Irish people: St. Patrick's Day presents such a stereotypical portrayal of Ireland that doesn't reflect its modern, vibrant culture.
Irish people when they see Americans setting Leprechaun traps: You fools! You've doomed us all! The children will be changelings. The crops will wither in the field.
I left academia following a crisis of faith in my ability to produce meaningful knowledge within that institution. It just hit me how much worse I would be doing right now if I had stuck to my guns and continued following that path.
Especially within the context of the AI bubble, which is a highly energy-intensive sector propping up the US economy. Spikes in energy costs may very well create the critical mass of investor doubt. Personally, I'm reminded that the South Sea Bubble coincided with one of the Golden Ages of Piracy.
If you want to see how I (NOT an artist) make the art for our game (without AI) by remixing public domain bird illustrations - check out this short documentary about the making of our game!
#gamedev #indiedev #indiegamedev
A Steam play time counter showing 98 hours.
Gonna count the play time as me coming in just a hair under budget, given how much it loves 33s and 99s😅
A banner showing all achievements have been unlocked for Expedition 33.
Expedition 33 is very good.
I published my first bit of short fiction yesterday. Deep Space Drift is a flash fiction piece about toxic ambition, alchemy, and the limits of love.
Thanks to @elegantliterature.bsky.social for selecting this humble bit of flash fiction for your Ink and Iron issue (March 2025)
#elegantliterature
A little overwhelmed to see ‘25 Peppercorns’ on the BSFA’s Best Short Fiction shortlist.
I cried for three days when this story came out. It meant so much to me to be able to give life to these feelings, and I’m grateful to all the readers who voted for it.
Excellent. Love that this weird little practice is getting upheld somewhere.
TIL: The earliest forms of print journalism were ballads describing current events en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadsi...
I advocate a return to this style of news broadcast. It won‘t stop misinformation, but it will annoy lots and lots of grifters.
A large stack of second-hand books on a wide variety of topics from Chinese history to marine engineering.
Trinity book fair is a good time.
i think in the name of fairness the producers of the baldur's gate tv show should demand that tv writers do at least a year of running around in circles doing unpaid writing tests before they're allowed to write for the show
I may delete this because it’s a bit spicy but it shouldn’t be lost on us that games being turned into TV is essentially harvesting the stories written by those who don’t have union representation or healthcare with WGA by those that do. Our stories are good enough for TV but the writers aren’t?
I've been pessimistic the last couple of weeks, but on reflection now, I hope that a different team with a different set of leaders can build on the (frankly, legitimately good) groundwork we've put down. I hope I'll see a second video game set in Elysium.
Un jour je serai de retour près de toi.
Narrative design is a great medium, and so different from prose fiction in so many interesting ways. It was always a great puzzle to figure out how to balance the requirements of a project pipeline with interactive storytelling and just trying to write a good line the same as anyone else.
It's extremely bitter to see a project end like this, especially when you put effort into it for so long, but it's not all bad. It was my first foray into video games and I've learned *so* much from managing a team and collaborating with others. In many respects, I've been very lucky.
Well Bluesky, it's time I gave an update.
For well over a year I've been working as the Narrative Lead for Don't Call Abigail, a Disco Elysium mod. Largely all my free time has been going there. Unfortunately, following some toxic disagreements in leadership, several people have left, including me.
Had a lovely time attending the launch event last night. Got some good chuckles out of the crowd during my reading. Very welcoming crowd. And I learned that this gorgeous cover was indeed based on my story 🫣
Banshee celebrates ten years in print @booksupstairs.bsky.social next Thursday 4 December! Join us from 6pm to raise a glass to the publication of issue 20 and hear from our brilliant contributors. Hosted by guest editor @clarakiyoko.bsky.social 🎄
booksupstairs.ie/all-events/l...
Whoops, it's the 4th of December not the 6th. 😅
two panel comic P1: cop stands in middle of kitchen, unnerved by red spatter marks on walls and cabinets and countertop, saying "Mother of God... Nothing human could have done this." P2: Panel labelled "Earlier." shows pup struggling to squeeze catsup from the bottle onto his cheeseburger source:drawerofdrawings ig
*Squinting furiously at the novella*
I'm not sure what this is but it smacks of socialism.
A screenshot of three books from the "readers also enjoyed" section of No Sympathy's Goodreads page. On the left is Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, on the right is A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin. In the middle is The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx.
I've joked before about the suggested books No Sympathy gets on Goodreads - it's a hilariously incoherent mix - but the first non-fiction recommendation really got me
The cover of Banshee Press’s 20th issue, which is a watercolour illustration depicting a number of caped figures about to climb a tall jagged rock on a beach. At the top of the rock, a simple wooden gate appears to capture the setting sun.
The back of Banshee’s 20th issue, showing the list of contributors
Delighted to have received my contributor’s copy of @bansheepress.bsky.social’s 20th issue.
ECHOES ON THE SEA is the final piece in the anthology — a post-Lovecraftian story about failing to end the world. Many thanks to @clarakiyoko.bsky.social for her excellent edits here. I’m proud of this one.
This is the first I've heard of this story, and I have not clicked past the headline, but I am now of the very strong opinion that Dawn French should be eating Pokémon on television. This may be the strongest opinion I hold.
I will also be at the Dublin launch for this, taking place in Books Upstairs on December 6th, at 6pm. Do come along and say hi!
The cover of Banshee Press’s 20th issue, which is a watercolour illustration depicting a number of caped figures about to climb a tall jagged rock on a beach. At the top of the rock, a simple wooden gate appears to capture the setting sun.
The back of Banshee’s 20th issue, showing the list of contributors
Delighted to have received my contributor’s copy of @bansheepress.bsky.social’s 20th issue.
ECHOES ON THE SEA is the final piece in the anthology — a post-Lovecraftian story about failing to end the world. Many thanks to @clarakiyoko.bsky.social for her excellent edits here. I’m proud of this one.
Dread Mondays release day (from @whisperhousepress.bsky.social )!! My short story, Wade vs Roe, is on page 29.
Happy release day, fellow writers & thanks to Steve for including me in this workplace horror anthology.
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dread-mond...
🎉I’M PUBLISHED AGAIN!!🎉
My corporate horror story, “SUCH A CATCH,” is available in DREAD MONDAYS: A WHISPER HOUSE PRESS HORROR ANTHOLOGY!
“A gripping compendium to curl up with on a spooky night or a haunted holiday.” - Kirkus Reviews
@whisperhousepress.bsky.social
#horror
a.co/d/hse9SBK