Finally my PhD thesis is submitted! After 8 years of tribulation and hardship. To all those who have had similar experiences, and also to @nataljastgermain.bsky.social, utmost respect! Soon I will get back to querying Bunika! But first, some decompression [and the viva]! Have a good night, all! 🍻 🖤

Due to recent changes in the UK law [the "Online Safety Act"] my DMs are locked behind mandatory photographic ID / debit card verification. Since I refuse to do this I have no DM access. Please email me if you want to get in touch privately! My details are in my profile info 🖤🦇🖤

A much-needed update from the Bunika camp! Things have been busy here recently; how other areas of life do like to distract us! Here are a few things that have been going on of late: www.bunikanovel.com/post/still-h... #gothic #vampire #morningcoffee #writingcommunity #writesky #amquerying #art

Still here... still hungry!

It's been nearly a year since I made an update to this development blog, but now absolutely feels like the right time for a new one, so why wait? At the moment I am in the midst of other work commitme...

bunikanovel.com

RIP Ozzy you absolute legend. Thank you for everything 🖤

Apologies for being quiet, I have been mostly focusing on academic work - though Bunika is still ongoing! 🖤 A question for those in the know: a beta reader has very kindly offered to query on my behalf during my thesis write-up. Is this acceptable in the industry as long as there is transparency? 📖

Happy world goth day! 🖤🦇🖤 #WorldGothDay #GothSky

Buda Castle Labyrinth - 1/🦇 Far underneath Buda Castle in Hungary lies its disorientating Labyrinth. A confounding network of dark tunnels and dead ends, Vlad Tepes was imprisoned here in 1462 and kept within it for an agonising 12 years. Photo: my own, Feb 2025.

I'm starting to think I'm one of the only people in existence to have Batalion D'amour's "Niya" album... even as mp3. It's one of the most beautiful examples of female-fronted Gothic rock I've ever heard. It's not on Spotify. Some of it is on YouTube. If you can find any of it... please listen! 🖤

The Church of St Elizabeth of Hungary [Kostol svätej Alžbety] Bratislava, Feb 2025. Also known as "The Blue Church", it was finished in 1913 in an art nouveau, fantasy-esque style. The empire fell only five years later, in 1918, the church a fairy-tale reminder of its final days 🏰 #photography

Trinitarian church, Bratislava, Feb 2025 🇸🇰 This is the full raw shot since adapting it in GIMP distorts the details! This is as far into the church as I was allowed. Built in 1717, five years after Bunika, the church follows the Baroque style of Vienna which was becoming so popular ⛪ #photography

The beautiful model on @gothicbeautymag.bsky.social #57 reminded me so much of Marika from Bunika 🇸🇰 So I created this fictional 18th C 'Slovak Beauty' cover which DOES feature her! [I contacted the magazine with no response, oh well:)] This is a creative tribute, no commercial intent! 1/2

Crypt, St Martin's Cathedral, Bratislava. Feb 2025. This shot, taken in total darkness, was done using a 3 second exposure and night vision. Unguided, I was the only one there during my visit. Built over an old cemetery, this is one of three crypts the cathedral has. #photography #gothic

Mural, Bratislava, Feb 2025. It's tempting to post all my street photography as raw images, uncropped and unprocessed, but that probably won't happen! However, in this case it has. Difficult composition because of the size and angle of the thing - but it's beautiful art. #urban #photography

"House of God, Hall of Heaven". Left entrance arch, St Stephen's Basilica, Budapest. The church, built in 1851, was constructed in honour of Hungary's first king [c. 975-1038]. Originally built in a neoclassical style, it took 50 years to complete and was neo-renaissance in format by its finish.

I am back from the castles, crypts and cathedrals of Slovakia and Hungary 🇭🇺 🇸🇰 I'm overwhelmed with all the information I've gathered and emotional for having had to leave! I've got a LOT of research material and a lot to share 🖤 Pic: ceremonial keys to Bratislava city, 18th C. City Museum 🏰

Thank you to anyone who voted in the draw a few days ago for @batconservation.bsky.social - You'll be delighted to know they won £5,000 towards their efforts for bat conservation as a result! 🖤🦇🖤 What wonderful news! Have a great day, all 🖤

I'm back in Bratislava for more Bunika research so here is one of many forthcoming pictures! This is the river Váh in Slovakia near the small town of Šaľa. A tributary of the Danube, Váh is the longest river in the country 🇸🇰 Pic my own, Feb 2025. Taken from a moving train 🖤 #gothic #photography

Like bats?? I do! And I'm a member at @batconservation.bsky.social 🦇 If you click the below link and vote for the Bat Conservation Trust, they could win £5k! And who wouldn't want to give bats more help! 🖤 Sorry for being quiet! I'll be back tomorrow 🇭🇺 animal.movementforgood.com/index.php?cn...

So wonderful to see @gothicbeautymag.bsky.social on BlueSky!! Please follow 🦇 ❄️🖤❄️

Gothic Beauty Magazine@gothicbeautymag.bsky.social · last yr.

Gothic Beauty Magazine 57 is out! Print edition at zinetastic.com/product/goth... or use secret code gb57love on the digital edition zinetastic.com/product/goth... to get as a GIFT from #GothicBeauty or you can order the #GothicBeautyBox 57 zinetastic.com/product/goth... which includes mag and more.

y’all i missed #MSWL day! can i do it tomorrow?! 🫠

I absolutely did NOT realise that it was #MSWL Day yesterday! I will be pinging off a load of queries tonight for agents hungry for horror, Gothic fiction, historical and LGBT fiction with Bunika! 🏳️‍🌈♀️ Looking forward to it 🖤🦇🖤 #writingcommunity #writesky #amquerying

Cryptwork: Benediction in marble, Kensal Green Cemetery, London. The cemetery was inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, and opened in 1833. I visited Père Lachaise in 2013 and took a load of shots, which I haven't looked at since. Maybe one day I'll post them here 🖤 #gothic #gothicadvent

When a cult-driven murder-spree hits an 80s Midwest PTA, Janet puts her true crime obsession to work. Alongside her misfit mom friends—a writer, a goth, & a sickly sweet PTA matriarch—Janet must uncover the real monster hiding in town, before it claims them all. #questpit #H #AG

GATSBY X KNIVES OUT In 1929 Chicago, a math genius living in a crime syndicate’s luxury hotel allies with an investigative duo to solve a series of murders, while secretly pursuing revenge. 🏳️‍🌈 #ownvoices ☠️campy & dark 🃏found family, violent women, speakeasies & more #questpit #Q #NA #A #HF #MY #T

Cece is a 17-year-old mercenary who has been hopping from planet to planet since her parents disappeared five years ago. When information reaches her that her parents may still be alive, she sets out on her biggest adventure to rescue them. #QuestPit #SFF #SF #YA #W

A teen in a toxic relationship gives her voice up to a sea witch to escape and the sea witch uses her voice to unleash monsters on the world. She must get her voice back to save the world, but doing so means returning to her old life… #questpit #p #yafantasy

Happy Place (but gay) x Emily Wilde In a town wrapped in fairylore, a group of roommates discover stories of fairies stealing people away in the night aren’t what they seem as they begin to suspect their romantic partners might be more legend than human 🧚🏼 #QuestPit #W #A #F #R

BLUE SISTERS X THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GREY When the charred remains of model Gracie Green are recovered from a fire at her Brighton flat, a framed picture of Gracie, untouched by the flames at her side, the police suspect foul play & turn to Gracie's sister Faith for answers. #questpit #WIP #A #M