Charlotte Ashley
@charlotteashley.bsky.social
Writer, bookseller, cafe owner, bibliophile, darkness-kicker, mild maniac, mother, iconoclast. Owner/operator of Trident Booksellers & Cafe, Halifax www.once-and-future.com Monsters are friends.
We're having a busy autumn of fantastic releases! Coming next month: RISE FROM THESE DARK WATERS by @mmdaviesostrom.bsky.social. Illustrated by @tomsbrown.bsky.social. Thank you @cgolden.bsky.social for this generous praise. Pre-order wherever you get your books.
Book launch at @writersfedofns.bsky.social! Thanks @charlotteashley.bsky.social for intro! I gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and The Writers Union of Canada. So grateful to everyone who came out. My heart is very full. #BookSky #BringingTheArtsToLife
Every time I read an article like this they will be like "The markets have been stable for 25 months..." and I'm like, what? They crashed two years ago? I had no idea. I wish they'd report this as: The Markets Might Crash: Here Is How That Might Impact You, An Adult With No Investments
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 3d agoAre global stock markets heading for a crash?
they literally can't, it's illegal collusion for a.i. companies to agree to limit competition between each other
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.Mike Johnson on OpenAI and Anthropic: "They can self-police. They can self-regulate."
Canada Post stopping parcel delivery to some EU countries | CBC News
Canada Post says it is suspending service to some European Union countries over new customs rules for low-value shipments, saying it's not accepting parcels destined for a dozen countries until furthe...
cbc.ca
Charlotte Ashley@charlotteashley.bsky.social · 2w agoTIL that Canada Post *literally can't* ship packages to France and a host of other European countries because of import tax issues. They told me to use UPS. So I guess we're just abandoning that public service, huh.
TIL that Canada Post *literally can't* ship packages to France and a host of other European countries because of import tax issues. They told me to use UPS. So I guess we're just abandoning that public service, huh.
Dear World, I need a lil sumthun today. Make it happen. <3 Charlotte
Fun fact: If you hire @addi.social for your book covers, he also helps you troubleshoot your shopping cart.
It's September, which means I have a new novel out this month! As early as Sept. 8 or as late as Sept. 22, depending on country and format (it's in ebook, paperback and audio read by Maria Nicola Johnson). The court of Catherine de' Medici, with ... vampires (I am making the spooky hands).
The Swordmaster
Coming September 2026 (the exactly dates within that month vary slightly by country.) 304 pages. Published by Rebellion, in ebook, paperback and audiobook narrated by Maria Nicola Johnson. This is th...
kateheartfield.com
The 2026 Hugo Award for Best Novella goes to The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom; Arcadia UK).
Most relateable moment in all of media history
The Last Unicorn: How Dare You?
Alt: The Last Unicorn screenshow: How Dare You come to me now when I am THIS?
static.klipy.com
GERALT: Hhh. Seven Monster cans. Empty. And a diet Dr Pepper. If you're lucky, you've got a pack of small gamers. VILLAGE HEADSMAN: And...and if we're not lucky? GERALT: One really big one.
Screamer Jim@screamerjim.bsky.social · 2y ago*finger to the air* a turn up god stood here
We've got a book for that! Interested in reading the real story of Lake Ontario? Daniel Macfarlane, associate professor at Western Michigan University, has written the authoritative history of the use and abuse of Lake Ontario. Read it now! #LakeOntario #researchthatmatters buff.ly/woiwybh
Gen Alpha tentatively approaching Bluesky because Insta will go dark at nighty-night soon
Today a fly flew into my shandy so I held his little head under beer until he drowned, removed him with my chopsticks, and continued my meal. Half an hour later, he got up and tried to fly away. -.- AMA
Folks, I am in dire straits because of disability agency cutting me off (again) and less $ from diff med leave. If you're able to boost the signal, or are in a position to send coins, please consider so I won't have to move back with ab-us-ers 🙏🏻 gofund.me/e9deece80
Donate to Help Eva Stay Safely Housed, organized by Eva Roslin
Hi everyone, I need help to keep paying the rent and not be forced to move back into an ab… Eva Roslin needs your support for Help Eva Stay Safely Housed
gofund.me
say what you will about the myriad valid concerns with current LLMs but I personally will never get over the fact that Aaron Swartz was prosecuted to his literal death for downloading JSTOR and then a decade later, they downloaded & ingested the entire world and our IP laws just went ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
25 days til release! 💙📚 #BookSky #PrideAndPrejudice #ButInSpace 🪐📚 USA: bookshop.org/a/96356/9781... or Canada: www.indiebookstores.ca/book/9781834... (click “shop local”) or see my linktree.
I am friendly with a lot of difficult people. They are difficult in a lot of different ways, and some are more difficult than others. Most of them aren't actually difficult: other people are just intolerant and lazy and mean. But some can be a genuine challenge sometimes.
Hey, if I memorize a book and go on tour and recite the book from memory to paying audiences, is that allowed? I know I can memorize a song snd perform it peffectly legally--I just can't record it. But how does that work with books?
Charlotte Ashley@charlotteashley.bsky.social · last mo.Great reporting. Fwiw, I am not precious about book destruction--Project Gutenberg did the same, remember. "Rare" doesn't mean "not available anywhere else." There are lots of other copies. But are these books under copyright? Is anyone checking? These AI companies need to be paying royalties.
Technically, they’re Remains now.
Mark Chadbourn@chadbourn.bsky.social · 3mo agoA fifth of Leave voters have died.
Great reporting. Fwiw, I am not precious about book destruction--Project Gutenberg did the same, remember. "Rare" doesn't mean "not available anywhere else." There are lots of other copies. But are these books under copyright? Is anyone checking? These AI companies need to be paying royalties.
Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · last mo.New from 404 Media: we solved which AI company is buying massive shipments of rare books, scanning and destroying them to train AI. We put an Apple AirTag in a rare book, followed it. It ended up at an Amazon facility. Its logo is a dinosaur ripping through a book www.404media.co/we-tracked-a...
“Rare” is a nebulous term even in special collections libraries, but very few if any of the books being scanned for ai would meet even a very generous library standard of “rare” (this is not an endorsement of ai companies)
Irontuna@irontuna.bsky.social · 2mo ago“Rare” in the sense of numerically uncommon, not in the important/valuable sense —a special collections librarian
Open submission and see what genius lands in my inbox. Enjoy several months of astounding pitch sessions. Break my heart having to pick just one.
☀️ Starshine@starshine.bsky.social · last mo.youve got 5.6 billion to make a 7 season 56 episode show airing over 15 years, wdyd
When worlds collide, we don't miss a chance to rep out booth. So here we are at day 1 of When Words Collide in Calgary! If you're around, come say hi and learn more about our bid to host Worldcon in Edmonton in 2030.
