An indulgence in the sport of cruelty was the last thing I expected from a labour government.

Fancy meeting our supportive network of fellow #WomenWriters? Join us when we discuss Women Writers & the #Writing Year in Review on Thursday, 20 November at 6pm GMT. #WomenWritersNet @brethertonwords.bsky.social @ruthwriter.bsky.social @arleneandrews.bsky.social @sunisamara11.bsky.social

Windy all day up on my cliff, so this felt appropriate …. Especially after having had a conversation with someone who just wasn’t listening ;) #booksky

So well deserved, a beautiful book for an important cause…

Frankenstitching. My new name for any of my pathetic attempts to repair a seam or replace a button.

Pretty grateful to have a liberal feminist workplace of just one.

Nice one, New York.

A great way to build the capacity for attention is to read books.

Oh the Sudan horrors are so distressing. International action is a must.

Happy Halloween! A thread on the books that have haunted me , which books will stay with you forever? #booksky #halloween #foreverbooks Wuthering Heights Great Expectations To Kill a Mockingbird Tess of the D’Urbevilles 1OO Years of Solitude House of the Spirits The Bone People Perfume /…

After some bone-chilling reading for #halloween? Breakthrough has some seriously #spooky offerings from some dangerously imaginative authors… #HappyHalloween #SpookySeason #HalloweenReading #Books #Bookstagram #BooksWorthReading

Having spent precious time in the Caribbean, having lived through hurricanes and their aftermaths, my thoughts are with #Jamaica and other nearby islands today as this horror bears down upon them. May they be as safe as they can be, and may they get all the help they need in the aftermath. #melissa

Oooh. Seem to have made the Chanticleer Global Thriller Awards shortlist with The Fire In Their Eyes! That’s nice, then. #booksky

#ICYMI, the e-book of Nicole’s Swengley’s “thoroughly engaging mystery”(FT) The Portrait Girl is now only 99p for a limited time in celebration of its birthday! An ideal #bookclub read, this is for fans of #art, design, #Victoriana and contemporary female sleuths…

It was such a pleasure to interview Stephanie Bretherton for @womenwritersnet.bsky.social yesterday. Entering these 3 terms in your own Bluesky search bar will pull up the whole interview: #womenwritersnet #authorinterview @brethertonwords.bsky.social.

Q3 Can you tell us what "The Fire In Their Eyes" is about? #WomenWritersNet #AuthorInterview @brethertonwords.bsky.social @breakthroughbook.bsky.social

Thank you, Stephanie, for chatting with us, and thank you to all who took part in tonight's #AuthorInterview. To find out about future events, make sure to follow us on Bluesky and the hashtag #WomenWritersNet. @brethertonwords.bsky.social @breakthroughbook.bsky.social

Only an hour to go before our @womenwritersnet.bsky.social #AuthorInterview with @brethertonwords.bsky.social. Come and join us, and ask Stephanie your questions! #WomenWritersNet

Come along if you can!

Needed…

Go on people, if you’re hanging around blue sky with nothing better to do on Thursday evening why not throw a spanner in the works and asked me a challenging question? #booksky

We don't have a mask rule because we're "afraid". You can't imagine the courage it takes to protect ourselves--when MSM and public dialogue don't just disdain but actively vilify us for protecting ourselves in! public! Ugh!

The fourth #AuthorInterview in our @womenwritersnet.bsky.social series takes place on Thur 23 Oct. Can’t wait to interview @brethertonwords.bsky.social about her new novel, The Fire In Their Eyes! Come and join us - you are welcome to ask the author your questions! @breakthroughbook.bsky.social

Happy #AdaLovelaceday ! And here’s to all the brilliant women who broke the mould and made it important and vital (if often overlooked ) contributions to the worlds of STEM ! If not from a scientist then from a punter who is in awe and has women scientist driving her novels… #booksky

The ancient ones performed feats of memory, as their culture required them to commit long strings of numbers to their mind palaces.

Excited to be interviewing @brethertonwords.bsky.social for our @womenwritersnet.bsky.social live #AuthorInterview of 23 October. SAVE THE DATE and join us as we ask Stephanie all about her award-winning new novel, #TheFireInTheirEyes (@Breakthroughbooks.bsky.social)! #writing #reading

Did you know it was several decades before handwashing in hospitals was implemented after it was found to be necessary in 1846? We’re in the same boat today, except w/ airborne transmission—yes, in 2025. Unfuckingbelievable. So unnecessary, maddening, irresponsible, & dangerous. #MasksInHealthcare

Happy #bookshopday! Some of my happiest moments have been during launches or events in bookshops. And there’s still such a thrill from seeing your books rubbing shoulders with other wonderful authors on the shelves… or even better, in a window, table or till display! #booksky

Are you going to #take10toread today? Organised by the National Literacy Trust which is encouraging us all to take 10 minutes at 10 o’clock on the 10th to stop the world for a moment and just pick up a good book. I’m in! #booksky

Happy Book Birthday, Nicole!

Oooh, excited! But also a little bit nervous… though I know these are a lovely lot. Just not sure how quickly and sensibly I can type some proper answers! Why don’t you tune in and find out?

Happy Pub Day, Paul!

These are the kind of ideas that I explore in my novels!

This should be a lot of fun!

Awful news out of Manchester, thinking of all involved.

Oh, Jane Goodall, such an inspiration.

Proud to be a part of this…

Is that not the excellent The Portrait Girl by Nicole Swengley?

We must mention (even if Lulu hasn't) that her second novel Salt Lick was long listed for @womensprize.bsky.social in 2022. A fantastic achievement

Happening now!

Fresh off the back of being recommended by @robinince.bsky.social, today’s #BookQW is taken from the short story anthology Two Similar Looking Men With Umbilical Hernias by @zenabarrie.bsky.social, and is a prime example of her ability to combine the absurd and the existential to masterful effect.

Congrats to the marvellous Robin, richly deserved… and how generous to share the love! Couldn’t agree more about his rec for @zenabarrie.bsky.social ‘s hilarious Two Men With Similar Looking Umbilical Hernias! Yes, buy books, support authors, support bookshops!

Did someone say Indian summer? (Did someone say Arctic ocean temperatures? Brrr…) Nevertheless, she persisted with a belated, but traditional, birthday dip.

Well, we know that most of the newspapers owned by the bunker building Barons were long gone, and the techbroligarchs we’re always going to go, but when the publicly funded state broadcaster has also been captured…

Yes. And this is a strong theme in my books…

And it was absolutely worth all that effort, it’s a great book and a highly entertaining read…

It’s great when we’re invited to do Q&A’s or guest posts etc. - or Zooms with writer/book groups. Oh, but the things we say! My favourite? “I’m not Tolkein. I can’t invent Elvish for cavemen” Any beauties that you’ve managed to share with the world? @breakthroughbook.bsky.social #booksky

Awww, Thanks!

Oh Robert Redford, one of my earliest crushes, may you Sundance all the way…

Looking for a #network of fellow #WomenWriters? We encourage and promote women writers’ work and offer a supportive and well-informed #WritingCommunity. Come meet us at our monthly #WomenWritersNet #Skychat on Thursday, 18 September at 6pm BST when we'll discuss Women Writers and Social Media.