So I signed up for Royal Road. I have no idea how it’ll go, but I’m hoping I can get some good feedback and momentum. If you want to follow along, I’m posting a chapter every M/W/F through mid-October, at which point the entire book will be available: www.royalroad.com/fiction/1854...

The Tale of Twoshirts

The Tale of Twoshirts is the debut novel in a 5-book fantasy series aimed at tweens, teens, young adults, and the young-at-heart. Twoshirts is an orphan goblin boy that befriended a genie, and wished ...

royalroad.com

Did you know that while Tom Dowd was famously a recording engineer & producer for hits like Derek and the Dominos' "Layla" and artists like Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, and Diana Ross, he worked as a physicist at the Manhattan Project back in 1945? Sadly, he died 8,647 days ago, in 2002.

Did you know that Sidney Paget (the illustrator who gave Sherlock Holmes his iconic deerstalker hat) was born on October 4, 1860, exactly 8,647 weeks ago today? Some think he only got the job because the commission letter, sent to his brother Walter, was incorrectly delivered to Sidney instead!

Did you know that Dora Bakoyannis made history when she was elected Mayor of Athens on October 20, 2002, becoming the first woman to lead the city in its 3,500-year history, exactly 8,647 days ago? She won with the largest margin in the city's history, and went on to oversee the 2004 Olympic Games.

We lost our elder family dog today, Poppy. Poppy went with us to Luxembourg when she was only about 2 years old, and when she started getting sick a few months later, we learned she had a disease called Addison’s, which – trust me – is hard to communicate in French.

As history gazes back at Bezos, he'll forever be remembered for obsequiously bankrolling (and promoting!) a movie, directed by a guy in the Epstein files, about a softcore p*rn actress who's in the Epstein files, who married a guy in the Epstein files, who's still not released the Epstein files.

The ICE officer murdered Renee Good. Read www.shawbransford.com/supreme-cour.... The totality of the circumstances - not the immediate threat - must be considered when using deadly force.

Well, crap. I took classes in Barus & Holley. My heart breaks for everyone on Brown's campus. I hate that this is normal.

#TheTaleofTwoshirts now has a dedicated page on my website, arneknudson.com/twoshirts - please check it out, leave a like, leave a comment, any feedback or engagement helps! Even if you don't like the book, you can still look at the pretty pictures I took with my telescope from my back yard.

Space on the back porch

Stars, nebulae, galaxies, and more

arneknudson.com

#hopepunk #Q #YA #NA #F Pitch for #hopepit: #TheTaleofTwoshirts asks: what happens when the loathsome lordling learns that the one granting wishes isn’t the genie he captured, but his friend, the little goblin boy?

Snippet 3: [1/2] (see you tomorrow!) #TheTaleofTwoshirts #hopepit #hopepunk #Q #YA #NA #F Sputtering dust and cursing, the guard started to get up, but Mr. McCoy put his hand out, gesturing for him to stop. In a low, fearsome growl that astonished Twoshirts in its quiet ferocity, Mr. McCoy said,

Snippet 2: [1/2] #TheTaleofTwoshirts #hopepit #hopepunk #Q #YA #NA #F “The speech says to ‘exit the area in an organized fashion,’ but honestly, if there’s apocalyptic hellfire raining down, just skedaddle on out of there, quick as you can. Don’t bother with ‘utmost care’, just run.”

Snippet 1: (I'll post 3 today) [1/2] #TheTaleofTwoshirts #hopepit #hopepunk #Q #YA #NA #F “You know how weird that sounds, right? Goblin boy, owns nothin’ but a backpack and a pair of busted sandals, living in an abandoned kitchen with a bunch of orphans, and you’ve met a princess.”

Boggle, as drawn by my eldest kid (they/them). A surly-looking hunched-back goldfish, about eight inches tall, with stumpy arms and legs, tiny angel wings, and a backpack. He rarely expresses an emotion other than dour piscine confusion. #TheTaleofTwoshirts #hopepit #hopepunk #Q #YA #NA #F

Books that inspired me over the years: Any of the Wee Free Men books by Pratchett How to Train Your Dragon by Cowell The Princess Bride by Goldman The MUTTS comics by McDonnell #hopepit #hopepunk #TheTaleofTwoshirts

#TheTaleofTwoshirts Twoshirts (goblin boy) Boggle (genie, invisible dour goldfish) Buds: Puffer, Any, Angie, Zig, & Zug Bads: Münch & the woman in black Prob: They got Boggle Fix: Your magic, my plans, and a one-armed guard? This is gonna be awesome. Humorous cozy fantasy #Questpit #Q #YA #NA #F

The Tale of Twoshirts is a humorous cozy fantasy about a goblin boy who befriended a genie and wished he could grant wishes. Shenanigans ensue when a new friend makes an accidental wish, and mysterious woman in black captures the genie. #Questpit #Q #YA #NA #F #TheTaleofTwoshirts

[1/4] I'm Arne! I'm a humorous fantasy and scifi author for kids & kids-at-heart. I favor rich, diverse characters and deep worldbuilding, creating a space for everyone to fairly ask tough questions like how to be happy, or how we can be our better selves. #hopepit #hopepunk #TheTaleofTwoshirts #Q

"If we had a contingency fund." You mean like this contingency fund the Trump Administration just deleted off their website? The one they are legally required to use to keep SNAP funded? www.notus.org/trump-white-...

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 10mo ago

BASH: You all found ways to pay the military and WIC. But why are you drawing the line now on 40 million Americans who literally will not be able to eat with govt assistance? MIKE JOHNSON: If we had a contingency fund we could use, that would be done. BASH: They say that's not what the law shows

Over on Whatever, I offer some thoughts on the new "Grokipedia," through the lens of the article it has up about... me. (Spoiler, it's not great, for the reasons you probably suspect) whatever.scalzi.com/2025/10/30/a...

A Review of Grokipedia, Using Myself as Test Subject

What? You didn’t know that Grokipedia exists? Well, it does, and it’s Elon Musk’s attempt to run Wikipedia out of town on a rail: An “AI”-generated compendium of infor…

whatever.scalzi.com

Someone once described my style as "Mr. Rogers goes to Mordor." The Tale of Twoshirts is about a goblin boy who befriended a genie and wished he could grant wishes. The fun happens when a new friend makes an accidental wish, and an annoying lordling captures the genie. #Ghostpit #YA #NA #Q

@legaleagle.tv I'm hoping you or Liz will have a piece about how, this past Friday, the 9th circuit stayed its previous stay regarding deployment of federal troops because ... (checks notes) ... the DoJ lied to the court. lawandcrime.com/high-profile...

9th Circuit reverses victory for Trump admin in National Guard case after feds get caught lying

By Friday, the full 9th Circuit administratively stayed the panel's own stay – "[w]ithout objection from the panel."

lawandcrime.com

So once the Orange Cheat-o announced he was tearing down the East Wing, what's your guess as to how many foreign intelligence agencies started infiltrating construction, electrical, and HVAC companies? www.nytimes.com/1964/05/20/a...

In Moscow, Walls Have Ears(40); U.S. Embassy Finds Microphones After Demolishing Room (Published 1964)

nytimes.com

Got out the telescope last night and got an few excellent photos of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon).

The Tale of Twoshirts, book two, full first draft, done. Not sure on the title yet, and probably won't publicize it, since it's a bit of a spoiler for the end of book one. Still working on finding an agent and eventually a publisher, but it feels great! Time for bed.

Brown (ever true!) finally stood up to Trump. Academic freedom, independence, and diversity are critical to resisting fascist agendas. The rejected compact limits enrollment by international students and forces strict definitions of gender. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u... #brownriseup #nokings

Brown University Rejects White House Deal for Special Treatment

nytimes.com

Achievement unlocked: this past weekend I submitted query letters to my first batch of potential agents for book 1. Now we wait... (and finish writing book 2 of #TheTaleOfTwoshirts!)

SCOOP / UPDATE — Disney saw more than 1.7 million total paid streaming cancelations during the period 9/17-9/23, a Disney source confirms to me. The total includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN.

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social · 11mo ago

NEW — I wrote about my confirmed scoop from last night that Disney hastened Kimmel's return because of a planned Disney+ streaming price increase announcement coming on Tuesday:

Twoshirts (goblin boy): Think you can still hit it? Puffer (teenage ogre): <throws the barrel of olive oil> <explodes on the deck of the ship> <flames spread> Angie (human girl): Nice throw. Puffer: Thanks. #TheTaleOfTwoshirts, aka Mr. Rogers goes to Mordor. #unhingedpit #F #MG #YA #Q #cozyfantasy

Yep, cancelled my Disney+ / Hulu account today. #BoycottDisney #BoycottABCNetwork -- anyone know how we can boycott or otherwise hose Nexstar and Tegna?