That feeling when you finish a watercolour painting you're proud of and then your dog eats it #art

That feeling when you finish a watercolour painting you're proud of and then your dog eats it #art

I spent the weekend painting my favourite view of the Alcazaba at the Alhambra. Twenty-four hours later, it met an untimely end

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“This year’s Rainbow Map tells two stories at once. One of genuine courage, in Spain, in courtrooms, and in leaders who are choosing to stand with their communities rather than scapegoat them. And one of real and growing danger that cannot be underestimated..." - Katrin Hugendubel

"What had begun as an aesthetic conversation became, in many cases, a literature of loss, displacement and memory." This gives some historical context about Spain in the 1920s and some of its most famous poets like Lorca. Looking forward to learning more about the women poets mentioned too

Add a letter to a band name to make it different: The Drolling Stones

I love the idea of an eclipse as "a moment of "collective astonishment". There's a total eclipse coming to Granada on 2 August 2027, when the city will be plunged into four minutes of darkness. Really interesting to read about logistical challenges this creates, too

Today's my birthday and I'd like to share a new comic with you, it's called Marginalia. It's a love letter to all the weirdness of medieval manuscripts, and you can read it by unfolding a single sheet of paper! 1/5

Writers, would you like an energy & community boost this June? Check out what's on offer at the (fully online, Fri/Sat) Wholehearted Writers June Mini-Retreat wholeheartedwriters.beehiiv.com/p/june-mini-... #WritingCommunity #Writers #AmWriting #WritingCraft

We re-sent out the free demo pack of the Classic Mermaid reference set with Alyssa! If you're on the mailing list, take a peek.

Sleep disruptors move fast and wake things

Watercolour and a slice of life to help you wind down this Thursday (assuming you like being on the water):

All Hail Chaos, book 2 in the Time of Iron series, is out May 12 and book 3 is out July 2027. So we thought you guys might like to know the title… I called the book that because Imma do it. Trust me, I’m telling you stories. #booksky

For some reason all my books seem to end up in Coming of Age, even when the age they’re becoming is over forty.

By the end of this video, you'll have completed your first sketch on location! You'll need a pencil, a sketchbook, a stool (optional), and about 20 minutes to venture outside. I'll be sketching Lorca's house in Granada, and cheering you on. Think body doubling but with #urbansketching!

By the end of this video, you'll have completed your first sketch on location! You'll need a pencil, a sketchbook, a stool (optional), and about 20 minutes to venture outside. I'll be sketching Lorca's house in Granada, and cheering you on. Think body doubling but with #urbansketching!

I was just like, "What's the Beverly Jenkins book where the heroine beats the villain to death *and* sets him on fire *and* drowns him?" and I went to check my reviews, and now I need to take a month off and reread all of Beverly Jenkins.

The Porta Nigra in Trier is the best preserved Roman city gate North of the Alps. It was built around 170 AD and converted into a church in the Middle Ages. The Porta Nigra was restored to its original state in 1804 at Napoleon's behest. 📷me 🏺

Who gets to matter (or, problematic tropes in the stories we love) It's taken me an age to come to writing this. I've not even been sure why it's taken me so long until very recently. I've been reflecting on Caste by Isabelle Wilkerson and why I always found a whole range of media my white friends…

Get your materials ready because next week we're going to go outside and do your first urban sketching session together! All you'll need is a pencil, a small sketchbook and (optional) a camping stool. Plus, you'll get to see a bit of my favourite park in Granada! #urbansketchers #pleinair

Get your materials ready because next week we're going to go outside and do your first urban sketching session together! All you'll need is a pencil, a small sketchbook and (optional) a camping stool. Plus, you'll get to see a bit of my favourite park in Granada! #urbansketchers #pleinair

"...pictorial representations of urban spaces have repeatedly been launching points for our imagination, offering us captivating new vantage points both literal and spiritual" - Jessica Maier This is about stunning maps, but it's interesting to think abt how it could apply to urban sketching too

Ok, guys, I don't want to get anyone too excited but... it looks like my QUEER ROMANCE course might well be happening next year! It's been put on the timetable!!!!!

My favourite thing about the Spanish news is the presenter casually ending the live with the correspondent with "un abrazo" (a hug) #langsky

I just did Sam's course on the history of the romance novel, and I cannot tell you how fast I signed up for this new course. Sam's a wonderful teacher, and I learned so much while having the best time. They're so good at teaching skills you can apply to your reading / writing in different contexts

Helen DeWitt on turning down a $175k Windham-Campbell Prize because she wasn't able to handle the prize's mandatory publicity requirements. Imo a moving, deeply relatable, and darkly funny story about money, obligation, mental health, & executive dysfunction paperpools.blogspot.com/2026/04/we-l...

Some 4,300 years ago, an Egyptian artisan carved this little hedgehog emerging from its burrow! 🦔❤️ Lovely naturalistic detail from a limestone wall relief in the Tomb of Mereruka at Saqqara. Old Kingdom, Sixth Dynasty, c. 2330 BC. 📷 by me #ReliefWednesday #Archaeology

This is largely by design. If we stop thinking about AI as simply technology and instead as part of a political and economic program, its chief function become easier to see: namely to erode interpersonal trust so that ultimately we give up on forms of agreement & negotiation arbitrated by people.

#FrenchHistory peeps and narrative nonfiction readers/writers: your fave narrative history books in French? 🗃 💙📚

I'm reading the report from the Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy. I'll be cherry picking bits I agree with and mocking the parts I don't like. So this thread is probably the only thing you need to read on the subject. www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...

I love that you can go urban sketching in Granada all year round. But if the weather's less amenable where you live, and you've been wanting to try sketching on location, this is a wonderful time of year to start. Let me take you through my #urbansketching kit to help you put together your own:

Check this out. Free courses online from MIT. ocw.mit.edu I went in and looked at Writing About Literature and it's all there, syllabus, reading list, the lot. All free. Please share.

Hey guys! I'm running a new online interactive workshop in April and you can come along! We'll be diving into Byron's early queer poetry and queer history Come join me! Choose the session that works best for you! www.eventbrite.com/cc/byron-que...

I'm about to hit 6k followers, so how about a book giveaway? There's two paperback copies of Magic, Maps, and Mischief to giveaway - all you need to do is repost this to enter! Oh, and the release date for the audiobook has been pulled forward to 9th June! mybook.to/magicmapsand...

Ladies and Hawkes, Let's go! A bit sad this is our last watch along! I know absolutely nothing about this film but I like fantasy and romance so I have high hopes (and the intro music is pumping them up...) #LadyHawkeWatchalong

I always enjoy @summerbrennan.bsky.social's Essay Camp. When I don't have a specific moment I want to write about in my normal writing practice, I often reach for the five things prompt. But this is the first time during camp that I've also committed to reading an essay every day. It feels good

housing is more expensive now, but also a lot safer. this kind of home was considered cream of the crop in the 1980s

I love that you can go urban sketching in Granada all year round. But if the weather's less amenable where you live, and you've been wanting to try sketching on location, this is a wonderful time of year to start. Let me take you through my #urbansketching kit to help you put together your own:

I've been looking forward to this one!

There's something so delightful about watching BTS goof around in the middle of Butter and seeing how much fun the crowd is having singing along #BTS

Ready to watch Fire Island for #QueerRomanceWeek I remember really enjoying this when I saw it a few years ago, so looking forward to the rewatch. Let the mess begin!

Important, brave, clear writing. When you look around and take note of who isn't there, stories like this (+ other stories of racism and ableism) are what is going on. When you have the chance to influence who will be in the room, stories like this are important to know about.

I have more than a dozen reasons to deeply admire @chanda.blacksky.app , but the one I'm choosing to honor today is her refusal to hide the costs of her values. A dear friend often reminds me that our values should cost us something, but folks get uncomfortable actually hearing what we lose.

This is written by the person who knows me better than anyone, who has been by my side and cheering me on through this last wild, scary, exciting year. If you want to know more about me, us, and why I started this campaign in the first place… you should give it a read.

Our feature tutorial/artist for today is this simple yet GROUND-BREAKING idea by the brilliant @sputnik2nd! Sometimes the KEY FORMS of ANATOMY can ELUDE us at CERTAIN ANGLES, and this is a great reminder that it's all just STACKING SHAPES! #manga #characterdesign #illustration

OK, Bluesky, I come bearing recs. Herewith an early romance roundup (including some romance-adjacent books) for the Trans Right Readathon, which starts tomorrow! Follow @trreadathon.bsky.social, check out transrightsreadathon.carrd.co, watch out for the auction, and read some trans romance!

*taps internet microphone* After months of work, a project i've been coordinating for @literaryhub.bsky.social in conjunction with @maris.bsky.social is now live ... We've commissioned 13 reviews of books by LGBTQ folks not covered by the NYTBR under Pamela Paul ... lithub.com/what-was-los...

Why Daddy's Law Firm Works for the Nice Oil Men by @olifro.st & Ellen McGahey is now published! Read/download it here 👉 seriouspeople.co/penguin/#read

Final stretch (10 days to go) & we need your help to get this queer comics anthology funded! If you’ve been on the fence, now is your chance! We want to tell these stories because we think representation is essential & joy is important💖 ✨ www.backerkit.com/c/projects/m...