Preview of the cover for volume 12 of Bullet Points, with stories from @bogiperson.bsky.social , @sljohnson.bsky.social , @deborahldavitt.com , @joshuamannix.bsky.social , and more. Coming January 15. Please spread the word!

Watching #PrincessBride, in memory of #RobReiner. RIP, creator of the greatest movie EVER!!!

The Smart Search List of the Day is: Mainstream Fantasy Flash Fiction feat. @factorfourmagazine.com @bulletpoints.bsky.social et al. https://duotrope.com...

"Nova carried her captain’s head at her waist as a reminder of what waited beyond the blast-shield doors." Read the latest from Addison Smith / @addi.social in Bullet Points. Subscribe today: zurl.co/FYZF5

"The multi-spectral sensors of an IKONOS satellite detected faint signs of diamonds in newly unearthed igneous outcrops within the Chalk Flora Reserve." Read the latest from Henry Herz/@henryherz.bsky.social. Subscribe: zurl.co/FqS0a

Read "Bone and Acid and Rushing Waves," from Addison Smith / @addi.social: Nova carries her captain’s head into battle. Read for free in Bullet Points: zurl.co/gBV5V

Look, it's a "levee en peu"! This is the French state taking advantage of a distant threat and a crappy job market to build a little nationalism, with little military impact. We're seeing more of this soft mobilization, though, so the trend matters. zurl.co/HhVo2

Bullet Points 11 @jamesaaron.net @slashnburnett.bsky.social @gioclair.bsky.social @henryherz.bsky.social @liamjhogan.bsky.social @gerrileen.bsky.social @grigorylukin.bsky.social @kurtnewton.bsky.social ‪@natashabennett.bsky.social @jeremyszal.bsky.social @ericfomley.bsky.social zurl.co/0jolK

Read "In the Deadly Dark," from Henry Herz / @henryherz.bsky.social: Russian soldiers think they’ve uncovered a vast diamond deposit in occupied Ukraine, but that’s not all they discover. Read for free: zurl.co/qhvQt

“’Ere, what’s all this, then?” The woman scowled as Private Anders pushed past her and into the rooms beyond. “You got a bleedin’ warrant?” Read the latest from Liam Hogan. Subscribe today: zurl.co/4QJwK

Read "For Remembrance," from Liam Hogan / @liamjhogan.bsky.social: In the aftermath of a war, a squad of soldiers investigates reports of a psychic. It takes one to know one. Read for free: zurl.co/aDdLy

"A snub-nose blaster, a Warbird combat dagger, a set of dark-vision goggles, and a block of Trintulex explosives. This is all the gear you get before you head into a tunnel." Read the latest from Don Money / @donmoneywriting. Subscribe today: zurl.co/EtXXk

“Why are you so good to me?” she asks.... I think of all the possible replies: because you’re the most important person in the world... because I have been sent here to assassinate you... Read more from Grigory Lukin/@grigorylukin.bsky.social. Subscribe: zurl.co/3guF5

Read "Below to the Fray," from Don Money / @donmoneywriting: The Tunnel Rats are the brave soldiers tasked with getting into the enemy tunnels to bring the fight to them. Read for free: zurl.co/BRAsq

Read "Hard As a Mirror of Cast Bronze," from Grigory Lukin / @grigorylukin.bsky.social: An assassin searches sideways and down across alternate dimensions to find his target. Read for free: zurl.co/f4Rie

"Devon looked at the short straw in his hand. He knew this would happen. It was only a matter of time with his luck. The other troops gave a visible look of relief at the outcome." Read more from Natasha Smith\@natashabennett.bsky.social: Subscribe today: zurl.co/3oXfM

"The high-pitched whistle shredding the grey atmosphere is the only warning of the missile. Ma grabs my hand, and we weave a blind path... away from where we think the sound will end." Read the latest from Mandy Munro. Subscribe today: zurl.co/g4ePA

Read "A Little Contagion Never Hurt Anyone," from Natasha Smith / ‪@natashabennett.bsky.social: After drawing the short straw, Devon is forced to merge his consciousness with an invasive species. Link: zurl.co/TKLPZ

Read "Black Rain," from Mandy Munro / @mandymunro_author: Alien soldiers hunt Ana and her Ma. Link: zurl.co/TIy0R

"I hunkered down behind the charred ruin of an Eland armored car, its turret punctured with dozens of small holes. The rain came down in torrents, threatening to swell the Nhia River to overflow." Read the latest from Sean Patrick Hazlett. Subscribe: zurl.co/BrW7y

Happy #Halloween! Read "Mandible," from Sean Patrick Hazlett: A haunted CIA agent seeks an extreme occult method to end the Cold War in war-torn Angola. Link: zurl.co/YvhED

"Lila held her daughter tightly. The blows from the girl’s little fists fell onto Lila’s shoulders, her cries reverberated through Lila’s head." Read the latest from Emma Burnett / @slashnburnett.bsky.social: Subscribe today: zurl.co/GngLj

Here on day 28, I may have a solution to the perpetual #shutdown problem: VOTE!

Read "The Room on the Other Side of the Plexi," from Emma Burnett / @slashnburnett.bsky.social: Lila, a refugee, must save her daughter’s teddy when a pebble pierces the hull. Link: zurl.co/nToJT

“Damien dusted sand off his clergy uniform. What was once black was now tinged with specs of yellow. Another laundry run tomorrow. Figures. Keeping his rags clean in the desert was a chore.” Read the latest from Michael Baez. Subscribe today: zurl.co/HzhSl

Do we really appreciate the dilemma that federal employees are facing in the #shutdown? We may not get back pay, but who would hire us in the short term? Day 27, and still counting.

External security threats are the single-greatest predictor of the choice to use conscripts. Add Croatia to the growing list of European countries worried about war with Russia. zurl.co/LbApi

Day 23 of the #shutdown. We can't keep doing this. Our adversaries will gain on us.

Read "A Lesson in History," from Michael Baez: In an alternate universe, the clergyman is more than just an acolyte. Link: zurl.co/6YHa4

ألف مبروك! أين النسخة بالعربية؟

On Day 22, USDA just opened 2,100 offices to distribute agricultural aid, and those employees are now being paid. What does this say about the power of the purse, or who's responsible for the #shutdown? Could other once-nonessential employees now be deemed essential? From AP: zurl.co/50b88#shutdown

It's day 21 of the #shutdown. A big shout-out to the great work of @U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, @CDC, and @National Institutes of Health (NIH) in improving public health over the years!

Insightful analysis of the Trump peace plan in Gaza from @yezidsayigh.bsky.social , courtesy of @BeirutCalling and @carnegiemec.bsky.social . View it here: zurl.co/nYNzP

Bullet Points offers the best new and classic military science fiction and fantasy. Read today: zurl.co/M9v5b. #MilSF #IndieMag

"Steel yourself. No one is really prepared for their first, unfettered mental contact with Tauran Monster Crabs. These things will stare into your very soul if you allow it. Don’t allow it." Read more from Gerri Leen / @gerrileen.bsky.social. Subscribe: zurl.co/5Tg9N

On day 19 of the #shutdown, the focus is on the Department of Transportation. Our roads and air travel are MUCH safer than they would be without the regulations and standards that DOT enforces.

Watching #ChiefsRaiders. It's not clear that the two teams are playing the same sport. If the @The Kansas City Chiefs stay healthy, I'm not sure who can keep them from the Super Bowl.

On Day 18 of the #shutdown, here is video from a #NoKings protest in McLean, VA. About half the cars were in support and only two people flipped the bird, so more support than in June.

Who's to blame for the #shutdown? A new poll gives answers... sort of. Day 17. Link: zurl.co/oroSB#shutdown

"The landscape was a maze of abandoned buildings and cobblestone alleyways.... It wasn’t the first time Simms had found himself in enemy territory outnumbered and outgunned." Read the latest from Kurt Newton / @kurtnewton.bsky.social: Subscribe today: zurl.co/8s557

People talk about the 300k+ Black women who have lost their jobs as if they are statistics for their research projects and I’m here to remind yall, we are real ass people feeling the effects of it. In our homes, quality of life and well-being. To those of you in this boat with me, I see you. 💙

#inflation, for real

Read "How to Deploy Tauran Monster Crabs," from Gerri Leen / @gerrileen.bsky.social: Don’t deviate from these instructions. Link: zurl.co/qJlSO

I don't take health benefits for granted, especially here on day 16 of a #shutdown over health care.

Hey there! On day 15 of the #shutdown, we should appreciate the range of services that the Federal government provides. Here's looking at you, #USDA.

Bullet Points 11: @jamesaaron.net @slashnburnett.bsky.social @gioclair.bsky.social @henryherz.bsky.social @liamjhogan.bsky.social @gerrileen.bsky.social @grigorylukin.bsky.social @kurtnewton.bsky.social ‪@natashabennett.bsky.social @jeremyszal.bsky.social #DarkMilSF zurl.co/0jolK

Read "Wax Soldiers," from Kurt Newton / @kurtnewton.bsky.social: Simms fights enemy soldiers from a bombed-out church. Link: zurl.co/KKelj

On day 14 of the #shutdown, it seems like the pain is the point.

Today is the LAST DAY to get Bullet Points 11 at a discount ($4.99 digital, $7.99 print). Vol. 11 has 16 #DarkMilSF stories from Rich Larson, Jeremy Szal, Sean Patrick Hazlett, Mandy Munro, and more. Buy on Amazon: zurl.co/T605T. Subscribe: zurl.co/NX5qs#DarkMilSF

This #shutdown started a while ago, and it's about how we think about public service, not just about opening the government. Day 13, of many.