So many books in the TBR pile, but @maryrobinettekowal.com's Apprehension just came out and is at the top. Can't wait to dive in later today. Bonus: Bound with @sentencebender.bsky.social's Red Star Hustle. maryrobinettekowal.com/writing/appr...

Finished The Mourning Fields by friend and local author @thedancerwrites.bsky.social. Stories based on Greek myths set in modern times. Great tales and some really beautiful sentences. Read more at: atmospherepress.com/interview-wi...

Binging Fiat Lex: A Dictionary Podcast by @korystamper.bsky.social and @skleinedler.bsky.social. As an amateur lexicographer, I'm loving it. (And wish I'd heard it when working on my glossary: www2.archivists.org/glossary-old.)

Welcome to Bluesky 💙🦋

Doesn't show the thousands of people that showed up for #NoKings in Bellingham, Wash. Rain didn't discourage the crowd.

If you'd like to know my political views, here's one: standing fellow citizens up to humanize them and give them personhood. That's a political choice, as much as dehumanizing is. If you pick the latter, you have chosen violence, and I pity you and pray for you. Great statements here.

Needed a little inspiration to get started editing the novel and ran across this quote from Jane Smiley that Matt Bell shared in one of his lectures.

Every time I see "talismans" in my novel, I want to correct it to talismen. And confirm with @merriam-webster.com yet again. (Google ngram suggests I might have gotten away with "talismen" in the 1820s, although it doesn't appear in the OED.) #Writing #WordNerd

Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day? Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚

I read banned books! (And you should, too!)

Looking for alternative words for "AI" for a SF novel and have come up with syntelligence and siliconsciousness. First is a corporate name, also proposed to Collins Dictionary in 2019 but not included. First is an analytic machine, second would be a sentient being.

Tomorrow is #NationalPunctuationDay. Sorry, that should read, Tomorrow is #NationalPunctuationDay!

Last sail of 2025. At bow watch on the Schooner Zodiac.

I'm constantly recommending Matt's book as the best craft book I've read. Practical advice: tactics that have helped me improve my writing.

A great resource with lots guidance on the mechanics of the language. Plus, Dreyer has a great wit that makes this book a pleasure to read.

That moment when you read a line that inspires you, gives spark to something you hadn't yet figured out how to express. #writing

71. Another year wiser.

Just finished re-reading Matt Bell's (@mdbell79.bsky.social) Appleseed. Enormous depth, amazing ideas, rich story, strong characters. I feel like I should go read it again while it's fresh in my memory. The kind of SF I want to write (and I've got a long way to go to approach what he's doing).

"A group of librarians is called a cardigan. A collection of empty chairs is called an author reading."

Did I mention this little novella WON THE INDIE READER DISCOVERY AWARD this year?? And it’s sold over 200 copies! How many self-pub titles can say that? Anyway, this is animal-nature fiction. Coming-of-age with cozy mystery. Also lots of bird facts. LOTS. I’m feeling market-y today. Sue me. 💙📚

About 18 hours after the tsunami came through about 1:00 AM Pacific time. Water level rose maybe a foot.

My part of the world remains under the tsunami watch through early afternoon. Risk is low (waves about one foot), which is handy as I'm sailing later in the afternoon. www.schoonerzodiac.com

Written by a friend of mine.

Even though friends recommended it, I'd avoided The House in the Cerulean Sea by #TJKlune because I generally don't read YA, romance, or fantasy. A lovely read (great as an audiobook) with good characters and lots of heart. Filled with hope, which is desparately needed these days. Recommended!

Find your closest rally on Saturday and go. You can tell your kids where you were on the other side of this. Outnumber him everywhere. www.nokings.org#map

More for the TBR pile! Her /No Shelter but the Stars/ was brilliant.

I feel seen: I can't count the number of times I showed up at work, only to discover the office was closed for a holiday. 😆

It's not that Biden's decline while in office, and the effort to hide it, isn't a story. It's just that the guy *currently* in office is also in serious decline, dangerously so, and was even before he was elected, and there oddly doesn't seem to be the same fervor to cover that story.

Should I ever meet up with St Peter at the Golden Gates, I hope he'll answer a trivial question: How much time did I waste resizing and repositioning windows on my monitor. (The short answer would be, "Regrettably, too much.")

From Berke Breathed's Academia Waltz, 1978, on John-Paul II's becoming pope.

Brilliant! I'm tempted, but won't @ any number of friends.

That espresso I had this afternoon means I can't get to sleep, but no problem. Watching @maryrobinettekowal.com's lecture on Endings got my mind racing. Finally had to get up and start making notes. Two pages of notes, and a sense of how I'm going to wrap this novel up! #Writing #SciFi

Not the obituary I was hoping to read today. (Forbes confirms her death.) May her memory be a blessing.

I have received a Papal dispensation.

He has my sympathies! What a wonderful, fun column!

Congrats to my friend Alex on their cover-reveal day! I've read bits of the book, and it's fascinating (and looking forward to the completed edition). Beautiful artwork for a fantastic book!

Of course, the day after I submit chapter one to my critique group, I realize I really need to strengthen the beginning. Not sure it's there yet, but I think it's probably better. #Writing #Editing

My readers want more of what's going on in my protag's head (interiority). Listened to start of Moby Dick and realized it was all interiority. Ah ha! Good model. Then realized it's all 1st person. My novel is close 3rd. Might try rewriting MD in third as an exercise. Ora pro nobis! #Writing #SFF

A member of my writing group commented on my recent submission, "I want MORE!!!! This is definitely a 'I don't care if it is 3 am, just one more chapter' moment." What great motivation and encouragement! #Writing #Sci-Fi

I'm horrified that minority groups are being scapegoated as a political distraction from the destruction of the country. It's nothing more than vindictive bullying. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Protect trans lives.

Call me Mrs. Dalloway.

The other archival consideration: "Waltz's use of a feature that makes messages disappear after a set period of time "raises questions about whether the officials may have violated federal records law." —Ars Technica (24 Mar 2025).

Inspired by a lecture by @mdbell79.bsky.social and a friend, started a complete rewrite of a chapter I've been struggling with for days and got 1500 New Words™ cranked out. Realized that bit was fundamentally a horror scene. Not my cup of tea, but exactly what the story needed. #Writing #Sci-Fi

#copyediting Check your text for sentences beginning either "There is" or "There are," and if you indeed find any: Rewrite them less dully.

@sentimentbot.bsky.social How am I doing?

Delighted by stories in ZZ Packer's /Drinking Coffee Elsewhere/. An unexpected, happy surprise, as they're so different from my usual reading. Lovely storytelling and insight into lives very different from my own. #Reading #ShortStories

When Amazon launched in 1995, there were 5,500 indie bookshops in the U.S., with 7,000 locations. By May of 2023, that number had decreased to 2,185 indies & 2,599 locations. When you purchase audiobooks via Libro.fm vs. Audible, you directly support indie bookshops. Let's make that number grow ❤️

Thanks to Bsky, I had nice exchanges with @bcdreyer.social and @mdbell79.bsky.social today and I learned something from both of them. Rays of sunshine. If you're a writer, you should follow them! #Writing #Editing #Gratitude

Defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe. If Elon doesn't understand that, maybe he should leave it to those of us who do.

Pro-trans and anti-trans are not two equally valid political positions worthy of equal respect. Denying human beings dignity, autonomy, and the right to exist is not a political position. It’s bigotry and bullying, period.