Moment of zen before the holiday craziness begins!

They say the best perfumes are a mix of something alluring with something disgusting. Guess this story proves the same rule for writing. So strange, so problematic, so good! smallwondersmag.com/piece/tuesday/

New Puppy's first trip to the beach!

Made a site comparing the sizes of living things :) The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used > neal.fun/size-of-life/

Great anthology with a strong selection of stories that run the wide spectrum of weird. Horror, fantasy and sci-fi are all here, along with just plain odd and eerie tales. The Best Weird Fiction of the Year, Volume 1, curated by Michael Kelly, @undertow.bsky.social.

Another old illustrated blog post: on the dangers of taking too much advice.  https://www.marievibbert.com/mud/

The new issue is out! Need a break from the holidays? We've got aging druids, adorable bee-cats, vengeful weather witches & more. www.lunastationquart... #ShortStories #WomenWriters #SpeculativeFiction #Fantasy #SciFi #Books #Reading #Writing #Magazines

This short story by @breewernicke.bsky.social is so bizarrely wonderful, especially if you think *stepping* on Legos is painful ... 👀 www.bourbonpenn.com/issue/37/doc...

Look at this dream library within the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The museum is so huge I didn’t know it was there when we visited. I was so jealous my husband found it and snapped this photo while we were each exploring on our own. If I ever go back, it'll be near the top of my sight-seeing list.

Cast of Wonders 664: Blood and Talent by @jamieboyd.bsky.social narrated by Boocho McFly produced by @jeremycarter42.bsky.social hosted by @chesneycat.bsky.social www.castofwonders.org/2025/11/cast... content notes: injury, violence, historical racism, domestic violence, death

The most unusual painting I saw during my visit to the Mauritshuis museum in Amsterdam this summer was "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp." What's stuck with me months later is a story the museum staff told abt the painting — a story I think any artist or writer would appreciate. 🧵 1/4

South Beach never fails to excite and inspire. Back from a quick weekend getaway and feeling refreshed.

Charlotte would be proud. "If I can fool a bug, I can surely fool a man. People are not as smart as bugs." -- E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

This is such a fun story and the perfect example of a character I love to hate!

It's been several days and the New Puppy still doesn't understand the clocks "falling back." So here we are. Up since 6 a.m. on a rare morning I could've been sleeping in. She's lucky she's cute.

If you or anyone you love has trouble sitting still, read this bite-sized story by @bdcutkomp.bsky.social. "My teachers exchange concerns abt the pacing the rocking the bouncing..Theyve got it all wrong." xraylitmag.com/in-another-life-i-am-a-direct-descendant-of-sharks-by-bethany-cutkomp/fiction

I’m excited to announce the sale of my short story “Blood and Talent” to @castofwonders.org . It’s a murder mystery set in the old Wild West … with magic! Many thanks to Katherine Inskip, Alicia Caporaso and team for giving it a home.

Well hello there, gorgeous. Fancy meeting you here.

What a hilarious article!!!!!!!! Also, my heart hurts a little now. "Oh no! Please love me! Or no worries if not!" www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Who’d think mold could be so pretty? We don’t carve our pumpkins until the day before Halloween b/c mold grows so fast here — it’s usually black, nasty & makes a slimy mess if I let it go more than a week. If it grew like this, I might revisit that decision.

Come on, guys! There's not much time left to support this great magazine ...

I have some September short science fiction, fantasy, and horror picks for you on this fine October day. reactormag.com/must-read-sh...

"We are not all built to be beautiful, we are not all built to rampage." Wow. Although I have to disagree, @shanaross.bsky.social. This poem *is* built beautiful.

This 3D map, which you can "fly" through like you're in your own starship, is so humbling. It reminds me of a Barbara Kingsolver quote about our need for nature and timeless landscape: "It reminds us that our plans are small and somewhat absurd.”

Translunar Travelers Lounge closes to submissions end of day tomorrow, 15th October at midnight Eastern Time (US) (UTC-4:00). If you want to submit speculative fiction to us, make sure it's before then! Please read the guidelines. translunartravelerslounge.com/submissions/

Important Pupdate! The New Puppy is growing fast and getting into all sorts of wonderful trouble. The Old Man has gone from being sullen, grumpy and jealous to playing like he's a youngin' again. They are so sweet together! 🥰🐾

This gorgeous story contains the most bittersweet recipe. "The forest needs a witch like the sky needs lightning and the night needs wolves. ... But to become a witch you first have to do this thing. This last, difficult, and horrible thing."

Lush strange & beautiful flash by @mizukiyamagen.bsky.social "A snail no larger than my pinky glides from the wound leaving a delicate silver calligraphy across the pillowcase. .. I hold my breath astonished less by its existence than bythe elegant hydraulics of emergence. hexliterary.com/?p=2878

I’ve always had a good feeling about life on Enceladus. The very first short story I ever had published imagined an ancient forest of giant, coral-like sea life hibernating there. With studies like this, maybe we'll have some exciting news in my lifetime.

RIP, Jane Goodall.

This is the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), native to North America. And it runs a PROTECTION SCHEME. It's 'connected', see, A Wise Guy, an Avian Cosa Nostra, a Made Bird. "Nice nest here, be a shame if something happened to it." Let's talk about the MAFIA HYPOTHESIS & brood parasitism.

I just finished The Starving Saints by @caitlinstarling.com. Wow! 🤯 What a strange, beautiful novel that somehow manages to be both stomach churning and intoxicating.

Starts today! I'm always amazed at the quality of programming given this accessible, all-online conference for writers and creators of speculative fiction is FREE. Just a few sessions I'm 👀 today: Publishing Contracts Sinners film discussion Spec Biology New Gender Gothic LET'S GOOOOOOO ...

Love this. Congrats @pedroiniguez.bsky.social

I'm the mother of two teenage daughters, so this story hits home. And that ending? 💀 I see you @jenniferhudak.bsky.social ! smallwondersmag.com/piece/echo-s...

Life is wild. 🐝 🐜 🕷️🧬 www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...

I have a room full of framed, favorite literary quotes. This one seemed particularly relevant this week.

I spent a lot of time potty training the new puppy today, which meant more time outside staring at my lawn between rainstorms. Guess what I found hiding in the blades? 🍄 (I promise none of the photos are 💩 😂) Bonus points for anyone who can help me identify them! 🧪 #fungi

Incredibly important news flash: WE HAVE A NEW PUPPY!! ❤️🐶🐾🥳

It’s normally too hot for mushrooms to grow in my yard, but it’s been raining so much this little guy pushed through the soil to say hello. 🍄 #fungifriday

Hey! Are you sure being on social media is what you need right now? Maybe you'd be better served by a book, a Discord call with friends, or diving face-first into a tub of chocolate pudding. If socials are right? Then great. But please be good to yourselves.

In ugly times, beautiful things are still being created all around us. The brightest area in this NASA Photo of the Month is the "Butterfly Star," a young protostar still gathering mass from its environment surrounded by a disc where baby planets may be forming. esawebb.org/images/potm2508a/

I love when I’m “forced” to do research for a short story. This incredible book on a deadly 1996 Mount Everest expedition is a classic, and its reputation is well deserved. It’s made me angry, sad and, above all, amazed at what people will put themselves through to achieve a dream.

Great story by @tiatashiro.bsky.social "When Mark told you he was marrying your clone you said congratulations on autopilot, because that’s what you say when your friend tells you theyre getting married & you had promised to stay friendly after the divorce." clarkesworldmagazine.com/tashiro_07_25/

Good thing we have so many limes (and lemons) on our trees right now. I’m thinking tequila shots might help me process yet another brilliant policy decision coming out of the state of Florida. 😣

👀❤️

Making art is labor. Caregiving is labor. I spent Labor Day doing both and that's a wonderful thing. Whether you're getting paid or not, what you create with your time, effort and love is valuable.

Spitfire sawfly larvae doing their excellent synchronised ward-off-a-predator thing.

That wonderful feeling when you forget you've preordered a book and then it shows up on your porch like a gift from the universe. Congrats @thomasha.bsky.social ! I know I'm going to love it.

It’s new story day for me! “Dislocated” in @flashfictiononline.bsky.social is about a support group for sufferers of long teleportation sickness and certainly has no resonance with real world events. www.flashfictiononline.com/article/disl...