My way of coping with all of the madness is focusing on what I can do to make my community a little bit stronger. So excuse me for all of the earnestness, but I wrote about ways we can all pitch in to support a thriving literary culture. lithub.com/how-to-be-a-...

Got to chat to some of the most exciting names in the genre and write my thoughts about what makes dark academia dark academia for The Nerd Daily! Read on for discussions of institution as villain & glamour with a rotten underside w Olivie Blake and more #BookSky 🖤📚 thenerddaily.com/elspeth-wils...

FACT: If you tried to read every book on the list of horror, romantasy, and other SFF-crossover novels coming out in September 2025...it would take a really long time. Which are you most excited for? reactormag.com/new-sff-cros...

I just wrote the most harrowing scene, which opened up a whole new dimension to the underlying horror in the novel I'm writing. All in about two pages. Muahahahha I love writing.

Dropped my phone into a bowl of yogurt, and now there is yogurt in the tiny speaker holes. So, yeah, that feels about right.

My first piece of writing for grownups is out today! I'm very excited to share my story "Tallow's Cove" in These Dreaming Spires: A Dark Academia Anthology. This is also my first piece of writing set in New England... and it's a ghost story! ericawaters.com/other-writin...

Today we're thrilled to welcome to the Hive authors from upcoming Dark Academia anthology THESE DREAMING SPIRES to discuss what the genre means to them! Read more: tinyurl.com/bd3r7ax3 #DarkAcademia @titanbooks.bsky.social @marieoregan.bsky.social @paulkane.bsky.social

‘This might be my favorite anthology ever!’ ‘I inhaled this book.’ ‘An amazing collection.’ ‘Every story was a hit for me.’ ‘The dark academia book of brilliance.’ 4 and 5 ⭐️ reviews of #TheseDreamingSpires – out this time next week! www.amazon.co.uk/These-Dreami...

A fun bit of news: I have a very weird short story coming out sometime in the next year with the horror fiction podcast @talestoterrify.bsky.social! I had a ton of fun writing this piece (that's inspired by my eldritch horror of a chihuahua), so I am excited to see the podcast bring it to life!

A NEW SEMESTER BEGINS. THESE DREAMING SPIRES, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, features 12 new dark academia short stories from masters of the genre, including Olivie Blake, Genevieve Cogman, MK Lobb & more. Pre-order your copy before term starts on September 2! https://tinyurl.com/3394nw8x

When it comes to queries, I’m noticing an increase in everyone trying their best, this is a very hard industry, creating in these difficult times is challenging, and I’m very proud of you. ❤️

The heat makes people and animals lose their minds. Flesh-eating bacteria waits in warm, stagnant water. Things melt. Sharks hunt at the beach. The kudzu is always hiding something. The blistering sun wakes up the ghosts sleeping in the walls. Remember: summer is horror season.

If you want to eat more leafy greens, get a CSA. My pickup today included lettuce, spinach, chard, kale, and radishes. (Also strawberries, rhubarb, and pasture-raised eggs.) I would definitely not have bought all those greens at the grocery store.

Ten years ago today I finished a first draft of my first novel. That book will never see the light of day, but all these years and books later, I still remember that feeling so clearly—the astonishment of having actually done something so huge. It changed my whole life.

This beauty, which includes a story of mine, releases in exactly three months. It's my first piece of writing set in New England, and it's a ghost story.

Research shows people who shop at indie bookstores on Independent Bookstore Day are fucking rad.

i just think!! it's kinda freaking cool! (it glows in the dark heh) [ my illustrations for the @rainbowcrate.bsky.social special edition of @ericawatersbooks.bsky.social's THE RESTLESS DARK ] #booksky #artsky

Tomorrow, a certain online mega-retailer launches a book sale, just days before Indie Bookstore Day on 4/26. This is no coincidence; Bookstore Day is one of the largest revenue drivers for indies. Indies need our support to thrive & build community spaces for all...mega-retailers do not.

My queer dark academia, All That Consumes Us, is on sale for $1.99 wherever you buy your ebooks. I’d rec it for you if you like gothic lit, sapphic romance, found family, and ghosts! 👻

A bit of springtime spookiness: Ghost Wood Song’s ebook is $1.99 wherever you buy your ebooks. -A ghost-raising fiddle -Set in rural Florida springtime -Murder mystery -A bluegrass band -Sweet little romance 💜

literally everything. it's gonna be rough. Check for authors you like. see if they have a ko-fi, a patreon, a subscription service, buy their books (paper to preserve the most at-risk for censorship authors, your local indie, etc) and talk about those books to spread word of mouth. please.

Here’s your morning mood, courtesy of Kiko Capile.

A small nice thing about living in a walkable city is that I’ve gotten to watch a puppy named Cora grow up for the last eight months just because I’m often walking by during her potty break. Today she tried to steal my gloves.

NEW: ALA is going to court to stop the President’s attempts to illegally dismantle the Institute of Museum & Library Services. The President does not have the authority to destroy a federal agency. That's why we're taking action with our co-plaintiff @afscme.bsky.social. #ForOurLibraries (1/3)

A nice bit of book news: My mom was at the library in my hometown over the weekend and overheard someone asking for my book The River Has Teeth. She was very excited to tell them she was the author's mom.

working on something sick as hell

If you’re looking for something spooky to read, The Restless Dark is on sale for $1.99 wherever you get your ebooks. 🖤

It’s no joke, our friends at @bookshop.org are helping us celebrate #WeNeedDiverseBooksDay with a special promo code! 🛍️📚 Shop Bookshop.org on April 3rd and use the code “WNDB25” at checkout to get 15% off your purchase!

SHE’S HERE! The Trans Rights Readathon has officially begun! ✨🥳🎊🎉📚 #booksky #trr25 #transrightreadathon

Good news for fellow authors disheartened by your books being illegally used to train AI; "If your book was used by Meta, you’re automatically included in the Kadrey v. Meta class action in Northern California..." And @authorsguild.bsky.social has some practical steps you can take.

Literally every word I have ever written and had published was pirated and used to train Meta’s AI.

I spent a lot of time on short fiction this year. I wrote a novella and two short stories and dreamed up several more. Soooooo this is just to say: anthology editors... I would love to hear from you!

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Private Rites by Julia Armfield was my most anticipated read of the year, and it was as good as I had hoped. Gorgeous writing and such interesting worldbuilding. This felt like a perfect follow-up to Our Wives Under the Sea. Highly recommend if you like moody sapphic lit and swooning over sentences.

Need some good news today? Authors Against Book Bans fought one conservative school district in FL and won! lithub.com/authors-agai...

Friendly reminder to get your free Covid tests before they throw them away. Covidtests.gov wapo.st/42VLGQh

Currently $1.99 wherever you get your ebooks!

Just when I thought winter had reached peak misery, my dog developed a sudden and fireworks-level fear of the sound of snow plows.

Dark academia is for lovers 🖤 This book might be about ghosts and secret societies, but it's also about queer love and found family, and I think you'll like it.

behold! my stuff some folks whose work or presence online I find valuable in the horror or spec fic genres.

Given the increase in book bans and the quiet removal of queer literature from school and public libraries over the last few years, the ALA’s Rainbow Book List is essential. I am so honored that All That Consumes Us is included this year.

I know we have a warped sense of what a banned book is because it's been a badge of honor for so long since those bans were stopped, but most banned books aren't famous and get quietly removed with no fanfare in such a way that no one knows they were banned or even that they exist.

A 50-something construction worker stopped me in a parking lot to tell me my look was cool. “Good job,” he said. I suspect he clocked me as queer and wanted to say something kind. Made my day better for sure.

Amazing our #TheseDreamingSpires cover reveal for was seen by over 25k people on socials in less than 24 hours!! 12 new #darkacademia stories from masters of the genre. We'll see *you* on the first day of term, September 2nd 2025. To request an ARC: bit.ly/TitanARCs

Some publishing news! I'm so excited to have a story in this beautiful anthology!

Okay. Time to get to work. Print Run will now be doing a Query Critique Drive. 100% of the money received will be going to an org or fund that directly helps trans kids. Here are the rules:

WNDB's Statement on the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Dismissing Book Ban Complaints (🧵 1/4)

I get to share a tiny bit of publishing news tomorrow. ✨

All I can say is that my life has been made better by the trans folks in it, and one of the best things is seeing someone you thought you knew just fucking bloom and flourish after they come out. Anyone who wants to stifle that will never know the light of heaven.

I am trying to replace scrolling with analog habits. I love doing puzzles but am trying to think of other things. I can’t do anything with repetitive hand motions, so knitting is out. Building models?