Ten days to write this year's @wordfairy advent calendar. This year's theme: Books What I Have Found This Year. Any thoughts on the titles in this pic, feel free to comment (and yes, there are 13 other titles out of shot). Cover me, I'm going in... #DeckTheShelves

Swear I didn’t order this signed copy of #Folk by #ZoeGilbert. What a dreamy mystery to unpick! Was it you? First line - no, first word = splendid. ❤️💛💫🐾

How is it possible to have all these tabs open at the same time? Just is. #readinglist #shortstories #longstories #tallstories #ghoststories #insidestories #happystories #truestories #mystories #topstories

There are Days for everything (cats, garlic, ties), but National Poetry Day must bring out our inner poster, so here's a fave. Rhyming? Yes. Delicate? A bit. But that ending… boom. Also love Dorothy Parker, Brian Bilston, Harry Baker, John Hegley, Georgie Jonez, and my mate Diana @voxerbrand. Grand.

Sometimes, a happy thing occurs and the buzz never fades. Top of my list: a proposal, + preg test, one or two especially fab haircuts... and finding myself, somehow, on this shortlist: www.bathshortstoryaward.org/2025/07/13/s... #bathshortstoryaward #bssa #shortlist #creativewriting #chuffed

Proper pinch myself moment, have somehow wandered onto the longlist of the BSSA comp. Checked guest list, definitely on there. Checked again, yep definitely am. Flabber = ghasted: www.bathshortstoryaward.org/2025/07/04/l... #bathshortstoryaward #longlist #shortstories #writercomps #haveago #thankyou

Welcome to PSSA - great to see you on Bluesky! (Particularly meaningful for me one of the founding members, the late and missed Jo Darke was a dear family friend 🖤🤎)

Two things I discovered today: 1) My name is still fiendishly tricky for some people to get over the phone (yes I talked slowly). 2) Anyone can be the other person on a Two Together railcard, not just the named partner. So cool. 3) I procrastinate less with deadlines. (Three things, then)

All words my own? Yes, actually. At this point, it's still a big yes. #AI #WordsNotRobots #WriteItYourself #CopyNotSloppy www.wordfairy.co.uk/blog/2025/2/...

Brilliant

Poetry warning, readers look out – For the next 6 weeks I'll be playing about With rhetoric: rhythm and stanza and meter, Sometimes I'll rhyme, sometimes I won't. Thanks to my teachers at CSFG – English aint everyone's cup of tea, For me it was totally heavenly. (Sorry, bit twee) Signed, Me #AUB

Day 7 and still jetlagged. Just looked at the clock, as seemed about the right time to get started on dinner: 3:53pm #bitearlyforeverything

Thanks @Netflix for scheduling the new @queereye series just after New Year, when resolutions feel too much like hard work, and all we want is a dash of glitter, a sprinkle of hope, and some magic house renovations. (Enough of the messy-room-shaming, though. You never have old cheese in the fridge?)

The giddy joy on discovering the extra space as the tree is taken down lasts roughly 12 hours before the gaps are absorbed once more by all our cr@p. #TreeDay

Am at the 'Oh Holy Night' bit of the festive schedule. You know, the kind of week where you check your iPhone notes and the last entry reads: Chess bowls Chicken out Man with bat None of that can be remotely important, but what if it is? #makeitstop

[done - only scratched the surface] Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 20 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Afternoon thought, exploring representation of character on my Creative Writing MA. The #BechdelTest sets 3 criteria for a text (film, book, play) that: i) involves at least two women ii) who talk to each other iii) about something besides a man. Not judging, just can't think... Mind blank. Anyone?

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 19 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 18 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

PSA: it’s BEGINNING to look a lot like… That’s how to say it. No other way. Felt strongly about this for several years and can’t keep it in any more. Just follow the above. Merci. 🎄 #christmaswrongs 🎵

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 17 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

On today’s list: write half an assignment, knock out a module page, curate tomorrow’s LinkedIn advent calendar post, start tax return, shop for a dinner party, do a pilates workout, admire the tree, break up squabbling cats, refrain from panicking. #tistheseason

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 16 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Someone on my MA course just said: "Traditions are peer pressure from dead people". Now I've got to remember to flip that one out at the appropriate time, without getting it wrong #couldgobadly

Was advising son to take Lemsip but it came out as ‘kale dip’ and now I’m wondering if that would’ve been healthier.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 15 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Had to reboot our Disney account so that I could watch #Rivals. Never mind the b**ing, it was worth it just for the ace soundtrack 🪩

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 14 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Working from home, but very tempted to pop out and back again just to do this…

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 13 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 12 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Another late night helping uni son apply to internships in software engineering (from a distance, obvs), because the detail of it all is doing his head in. Was always relieved we didn’t go near anything Oxbridge-ish, now this. Since when did they all have to be so brilliant so soon? #internslips

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 11 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 10 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚 #halfway

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 9 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

BB (before Bert) #weatherincoming

This. Shudder. And even though I knew it wasn’t real I still felt uneasy. Can’t even add a BW hashtag here.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 8 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Best advice I’ve read all day 🐾

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 7 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Just catching up on #MasterchefProfessionals (with one eye on a work project, as you do). Lovely quote from a candidate: "Life is chapters". Deffo. I'm probably on Chapter 9/14 of a large book, and perhaps Chapter 5/9 of a small one. No idea of future plot turns further than my nose. #LifeIsChapters

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 6 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Who knew – when you feel a crunch underfoot and give thanks that you won't be sliding on your @rse today – that gritting salt comes from… well, read on 👇

Writing short stories or flash fiction? 👇🏼

Finding it hard not to comment on the #booksky #bookchallenge, just posting a cover a day. I get the idea of muting the chat, and don't want to write essays on each one. But a line per book might encourage chat. With my towering bookstack, I wonder when I'll get a chance to read any of them again.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 5 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Under the seat of my #GreatWestern train last week. Remember that cafe scene from #Fleabag? Felt a bit guilty about loading up my entire plug collection but got a ton of writing done.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 4 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 3 #booksky #bookchallenge 💙📚