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Edith Pilaf

@tjwest3.bsky.social

1.9K followers 2.2K following 1.8K posts

Queer Appalachian ex-pat writer who loves all things pop culture. My debut queer Appalachian rom-com, Country Road Romance, is available now.

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Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 2h

TFW you find out that someone has a book coming out with your exact title on your exact day, so you have to tweak yours.

My queer Appalachian romantasy is now titled...A Bond of Blood and Stone, Book 1 of Bound Hearts. Coming December 2025!

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 4h

I did some finessing, and here's the tag-line for my queer Appalachian romantasy, "Drawing on the rich but troubled histories of Appalachia and Ancient Rome, Bound by Blood and Stone is a steamy romantasy of star-crossed lovers, queer desire, and the birth of a revolution."

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 19h

God this cat. He’s so cute I wanna crush him.

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 20h

I absolutely adored thjs book. It might just be one of the top five things I’ve read this year. Highly recommended!

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 21h

It's Writing Wednesday over at Omnivorous, where I talk about @banthisbookfest, a truly remarkable book festival that was a reminder of the power of collective bookish events in this repressive age in which we live.

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

Writing Wednesday: Ban This Book Fest & the Power of Reclaiming Reading

This remarkable book festival, held in the queer-friendly city of Ferndale, Michigan, was a timely and powerful reminder of the enduring power of collective bookish events.

open.substack.com

Reposted by Edith Pilaf

Jane Rosenzweig @janerosenzweig.bsky.social · 2d

Indeed. (Although I'd say it without the comma!) www.verizon.com/about/parent...

Text that says "Writing is hard because thinking is hard" Jane Rosenzweig Director

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 1d

Me to my friend about someone who uses AI: If they want to sleepwalk into cognitive oblivion, that’s their right, I suppose.

That about sums up my feelings on the matter.

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 1d

I sent off my author questionnaire to my cover designer for Bound by Blood and Stone, my queer Appalachian romantasy. We're coming closer to preorder submissions, I'm buried under revisions, and yet I'm still thrilled about this book and looking forward to sharing it with the world.

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 1d

The amount of people I know and interact with daily who use ChatGPT for the most banal of functions--even though it's staggeringly unreliable--is truly mind-boggling. We're sleepwalking into a total social meltdown because too many otherwise intelligent people just can't be bothered not to be lazy.

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 1d

OMG y'all. Kiss of the Spider Woman is soooooo good. It's so beautiful and devastating I cried all the way home from the theater. The three leads are terrific, and both Tonatiuh and Lopez are visions. I'm a little in love with Diego Luna. It gave me all the feels. The end. 😂

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 1d

Happy Tuesday, everyone! For today's edition of Omnivorous I reviewed the final four episodes of Monster. Oof. This show is an incoherent, sloppy, bizarre, and tedious mess.

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

TV Review: "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" (Episodes 5-8)

The final four episodes of this season of "Monster" are an incoherent, bizarre, and tedious mess.

open.substack.com

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 1d

He loves to pose for me (mostly because he knows he’s a handsome devil).

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 2d

And the worst part is he wasn’t even at the helm of this one! It’s just awful.

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 2d

I honestly think Monster: The Ed Gein Story is the worst Murphy production I’ve ever seen (except for maybe Grotesquerie).

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 3d

Happy Monday, everyone! For today's edition of Omnivorous I reviewed Honey Don't which was, as I feared, a disappointment that neither lives up to Ethan Coen's other work or its own enticing premise. Sigh. Another dud from a solo Coen.

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

Film Review: "Honey Don't!"

Ethan Coen delivers yet another disappointing lesbian pulp film that fails to live up to either his own previous work or its own enticing premise.

open.substack.com

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 4d

Happy Swoony Sunday, everyone! For today's edition of Omnivorous I reviewed Sonora Reyes' fantastic rom-com The Broposal, which was sweet, funny, and sexy, with some real-world drama thrown in. In other words, it's perfect!

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

Swoony Sunday Book Review: "The Broposal"

Sonora Reyes delivers a sweet, funny, and sexy rom-com that also grapples with the real-world issues facing the undocumented.

open.substack.com

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 4d

National Coming Out Day is just as important now as it was when it was founded, if not more so, and so I'm proud to be an openly out queer person and gay man.

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 4d

I've now been out for well over twice as long as I've been alive (came out in 2002). I'm so glad for my loving parents and for having so many wonderful friends. I'm aware that not everyone has that blessing, so if you ever need a friendly ear or shoulder, I'm always here.

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 4d

Happy Satruday, everyone! For today's edition of Omnivorous I reviewed Wayward, which I found to be a compelling but ultimately frustrating series, with an ending that resolved nothing and a narrative that wandered too much. Toni Collette and Mae Martin are great!

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

TV Review: "Wayward"

The new Netflix series makes or compelling viewing at times and features a strong performance from Toni Collette, but it's hamstrung by a lack of coherence and a limp ending.

open.substack.com

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 5d

Nothing to see here. Just me weeping after reading the poem The Two-Headed Calf.

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 5d

Good evening, everyone! For today's edition of Omnivorous I reviewed the first half of R.F. Kuang's Katabasis. It's beautiful and haunting and devastating, just like good fantasy should be. My review of the second half will come next week!

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

Reading Update: "Katabasis"

The first half of R.F. Kuang's sprawling epic is a wrenching and haunting examination of academia, trauma, and the perils of magick.

open.substack.com

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 6d

eaded to Detroit for the Ban this Book Fest, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 6d

Happy Thursday, everyone! For today's edition of Omnivorous I reviewed the first four episodes of Monster: The Ed Gein Story, which is sadly a major dud, both incoherent and often tragically boring.

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

TV Review: "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" (Episodes 1-4)

The newest season of the true crime anthology drama is unfocused, often quite silly and, perhaps worst of all, boring.

open.substack.com

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 7d

This little excerpt from my forthcoming queer Appalachian romantasy is one of the best things I've ever written, I think. It sums up so much of what it's like to be Appalachian.

Edith Pilaf @tjwest3.bsky.social · 7d

Good evening, everyone! For today's light-hearted edition of Omnivorous, I talk about what I call the 5 stages of revision grief, and how working through those feelings can really help you create stronger writing.

open.substack.com/pub/omnivoro...

Writing Wednesday: Navigating the 5 Stages of Revision Grief

Revision can be an emotionally wrenching experience, but the payoff makes it more than worth it.

open.substack.com