Updating today’s lecture now that it’s October.

A blank page is well-known to be terrifying. Today, I would like to argue that one hundred and ninety-one very definitely not blank pages covered in text which you, their creator, now need to edit might just be worse. #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmEditing

Ah, that's better... [breathe]

It's finally here! Tor have revealed the cover for my debut novel! The Brides is feminist gothic horror about the three women who became the 'brides' of Dracula, and the fourth who managed to escape... Out 19th March 2026. Preorder now! #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #CoverReveal #DebutNovel

Went out, got rained on, and now I have a cold. I feel like a Jane Austen character. How Mrs Bennet expected Jane Bennet to catch a husband while full of phlegm I can't imagine. #AmReading

This new piece by Emma Darwin on writing about places spoke to my soul, and to the second draft of my second novel. Thanks Emma! @emmadarwinwriter.bsky.social

Fair warning to autumn: I am going to wring every last drop of serotonin out of your withered little husk of a carcass this year

After the wild weirdness of writing a first draft followed by a month-long lie down on the carpet, it's time to edit. Send tea and biscuits. And cat treats for my assitant. #WritingCommunity #AmWriting

POYUMS has had me by the throat since February 2024. It deserves every award.

There is no ‘right’ way to write a book. There is only your way. The one that makes you excited, curious, and just a little obsessed. Follow that path. #WritingCommunity 💫

How to get in the right headspace to write your novel about female rage: Get out your well-loved and slightly bashed-about copy of POYUMS by Len Pennie @lenniesaurus.bsky.social and read until you feel your blood begin to boil.

Sir, you are supposed to be helping me work on the copyedits for my debut novel, in which you make a cameo, but instead you are snoring. This is very rude. #AmWriting #AmEditing #WritingCommunity

Heroic copyeditor working on my debut novel: 'I'm not sure what you mean here, could you please clarify?' Me, after twenty minutes of staring at the offending sentence: '...Not a clue, sorry.' #AmWriting #AmEditing #WritingCommunity

Care and keeping of writers: Do not leave your writer alone when visiting a ruined castle on a dreich February evening. They will make up a little story in their head and terrify themselves, and need calming down with tea and biscuits. #WritingCommunity #AmWriting

Writers on social media vs writers in actual life.

Did I rearrange my study instead of trying to write a chapter that is fighting back? Yes. Did I then have tea and cake to fortify me for renewed battle? Also yes. Sometimes you just have to step away, because otherwise you'll chuck your laptop out of the window. #WritingCommunity #AmWriting

(Checks to see if my publisher is part of this suit) FUCK YEAH MACMILLAN GET THESE MOFOS www.theguardian.com/books/2025/f...

I'm concerned about my writing buddy's commitment to helping my morale during the drafting process. He keeps nodding off. #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #CatsOfBluesky

weatherman: avoid going outside today if you can me, on the couch under three blankets and two cats, elbow deep in a bag of peanut-butter pretzels with 12 seasons of Murder-She-Wrote queued up: okay

As much as I love history, 36 hours with a broken boiler in the middle of a Scottish winter has shown me just how miserable I would be in any time period other than this one.

Does anyone else have a writing outfit/item of clothing, which, when you put it on, suddenly wakes up all your creativity? If someone could please tell me whether this is normal, that would be great. #WritingCommunity

I've never set a reading goal, but this year I decided to count how many books I read just for fun. So far it's fifty-eight, but one of them was War and Peace so that counts for an extra seven hundred and forty-two.

I just finished The Winter Spirits, which I bought after seeing @spookypurcell.bsky.social's post about it. Will I be lying awake tonight, listening for the Krampus and hiding under the duvet? Yes. Yes I will. #AmReading

The most accurate picture of me ever taken.

Hey there... are you having a hard time writing right now? There's a lot of that right now. Weird, right? So I'd like to offer you my Barriers to Writing class for free. This is about all the non-writing things that get between you and writing. www.patreon.com/posts/free-c...

Paperback books are like velveteen rabbits — there to be loved and squeezed and read and stuffed into shoulder bags and left in the sun and read again until there's nothing left but the best kind of memories

Did I wake up at 3.30am to watch the last Eras tour show? Yes I did. Have I had a lot of caffeine? *vibrates*

A lot of people are saying the stormy weather is a good day for writing, which is completely correct, but unfortunately it is also a good day for reading...oops. #WritingCommunity #AmReading

I’m not currently reading Agatha Christie by a crackling fireplace on a snowy day whilst indulging in multiple cups of tea and freshly-baked scones, so no, I’m afraid your email didn’t “find me well”.

I'm jealous of my cat. His day involves having a lot of little naps in various cosy locations, tootling round the garden, and snacking. I, however, must toil away at the word factory to keep him in salmon treats.

When I say I want a home library I mean I want thousands of books in my house and also everyone shutup

So excited to share this! My debut novel THE BRIDES tells the story of the three women who became the brides of Dracula, and the one who got away. Coming April 2026!

Pastoral Fantasies is here! Oh my goodness, now Bluesky has everything I need! If anyone else needs a treat for their Wednesday, or any day follow: @apastoraldream.bsky.social

How many times do we need to explain that whilst it may LOOK like the inventory of a small library, it is in fact our Christmas wish list ✨

Thoughts about tax, from someone who has never had to worry about self-employed taxes before: *long drawn-out distant screaming*

I love that we're doing introductions - so polite! I'm an English author living in a lightly haunted house in Scotland, with my partner and our opinionated ginger cat. I write speculative gothic-esque novels, and my debut will be out in April 2026. Pic of the cat in question.

So this is BlueSky! I've been here since this morning and have only seen wholesome posts about books, libraries, art, and cats. I like it here, and I'm delighted to contribute a photo of my cat/writing supervisor/Chief Morale Officer.