When I was a young teen, I reread Karen and John Hess's TASTE OF AMERICA (the '77 edition) multiple times. It gave me a lifelong love of historically informed cultural criticism.

#Booksky After you vote, get a bit of comfort and humor: OBVIOUSLY, ALIENS by Jennie Goloboy is a madcap roadtrip with talking corgies and more while THE VOYAGES OF CINRAK THE DAPPER by A. J. Fitzwater is a warm fuzzy hug! Available everywhere! queenofswordspress.com/product/obvi...

Finally, Obviously Aliens by Jennie Goloboy! A COMPLETELY bonkers romp with aliens & body-sharing & the grumpy man is soft for the sunshine man & heists & hit men & excessive numbers of rock star love children & road trips! queenofswordspress.com/product/obvi...

En route to the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton! I’ll be at the mass signing at 8pm tonight and on the “Spreadsheets & Spells” panel at 10am tomorrow. And I have three copies of A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST to give to the first three people to shout “Adatali, I call upon you” at me!

So thematically, narratively, intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally rich. I guess you could call me a @sueburke.bsky.social stan. Some of my favorite sci-fi ever. Big thanks to the person who first recommended these books to me. #JustRead

I loved the way this dealt with sisterhood, motherhood, and other feminine issues in the royal courts. The contrasts/similarities between Maria Carolina and Marie Antoinette in the 1770s and 1780s as a result of very different courts and kingdoms, I especially enjoyed that.

Reading old merchants' letters again. "We are still without any of your esteemed favors" is the 18th century version of "Looking forward to your thoughts!"

still looking for #submissions to for chapbooks for this spring!!! each of our editors want slightly different things but I'm still really hoping to publish some #sff from #canadian writers. Do hashtags work anymore even lmao it's been years you can reach out on here or at [email protected]

Guys, please don't use ChatGPT to write your query letters. It's unsettling to be told "you like this!" and think "no, I don't."

Friends who like murky, driving rock: listen to this now, thank me later. hittrecords.bandcamp.com/track/golden...

You know what's kind of unnerving? When someone starts a query letter saying that they're writing me because of my interest in X, and I can't remember ever having said I liked X. Did I mention X once years ago, and now I've forgotten? Or is the writer just emailing tons of agents?

Latest review on the blog is for War for the Rose Throne books 1-4 by @petemc666.bsky.social ...grimdark done right: unflinching, emotionally honest, and rich with consequence. fantasy-faction.com/2025/the-war... 💙📚🪐 #FantasyFaction #GrimDark #BookRecommendations #FantasyBooks

UK readers! This is a great time to preorder PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS in paperback from @arcadia_books. The link is here: www.waterstones.com/book/paved-w... Remember to use the preorder code!

Friends who buy from Waterstones, it would be an amazing boost for Mercutio's fortunes if you took advantage of the 25% off on pre-orders until Oct. 17. Use the code OCTOBER25. In the next post, I'll show you some of the endorsements the book's been getting! www.waterstones.com/book/mercuti...

I once saw a striking Renaissance-era portrait of a city councillor. He was middle-aged and looked serious but kind, and I think he was wearing a red square hat and very plain black jacket. Maybe Italian, but not from a famous family. Sound familiar? Would love to find this painting.

So excited that @unshavedmouse.bsky.social's DON'T TRUST FISH (illustrated by @dansantat.bsky.social) was named one of the best 25 picture books of the last 25 years by Slate!!! slate.com/culture/2025...

I have now binged all of White Collar, and they really nailed the perfect ending. Ultimately it's about a friendship between two complicated people pretending, in their own ways, to be straightforward, with a vibrant New York setting. Reminds me of Lawrence Block. I hope they do new episodes!

#Booksky A bit of comfort and humor for those who’d like some right now: OBVIOUSLY, ALIENS by Jennie Goloboy is a madcap roadtrip with talking corgies and more while THE VOYAGES OF CINRAK THE DAPPER by A. J. Fitzwater is a warm fuzzy hug! Available everywhere! queenofswordspress.com/product/obvi...

The Starseekers cover is here! 🚀 📚🌙🪄🔪🤔 A standalone mystery set in 1964, The Starseekers follows Cynthia Rhodes as she investigates a series of strange accidents, deaths, and a peculiar curse that keeps appearing in unexpected places. nicole-glover.com/2025/09/18/t...

I feel the usual sort of weird about asking people to preorder (The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains, out 4/7/26) with money but you'd BETTER BELIEVE I have been AGGRESSIVE with everyone I know about hitting various request buttons on their assorted library websites. Do it! Request all the books!

It's been a busy few days, but I wanted quickly to share that THE STARSEEKERS is up on NetGalley!

We had the pleasure of interviewing @markalatham.bsky.social, author of The Last Vigilant, first book in the Kingdom of Steel and Oak series, pub by @orbitbooks.bsky.social. Full interview: jamreads.com/interviews/s... 💙📚

Apparently there's someone on Twitter pretending to be me and DMing authors. I'm so sorry, but that's a scammer. writerbeware.blog/2024/03/15/t...

Thanks to my friend Libby's rec, I've started watching White Collar, which I missed when it was originally airing. I always love a con man protagonist, and the writing is delightful and snappy, and all the actors seem to be having a great time. It seems to have been really filmed in NYC, too!

I think sometimes about how 15 year old me used "I am writing a novel, which will someday be my job" as an excuse to get out of gainful employment that summer, and how shocked she would be if I told her that 25 years later it actually WAS my job, because that child was fully just pulling a scam.

#Booksky Behind the scenes at Queen of Swords Press! Publisher Catherine Lundoff (on left) and author Jennie Goloboy (on right) @jenniegoloboy.bsky.social doing lunch and chatting at Butter Bakery in Minneapolis!

Look! Books! Preorder sale! If you follow even one author right now they have probably yelled about it but here is me contributing to the general din!

Heads' up that you don't need to pay someone to query literary agents for you, and I'm generally not impressed by the services that do. I just received an email to an address I no longer use, addressed to Carlie Webber. How much did someone pay for this?

Re-upping this again, please spread far and wide:

Hi all! I don't accept queries to my work email, and I'm currently closed to queries anyway. Thanks!

Back from Worldcon, getting my inbox back in order!

#Booksky Also: comp time! If you liked LADYHOPPERS, you might also enjoy OBVIOUSLY, ALIENS by Jennie Goloboy, which also features alien wackiness, a queer MC and general hilarity (talking corgis from space!). On sale at Smashwords and DriveThruFiction right now! www.smashwords.com/books/view/1...

#Booksky Looking for some great queer reads? Books by Alex Acks, AJ Fitzwater, Heather Rose Jones, Michael Michael Merriam, Catherine Lundoff, Jennie Goloboy, Dee Holloway and more! bookshop.org/lists/queen-...

Check out this excerpt from #TheLastVigilant audiobook, read by Saskia Maarlevald. Out now from @hachetteaudio.bsky.social

I feel ashamed of myself for even posting this and asking, but I need the help to take some of the stress and pressure away - me and my husband, and our three beautiful dogs, are hoping that you can help raise emergency funds to try and find a new house. gofund.me/061cd1b4

Who's going to Worldcon?

A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST is @mhayinde.bsky.social incredibly impressive debut novel. Lost history, cool magic, and great characters set the INVOKER trilogy off to a great start. @sagapressbooks.bsky.social My review www.sffworld.com/2025/07/ason...

#Booksky We’re going to @seattlein2025.org! Sign up for a table talk by Catherine Lundoff Friday AM or a panel with @heatherrosejones.bsky.social on “Horrible Histories” and more! We hear that @michaelmerriman.bsky.social, @jenniegoloboy.bsky.social and @alexacks will be there too! seattlein2025.org

I can't help but wonder which author this is. Male, probably not American ("best mates")? Do we think he should reach out if he thinks it's him?

I just saw candy corn for sale in the Walgreens. We are ready!

Hugo voting closes today, and The Deadlands would love your consideration as Best Semiprozine. The Deadlands explores death through fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, inviting readers to explore the grief and joy of the end. Editing this zine taught me so much ahead of my mom's recent passing. 🖤💀🖤

#Booksky Just a few days left to get our books on sale at DriveThruFiction’s Christmas in July sale! Get some terrific queer reads today! www.drivethrufiction.com/xmas_in_july...

Today my novel The Tapestry of Time hits shelves in the US! (It's already available elsewhere.) It's about clairvoyants in WWII fighting Nazis for control of the Bayeux Tapestry. I wrote a Big Idea post for @scalzi.com about the real history behind the novel.

Manawaker Studio's Flash Fiction Podcast presents: “Dad and Ick” by Susan Taitel podcastaddict.com/episode/http... Supported by Patreon patrons: patreon.com/manawaker #flashfiction #podcast #scifi #parenthood #robots

#Booksky New sale! Our books are on sale right now at DriveThruFiction for the Xmas in July sale! www.drivethrufiction.com/browse/pub/1...

I recently got a phone call from a prospective client who was interested in knowing more about why I rejected their manuscript. Rather than responding directly, here are some quick reasons why:

Barnes & Noble is holding a promotion for pre-ordered print books from July 8 to 11, 25% off Premium and Rewards members. Use the code PREORDER25 www.barnesandnoble.com/w/usurpation...

du3ne

A fabulous read about my fabulous editor. ❤️

Putting together a well-crafted mystery within an expansive fantasy world is no easy feat, but @markalatham.bsky.social does both with THE LAST VIGILANT, out today from @orbitbooks.bsky.social #BookSky Here's my review - fanfiaddict.com/review-the-l...