Feast or Famine: A delectable anthology of speculative fiction, concerning humans' relationship with food – or the lack thereof.
Care for something to eat? How about food for the mind, the soul? Our latest spec-fic anthology explores humanity's relation with food, or the lack thereof. purpletoga.com/2026/04/18/p...
Lunch on me!
Food for a curious mind in this new speculative fiction anthology, with several entries by me (with my usual blend of history and fantasy, applied to some inventive recipes 😉)
Full deets at: egretia.substack.com/p/can-i-take...
An educational romp through history - jumping from subject to subject, but fun to explore.
egretia.com/2026/04/15/t...
The Rest Is History (Book and Podcast)
US edition, to those more used to the red logo and book cover I mentioned The Rest Is History previously (being responsible to my ever-growing TBR list, where A Natural History of Ghosts and An Instance of the Fingerpost have made it to reviews here).…
In the 6th century BCE, Croesus - king of Lydia and one of the richest men of his time - consulted the Oracle at Delphi about invading Persia. The Oracle responded that should he send an army against the mighty Persians he would destroy a great empire. Encouraged, Croesus went to fight and destroy one of the greatest empires of the time. And the Oracle was proven right - Croesus was defeated by the Persian king Cyrus, and the empire of Lydia crumbled. History doesn't repeat, but it sure rhymes.
This post has nothing to do with current events.
"This was the first time I had to wear a toga to a brothel. Most such establishments are a quick in-and-out affairs — no criticism meant on my male readers — where a tunic is preferred for ease of access." egretia.com
Writing objective #1: entertain myself 😁
Aquae et Ignis: a story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic. Lunacy and Piracy, Exile and Ghosts. Free on egretia.com
That was a fun story to write - I might have gone a bit wild with pop culture references (if you can call Coleridge pop culture 🤣). Free novella, if you haven't read it.
Cover of Feast of Famine edited by Eric Klein: Right side shows the back of the book including the list of authors and bar code and the left side shows the front cover
I have a Gilded Age Gothic story, "On the Life of the Cinderella Who Lost Her Princes and Other Musings" set in Thousand Islands region, New York in this cute anthology with SFF stories about food. Coming out on May 11, 2026. @purpletoga.bsky.social www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHMCMKVZ
Chester LaRue (of Dear AI, I Killed Her, by Kirill Khrestinin)
Dear readers, tonight with us is a serial killer. He's here to speak about his crimes and about the AI to whom he confessed everything, until things started to change. Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there? I…
Curtains hiding something. Text: A delicious anthology is coming your way. May 11, 2026
Coming soon from Purple Toga: a new spec-fic anthology on a very human subject 😋🤤
The cover of "Murder In Absentia" by Assaph Mehr: A STORY OF TOGAS, DAGGERS, and MAGIC Enter the magical world of Egretia. A thousand years of ancient Roman culture, combined with the question "What if?" What if magic were real? What if it was part of everyday life, just like fish-sauce? What if the contract the Romans had with the gods, worked? When a mysterious murder is discovered, people know who to call. Meet Felix, a professional fox. Felix is neither a traditional detective nor a traditional magician, but something in between. He'll answer these questions.
10 years ago! (Well, 10 years since the new cover - the first 6 months were a learning curve 😅)
Caesar: Why are all of my royal chariots so dented and dinged up? Legionary: Hair, Caesar. Caesar: Very good, but again, what happened to my chariots?
This pun is so bad it hurts 🤣
augustales told my parents i miss archaeology and my mom was, very sympathetically, like: "do you want to dig holes in the garden?" and i was like. yes. i want to dig holes in the garden. ruffboijuliaburnsides my wife, after reading this to me aloud: It's your people! ...do you want me to break a clay pot for you to put back together? me, burying my face in my hands: Maybe...? mycroftrh These are both moods, but unfortunately I am primarily a bioarchaeologist. (IE, I specialize in digging up old human skeletons.) And, uh, home-made bioarchaeology is tragically discriminated against by law enforcement. autie-girl-power Only if you get caught
So true 🤣
Short version: An excellent psychological thriller, with an unreliable narrator (not her fault) and a grey morality that’s much truer to the modern world.
egretia.com/2026/03/04/b...
Prometheus: hot take The Greek gods: no, give that back
🤣🔥
Two book reviews about AI and the damage it's causing. Also recommended to those who like history (because the similarity to previous cycles is staggering): egretia.com/2026/02/18/j...
History department recruiter: You there! Do you like historical fiction? Period dramas? Historically themed films, tv shows, and video games? Prospective student: Yes! History department recruiter: Would you like not to?
It's funny because it's true 🤣🤣
Looking at some hilarious and some dramatic crime shows from around Oz, as fun research for my current WIP 😉👻
egretia.com/2026/02/04/a...
What if I told you that one day Latin would die out and everyone will be speaking a weird mongrel language created by barbarians who live on that island where we built a wall
🤣
For those not in the know, @assaph.bsky.social runs many awesome blogs, including one based on interviews with characters from your novels.
Only fair for Deborah, one of my debut's antagonists, to speak. Come take a peek inside the mind of a Keeper.
#WritingCommunity 🪐📚 💙📚 #AmWriting #WriteSky
Ha! Then you'll definitely enjoy it 😀
It's free on my website: egretia.com/novels
Murder In Absentia, by Assaph Mehr - voted #1 on Goodreads' "Indie Books Worth the Read"
Fun times 😀👻🗡️🏛️
Aquae et Ignis: a story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic. Lunacy and Piracy, Exile and Ghosts. Free on egretia.com
That was a fun story to write - I might have gone a bit wild with pop culture references (if you can call Coleridge pop culture 🤣). Free novella, if you haven't read it.
I've been trying to leave Rome for a few weeks now, but all their roads have this weird design flaw
Still funny 🤣🤣 Also, still buy my books 😉
"I worked on my WIP today." "But you only added one sentence." (Picture of Mr Incredible working at his desk) "Progress is Progress."
Fun fact: when I need to (re)build writing habits (happens far too often as I get distracted 😅) I make myself write one sentence every day. For me, it's the act of doing something daily that opens up the gates to more writing and faster progress.
It may be worth a pack of 10.
One thing to note is the price of bulk buying. Here in Australia, buying a pack of 10 is just twice the cost of buying one by one. They often do that to trip starting authors and have them pay too much. Considering you need different ISBNs for ebook and print edition or that you may have more...
