And AtGF is *obviously* leather tack, horses and to Felicity’s great consternation chrysantemums.

I’ll just pick a couple.

SFS: the sea, do’h.

Promises: also the sea, but for extra weirdoness, all chapters would be individually printed in small chapbooks and have actual sea shells for covers.

Prayer: hot cocoa, snow, hearth fire and blood. We hire BPAL for this one, though.

<totters out onto porch>

<settles into rocker>

<thumps cane a few times>

Let's talk about what the process of submitting short fiction used to look like, shall we? And about what it looks like now.

💕

UK friends, Waterstones is having a sale, and AN ARCANE INHERITANCE is eligible for it! You can use the code OCTOBER25 to get 25% off this and other titles, online only, from now until October 17!

Naturally, I pulled some other recs for you too ;)

www.waterstones.com/book/an-arca...

💕

Bookish Checkpoint 📝

🫧last book: The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg

🫧current read: Everyday Aliens by Polenth Blake

🫧newest adds to the tbr: The Mountain Crown by Karin Lowachee, One Morning Sun by Avi Silver

🫧eagerly waiting for: The next Nerezia book by Claudie Arseneault

Oh! They had done a whole bunch of local(ish) history plays and the reason for the subs was explicitly “we want to share this history with the world” and then the plays were in the local dialects of the actors and look it was extremely wholesome and lovely and my sleep and the world have cheated me.

I dreamt that a local small-time (and 50+) amateur drama club put all their performances online with human-made subs and then I woke up sad this did not exist.

But also sad my brain clearly did not get to the mystery part this was obviously set up for before I woke up.

COMMON BONDS lovers, you can get even more of the good stuff. An entire anthology of short stories and poems that have:
💚 science fiction and fantasy
💚 aromantic MCs
💚 a focus on platonic relationships!

Publication in 2026; preorders through late pledges: www.kickstarter.com/projects/cla...

🌈📚

Thanks. <3 I'm glad you found something that helped you! It's so frustrating. I've gotten fairly good at managing, but it'd be nice if I could tell someone "This is why I can't do that" and just have it be accepted because a reason was included.

🫂

Me: Oh sure. I’ll cycle for 30 minutes. That’ll be hard because muscles but fine.
Also me: [almost faints five minutes after arriving]
Doctors & PTs: You’re totally fine physically.

YES I CAN TELL THIS IS CLEARLY NORMAL.

Matt has a lot going on, and I'm sure would appreciate some book sales. I can personally recommend the bronze carriage story as a terrific Gothic ghost story that would not be out of place in any classic collection of eerie tales told by the fireside.

Con or Bust is accepting applications now for the Goldman Fund to send Palestinians to the 2026 Metropol Con in Berlin! If you're Palestinian, or identify as a member of the Palestinian diaspora, get your application in by October 16, 2025.
dreamfoundry.org/con...

You got this! That’ll look gorgeous. 😄

I’m so sorry to hear this, Matt. Wishing you and Cat the best.

The Octocon schedule is here! And I'm actually organised enough to work out a post to announce this. (My brain this summer. I swear.) Come join me at @octocon.bsky.social in October!

🔥 Do you love The Anvil, our regular unconference for creatives of color? We do too! We'll be meeting next on November 29. There's plenty of time to register, and to sponsor!
dreamfoundry.org/the...

All Is Bright, my Christmassy F/F romance novella set in a little village in Wales, is out TODAY!

You can get it in these places and more:

Kobo: www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/...
Smashwords: www.smashwords.com/books/view/1...
AZ: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FS4G5PKX

Oh! If you’re wondering I’m on the correct route now! It takes a bit, but we get there in the end!

Ah. It’s “not slowing down the traffic with turns to get to this building”. Not a fan. It’s a cycling lane for a reason.

And I just want to point out that I’m on foot. Also cars what the eff are you doing on the cycling lane?!