...Easy mode of parenting a demon, granted, but still.

Parenting The Devourer, Heir Of Evil It was disquietingly disarming, watching The Devourer, Heir of Evil, He Who Is Fated To Destroy All, crawl around after his new toy train with a dopey grin while making “choo choo!” noises.

"How is he mustering all this energy"? Well, Holly, until recently the poor man was having to handle this PLUS scraping for rent and running a household single-handedly. From his perspective this is easy mode.
leeronheywood.com/parenting-th...
#writing #fiction #microfiction #urbanFantasy

Putting out an a list of books for Autism Acceptance month for @blog.readindiefantasy.com (yes I know I'm late lol) if you're an autistic indie or self-pubbed author with a SFF book, link it here and I'll try to include it!

Power up Prompt #31: 4.18.26 A Setting, Character, and Conflict to use However You'd Like

Hey, #writingcommunity 👋

If you like writing prompts, come check out this week's Power up Prompt! It's sci-fi and romance. It includes:

A Setting ✅
A Character ✅
And a Conflict ✅

If you write anything at all, I'll give you a shout-out on my podcast!

bradleyramsey.substack.com/p/power-up-p...

Huh. Which Street Fighter? The ones I'm aware of have the premise of "people who want to prove they're good at fighting decide to get together and fight", which I wouldn't call a terribly interesting inciting incident. (Tho admittedly far preferable to fridged wife.)

On a black background with flourishes of red lines and dots its he text: Meet the BFS Members! Bronte Rowan. Bronte is pictured in the centre, in a frame showing bats and spiderwebs. He wears black-rimmed glasses, has black hair, and is looking askew at the camera.

Every Friday, we meet a BFS member and peer deep into their soul (or, at least, a form they filled out). Let's head for gothic Austria to have a cup of tea with @bronterowan.bsky.social, who got here via fairytales, Sailor Moon and Lestat.

britishfantasysociety.org/meet-bronte-...

"none of us are free until all of us are free, and if a work is pulling a sleight of hand to get you to accept the othering of people then that must become unacceptable." 👏

Also, because I'm never sure how to name far-future characters, I gave this crew what Forebears tells me is common Indonesian surnames. Hope that's ok? 😅

A Borrowed Cry Echoes Through Space It was certainly a distress signal. The frequency, the words, even the urgent cadence, they were unmistakeable. But… it wasn’t quite right.

Question for any parents reading this - which "early learners" show would you pick to be humanity's first contact with an eldritch entity, and why? 😂
leeronheywood.com/a-borrowed-c...
#writing #fiction #microfiction #scifi

So you're left injured, maybe mentally/emotionally, maybe physically, maybe BOTH, and there's no satisfying outlet, because everyone involved was trying their best. But knowing that doesn't stop you from hurting.

Good Intentions Left Unhealing Scars I’d set that ward up to warn me of foxes at my compost heap. I wasn’t prepared to find myself face to face with a hooded figure wielding an axe. Then I see their face…

Medical trauma can be a tricky one to grapple with, because while there ARE certainly cases of drs etc doing things they knew were harmful, often they thought they were helping... and really, really weren't.
leeronheywood.com/good-intenti...
#writing #fiction #microfiction #fantasy

The time has come: voting is now open for this year's British Fantasy Awards! Here's what you need to know before opening up the form...

britishfantasysociety.org/voting-opens...

#britishfantasyawards #fantasycommunity #horrorcommunity #scificommunity #booksky

While it's autism awareness month, some thoughts on autism, cozy fantasy, and autistic cozy fantasy being an acquired taste.

Very excited to announce that my guest on this week's episode of the Saved as Draft podcast is @citruspropaganda.bsky.social!

Tune in this Friday for the full interview! Find Saved as Draft, wherever you get podcasts. 🎙️

#writingcommunity #writesky #podcast #interview

Impassioned Missives From Beyond My dearest Beatrice, I pray my words reach you. Surely, your love being as strong as mine, even the astral plane cannot halt the communion of our souls! For I fear I am indeed dead.

I didn't manage the "slowly" part of the prompt, because when I tried making the story longer it felt more like padding than expansion. I think I'd have to take it to a short story to pull off a slow burn properly. 🤔
leeronheywood.com/impassioned-...
#writing #fiction #microfiction #urbanFantasy

Thank you for the tie-breaker, mystery it is. 😄

Coming To Terms With Eternity “Ok, so… how did your family end up with a vampire parrot, anyway??”

I kinda want to figure out the answer to "how and why did a pet parrot get turned into a vampire", but I also kinda want to leave it a mystery. Ugggh conflicted...
leeronheywood.com/coming-to-te...
#writing #fiction #microfiction #urbanFantasy

When we asked what topics you'd like us to cover in our Ask An Expert column, there was a recurring theme: writing while parenting, writing with chronic illness, writing as a marginalised voice, writing while working a day job.... Basically, how to stay creative while life happens around you.

🧵⬇️

Lacking Words To Sprout Hollis was not surprised when a hooded crow landed on the branch she was sitting on, nor when it spoke with her grandfather’s voice.

What animal would you like to hitch a mental ride with? I feel like birds are an obvious one, but I'd love to experience what the world is like to, say, a beetle. I think the difference would be mind-bending.
leeronheywood.com/lacking-word...
#writing #fiction #microfiction #fantasy

Shown is a graphic that has a creamy background with elegant writing across it. coming from the top left is a black fountain pen with a gold nib. On the top right and left is the BFS logo, a silver dragon design curling around the letters ‘BFS’.

Shown is a graphic that has a creamy background with elegant writing across it. Coming from the top left is a black fountain pen with a gold nib. On the top right and left is the BFS logo, a silver dragon design curling around the letters ‘BFS’. Photos (left to right): Dr Alex Carabine; Shona Kinsella.

Shown is a graphic that has a creamy background with elegant writing across it. Coming from the top left is a black fountain pen with a gold nib. On the top right and left is the BFS logo, a silver dragon design curling around the letters ‘BFS’. Photos (left to right): Morag Hannah (MK Hardy); Alex Cochran; David Thomas Moore; Catriona Silvey.

Hey, SFFH fans! We've got all this going on this Saturday (18th April, 10am to 6pm).

Join us online for Language in SFFH.

tinyurl.com/sffhlang

BFS members = free. Non-members = £5 (BARGAIN).

Books are placed spine-up to make them look like buildings. On top of one sits a small plastic figure of a woman, while paper clouds fill the sky.

Here's your weekend read: With his debut novel Rivennia out in the big wide world, Mexican-born author Jaime Urencio asks how speculative storytelling can help us to shape the future—and to warn us about it, too.

britishfantasysociety.org/the-power-of...

A Ring Of Fire Holds Back The Forest's Vengeance The street-cleansers were hard at work again, their flamethrowers rooting out any hint of living green which intruded into the city. Just to be safe.

I'll be honest - the worldbuilding on this one is SUPER shaky. I don't know how many people you could realistically keep alive without farming. Probably not a lot. But I try not to dive down rabbit holes for these, so...
leeronheywood.com/a-ring-of-fi...
#writing #fiction #microfiction #urbanFantasy

On Repeat #2 - Wings by Said The Sky & baby blue Weekly Poetry, Inspired by Music

The second entry in my new weekly poetry series is here! Come check out my new poem inspired by "Wings" from Said The Sky and baby blue.

bradleyramsey.substack.com/p/on-repeat-...

#writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poem #writesky

Mr Grumpy's Secret Soul Every day I wonder if this was intended as some twisted mercy, or if that wretched angel came up with a torture so fiendish it never would’ve occurred to ME, a proud denizen of hell itself.

Maybe the angel just had a wicked sense of humour. 😂
And tbh I'm not sure the demon would've been reluctant to "stoop" to such things, if only he was creative enough to think of it...
leeronheywood.com/mr-grumpys-s...
#writing #fiction #microfiction #fantasy

Is YouTube demonetising people for baby swears now?? I shouldn't be surprised...

ok buckaroos i am going to talk a bit on artists and writers and publishers and AI, specifically HOW to create in this environment of endless ai slop and WHY i think you will probably be fine if you heed these very important words: YOUR ART IS MORE THAN WHAT IS IN THE PAGE OR PAINTING OR FILM

Get your suggestions in by Sunday 12th April!

On the day Farage launches the Refukkers' Council election campaign...

😀

Buoyant Blessings From The Sea At the first light of dawn, as with every dawn, the children of the island rushed down to the ocean, combing their allotted stretch of shore. Praying to be blessed.

Honestly, the hardest part of this was figuring out a novel* way for something to be considered sacred. 😆
*I would not be at all surprised if this has been/is a thing somewhere and I've just never heard of it.
leeronheywood.com/buoyant-bles...
#writing #fiction #microfiction #fantasy

On a black background with flourishes of red lines and dots is the text: Meet the BFS members! Katie Bruce. Katie is pictured in the centre: she is a white woman with curly red hair, wearing red glasses and a navy blue t-shirt.

Every Friday, we meet a BFS member & peer deep into their soul. This week we're getting a large dose of the Goblin King (of course!) with @katiebruce.bsky.social, our Yorkshire events organiser, who's a sucker for women with swords.

britishfantasysociety.org/meet-katie-b...