I helped Ben Barnes make a Tiktok in my cafe while dressed in a bee onesie. This was after he spent many long hours in the place over the course of two months, so maybe this isn't "minor," but the Tiktok was the first time we *directly hung out.*

Queen of the realm (if Summer War, which I completed) or legendary author (if Captain Pamphile, which I have just started.) This is fine.

Probably the #1 reason I don't read enough.

Reading my 11th book this year, it is very conspicuous that 8 of the 11 books had female protagonists who were under the age off 25; half of those were teenagers. There were very few speaking characters who were any older. In the background, some "old men of 45." None of these are YA books.

Quote this with what you have accomplished in 2025 no matter how small - Survived a year on severance/EI - Launched @tricon-hfx.bsky.social - Started a coffee roastery - Gave workshops on short stories, Dumas & book collecting - Juried some writing prizes - Got my firearms certification

‪Issue 44 of Mythaxis Magazine is live! mythaxis.co.uk/issue-44/ Six new crime stories in text & audio, plus long and short form fiction reviews! Many thanks to Ayame, Mark H. Harris, Devin James Leonard, Shamus Maxwell, Donald McCarthy, Angus McIntyre, and Bill Ryan, with Micah Hyatt on voice!

I think it’s a perfect day to introduce you to our three Christmas trees! First up: RAINBOW UNICORN CHRISTMAS TREE!

and tiny tim, who did NOT die, lived long enough to see himself become the villain. he can do those things, because he’s not a hero, not like Dent.

and Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, was delighted to find out meat’s back on the menu, boys

And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, being a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Fun vintage paperbacks of the hour. TODAY WE CHOOSE FACES by Roger Zelazny. I choose a face every day idk

Yo that's goatse

I managed in my forties to find a way to make a living from doing the thing my brain is broken for, and both I and (I like to think) the world are better off for it. Imagine if I could have done it in my twenties, when I had energy, instead of destroying my health for decades with shitty jobs.

I am genuinely so excited about this. I've said it before, but working with artists is one of my favourite things to do. You give them a prompt and **chef's kiss** an item of beauty comes out! I love ot, I love it, I love it.

We're open for early subs from Dec 24-31! If you're an equity-deserving writer, send us SFF short fiction (500-3,500 words) & poetry. Not sure what we want? Less fabulism and more entrenched fantasy/scifi. We'd love pieces that deliver on the promise of their title (show us the monster!!)

This is it! Last day of Early Bird pricing! Get your weekend pass for $85, and shirt for $20. Prices go up at midnight to $125 + $30! For 3 days of panels, launches, meetups, shopping, reading, & networking, you can't go wrong! Join us in May for the best of Speculative Lit! tricon-halifax.com

3 days left for Early Bird tickets! Did you know you can suggest panel & programming ideas? Let us know what you'd like to see! This is no committment or guarantee, but a way for us to draw on the braintrust of the community when planning our schedule. Add your voice! tricon-halifax.com/panels/

4 days left to register for Early Bird prices! We will be hosting a TriCon Indie Author Pop-Up! Indie authors are invited to submit their books & we will manage sales & host signings. Inclusion in the Pop-Up is free, but participants must be TriCon attendees. Register now! tricon-halifax.com

Hey Halifax! Are there ANY more Christmas markets this season? A genuine last-minute on the 20th or 21st? However small or strange? 🙏

With 5 days left for Early Bird Registration, we have to gush about our Author GoH, Amal El-Mohtar! Author of This Is How You Lose the Time War, The River Has Roots, and soon Seasons of Glass and Iron, Amal will be participating in programming as well as a mainstage event. tricon-halifax.com

Is TriCon for me? If you are asking yourself, the answer is yes! TriCon is a conversation and an exploration: it will be what we bring to it. With this community, that means a lot! Early Bird pricing on weekend passes & tshirt ends on December 21st. Register now! tricon-halifax.com

we can kill them all if we just work together and ✨believe💫

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) paid $18 million for a chatbot named Charlie, which the auditor general reported gave her team the wrong answer 66% of the time. The chatbot's responses were found to be brief and lacking context, with only 2 out of 6 questions answered accurately.

One week left!! Weekend pass pricing will go up to $125 on December 22nd, and shirt preorder pricing will also go up. We will be sharing our tshirt design at that time and we are SO THRILLED with it. You're gonna love it! Let's go! tricon-halifax.com

Elon Musk genuinely the least surprising candidate to rerun the Mechanical Turk bit a century later

I want a formal name for the depersonalization that writers sometimes get when seeing something they have written after a long time away from it. I remember writing *a* review of this book, but these words? I don't feel like I wrote these at all. Not a trace of recognition.

any time i see someone interacting with chatgpt

One month left for Early Bird tickets! The all-weekend pass is just $85, and mystery t-shirt pre-order, $20! Prices on both will go up Dec 21st. 3 days of panels, workshops, lectures, launches, and networking with other writers & creatives in speculative genres? Yes plz! tricon-halifax.com

please don't do this. MAGA hats are made from an acrylic blend, which will release toxic chemicals when set on fire, potentially harming you and downwind woodland creatures

Charles R. Saunders, father of "Sword and Soul", was an author & journalist whose work established him as a pioneer of Black specfic. TriCon is proud to present readings from winners of NS's Charles R. Saunders Prize, as well as a lecture on Saunders from his biographer, Jon Tattrie!

This is the important thing: it can be done.

I do fear we’re starting to see the end of physical, subscription-based SFF magazines. Which means there’ll be nothing left behind but a digital footprint. I don’t think we can let that happen. Not after what we’ve seen this year.

Finally got my day at @halconscificon.bsky.social ! The vendor room was spectacular as always, but most of my time was spent at the Writers' Federation booth meeting local writers and people-watching the incredible cosplays. 😊 Such a great event. Great work, all.

I can't make @halconscificon.bsky.social until Sunday, but when I do, you can come see me at the WFNS booth!

Cover reveal for Carnalis, my lesbian cannibal novella, which is out in MARCH from @nictitatingbooks.bsky.social!!

i can’t believe a good thing happened we should do this more often

I gotta give it up to the writers tho. If NYC elects a Muslim mayor on the day Dick Cheney died, that is one hell of a slow played story arc. Every time you want to fire 2025's writers room they give you a little narrative resolution as a treat.

all this "hot commie summer" means nothing without an appropriate flag so behold, a flag for the Communicity of New York

What kind of programming will you find at TriCon? All kinds of stuff, like the Blue Pencil Cafe! Sign up for a 1-on-1 session with an editor! Spaces are limited, & sign-ups open December 22nd! Featuring @englelaird.bsky.social, @mythaxis.bsky.social, and @heartlines-spec.com, with more to come!

Here’s some Laurent Reis art to make your Monday a little better.

This includes an application form for @tridenthalifax.bsky.social's Indie Author Pop-Up! That's right--Indie Authors do NOT need to get a whole vendor table for themselves!

Hello, Bluskies. I'm seeing love for the retro tech of the early 2000s today, and I'm loving it. So I wanted to share the story of a tiny shared moment that has stuck with me forever. And it's about the Philips GoGear Vibe mp3 player. It was a 2gb mp3 player with a 1.5" color LCD screen.

Do I know anyone wordpress-savvy enough to build me a woocommerce shop for Trident? 👀

I'm on the BFS blog this week talking about writing, my influences and just general shenanigans!

I think I come off as like a 3-4 at first, but that sharply ramps up to 8-9 or worse in early days of acquaintence. Then people either flee, or fall in love, or get red pilled, or push through and realize I'm absolutely a 1.

Today, I went to @openbookcoffee.bsky.social (I hope that is actually them) to participate in the Writers' Federation of Nova Scota's Writing Rumble! We wrote two terrible stories and raised $6000 for the mentorship program and I loved every minute of it. 😊

This is misleading because, in fact, nobody BRINGS me water. Nobody HANDS me the water. I would drink water if the water came to ME. But no, I am tired and have to go get my own water, so fuckit. No water.

Today is the WFNS's Writing Rumble!! I'll be at Open Book Coffee in Halifax all day, writing to a live projection screen (and/or cheering my teammates) so if anyone wants to come hang out, pleeeeease do! writers.ns.ca/workshops-ev...

A personal post from owner @charlotteashley.bsky.social! Looking for a Math tutor in Halifax! We need support for grade 12 IB Math, specifically w/ the Math IA. An undergraduate student who survived the IB program would be ideal! Gig would probably be a few hours a week for a few months. DM me!

My Can*Con book haul is now on the shelves at @tridenthalifax.bsky.social! Absolutely delighted to bring some indie published gems home to Halifax! 😊