Unfortunate placement of garden ornament...

At the risk of sounding like a whingy old fart... this is NOT what I want my licence fee spent on.

Investigative journalism, yes.
Stoking the fires of hatred, no.

Not just me then.

I think there may be cyber-issues. Or possibly reality-issues.

I love the Lychford books, there's nothing quite like them for combining cosy mystery with a bit of horror and a lot of wit.

Indeed so. I did finish it but I needed a lie down afterwards.

This is a Cream Egg donut.

I managed to eat half of it.

I'll come back and eat the rest when I can see straight again.

I long for the time when the Orange Loon's worst excesses - threatening to invade Greenland, kidnapping the Venezuelan president, trying to start WW3 to distract from his sex crimes - would only be reported on this morning. This afternoon we'd find they were just sick jokes.

Happy April Fools Day.

I went to bed an hour earlier than usual to try and offset the effects of the clocks changing and I feel well-rested but now have no idea what the time actually is.

Respect to everyone who is attending the marches today - No Kings in the US and the Together Alliance here in the UK. Love and Unity must stand.

AI-generated-book-promo-scam phrase of the day: apparently my book 'recently soared into our group like a ship out of the darkness—and our members have been orbiting it ever since.'

Sure it did, hon.

A male pheasant, with fine plumage, strolling across the patio

Unexpected visitor in the patio area.

I live near open country, but it's been a while since I've seen a pheasant in the garden, so this was a nice surprise. Isn't he magnificent?

He looks like he's rubbing his hands together in barely-suppressed glee, the odious little toad.

Happy Ides of March.

Here's to peaceful regime change in a country once considered an ally, but now ruled by a deranged bully.

The staggeringly fabulous cover for CE Murphy's BONE & BLOOD, a retelling of "Snow White, Rose Red" features two women standing back to back: one is garbed all in blood red, with dark red hair and a black mask; the other wears flowing white, with wheat-pale hair and a glittering mask. Cover art & design by Ravven.

#Booksky! Today is RELEASE DAY for BONE & BLOOD!

There is a story of a widow & her two daughters, Snow White and Rose Red, the most perfect & darling little girls who had ever lived.

This is not—quite—that story.

I'm so proud of this one, guys! Please RT! :)

www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXFPLQW...

Authors get their own special flavour of AI sloop... www.jainefenn.com/2026/03/your...

Feeling a bit better today, thanks, as you saw earlier. Back on the sofa being ignored by the cat now.

Ideally I would now have arrived in Birmingham, ready to appear as the guest speaker at the Brum SF Group's monthly meeting.

However, having contracted flu earlier this week, I am curled up on my sofa with the cat.

The best laid plans, as they say... the plan is to reschedule; watch this space.

Note to self: do not give Toffee her catnip just before the Zoom yoga class.
It's hard to achieve complete relaxation with a cat tap-dancing on your solar plexus.

I succeeded in my mission to find some spring flowers on this morning's walk, even if the photos are not the greatest.
Happy Imbolc, to those who celebrate it.

FEBRUARY EVENT: We are very excited to welcome our first guest of 2026, award-winning SFF author @jainefenn.bsky.social on 13th Feb. Come and join us at The Warehouse, Birmingham Friends of the Earth, or online via Zoom. Tickets available on the door or via Eventbrite (link to be provided soon).

Storm Ingrid also did for some of the local beach huts:

Exciting times in our little seaside town this weekend, courtesy of Storm Ingrid.

The new seawall held up, but the pier in Teignmouth, 3 miles away along the coast, got trashed, and bits of it ended up on top of our seawall.

It’s Not for Me: A Healthier Way to Disagree Online Four little words with the power to make all the difference.

Some helpful advice and quiet wisdom for this dark Friday: www.cavletter.com/its-not-for-...

Polestars is a set of single-author collections which I was honoured to be part of, and you can now pick up a sampler showcasing authors who are part of that collection of collections, from Newcon Press: www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.as...

New year, new plans. These include not neglecting my blog, ancient and simple thing though it is. It can be found here: www.jainefenn.com

Stormy seas used as cover for invasion by Alien Foam Monster:

Good luck!

Got #Whammed in the local carvery last night. It was inevitable.

Stop beating yourself up! Yes, I'm talking to you!

It's an odd time of year, and not always in a good way. This helpful and perceptive blog post by the most excellent @cavan.bsky.social really hit the spot for me, hope it does for you: www.cavletter.com/stop-beating...

I have book news!! Where We Stand, Where We Fall is now available to preorder from Herne Books: