This provocative article by Desiree B. Stephens was written about policing and state-sanctioned violence in July 2024. A little over a year later, amidst ice raids and military forces occupying American cities, it's even more chilling... open.substack.com/pub/desireeb...

Predicted Raptures: 500, 1260, 1368, 1370, 1492, 1504, 2/20/1524, 1525, 1526, 10/19/1553, 1673, 1694, 1700, 1757, 1770, 1770, 1793-95, 12/25/1814, 9/15/1829, 1836, 10/22/1847, 8/7/1847, 1861, 1874, 1890, 1891, 1901, 1914 (this one actually happened according to Jehovah's Witnesses),

You want it darker? Happy Equinox.

I can only assume Steven Cheung is following Goebbels' propaganda strategy to turn Charlie Kirk into this regime's Horst Wessel. Expect the "memorial' this weekend in Arizona to be a gaudy display of Christo-fascist political opportunism.

Pray for America

"Think of kitsch as an anxiety management technology: it rejects ambiguity, nuance, and difference— precisely the qualities in life that create emotional friction and require the ability to manage discomfort. Instead, it offers emotional clarity: stock images, stock emotions, stock answers."

Thanks to Spotify for including me in this ambitious, uber-queer project. It's an epistolary archive from nascent days of the internet. "Scratch" & "Winc" use the untamed frontier of cyber-space to eschew any fixed identity of gender or sexuality. Timely. Transgressive. Wild. tinyurl.com/ytc77a2a

Lordy! This marvel from @meakoopa.bsky.social... A riot of language. An orgy of ideas. Sacred. Profane. Wretched. Sublime. It healed Southern Baptist scars I didn't know I still had. The audiobook is transcendent--a Hallelujah Chorus of spoken word. OMG (literally). tinyurl.com/y4m26ths

@rinakent.bsky.social delivers another violent, transgressive MM romance with lots and lots of pulse and spice. Mafia scion hot for teacher. Veteran romance narrators Stephen Dexter & Grayson Owens lead a full cast, but its their chemistry that grounds this lubricious romp. tinyurl.com/55b4h29r

@rorymichaelson.com charmed my curmudgeonly heart with this series. Contemporary dark fantasy. A world full of monsters and magic and teleporting ducks. A coterie of queer characters who bond amidst one world-ending catastrophe after another. Inventive. Soulful. Magical. tinyurl.com/4yavf49w

Rocks and Sea - 1616-1619 https://botfrens.com/collections/173/contents/3103190

Satan in Red - 1900 https://botfrens.com/collections/173/contents/3105353

Sad that the most spirited outcry and resistance I've seen to everything going on in our country is over the Cracker Barrel logo. ICE goons? Military occupation of US cities? Whole scale corruption and looting of the government? Crickets. An uglier version of an already ugly logo? Firestorm!

Self-Portrait in Hell 1903 #artbots #munch https://botfrens.com/collections/90/contents/25370

French Six-day Rider - 1937 https://botfrens.com/collections/173/contents/3104288

The Sleeping Smoker

This twisted tale from @caitlinstarling.com grabbed me by the short hairs. What a work! A claustrophobic fever dream of hunger, desire, and despair. Inventive, imaginative, yet seemingly inevitable. A virtuosic feat of horror. Wow.

I'm such a fan of @leethomas1.bsky.social. He has a genius for blending atmospheric, suspenseful noir with creepy, supernatural dread. Masterful storytelling from a Lambda and Bram Stoker award-winning author.

unknown title https://www.wikiart.org/en/joan-miro/not_detected_227959

Quatre arbres, 1917 https://botfrens.com/collections/88/contents/824058

A multiple Audie Award-winning Audible exclusive from 2013, this unabridged production of Stoker's famous novel is narrated by a full cast including Tim Curry, Alan Cumming, and Simon Vance. The book's epistolary structure makes for great audio storytelling. sbee.link/gway3d7jmf

Michael Rowe has done a difficult thing well.  He’s crafted a quintessential gothic haunted house ghost story–with all the elements you’d expect–but he transcends trope and delivers genuine campfire creep.  Impressive. sbee.link/vp8bkud3a7 #bookreview #bookstagram #kindle

As a huge fan of Gillian Anderson, I was intrigued by this series. She's the narrator of all three books as well as the author (with Tom Clancy ghostwriter Jeff Rovin). This sprawling, paranormal thriller rattles at the seams, but holds together in the end. sbee.link/9fwvgbmq8x

@masonthomas.bsky.social creates engaging, entertaining indie gay fantasy with just the right blend of adventure, romance, and spice.  Here he does his take on a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. sbee.link/bfqxyejcmg

George Saunders' mesmerizing tale is taken up by a star-studded cast of narrators including Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, Susan Sarandon, Julianne Moore, Bill Hader, Don Cheadle and many, many more. Winner of the 2018 Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year. sbee.link/nqbw3f4t9v

Painting https://www.wikiart.org/en/francis-bacon/painting-1930

Fir Forest I #artbots #klimt https://botfrens.com/collections/109/contents/28487

Flowers in Stone https://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-klee/the-signatories-to-the-window-the-artist-at-the-window-1909

Landscape of Port Lligat

Night Shadows - 1921 https://botfrens.com/collections/173/contents/1308348

Flexible, 1984 #artbots #basquiat https://botfrens.com/collections/27/contents/5281

"There's no such thing as an original sin." - Elvis Costello

@buehlmeister.bsky.social is a virtuoso. He transforms and elevates every genre he plays with. This is one of the most captivating, well written fantasy adventure novels I've ever read. Wondrous, fantastic, magical. Gritty, earthy, real. Just magnificent. sbee.link/aupq9dxfmk

A midwestern/southwestern Gothic that is gritty and empty and full of longing. Lonely yet hopeful but with few expectations. No one does it like Stephen Graham Jones. @sgj.bsky.social Hypnotic and heartbreaking. sbee.link/7ptamxwhbv #bookreview #goodreads #kindle

This horror story is part bullied-gay-boy revenge fantasy, part cautionary tale against losing one's identity to a relationship, and part morality tale about being careful what you accept in the name of love. Appropriately myopic and adolescent. sbee.link/xvbrhepjct #bookreview

Reclining Nude - 1924 https://botfrens.com/collections/173/contents/1408790

A coming-of-age, coming-of-adulthood, coming-of-mortality novel. Raw, vulnerable, and heartbreaking. Haunting narration by Lee Osorio. sbee.link/rgv3knyhfu #bookreview #goodreads #kindle

My antidote to a jarring cover design for Joyce Carol Oates' intimate, haunting novel. @joycecaroloates.bsky.social Very different from this overly graphic version: sbee.link/jbuk9tx8a6 #bookcover #bookcovers #bookcoverdesign

This heartfelt sci-fi gay romance was a delightful surprise. I loved the atmosphere, the characters, and the love story. Turned me into an ol' softie. sbee.link/9rbh7ye3j8 #bookreview #goodreads #kindle

The cover of @michaelkiggins.bsky.social And the Train Kept Moving is classic noir, but after narrating the book, I created a cover design that captured the anxious, frenetic energy of the protagonist. Compare to the actual: sbee.link/gakprfcq4x #bookcover #bookcovers #bookcoverdesign

A 2-part horror story from Quil Carter. Dark, violent, brutal, graphic. Unlike anything else I've read. A gay quasi-vampire tale with rough, transgressive, BDSM elements. Not for everybody, but I was enthralled. @fallocaust.bsky.social sbee.link/xgfm4cvqty #bookreview

Another narration project of mine that I wanted a cover that evoked the narrative of the story. Compare with the actual: sbee.link/bqujm9wvnx #bookcover #bookcovers #bookcoverdesign

I was skeptical going into this indie gay sci-fi romance series, but I found myself charmed by the characters and the plot. The setting is a post-computer world where AI destroyed much of the human race then vanished. Suspenseful, mildly spicy, and fun. sbee.link/ywbhjnvcgr #bookreview

@andreonthemic.com ‬ is having a moment. This horror/sci-fi combines the surreal and campy fun of his Tinglers with a suspenseful narrative. In addition to veteran narrator @chucktingle.bsky.social , numerous authors join the cast incl. @andreonthemic.com and TJ Klune. sbee.link/3vrtwhpn6q

After narrating the first book in this series, I wanted to spice up the covers to match the story. Compare to the original: sbee.link/98jfxq3epb #bookcover #bookcovers #bookcoverdesign

This was my first foray into LitRPG, and I'm not sure it's my cup of tea. A cross between a choose-your-own-adventure and a video game tutorial. Technical plot over character-driven story. sbee.link/fhgk8uxjqt #bookreview #goodreads #kindle

Had a lot of fun with this cover design. Ah, Gregor... Compare with historical covers: sbee.link/n36ab78hjr #bookcover #bookcovers #bookcoverdesign

This gay horror/thriller centers around an archetype of cruising--the rest stop. From sexual awakening to an intense descent into murder and moral ambiguity, this is an ambitious story told with heart. @wdalejordan.bsky.social sbee.link/r863bmxane #bookreview #goodreads #kindle

Butcher by @joycecaroloates.bsky.social captured my imagination. The first design was based on promo copy pre-publication. The second design was after reading. Both a very different take than the actual cover: sbee.link/e9jxn48vay #bookcover #bookcovers #bookcoverdesign

The Secret History is her showstopper, and the Goldfinch won her the Pulitzer Prize, but I have a special place in my heart for Donna Tartt's second novel. A mesmerizing contemporary Southern Gothic that keeps haunting long after the tale is through. sbee.link/e93nurq46f #bookreview