*removes author bio and book pitch pin* Welp, time to hang that hat up and carry on to other things. It was a fun ride.

All of social media is this.

Of all the form rejections THE BLACKSMITH'S REBELLION has (there are quite a few now), this one from Julie Crisp was the most authentic and encouraging one yet. As disappointing as this rejection was, I'm left feeling energized. #amquerying

Fun fact. I wrote a book. Maybe someday you'll get to read it.

Only three more weeks of surgeries on board! Crazy to think the 2025 field service is just about done.

So excited to start a new role on the Africa Mercy. Earlier than I expected, I have stepped into the Operations Director role on board overseeing the IT, Finance, Transportation, Supply, Hospitality, Hotel, and Dining room/Galley teams on board. Another two years on board!

This is why we can't have good discourse, and why echo chambers exist. We should block and move on from *anyone* who spews hate, bigotry, and lies, not just “the right”. There needs to be room for healthy cross-ideological debate without the vileness of those things polluting it.

Are the days of successful authors, however one chooses to define that, who take on mentees still a thing? Was that ever a thing? Or has social media changed that entire dynamic? #writingcommunity

Reading through one of the comps that my beta readers provided, and staring at the reply ratio in QT, has me feeling all of the self-conscious feels about my story today. There's so much good writing in this genre! #amwriting #amquerying

Boosting this for the daytime crowd.

Hello, #pcgaming #gamingpc #gaming communities. I'm running a case study for a mini-MBA course I'm taking about a business concept. I'm looking for anyone who might want a gaming PC to fill it out. Please take some time and lend your answers! t.co/RcyVvD9VRr #mba #businessworld

Ever since I put time limits on my phone, it's a lot harder to get onto and post social media.

Published authors of the interwebs, did any of you set up Discord servers for your book/books readers? If so, did it help or hurt? Were you indie or trad published? #AmWriting #WritingCommunity

Things like water, electricity, healthcare, and basic human rights are things we take for granted in the West. We forget what we have until we're confronted by those fighting to get it. Watching this unfold in front of us is heartbreaking. apnews.com/article/mada...

Sometimes, when it seems everything is going wrong, it's nice to stand in awe of God’s creation beauty. These Malagasy sunsets bring me such peace.

I keep forgetting about my social media accounts. I'm still struggling to find a purpose for them in my life. Honestly, outside of the requisite networking as an aspiring author, there's very little else I post about. There's much more to me than writing, however.

Another rotation around the sun successfully completed. I've never felt so unsure yet so sure about the year ahead.

I’ve opened back up to queries! Please *only* use my Query Manager form or my query email. Anything sent to my main email will be deleted. I’m excited to dive into new work!! MSWL: www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/alev...

Our latest update from the Africa Mercy, where surgeries continue, and we look to reconnect with our place in the mission after some rest. Check out our blog for the latest! Back on board, back to school, and back to mission. croutch.ca/back-on-boar...

The thing about instant gratification is that its only gratifying for an instant. You have to keep chasing it to stay gratified. That's not freedom, that's enslavement. Look out yourself and love your fellow humans deeply from the heart, and you'll find lasting gratification.

Hello, #litagents and #writingcommunity. It goes against all convention, but a growing (louder) number of beta readers are demanding the follow up to THE BLACKSMITH’S REBELLION. Should I write it to appease them or keep holding them off while it languishes in the query trenches?

Looking back through my email history at that one time, in 2011, an agency campaigning for a senator at the time offered to help me illegally vote.

Man cold coming on. Prepare for mild sniffles and incessant moaning.

Hello #amwriting and #writingcommunity friends, I’m still looking for volunteer beta readers for my manuscript. You don't have to be an epic fantasy fan to join. I enjoy getting feedback from genre fans and reading fans. Shoot me a DM if you want to join, or share the word!

#amwriting friends, this person uses Grok to generate her chapter feedback. Unless you're okay with your unpublished work getting fed into a Gen AI and paying someone to do it, you'll want to avoid working with this person. (Verified by prompting Grok myself, ugh)

One of the best things you can do as an author in the #amquerying trenches is to read your manuscript. Not just for the obvious reasons, but read it like a reader. Honestly ask: Do you like your book? I couldn't put mine down. I love my book. #writingcommunity

If you're repping a epic fantasy/secondary world fantasy with either zero romance or a B-plot romance, could you send it my way PLEASE? #mswl

I rewrote the ending for THE BLACKSMITHS REBELLION again yesterday and sent it off to beta readers. Then sat staring at a cricket-filled inbox. Silence is worse than form rejections, folks. Toying with the idea of pulling out of the #amquerying trenches again. #writingcommunity

Every quest needs a hero. This one gets Glimm: a bonsai frost dragon stuck managing a band of blowhards on a doomed diplomatic mission. ARC now available 🐉 www.septimusbrown.com/arc

POV: querying a high fantasy epic without romance in an environment where agents are desperately seeking romantasy, horror, and K-pop demon hunters style books. #amquerying #writingcommunity

Update: LinkedIn removed the ad.

This was in my @LinkedIn feed today. Firstly, I’m Canadian, so no. Secondly, ICE is a dangerous organization driven by ignorance, hate, and fear, so heck no. Blocked and reported.

I sent my manuscript to a friend the other day who also happens to be a Professor of Literary Studies (and doctorate in the same) who teaches post-grad English students. I have regrets. #writingcommunity #amariting

#IdRatherBePlayingBattlefield6 #BF6 #Battlefield6

For the auto enthusiasts out there, here are some of the quirky knock-offs that come in through the import lot here in Madagascar. First a “Karry” cleverly disguised as a Ford, not an F-150 raptor but a Foron Timberlamd V7, and whatever SUV number three is…

Back in Madagascar, to the ship later this afternoon. Looking forward to getting back to our second home.

Today, my family takes our @AirFrance flights from Toronto to Madagascar, kicking off the next two years of our volunteer journey on Mercy Ships. I'm saying goodbye to family in Canada but anticipating seeing my ship family again. Join us in support: mercyshipscanada.akaraisin.com/ui/mercygift...

GODKILLER X BONE SHARD DAUGHTER A desperate heir. A disgraced warrior. A deadly assassin. 🏹 Strong FMC 🏹 Rich Worldbuilding 🏹 Hunt for Redemption 🏹 Cyclical Trauma 🏹 Found Family Currently Querying! #Q #A #F #QuestPit

Events like #questpit lave me feeling equal parts imposter syndrome and excited for what the literary world has in store. It’s a privilege to participate and be counted among so many talented writers. The #WritingCommmunity is on fire today!

Excited for my first #questpitch! I hope you enjoy my #agentsguide to my #amquerying novel: THE ANTE, a fast-paced crime thriller set in modern day Philadelphia. #questpit #agentguide #Q #A #T #writingcommunity #agents See more here tomramey.org

In a world where gender can be changed with one DNA-based op, what happens when your previous identity’s genetic signature is used without your knowledge? After witnessing a murder by a man bearing her former face, Ella finds out the hard way. #QuestPit #YA #SF #Q #agentguide

Slow Horses x Life on Mars When an intelligence agent is framed for the UK’s role in a temporal disaster, he must clear his name and seal a lethal time rift - before a Russian spy from the future gets everyone killed. #A #S #T #QuestPit #Q 🦋

BLADE RUNNER x THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER Lonely hacker Renaya must help a kind android boy recover his memories so she can solve her father's murder - before those behind it get to her first. #questpit #Q #YA #SF

I’m excited to share this #pitchcard for THE PIRATE, THE PRINCESS, and JOHN, the YA fantasy novel I #amquerying, feat: 🏴‍☠️ LGBTQIA+ rep 👑 non-western setting 🌸 anti-colonial lens 🏴‍☠️ girls w/ swords 👑 besties-to-lovers 🌸 friendship > everything #QuestPit #YA #F #LGBT #Q

THE BLACKSMITH’S REBELLION, a high fantasy where apprentice blacksmith Ari discovers he is one of the six Misigothian Chosen destined to rule Carnin, setting up a showdown against the five kings already in power, who’ve corrupted Ari’s friend as their pawn. #questpit #q #a #f

Wow, passed 1,000 followers on this platform. I never got close to that number on the other platform. Welcome to all of the new faces. I’m mostly here to bug #litagents and the #writingcommunity, but you’ll see the occasional brain dump, too. Happy to have you all along for the ride!

Black coffee is still my pre-workout.

Thinking about something is not the same as worrying about something. Thinking/planning for something doesn't involve “what-if” questions, while worry is steeped in them. Thinking weighs pros and cons, worrying asks “what-if”.

My very latest Starter Pack go.bsky.app/4KyDJbX