Life is just one tiny fright after another, isn't it?

"Why can't AI just do my research?" Because creative research isn't information retrieval. I'm working on a new academic article showing how research methods produce the distinctive textures of literary prose, looking at Octavia Butler, William Gibson, Kim Stanley Robinson and Andy Weir.

Thinking about Octavia Butler's #writingadvice in Furor Scribendi today: "Forget talent. If you have it, fine. Use it. If you don't have it, it doesn't matter. As habit is more dependable than inspiration, continued learning is more dependable than talent."

While writing The Lady, the Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death, I found myself captivated by haunting photographs of abandoned circuses across Eastern Europe. #WritingInspiration #DarkFantasy #EasternEurope #Circus #AuthorLife #FantasyFiction #WritingProcess

ICYMI: We're hiring a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in #CreativeWriting at UQ! -looking for literary fiction, poetry, graphic novels, comics, digital storytelling, new media, or games! -international applications welcome Apply: uq.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/uqcareers/jo... #HigherEd #AcademicJobs

HUGE news! We're hiring in Creative Writing at UQ! Looking for an amazing writer working in literary fiction, poetry, graphic novels, comics, digital storytelling, new media, or games! International applications welcome. This is going to be AWESOME uq.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/uqcareers/jo...

“Toward the end of a book, the state of composition feels like a complex, chemically altered state that will go away if I don’t give it what it needs. And what it needs is to write all the time.” I feel that, William Gibson — is this universal among writers?

Alexievich's The Unwomanly Face of War inspired my writing by revealing the erased stories of women in conflict. A masterpiece. #TheUnwomanlyFaceOfWar #Alexievich #WritingInspiration #UntoldStories (The Lady, The Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death is out now from @titanbooks.bsky.social !)

A beautifully written Slavic fantasy featuring the circus and a tiger from @titanbooks.bsky.social. The Lady, the Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death by Helen Marshall #BFSReview britishfantasysociety.org/review/the-l...

Romanian bear dancers inspired the haunting folklore in my novel THE LADY, THE TIGER AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED DEATH--ancient rituals of rebirth and demons bleeding from bear skins. Now out from @titanbooks.bsky.social (edited by the brilliant @cathtrechman.bsky.social) #DarkFantasy #FolkHorror

Brilliant Guardian piece on how Big Tech is systematically stealing books, music & films to train AI without consent or payment. This isn't innovation. It's digital colonialism threatening our entire creative ecosystem. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

These are some of my favorite films and if you love them too, my novel is absolutely made for you! THE LADY, THE TIGER AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED DEATH has all the magic, drama, and political edge you crave🔥 Out from @titanbooks.bsky.social (and thanks to @cathtrechman.bsky.social for the fab edits!)

ICYMI! Amazing review from Locus: “I rate Marshall...as one of the best fantasists working in the field....At its core, THE LADY, THE TIGER AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED DEATH is a story about stories.” @mondyboy74.bsky.social reviews @titanbooks.bsky.social locusmag.com/2025/08/the-...

Thinking about wildness today and why it matters to us. 🐅 94-year-old Peggie remembers the last thylacine's cries at Hobart Zoo—a loneliness that still haunts her decades later. "We didn't realise it was the last one until it was too late." www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Best birthday ever! 🎂 Friends, Blood on the Clocktower, and live sketching by the talented @tanaudel.bsky.social . Special shoutout to the masterpiece of Leah reading her character notes while tiny Spiderman creeps around. We all survived the night! #BirthdayGames #BloodOnTheClockTower

Samuel Hume's graph: words that indicate a document is more likely to be written by AI .

Putin & Xi caught on hot mic discussing immortality & living to 150. Writing my 2067 novel about AI & eternal life and thinking about when power seeks permanence how high the cost can be www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...

A reader told me they want more book clubs discussing The Lady, The Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death and debating whether Irenda is a good person in a bad system or should be first against the wall when the revolution comes. This is exactly the kind of moral chaos I live for.

“At its core, THE LADY, THE TIGER AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED DEATH is a story about stories.” @mondyboy74.bsky.social reviews @manuscriptgal.bsky.social

Life imitating art: Reading about Moscow’s surreal detachment from war while people live in carefully constructed unrealities reminds me why I wrote The Lady, The Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death—a story about power, illusion, and the lies we tell ourselves www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/w...

🐅 Join me July 24 at Avid Reader (6:30pm) as Angela Slatter & I dive into The Lady, The Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death - a dark tale of grief, revenge & the dangerous allure of the circus. Can't wait to share this story! avidreader.com.au/pages/11648-... ✨

After today's technical difficulties, this lovely review from Corey Redekop is exactly what I needed to see. Thank you, Corey! 🙏

Apologies to everyone who was expecting my r/Fantasy AMA today! Technical difficulties and timing mix-ups derailed things. We're going to reschedule for next week when we can do it properly. Will post the new date soon--thanks for your patience!

We're LIVE! AMA happening now on r/Fantasy! Ask me about Putin's theater director, revenge-plotting tigers, twenty drafts, circus magic, or anything else about The Lady, The Tiger, and the Girl Who Loved Death! www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/co... #RedditAMA

📚 Join my Reddit AMA on July 11 at 5pm EST / 8am AEST! Happy to chat about The Lady, The Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death, the writing process, or anything else on r/Fantasy. Looking forward to your questions! 🎭

🐅 Doing a Reddit AMA about my fantasy novel "The Lady, The Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death" 📅 July 11th, 5 PM EST 🌍 (July 12th, 8 AM Brisbane time) r/Fantasy Come ask me anything about world-building, writing process-indeed, anything! #FantasyBooks #AMA #WritingCommunity

A few weeks ago, we interviewed the wonderful @manuscriptgal.bsky.social on her newest novel, The Lady, the Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death. If you do nothing else, buy the book. But also: listen to the interview! It's delightful. Audio and video version right here: skiffyandfanty.com/p...

After years of writing this story close to my heart, The Lady, The Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death launches Thursday! Join Angela Slatter & me at Avid Reader 6.00pm for circus magic, dark fantasy & hopefully some great conversation. See you there! avidreader.com.au/pages/11648-...

Anytime I hear from a reader that a copy of my book has arrived, a fairy gets their wings.

Had a great chat with The Nerd Daily about The Lady, The Tiger & The Girl Who Loved Death - from my family's history to Putin's theatrical politics to how it took 20 drafts to untangle that narrative puzzle box of frame stories & multiple timelines! thenerddaily.com/helen-marsha...

The Sydney Morning Herald calls The Lady, The Tiger and the Girl Who Loved death 'grand in ambition,' and 'a song of brutality and mystery' while noting it's 'tough going'. I'll take that as high praise for pushing boundaries. www.smh.com.au/culture/book...

Want to know what I’m reading now? In this post I talk about everything from Francis Spufford and @nickharkaway.com to Kathleen Jennings @tanaudel.bsky.social and @tashanmehta.bsky.social #GreatReads #OnMyShelf www.nerds-feather.com/2025/06/6-bo... @titanbooks.bsky.social @princejvstin.com

“Mummy, if you don’t listen, you can’t play.” “That’s a thing mummies say.” “That’s what big boys say to their mummies when they aren’t listening.”

Ian Mond reviews THE LADY, THE TIGER, AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED DEATH in the July Locus! "One of the best fantasists working in the field… Fiercely imaginative and tricksy… underscores the power of stories to manipulate and control" Grateful when a story finds its ideal reader! @titanbooks.bsky.social

I'm on @skiffyandfanty.com Show talking about "The Lady, the Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death" - we dive into form, history, and borderlands. Had such a great conversation! Listen: skiffyandfanty.com/category/pod... #SFF #podcast #fantasy #CrossingOver

We're just 2 hours from stream time. Tonight's show features our interview / @manuscriptgal.bsky.social, author of The Lady, the Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death from @titanbooks.bsky.social. We'll be live at 7 PM Central to share this beauty with you! Bring friends! twitch.tv/alphabetst...

Tonight's Skiffy and Fanty stream features our interview w/ the wonderful @manuscriptgal.bsky.social‬! We talked to her about The Lady, The Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death, out on June 24th from @titanbooks.bsky.social! 7 PM Central. Come watch. Learn. And buy books! twitch.tv/alphabetst...

It strikes me how many brilliant writers and readers in the literary scene are young parents, yet so few spaces accommodate families. The struggle to stay connected to literary community while raising kids is real.

Had the loveliest book event at Caper Bookshop last night! Such a rare treat to find a bookshop that truly embraces families: kids playing while adults dive deep into literary conversation. Thanks all for coming and for proving bookshops can be magical spaces for all ages!

Haunting, brutal, and beautifully written, new read The Lady, the Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death by @manuscriptgal.bsky.social combines the spectacle of circus & the power of stories with deeper currents of tyranny, war, love & revenge, all wrapped in an eastern-European magical fable. 💙📚🪐

Thrilled that THE LADY, THE TIGER AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED DEATH is featured on ABC's The Bookshelf alongside Becky Manawatu's Kataraina. Magic realism and powerful storytelling - what more could you want? podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/r...

"One of the most impressive [reads] of my reading year so far" - thank you @runalongwomble.bsky.social for this gorgeous review of THE LADY, THE TIGER AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED DEATH! So happy the story kept you guessing until the end. www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2025/6/...

Self-promotion isn't my favorite, but here we are! 😅 If THE LADY, THE TIGER AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED DEATH resonated with you, a review or recommendation would mean so much. And if it sounds intriguing, your local library or bookshop can help you find it. Thanks for your support!

So excited to be joining Sarah Brooks & Malcolm Devlin for "Authors of the Strange" — three writers exploring the uncanny lurking beneath ordinary reality. 📅 Tues, June 17th, 7.30pm 🎟️ checkout.square.site/merchant/ML2... We'll be reading, chatting about our latest works. Come join us!

Now for some more #writinginspiration: A circus that only opens at night, where two magicians compete in a deadly game they don't understand. The Night Circus proves that the most beautiful spectacles often hide the darkest purposes. #CircusBooks #TheLadyTheTigerAndtheGirlwhoLovedDeath

"There is a beast at the center of the universe who can take away pain..." The official trailer for my new novel is here! Welcome to a circus unlike any other. #TheLadyTheTigerAndTheGirlWhoLovedDeath #BookTrailer #BookLaunch #AvailableNow @titanbooks.bsky.social

Second author of the evening is Helen Marshall ( @manuscriptgal.bsky.social ) with her book The Lady, The Tiger & The Girl Who Loved Death @srfantasyclub.bsky.social @allgoodbookshop.co.uk

The very happiest of book birthday to @manuscriptgal.bsky.social and the incredible THE LADY, THE TIGER AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED DEATH - brilliant, complex, deadly dark and with the sharpest of claws...

If this sounds like your kind of story, I'd be so grateful if you'd pick up a copy! And if you do read it, please consider leaving a review - they truly help authors reach new readers. Thank you for being part of this journey! #BookLaunch 12/12

This story is about finding your place in a world that's constantly changing, about the power of stories to both trap and free us. It explores political spectacle, family secrets, and the dangerous allure of magic and power. 11/12