done,' 'Zeroth/first draft by the end of the year,' 'Active drafting project (but editing work is being a time-hog),' 'Notes say zeroth draft is almost done... Do I believe them?' 'Has title!' Arrows below read: 'Legends and Lattes X the IT Crowd' 'Forced Proximity' 'Queer Platonic Relationship' 'Asexual and nonbinary rep,' 'Grump/sunshine,' 'This dimension is a trashfire but we love it anyway.'