I think it’s a perfect day to introduce you to our three Christmas trees! First up: RAINBOW UNICORN CHRISTMAS TREE!

As I’m taking the rest of the year off, it’s time to retire my 2025 agenda, which is thick with washi tape, stickers, and to-do lists sprinkled with (too much) optimism. Thanks for all the fun, pink sparkly agenda!

911: what’s your emergency Me: I DO NOT HAVE ANY CRUNCHY SNACKS 911: sir you are going to die

The King's Citadel of @trendane.bsky.social, @jenniferbrozek.bsky.social, @jhelfers01.bsky.social, @therisingtithes.bsky.social, & @mariebilodeau.bsky.social must join the Five Nations to face the Lord of Blades. Join us at 7:30 p.m. ET for D&D w. I&B:Eberron-Oracle of War! www.twitch.tv/arvaneleron

So much goodness for sale, including my rock and rollers vs mega corps series, Top Drek! Treat yourself to some chaos and sparkles!

I just ate advent chocolate and was apparently so amazed or befuddled by my edits that I forgot to close my mouth and drooled it all over my shirt. In case you ever wondered how glorious it is to be a full time writer.

The floof!

Didja know we have books totally appropriate for the holidays? If you're looking for festive spec fic, read this 🧵 Available everywhere, but Kobo readers will get a deal. 😊 (Art by Aster Parrish, commissioned for Home for the Howlidays promo) 1/5

Hope the weather is nice this Saturday because I'll be hanging out between 10 and 3 at the Manotick Legion Christmas Bazaar with Mary Jane Maffini and Linda Wiken! We'll have books for sale! My last event of the year!!!!!

Re: last reskeet: If reviews freak you out—and I get it, I ran a bookstore for decades and some of my clerks were *AMAZING* at hand-selling and froze the moment they were handed a shelf-talker cue card—here’s an easy trick for three short sentences that make a useful review:

Today’s spread: Rapunzel gets stars with each word milestone (yay!), and my to-do list will go on the left as I, you know, do stuff and mark it down. It’s one of those days. But so pretty and shiny!

I did a 2025 retrospective, chatting about thresholds crossed, lessons learned, and a few numbers! Plus, I talk about STICKERS and WASHI TAPE and also DEATH because it's good to balance things out. 💖 www.mariebilodeau.com/blog/2025retrospective

Cute birb tracks on our threshold.

This week got munched on by caretaking, and today I must clean the drool and put random bits back together to try to salvage it. First up: words. Those unicorns need stickers! A date with a coffee and laptop should help step back into creativity. Hope your Sunday morning is kind! 💖

Whatcha doing buddy?

Our holiday party is today! Come by for tasty treats, book bundles, recommendations, and sales! Can't make it? You can also enjoy 10% all books on our website, today only. www.bakkaphoenixbooks.com

We want to keep spotlighting creators big and small. Locus keeps the world of science fiction and fantasy connected, and you can help by donating to our December giving campaign at bwc.io/locus2025. Your donation makes the difference! Your support keeps our work alive.

Working on some game stuff today for one my favourite clients! As it’s cold in Ottawa, the two unicorns will shoot FLOWERS and MUSHROOMS at each other to bring back spring, if not physically then in spirit. ONWARD!

New Contributor Profile: Meet @gabrielle-h.bsky.social (Gabrielle Harbowy) www.nerds-feather.com/2025/12/cont...

This spread is so shiny it defies photographic capture! The super shiny sticker at the bottom is a pink castle by Pipsticks which is rocking some serious 90s Sandylion vibes. Today’s writing will lead to one colourful star in the sky per edited chapter. ONWARD TO LIGHT THE SKY.

No notes, would read.

Today is all about edits! One gold dot per chapter, so one done and, er, 47 to go! Woot! (Welcome to my world of motivation through shiny stickers.)

Now with alt text! (Sorry for sharing without noticing it wasn’t there! Should always have caffeine before posting.)

This is why it's important to have Arts/Humanities courses AND STEM courses. It all fits together, they compliment each other. There's no such thing as useless education.

We've been stuck at $972/1500 since last night and need your help to get the rest of the way! There's only TWO DAYS LEFT to back this project so now's the time, folks. www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...

Our big deal today is a smokin’ hot ebook sale because you are getting WAY more than two bucks’ worth of action in COYOTE RUN by @lilithsaintcrow.com. Grab it quick wherever you get ebooks and enjoy at your leisure!

I love washi tape. Guimauve loves washi tape. So my morning day planning inevitably ends up being all about Guimauve. …I’m okay with it.

Please don't let the fear of not doing something well stop you from trying it for the first time. Write a messy story. Paint a crappy flower. Whittle the worst wooden bear of all time. The best gift you can give yourself is to have fun and grow.

Come join the fun! Get your holiday shopping done! Fill up your book piles! STACK YOUR TBR PILE! Omg. So many books!

This is now available and Jenn and I wrote a super fun and sweet and chaotic story! Enjoy! 💖💖💖

A cunning plot, & an ancient green dragon, are revealed! Join the King's Citadel of @therisingtithes.bsky.social, @trendane.bsky.social, @jenniferbrozek.bsky.social, @mariebilodeau.bsky.social, & @jhelfers01.bsky.social at 7:30 p.m. ET in D&D w. I&B: Eberron--Oracle of War! www.twitch.tv/arvaneleron

I feel watched

Okay, because I need to try and re-spark some writing community joy after… *gestures at everything* how about a revisit on a way you can absolutely support authors you love for zero dollars: by dropping a low-stress, three-sentence review somewhere.

Congratulations to friend of the con @suyidavies.com for his 2025 Nommo Award win! Suyi's work is amazing and you should read all of it.

Psychopomp is one of the best publishing teams on the planet and I love being a part of it. They consistently put out amazing work. But most of all, they are such good people. Please support The Deadlands if you're able. We can't lose another. ❤️❤️

Our final Guest of Honour for 2026 will be author @chuckwendig.bsky.social! Chuck is a NYT bestselling author, writes games, comics, film and TV, and we are so excited that he will be joining us in the fall!

We are very excited to announced that our 2026 Agent Guest of Honour will be @hel-no-wai.bsky.social! Hana is a Literary Agent and Rights Manager at Cooke McDermid and a co-founder of BIPOC Publishing in Canada. We are super thrilled that Hana can join us next fall!

Let it never be said that Ottawa City Hall didn't stand firm for its boys club. 🔥💖🔥

Important 💖

Looking for something to curl up with this fall? Check out our newly released Augur Issue 8.2! ✨ Also, you can find 2 FREE samples on our site! 📚💫 🔗 Link in bio!

We are EXCITE to be able to announce our Guests of Honour for 2026 this week! First up is @tonialaird.bsky.social! tonia is a Michif writer from Treaty 6 who does video games, comics, an interactive novel, and her debut novel Seventhblade is forthcoming this summer from ECW Press.

Head on over and support this Canadian small press by clicking "NOTIFY ME ON LAUNCH" (right hand side of the pretty mushrooms). It won't be launching until 2026, but it helps ye ol' algorithm to smash the button. www.kickstarter.com/projects/tyc...

Happy Partially Muscled Skeleton Stands By The Perimeter Fence and Screams for Thirty Seconds Before Vanishing Day to all who celebrate

I have said this before in various contexts, and often include it when I teach classes & workshops: Submission Grinder is one of the best tools for writers out there. If you run a spec fic/fantasy (etc) mag make sure they know about you. thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com

Caretaking, writing, life... I don't know what I'm doing anymore, but I'm still doing it (which counts for a lot). 💖☕🤷‍♀️ www.mariebilodeau.com/blog/caretakingandwriting

Many of my books are in Kobo Plus. Check out a lovely non-exclusive reading sub! 💖

Happy Circulatory System Walking Through the Kitchen Day to all who celebrate

I started my day by tossing out 12k words that did not serve the story (even though I really wanted them to work). *rolls up sleeves* Look out, better words. I’m coming for you. 🏹