I'm assured by writer friends that one good thing you can do to support them is to buy not just new releases but explore their backlists.
Read SF/fantasy? Like queer stuff? I am part way through a project looking at great queer SFF from the 2020s.
2021 is here, and... 1/2
#Booksky Author shoutout: Joyce Chng @jolantru.bsky.social is the author of some great fantasies about Singaporean werewolves, YA and much more, co-editor of an antho of SE Asian steampunk stories and a key member of the powerhouse team behind Strange Horizons!
queenofswordspress.com/product/sail...
It's such a tricky piece of translation: a technology that is both cutting edge and extremely fragile and on the verge of being made obsolete by an entirely different set of technological developments. (And, dear gods, I do not need another project right now...)
Interesting! Might have to look that up.
Read it when it came out. Follows Das Boot pretty much beat by beat, as I remember.
I have been wanting to write Das boot in space for 40 years.
#Booksky So Amazon is keeping the lion’s share of the cover $ for our latest title, THE COMPLETE ASTREIANT, which means our amazing authors get paid less and we get paid less (and have to wait 2 months for it), which is why we’re asking folks to buy direct!
queenofswordspress.com/product/comp...
A blue-green background with pale gold border. A handsome dark-haired man is in profile at the top left and a handsome blond man is in profile at the bottom right. The title reads “The Complete ASTREIANT, created by MELISSA SCOTT and LISA A. BARNETT”
This has been my year for finding lesser-known series and getting obsessed. Please stand by while I make Astreiant my entire personality.
#Booksky We just worked with Dhiyanah on the gorgeous cover for Joyce Chng’s SAILING THE GOLDEN CHERSONESE! Highly recommended! She did a great job and was great to work with.
Gosh I love portfolio day.
If you are an artist who might wanna work with us, I'd love it if you filled out the form over here:
www.neonhemlock.com/info
A middle-aged couple from Smithsford,
When summoned, take up harp and old sword.
Set out on a quest
Which is what they do best,
With a ghost and a girl, heading southward.
Preorders live! www.kvj.ca/breathbone.h...
(Go ahead & repost - spread the word! Cheers!)
#Booksky We released a terrific collection of queer pirate stories this week and you can get your copy direct from us, at your local indie via Bookshop, at Smashwords, B&N, Kobo and beyond and even at your local library! We also have review copies for book reviewers!
#Booksky Joyce Chng @jolantru.bsky.social’s collection SAILING THE GOLDEN CHERSONESE lands everywhere tomorrow 4/9 and it is so gorgeous! Shoutout to @bydhiyanah.bsky.social for the beautiful cover and @barefootlentil.bsky.social for fab design! 💖
queenofswordspress.com/product/sail...
Now available for preorder at all the usual suspects!
Close-up detail of a Samian ware pottery vessel showing a raised relief of a rabbit or hare crouched in profile, facing left. The animal appears to be nibbling on a dandelion, with its long ears upright and front paws extended. The reddish-brown surface of the pottery is smooth and glossy, with a central vertical crack running through the image. Decorative arches and floral motifs frame the scene
Easter bunny resting 🐰
A #Roman samian ware bowl depicting a rabbit eating a dandelion.
Found in Eschenz/Switzerland.
📷 AATG, Daniel Steiner 🏺
I recommend this fantasy-mystery series with enthusiasm! Aside from being excellent stories with great characters, the way that the astrology of the world is real and actually affects everything is very skilfully and consistently done.
Featuring @pennyvixen.bsky.social, @mikebrooks668.bsky.social, @julietk.bsky.social, @marinalostetter.bsky.social, @freyamarske.bsky.social, @everinamaxwell.bsky.social, @meganeokeefe.bsky.social, @cadwellturnbull.bsky.social, @czwrites.bsky.social, & a spotlight for @blueterraplane.bsky.social.
Incredible footage from a United Airlines flight of the Artemis II launch.
With Breath and Bone coming out in May from @candlemarkandgleam.bsky.social it's probably time to ask if any sff bloggers out there would like to do another interview about it? www.kvj.ca/breathbone.h... (Already did a really enjoyable one for @nerdsofafeather.bsky.social )
So much this!
That should be "trained on my stolen books." Don't forget that part.
Oh good lord no. I don't use AI. It's useless for research, & if it can write "like me" that's because it was trained on my books. It's easier & faster (& gets better results) to just write what I want to say than to try to prompt an LLM into doing it for me.
Hmmm.
So very relevant to my interests...
This series is REALLY INCREDIBLY GOOD
A coven can take many forms. None need perpetuate hierarchical pisspuffinry. I am fond of the guerrilla coven called for single purpose. I am fond of my stitch, bitch and witch meetings where more than sorceries are swapped. A coven is not an excuse for grand titles. - #EmilyCBanting #WitchSky
This series is very, very good and imo exactly what the series Hugo should be recognising.
Suspect a lot of people will be struggling to fill up their series ballot; if you have a spare you should absolutely nominate Astreaint.
A black and white archive photograph of a cat sitting on a cannon and arching his back. A dog is sitting right in front of the cannon.
It's Saturday but it's also #RespectYourCatDay so if you're ever sitting in front of a cannon with a cat near the firing mechanism then you better make sure you show it some respect. #Caturday
A real life Tom & Jerry cartoon from our Photographic Archive.
Review of 'The Bruising of Qilwa' by Naseem Jamnia. Queernorm worldbuilding layered over a mystery that gradually grips you.
I was genuinely in awe at what a gentler pacing and kinder language can do without diluting a story's thoughtfulness or intensity. app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3878...
💙📚
#Booksky Today is the LAST day to nominate for the Hugo Awards and we have a qualifying nominee for Best Series! The Astreiant Series by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett is brilliant, queer af and POINT OF HEARTS is the example title! www.lacon.org/hugos/
