The bots are not ok

I have to share something that made my week. 😊 The Cursed Queen’s Daughter is getting a special edition with sprayed edges! 🦋 Available for pre-order www.bookishsignsandmore.com “A forest princess falls for a shadow prince in this darkly romantic companion to The Forest King’s Daughter.” 🦋

Is now a good time to remind folk of the "Three Sentence Review"? #BookSky We used this on the little shelfcards in the bookstore when my booksellers were stuck—they could hand-sell like mad, but writing a review often stalled them out. This worked. (Any tropes are a great answer to #1, btw.)

In a new paper published earlier this year in the Journal of Marketing, we uncovered a surprising pattern: The more knowledge people have about lead poisoning, the less likely they are eat paint chips for a snack.

If you've been thinking of pre-ordering The Cursed Queen's Daughter, now is a great time! BN pre-order sale from July 8-11. 25% off any preorder! A warrior princess falls for a shadow prince in this darkly romantic companion to The Forest King’s Daughter. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cursed...

If you think it can’t happen here, remember that it already did. In 1942 soldiers came with rifles to our home and ordered us out. They put us in internment camps. Most of us were citizens.

once again I must tap my own sign

If you’re up for some YA fantasy with romance, Indigo has a 20% off sale on their picks for Best of the Year So Far, and they’ve included The Forest King’s Daughter!🍂 www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-fo...

If I created an investment fund and promised 300% returns but instead spent your money buying yachts, I'd go to jail. Yet there are so many dudebros telling me that when ChatGPT spouts total bullshit the problem isn't OpenAI marketing it as a knowledge engine, it's the users who believe it.

Said some more stuff about AI, particularly that whole "hey we let it make up a bunch of fake books and then we published that list of fake books in the real world as part of a newspaper" thing. At the blog. Enjoy! Or don't! I'm not your boss.

In breaking news, books are the must-have accessory this season*. *and every season 😍

It would be wildly foolish it is to rely on any sort of AI to make decisions in tense international situations. But using an LLM to do so is terrifyingly stupid. It's a category error to think that a machine designed to generate plausible text would be good at reasoning about existential risk.

This cute pup is my companion as I write, but if I spend too much time writing she makes noises at me until I take a break to cuddle her. Then she falls asleep on me and it feels too good to move and I don’t get any more writing done. Not complaining though. 🐶🫶

I’m in love with this crown I bought at Grimsby Books in Grimsby, Ontario. 😍 Looks so pretty on a book stack!

We’ve had our new rescue dog Betsy for 8 months now, and it’s still so fulfilling to see her run. I don’t think she had the opportunity to run or even walk much in her previous life. Makes me so happy that she’s happy. 🥹

On a recent flight my seatmates learned I was a writer and asked my opinion on AI. They didn't understand genAI is based on work stolen from authors, and they DEFINITELY didn't know about the energy costs. Both shocked them. People just don't know.

Having a dog ain't hard. She just needs food, water, shelter, AND MY CONSTANT, UNDIVIDED ATTENTION AT THE COST OF MY SANITY

I’m sick with anger. I did not consent to my books being used to train a plagiarism machine, and yet they were. This was a violation, full stop.

#horror Facts. You wouldn't catch me on that dead or alive.

"Those who have drank the AI Kool-Aid don't understand that all this brainstorming and iteration *is* making the game, it’s a crucial everyday part of game development (and human interaction) and is not a problem to be solved.”

We've been writing all these futures where civilization falls because AI gets too smart and rises up, but it turns out AI is very stupid and civilization falls because we used it for important stuff anyway

Seeing pics from the Hands Off protests is so uplifting! Thank you from Canada! ❤️

Good neighbours. Always. 🇨🇦🇺🇲

Apparently this needs to be very, very clear: Canadians are polite, not stupid. Tesla reported 8,600 sales in 3 days, claiming $43 million in rebates. A single Toronto dealership listed 1,200 sales in a DAY. 🙄 www.ctvnews.ca/video/2025/0... The lies aren’t even plausible.

If it’s not obvious: think about the way that organizing your notes serves to develop and refine your thoughts. If you’re going to take the time to review a paper, take the time to develop your ideas rather than letting a machine slap some of your thoughts into the form of a report.

Here is my latest reflection. The attack on President Zelenskyy shattered the last of our wishful thinking. Many countries hoped that if they fawned over him, he would pick on someone else. Now we know: that we either stand up or get dragged into the abyss. charlieangus.substack.com/p/the-washin...

I’m excited to share that you can order signed copies of my books, shipped to anywhere in North America! (Flat fee for shipping depending on your region.) Just head to riverbookshop.com and be sure to put on the “Notes” field that you’d like a signed copy! 🫶💖😘

Thank you for having me on the blog again @karenbmccoy.bsky.social! 🥰

Over 300,000 Canadians have signed the petition to strip Elon Musk of citizenship. The petition doesn't have the force of law but it sends a strong message. Canadians hate fascists and extremists. It's in our DNA. Let's make it the largest petition in CDN history. www.politico.com/news/2025/02...

“Figs from Thistles: First Fig” By Edna St. Vincent Millay, born #OTD, 1892. My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends— It gives a lovely light! Chicago #Poetry Magazine, 1918

Mass firings at federal agencies is like deleting core program files with extensions you don't know recognize. Just because you don't know what they do, doesn't mean they're not vital to how your system works.

THE FOREST KING'S DAUGHTER by @ellyblake.bsky.social is brand new on shelves this week! www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/elly-...

@ellyblake.bsky.social Happy Release Day! Perfect timing for The Forest King's Daughter to arrive just before I finished Onyx Storm!

Just so grateful to everyone who came out to my launch! And to River Bookshop for hosting!

@ellyblake.bsky.social Happy to be at the local launch for #TheForestKingsDaughter Congrats!

I feel very fancy to have read this book’s FIRST DRAFT, and now it’s in COSMOPOLITAN MAGAZINE!!! Please go snap it up. It is brilliant from the first page!!

Over 140 new books releasing on a bumper Tuesday release day. We've got the list, featuring: - The Forest King's Daughter by @ellyblake.bsky.social - Every Tom, Dick & Harry by Elinor Lipman - Little Goddess by Layla Frost Read more: tinyurl.com/feb11books #booksky

Great point.

In case you need a book-length break from reality:

This one hour of day seven of the presidency.

Want to escape into fictional worlds for a little while? I loved putting together February's fantasy roundup, including awesome new books by @wordsiren.bsky.social @stephanieburgis.bsky.social @ellyblake.bsky.social @mollyoneillwrites.bsky.social and more! ✨⬇️

Devastating for scientists and their research, and everyone who benefits from that research. I’m not sure if everyone outside academia is aware that a delay or “pause” in grant funding often means the researchers themselves are lost from the field, along with their expertise.

I got up to shovel snow and sat back down again. This requires more coffee.

Ready for *all the 2025 YA books ft. sweet romcoms, epic fantasy, atmospheric horror, intriguing mystery & more?? I've put together a list of 50+ Young Adult books releasing from January to June that you can't miss! 📘💖✨ 24hryabookblog.wordpress.com/2025/01/08/5...

I should write an intro post, but that fills my introvert heart with anxiety so here are pictures of my cute dogs. Sasha is a 14 year old Husky mix. We adopted Betsy, a shih tzu/maltese mix, a few months ago. Sasha will tolerate brief affection. Betsy seeks out any available lap for cuddles. 🐾

Well hi! Looks like I’ll be hanging out here more.