'Twas ever thus....
Dec. 1st, 2025 03:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oursinThere was hoohahing going on last week on bluesky anent people pirating books on account authors do not need the money and should be creating for Love of Art.
And I will concede that when it comes to Evil Exploitative Academic Publishing Empires, I cannot get my knickers in a twist over people downloading papers for which they have not paid the extortionate fee, none of which goes to author of the paper or the reviewers who reviewed it for the journal in question (wot, me, bitter?) - in fact I will be over here cheering or offering to use such library access as I have to get access and offer a copy.
But honestly the Average Author of fictional works is not making molto moolah but is probably supporting themselves by doing something else or being supported by someone else (hey, Ursula K Le Guin? e.g. mentions somewhere she was a housewife when she first started out) and writing is not their sole occupation or source of remuneration.
And even writers who we look back on as Important and Successful had their money problems: Hardship grant applications to the Royal Literary Fund... show authors at their most vulnerable:
Nobody goes into writing for the money: today, professional authors in the UK earn a median income of £7,000, according to the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society. Looking at the starry names awarded grants through the RLF’s history makes clear that the challenges are not new. However, Kemp thinks the problem has become more acute in some regards. “The kinds of deal you get with a publisher as a mid-list fiction writer has gone down, down, down, down, down.” Twenty or 30 years ago, such writers could survive; it is now much tougher, he says. Big publishers are “paying large amounts of money to a small number of writers”. A “tiny percentage actually survive on what they’re making from writing.”
But looking back over the history of the fund:
“On the one hand there are people like Joyce and DH Lawrence, who are early in their careers, and indeed Doris Lessing, who are struggling to get going, who have made a mark but are finding it hard to make ends meet. And at the other end there are people like Coleridge, and more recently Edna O’Brien, who have had stellar careers, and you’d have hoped actually were doing OK, but the vicissitudes of a writer’s life mean that sometimes it goes to pot.”
I wonder how far the All More Complicated Stories behind the need are in the documentation, though:
Many documents show writers at the most vulnerable times of their lives, often in precarious positions early in their careers; everything from feeble book sales to illness to messy marriages to grief is chronicled here.... Nesbit, author of The Railway Children, wrote in an August 1914 letter that the shock of her husband’s death “overcame me completely and now my brain will not do the poetry romance and fairy tales by which I have earned most of my livelihood”.
She was, as I recall, the principle breadwinner of their polyamorous menage and support of its offspring. (Personally we should have danced on Hubert Bland's grave.)
Peasina's Wishes
Dec. 1st, 2025 01:35 pmpeasina posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
holiday_wishesHello friends,
I’m pea, a 30-something podficcer, Pokémon-fan, and craft-lover from the UK 👋 This is my eighth time participating in Holiday Wishes, and I look forward to the kind, wholesome interactions this event encourages all year. Thank you so much to anyone who grants any of my below wishes. You’re amazing!
1. DW Points – This was my first year having a paid DW account, and I love having access to extra icons, polls, and the search function! Any number of points you’d be kind enough to gift me would be extremely appreciated.
2. Female YouTuber recs – It’s always lovely to find a new YouTuber to binge, and I’d love to support more women making videos about topics I enjoy such as crafts, hobbies, LGBTQ+ themes, video games, and Pokémon. Some of my current favourites are: brattyxbre (zines), Emma Thorne (religion, LGBTQ+ rights, conspiracy theories), Karen Puzzles (jigsaw puzzles), Kyra/Strawberry Pokémon (Pokémon TCG collecting), Memoria (video games), Royalty Soaps (soap and candle making), and Shiny Catherine (Pokémon shiny hunting).
3. Paid Discord things – If you have any of those free trials of Discord Nitro to give out, I’d love to be the lucky recipient of one, especially from 22 Dec onward (when I’m taking part in a Discord-based fan event that’s always easier with Nitro.) My Discord username is ‘alittlesunshine’ – feel free to friend me. I also have a wishlist associated with my account with two cute profile add-ons I’d love to have, if you’re feeling extra generous.
4. Comments on any works in the PokePodProject collections — I co-modpokepodproject, an event that aims to create a fic and podfic for every Pokémon, and I would be delighted if the participants got more attention on their works. I’d appreciate it so, so, so much if you showed them (fic and/or podfic) some love. All are under 1k/10 mins. Here are some links to help you navigate:
Gen one: AO3 Collection | Spreadsheet of Works | Audiobook Anthology Downloads
Gen two: AO3 Collection | Spreadsheet of Works | Audiobook Anthology Downloads
5. Something to open for Christmas – I don’t really get gifts at Christmas, and not to sound shallow, but I do really enjoy having something to open. If you’d like to send me a little surprise, I’d be so grateful and will probably cry happy tears. Here’s a few things I like, if it helps: purple, pink, wax melts (citrus, coffee, sugary scents), stickers, sweets/candy, beads, handmade items (I LOVE crafts!! anything you made will excite me), Pokémon (especially steel and fairy types and any gen one Pokemon), and fruit-themed items. Please DM me for my address 💖
Thank you for looking at my wish list, and thank you again in advance for your kindness if you grant any of my wishes. Happy Holidays!
I’m pea, a 30-something podficcer, Pokémon-fan, and craft-lover from the UK 👋 This is my eighth time participating in Holiday Wishes, and I look forward to the kind, wholesome interactions this event encourages all year. Thank you so much to anyone who grants any of my below wishes. You’re amazing!
1. DW Points – This was my first year having a paid DW account, and I love having access to extra icons, polls, and the search function! Any number of points you’d be kind enough to gift me would be extremely appreciated.
2. Female YouTuber recs – It’s always lovely to find a new YouTuber to binge, and I’d love to support more women making videos about topics I enjoy such as crafts, hobbies, LGBTQ+ themes, video games, and Pokémon. Some of my current favourites are: brattyxbre (zines), Emma Thorne (religion, LGBTQ+ rights, conspiracy theories), Karen Puzzles (jigsaw puzzles), Kyra/Strawberry Pokémon (Pokémon TCG collecting), Memoria (video games), Royalty Soaps (soap and candle making), and Shiny Catherine (Pokémon shiny hunting).
3. Paid Discord things – If you have any of those free trials of Discord Nitro to give out, I’d love to be the lucky recipient of one, especially from 22 Dec onward (when I’m taking part in a Discord-based fan event that’s always easier with Nitro.) My Discord username is ‘alittlesunshine’ – feel free to friend me. I also have a wishlist associated with my account with two cute profile add-ons I’d love to have, if you’re feeling extra generous.
4. Comments on any works in the PokePodProject collections — I co-mod
pokepodproject, an event that aims to create a fic and podfic for every Pokémon, and I would be delighted if the participants got more attention on their works. I’d appreciate it so, so, so much if you showed them (fic and/or podfic) some love. All are under 1k/10 mins. Here are some links to help you navigate:Gen one: AO3 Collection | Spreadsheet of Works | Audiobook Anthology Downloads
Gen two: AO3 Collection | Spreadsheet of Works | Audiobook Anthology Downloads
5. Something to open for Christmas – I don’t really get gifts at Christmas, and not to sound shallow, but I do really enjoy having something to open. If you’d like to send me a little surprise, I’d be so grateful and will probably cry happy tears. Here’s a few things I like, if it helps: purple, pink, wax melts (citrus, coffee, sugary scents), stickers, sweets/candy, beads, handmade items (I LOVE crafts!! anything you made will excite me), Pokémon (especially steel and fairy types and any gen one Pokemon), and fruit-themed items. Please DM me for my address 💖
Thank you for looking at my wish list, and thank you again in advance for your kindness if you grant any of my wishes. Happy Holidays!
season's greasons
Dec. 1st, 2025 09:01 amyarnofariadne posting in holiday_wishesHello and happy holidays! May whatever your celebrations are be joyous, restorative, and blessed if they are religious.
1. Craft supplies donations for schools. Of course check with your local schools to see if this is something they really need, but I was until recently a TA in a special school and we were absolutely desperate for craft supplies that no one was donating. Fabric, even just in scraps, is especially valuable this time of year. Anything you have in your stash that you're not using, please see if you have a local school (particularly a special school) that could make use of it!
2. High quality, durable cat toys. My little guy is joyously destroying every toy he gets, and I simply don't have enough money to be replacing them at the speed he goes through them. I'd happily take recommendations (not Kong), or if you want to send me physical items, I'll have contact info at the bottom of this post.
3. Stickers. I'm long distance with one of my partners and we write lots of physical letters. I like to decorate the envelopes with stickers but my stash is running low and I'm having trouble finding cool stickers I like - most shops I find on Ko-fi and such are based in the US, and getting anything sent from the US is a very hit-or-miss prospect these days. I will again take recs - UK-based shops preferred, since I know most of the EU (understandably) won't ship to us either - or if you have spares you'd like to get rid of, contact info is at the bottom of this post. Themes I like: cats, mythology, folklore and folk art, vintage florals, spooky/witchy/Halloween things, hearts.
4. Washi tape. Same note as with the stickers - I keep finding local artists listing washi tape on their website and it must be going out of stock within minutes! No one seems to be able to keep it in stock, unless there is some vast washi tape-making supply shortage of which I'm unaware. If you have recs or any physical items you'd like to get rid of, I'm happy to take either.
5. Dreamwidth points. Always appreciated!
6. One more player for Vampire Heist. I'm running a homebrew D&D mini campaign on StartPlayingGames and we're one player short of starting. If you'd like to (fictionally) force the British Museum to repatriate some stuff, come play with us!
7. Anything off my Giftful wishlist. The wishlist is here and contact info's at the bottom of this post.
8. Commissions. I recently left my job because for a number of reasons it was killing me, and while I'm very happy with having given myself the gift of mental and physical health, I could use some work! I offer both writing and editing commissions, and I especially love editing, so if you've got some writing you'd like eyes on - anything from fic to novels - I'd be happy to help.
9. Eyes on my writing. It's really a struggle out there for writers trying to keep scrapers from stealing their work, and I've had to lower the visibility of my writing past what I would ideally have. All my writing is available for free onyarnofariadne_writes, though you do have to join the community (I'll swiftly approve - I'm just trying to keep out the bots). I'm in the process of cross-posting to my website as well. My books are also available for very low prices, and I'm happy to send out review copies for reviewers.
10. Word of mouth. Following on from the above, if you enjoy what I write, please tell someone! Writing reviews on Goodreads/Storygraph/Pagebound is always a kindness, and even just telling a friend you think would be into what I write would be very much appreciated.
You can DM me here on Dreamwidth, or send me an email at victoriacaroline at tuta dot com.
1. Craft supplies donations for schools. Of course check with your local schools to see if this is something they really need, but I was until recently a TA in a special school and we were absolutely desperate for craft supplies that no one was donating. Fabric, even just in scraps, is especially valuable this time of year. Anything you have in your stash that you're not using, please see if you have a local school (particularly a special school) that could make use of it!
2. High quality, durable cat toys. My little guy is joyously destroying every toy he gets, and I simply don't have enough money to be replacing them at the speed he goes through them. I'd happily take recommendations (not Kong), or if you want to send me physical items, I'll have contact info at the bottom of this post.
3. Stickers. I'm long distance with one of my partners and we write lots of physical letters. I like to decorate the envelopes with stickers but my stash is running low and I'm having trouble finding cool stickers I like - most shops I find on Ko-fi and such are based in the US, and getting anything sent from the US is a very hit-or-miss prospect these days. I will again take recs - UK-based shops preferred, since I know most of the EU (understandably) won't ship to us either - or if you have spares you'd like to get rid of, contact info is at the bottom of this post. Themes I like: cats, mythology, folklore and folk art, vintage florals, spooky/witchy/Halloween things, hearts.
4. Washi tape. Same note as with the stickers - I keep finding local artists listing washi tape on their website and it must be going out of stock within minutes! No one seems to be able to keep it in stock, unless there is some vast washi tape-making supply shortage of which I'm unaware. If you have recs or any physical items you'd like to get rid of, I'm happy to take either.
5. Dreamwidth points. Always appreciated!
7. Anything off my Giftful wishlist. The wishlist is here and contact info's at the bottom of this post.
8. Commissions. I recently left my job because for a number of reasons it was killing me, and while I'm very happy with having given myself the gift of mental and physical health, I could use some work! I offer both writing and editing commissions, and I especially love editing, so if you've got some writing you'd like eyes on - anything from fic to novels - I'd be happy to help.
9. Eyes on my writing. It's really a struggle out there for writers trying to keep scrapers from stealing their work, and I've had to lower the visibility of my writing past what I would ideally have. All my writing is available for free on
yarnofariadne_writes, though you do have to join the community (I'll swiftly approve - I'm just trying to keep out the bots). I'm in the process of cross-posting to my website as well. My books are also available for very low prices, and I'm happy to send out review copies for reviewers.10. Word of mouth. Following on from the above, if you enjoy what I write, please tell someone! Writing reviews on Goodreads/Storygraph/Pagebound is always a kindness, and even just telling a friend you think would be into what I write would be very much appreciated.
You can DM me here on Dreamwidth, or send me an email at victoriacaroline at tuta dot com.
Choosing Health Insurance: Two Unobvious Marketplace Deadlines [US, healthcare, Patreon]
Dec. 1st, 2025 06:23 amsidereaCanonical link: https://siderea.dreamwidth.org/1888828.html
Hey, Americans and people living in the US going through open enrollment on the state ACA marketplaces who haven't yet enrolled in a plan for 2026!
Just about every state in the union and DC (but not Idaho) proudly touts an end date to open enrollment sometime in January. This year for most states it ends January 15th, but in CA, NJ, NY, RI, and DC, it's January 31st, and here in Massachusetts, it's January 23rd. (Idaho's is December 15th.) [Source]
That sure sounds like the deadline is sometime in January.
No, it kinda isn't.
( tl;dr: Just assume if you want insurance to start Jan 1, the deadlines are to enroll by Dec 8 and to pay for the first month by Dec 15. Important deets within. [950 words] )
This post brought to you by the 220 readers who funded my writing it – thank you all so much! You can see who they are at my Patreon page. If you're not one of them, and would be willing to chip in so I can write more things like this, please do so there.
Please leave comments on the Comment Catcher comment, instead of the main body of the post – unless you are commenting to get a copy of the post sent to you in email through the notification system, then go ahead and comment on it directly. Thanks!
Hey, Americans and people living in the US going through open enrollment on the state ACA marketplaces who haven't yet enrolled in a plan for 2026!
Just about every state in the union and DC (but not Idaho) proudly touts an end date to open enrollment sometime in January. This year for most states it ends January 15th, but in CA, NJ, NY, RI, and DC, it's January 31st, and here in Massachusetts, it's January 23rd. (Idaho's is December 15th.) [Source]
That sure sounds like the deadline is sometime in January.
No, it kinda isn't.
( tl;dr: Just assume if you want insurance to start Jan 1, the deadlines are to enroll by Dec 8 and to pay for the first month by Dec 15. Important deets within. [950 words] )
This post brought to you by the 220 readers who funded my writing it – thank you all so much! You can see who they are at my Patreon page. If you're not one of them, and would be willing to chip in so I can write more things like this, please do so there.
Please leave comments on the Comment Catcher comment, instead of the main body of the post – unless you are commenting to get a copy of the post sent to you in email through the notification system, then go ahead and comment on it directly. Thanks!
Reading Wrap-up 11/25
Dec. 1st, 2025 07:28 amvamp_ress posting in booknookIn hindsight, it seems my November was horror-reading month. I swear, I hadn't planned it this way, but I won't complain.
Purcell, Laura: Bone China. Bloomsbury. 2019.
I've been reading her books for a few years now, picking one up every autumn. She's a contemporary author, but she writes in the vein of gothic fiction - there are a lot of remote mansions and haunted castles in her books. Bone China features a remote manor on a cliff, an unreliable narrator and the question of what is truly happening and what is actually only taking place in the protagonist's head. Purcell is really good with the psychological horror. If that's your kind of thing you should definitely check her out.
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia: Mexican Gothic. Del Rey. 2020.
This was my first time with a novel by Moreno-Garcia. I felt that thematically, this was all over the place. Apart from the fact that it's horror it also tried to tackle themes like racism, classism, eugenics and mysoginy, but it didn't spend enough time on any of these themes to make it worthwhile. Additionally, this has a historical setting (the 1950/1960s) even though this is never fully realised and you wonder why the author chose to take this route (probably only to constantly talk about the dress the protagonist was wearing, I don't know). And when we got to the bottom of why the house was "haunted" I basically got off the plane - this is a personal thing of course, but I found this rather silly instead of terrifying. What I really liked was the gothic vibes she managed to evoke while describing the house. The atmosphere and the creepy dreams (that only get creepier as the story progresses) were my highlights.
Tremblay, Paul: Horror Movie. HarperAudio. 2024.
Tremblay simply has the best audiobook productions and this was top-notch as well. If you want to give this novel a try, do yourself a favour and consider the audiobook! I can't say that I fully bought into the "haunted set" idea and most of the characters felt flat and hardly realised, but Tremblay is really good with mixed media. There are several POVs and a screenplay in this. But the novel wasn't overly scary or frightening.
Feito, Virginia: Victorian Psycho. Audible Audio. 2025.
As a project this is very well done and successful, but as a book on its own I find it forgettable. As the title says this marries American Psycho to a Jane Eyre-like plot. The language was the most interesting thing about this, because just like in American Psycho the narration starts off very tame and proper only to get more unhinged as the story progresses. I think that progression was the highlight of the novel and very well done. On the other hand, it was riffing off what Ellis has already done decades ago, so I'm not sure how much of the credit (besides the idea of the Victorian setting) can really go to Feito. In the end, mostly a fanfiction remix even if it's executed extremely well.
Kröger, Lisa & Anderson, Melanie R.: Monster, She wrote! The Women Who Prioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction. Quirk Books. 2018.
Let's start this by saying that this is a beautifully done book. It was quite obviously typeset before the pandemic and before paper became scarce and expensive - there's a lot of free and waste of space here and it's wonderful to see a book "breathe" like that. Happens rarely enough. Sadly, this nonfiction read didn't fully give me what I had expected. Yes, I filled up my TBR because the authors truly manage to find a lot of hidden gems. But I had definitely expected more literary criticism, more in-depth analysis. In the end, this was pretty much snorkeling just below the surface.
Doerr, Anthony: Cloud Cuckoo Land. Scribner. 2021.
I only read this because Ben from Ben reads good gave this a glowing review. Half an hour into the (German) audiobook of 16 hours I thought this would be 16 hours of pure torture. In the end, it wasn't quite that bad, but I can't say that the book and I had a successful time with each other. The "hook" - the Greek epic connecting all the different timelines was as silly as the title suggests and had I known that this would fully be shouldered by kid and teenage protagonists I would have opted out before I even started. I just didn't care for any of it. Okay, that's not true. I cared for the poor beasts of burden who died somewhere in the middle - but even that was mostly the author emotionally manipulating the reader, so I don't know what to make of this.
Purcell, Laura: Bone China. Bloomsbury. 2019.
I've been reading her books for a few years now, picking one up every autumn. She's a contemporary author, but she writes in the vein of gothic fiction - there are a lot of remote mansions and haunted castles in her books. Bone China features a remote manor on a cliff, an unreliable narrator and the question of what is truly happening and what is actually only taking place in the protagonist's head. Purcell is really good with the psychological horror. If that's your kind of thing you should definitely check her out.
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia: Mexican Gothic. Del Rey. 2020.
This was my first time with a novel by Moreno-Garcia. I felt that thematically, this was all over the place. Apart from the fact that it's horror it also tried to tackle themes like racism, classism, eugenics and mysoginy, but it didn't spend enough time on any of these themes to make it worthwhile. Additionally, this has a historical setting (the 1950/1960s) even though this is never fully realised and you wonder why the author chose to take this route (probably only to constantly talk about the dress the protagonist was wearing, I don't know). And when we got to the bottom of why the house was "haunted" I basically got off the plane - this is a personal thing of course, but I found this rather silly instead of terrifying. What I really liked was the gothic vibes she managed to evoke while describing the house. The atmosphere and the creepy dreams (that only get creepier as the story progresses) were my highlights.
Tremblay, Paul: Horror Movie. HarperAudio. 2024.
Tremblay simply has the best audiobook productions and this was top-notch as well. If you want to give this novel a try, do yourself a favour and consider the audiobook! I can't say that I fully bought into the "haunted set" idea and most of the characters felt flat and hardly realised, but Tremblay is really good with mixed media. There are several POVs and a screenplay in this. But the novel wasn't overly scary or frightening.
Feito, Virginia: Victorian Psycho. Audible Audio. 2025.
As a project this is very well done and successful, but as a book on its own I find it forgettable. As the title says this marries American Psycho to a Jane Eyre-like plot. The language was the most interesting thing about this, because just like in American Psycho the narration starts off very tame and proper only to get more unhinged as the story progresses. I think that progression was the highlight of the novel and very well done. On the other hand, it was riffing off what Ellis has already done decades ago, so I'm not sure how much of the credit (besides the idea of the Victorian setting) can really go to Feito. In the end, mostly a fanfiction remix even if it's executed extremely well.
Kröger, Lisa & Anderson, Melanie R.: Monster, She wrote! The Women Who Prioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction. Quirk Books. 2018.
Let's start this by saying that this is a beautifully done book. It was quite obviously typeset before the pandemic and before paper became scarce and expensive - there's a lot of free and waste of space here and it's wonderful to see a book "breathe" like that. Happens rarely enough. Sadly, this nonfiction read didn't fully give me what I had expected. Yes, I filled up my TBR because the authors truly manage to find a lot of hidden gems. But I had definitely expected more literary criticism, more in-depth analysis. In the end, this was pretty much snorkeling just below the surface.
Doerr, Anthony: Cloud Cuckoo Land. Scribner. 2021.
I only read this because Ben from Ben reads good gave this a glowing review. Half an hour into the (German) audiobook of 16 hours I thought this would be 16 hours of pure torture. In the end, it wasn't quite that bad, but I can't say that the book and I had a successful time with each other. The "hook" - the Greek epic connecting all the different timelines was as silly as the title suggests and had I known that this would fully be shouldered by kid and teenage protagonists I would have opted out before I even started. I just didn't care for any of it. Okay, that's not true. I cared for the poor beasts of burden who died somewhere in the middle - but even that was mostly the author emotionally manipulating the reader, so I don't know what to make of this.
Holiday Cards
Dec. 1st, 2025 12:33 amcornerofmadnessSame thing I said last year time slipped away from me. I meant to do this a while back. It's time for the holiday card exchange. I miss the paper mail days and I enjoy sending and receiving cards (if you want a non religious one, let me know. I have plenty of both, mostly because charities keeps sending me tons of religious freebies).
I am willing to send overseas (you'll want to request fast on them given I'm late) If we've exchanged before, don't assume I have any idea where I put your address because my apartment is absolutely chaotic at this point. I'll have these comments screened but you can feel free to DM me too.
I am willing to send overseas (you'll want to request fast on them given I'm late) If we've exchanged before, don't assume I have any idea where I put your address because my apartment is absolutely chaotic at this point. I'll have these comments screened but you can feel free to DM me too.
Writerly Ways
Nov. 30th, 2025 11:02 pmcornerofmadnessI have nothing to talk about writing wise today. My brain dribbled out my ears hours ago. I'm also annoyed that CVS is out of my insulin again. Eye rolls
But there are joys, like the acceptance from all of yinz even if I can't keep up on comments right now AND I had a second online concert. This one was for Valentine Wolf's new album. It was good.
Oh I suppose I could put this in for writerly ways based off a rant by Mortius on YT (he rants over the Amazon ads as he's reviewing Hazbin) Remember that if it is a digital copy you DO NOT own it, even if you 'bought it.' So if you have a book you love to reread, let me suggest buying a paper copy. I've already had Amazon gut my TBR pile when they decided to no longer carry those books. I know one of the animation companies have done this and people lost every anime they had bought. This is also why I wish Disney would put The Owl House on dvd (since it's a very queer teen show and I can see them being forced to delete or them just deciding eh it's been X number of years, time to go). I did end up buying the Hazbin DVDs for S1 for just this reason.
Notes from the Editor’s Desk: November 2025.
Fusion Fragment: Now Accepting Submissions
Tales of Sley House December 2025 Window Cozy, folk horror
Your Body Is A Fever Dream Weird Cosmic Body Horror/SFF by Trans, NB, agender, intersex, GNC, and generally any gender identity other than binary cisgender authors
Baffling Magazine December 2025 Window Science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a queer bent that deal with “Timefuckery”
A Year of Horse Fantasy Fantasy stories where the horse plays a major role in the story
Otherside January 2026 Window Speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by self-identified members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community
From Around the Web
Promotion Commotion: How to Steer Clear of Scam Artists
Where Do You Put Children in Horror Stories.
Scarlett Press Brings Dark Lords, Fae Courts, and Romantasy Heat to New Adult Readers
Amazon Algorithm Secrets That Separate Bestsellers from the Slush Pile
The Overwritten Novel: How to Identify & Fix Purple Prose in Your Novel.
The Top 45 Publishers for New Authors
From Betty
Tweaking Your World’s Geology
Six Ways to Make Fantasy Travel More Interesting
How Even Feminists Can Build Sexist Worlds
How to Use Perception to Create Subtext in Deep POV
Building a Mystery
The Easiest and Most Powerful Writing Tip
Does Your Novel Sag?
Happy Thanksgiving! – December “first page” Office Hours – Information vs. storytelling
The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Writers Part 1: How to Strengthen Your Manuscript One Step at a Time
But there are joys, like the acceptance from all of yinz even if I can't keep up on comments right now AND I had a second online concert. This one was for Valentine Wolf's new album. It was good.
Oh I suppose I could put this in for writerly ways based off a rant by Mortius on YT (he rants over the Amazon ads as he's reviewing Hazbin) Remember that if it is a digital copy you DO NOT own it, even if you 'bought it.' So if you have a book you love to reread, let me suggest buying a paper copy. I've already had Amazon gut my TBR pile when they decided to no longer carry those books. I know one of the animation companies have done this and people lost every anime they had bought. This is also why I wish Disney would put The Owl House on dvd (since it's a very queer teen show and I can see them being forced to delete or them just deciding eh it's been X number of years, time to go). I did end up buying the Hazbin DVDs for S1 for just this reason.
Notes from the Editor’s Desk: November 2025.
Fusion Fragment: Now Accepting Submissions
Tales of Sley House December 2025 Window Cozy, folk horror
Your Body Is A Fever Dream Weird Cosmic Body Horror/SFF by Trans, NB, agender, intersex, GNC, and generally any gender identity other than binary cisgender authors
Baffling Magazine December 2025 Window Science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a queer bent that deal with “Timefuckery”
A Year of Horse Fantasy Fantasy stories where the horse plays a major role in the story
Otherside January 2026 Window Speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by self-identified members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community
From Around the Web
Promotion Commotion: How to Steer Clear of Scam Artists
Where Do You Put Children in Horror Stories.
Scarlett Press Brings Dark Lords, Fae Courts, and Romantasy Heat to New Adult Readers
Amazon Algorithm Secrets That Separate Bestsellers from the Slush Pile
The Overwritten Novel: How to Identify & Fix Purple Prose in Your Novel.
The Top 45 Publishers for New Authors
From Betty
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Not a very exciting day
Nov. 30th, 2025 10:18 pmsilver_chipmunkI got up at 11:00 and had breakfast and coffee, and then put in a Shipt order.
I took down all the Thanksgiving decorations but I didn't start Christmas yet.
I got online and registered and paid for Arisia. By the time I was finished it was time for the Starsky and Hutch Creative Work session. I logged in and had a good time though I didn't get any writing done.
We chatted til 6:00 when we ended. At 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB. We had quite bad technical issues, on both sides I think. I needed to restart my computer, and we Teamed on my phone for a bit while I did that. After I restarted t though. the Team worked fine.
We talked til 8:30 when I got off to call Middle Brother. He is fine, and looking forward to Christmas of course. I didn't mention the party on the 3rd so it will be a surprise when he sees us.
After that I Had my leftover turkey and stuffing for dinner. It was pretty good reheated.
And then I went to the bedroom and calledmashfanficchick. We talked for a bit, mostly plans for this week.
Then I called the Kid but she didn't answer.
I played solitaire til pet feeding time, and then fed the pets and started here.
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. The Starsky and Hutch fandom.
3. The Starsky and Hutch Advent calendar starts at midnight tonight!
4. It's not so hellishly hot in here as it was.
5. Middle Brother is good.
6. Thanksgiving decorations put away.
I took down all the Thanksgiving decorations but I didn't start Christmas yet.
I got online and registered and paid for Arisia. By the time I was finished it was time for the Starsky and Hutch Creative Work session. I logged in and had a good time though I didn't get any writing done.
We chatted til 6:00 when we ended. At 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB. We had quite bad technical issues, on both sides I think. I needed to restart my computer, and we Teamed on my phone for a bit while I did that. After I restarted t though. the Team worked fine.
We talked til 8:30 when I got off to call Middle Brother. He is fine, and looking forward to Christmas of course. I didn't mention the party on the 3rd so it will be a surprise when he sees us.
After that I Had my leftover turkey and stuffing for dinner. It was pretty good reheated.
And then I went to the bedroom and called
mashfanficchick. We talked for a bit, mostly plans for this week.Then I called the Kid but she didn't answer.
I played solitaire til pet feeding time, and then fed the pets and started here.
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. The Starsky and Hutch fandom.
3. The Starsky and Hutch Advent calendar starts at midnight tonight!
4. It's not so hellishly hot in here as it was.
5. Middle Brother is good.
6. Thanksgiving decorations put away.
signed up for a 2026 Medicare plan
Nov. 30th, 2025 04:35 pmredbirdI signed up for a 2026 Medicare Advantage (part C) plan today. I had it narrowed it down to two plans, and decided yesterday which one I like better. There are minor differences--in particular, the one I chose has a lower copay for physical therapy--but there don't seem to be significant differences. It also has a slightly better rating, according to the Medicare.gov site, by half a star, but that might not be significant (an average 3.7 rounds to 3.5, and 3.8 rounds to 4).
Now, it should just be a matter of telling various doctors and pharmacies that my insurance has changed as of Jan. 1st, and maybe dealing with a new mail-order pharmacy for the Kesimpta.
They gave me a confirmation number, and if I don't hear from the company in the next few days I will call. (Normal open enrollment ends Dec. 7, but I have a "special election period" that runs through February.)
Now, it should just be a matter of telling various doctors and pharmacies that my insurance has changed as of Jan. 1st, and maybe dealing with a new mail-order pharmacy for the Kesimpta.
They gave me a confirmation number, and if I don't hear from the company in the next few days I will call. (Normal open enrollment ends Dec. 7, but I have a "special election period" that runs through February.)
pictures for November
Nov. 30th, 2025 03:14 pmpauraqueLast month I finally got off my ass and put up bird feeders in the yard. Moving is a process, okay?
Black-capped Chickadee. Despite being our most common backyard bird, they are kind of my favorite. (Don't tell the others.) I love the color palette of their plumage. They can't open seeds with their beaks, so they will often take one and fly away to bang it open on a tree branch. Sometimes they are clever/lazy and bang them open on the feeder perches.
( more birds [8 photos] )
( not birds [4 photos] )
Black-capped Chickadee. Despite being our most common backyard bird, they are kind of my favorite. (Don't tell the others.) I love the color palette of their plumage. They can't open seeds with their beaks, so they will often take one and fly away to bang it open on a tree branch. Sometimes they are clever/lazy and bang them open on the feeder perches.
( more birds [8 photos] )
( not birds [4 photos] )
Culinary
Nov. 30th, 2025 07:39 pmoursinLast week's bread almost held out - lasted pretty well, but not quite to the end of the week.
Friday night supper: penne with bottled sliced artichoke hearts.
Saturday breakfast rolls: Tassajarra method, approx 50:50% Marriage's Light Spelt and Golden Wholegrain, maple syrup, raisins, turned out rather well.
Today's lunch: partridge breasts with a rub of salt, 5-pepper blend, coriander seeds and thyme, panfried in butter and olive oil, deglazed with white wine; served with kasha, buttered spinach and sugar snap peas stirfried with garlic.
1SE for November 2025
Nov. 30th, 2025 05:05 pmnanilaApparently I went for a lot of canal walks this month. This was partly because both children were off school for multiple days with a high fever, and I worked from home far more than I’d planned. There are even more cats than usual, too, because I made a lot of new, temporary moggie friends in Cyprus.
drop by and say something nice
Nov. 30th, 2025 09:07 amrunpunkrun✨ holiday love meme 2025 ✨
my thread is here
or just comment on this post if that's more your style
Penric audio news
Nov. 30th, 2025 08:29 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
lois_mcmaster_bujold_feedSome preliminary dates have surfaced for the release of "Testimony of Mute Things" by Blackstone Audiobooks.
General release is scheduled for February 14, 2026:
https://www.downpour.com/products/boo...
And at all the usual suspects/online vendors. Happy Valentine's?
In addition, Audible has an earlier release on December 16th.
https://www.amazon.com/Testimony-Mute...
I've no idea why Audible gets a 2-month exclusive head start; business matters I expect. It was the same for "Demonic Ox".
At any rate, "Coming Soon!" is roughly true.
Ta, L.
posted by Lois McMaster Bujold on November, 30
General release is scheduled for February 14, 2026:
https://www.downpour.com/products/boo...
And at all the usual suspects/online vendors. Happy Valentine's?
In addition, Audible has an earlier release on December 16th.
https://www.amazon.com/Testimony-Mute...
I've no idea why Audible gets a 2-month exclusive head start; business matters I expect. It was the same for "Demonic Ox".
At any rate, "Coming Soon!" is roughly true.
Ta, L.
posted by Lois McMaster Bujold on November, 30