There is one incontrovertible rule about a first draft and it is this: Get the damn thing done! #writing #screenwriting #scriptsky

Okay, this did give me a chuckle 😆

Me: time to do some writing! Also me: I could turn the wall of my staircase into a cat climbing structure!

Start using your public libraries. ACTIVELY REQUEST books by marginalized communities so libraries know the demand & can buy them. Use your NOTIFY ME tags in Libby. CHECK OUT books (electronic and physical) by marginalized authors. Circulation numbers and holds are critical for us.

I have now read through and marked up all 80 pages of my manuscript that need editing 🫠🫠🫠 Next week, I will begin fixing the actual document from my notes. I genuinely think I can do this!

Cannot wait for this! Do come join me, @drtim @tommeadauthor.bsky.social and #JackCarteright for an evening of Crime (writing) on Saturday 4th October in Lincoln. This #LincolnBookFestival event will also be streamed online 👍👍👍 Grab your tickets here! lincolnbookfestival.org/festival-pro...

Hello teachers! My book Wild Journey will be published on 6th November and to celebrate it I’m doing a free online school event with Seven Stories The National Centre for Children's Books sevenstories.org.uk/event/author...

It’s already at almost 80k. Won’t take much to get it over 100k. We can get more specific about our objections later (for example, the issue of gender markers), but might as well have an out and out “NO” as a starting point!

Monday is the official start of Autumn and I have never needed it more in my whole life. I read Classic and Gothic Horror for the Fall/Winter season. This year's classic is THE OTHER by Thomas Tryon--but here are some that I have read & loved previously-try @valancourtbooks.bsky.social for books!

My #RecentRead* #GretaAndValdin by #RebeccaKReilly *books I’ve really liked/loved

Thank you, @libdems.org.uk 🙏🙏🙏 ⭐️If you have a moment, please write to your Lib Dem MP (if you have one) or to Lucas North and/or Lisa Smart to thank them⭐️ It’s important MPs know when they are getting it right—this will motivate them to keep supporting (says the psychologist 🤗) archive.ph/Kalu8

I've been interviewed by Writers Melon about my journey to publication and my writing process. It includes tips and craft book recommendations. youtu.be/U_NTolRYezA?...

PUBLICATION DAY! I am delighted to announce that Gothic Precarity: Fear and Anxiety in Twenty-First-Century Fiction is published today! The Gothic has always been a literature of unease, but today it feels especially urgent. @uniwalespress.bsky.social www.uwp.co.uk/book/gothic-...

Okay, fantastic opportunity here! #BeyondTheSpectrum is a free creative writing project run by and for autistic people, but open to any neurodivergent person who thinks it's right for them. They currently have three FREE workshops and groups running for adults in #Lincolnshire 1/…

#Caturday!

If you're an HWA member and have enjoyed reading something published this year, consider submitting it for the Bram Stoker Award recommended reading list. It's a great way to put a spotlight on your favorite stories! horror.org/awards/curre...

Very proud to support this. @nionwomen.bsky.social @goodlawproject.bsky.social Add your name to the open letter for cis women here: notinourname.org.uk/petition/not...

Very proud to support this. @nionwomen.bsky.social

Good advice here.

Assignment time. Can you tell I’m writing horror?

edited another 20 pages today can I get a whoop whoop

What a quiztastic night 🤩 courtesy of ⁦‪the awesome booksellers from Read Holmfirth ‬⁩🙏 We enjoyed a lively chat about crime writing and murder, followed by a quiz! A huge thank you to everyone who came along to share a perfect evening with me 🔎🕵️‍♀️

okay then

✨NEW✨ If a child in your life is struggling to process the loss of a loved one, on this soothing episode of Read Out Loud author @rachelmontezminor.bsky.social has the perfect story for you to share together, SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE: www.kidlit.tv/ReadOutLoudS... #kidlit

I love Brambly Hedge! One of the first things I have a wrote, was Brambly Hedge fanfic* 🐭🐭🐭 * pretty sure I didn’t call it that at the time, but the truth is, that’s what it was

I know we’re all on tenterhooks about when the new EHRC Code of Practice will be laid in Parliament. As it can only be laid on a “sitting” day, almost certainly this will now be after conference recess. The first sitting day after that is 13th October. Then it’s laid for 40 sitting days. So—😅 1/

Yukon, a black-footed cat, greets the day. [via Kansas City Zoo]

My daughter Nora has a story in @smokelong.bsky.social! Read Nora's story, and also her interview (she calls me out for not writing as much as her). So proud of this girl! www.smokelong.com/stories/anim...

Shakespeare and Co, a Parisian bookshop that only sells the finest literature

Fantastic work here by @transsolidarity.bsky.social, highlighting the ridiculous burden the EHRC’s new Code of Practice would place on UK business, forcing them into trans-exclusionary practices that are “incompatible with modern business values”. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

🤣

At that editing stage when you have to actually clarify, all the bits in your story that you “fudged” before, because you didn’t really have a clue what you were saying 😆

“Severance" actor Tramell Tillman has won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series. He is the first Black man ever to win the award #Emmys

Everything is bad, but books are good. Get a book. Read the book. Cherish the book. Finish the book. Tell your friends about the book, and leave a review of the book. Hold the book close. Listen to what it tells you. Do as it commands. Place it on the dread altar and let it guide your every choice.

Tried to think about it a bit today, but brain is mush so didn’t get very far 😕

A new edition of the Edinburgh Shelfie has just gone live. What better way to spend a drab Sunday afternoon than choosing brilliant book events to go to. Check it out here: edinburghshelfie.substack.com/p/all-good-b... Subscribing for free to get it every week.

Book haul. @rachelharrison.bsky.social @claymcleod.bsky.social @stephenking.bsky.social @kosokojackson.bsky.social @mauricesendak.bsky.social

I hate when editorial notes ask you to explain your characters’ motivations 😆

New novel. Who this? Seriously. What is my main character's name? I already forgot.

“There is nothing like the smell of a bookstore. If you ask me, it’s actually a combination of smells: part library, part new book, and part expectation for what you might find.” – Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Relatable.

Omg everyone be cool (I am trying so hard to be cool)

The Beach Boy

Gasp! 😱 #TheKillerQuestion is straight in at lucky number 5⃣ in today's bestseller chart! 🍻 If you pre-ordered, snapped up your copy in the first few days of release, read an arc, reviewed or recommended the book, I'd like to say a huge, heartfelt THANK YOU 😘

Nice.

👏👏👏