Am I the only one that finds chickpea skin revolting? Why don't they come skinned in the can? If you don't peel them, that's gross, whole thing looks like a mess of peeled blisters: disgusting when they come loose in your food.

Clarity, dear reader, is key. Take this abomination, for instance. How was this giraffe dissected? Horizontally? Vertically? The arse end of the beast or the full neck, chest, shoulders, and fore legs. I can't think of a less dividable animal than a giraffe! Try using a whole rhino next time.

My twin boys are 18 today. I could not be more proud of these fine young men.

Wife: you can only bring one book to Ireland. Me: Of course, of course. See? One book.

@manchanmagan.bsky.social are there any plans to release an audiobook? I would love to hear all these beautiful words spoken.

Everyone should read Frogs for Watchdogs by Seán Farrell!

Whoever hangs the toilet paper with the leaf towards the wall is the villain. Just saying.

Missing Dublin more lately.

@minjinlee.bsky.social spoke at our Unbound Book Festival keynote last Friday. In her talk, she discussed having a thesis, or truth that anchors your novel. In Pachinko, it's: History has failed us, but no matter. She made these words the opening line of the book.

Unbound Book festival stormed into Columbia last weekend. What a fantastic event! I'm proud to be on the board, and privileged to participate and meet so many wonderful people.

@anndavilacardinal.bsky.social thank you so much for coming to Unbound. It was wonderful to meet.

@jennymolberg.bsky.social what a great weekend at Unbound! Delighted we met.

@cmanick.bsky.social thank you for coming to Unbound. What a great weekend.

@minjinlee.bsky.social It was wonderful to hear your talk on Friday night at Unbound. Thank you for sharing your time with us.

Nothing beats the smell of fresh bread.

On a hike today at Echo Bluffs State Park, we came across a small cemetery set into a beautiful spot on the side of a hill. Some of the dates of birth ranged back into the early 1800s.

Starting next week, I'll be querying out my new novel SWALLOW ALL THE LIGHT, an Irish gothic story of folklore, supernatural forces, lust, and murder. If you know an agent looking for something like this, please let them know.

My Brother and sister, playing music from opposite shores of the Eurasian continent in the heart of Dublin. Great stuff. youtube.com/watch?v=j7qj...

English is clearly missing some words.

Crazy to me that only 0.00083% of Americans decided to work hard and become billionaires. Why is everyone else so lazy? 🤔

My second novel is finally finished. Time to polish and buff it and get it ready to query. #amwriting #amquerying #writing #author

I have a cold. My adopted country is coming apart at the seams, taking half the world with it. Time to write: to disappear in the rural Ireland of the 1950s, when many yearned for modernity while others fought the tide with tired old ways. I hope it sheds light on what we're doing to ourselves now.

@thewrengirl.bsky.social picked up a copy in Columbia MO today.

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

01.29.15 @joemarshallauthor.bsky.social reflects on dog poo and expensive tables. www.past-ten.com/single-post/...

Check out my short story on Past Ten: a thin slice of family life amid the highs and lows of social media. Hope you enjoy. www.past-ten.com/single-post/... #fiction #shortstory #writing #irishwriting #ireland #story #irish #nonfiction #memoir #facebook #familylife

Wise and important words from sociologist Jennifer Walter about what is happening in this country right now and what to do about it: The goal is to overwhelm you. The flood of 200+ executive orders in Trump's first days exemplifies Naomi Klein's "shock doctrine"—

@amyator.bsky.social found you.

To celebrate our 10th festival year, Unbound Book Festival is hosting a fundraiser trivia night. Come test your bookish knowledge. Teams are capped at 6 people. Play trivia supporting Unbound on Thursday, February 20 at Hexagon Alley. Register here: unbound-reg.brtapp.com/TriviaNightF...

One of the most distressing things to watch, is a cat owner try to convince said cat to like the toy or pillow they just bought at the pet store.

I'll have a piece appearing in Past Ten at the end of this month: a vignette exploring the highs and lows of social media through a thin slice of family life. Delighted to be asked to contribute. I'll share the link when it's up. #amwriting #amquerying #fiction #nonfiction #shortstory #story

Leaving the pub in the village where my father was born, I paused on the bridge for several minutes and listened to the waters of the Brosna river. Such a beautiful, peaceful place. I didn't want the moment to end. #ireland #westmeath #homesick

NEW: What does Elon Musk really want? www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPoX...

When an AI asks you to correct an error, it's asking you to train it. You're trading your knowledge and skills for nothing. Those companies then translate this into trillions of $s in stock value. Next time an AI asks you for help, ask it how much your time is worth. #AI #wallstreet #bigtech #Musk

Damn it. Wordle 1,310 X/6 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩

“I’ve found the best way to revise your own work is to pretend that somebody else wrote it and then to rip the living shit out of it.” ― Don Roff #Writing #Rewriting

@rohanoduill.bsky.social good to see you on here!

In January 2021, during the third national lockdown, I pulled into this deserted pub car park to turn the van round and found a lamppost and a bin engaged in lively conversation while they thought no one was looking. Incredible.

It will be this many books cold in Missouri on Monday.

Great....compounding fear. No, I'm okay, I'll be grand.

Half my daily step count involves looking for my shoes in the morning.

Paint a colour with words....

#writing #community: opinion on audiobooks please. Do they augment, replace, or undermine reading for writers? Many who write around job and family find it difficult to sit with a book as we'd wish. I do both, curious how others feel. #amwriting #amquerying #reading #audiobooks #reading #books

Twitter is such a cesspool of hate, and blame, and finger pointing, and division, and lies about the LA fires right now. Every vulnerable group from immigrants, to religious minorities, to LGBTQ+ are in the cross hairs. It has nothing of use to offer mankind. Such a shame and waste.

Have you had a successful author slide into your DMs lately? Watch out for this scam. People are impersonating (mostly midlist) authors on here, striking up conversations, and eventually offering to connect you with their "marketing team." It's fake 🐴💩 #booksky #writingcommunity

This. This is character.

Snowfall totals I can understand. #snow #books #writing

Current status in Missouri. I hear Ireland is similar. #snow #ireland #winter

I found a photo while scrolling through past dates on FB for a writing project. 1973/74: My dad holds me in his @gardasiochana.bsky.social uniform outside the house he built with his bare hands. The project concerns a story about me and my son, but maybe the universe is telling me to think bigger.

Delighted to finally be able to say that @minjinlee.bsky.social will be our keynote speaker at the Unbound Book Festival this year! #bookfestival #writing #reading #books #novels