Noticing some folks seem to think writers just say clever things without understanding how the world works, as if we're all naifs who just happen to be good with words instead of people with formal educations and a professional interest verging on requirement in the ability to conduct research

I mean... Relatable.

Pixie Casey@pixiecasey.bsky.social · yesterday

in insane local news, the 26 year old director of a rocky horror production was arrested for sending threatening messages to himself in order to get the play shut down bc he didn’t want to deal with cast drama www.mynbc5.com/article/rock...

WHAT THE HELL I JUST WOKE UP IN HERE

Seanan McGuire@seananmcguire.bsky.social · 21h ago

cornfeld perfec t size for put @scalzi.com in to n\ap! inside very Soft and Comfort Scalzi sleep soundly put Scalzi in Cornfield. Put Scalzi In Cornfield.

Short stories can be amazing and life-transforming and for some writers (raises hand) it's easier to write an 80,000 word novel than an 8,000 word short story. With the novel you have so much more time and space and margin to get things right. With a short story you have to nail it all, fast.

Heather Hill@rollin-academic.bsky.social · 22h ago

I remember reading it in high school but had forgotten the title. It amazes me how powerful something so short can be

When we put in our second garage we had to remove one of the two clothesline bracings, and we haven't removed the other one yet, so now it looks like we have a random wooden cross in our yard, which I feel offers more questions than it answers

If Ray Bradbury came back as a zombie, the title of the story he would write would be "There Will Come Soft Brains"

The eternal lament

Hildur Knútsdóttir@hildur.bsky.social · 23h ago

Oh god I sold a book and now I have to write it 😱

My dude, we don't need to know your "heart and mind," we just have to look at your prior actions. You've already turned CBS News into a ham-handed partisan laughingstock in land speed-record time, so we have an excellent idea what you will do with CNN.

Mark Harris@markharris.bsky.social · yesterday

"Unfortunately, I can't give anyone a view into my heart and mind." Why? Are you unfamiliar with them? Ellison's whole "I'm not allowed to express my specific political opinions here, but trust me" approach is transparent nonsense. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...

If you dug Ride or Die or like voting for things, pls consider signing up to vote in the Dragon Awards: applyto.dragoncon.org/fan_awards/d... The Dragon Award is a fan award given at Dragon Con & Ride or Die is a book about bullies, abandoned amusement parks & a weird kid who just wants to be cool.

The day that Ray Bradbury died I was on book tour and that night I read "There Will Come Soft Rains" to my audience instead of the usual reading.

Adam Rawnsley@arawnsley.bsky.social · yesterday

Today, August 4, 2026, is the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a fully automated house continuing on after the family who lived there and the world around it died in a nuclear blast.

I do promote my books (BUY THEM NOW) but it's mostly because after Twitter I decided not to put all my social media presence into one basket. Also I have slightly different presences on each: more politics in Threads, more tech on Mastodon, more casual here.

Patryk of the Sleeper Tribe@patrixilent.bsky.social · yesterday

i guess this whole "promoting books I write" thing requires you to be in way more places you'd want to be

I saw something about this over on Threads and, uh, yeah, I'm not sure where that nonsense came from, you can't get us authors to shut up about what's going on with us and our industry, that gate's right off the hinges if you ask me

Antony Johnston@antonyjohnston.bsky.social · 2d ago

Seeing complaints online that authors 'gatekeep' information…! Absolute nonsense. There is no industry or craft in the world which is so comprehensively written about, studied, and discussed as fiction writing, and every author I know welcomes new writers who are serious about giving it a go.

Been a while since I heard this song, but I adore it, it's A Song to Float Diaphanously Around By, so please enjoy, also, hello, @julianneregan.bsky.social, you write and sing like an awesome goth witch youtu.be/kOCdegq0-Ks

In The Clouds

YouTube video by All About Eve - Topic

youtu.be

Yup and I post daily there. I also post regularly on Mastodon (and obviously I update my personal site on a daily basis). But this is my usual hangout.

Horus@guynermie62.bsky.social · 2d ago

Ru still on Threads?

I should be clear that the architecture of Bluesky makes it the social media place I most like to be. I'm not on social media to be an influencer or instigator; I want to hang out with folks and have an enjoyable time. This place delivers on that. I hope it continues to do so for a long time.

Yup. Eurosky, Blacksky, Northsky, there's a lot of skies out there, and hopefully more to come. This is why the architecture is so interesting, and why I think this instance of federation might (eventually) break out of containment.

Chris Kendall@ottocr.at · 2d ago

and indeed many of us have already done that, seamlessly transitioning to eg @eurosky.social from which we continue to post but from and to non-US servers

Well, actually, kinda, yeah, close to what happened. It's not for nothing that Jack Dorsey, who started the place and was on its board, basically ran away when the trans folks and furries scared off all the crypto bros he assumed would be the natural demographic here (they went to Nostr instead).

jack@jackalltogether.bsky.social · 2d ago

Bluesky often seems like a project run by tech people who place great value on its architectural differences from Twitter, which nobody cares about, while not understanding how they walked ass-backwards into having a userbase (whomst they fear and despise)

I don't really have an objection to the CEO saying Bluesky is open to all; it's kind of his job to do that. But as others have pointed out, the design of the site means it's harder for trolls/bots/chuds *and also* influencers/hypebeasts to get traction. The "bubble" here is actually normal humans.

Bluesky is a "liberal bubble" because fascist chuds can't get traction without algorithmic assistance and because people here trained themselves to block "debate me" trybois the instant they roll up

The Verge@theverge.com · 2d ago

Bluesky's new CEO Toni Schneider on the platform's reputation for being a liberal bubble: "Yes, we definitely want that to change. It is already changing. It certainly wasn’t designed to attract one specific group of people."

It's a beautiful day and I'm voluntarily sitting outside of my own accord instead of being in my darkened office, who even am I and what have I become

This is what we mean when we say #transrightsarehumanrights. Laws like this affect EVERYONE. They don't want any women playing sport. They want women trapped in the home.

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d ago

An initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play

Thread.

Kameron Hurley@kameronhurley.com · 2d ago

I consider the folks in the industry I meet and interact with as colleagues, and think of these relationships as being exactly like relationships with my day job coworkers. I will like some folks more than others. Some may annoy the shit out of me. Very few are "file a complaint with HR" worthy.

I think about this a lot and for me the *extremely* simplified answer to this is that some people approach art to think and some approach it to feel, and if you're mostly in the latter category there's a lot about the text that will go right by you (or you'll just ignore) as you bathe in the vibe

Keira Perkins@thatkeira.bsky.social · 2d ago

It is wild to me how many people will love a book, a show, a song - anything creative really - and fundamentally misunderstand the thing they adore. What I’m saying is that I would like to give Suzanne Collins a hug.

HEY ON THE SUBJECT OF VOTING FOR AWARDS: It's the few days for @laworldcon.bsky.social members to vote for the Hugos. Don't wait for the last minute! This message is self-interested (Best Series finalist!), but the more eligible voters registering their preferences the better. www.lacon.org/hugos/

Hey! The Shattering Peace is a Dragon Award finalist this year in Science Fiction Novel, along with work from @mattdinniman.bsky.social, @annleckie.com, @peterclines.com, James SA Corey (@abraham.bsky.social is one half) and Claire North. What great company! awards.dragoncon.org/2026-ballot/

Every now and then someone takes a run at me along the lines of "I don't understand why you, a scifi writer, don't appreciate 'AI'," and I'm all, motherfucker, it's *because* I'm a science fiction writer I have the positions I have, how many times do we have to fucking yell "torment nexus," my dude

We're giving away 25 copies of SANDMAN SLIM over on Goodreads! Just stop by and mash the button. (US only) www.goodreads.com/book/show/70...

Sandman Slim (Sandman Slim #1)

Supernatural fantasy has a new antihero in Sandman Slim…

goodreads.com

I've been tagged on some fundraising requests so consider this an open thread to post gofundmes and other fundraisers, yours or others, so that folks can find them. As always, caveat emptor - check to see they're legit - but otherwise if you're needing a hand, or looking to offer one, here you go.

Pretty princess vs. chaos goblin

The Scamperbeasts@scamperbeasts.bsky.social · 2d ago

Spice and Smudge exhibit the differences in nap position philosophies

Two words for you: $2 SALE. Three more words: COTTAGECORE GIRL HANNIBAL. Please grab a copy, give one as a gift, help spread the word. And Guillotine is still on sale, too! DOUBLE THE DELILAH FOR $4.