Lukas Stone 🇦🇺 🏳️🌈 👨👨👦
@stonestories.bsky.social
Sydney-based storyteller writing about surrogacy, same-sex parenting, breaking generational trauma, and documenting my journey to getting my first book published. Raw, real, occasionally sweary.
Website: https://stonestories.com.au
Website: https://stonestories.com.au
Pinned
Hey Bluesky! I'm Lukas, a Sydney-based gay dad who just finished writing a memoir about our 5-year surrogacy journey.
Looking for: other memoirists, queer writers and same-sex parents 🏳️🌈 Who should I follow? Drop me your recs below 👇
#QueerWriters #WritingCommunity #AmWritingMemoir #LGBTQAuthors
Looking for: other memoirists, queer writers and same-sex parents 🏳️🌈 Who should I follow? Drop me your recs below 👇
#QueerWriters #WritingCommunity #AmWritingMemoir #LGBTQAuthors
How do you pick yourself and keep going, rejection after rejection? My writing coach told me to focus on my other projects, but I feel "stuck" if that makes sense? Like I can't move on until I see my first work on shelves.
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
August 3, 2026 at 11:09 PM
How do you pick yourself and keep going, rejection after rejection? My writing coach told me to focus on my other projects, but I feel "stuck" if that makes sense? Like I can't move on until I see my first work on shelves.
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
As much as I thought I aced both pitches last week, I have already received two rejection letters from the publishing houses. I'm so deflated. Apparently you need 200K followers on social or be a politician to get memoir published these days.
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
August 2, 2026 at 11:48 PM
As much as I thought I aced both pitches last week, I have already received two rejection letters from the publishing houses. I'm so deflated. Apparently you need 200K followers on social or be a politician to get memoir published these days.
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
And that's wrap! Two publishing houses pitched, lots of nodding and laughing from both editors which I'm taking as a good sign. Now we play the waiting game...actually the waiting game sux, let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos 🤣
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
July 24, 2026 at 2:32 AM
And that's wrap! Two publishing houses pitched, lots of nodding and laughing from both editors which I'm taking as a good sign. Now we play the waiting game...actually the waiting game sux, let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos 🤣
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
One pitch down, one to go! OMG the time goes so quickly when you are face to face with a publisher 😰
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
July 24, 2026 at 12:58 AM
One pitch down, one to go! OMG the time goes so quickly when you are face to face with a publisher 😰
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
Pitching my memoir to two of Australia's biggest publishing houses this morning. Please send me luck as I prepare and quietly 💩 my pants 😅
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
July 23, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Pitching my memoir to two of Australia's biggest publishing houses this morning. Please send me luck as I prepare and quietly 💩 my pants 😅
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
Reposted by Lukas Stone 🇦🇺 🏳️🌈 👨👨👦
Booked in to my first Virtual Literary Speed Dating event in a few weeks. I have three mins to pitch my completed manuscript to two contacts from two of my dream publishers. Any tips or advice from those who have done this before?
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
June 22, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Booked in to my first Virtual Literary Speed Dating event in a few weeks. I have three mins to pitch my completed manuscript to two contacts from two of my dream publishers. Any tips or advice from those who have done this before?
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
There's been a LOT of articles in the media recently about surrogacy, so I felt like I needed to weigh in. There's also a shit-tonne of misinformation out there, That's why my book is so very needed for both education, and representation.
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
They're coming for our families.
The attacks on same-sex surrogacy aren't new. They're just louder now.
stonestories.substack.com
May 27, 2026 at 10:12 AM
There's been a LOT of articles in the media recently about surrogacy, so I felt like I needed to weigh in. There's also a shit-tonne of misinformation out there, That's why my book is so very needed for both education, and representation.
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
4) Stories like ours need to be published. Not as activism. Just as truth. Because right now, people are trying to write a very different version of what our family is, or what it 'should' be in their eyes.
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
May 4, 2026 at 11:44 PM
4) Stories like ours need to be published. Not as activism. Just as truth. Because right now, people are trying to write a very different version of what our family is, or what it 'should' be in their eyes.
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
3) I spent two years writing our surrogacy story. It documents the five years my husband and I spent trying to become parents through altruistic surrogacy in Australia. Every transfer. Every loss. Every wall. Every extraordinary human being who helped us get there.
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
May 4, 2026 at 11:43 PM
3) I spent two years writing our surrogacy story. It documents the five years my husband and I spent trying to become parents through altruistic surrogacy in Australia. Every transfer. Every loss. Every wall. Every extraordinary human being who helped us get there.
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
2) The second story was a broader piece confirming this isn't random, it's a coordinated strategy targeting same-sex surrogacy and adoption next.
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
Same-Sex Surrogacy Is The Next Target For Conservatives
Same-sex surrogacy and the existence of rainbow families have always been targets but recent attacks come from larger coordination.
www.starobserver.com.au
May 4, 2026 at 11:42 PM
2) The second story was a broader piece confirming this isn't random, it's a coordinated strategy targeting same-sex surrogacy and adoption next.
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
1) Two articles have dropped in recent weeks that have made my blood run cold. One: a gay couple in West Hollywood were approached by a MAGA influencer while walking with their baby and asked to respond to debunked "statistics" about gay men and child abuse.
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
A MAGA Influencer Got Beat Up By Some Gay Dads After Implying That They Molest Their Child
A "street interview" involving a conservative influencer and a gay couple with their child in West Hollywood escalated into an altercation.
www.starobserver.com.au
May 4, 2026 at 11:41 PM
1) Two articles have dropped in recent weeks that have made my blood run cold. One: a gay couple in West Hollywood were approached by a MAGA influencer while walking with their baby and asked to respond to debunked "statistics" about gay men and child abuse.
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
#BookSky #QueerWriters #Surrogacy
Sending submissions to agents versus sending directly to a contact at a publisher who you feel your work would be perfectly suited to. Pros and cons for those that have been there before?
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
May 4, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Sending submissions to agents versus sending directly to a contact at a publisher who you feel your work would be perfectly suited to. Pros and cons for those that have been there before?
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
Reposted by Lukas Stone 🇦🇺 🏳️🌈 👨👨👦
The face of someone who’s devoted their life to service, science and space exploration needing to listen to some draft-dodging, out-of-shape bozo brag that he easily could’ve been an astronaut.
April 30, 2026 at 7:20 PM
The face of someone who’s devoted their life to service, science and space exploration needing to listen to some draft-dodging, out-of-shape bozo brag that he easily could’ve been an astronaut.
How to trigger a #gay while shopping. Product description:
"Model is 6'4" and has a size 30-waist and is wearing a size small."
Fuck you! Fuck you with your heigh and your tiny waist 🤣
"Model is 6'4" and has a size 30-waist and is wearing a size small."
Fuck you! Fuck you with your heigh and your tiny waist 🤣
March 23, 2026 at 11:02 PM
How to trigger a #gay while shopping. Product description:
"Model is 6'4" and has a size 30-waist and is wearing a size small."
Fuck you! Fuck you with your heigh and your tiny waist 🤣
"Model is 6'4" and has a size 30-waist and is wearing a size small."
Fuck you! Fuck you with your heigh and your tiny waist 🤣
Reposted by Lukas Stone 🇦🇺 🏳️🌈 👨👨👦
Anyone else suffer from 'SANBP'? [starting a new book paralysis] I've literally got a new book I'm super keen to read but I can't bring myself to open the cover 🤷♂️
#BookSky #QueerBookworms
#BookSky #QueerBookworms
March 15, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Anyone else suffer from 'SANBP'? [starting a new book paralysis] I've literally got a new book I'm super keen to read but I can't bring myself to open the cover 🤷♂️
#BookSky #QueerBookworms
#BookSky #QueerBookworms
Ok, let's try and have a more fucking productive day today than yesterday...
March 9, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Ok, let's try and have a more fucking productive day today than yesterday...
Fellow writers/authors. How do you deal with rejection letters? I'm taking last week's double whammy hard. The pool of literary agents in Australia is small, even smaller when you only can target those that take NF and memoir.
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
March 8, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Fellow writers/authors. How do you deal with rejection letters? I'm taking last week's double whammy hard. The pool of literary agents in Australia is small, even smaller when you only can target those that take NF and memoir.
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
Urgh, didn't expect to get two rejection letters in the same day. Absolutely gutted 😭
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
March 5, 2026 at 6:31 AM
Urgh, didn't expect to get two rejection letters in the same day. Absolutely gutted 😭
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
ZOMG! Another response from a literary agent asking for a copy of my manuscript 🥳 That's three who are looking at it now. Trying not to get too excited 😬
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
March 3, 2026 at 9:11 PM
ZOMG! Another response from a literary agent asking for a copy of my manuscript 🥳 That's three who are looking at it now. Trying not to get too excited 😬
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
I turned the previous post series into a full piece on Substack. If you've ever felt behind on your reading goals, or the pressure to keep up with others on #BookTok, this one's for you!
#WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
I'm not a slow reader. I'm reading like a writer.
BookTok had me feeling like a reading failure. Then I realised I wasn't reading slowly; I was reading like a writer.
substack.com
March 2, 2026 at 2:27 AM
I turned the previous post series into a full piece on Substack. If you've ever felt behind on your reading goals, or the pressure to keep up with others on #BookTok, this one's for you!
#WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
#WritingCommunity #BookSky #QueerWriters
5) Then last week at the gym I was listening to Luke Bateman's 'In the Good Books' podcast and he said something that really resonated with me: any time reading is valuable. It's not about the volume; it's about the act itself. So, I officially abandoned the pace race 📚
#BookSky
#BookSky
March 1, 2026 at 10:03 PM
5) Then last week at the gym I was listening to Luke Bateman's 'In the Good Books' podcast and he said something that really resonated with me: any time reading is valuable. It's not about the volume; it's about the act itself. So, I officially abandoned the pace race 📚
#BookSky
#BookSky
4) I also made a conscious decision at the beginning of 2025 to replace my evening doomscroll with more books after my son goes to bed. Less algorithmic garbage, more actual words. It's been genuinely good for my brain, my depression, my anxiety, just my overall wellbeing.
#BookSky
#BookSky
March 1, 2026 at 9:56 PM
4) I also made a conscious decision at the beginning of 2025 to replace my evening doomscroll with more books after my son goes to bed. Less algorithmic garbage, more actual words. It's been genuinely good for my brain, my depression, my anxiety, just my overall wellbeing.
#BookSky
#BookSky
3) But the thing I really needed to teach myself was: I'm not reading slowly. I'm reading as a writer. I stop mid-paragraph. I re-read sentences just to analyse how they're constructed. I look words up. I fall down research rabbit holes. I'm not consuming a book, I'm dissecting it.
#BookSky
#BookSky
March 1, 2026 at 9:54 PM
3) But the thing I really needed to teach myself was: I'm not reading slowly. I'm reading as a writer. I stop mid-paragraph. I re-read sentences just to analyse how they're constructed. I look words up. I fall down research rabbit holes. I'm not consuming a book, I'm dissecting it.
#BookSky
#BookSky