Today's the 10 year anniversary of MYSTIC's publication. 😱 Naturally, I have thoughts. Also, to celebrate the occasion, @torbooks.bsky.social has put the eBook on sale for $2.99 this week. What better time to check it out if you haven't experienced it yet? open.substack.com/pub/jasonden...

Some updates on my writing as we fall into Autumn. I expect to have TWO novels drafted by early 2026. Details in the link.

I’m (re)reading The Stand by @stephenking.bsky.social and it stresses me out less than real life news. #cozyfantasy

Lots of talk about epic fantasy being dead in trad publishing. Trends shift, attention spans shorten. But EF still tackles the grand stories, the big questions, & shows emotional truth on the widest scale. It may ebb, but it is not going anywhere. Keep reading it, keep writing it. I sure will.

The Moral of the Story @seattlein2025.org @gwillow.me @shwetaadhyam.bsky.social @marshalljmoore.bsky.social @okosunreads.bsky.social Starting with a discussion of the gateway fantasies that inspired everyone. “I think fantasy is a genre of questions.”—Ehigbor Okosun

I’m at Seattle WorldCon this week. Yesterday I ran into the legendary Terry Brooks.

I just deleted an unnecessary bath scene from a book I'm working on and I feel like the ghost of Robert Jordan is judging me. #amwriting

Somebody got to go on an adventure today.

Showing off my new edition of Hyperion, a true classic of dark science fiction. This edition is from @thebrokenbinding.bsky.social with art by Raymond Swanland & art direction by @petrikleo.bsky.social. I love the new design, but I also love that it came with a 2nd slip cover w/ the original cover!

This project looks awesome. Backed! Please check it out. www.kickstarter.com/projects/844...

A celebrity that I admired as a kid died today. But I won't celebrate them cause it turns out they were a horrible person. So instead I'll celebrate deceased artists who were kind and loving & generous: Terry Pratchett. Mr Rodgers, Robin Williams, JRR Tolkien, Chadwick Boseman, Alan Rickman, etc.

I’ll be at @seattlein2025.org next month. I’m participating in several panels and doing a reading. Also, my new short story, “The Snake Star,” will be part of the Worldcon Anthology from Grim Oak Press. More info in my newsletter. Who else will be there? jasondenzel.substack.com/p/worldcon-a...

I realized it’s been a while since I introduced myself, so 👋🏻 hi! I’m Jason, an epic fantasy author writing stories full of wonder and transformation. Glad you’re here. Sign up for my newsletter for more behind-the-scenes content. jasondenzel.substack.com

Just started reading Gifted & Talented by @ olivieblake.bsky.social, the first book of hers that I’ve read and holy shirtballs the writing style / voice is perfection. She makes it seem so effortless and I’m not gunna hide my envy. 👏🏼

Pope Seagull I. His first order is that all communion wafers will be full bread chunks.

How capitalism actually works: American product: $10 Chinese knockoff: $9 <Trump tariffs> Chinese knockoff now: $15 American product now also $15 for some reason.

👏🏼 [The Office] “maintains that human authorship… remain essential…to obtain copyright protection for works involving materials created by [AI].” “…firmly concludes AI prompts, alone, do not provide sufficient human control to automatically make a human user of an AI system the author of the output”

Would love to get a manuscript in my inbox reminiscent of Frieren, with that perfect mix of love, loss, and a fantasy adventure quest. #mswl

One of many moments in Omar El Akkad’s new book, “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” that will stop you in your tracks.

The OG Blackthorne. RIP, sir 🙏🏻 www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/a...

At the FedEx store. Clerk: “What are you shipping to Canada?” Me: “Some booklets.” Clerk: “What’s the content?” Me: “Well it’s a short story I wrote about … … <pitches story>” Clerk: … Me: 👀 Clerk: “I’ll put down ‘fiction’” Me: “yeah that works” 🫠🫠🫠🫠

Fellow #GenX people. So are you a keep-your-reading-glasses-on-you-at-all-times person or a buy-lots-of-dollar-store-readers-and-leave-them-everywhere type?

They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.

On this episode of Intentionally Blank, Brandon and Dan talk about how Brandon still writes in 12-point Courier font + double-spaced. I'm 💯 the same way. I just think it's easier to read. #Writers: what font & typesetting do you draft with? (Link jumps to 22:21 where they discuss this)

I'm participating today in my 3rd (... I think?) @writingtheother.com workshop with @nisishawl.bsky.social and @ktempestbradford.com. I learn so much from these workshops. I try to make it a point to attend one at least every few years. 🧵

I’ve watched Back to the Future for 40 years and I just recently realized upon my 1,000th viewing that when the lady says “Save the clock tower!” she’s trying to preserve the clock in its BROKEN/melted state. I always thought she was raising money to FIX it. 😂

Damn, I’d forgotten how truly great the #Watchmen graphic novel is.

Did I wake up at 4am to be among the first people to pre-order the @subpress.bsky.social limited edition of Hyperion? Yes, yes I did. The Shrike approves… I think. (Excellent cover art by Raymond Swanland)

Today is D&D day and the party has no idea what’s about to find them. #DungeonMaster (Art by Dave Melvin from the 5E Planescape adventure module)

The weather is a certain way tonight. So tell me your preference: ☔️ Purple Rain 🌧️ November Rain 💧(another “Rain” song)

The Lore of the Rings podcast released their 200th episode today which features several guests, including me. If you'd like to hear me talk for a few minutes about my favorite LotR passage and why I think it's cool, head over to the show and give it a listen. ringspodcast.com/200

Seriously, creative folks: Don't be afraid to let people know your stuff is out there for them, or worry that "now is not the time for that." People are stressed and freaked out and looking for the things that will give them a moment of rest and joy. It is EXACTLY the time for what we do. Tell them.

The little girl from Pixar’s Monster’s Inc would be 26 years old today.

In this house, we believe survivors of sexual assault and stand with you. Find resources at: nsvrc.org and rainn.org

Lotsa flying facial hair this year.

"Ten years, Betrayer. Ten years your foul master has wracked the world." -- Happy 10-year anniversary to the infamous Winter Dragon ashcan film. #WoTSkies #WheelofTime

PSN down on a Friday night in the middle of winter whoever is responsible pls have mercy on us it's been such a long week i miss my homies

What the hell? I finish the next round of revisions on my book and my reward is that the PlayStation network is offline? #DarkestTimeline

The response was entirely positive, so let the Nazi Punch of the Day begin. It seems appropriate to start with a classic. This is from Captain America Comics #1. The cover date was March 1941, but from what I've read, it was on the shelves several months earlier. #NPD #NaziPunching

I received a fun package today! My @torbooks.bsky.social editor @rdavis.bsky.social offered me this framed piece of art featuring mass market paperback cover from the 1980’s. This hung on the walls of the Tor offices for many years. Recognize any of these titles? Tell me your favorites!

Look, I’m not saying Bluesky needs to go full algorithm, but admit I wish I had just a bit more ability to prioritize certain accounts I want to see more often. Different from lists.

🌟 Sacramento area folks 🌟 Want to come hear me chat writing/publishing in person? I'll be at A Seat at the Table Books as part of their Writing Demystified series on Feb 6th (a week from today!) to talk about my 10+ years (8 in the query trenches) seeking publication. (boosts v much appreciated!)

OpenAI right now

I nominate “Did you know Cynthia Erivo sang while doing her own stunts?” as the new “Did you know Viggo Mortensen broke his toe…?”

Here we have an authentic, unfiltered photo documenting the rugged state of a feral writer deep in #amwriting revisions with a looming deadline. Observers are encouraged not to make contact during the weekend-long “revision phase”, but tossing snacks is relatively harmless.

Authors… does asking for blurbs ever get easy? I’m a chill guy and this is my fourth book and I’m like “omg what if they don’t like me??”

0 degrees outside. Indoor fetch

I know there is a lot going on right now, but freelance life is freelance life, so I wanted to let people know that I have openings for editing clients. I work with novels and novellas, developmental and line edits. More info here: www.kathowardbooks.com/editing Signal boosts are welcome, thanks!

I 3D printed and painted an 8-inch tall statue for my son after we finished watching Attack on Titan. Who else has watched the show? #attackontitan