Two hooded figures with lamps approach a moonlit, isolated cottage. A woman answers the door. We have come for the child, says the hooded figure So soon? she asks It is time, says the hooded figure. The woman is distraught. We should never have got him a library card! What is done cannot be undone, says the hooded figure We couldn’t see the harm! We just wanted him to enjoy reading! For most, it ends there, says the hooded figure, turning away and walking into the wilderness Oh lord, What have I done! says the woman, the child walks past her and out into the darkness with them. Do not cry mother. I am a writer now.

my latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com

Disappointment.

cicadas in the Menghai tea mountains are gorgeous

See also my article on the overlap between autism and gender dysphoria:

embrace-autism.com/the-intersec...

Hi Jason, I just came across We Who Hunt Alexanders, and I have to say it immediately grabbed me. Amelia’s story is gripping, dark, and layered with emotion. The way you explore a monster who feels happiness, sadness, fear, and love in a world that’s cruel and unforgiving makes this story compelling and unforgettable. That’s exactly why I wanted to reach out. I run a book review service through Super Lovers Book, connecting books with real readers who genuinely enjoy science fiction, dark fantasy, and emotionally rich stories. These readers don’t just leave stars they leave thoughtful, honest reviews that highlight what makes a story unique, powerful, and worth discovering. Here’s why reviews are so important for We Who Hunt Alexanders: Build Trust: Potential readers often decide whether to pick up a book based on reviews. Authentic feedback signals that your story is worth their time. Increase Visibility: Platforms like Goodreads reward books with steady, genuine reviews, helping them appear in search results, recommendations, and “readers also enjoyed” lists. Generate Momentum: Each review encourages more readers to pick up the book, engage with the story, and leave their own thoughts, creating a snowball effect of attention. Reach the Right Audience: Reviews written by readers who love sci-fi and dark fantasy ensure your story reaches the readers most likely to appreciate and recommend it. I truly believe We Who Hunt Alexanders deserves this kind of engagement. A few honest reviews now can amplify your book’s reach, help it gain visibility, and connect it with the readers who will love it most. Would you be open to having We Who Hunt Alexanders read and reviewed by genuine readers who are passionate about sci-fi and dark fantasy? No pressure at all I just wanted to reach out because your work deserves to be discovered by more readers. Warmly, Herry Sharp CEO, Super Lovers Book

if you continue to ignore my messages, I might do something you would regret for the rest of your life. I already have access to your book, and instead of giving it a positive review, I will leave a negative one and damage its reputation. It seems you have forgotten that I have a community of readers, and I can easily influence them to bring your book down. You can try me though. CEO | Super Book Lover Curator Helping brilliant books find their people, one honest review at a time.

Book club scams are now threatening authors who don't fall for their BS. In December, I received an email from Herry Sharp, so-called CEO of "Super Book Lover Curator" praising my novella We Who Hunt Alexanders.

Totally AI-generated and a scam so I didn't respond.

Now Herry is threatening me. 1/

Four frame comic. First frame shows a Canadian flag. Text reads : the new canadian citizenship policy, which was enacted in December 2025, restores citizenship by descent, for ancestors as far as you can prove. 2nd frame shows a locomotive. Text reads : that means that if one of your grandparents, great-grand- parents or even farther was demonstrably born in Canada, you don't even need to apply for citizenship - you are retro- actively granted it. Third frame shows an old dusty register book. Text reads : the process involves linking your CanadA-born ancestor to yourself by digging up a paper trail of birth or wedding certificates, proof of immigration or adoption, etc. thanks to Canadian archive- keeping traditions, this is possible by reaching out to towns, parishes, national archives*... Fourth frame shows old factory chimneys. Text reads : between 1840 and 1930, 925 000 French-Canadians fled persecution and economic oppression by moving to the usa. today, their descendants represent around ten million people, or 3% of the U.s. population. if it's time for you to come back, we haven't forgotten about you.

I'm not saying that Canada is perfect, I'm saying that the bar is pretty low right now.

A four panel comic. In panel 1, there are three beautiful blooming roses, and the text says "Roses are red..." In panel 2, there are some lovely violets budding and blooming, and the text says "Violets are blue..." In panel 3, there are some terrifying red and flesh colored plants with toothy maws and the text says "Hydnora are leafless, bizarrely fleshy, and incapable of producing chlorophyl..." and in panel 4 there are some cute hearts and the text says "And so are you. Happy Valentine's Day"

Botany valentine. Another oldie.

/2 The predominant ethos of the performatively masculine Right is “if I had my way I would stop these liberals with fire and sword, the way the ancients did, but I have been prevented by cancel culture, which involves people saying mean things to and about me.”

A four-panel comic titled "how to get into nature". In panel 1, a person kneels in the woods, looking down at a red-backed salamander, and the text says "notice a living thing." In panel 2, the text says "notice some other things that live near it," and there's a starflower, springtail, ant, little wood satyr butterfly, and salamander on the leaf litter. In panel 3, covered in creatures, plants, and a colorful starburst, the text says "Notice the connections between them, discover the wider ecosystem, learn about its histories, and find yourself following links from bedrock to stratosphere, between biotic and abiotic, at scales both microbial and massive, until you’re hopelessly overwhelmed by the wonder of it all." In panel 4, the text says "Fall into a daze and let moss engulf you." The person from the first panel is still kneeling in the woods, looking happy as moss slowly engulfs them, and they're saying "This is for the best."

How to get into nature.

Thanks for the heads-up!

Tesco gingerbread house "build your own" pack

In an effort at something good on the internet today: A thread on Mr KJC, gingerbread architect of the early 21st century.

Mr KJC got his beginnings like so many gingerbread architects: with a kit house for the kids. Kind of fun but the premade pieces are dry and nasty, only technically edible.

Norwegian Prog/Metal Band LEPROUS Covers "Take On Me" On The Spot YouTube video by Musora

An actually pretty good cover of "Take On Me" by a Norwegian prog/metal band (the video is a "making of" sort of thing, with the actual song coming in at about 11:05):

youtu.be/Te2MR6j5Qhg

No shame! It's an amazing fic. I always get excited when I see a new chapter drop. And now they're all in the same room! 😃

It happened again yesterday: I informed someone they were Canadian who didn’t know they were Canadian. This has now happened about 10 times for me. Americans, take note: if your parent was a Canadian citizen born in Canada, you are a Canadian citizen. And there’s a law working its way through…

ABSOLUTELY true. this is a great post and an issue i have talked on time and again. these tests, especially for adults who have learned to mask, is usually very poorly worded

Magpies are full of sass.

If you have room in your freezer, cupcakes freeze and thaw wonderfully. 🧁

📌

Here you go:
Gentian Seeds by yuyu_finale
archiveofourown.org/works/29847723

📌

hi, it’s me, your friendly indie bookseller and audiobook narrator. libro.fm costs the same as an Audible subscription. an audiobook on Audible is the same audiobook on Libro. but a portion of your purchase supports the indie bookstore of your choice! you can even see our recommendations!

How Two of the Rarest Horses on Earth Got Lost The entire world’s population of Przewalski’s horses once dwindled to a mere dozen. So how did a pair named Fiona and Shrek end up in livestock auctions in the West?

This is absolutely wild

www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/n...

Feed recommendation: Quiet Posters

Shows posts by ppl you follow who don't post a lot

bsky.app/profile/did:...

Hi new Bluesky users. Semi-annual reminder to follow my favorite part of this website: the Gift Links feed.

It shows any free link to an otherwise paywalled article that’s shared by anyone on Bluesky. It has legit changed how I read the news.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

A crowd of new followers has just entered your house, saying "Hi, we're here". They're enthusiastic. They've found you in a starter pack and they wanna see what you've got, what have you got to share, please show them your work

I'm a deer in the headlights, just sitting there eating a sandwich and watching a movie I've seen 45 times already

When there's a sudden influx of new followers and you haven't got any new art ready

📌

The thing that Trump understands intuitively that a lot of people don't is that favors are relational, not transactional. If you do favors for someone, no matter how much you might think in terms of "now you owe me", you've established a dynamic where you do favors for them.

📌

To reiterate a post from the Other Site, for most of the last four thousand+ years, the vast majority of people living in cities got takeout. Many apartments lacked kitchens due to space and fire risk. Cooking yourself 7 fresh, varied meals a week is a VERY recent expectation.

Oh my GOD. Went for coffee with an old publishing mate and he told me the tale of his latest mugging. Brace for this.

(To note, my mate is a 75yo man, short, obviously quite posh, and deaf in one ear. He gets mugged a lot. It rarely works out for the muggers, for reasons that will become obvious.)