Top recent posts by Speculative Fiction Writers and Editors on Bluesky

Got my first bag of potato chips in months. Cracked it open. The first chip out of the bag was... soggy? The second chip was almost fungal. Baffled, I explored the bag and discovered AN ENTIRE POTATO. Unsliced, brined, like a wad of seasoning juice. It had survived, and now was juicing the chips.

I called the Herr's Product Quality Concerns line and reached a nice lady. She listened to my whole little saga. She waited, then said, "I bet you believe they're made from real potatoes now!" I may never recover.

I'm just going to point out that ICE is about 23 years old. It was formed as part of the response to 9/11 and was reactionary, performative, and racist from the start. Its not eternal. This is not a thousand-year Reich.

LLMs are spam generators. That is all. They're designed to generate plausibly human-like text well enough to pass a generic Turing Test. That's why people believe they're "intelligent". But really, all they are is spam generators. We have hit the spamularity.

We are quickly coming up on 50,000 whistles shipped so far in January, and I am just forever impressed by the passion of the folks who have joined forces with us! A reminder that if you know anyone who needs whistles, they can email the address at the top of our linktree! linktr.ee/3Dwhistles

If you're a writer, wondering why you should bother writing with the world on fire. It feels like it's not important, I need you to understand that it is. Even if it is just because it keeps you moving forward? Even if it only brings YOU joy, that gives you energy to fight & survive.

I'm fully confident literary magazines will survive the AI apocalypse. There is no better time to become a creative writer. You already have an inside track because most people have never even heard of these things that can never die. We will be here with the cockroaches and Taco Bell

Don't fight them. They want us to fight them. They want to troll us. They came over here because they're sad they can't taunt us. Nothing will make them more angry than becoming the most blocked account on this site and hearing the wind whistle by as we consign them to invisibility.

The baby is just such a BABY

I went on a ride along with Will today because I was trying to understand how a mobile patrol works. If you've ever fantasized about being either Spider-Man or Ned Leeds I would recommend going to Defend612 to volunteer. (Spider-Man: patrol. Ned Leeds: dispatch/notetaking/plate checks.)

And yet for all their obsession, not one journalist has ever come out here to rural Alabama and asked me (or any of the folks in the rural Black counties) about our helplessness at being controlled by the psychopathic white supremacist cult that has Alabama in a political death grip.

Man goes to a doctor. Doctor says go see the great clown Pagliacci. Man says, but Doctor, you went to medical school. I thought maybe you'd give me some medicine or something. What the fuck. See a clown? I am right now, Doctor!

I don’t know how many people in the Twin Cities were clutching pearls about OMG TRANS KIDS IN SPORTS but I hope they get a chance to reflect on shit that really matters.

Hanging out with sex workers is the Christian way. And visiting prisoners. And looking after the poor. And visiting people who are ill. And taking distressed strangers into your house. All of this is the Jesus way according to the scriptures. So I'm dubious when Christians are against these.

What if we closed our eyes and held hands and tried screaming in the hole together at the same time

The bodycam thing is so especially infuriating because we have all this stuff on camera! The guy who murdered Renee Good was actively filming while doing it. You already have the footage, step two is what do you do in response (show trials imo)

Kelpie has decided the best place to be is under my desk, on top of my feet. She is warm and safe and no one can perceive her. Same, Kelpie. Same.

If the democrats nominate a man who has advocated for the continuation of anti-transgender policies begun by the Trump admin I will not, in fact, vote for him. I will not vote for my own elimination. No one is an acceptable sacrifice.

If I want a bullshit unreliable response from a walking environmental catastrophe, I'll ask my teenage son.

Tech Billionaire Forced to Rename Humongous Yacht After Realizing It Spelled Something Horrible Backwards: https://futurism.com/future-society/larry-ellison-yacht-name (In other news, Larry Ellison: evil, stupid, or both?)

“I am not scared, and we will not be scared. We know our rights. We’re U.S. citizens and we’re going to continue to show up,” Halimo said. Amazing story.

So The sidewalks are not great out there Fuck ice

Okay, Bluesky, you’re always good for this. Is there a word in German or any other language for this specific anguish?

"Immortality and no need for retirement savings" = "We will work you to death forever"

It used to be said that the internet is for porn, but I think we have now conclusively proven that it's actually for gaslighting.

I'm in this picture and I don't like it

"use the full length of the platform" is not an instruction you can personally put into practice, unless you are an anaconda, in which case you should not be on the piccadilly line for other reasons

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out suddenly in relief and said 'Well thank cripes for a few minutes' less Nazi Bar.'"

Been trying this thing where if I can't tell a headline is real or satire, I take a quick walk, and if I still can't tell, I go take a nap, so I'm still confused about everything everywhere but at least I'm rested and have gotten some light exercise.

"The Regicide Report", final novel in The Laundry Files, comes out in 11 days time! Here's a brief snippet from Chapter One (see alt text) …

For what it’s worth I don’t use a gmail account and won’t be randomly contacting new authors enthusing about their books and giving them dodgy links to click on. There’s a new wave of author impersonation going round apparently.

Find what keeps you going.

This week I'm picking up the novel I started writing in October and then had to lay aside until now. It's SO HARD to get back into, but yesterday I wrote 500 words and today I wrote 1.000 and on Monday I am going to write 1.500. Putting this here so someone can hold me accountable.

I would like to be the writer in residence at my alma mater for one year. Not for the money, not for the line on my CV, but because they don't have a track record of letting genre writers have that position. 😢

What really scares me is that, in spite of everything Trump has done, somewhere between 25% and 40% of our wonderful fellow citizens still like his policies. In a while--with luck, rsn--they'll all pretend they hated him from the git-go.

US State Department threatening UK government for investigating Elon Musk's child pornography generating LLM, Grok: https://www.techdirt.com/2026/01/15/state-department-threatens-uk-over-grok-investigation-because-only-the-us-is-allowed-to-ban-foreign-apps/

Back in my day life didn't used to suck this much

Do a quick block on ICE on here.

1 in 4 Republicans being negative seems catastrophic for ICE to me. This is a group that has happily signed off on all manner of cruelty

For anyone out there who is printing the micro bitonal whistles, someone in our group had the brilliant idea of making a tray where you could fit an exact amount to count them, like they do with coins. So I made a tray to count 100 in sets of 25! makerworld.com/en/models/22...

Prediction: the media at the Saturday Parade of Racists will interview someone who claims to be from here but calls it "casserole" and doesn't know what a snow emergency is.

When you don’t know something about a people, you don’t have to therefore choose to believe the worst about them. That’s such a basic concept yet it’s amazing how many people need to hear and contemplate it.

Oh dear, how sad, never mind—

My novel about systematic evil & the need for regular people to team up & fight it is now available in the UK. Sadly, some themes never go out of style. THE DEVIL IN SILVER. With a gorgeous cover and a wonderful introduction from the great @sgj.bsky.social www.penguin.co.uk/books/476343...

Happy Appreciate a Dragon Day to all who celebrate! (Because I sure appreciate this guy and all his relatives…)

this is what we mean when we say that sexual assault is about power not sex you can see lots of lovely images of Anne Hathaway from her work, which she consented to and was paid for. but that does not fulfil the need because assault is about the desire to assert power, not sexual gratification.

Pretty happy I was able to take apart and fix the broken pellet stove at the Squirrel Ranch, but most important, I was able to not get any writing done for hours.

I get the reference! I get the reference! I LOVE the nose. www.etsy.com/listing/4441...

probs it is time for An Oral History Of Slash Fiction, of which I was an extremely minor part (it obvs did influence my novel Disobedience) in the *1980s* respected female-sexual-fantasy researcher Nancy Friday could still say she was not aware of *any* women who fantasised about two men together

If you don’t know what to say while living through the horrors, it’s okay. Boost the voices of your colleagues and peers that do. You can use your platform, even if words are failing you.

I'm trying to write up some information on dealing with an ICE invasion that's applicable in other states. In Minnesota, there are trainings for people to become constitutional observers. I'm not sure this exists everywhere else. Is there a virtual training people can do, or a video I can recommend?

incredibly fucking lovely news. Heated Rivalry is inspiring gay hockey players to come out in real life: www.out.com/gay-athletes... I very much perceive Heated Rivalry as the apotheosis of slash fiction, that I was into in my teens and 20s. I think this is what we wanted it to do.

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Books returned to the shelves upside down and back to front. Entire rows pushed to the back. Spines broken by casual browsers. Wet dogs leaning against paperbacks... All these moments will be lost in time like tears of a bookseller."

Time to shake my moneymaker! STONE MAD (Karen Memory Adventures #2) is currently $1.99 wherever fine U.S. Market ebooks are sold--and maybe overseas, I didn't check. :D www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/... www.amazon.com/Stone-Mad-Ka...

I just joined an online group called “Birds with Threatening Auras”. I have great expectations. 😆

Hey folks!!! One of our 3D printers is burning through filament at a bonkers rate and he's finally agreed to make a wishlist! If you want to send some filament his way, greatly appreciated! (that ovv3d dual color is one of my FAVORITES! I make the rainbow hexes out of the tricolor!)

Twenty more, then the other leg.

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 871: Don't be afraid to embrace the many things that make human beings interesting. Not all your characters need to be versions of you.

heads up, my darling crafters & authors & plotters! pencil us in for early July. we're coming back for a fourth adventure and we're gonna celebrate this country's 250th birthday our way. 💓

Reverend Missouri's out here giving a sermon on Friday like he doesn't have to save anything for Sunday.

Hey folks! If you missed the last chance, we have a printer who is going to run out of filament finishing their next run! If you'd like to help them make more whistles, there are some excellent color choices to chose from!!! www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...

Final day of our sale, and we should be okay now to get Donna her meds! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE! However if I can move $300 more worth of stuff here or on the ko-fi, I've told myself I'm getting another dedicated whistle printer. 💓

When the Nazis who want money start getting their yocks murdering women who haven't done anything, yeah, funding gets tougher. Funny how that works. They wouldn't deserve a red cent even if we still made those.

New #WriterBeware blog post: my annual look back at the topics the Writer Beware blog covered in 2025. Scams, of course, but also contracts, copyright, generative AI, and more. If you missed any of our posts last year, here's your chance to catch up writerbeware.blog/2026/01/16/b...

It is National Appreciate A Dragon Day. Appreciate her.

omg this is a genius film. It includes some of the funniest moments I have seen in years.

Okay, who wants me to call the Herr's Product Quality Concerns phone line?

They're fragile. They've never had to deal with adversity and they don't like it and like an abusive spouse or parent, the only way they know to deal with it is by escalating violence. We're tough. We got this far. And we can pay attention to two or even three things at once.

Good morning, Bluesky. The worst thing about meal-planning for the week is that it works so beautifully. I hate doing it, but I always love having done it. More in the alt text. Photo from three years ago.

my toxic tv-watching trait is refusing to suspend my disbelief about how jacked are characters who’re supposed to be starveling delinquents

Via neurowild (The reality is that the western world runs on a historical assumption that kids aren't people but property. We've made huge progresses but that assumption is still around)

Further Starfleet Academy ep1 thoughts: - there is a tonal faultline running through it - Paul Giammatti is so well dressed & having so much fun I can hold nothing against him - I appreciate Nahla Ake’s bisexual chair goblin ways & little else - I would die for soft birdwatching Klingon boy

Does anyone still sign into the THE BAD PLACE? Is it working? Because I signed in today, and everything was fine, and I tried to post this and it stopped working altogether. I may have a super power. If so, I promise to use it for good. (Kitty!)

Backstage again, at the same theater we started our first tour 12 years ago.

Which translates to: Le Belial is gonna publish my novella THE APOLOGISTS which first appeared in @clarkesworldmagazine.com We just finished inking the contracts and my longtime French collaborator Jean-Daniel Brèque will handle the translation. [Insert applause here]

My God! I went to high school with Warren Mastodon! Pretty nice guy. Never did know where he wound up.

just watched a ten-minute video that was supposed to teach me to distinguish crows from ravens, and the other way around. there were so many distinctions; I'm now more lost than ever. but? side-by-side, I think I can do it. one lone black bird on a wire, though? not much chance. still.

I would like Aubrey Plaza to read Someone You Can Build A Nest In.

Just need to find my red crayons

I got so caught up in all the amazing books, I forgot to remind you to stop working and go home via the bookshop! Fortunately, we're open for another half hour so you've still got time!

lol I have a four year old

Atrocity upon atrocity

My first guess, seeing pic but not text, was a very spare Zen garden.

CHEAP BOOK ALERT! If you're mad at billionaires and want some catharsis, it's perfect for that. A short, fun, brutal novella. Less than $2. You can't even get a coffee for that these days. Grab a copy! Send one to a friend! Spread the rage! Links: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763731...

Late, but it’s still #FridayReads time! Let’s share some books. Repost this and let us know what to repost for you. I’m sharing this one because it’s incredibly timely. Again. Hate what’s going on? Read this. Trust me. Now share what you love! www.amazon.com/Coyote-Songs...

A nice review of DEATH OF THE AUTHOR in India’s largest and most widely read English-language business newspaper: "This genre-defying quality positions Death of the Author not just as a work of science fiction or literary fiction, but as a testament to the evolving possibilities of narrative form."

This motherfucker is gonna try to conquer Narnia, take control of Macondo’s oil, and threaten to send ICE to Derry before we see those files…

Classically, private events are done on a fully lit television studio with a filming setup in front of them

Hi #TheTraitors fans! Fellow Traitors fan here just want to say... *deep breath* none of us would be any good as faithfuls!!! The faithfuls aren't uniquely stupid. The sad fact is we ALL suck at spotting deception! We just all think we'd be good at it! That's the point!!!

Is a tiny giant squid not enough for you? How about a giant giant squid??? The photo doesn't quite capture the magical rainbow iridescence of the sealant I used, it's amazing. thebrokencircle.etsy...

Injecting some whimsical fantasy vibes into your Friday 💫

The great Clarence Darrow line keeps occurring to me… "I've never wished a man dead, but I have read many an obituary with great pleasure.” (This is yet another quote often given to Mark Twain.)

I have to count all these people but I’m wearing mittens please help What on EARTH

I'm gonna need @robinmarty.com to follow up on this because this sounds fake?!? Where do they think the robots are doing these? In our expansive well-funded rural hospitals that just don't have any doctors?

Painful week working on, effectively, polishing the same two chapters, but they do get better every time. And on this morning's pass I discovered they don't read books in this world, they absorb the knowledge into their bodies thru fungal symbiotes... so wow ok that was a good week's work afterall 😆

I've always been a big fan of Hugh Cook, whose Chronicles of the Age of Darkness were some of the weirdest fantasy works of the 80s. There's a new edition of his 10 book series coming out at the end of the month (I think ebook first, print later) and the

I wonder if people think I'm joking when I say I have like 9 or 10 closer to me than the nearest decent grocery store but it is fucking LITERAL

The joy Bluesky is getting out of this is ABSOLUTELY worth the six bucks and no edible chips.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I need this www.toftuk.com/pd.aspx?prod...

you should always answer this question! once I QTd someone asking this question with saying I wanted someone to do a podcast about my series, and then someone did a podcast about my series! MANIFEST YOUR DREAMS!!! I hope Micah is nominated for a Lammy! 💓