Tessera

Jon Sparks

@jonsparksauthor.bsky.social

After more than 30 years, and 60 books, as an outdoor writer and photographer, I’m now fully focused on fiction with the Shattered Moon series. AI-free (and I mean free).

3149 Posts1912 Follower 1809 Folgt

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 19h ago

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Twenty-nine Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian/Edwardian London

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Twenty-nine

Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian/Edwardian London

open.substack.com

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 19h ago

#WordWeavers 5/8: What object in your story has more significance than readers realise? Can’t honestly think of anything special. Is this a terrible failing in my story? #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 2d ago

#WIPSnips 4/8: #WIPSnips are from The Skilthorn Inheritance, Book 9 (and final) of The Shattered Moon. There are no instances of ‘box’ or close synonym’. One of ‘barrel’. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

She didn’t suppose Kirwaugh had ever seen more of a crowd in all its history. And how the refreshments had been managed would have been a mystery if she hadn’t learned that most had been brought from Skilthorn in carts packed with barrels of ice, every remaining space filled with straw. By design, nothing was hot; the kitchen range was sufficiently occupied keeping up with the demand for coffee.

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 2d ago

The #WIPSnips word for August 4th is "box" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
August 4 - box
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 2d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 4/8: Do you consider yourself a writer, an author, an artist, something else? Why? My usual description during my freelance career was ‘photographer and writer’. Now I’d say ‘photographer and writer’. I still use my own… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

The Shattered Moon

Now Available: The Principle of Detachment : Book Seven of The Shattered Moon I've migrated to a new web host and am still rebuilding the site. At this point it's fairly close to complete and...

jonsparksauthor.com

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 2d ago

#WordWeavers 4/8: Which supporting character keeps trying to steal the spotlight? An obvious one is Gafeira, sister of Kerriel (MC in Book 8). Turns out the only way to keep her from stealing every scene is to give her an MC role of her own, which… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 3d ago

#WIPSnips 3/8: #WIPSnips are from The Skilthorn Inheritance, Book 9 (and final) of The Shattered Moon. There is one instance of ‘thrill(ed)’. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

G’s face registered first astonishment, then delight. “I don’t mind saying, Wand, that’s the best news I’ve had in a long while. You’ve made your peace with Skilthorn—and with the redoubtable Countess?”
“With both Countesses,” he said in mild amendment. “You know Earl Hedric died?”
“One does occasionally find a few minutes to skim the pages of the Remarker.”
“So you know Jerya is Dowager Countess now, and Torvyn is Countess in her own right… and they have a declaration in my own hand that I unconditionally acknowledge them as such.”
“Well, this is a turn-up… though I shall say, about draffing time. Though I can’t imagine your mother being thrilled…”

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 3d ago

Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips! The word for August 3rd is "thrill" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
August 2 - thrill
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 3d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 3/8: Are your narrators a diegetic part of the world which they narrate? First, look up ‘diegetic’. Ah, I see… (Be honest, how many others had to look it up too?) Yes, I’m writing in 3rd person limited, so the story is what they see,… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 3d ago

Super useful. I figure a lot of us here in the Sky know this stuff already, but it might be handy to hand to parents, grandparents and pals who are less technically minded. www.librarian.net/NoToAI/

How to disable or avoid intrusive AI – librarian.net

librarian.net

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 3d ago

#WordWeavers 3/8: If your protagonist had a signature scent, what would it be? Not a scent Jerya carries with her, but one she’s always especially aware of: beeswax. It always takes her back to girlhood in Delven where looking after the hives was one of… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 4d ago

#WordWeavers 2/8: What's one scene you cut that you still think about? On the fairly rare occasions I cut a whole scene, I save it in a ‘spare parts’ file. Softens the pain at the time, but then I tend never to think about it again. So I… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 4d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 2/8: What’s the most challenging thing you've ever written? Every novel is challenging; that’s kind of the point. But the next one might be particularly so, because it’s bringing in lots of autobiographical elements. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 5d ago

#WIPSnips 1/8: #WIPSnips are from The Skilthorn Inheritance, Book 9 (and final) of The Shattered Moon. There is one instance of ‘coherence’. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

I’m not sure I do, he thought, and perhaps that would have been the best response. But he laid down his knife and fork, ran his hands over his face as if trying to massage ideas into coherence. “I think it’s best… it’s only fair to you that I say this as clearly as I can. Though how clear that is…" He tried for a smile. "Remains to be seen.
"Well, for reasons of a somewhat involved nature, every conversation I have had—every conversation with a member of your sex— for some time, a matter of months, has been… complicated. Until that day, in Drumlenn, when I spoke to you."

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 5d ago

The #WIPSnips word for August 1st is "coherent" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
August 1 - coherent
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 5d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 1/8: What are your goals for the month, writing-wise? Mostly to get Book 9 of The Shattered Moon into something nearer the right shape. And not to get too distracted by all the ideas that keep bubbling up for my next project. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 6d ago

#WIPSnips 31/7: #WIPSnips are from The Skilthorn Inheritance, Book 9 (and final) of The Shattered Moon. There are five instances of ‘twist/twisted’. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

She considered, doubtless weighing his sincerity. Well, every word he had said was perfectly true, if not the whole truth. “I’ll pass it on to Dortis. It’s up to her whether she wants to see you. She doesn’t exactly relish recalling those times.”
“But surely you can…” He arrested himself.
“Order her?” Railu gave a twisted kind of smile. “That’s not how we do things here. Clinical necessities aside, I don’t suppose I’ve given her an order in thirty years.”

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 6d ago

The #WIPSnips word for July 31st is "twist" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 31 - twist
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 6d ago

#WordWeavers 31/7: Does your MC have a role model they look up to? If so, who? Jerya hasn’t had anyone she could realistically see as a role model since she left the Guild of Dawnsingers. For those few months there were people like Yanil and… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 7d ago

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Twenty-eight Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian/Edwardian London.

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Twenty-eight

Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian/Edwardian London

open.substack.com

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 7d ago

#WIPSnips 30/7: #WIPSnips are from The Skilthorn Inheritance, Book 9 (and final) of The Shattered Moon. There are six instances of ‘relax/relaxed/relaxing’. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

More than that, Tegwen’s first-born, Manaili, was a Novice Dawnsinger; that was the reason she was in the city. Gone were the days when Novices were kept strictly apart from their families; the rules had been progressively relaxed, and monthly letters and annual visits were now commonplace.
Gafeira’s mind could not stay away from that thought. Tegwen was Jerya’s aunt, though much younger; and though she would confirm it once back in the Principalities, she’d never heard of a title passing back to a previous generation. It seemed much more likely that it was her older child who was next in line; and that child was a Novice, a couple of years away from Ordination.
A Dawnsinger and a Countess…?

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 7d ago

The #WIPSnips word for July 30th is "relax" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 30 - relax.
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 7d ago

#WordWeavers 30/7: Do the people close to you find your writing surprising? Excluding my partner, who’s very close to the whole process, I think so. I think A Study in Starlight (my Sherlock Holmes in space story) may particularly surprise some of them. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Iconic Sidney Paget image of Sherlock Holmes set against a starry background. Title A Study in Starlight and author’s name.

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · last wk.

#WIPSnips 29/7: #WIPSnips are from The Skilthorn Inheritance, Book 9 (and final) of The Shattered Moon. There are two instances of ‘century’. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

And if anyone had forgotten the 'wretched hole' reference, Astrick had reminded them almost the moment they’d entered: word for word if Gaf’s memory were any guide; "'By thunder,' said Lady Telfrid, 'This is a wretched hole.'"
Gaf supposed it was, but she’d been able to point out that it was considerably improved since the time of Telfrid and Numikès’s Crossing—or, since that was fiction, Sumyra and Vireddi’s. It was a quarter of a century ago, and the Crossing carried significantly more traffic now. There was a whole extra room now, built out lean-to style, used for storing excess gear, cooking, and so on, and a sheltered passage to the latrine, meaning that the original cave was used solely for sleeping; and the original entrance had been enlarged; it was still low, but you only needed to stoop, not to crawl.

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · last wk.

The #WIPSnips word for July 29th is "century" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 29 - century
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · last wk.

#WordWeavers 29/7: What’s your MC’s least favourite mode of transport? Jerya’s first experience of ocean sailing was most notable for ghastly seasickness. The return trip was better but she’s still not likely to try that again. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · last wk.

#WritersCoffeeClub 29/7: Is there something you want to write, but don't think you yet have the skill? I long ago accepted I can’t write poetry, so ‘want’ hardly applies. I’m not sure I could craft a really convoluted whodunnit—which is interesting… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · last wk.

#WIPSnips 28/7: #WIPSnips are from The Skilthorn Inheritance, Book 9 (and final) of The Shattered Moon. There are three instances of ‘assistant/assisting’. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

"To return to Railu," said G. "And Fulmer. There’s… history between them. You’ll have heard of the first Congress of Skilthorn…? Yes; well, they were both there; Fulmer was an assistant to the then head of Admin, Le’ast. Railu, at that time, was no longer a slave—rather, it had been recognised that she never had been, legally. You understand that? And she had, of course, trained as a Healer in the College of the Dawnsingers. As I said, hers is quite a story. However, as a female, she had no licence to practice or call herself Doctor in Denvirran, or anywhere in the Principalities. Clear so far?"

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · last wk.

The #WIPSnips word for July 28th is "assist" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 28 - assist
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner

Jan Jones @janjonesauthor.bsky.social · last wk.

I've signed! This is such a small-minded, stupid 'saving'. c.org/SpT7tq9tbt

Sign the Petition

SAVE JODRELL BANK – Protect a national treasure of science, heritage and inspiration

c.org

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · last wk.

#WritersCoffeeClub 28/7: What's something about your own work which needs some polish? Well, ‘polish’ obviously develops over successive iterations. By the time of publication, I honestly think it’s pretty well buffed up. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · last wk.

#WordWeavers 28/7: If you couldn't write, how would you tell your stories? Nightmare scenario! I don’t know, I hope I never have to find out. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · last wk.

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Twenty-seven Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian/Edwardian London

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Twenty-seven

Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian/Edwardian London

open.substack.com

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · last wk.

#WordWeavers 27/7: Have your MCs held onto any objects from their childhoods? Jerya had very few possessions as a child anyway, and her precipitate departure for the Dawnsingers’ College gave her no opportunity to take anything with her. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · last wk.

#WritersCoffeeClub 27/7: What's a writerly growing pain you're experiencing right now? I think it’s ageing pains I might need to worry about, not growing pains. Best thought of as experience, though. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 2w ago

#WIPSnips 26/7: #WIPSnips are from The Skilthorn Inheritance, Book 9 (and final) of The Shattered Moon. There are two instances of ‘lobby’. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

“Doctor…”
Railu turned. Just for a moment her face was blank. “You may not remember me…”
“No, I definitely do. You’re the one who arrived dripping in our lobby looking for Ricquell.”
“Having ridden three days in the wrong direction, and then having to face another five to the correct destination… “
“It was just your name I was struggling to recall.”
“Wandope of Ferrowby.”

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 2w ago

The #WIPSnips word for July 26th is "lobby" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
July 26 - lobby
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is dark blue with gold stars with a black background with neon blue border. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner. A different version of the same illustrated caticorn is curled up writing in the lower left corner

Jon Sparks @jonsparksauthor.bsky.social · 2w ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 26/7: Do you have other works waiting in the wings? How many? Yes, always. One in particular is starting to call for my attention but I’m trying hard to focus on finishing Book 9 of The Shattered Moon—and with it the series. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity