Mark your calendar! This week, the marvelous Justin C. Key returns—and so does the legendary Pat Murphy! Join us Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PST! #FantasyFiction #ScienceFiction #SFF #JustinCKey #PatMurphy #Bookstodon #StoryHour2020 #ShortStories #ShortFiction #AuthorReading
https://www.storyhour2020.com/
#SFF
We are delighted to announce the selection of two new Otherwise Fellows: illustrator and animator Aude Abou Nasr and author Ayida Shonibar @ayidashonibar .
https://otherwiseaward.org/2026/02/announcing-2025-otherwise-fellows
#SFF #illustration #fantasy #ChildrensLiterature #sciencefiction #horror
Finally read and finished Fonda Lee's *The Jade Setter of Janloon*, a prequel novella to the action in *Jade City*. I'm sorry I waited so long, because it was really, really good. Not to give too much away, but if you've been following the news or popular hashtags this week, *very* on-point.
Go read it, it's short and good.
And we are live on KS - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/52625019/tea-or-coffee-stars-and-gravity - The “Tea or Coffee, Stars, and Gravity” anthology is launched with a Hard SF theme where tea or coffee, stars, and gravity are all playing a prominent narrative role. Help us bring this book to life. #sff #fantasy #book #ks #booksky
NEW EPISODE: Zach & Jim discussed, debated, & compromised to create a Fantasy for the Ages Top 10 Most Rewatchable SFF Movies list. Which ones made our favorites? Will yours make the cut? What will surprise you? Come see! #SFF #Movies #fantasy #SciFi https://youtu.be/QDPe4mratGs
Chapter 8 of Princess of Kurg is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/108234/jigsaw-city
Minerva enacts her terrible plan, offering up first her husband, then her daughter and finally, her son. She's overcome by grief and disgust with herself, vowing that when next they face the Void, she'll offer up herself...
@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #actionadventure #fiction #fairies #webseries
#PennedPossibilities 920 — How does your MC feel about their childhood home?
At this point in composing her story, though Bolt hasn't said it, she wants to go home. Her mother and uncle didn't support her dreams, but after being forced to involuntarily work for the mob thanks to a train wreck of stupid mistakes, mistakes Bolt accepts proves her parents were both right and knew what was best, her spirit is crushed. In a society where brothers typically raise their sister's children, she thinks about how she last saw her baby brother when he was 5. He's now 17 and couldn't possibly remember her. She's 30. It makes her keenly introspective, which demonstrates how she's grown from the arrogant teen jock she once was. Working for the mob, Bolt can't go home. It would expose them to danger. But her home and her mistakes and longing comes up when she's looking at a package of contraceptives. She realizes that having children is something she mustn't ever let happen. Her homesickness worsens when she catches herself being motherly to a boyfriend who's ⅔rds her age. It makes her feel really old.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
FYI, a new #HumbleBundle from #Tor featuring @charliejane and Annalee Newitz (not sure if they're on Fedi) just dropped 🚀
Humble Book Bundle: Charlie Jane Anders & Annalee Newitz by TOR (pay what you want and help charity)
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/charlie-jane-anders-annalee-newitz-tor-books
#AmReading #SFF #SciFi #bookstodon #CharlieJaneAnders #Books
NEW EPISODE: Jim has moved into the Bobiverse, and he's having a great time! Come learn all about why you might too, with his review of We Are Legion (We Are Bob), Bk 1 of the Bobiverse series. Sci-Fi anyone can enjoy! #SciFi #SFF https://youtu.be/ovEpglLxmRs
Live in BCS #449: "The Great King’s Lost Bride" by R.K. Duncan.
"I prayed all the gods to steady me when the spirits came close. I would not speak of spirits while there was fighting to be done, and it would be worse to speak of them to explain a fit that looked like cowardice. Our captain already thought me unfit for the company. And now I had the chance to prove him wrong and do a man’s part in battle."
https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-great-kings-lost-bride/
#fantasy #sff #shortstory
I am pleased to have Woodspell included in this excellent Itch bundle.
If you like SFF that centres friendship or found family, and has them forming, or tackling plot problems, or the main character making a new friend/ a friend helping a character's growth; this bundle is for you!
Iris Part 14
Adele got out of the ride-share and lifted the duffel bag onto her shoulder. A fortnight in the tropics was looking very attractive now that the girls had graduated from high-school.
Indigo couldn't do the usual sort of graduation trip, and Alice wasn't going to go off without her, so this was the alternative. That she got to go as well was an added bonus. Plus someone had to give Dave and Iris a bit of a break - with a newborn daughter, they had their work cut out for them.
As she approached the Nereid, she saw a young man, maybe 18, staring at the boat with a serious look about him. This was not good. He might be a scout from one of the gangs.
She had not got as far as she had, nor survived retiring, by holding back. She quietly walked up behind him, dropped the bag, and before he could turn, had an arm around his neck, and a knife pressed just above his kidneys. "You are going to tell me who you are, and what you're doing here. Now," she hissed into his ear.
"I came to visit Indigo! I'm a friend of her's that's all! I'm Colin!" This all came out in a rush, and in an accent that made it almost unintelligible. Adele took a few moments to process this, eventually figuring what he'd said. The accent alone was enough for Adele. No-one in the local gangs had an accent like that. This boy was fresh out of England.
She let him go "Sorry, the girls have had a problem with a stalker" she explained "Indigo know you're here?"
"Uh, no, Mrs Chandler. I wanted it to be a surprise." He was talking slower now.
"I'm not Iris. I'm Indi's godmother."
"Oh! The mum of her mysterious friend!"
"Yes. Now wait here. I'll see if Indigo is accepting visitors."
With that she picked up her bag, made the knife vanish, and stepped aboard.
Inside Alice and Indigo were hunched over video game controllers. "Hi mum!" said Alice without looking up.
"How do you know it's me?"
"New camera looking out on the afterdeck. I've got it on my phone."
"Well done. Pause the game please."
The girls paused it.
"What's up?" asked Indigo.
"Are you accepting a visitor? From England."
"What? Colin's here?" Indigo's excitement spiked and then her face fell. She looked at her tail. "I'll have to tell him. Should I let him aboard?"
"That is up to you. Do you think he can be trusted?" Adele's face was grim.
Indigo closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Then opened them, looking straight at Alice. "Ask him aboard, please."
#SF #SFF #microfic #tootfic #IAmWriting #NereidIris #UrbanFantasy
Alistair knew what he was in for when he signed on as engineer on a North Sea fishing boat.
They were rodliners, so there was no way they could afford to pay his wages by fish alone. So they had to have a side gig, and one that was not entirely above board. As long as it wasn't drugs or guns, he was going to be OK with it. Ever since Brexit, everything had become more expensive. So some black market luxuries were not something he was going to begrudge.
It did not hurt that this had to be the cleanest and neatest boat he'd ever worked on. Including when he'd been in the Navy.
So when they pulled alongside a Belgian trawler, he was happy to help transfer cases of wine, wheels of cheese, and a couple of crates of car parts.
Later, though when he went through the hold he saw some additional boxes - ones he'd not seen in the transfer. Being the fool that he was (in his mind at least) he went to the captain.
Marge was a heavily weathered woman in her sixties, and listened to him seriously. Then got him to take her below to see.
On seeing the boxes she grunted, and opened one, and inspected the contents. Dozens of single use pre-loaded syringes. All labelled alike, all looking like they came from a professional lab.
Putting on her glasses, she read the label. Grunted again, and closed the boxes.
When she took him up to the forecastle with a grip on his elbow that brooked no argument he got worried. Then she let go, and lit up a clove cigarette. She offered him one, which he declined.
"I can't stand by if you're smuggling drugs Captain."
"Wouldn't want you to. Two things. One, not my cargo. Two, they ain't the sort of drugs you think they are" came the gravelly reply.
Alistair gave a very intelligent "Huh?" and then "What do you mean not your cargo?"
"Lemme take the other question first. Those were medical supplies. Not recreational. Not on the NHS."
"I guess that's better..."
"Now for the first one. I'm pretty proud of havin' the cleanest, neatest boat in the harbour. Don't come free. We got some live-aboard passengers. Don't never talk about 'em. Pay their way by cleaning up. Lately been doing a bit of shipping on the side too. That's their stuff. I'll put out a bit of extra honey tonight as an apology."
Alistair looked to see if the Captain was having him on. She looked dead serious. "So we've..."
"Never say nothing. OK?"
"Right. And those drugs?"
"Reckon there's a bunch of kids around who'll be glad of 'em ever since the busybodies in Whitehall figured they knew better than doctors. They'll save a bunch of lives, I'm thinking. Wish I'd had 'em as a kid. Would've been easier."
Alistair looked down at Marge's arms, and noticed, amongst the tattoos, a very discrete blue and pink flag.
"OK, Captain. I think I need a bit of sleep if I'm seeing things."
"Good lad. Carry on."
#SF #SFF #Urbanfantasy #microfiction #microfic #tootfic #IAmWriting
Inspired by @Steveg58 and @buddhawilliams
For those who prefer to buy ebooks from Kobo and other non-Amazon vendors, February's 99p special offer price for The Green Man's Holiday will be available from tomorrow.
Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)drsurekhadavies.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy
2026-02-02Loving both of my book-length reads this week!
Rebecca Kuang's THE POPPY WAR (speculative historical fiction) and Tilar J. Mazzeo's THE SEA CAPTAIN'S WIFE (non-fiction adventure-ish).
What are y'all reading?
#booksky #skystorians #sff
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:wuewbi4kvpexpm73lrhsqivv/post/3mdubj5b6gk2v
#PennedPossibilities 919 — MC POV: When faced with a problem, do you tackle it head on or procrastinate until it needs immediate attention?
[Bolt:] I don't face problems that can wait. I get a blue envelope, I figure out a way to deliver it even if the addressee wants to kill me. I'm told to follow a mark, I do. You mess with me, I mess you up back. Ramen or kippers? I choose both. Is he handsome? Works for me. If anything, not waiting and thinking it over is my problem. Is that procrastination? Had I waited and thunk, after the guild took my coin and initiated me, then told me they don't admit women, had I waited might have I not thrown a brick through their window and rolled their van down a hill? Maybe I ought to learn to procrastinate.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
NEW EPISODE: Zach & Jim worked together, with some debate, to determine the Top 10 Opening Scenes across Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books, Movies, & TV Shows. We feel quite good about this list. Will you agree? Watch and find out! Comment away! #SFF #Fantasy #SciFi https://youtu.be/bTPV6WANh8M
#WordWeavers 2026.02.01 — Who is your most despicable character and how do you feel about them? CW: Waxing pedagogic.
I wrote a totally evil man intent on murdering the MC, someone whom the MC would later refer to as The Monster. It was a delightfully difficult sequence to write. I fretted as the chapters counted down to writing that specific chapter, which turned out to be number 13. Writing it required no introspection by The Monster. He simply had one goal, to kill the MC whom he'd already savaged. His motivation, also simple: no witnesses. I wrote the sequence knowing how I wanted it to end, but also knowing that The Monster out-massed and out-powered the MC, with better reach. All the MC had going for her (other than her magic, which was reluctant to hurt others), was the darkness, the occasional lightning in the thunderstorm, and the muddy hill. I thought multiple times I'd fail to get it right, that I'd have to write the scene over. The despicable man got what he deserved with as much irony and schadenfreude as I could ask for, whilst warping the mind of the MC exactly the direction I needed: Discovering she liked fighting—she was ecstatic at what she learned about her magic and tenacity—then wondering if she were evil for what she'd accomplished and for how much she enjoyed doing it.
Despicable characters have their place in fiction, but there are some characters where it is a bridge too far to discover and describe their thoughts. The Monster was one of these.
In the current WIP, I've one despicable character: a bully full of resentment and ego, who hurts people. His mentality is quite interesting. To a subtle degree, I entice the reader to empathize with his broken logic and resentments even if they can't agree with his claims of victimhood, enough so that I throw him a bone (this is a double-entendre) that helps him reform… marginally. Forgivable? Not hardly. Not in this story—but a despicable character can illuminate how a person can go wrong and how a person can change their trajectory through life.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
Brandon Sanderson news: "Apple has signed an "unprecedented" deal for his Cosmere universe, in the form of film adaptations for his Mistborn novels, and a television series for The Stormlight Archive. Sanderson will have "rarefied control" over the adaptations, and "will be the architect of the universe; will write, produce and consult; and will have approvals" #SFF #fantasy #AppleTV #Cosmere https://www.andrewliptak.com/brandon-sanderson-cosmere-stormlight-archive-apple-tv-streaming/
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