I review "Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird", by Henry Lien @henrylienauthor.bsky.social Spoiler: I liked it. www.bieck.fr/kishoutenket...

People writing business narratives often call themselves storytellers. I've been writing business narratives, but I don't, and here's why.

Just finished "Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird", by @henrylienauthor.bsky.social . Great book! I have a short story that resisted revision. It was already quasi-circular, and I think I now know just what it needs.

Book Review: The Earthsea Cycle I have a bunch of books on my "to reread" list because they've been a big influence on me in some way, and A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin and its sequels were on it. I have Wizard in the paperback edition from 1983, and that's probably also around when I…

Free to download for two weeks only! Starting today, you can download my new book: Between Yahwism and Judaism: Judean Cult and Culture during the Early Hellenistic Period (332–175 BCE) Download it now, and read it later. Please share and spread the word! www.cambridge.org/core/element...

Just signed the publishing contract with Guardbridge Books for my debut novel, "A Basquet of Cats". It's YA #fantasy starring magical #cats 😸! If all goes as planned, it will be available April 3 2026, at EasterCon UK #Iridescence in Birmingham. (It also has #dogs 😀) @easterconuk.bsky.social

Balanced napping #dogs

Napoleonic Bottles and the Alpacave I wrote about our "loan goats" a while back; they ended up staying 2 1/2 years before finally moving back to their owner last spring. Alas, with them leaving we had to cut the grass in that part of the property ourselves again. Even worse, the brambles came back…

Hello! I'm open to unsolicited submissions for the first time in ages... Looking for: Adult Epic Fantasy and Horror only Guidelines are here: www.dongwonsong.com/submission-g...

Farm DYI and other updates Big news: over the summer, my wife and I made the decision that I would retire from my day job. I phrase it that way because I don't plan to go completely work free (who does?), and I've mentioned a potential project in the last update post before I had even considered…

Fantasy short story anthology by @purpletoga.bsky.social "Rainbows aren't just for Leprechauns" is currently free! And it has a story by yours truly that I am quite proud of! :-)

The President said of the U.S. economy: "We are a department store, and we set the price. I meet with the companies, and then I set a fair price, what I consider to be a fair price, and they can pay it, or they don't have to pay it." And then... I lost it.

My review of John Scalzi's "The Kaiju Preservation Society": a fun romp, á la Jurassic Park meets Old Man's War.

A reminder that the best way to establish that you are who you say you are when you join BlueSky is to post a unique picture of your cat. #proofOfCat is the most valid form of ID

After much effort, we are no longer banned on Amazon. Get your copy of Rainbows aren’t just for Leprechauns before it is banned again. amzn.to/4jpZmZm

Book Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl As promised last week, here the first book review: Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman. DCC is LitRPG, short for literary role-playing game. I’ve played tabletop RPGs since the mid 1980s [1], computer RPGs almost as long [2], and of course I’ve read fantasy for…

A Few Writing Updates Been remiss again; day job is busy, of course, and once again I am wondering how people manage to have a 9-to-5 job, do chores, write novels and other stuff, exercise, have other hobbies, and not neglect family and social contacts, all at the same time. I am happy if I manage…

For the latest edition of @bloomberg.com Buying Power, I wrote about the fascinating history of “Buy American” campaigns and what they’re actually used to accomplish: stoking anti-immigrant sentiment and consolidating domestic corporate power. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

With his permission, I'm sharing Dean Treanor's response to Ed Martin's letter:

Seeing in #color is a fundamental human experience. Until we don't, of course. Journey through a kaleidoscope of speculative fiction where colors aren't just visual experiences—they're gateways to universes. Contains adult themes Pre order: amzn.to/41JoWlm #anthology #fantasy #sciencefiction

Cover reveal for @purpletoga.bsky.social new anthology. Coming on St. Patrick's Day and including a story by yours truly!

My Value Proposition As you can guess from my bio, I'm not exactly a spring chicken, and have been doing my day job for quite a while. Meaning mentoring and giving back is a thing in this phase of my career, and that includes helping young(er) colleagues build their brand and personal eminence;…

It's #awards season, and I recently realized I'm actually eligible for Hugo and Nebula. Since it seems to be traditional to post about it, here goes: - “Herbert”, published in 99 Fleeting Fantasies, edited by @jenniferbrozek.bsky.social (cont.)

Just finished Aquae et Ignis by @assaph.bsky.social. Enjoyable! Assaph is my fellow contributor to the upcoming anthology "Rainbows are not just for Leprechauns", tbp by @purpletoga.bsky.social

And now I know - without a shadow of doubt - I’m a total dumbass. How the hell did I just find this out? I need alcohol. Stat. (More, I mean.)

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire . . . (okay, not open, and no chestnuts either, but hey, otherwise perfect :-) )

Frohe Weihnachten und alle anderen Feste, die Ihr feiert (oder nicht)

Happy Holidays, Bluesky! Whatever you celebrate, or don't, may you have some relaxing downtime. In our case, it's Winter Solstice, and the joy of giving gifts to loved ones.

If your business model doesn’t work without breaking the law, Sam, then you’re not in business. You’re in organized crime. futurism.com/the-byte/ope...

An interesting way to help people visualize what a ruin used to be.

"Can't watch all this anymore..." Also, #proofofcat, updated.

Kedging Cannon xkcd.com/3013

Just finished my (author-signed) copy of Battle Mage by Peter A. Flannery @theflanston.bsky.social . An enjoyable read! Well done, Peter! (And nice chatting with you at WorldCon.)

Time for our first Bluesky giveaway! We ars giving away a T2 set of the Green Bone Saga by @fondalee.bsky.social Follow us and repost this post in order to enter 🦋

Drew the cycle of cat naps for my comics class last semester.

Hey #indieauthors! We're looking for stories around food, for an anthology to be published next year titled "Feast or Famine" Specifcially: * Short stories, 5k-12 words * Strong food theme * Speculative fiction Full details: purpletoga.com/submissions.

Mistaken Myths: Do #Cats Communicate by Meowing? www.bieck.fr/myth-meow/

Finally managed to get back to regular #blogging. Six weeks in a row, yay! (Once a week is better than nothing.) #WritingCommunity www.bieck.fr/my-first-wor...

Brought "Dreadful" by @caitlinrozakis.bsky.social back from #WorldCon #Glasgow2024 after attending the panel on cozy fantasy. Loved it! For some reason it gave me the itch to reread the Myth Adventures series by Robert Lynn Asprin...

He does not want me to work with the mouse anymore today... #ProofOfCat

Back home after almost two weeks of Scotland, #WXR and #WorldCon Glasgow. More fresh #ProofOfCat

Edinburgh station has seen some things.

This might have been my favorite talk at #WorldCon #Glasgow2024. And it was actually a research check for my YA fantasy novel starring magical #cats (because the bad guys are trying to kill people)

At the airport after #WorldCon #Glasgow2024. Didn't know what to expect, and it was intense. But fun! And I met so many lovely people!

I didn't realize it was time to redo #ProofOfCat. Here we go:

Edinburgh Castle pic yesterday could have been from a video game. Liking #Edinburgh so far. Hasn't even rained yet ;-)

In two days I'll be heading to the #WXR Scotland with @nirele.bsky.social and @maryrobinette.bsky.social , then after to my very first #Worldcon in Glasgow. Excited! 💥🎉

Finally back to revising my YA novel starring magical cats. Do want to restart querying before WorldCon, after all. Does it count as procrastinating if I wrote and subbed short stories instead in the meantime? No success on the subs, but 3 in 2024 ain't bad.

Just booked tickets (and hotel) for my first ever #Worldcon in Glasgow. Super excited!

The @khoreo.bsky.social fundraiser has been going for just over a week and we're less than a quarter funded. Social media feels like yelling into the void more than ever: if you can give us a boost, it would be deeply appreciated 💚 www.kickstarter.com/projects/kho...