"Pan's Gaze" by Chris Clemens is free to read today! www.patreon.com/post...

Today in "Why Do I Do This to Myself?": making the murder victim in my new book a "fiancée," which means I have to use the $^#&@%& accent symbol the whole time or be driven editorially insane! #writingcommunity #formercopyeditor #why

When thoughts turn to Spring and also to writing a book that is intensely unsettling but in a good way

Being a writer and a parent is just continually being Robin Williams in the big restaurant scene from Mrs. Doubtfire.

At that phase of my "writing journey" where I want publishing podcasts on an IV drip . . . #WritingCommunity

Fine, I'll admit it! I love beta reading because it makes me feel fancy and important. There, I said it!

It looks like I've gotten lots of new followers lately, so I'll (re)introduce myself! I'm an agented thriller/horror author who writes "science gone wrong" stories with messy relationships at their core. 🧵 (1/3?)

I keep meaning to post writing stuff on here because, uh, "building my brand" or something. . . . But now all I can think about is Cory Booker.

I may be tired and a little hoarse, but as I said again and again on the Senate floor, this is a moment where we cannot afford to be silent, when we must speak up.

BREAKING: Sen. Booker breaks record for longest Senate speech in history. WATCH LIVE NOW: www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Nf...

Anyone who spends time with me in person knows that 50% of my casual wardrobe is band T-shirts (Mountain Goats, Indigo Girls . . .). Conveniently, just as these tired, years-old threads are starting to fall apart in the wash, both bands are going on tour near me this summer. Thanks, merch gods!

Voted for Trump, now have buyer’s remorse? The Trump philosophy seems to be his version of FAFO. Don’t buy anything on the 28th unless you absolutely have to. #Resist

STATION ELEVEN x post-covid WALKING DEAD Far-right extremist zombies, a hot dentist, and a love triangle take on the end of the world in the Black Hills. Bites, bisexuals, and a busted bunker, oh my! 🧟 🏳️‍🌈 🔪 🩸 🔥 🫶🏻 #questpit #NA #horror

Sometimes I think about Stephen King's "The Jaunt" just to upset myself, before promptly suppressing the memory of it again. What's *your* emotional masochism literature?

You know that thing where it's winter and you have lots of little cuts on your hands because of exposure to cold outside and dry radiator heat inside, but the act of opening Band-Aid wrappers actually makes the cuts worse so you need more Band-Aids? Didn't Robert Frost write a poem about that?

booking update: i have one last website and branding design spot for the first half of 2025 available!

I don't really follow sports. I get my exhilaration from finding out my writer friends got full requests.

Definitely an interesting listen, especially for those of us in the #writingcommunity who want to sell books but aren't loving the social media landscape!

Here’s a recent personal illustration of mine - a young witch doing some cozy spell casting before bed. #witchart

Same pitch, revised MS! I queried too early. So if you've seen this before, agents, why not take another look? She's sweet, spooky, and telenovela style dramatic. 😘 #P2Ppit #a #q #secondchances

A southern inheritance is always dark—whether it's a penchant for pills, a blood-soaked family farm, or an ancient magic. Sierra spurns them all, but when her dad disappears, she must choose which monsters to slay, and which to become. #P2Ppit #Q #YA #H #T #LGBT

STATION ELEVEN x post-covid WALKING DEAD Far-right extremist zombies, a hot dentist, and a love triangle take on the end of the world in the Black Hills. Bites, bisexuals, and a busted bunker, oh my! 🧟 🏳️‍🌈 🔪 🩸 🔥 🫶🏻 #P2Ppit #NA #H

I'm so beyond excited to share that I've signed with Claire Friedman at InkWell Management! She totally gets what I'm trying to do with my freaky thriller, and I can't wait to dive into all the hard work that comes next!

Um, why isn't this on my shelf right now!?!?

If I ever write a parenting memoir, it's going to be called UNSPECIFIED LIQUIDS.

Me: I'm supposed to be finishing a first draft of my next sci-fi novel. My brain: why don't you take a peek at those horror short stories for the compilation you want to put together? (I currently have 18 stories at various stages of completeness.) #writesky #horror #writingcommunity

(1) Had an idea for a freaky novel. (2) Got impatient and wrote it as 10k-word short fiction. (3) Got positive beta feedback but was told I crammed too much into the story. (4) Realized there's a reason I haven't submitted it anywhere. (5) Decided it has to be a freaky novel after all. THE END.

Wishing you a (pick one): -Better New Year -Surprisingly Good New Year -Happy New Year! -Other

Need to briefly interview a psychiatrist or psychologist. Any of you do either for a living? Happy to send a signed book or a box of books for your help! Hah.

I finally started actually reading, as opposed to watching, SLOW HORSES by Mick Herron. So far, excellent!

Ahh, that magical time of year when I remember I'm terrible at drawing Christmas trees!

Anyone else super-excited that another season of SEVERANCE is almost upon us? (And if you didn't know, consider this a PSA!)

1914 Mexico: A revolutionary soldadera with a vendetta infiltrates a camp of Federales. But when a suspicious captain gets too close and supernatural forces align, she must decide: protect her heart or her mission? #WIPPIT #WIP #speculativeromance

On the subject of pitches, @rowanbrightonbrown.bsky.social has some great tips!

🦷White Trash Witchcraft🕸️ Southern inheritances are always dark—whether its a penchant for pills, a blood-soaked family farm, or an ancient magic. Sierra spurns them all, but when her dad disappears, she must chose which monsters to slay, and which to become. #WIPPit #YA #H #FWB

Someone just posted a tip about writing "-ai" (sans quotation marks) into the Google search bar to avoid the AI answer at the top. I hope typing that becomes a nervous tic for me, because I tell ya, the wave of nostalgia and relief when the top hit is actually a link . . . 👩‍🍳💋

WHOM DO I NEED TO FOLLOW TO GET MORE #WRITINGCOMMUNITY CONTENT ON HERE?!?!?

Who says fresh pitches require pitch events? Here's a fun one, folks!

Developing stronger "elevator pitches" for the novels I #amquerying has been a game-changer. Being helpful is my favorite distraction, so comment here if you're querying (especially mysteries/thrillers) and want fresh eyes on your 1-2 sentence pitch! I'll get to as many as I can. #writingcommunity

A secret party. A raging storm. A dead crypto heiress. Max crashes an elite college party, only to be found standing over the body of the campus it-girl—looking like her killer. Now, trapped by the storm, he has only one night to clear his name. Favorite🎄Song: Let it Snow #CheerPit #A #T #M

Made a new starter pack! Just nice writers or authors. Anyone who tries to have a good social media presence while also writing of some kind. If I missed anyone please let me know!

Took a meandering, wintry walk to the cafe. Somewhere by the frozen duck pond, I had a revision-planning breakthrough. Now it's just pen to paper, baby!

Ahh, nothing like the Gone Girl movie soundtrack (Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross) to keep me alert for this weekend's marathon revision-planning sesh! #amrevising

This is so niche, but: #writingcommunity, what's your favorite device for doing beta reads of other folks' stuff? Laptop? Phone using some cool app for making comments? Tablet? I need a better system . . .

Actual screenshot of my querying inbox right now:

@rowanbrightonbrown.bsky.social gave me a (free!) query critique a little while back that truly helped me better understand my own novel. I'm so glad you're here, Rowan--you do so much for other writers!!

Welcome!!

A disappearance. A drug scandal at the kids’ elite school. A body in the bay. For Mark, being a single dad with a wife in rehab is hard enough, without also having to play overgrown Hardy Boys with his father-in-law. But if they can't work together, a killer may strike again. #MiseryPit #CM #A

Good Housekeeping x Cold War x Agatha Christie In 1961, Peggy and Betty create a perfect home life for their families while secretly battling hate groups in Nashville. When falsely accused of murder, they must uncover the real enemy to save themselves. #A #HM #COT #WIP #MiseryPit