Yesterday I published an author newsletter with the headline 'Don't be a ****', featuring suggestiongs on how to be nicer: dvbishop.substack.com/p/dont-be-a Three people have unsubscribed since that dropped. Make of this what you will...

The rapture isn't coming. At least, not like this. The crows know.

It's tempting to track word count but it really isn't a reliable indicator of progress (though if no words at all are getting written... 😬). Today I only added about 900w to my draft but two scenes are 100x times better and are finished (by which I mean i have a first draft). Progress!

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.

Today I was discussing this topic with MrK. Me: I'm basically a musty goblin with anxiety. Him: Aww I wouldn't say you were musty.

A Globe Ablaze #charcoal #darkart #traditionalart

Did the hidden histories tour at Wollaton today so I got to see the very top...

Proposal: puce and chartreuse should swap names. This thought brought to you by describing the sickly greenish-yellow colour of uranium glass. Added benefit - large amounts of basically harmless confusion which would be a nice change from all the harmful confusion.

Dear world. I know I sound and look like someone who can administrate, organise and etiquette all day long but appearances can be deceptive. I have spent my whole professional life in one shrub or another and that is not a euphemism.

It's oddly charming that a dude's complaint about shitty copper has become an internet meme 4000 years later. People who otherwise wouldn't give the smallest damn about cuneiform are making jokes about it. Love it.

I have just written an absolutely horrible scene. ~cackle~

Slightly diminish a book: Baron of the Rings

Very important info for eg women in violent relationships who maintain a secret phone. Please pass along.

My latest novel, Dangerous, is currently just 99p! If you like darkly gothic mysteries, and a vampiric theme, this may be the book for you. www.amazon.co.uk/Dangerous-Es...

Me, trying to stuff some books in a book shelf: we haven't got enough space for books. MrK whispering: I'm saying nothing.

I have been lucky enough to receive some really kind and positive comments from other writers about my book. I've written about it here. lcwinterauthor.substack.com/p/burbling-a...

Cyanotypes are a delight to create 😄 #cyanotypes #blue #imprint #photo

Maps used to be so much better in the old days, because they would show you where the monsters are. Now, we have to stumble upon them ourselves.

It scans true! Was worried a bit because multimedia. Saves so much time in art app too and looks much more like I picture the finished work. Only thing left is to see how to colour it digitally.

Hey, listen to what this smart guy just said! Can you believe it?

Now that all the editing is done on Spider, Spider I'm finally getting some momentum on my next project. I wrote two books* while working full time but I struggle to make progress now when working part time + editing the last book. I don't get it. *They didn't get published.

'The Vortex' This morning on Glastonbury Tor, these clouds appeared from nowhere and swirled and danced around St Michael's Tower at sunrise.

When I think about stinging nettles, and their medicine, I think about the fairytale "The Wild Swans". Sometimes, healing is about disappearing, and doing the slow stitchwork of sewing yourself back together again. You might seem prickly, or antisocial—but you know you've got to become You again. 🍃

I'm at that point in The Final Vow by @mwcraven.bsky.social where if I pick it up I *know* I won't be able to put it down until it's done. I wanted an early night tonight... Ah fuck it.

The cat discovered she likes the foot rest under my writing desk so goodbye to ergonomics, hello to sitting like a gargoyle.

I've got a ticket for R.F Kuang at Cambridge Guildhall on Thursday but I can no longer go. Do I know anyone in that area who is interested in going instead? It's £35 including book, and totally sold out otherwise.

My local @societyofauthors.bsky.social gang has pulled together an autumn of talks and workshops with Nottingham libraries. If you're in the area check it out www.nottinghamcitylibraries.co.uk/society-of-a...

Having an accidental goth day today in all black but my underwear is rainbow stripes. I'm like one of those double ended dolls where if you turn them the other way up the skirt falls down and they look totally different.

England is a small country. Among its defining characteristics are the density of and proximity to ghosts. City streets or rural lanes, one does not have to walk far to encounter a temporal shade. No wonder the English have measurements such a phantoms per acre. – #CJosiffe #Ghosts

Advice for life: - be kind - tip well - read banned books - let moss into your life - grow antlers if it suits you - become the haunted thing timid townsfolk whisper about in the dark

I think that's the last little bits of proofreading done. I think we're finished. (...waits)

Real human artists, share the last 4 pieces of art you made! 🎨

Writers with big dreams!! I’m doing an online mini-course called: How to Write a Life-Changing Book Link below. Just turn up! This session is free! Find out what I mean by ‘life-changing’! 7 pm, Weds 30 July us02web.zoom.us/j/84717010871?… Passcode: 260288

rough impressions of haunted places #digitalart #fantasy #rpg

F*** this 'colour type' bollocks that has recently been resurrected from the midden of the nineties. You're not on the planet to maximise your decorativeness. Wear whatever makes you feel fabulous (and is comfy).

QRP with your dark art #DarkArt

Poor sweet little mouse 🐁 Another quick 45min study trying to find balance between finished and unfinished, life and death. #OilPainting #Art #DarkArt #GothicArt #SpeedPaint #OilOnPanel #StillLife #EmergingArtist

Branded, the first in a series of four-page horror comics. This is my first attempt at rendering a whole comic in "pure" black and white linework, without shades of gray. It's a style I've always admired but never felt strong enough to do. Enjoy! 👻 #comics, #art, #horror, #DarkArt

“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.” Words by Arthur Conan Doyle Dragons by me. www.dragonsofwales.etsy.com

So it turns out looking into a camera is pretty much as difficult as eye contact. Who knew?

Tinted, double-hinged spectacles, c.1790. Many opticians believed green or blue glass was easier on the eyes and would reduce glare; while clear glass was too soft and would distort images. This example is from the Wellcome Collection in London.

Several of my more seasoned original paintings are available on big-time special this week. Midsummer wall-cleaning, or somesuch... For more details, please head here: www.etsy.com/shop/ShadowA... 🌙🌙🌙

When I was twenty, five hours sleep was sufficient because I was having too much fun to prioritise it. In my forties five hours sleep is sufficient because that's all there is and I just have to get on with it. I kind of wish I'd slept more when I was young tbh.

Investment paid off after only two days. Before my fans even arrived.

My latest substack post lcwinterauthor.substack.com/p/proofs-a-p...

Just gone a bit mad buying fans so I'm assuming summer will finish in about three days when my b&q delivery is due. It's my investment in making it rain.

Venice. This is an old illustration that I’ve often thought of calling ‘Don’t Look Meow’ but I couldn’t…could I?