Well I'm on the committee now so I guess I'd better be there <g>

On a yellow background the text announces indie press day on May 1 2025 with a pile of books to the right

authors at @elsewhen.press have been cooking up an idea for an #indiepressday, May 1st
@authoramyorrell.bsky.social made an explanatory Insta post www.instagram.com/reel/DIjdp22...
We invite ppl to post about indie presses/ books they love #booksky #indiepressday #may1st
@kingstreetrun.bsky.social

Grease the tray!

I am! I'm Themis1 there.

Bristolcon-25 advert, showing guests of honour JE Hannaford, Ben Jeapes and John Higgins. WWW.bristolcon.org - 25th and 26th October 2025 - Doubletree Hotel, Redcliffe Way, Bristol. See website for pricing options.

Amstrad. And then a Displaywriter.

Note to self: don't turn suddenly when holding a heavy object (back pain, ouch!)

Every now and again I remember Bluesky and look at the feed, somewhat blankly. I'm afraid I feel about it the way I felt about Twitter - I can't really see the point. What am I missing?

BREAKING: Former President Jimmy Carter, a champion for human rights and the poor, has died at age 100, the Carter Center says.

nbcnews.to/4gtHlYq

At last the wind has died down. We're inland so didn't get the worst of it, but no doubt there are branches to collect in the field - we have a lot of trees!

Last chance to get this HUGE e-book for just $0.99 (or £0.99) for the next few days - it will no longer be available as an ebook after 7th December. 20 great space opera stories in one volume! Includes my story 'Yginda', set in the same universe as the UNCHARTED series.

Yeah, this is how he broke Twitter, too.

safe travels!

Cover of THE HARLEQUIN: THE DRAPER’S REEL by J. A. Mortimore and Penelope Hill

Congratulations to @jamortimore.bsky.social and @mythichistorian.bsky.social! Their book, THE HARLEQUIN: THE DRAPER’S REEL, has been nominated for the 2025 @specawards.bsky.social by @elsewhen.press.

#SSBA #BookSky #indiepress #bookawards #fantasy 💙📚

It's book quote Wednesday and Zaran is ADMITting to boredom!
From book one of the UNCHARTED series, available from Amazon.
#BookQW

I think you probably should be writing it <g>

Ghostwriting Novels

Writing for a living often means working in original fiction, tie-in books, scripts, comics etc. Ghostwriting is another option, and it's a skill with aspects a newcomer may well not be aware of. This guide by Ben Jeapes looks like an excellent source of information.
www.ghostwritingnovels.com

It's book quote Wednesday and the Harlequin is trying to figure out how the trick is done. From The Harlequin: The Draper's Reel, available from Elsewhen Press (and Amazon).
#BookQW

Flashback post.

Our cats took one look and opted to stay indoors. And we, too, only have a little spatter of snow.

It's Typo Tuesday and that wasn't the word I intended, although it still makes sense!
#TypoTuesday

My first drafts usually come out around 65-70,000. This one's struggling to even get to 50,000 despite a lot happening in it. I suspect I'm edging towards my first draft being a full outline rather than an actual draft. Has anybody else had their way of writing change over time?

Image: A bedroom at night, a face is lit up by the glow of a phone screen displaying cat memes. On the book-cluttered bedside table, three books look on angrily. The lead book waves a large knife and says: "Nobody needs to get hurt... Let's just put the phone down, nice and slowly..." Caption: Bedside reading pile turns nasty

My cartoon for this week’s Guardian books…

Haven't been here for a while. What did I miss?

There are books in every room in the house. And my desks are covered in bits of paper. So no ...!

Lots of free books available via this link - please click through to see what's on offer (and yes, mine is one of them).
books.bookfunnel.com/cleanishscif...

Well, there's turnabout intruder, but that's not quite the same!