Ray Ingles
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ringles.bsky.social
Ray Ingles
@ringles.bsky.social
930 followers 220 following 2.1K posts
I’m a software developer with a lifelong taste for science fiction.

My first novel, SECONDARY, is now available! Andy Weir's THE MARTIAN meets Naomi Alderman's THE POWER.

https://secondary.blog
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ringles.bsky.social
Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · Apr 22
SECONDARY is now available almost everywhere books and e-books are sold!

THE MARTIAN meets THE POWER; I can comfortably promise you've 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 read a story quite like it.

books2read.com/b/mdx1Jl
Amazon: t.co/0xpU28EWiE
Sample chapters: t.co/pvZX0lxq2v

#ScienceFiction #TimeTravel #SciFi
A man wearing a lab coat and a lanyard stands centered in the image. The background is split irregularly down the middle by a lightning bolt; the man straddles the divide. On the right, a nuclear plant by the ocean, with a barbed-wire-topped wall. Sun and scattered clouds all the way to the horizon. On the left, clouds and rain. Strange buildings by the ocean, brightly colored. A man and a woman stand in front of them, wearing odd clothing, also brightly colored. The tagline reads, "One survivor of our timeline. And it's the wrong guy." The blurb for SECONDARY, black on an off-yellow background: Everybody has bad days. Jim McAllister's having one that spans two timelines. For an anthropologist, joining the Time Eye project is a career-making dream. He's hardly above pulling strings–especially for a chance to pull photons from the Bronze Age and directly view ancient cultures. Then rogue scientists hijack the Eye, sending an engineered virus back thousands of years. Jim, the last person interfaced with the system, can only watch as reality warps around him. Now he's the sole remnant of the old history: a conspicuous, bizarrely-dressed young man who speaks no recognizable language. Thanks to the virus, anyone with two X chromosomes is a living, and potentially lethal, taser. Men have never been a significant threat to women–quite the opposite. To have any chance of getting home–to even survive, in a world where men's concerns have been secondary for all of recorded history–Jim will need to find allies. He'll have to apply his skills to a uniquely unfamiliar culture, where much more than the gender signifiers are radically different. He must figure out who might listen to his story. A story that's clearly impossible and deeply offensive. Plus, just as a bonus, heretical.
ringles.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 2: percent

There *is* a third option the MC doesn't know about yet. Whether it's better than death is up for debate.

#SciFi #ScienceFiction
*Oh, shit.* The alarms blossomed on my unresponsive screens, the warning tones began to whine. The wolves were overdriving the reactor, melting down the core to get enough energy for this lunacy. It would be worse than Chernobyl. I was 100% boned. If I left Viewer B, I’d die from radiation poisoning. That was a *nasty* way to go. But if I stayed… I’d die of thirst. Not a huge step up.
December 2, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Ray Ingles
juliebihn.bsky.social
I hope to see some new faces on #TimeTravelAuthors next month!
juliebihn.bsky.social Julie Bihn (Titanic Voyage available now) @juliebihn.bsky.social · 5d
Hey #TimeTravelAuthors, if you're posting to both Mastodon and Bluesky for December 🙋‍♀️ and want to include the prompt image, here you go!
#TimeTravelAuthors December 2025 1. Introduce your story (optional: start with "'Twas the night before...") 3. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: decor/decorate) 5. Do any of your characters have a fantasy? 7. How did a character get their name? 9. A time someone failed 11. Does anyone keep things under wraps? 13. Saturday excerpt (optional word: far) 15. How many days/months/years back do they travel? 17. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: room) 19. A character who's naughty 21. A character who's nice 23. Nostalgia in your story 25. Does anything happen at midnight? 27. Saturday excerpt (optional word: gift) 29. Any time travel cliches? 31. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like! Questions? @juliebihn@bsky.social Questions? @juliebihn@mastodon.social
December 1, 2025 at 12:41 AM
ringles.bsky.social
#TimeTravelAuthors 1: “Twas the night before…”

Took me a while for this one. 😀

#ScienceFiction #SciFi
T'was the night before First Light, and the whole campus wide, not a professor was sleeping. They couldn't abide the tension of whether the Time Eye would work. The software was written, yet what bugs might lurk? The math all checked out, but this was new science. They'd spent billions of euros for a #timetravel alliance. So visions of discovery danced in their heads, chasing the Sandman away from their beds. They'd get what they wanted. They just couldn't know the designer planned more than a mere Bronze Age glow. A true revolution via time-traveling virus, sent back before anyone thought up Osiris.
December 1, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Reposted by Ray Ingles
juliebihn.bsky.social
'Twas the night before Christmas, and while the book is mostly sweet, that night, Liam wanted to wring Rocky's arrogant little neck. Want to find out why? Titanic Voyage is free on Hoopla, and I'm posting excerpts this month under #TitanicVoyageReadalong. #TimeTravelAuthors books2read.com/TV
Titanic Voyage being held as I look up at one of the red-and-black funnels on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Overhead are a string of party lights and a night sky. #TimeTravelAuthors December 2025 1. Introduce your story (optional: start with "'Twas the night before...") 3. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: decor/decorate) 5. Do any of your characters have a fantasy? 7. How did a character get their name? 9. A time someone failed 11. Does anyone keep things under wraps? 13. Saturday excerpt (optional word: far) 15. How many days/months/years back do they travel? 17. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: room) 19. A character who's naughty 21. A character who's nice 23. Nostalgia in your story 25. Does anything happen at midnight? 27. Saturday excerpt (optional word: gift) 29. Any time travel cliches? 31. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like! Questions? @juliebihn@bsky.social Questions? @juliebihn@mastodon.social
December 1, 2025 at 9:28 AM
ringles.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 1: belong

Another footnote hit. The MC is always analyzing the culture he's embedded in.

That's the only way he *might* survive.

#SciFi #ScienceFiction
"These boys are of the foisheechupuh with the Temple at Limah.[1] They were hoping to meet you." I got the meaning well enough; that combined words I knew. A 'foishee' was a (male) acolyte, like Manayka. And 'chupuh' meant 'organization/guild.' So, something along the lines of a 'graduate men's society.' [1] A temple belongs to Goddess, and thus isn't 'with' or 'in' a city, it's 'at' a city. Legally distinct from the city itself; not unlike the Vatican enclosed within Rome. Students are in an odd position; more than visitors to the city, but less than residents.
December 1, 2025 at 12:17 PM
ringles.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 30: number

When power dynamics shift radically across genders, customs (among *many* other things) change.

#ScienceFiction #SciFi #SFF #gender
As I washed up in the tub, I remembered something. I vaguely recalled reading about a practice where some tribes or groups in southeast Asia would implant small stones under the skin of the penis–to enhance sexual stimulation.[1] It would seem that tradition had spread farther in this history. I reflected uncomfortably about the number of women from my world with tongue studs. [1] Allegedly for both partners. I believe it was called ‘genital beading.’
November 30, 2025 at 2:11 PM
ringles.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 29: dedicate

Women in the new timeline have dedicated areas of responsibility.

#SciFi #ScienceFiction
Yolyku, the linguist, picked up the picture of the boy, examining it intently. “It… is impossible. Is it not?” She hadn’t quite said what “it” was, but everyone seemed to relax. Fractionally. Nusuku made a jaygo. “That is beyond the boundaries of my remit. But I assure you that if something is not done soon, you-all shall only have a dead boy to study.”
November 29, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Ray Ingles
rockwlrs.bsky.social
Here's a #WIPSnips and #TimeTravelAuthors two-for-one: a sentence about a skill that's part of not being disorganized that's on page 11 of my manuscript. Time travelers have some unique challenges.
You'd be surprised how often teachers tell me I need to work on my time management skills. I just say “You have no idea what that's like for me.”
November 27, 2025 at 4:05 PM
ringles.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 27: disorganized

When you're not a STEM type, but you have to try to explain genetic engineering terms to scientists from another timeline.

How nicely collated would *your* explanations be?

#SciFi #ScienceFiction
Then, ‘zinc fingers.’ Of course, I knew jack shit about zinc. After some struggles, I remembered: “Look like copper!” Atosho and Manayka took notes as I gave a semi-coherent history of the penny. Finally, they relented. Nerugo and T’ramoi were huddled trying to figure out what element ‘zinc’ might refer to.
November 27, 2025 at 2:26 PM
ringles.bsky.social
#TimeTravelAuthors 27: A sentence from page 11

"No Time Eye without that sweet, sweet humanities money."

😀
#TimeTravelAuthors November 2025 1. Introduce your story (optional: include the word "thank") 3. What would your characters do if they could travel forward in time? 5. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: meal/food) 7. Sports in your story 9. Strangest research you did for your story 11. Does time ever fly? 13. Desserts? 15. Saturday excerpt (optional phrase: what if) 17. Does anyone read in your story? 19. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: thank) 21. Something you're thankful for in your writing process 23. Do any of your characters act like turkeys? 25. Shopping in your story 27. A sentence from page 11 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like!
November 27, 2025 at 1:06 AM
ringles.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 26: impede

Vibes. If you give XX types an advantage in violence for, oh, let's say almost six thousand years... well, cultures shift.

#SciFi #ScienceFiction
I talked about the 'ritual impurity' that many religions had attached to periods. After some amazed discussion of that, they explained the theological explanation for menstruation in this culture. Their Satan figure - a rebellious male spirit, naturally - or his subordinates would attack women monthly, to prevent children. Women bled from this combat, but recovered. However, with the assistance of boymilk, they could become pregnant. Which would call down the direct protection of Goddess to (usually) ward off that specific form of attack. I was sensitive enough, and had enough of a social sample at this point, to confirm from tone of voice and expression that 'dahrooleh' was in no way an embarrassing topic here. Like breastfeeding, it was just a fact of life.
November 26, 2025 at 12:18 PM
ringles.bsky.social
#TimeTravelAuthors 25: Shopping in your story

There *had* to be a clothes-shopping scene. Naturally it was mortifying and irritating. 😀

But it was also intended to give a feel for some of the odd features of the new timeline - both material and social.

#ScienceFiction #SciFi
#TimeTravelAuthors November 2025 1. Introduce your story (optional: include the word "thank") 3. What would your characters do if they could travel forward in time? 5. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: meal/food) 7. Sports in your story 9. Strangest research you did for your story 11. Does time ever fly? 13. Desserts? 15. Saturday excerpt (optional phrase: what if) 17. Does anyone read in your story? 19. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: thank) 21. Something you're thankful for in your writing process 23. Do any of your characters act like turkeys? 25. Shopping in your story 27. A sentence from page 11 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like!
November 25, 2025 at 12:23 PM
ringles.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 25: system

In *this* timeline, electricity was a thing in the Bronze Age. Even when Jim has learned individual words, sayings and phrases often confuse him.

#ScienceFiction #SciFi
To my surprise, Manayka interrupted. "It hurts thee, I know." His hands spread, imploring. "But thou needs must see Jeema." He shook his head. "Even in wartime, the commoner messages are sent eventually." The two held each other's eyes in silence for a couple seconds. I was feeling very uncertain and ignorant, confused by the aphorism.[1] [1] Telegraph wires can carry only one message at a time. Long ago when telegrams were the main connection between cities and regions, there was a priority system for which messages got sent first. Price could influence priority, too. In wartime, most of the 'bandwidth' (I think I'm using that term correctly) got reserved for Imperial use, and nobles got a chunk of the remainder. Commoners had to squeeze their messages in between other, higher-priority uses.
November 25, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Reposted by Ray Ingles
naomialderman.bsky.social
just incredibly thrilled to announce that after months and months of uncertainty over the future of the game, and several I have bought Zombies, Run!, the game I co-created and have been making for the past 12 years:

zombiesrungame.com

observer.co.uk/the-critics/...
I’m a novelist who’s just bought a video games company. Here’s why you should care about games writing | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 6:08 AM
ringles.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 24: debut

Jim gets to hang with geniuses on the Time Eye project. It's more stressful than you'd think.

#SciFi #ScienceFiction
An equally famous face. The world’s foremost expert on genetics. She’d developed a technique to prime a patient’s immune system, targeting cancers and tumors. That alone had saved thousands of lives–possibly millions by that point. Trials were almost complete for a potential Multiple Sclerosis cure; she’d engineered a retrovirus that inserted special genes, ensuring the insulation around nerves was tip-top. Groundbreaking stuff. A year and half ago she’d debuted a tailored set of viruses that could create a biological battery out of muscle tissue. A series of injections under the pectorals, for a couple months… and then you’d have a constant, guaranteed-for-the-life-of-the-patient trickle of power available for all kinds of medical implants–pacemakers, insulin pumps, brain monitors. “Groundbreaking” didn’t begin to cover that. Regulatory agencies around the world were struggling to figure out what a safety protocol would even look like for such an advance.
November 24, 2025 at 12:18 PM
ringles.bsky.social
#TimeTravelAuthors 23: Any characters act like turkeys?

Acting 'stupid or inept?' Most of the characters, at times. Even the MC does, on occasion. Otherwise I wouldn't be writing humans. :)

Though most of the characters display smart or competent behavior, too. Which, is, well, also human... 🤷
#TimeTravelAuthors November 2025 1. Introduce your story (optional: include the word "thank") 3. What would your characters do if they could travel forward in time? 5. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: meal/food) 7. Sports in your story 9. Strangest research you did for your story 11. Does time ever fly? 13. Desserts? 15. Saturday excerpt (optional phrase: what if) 17. Does anyone read in your story? 19. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: thank) 21. Something you're thankful for in your writing process 23. Do any of your characters act like turkeys? 25. Shopping in your story 27. A sentence from page 11 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like!
November 23, 2025 at 2:55 PM
ringles.bsky.social
Naked cakes like these are fashionable, and you can have multiple flavors.

I like that they're safer to deliver since they're one layer. 😁

#WeddingCake #Cake
Four round cakes of varying sizes on cake stands, in a wood-paneled ballroom. The white buttercream frosting is thin, allowing glimpses of the cake underneath to show through.
November 22, 2025 at 5:04 PM
ringles.bsky.social
#TimeTravelAuthors 21: Something you're thankful for in your writing process

I queried SECONDARY. Now, I'm kinda glad it didn't get picked up. I write exactly what I want. I don't chase publishing trends or avoid 'scary' topics.

What I write may be weird, but at least it's what I want to write.
#TimeTravelAuthors November 2025 1. Introduce your story (optional: include the word "thank") 3. What would your characters do if they could travel forward in time? 5. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: meal/food) 7. Sports in your story 9. Strangest research you did for your story 11. Does time ever fly? 13. Desserts? 15. Saturday excerpt (optional phrase: what if) 17. Does anyone read in your story? 19. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: thank) 21. Something you're thankful for in your writing process 23. Do any of your characters act like turkeys? 25. Shopping in your story 27. A sentence from page 11 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like!
November 21, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Reposted by Ray Ingles
andrewpaul.bsky.social
Are we potentially divisive?
November 20, 2025 at 6:55 PM
ringles.bsky.social
What movie villain is a horrible person, but an absolute joy to watch onscreen?

Rickman's first Hollywood performance! Shaped movie villains for a couple decades. 🙇
November 20, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Ray Ingles
racthoh.bsky.social
#WIPSnips Special. Little lore dump around necromancers and the co-creator of the elven world.

Text in the alt.

#WritingCommunity #WriteSky
Tyrinal was much like his master, Alfrost, strictly keeping to the school of Legacy. However, she had no interest in bringing back a loved one to have one last moment with them or to see a friend one last time. She specialized in raising her fellow disciples of Phandra, those who were adept in the other two schools. Her depth of understanding was so great that not only were her minions able to perform at their absolute peak, but she was able to absorb the information into herself. Complete and absolute mastery of all three schools of necromancy was at her disposal. A master sailor, ruthless with a sword, mace, or halberd, and a genius alchemist, Alfrost was the true jack of all trades. She even conquered death, granting immortality to her dearest disciples, the closest of all being Tyrinal himself.
November 20, 2025 at 6:39 PM
ringles.bsky.social
Tough for my WIP. It's (kind of) academic, an exploration of a *very* different timeline. And there's a lot to cover; which is kinda the point.

It's first-person from the MC, so that helps. I only explain what he's capable of understanding - things like tech, he *admits* he doesn't grasp. 🤷
susansavagelee.bsky.social Susan Savage Lee @susansavagelee.bsky.social · 12d
How do you decide what to leave unexplained in your WIP? In my novels, I always explain how the supernatural elements came to be because there’s space for it, but not with short stories #writingq #WritingCommunity
November 20, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by Ray Ingles
gunsmile.bsky.social
Bury me with this last sentence carved onto my tombstone.
charliedeltawrites.bsky.social Charlie Delta 🦊🐐 @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 13d
That is fascinating! I like that, the interplay between humanity and monstrosity, reflected in their relationship!

You write some of the most complex and interesting romantic pairings I have seen!
November 20, 2025 at 1:06 AM
ringles.bsky.social
#TimeTravelAuthors 18: 'thank' snippet

Technically, we weren't meeting with 'the Emperor Consort Yarona' *as such*. We were instead meeting with '[Count] Yarona,' his title from his birth clan. The distinction was important. Different - and #thankfully much simpler - rules and constraints applied.
#TimeTravelAuthors November 2025 1. Introduce your story (optional: include the word "thank") 3. What would your characters do if they could travel forward in time? 5. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: meal/food) 7. Sports in your story 9. Strangest research you did for your story 11. Does time ever fly? 13. Desserts? 15. Saturday excerpt (optional phrase: what if) 17. Does anyone read in your story? 19. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: thank) 21. Something you're thankful for in your writing process 23. Do any of your characters act like turkeys? 25. Shopping in your story 27. A sentence from page 11 29. Author's choice/promo All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome! To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors On even days, post what you like!
November 19, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Ray Ingles
desertbus.org
If you’d like to enter this giveaway head to desertbus.org, create a donor account and pledge any multiple of $5.51 This prize will be drawn at 3:45pm PST and every dollar goes to Child’s Play Charity!
Desert Bus 2025
A charity fundraising marathon in support of Child's Play Charity.
desertbus.org
November 18, 2025 at 9:57 PM