The worst.

Perfect. A+. No notes.

A++++

A Trick of the Light The italian job x Noises off x The Mask of Mirrors They threw out the script. The show must go on.

A Trick of the Light In a magical canal city of crystals, masks, and commedia, Vassa Grey was supposed to inherit a theater, not waste her gifts making lesser men look powerful from behind a desk. But after her beloved Teatro is stolen and her ailing mentor is driven from the only home he loves, Vassa is offered one impossible chance to win it all back: reunite her estranged troupe, stage a dazzling immersive performance at the Duke’s gala, and help steal the Ducal crown jewel. Only the job is a lie. The “jewel” is really the Duke’s daughter, and Vassa’s troupe was never meant to profit—only to take the fall. Now, trapped inside an island palazzo as kidnappers hunt the child through the still-running show, Vassa must rely on her stagecraft, her found family, and the woman she never stopped loving to keep the kid alive and seize control of the story before the conspirators who set them up can brand them as the villains. Because if Vassa fails, she won’t just lose the theater a second time—she’ll lose her company, her name, and the future she was finally brave enough to want.

Took a break from zombie!forest!knight story to work on magical!theater!heist story instead and had the best time.

A Trick of the Light
Magical commedia dell'arte troupe gets drafted into doing a jewel heist by the mob to save their playhouse, only to discover the prize will cost them everything.

AGREE

I will die on the hill that it's inappropriate to call Easter "Zombie Jesus Day."

Zombie is not a generic term for undead - it has a specific meaning. We HAVE a generic term for beings who have returned compos mentis from death in their original, physical bodies: Revenants.

Alright self, today is a 'dig yourself out of the hole' day. Get it together.

This was "The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands" for me. I couldn't tell you what exactly it was trying to say but it was so weird and interesting anyway!

Finished up my first book-formatting client project draft and had a delightful time doing it. #styleguidesarefun

I don’t know but when you figure it out lmk because helllllp

*bangs pots and pans* BOOK REC LIST COME GET YOUR BOOK RECS *bangbangbang* BOOK RECS FOR THE MASSES COME GET

A square image with a black background and an open book at the bottom, photographed edge-on so you just see the pages as though someone were flipping through them. Red outline maple leaves are placed as though they are spilling out of the book, and matching red text in the top left corner says: "Something BIG is coming... FictionFest.ca"

Something BIG is coming! Canada Fiction Fest is a brand-new #CanLit showcase featuring books and authors from across the country! Sign up now to get notified when the event launches. And if you're an author who wants to participate check out our Author FAQ to find out how! #booksky

➡️ fictionfest.ca

YESSSSSS

The Iron Garden Sutra Klara and the Sun meets S. A. Barnes’s Dead Silence with a touch of Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built in Nebula Award-winning author A.D. Sui’...

like books that are not written by AI?

i had a book come out recently, written exclusively through the power of my brain and a very loud keyboard:

And also not requested to put together a project plan to work on 'accountability' for something I don't actually own.

It would also be cool if my failure to achieve something was not assumed to be incompetence if I've repeatedly brought up the roadblocks I need assistance clearing and the powers that be have done nothing to intervene.

Some day I will stop getting triggered so hard when people misunderstand me on purpose or just attribute things to me that I never said.

Today is not that day.

fwiw I know Costco has a very good deal on a highly recommended beginner machine that Cindy recommended to me!

IT WAS SO CUTE I FORGOT TO TELL YOU

I enjoyed living in Ferndale for what it’s worth! Also have some coney dogs for me <3

Cleaned my screen, got a better score, lol.

Ha! This was fun!

After the sudden loss of our kitten Astrid in early November, we adopted two more kittens on Boxing Day.

We lost one of them today due to a viral infection in his brain.

Elliott-baby, we loved you so much.

2026 can get better any day now. JFC.

I have not! I threw The Magicians across the room though, so hadn't been inclined to pick up his other books, lol.

Maybe I can try again!

what booook?

Am I quoting T Kingfisher's Saint of Steel series in the improv rehearsal I'm running tomorrow? Yes. Yes, I am.

(Directing a dramatic improvised play, and "Trust is faith plus predictability" is perfection.)

Also writing projects.

I would really, really like to catch a fucking break.

The most important advice can I give to new (genre fic) writers is that in each scene:

1. The protag should be trying to do something

2. Something must change

There's more to it, of course, but if you lock down a sense of progression in every scene, you'll be off to a strong start.

#writesky