Portrait of a writer trying to make her book better. If only I wrote it well the first time... I have only myself to blame. (Emotional support duvet activated.)

My kind of mural wallpaper in Hofburg Winter Palace in Vienna! (Yes I'm wearing a Care Bear jumper!) (My new Audible Original THE COFFEE SHOP DETECTIVES is still No:5 most-listened in the entire Audible chart! My mind has never been so blown!!) Link to listen: www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0GLHZGK6...

My new Audible Original THE COFFEE SHOP DETECTIVES is No:1 in the Audible Originals chart and No:11 most listened IN THE ENTIRE AUDIBLE CHART!! If you have an Audible subscription you do not need to use a credit to download. Link here: www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0GLHZGK6...

Your friendly neighbourhood comedy crime writer needs anyone with an Audible subscription to download her new book! It doesn't need a credit as Audible Originals are part of your subscription! Bonus! Link here: www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0GLHZGK6...

SURPRISE! My new book is out RIGHT NOW! THE COFFEE SHOP DETECTIVES is an exclusive Audible Original read by comedy legend Alison Steadman (Pamela from Gavin and Stacey). Think The Golden Girls x Ocean’s 8 Link to listen www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0GLHZGK6...

Monday night can be pretty good if you're at Swansea Grand Theatre to see Michael Sheen's Our Town!

I'm editing my novel and clearly my old teacher muscle memory is too strong because I nearly gave myself a tick... teaching never leaves you. 👀

Happy Christmas from the Care Bear Collective and their mini tree! I've been a bit quiet in 2025 but prepare yourselves for 2026 - exciting new book things happening! Have a great festive season, however you choose to celebrate. ☃️🎄☃️

One for the mystery and thriller fans... Check out my #BookReview of #TheFestival by @louisemumford.bsky.social! #BookSky

Soon, the cardboard on the floor will come up, the renovation dust will be swept away and I will get to walk through these doors into THIS as my office! (The doors will have handles by then - hopefully!) One whole wall for a bookcase? Yes please. Ornate mural wallpaper? Go on then.

Please, when you imagine me right now, picture a woman in a flower field, in a not-subtle dress, pretending to be a butterfly. The reality? We're nearly ten months into the renovation; I live out of boxes in our temporary rental and I'm going slightly mad. But let's focus on butterfly-Lou, okay?

Spot my typo! See - AI wouldn't have done that! Genuine artisan post here... 😂

This is how they get you. With fun stuff, the "Ooh, let's make action figures of ourselves, ha, ha, ha." Soon enough AI becomes so deeply embedded everywhere in our society we can't opt out if it. Ever. Slippery slope, people.

#metabookthieves #SoA Date: Thursday, 3 April 2025, 1.30pm Location: Meta’s London offices (11-22 Canal Reach, London N1C 4BE, King’s Cross). Meet: Granary Square at 1.30pm. Once we have a critical mass, we will move to Meta’s offices.

Today's column, on the ChatGPT Ghibli app. The prayer of every creative should be, 'Please don't let tech-bros love the things I make":

Today UK authors are protesting against Meta for stealing our work to train their AI model. Authors earn an average of £7000 per year, we are not rich, and yet a trillion dollar company decided it didn’t want to license our work fairly as it was “too expensive” Theft is not a valid alternative.

We teach kids that stealing is wrong. Apparently though, when you're a big enough tech company (and you move fast enough) you can just skip those silly ideas of laws and morals and steal authors' work to train your AI. Without notice. Without compensation.

Tomorrow at 1pm lots of authors will be protesting in London alongside The Society Of Authors about Meta's use of millions of stolen books to train its AI. (Yep, my books have been used). Every time you use AI (like ChatGPT) for some silly 'fun' thing you are using artists' stolen work.

New @CTFM @gwylcrimefest.bsky.social podfollow pod.fo/e/2bdb51 apple.co/3znb7b5 @pgjonesvenice.bsky.social @radiomukhers.bsky.social @vaseemkhanuk.bsky.social @sarahbaxhorton.bsky.social @louisemumford.bsky.social @waterstones.bsky.social @fflurdafydd.bsky.social @chrislloydauthor.bsky.social

Our new bathroom is finished! We wanted to go for a rustic, deconstructed design... Joking. Of course we are nowhere near finished on anything in our new house. A complete refurbishment is NOT for the faint-hearted!

For authors whose publishers don't have a big marketing budget for them: You can still make a difference in sales. Just you. My book The Hotel is No: 4 in Gwisgo Bookworm's Top 10 of 2024. My publisher had NOTHING to do with that - just me and a lovely bookshop. ❤️ 📚

Ooh - I spot The Hotel! ❤️ Thanks @nicolashelley.bsky.social

More silly names, because people had other suggestions. Don't worry, this'll be the end of the puns for a while. A couple of days, anyway... - Michael

There was a jolly inflatable polar bear next to our neighbour's front door. During the storm last week it popped and now it is just hanging there, deflated, like some kind of pagan winter sacrifice. Sums up 2024!

Lovely to see The Festival among these 5 star reads - thank you @kindigblog.bsky.social ❤️

Everyone's putting up their Christmas tree but due to lack of space and inclination this year I present: The Christmas Gargoyle! His name is Bob. He's not sure he can carry off the bedazzlement. Please give him some love.

I'm thinking a 'handful of middle-class women of a certain age' are at the age when they no longer want or need to put up with the likes of the Gregg Wallaces of the world. More power to them!

When your book is having a much nicer time than you, its author...

So, this is me: I've written 4 thrillers with HarperCollins - the latest is called The Festival. (Think Glastonbury meets Stephen King). My thrillers may be dark but I'm rather colourful as you can see from my launch day pics! Please do sign up for my newsletter at www.louisemumfordauthor.com

It’s Book Friday!

We've already given our keys in from our old house which we exchange on today. Realised we forgot this garden clock which was a present from my late mum. Long story short: at 7am this morning my husband was scaling the back gate to retrieve it!

So great to see so many fantastic crime fiction authors here on Bluesky! This list is by no means exhaustive but is a good place to start if you are looking for a crime writing community 📖

I have a rule for slightly daredevil activities - I'm okay with them as long as I'm not in charge of the daredevil thing. Here I am paragliding in Turkey and most definitely not in charge! (I'd been there a week, as you can see from the intense paleness of my legs - I don't tan!)

You know what would **really** disrupt the publishing industry? Fair contracts and decent pay for authors. No AI training without the creator’s consent. Artists and translators on the cover. No NDAs for ghostwriters.

Thought I would do a favourite author pack (those on 💙📚 of course) Still working on it but here’s the start of it go.bsky.app/LSTUjte

Welcome to the Helensburgh Book Festival, a literary festival on the West coast of Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Please give us a follow to keep up to date with all our news, we’ve got some very exciting panels to tell you about! 28th-30th March 2025 💙📚

What's interesting about this trend for book marketing AI companies—who secure £Xmil in seed funding, get a write-up in the Bookseller, and will now wither away, leaving only a slime trail of AI generated goop across the surface of culture—is mainly what it says about capital’s engagement with books

A few of my writing desk colleagues this morning. The Care Bears are fierce critics and provide constant edits - in particular Mr Funshine. Don't be fooled by that sunny smile.

Calling my Welsh Bluesky buddies and anyone near Rhiwbina, Cardiff! Next Saturday (30th) is the Rhiwbina Christmas Festival and I'm doing a slot at the library talking all things books! Booking via QR code in picture below. Come along and help me explain why 'Christmas Is Murder'!

Storm Bert is on its way and this is the roof of our forever home refurbishment. It's fine. I'm fine. (I'm assured it will be waterproof by this evening...)

I know, I know - I'm clashing patterns and look like a migraine but in my defence I couldn't find plain boots in the chaos of my life right now. (Did find black tights. Rejected them!

"Bluesky is awesome now, for how long?" I mean, look, all things change and end, we will all die, earth will be uninhabitable in a billion years, then the sun will expand and destroy the planet, and the universe will die a slow death of proton decay. But BEFORE THAT, let's make this place fun, okay?

Hello everyone! I’ve started compiling all of my favourite crime and thriller authors into this starter pack! It’s a work in progress as I’m still coming across loads of incredible authors and some of my favourites are yet to join the app! #booksky #booksky💙📚 go.bsky.app/5cn3hhF

This is my house right now. We're doing a complete renovation (and not living in it at the moment!) I'm thinking of keeping the rubble as a feature... Please people who have renovated their homes tell me we will get through this stage full of unexpected problems!

Leading up to Christmas is a time that indie businesses make the majority of their income for the whole year If you want to support indie bookshops there's a growing list/directory at www.indiebookshops.com

Morning! Here’s a Watership Down illustration I did a few years ago.

Please, if you are able, support Indy publishers. As the big 5 buy up all the book shelves with their astronomic discounting. It would be grand if you could look at. @galleybeggars.bsky.social @influxpress.bsky.social @littletollerbooks.bsky.social @saraband-books.bsky.social & many more

I open my Bluesky feed and it is full of really cool people saying really smart things and being really passionate about really interesting stuff. I like this version of social media, and the world. Thanks, folks.

Bluesky tip for newbies: Bluesky has no real algorithm. Likes here do nothing but show the poster that you enjoyed their content. That kindness is always going to be appreciated by creators, but if you want to help to boost something here, you have to repost it so others see it. 🙂

Look. I like this place. Can we all agree that once this jubilant, tumbling newness wears off we keep the shine going and use this space consistently? I'm too old for *another* social media platform. All who agree say 'aye'!