Drop some FIRE 🔥🖤🔥

One of the best things I've ever learned about navigating social media is when to block without replying or boosting the offending post in some other way. Liberal use of the block feature has made social media so much more enjoyable.

I've recently found myself a caretaker of sorts for a parent. It's temporary, but I am wiped physically, mentally, and emotionally. Any tips on how to keep sane? Any ways to get away and find some normal for a little while? It's getting to the point where even my parent can notice I'm not okay.

Just what I need right now: for the Check Engine light to come on. Again. 🤬

Being an indie author is hard. Often needlessly so. But it's so worth it. jdcunegan.substack.com/p/the-trials...

#BookSky "The woman I would've taken a bullet for damn near decided to give me one." SUMMERTIME, ASSASSINS, AND OTHER SKULLDUGGERIES: a love story with a body count.

Being an indie author is hard. Often needlessly so. But it's so worth it. jdcunegan.substack.com/p/the-trials...

#BookSky Not so friendly reminder: real authors don't write like AI. The robot barf machines "write" like us -- because it used our work to "learn." Without our knowledge or consent. Certainly without compensation.

Hey, @barnesandnoble.com, Start selling AI "books" and I will immediately cancel my membership. Period.

I don't know what I'm doing. I need help. No. I need an escape.

Both my reading and my writing have fallen off in recent weeks, and I want so badly to return to them, but I don't know if I have the focus or the fortitude with everything going on.

Looking for advice: what do you do if you suspect something is wrong with a loved one, but you're sure telling them about it isn't going to result in them getting it checked out? I'm all for personal autonomy, but sometimes stubbornness in this arena bothers me (and yes, I'm guilty of it, too).

Can I breathe for, like, five seconds?

Some encouraging signs today. But I'm still overwhelmed and exhausted, and I broke down earlier, and I can't get my brain to quiet enough to get any adequate rest, let alone sleep.

Someone remind me to make sure I take care of myself, too...?

There are signs of improvement, yet I still worry. But I guess worry is better then panic? 🤷‍♂️

I don't give two shits about organized religion, for a multitude of reasons, but damn if this Pope isn't doing everything he can to make me like him.

I'm home helping someone who's just been released from the hospital (but shouldn't have been) and they don't want to go back. So I'm trying to help out between panic attacks and crying fits.

QRP with something with horns. (The fact that this is the only GIF I could find of Lorne is downright criminal...)

If the left can't bring itself to vote for Democrats because of their policies or their intelligence or their expertise, at least do so out of anger -- and its close cousin, spite.

THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LaRUE by V.E. Schwab is a slightly imperfect but engrossing novel and sticks with you as it questions mortality, identity, and memory. A good read that did little to quiet my existential malaise. 😅

👮‍♀️🦸‍♀️TFW a homicide cop becomes a costumed vigilante because it's become clear her badge doesn't do nearly as much good as she thought it would. BOUNTY, the start of your next binge-read series.

New rule: I'm auto-blocking every account that peddles in "we are cooked" content. Doomerism is just as harmful as anything else, and we need to stop giving it oxygen. Either try being a part of the solution or get the hell out of the way.

I wouldn't say no to book sales. 😅 #WeeknightWriters

Well. I finally reached out to that therapist I've been meaning to try to set up an appointment with... 🤷‍♂️ #WeeknightWriters

Well, I'm still bummed that I only sold one book in all of Indie April... #WeeknightWriters

Something that has nothing to do with writing: spending this past weekend with my girlfriend. We made a day trip to Williamsburg and went to Busch Gardens. #WeeknightWriters

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If voting doesn't matter, then why is one political party doing everything it can to make sure you can't do it (or if you can, it doesn't amount to anything)? People have ✨️died✨️ for this right...

LIV Golf taking longer to die than Paul Reubens in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

20 years ago today.

One thing I'm learning about poetry: I have to compose by hand. It doesn't feel right drafting a poem on a keyboard. Yes, I'll have to type it out at some point if I want to publish it, but the actual creation has to be pen to paper.

A line @josephfasano.bsky.social penned that I love. Alas, I am not as optimistic these days, so the best I can manage is "A writer us someone who ✨️wants to✨️ believe in other people."

This is the exact opposite of education and learning. Disgusting, if not at all surprising.

I could use some help spreading the word. My new little book is about two sisters who hunt down killers and collect body parts while complicating their lives with volatile magics, bizarre visions, and a mysterious mouth in the wall. Think Junji Ito meets Little Women. ghoulish.rip/product/fami...

#IndieApril And for the lady, perhaps a sapphic love story with assassins who target corrupt billionaires -- because we need that right now?

At their best, superheroes represent hope against impossible odds. They singlehandedly fight the large battles us ordinary humans can't. The world is scary as fuck right now. I don't see an easy way out. Superheroes are that way. They make the unbeatable feel less inevitable. We need superheroes.

It's #NationalSuperheroDay! What better way to celebrate than with a good book (or six)? Meet Bounty. 🎨 (in order): @seandersonauthor.bsky.social @glovestudios.bsky.social @kendallgoode.com

Post your favorite Lord of the Rings character(s). Wrong answers only.

This mirrors an argument I'll be making in my next non-fiction book, DON'T SKIP BRAIN DAY (release date TBD). 📚

Yes. 😅 In all seriousness, though: I struggle taking BIG OVERALL IDEA and breaking it down into smaller, more granular, more manageable parts. You'd think I'd have that down by now, as many books as I've written, but no.

Thing that annoys only me: The directions on a bottle of Overnight Oats spell "milk" with a y. To them, it's "mylk." Which... why? Is this like Formula 1 spelling it "tyre" instead of "tire?"

#AwesomeCharacters I went to answer this, and my characters all threatened to kill me if I gave them social media. And considering Summer and Lola are literal assassins... 😅

Note this take was not solely in reference to the audience, but also the outlets "covering" everything, particularly the rank and file. Imagine one of his lackeys slithering into a press briefing to find an empty room. Even better, the room is empty on a day when 🍊🤡 it's scheduled to "speak."

The next person to tell me I'm not angry enough, I'm giving you my doctor's phone number so you can tell her why she's wrong about me needing to decrease stress in my life. Enough with the performative bullshit. Either do something, or shut up.

Hey, I've got a crazy idea: turn off the news. One week. No viewers. No ratings. No oxygen for the narcissist who so clearly craves it. No press conferences, no gaggles, no commentary. Nothing but silence. Stop giving these freaks what they want.

##IndieAuthors I'm not selling any books lately. "You need to market them!" I don't sell any when I do. Do you see my dilemma? 😅

If I had a dollar for every post I've seen that says we must fight back, without actually telling us ✨️what✨️ to do to fight back, I'd have enough money to qualify for 🍊🤡 tax cuts.

Boosting!

Just @ me next time, damn. 😅