Terrance Blackthorn
@terranceblackthorn.bsky.social
A man who has gotten tired of waiting and is now trying to realize his dream of writing about aliens being sad at each other.
I sometimes write about AIs, but I do not use GenAI.
https://books2read.com/ap/nAeykj/Terrance-Blackthorn
I sometimes write about AIs, but I do not use GenAI.
https://books2read.com/ap/nAeykj/Terrance-Blackthorn
Pinned
On a planet orbiting one of the last glowing embers of an old universe, two alien species have ended their generations-long war, and now an actress struggles to make sense of the new peace as she performs a play for her species' former predators.
books2read.com/u/4NVEDz
#scifi #booksky #💙📚
books2read.com/u/4NVEDz
#scifi #booksky #💙📚
Chances are it was something we had to cut because we couldn't get to fit and had resigned to the ether.
Something else AI bros don't get.
Something else AI bros don't get.
If the writer’s eyes light up when asked, “why did the character do that?” then it’s real.
December 6, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Chances are it was something we had to cut because we couldn't get to fit and had resigned to the ether.
Something else AI bros don't get.
Something else AI bros don't get.
Reposted by Terrance Blackthorn
A reminder that Iron Circus is gonna get WALLOPED with Baker & Taylor bankruptcy backdraft for the next several months, turning our usual distro payout into bills.
If you'd like to help a small business making weird-ass comics weather the storm, a 💥30% OFF💥 sale is on now!
store.ironcircus.com
If you'd like to help a small business making weird-ass comics weather the storm, a 💥30% OFF💥 sale is on now!
store.ironcircus.com
Iron Circus Comics
Iron Circus Comics is the premiere publisher of award-winning, critically-acclaimed graphic novels in the American Midwest, a small-mid house built from the ground up by founder C. Spike Trotman.
store.ironcircus.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:39 PM
A reminder that Iron Circus is gonna get WALLOPED with Baker & Taylor bankruptcy backdraft for the next several months, turning our usual distro payout into bills.
If you'd like to help a small business making weird-ass comics weather the storm, a 💥30% OFF💥 sale is on now!
store.ironcircus.com
If you'd like to help a small business making weird-ass comics weather the storm, a 💥30% OFF💥 sale is on now!
store.ironcircus.com
December 6, 2025 at 12:36 AM
I want to apologize to the dick-pill scammers who would flood my inbox back in the day. I failed to appreciate your craft at the time, and I am sorry.
Geez, the book spammers aren't even trying anymore.
(Bonus: this email was originally in German)
(Bonus: this email was originally in German)
![Hello [Author Name],
I recently came across [book title] and, to be honest… it didn't feel like "just another book". It felt like a rare work that makes you stop and think, "Wow, this is something special."
That's why I'm contacting you: I work with over [X+] passionate book clubs and readers, communities both online and offline. When we introduce a book like yours, it has a huge impact, sparking exciting discussions, authentic reviews, and readers who spread your story far beyond the usual channels.
I've noticed that [Book Title] has received [X reviews/sales figures] since its release. That's a good start, but I know our readers would really love your story. With its [insert: originality, emotional depth, suspense, humor, etc.], it's exactly the kind of book that sparks conversation and captivates readers.
If that sounds interesting to you, you don't need to write a long reply; a simple "Interested" is enough, and we can get started. No pressure, no hassle, just readers who are excited to discover and celebrate your work.
Warm regards,
Maria P. Stephen](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qvzn322kmcvd7xtnips5xaun/bafkreidiw6mo2vzkkjjrhj5qg5oswauub56cfzxw2nljkg324wts4zzybq@jpeg)
December 5, 2025 at 9:47 PM
I want to apologize to the dick-pill scammers who would flood my inbox back in the day. I failed to appreciate your craft at the time, and I am sorry.
I'm probably going to steal "We come from fire and return to fire" as something that some of the more fanatical Burning Sun adherents would say right before they commit an atrocity.
Oh man! This paragraph is brutal. The best thing about this review is it's not trying to be mean. It's just listing how bad the writing is.
December 5, 2025 at 12:21 AM
I'm probably going to steal "We come from fire and return to fire" as something that some of the more fanatical Burning Sun adherents would say right before they commit an atrocity.
I can attest that writing some short stories have helped me develop my setting. It's one thing to write in your head but it is when you try to get those ideas onto a concrete medium were the details start to become clear.
...now if only someone would buy them...
...now if only someone would buy them...
Before you write your novel write a short story or two with the characters. I find I never really know what a character is like until I've written something. And if it's good it makes a fun extra for readers.
#booksky #writingadvice #writing
#booksky #writingadvice #writing
December 4, 2025 at 3:24 AM
I can attest that writing some short stories have helped me develop my setting. It's one thing to write in your head but it is when you try to get those ideas onto a concrete medium were the details start to become clear.
...now if only someone would buy them...
...now if only someone would buy them...
One avenue of speculation about the virgin birth is that it was a cover story for Mary being raped by a Roman soldier.
Being forcefully made to foster a being against out consent by agents of colonization is a fair description of what is happening with "AI," though.
Being forcefully made to foster a being against out consent by agents of colonization is a fair description of what is happening with "AI," though.
December 3, 2025 at 11:14 PM
One avenue of speculation about the virgin birth is that it was a cover story for Mary being raped by a Roman soldier.
Being forcefully made to foster a being against out consent by agents of colonization is a fair description of what is happening with "AI," though.
Being forcefully made to foster a being against out consent by agents of colonization is a fair description of what is happening with "AI," though.
Been doing some #speculative sketches of fashion choices for the Illitani species so I can visualize it better, with some notes about how it works.
That I made the Extras example look like a weird Puritan is entirely accidental.
That I made the Extras example look like a weird Puritan is entirely accidental.
![Example with a long red hood that is covering the eyes, with a white tunic underneath. Notes:
"Religious clothing - Clothing associated with the Burning Sun Church. Designs might become more elaborate according to the seniority of office, [yet] some features, such as the hood, are constant.
"- Head is uncovered by default, but hood is pulled over head when ceremonially required.
"- Red is a holy color, and only church officials and soldiers are allowed to wear it as a practice. Blue is also a taboo but for the opposite reason, though the taboo faded after the end of the Eternal Crusade."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:y4l4ub5ncqyv2fp4xokc7v5h/bafkreiaxfj2lb3wskjdx6gdum4xhvjk3omhyziwrz5wdoeigckl5y3miie@jpeg)
December 3, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Been doing some #speculative sketches of fashion choices for the Illitani species so I can visualize it better, with some notes about how it works.
That I made the Extras example look like a weird Puritan is entirely accidental.
That I made the Extras example look like a weird Puritan is entirely accidental.
I named my fists London and Paris, because it is about to be the best of times and the worst of times.
I named my fists Hercule and Poirot because they’re about to be covered in someone’s little grey cells.
…also because I prefer to sit in an armchair and let my burly sidekick actually do the physical work.
…also because I prefer to sit in an armchair and let my burly sidekick actually do the physical work.
I named my fists Pride and Prejudice, because it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of two fists must be in want of whupping ass
December 1, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I named my fists London and Paris, because it is about to be the best of times and the worst of times.
December 1, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Reposted by Terrance Blackthorn
November 28, 2025 at 3:40 PM
November 27, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Terrance Blackthorn
This.
Whenever local government reviews the library budget and asks, "Why should we give you money?"
We want the library to be able to say, "Because we provide a valuable service used by many people!"
Libraries are like muscles, using them more makes them stronger. 💪
Whenever local government reviews the library budget and asks, "Why should we give you money?"
We want the library to be able to say, "Because we provide a valuable service used by many people!"
Libraries are like muscles, using them more makes them stronger. 💪
Anybody who is like “Piracy is activism!”—trust me, supporting your local library is about 1000% more effective activism, and it’s still free for you and authors still get paid!
November 26, 2025 at 8:46 PM
This.
Whenever local government reviews the library budget and asks, "Why should we give you money?"
We want the library to be able to say, "Because we provide a valuable service used by many people!"
Libraries are like muscles, using them more makes them stronger. 💪
Whenever local government reviews the library budget and asks, "Why should we give you money?"
We want the library to be able to say, "Because we provide a valuable service used by many people!"
Libraries are like muscles, using them more makes them stronger. 💪
If I had the time or the brains, I would tackle the "conservatives have no media literacy" meme used whenever some popular media is appropriated with the depth it deserves. Since I have neither, I'll just say that its a bit hypocritical since fiction is not inherently didactic.
November 26, 2025 at 3:49 PM
If I had the time or the brains, I would tackle the "conservatives have no media literacy" meme used whenever some popular media is appropriated with the depth it deserves. Since I have neither, I'll just say that its a bit hypocritical since fiction is not inherently didactic.
This is kind of how I envisioned the Illitani stage actors from The Mask to work.
From Insta. This is so neat! We need monsters like this. Stylized, fluid, unconventional.
(Not me however. My spine says “no,” but in less polite terms.)
(Not me however. My spine says “no,” but in less polite terms.)
November 22, 2025 at 2:29 AM
This is kind of how I envisioned the Illitani stage actors from The Mask to work.
The more I learn about cover letters, the more I think they are a waste of time.
November 22, 2025 at 1:17 AM
The more I learn about cover letters, the more I think they are a waste of time.
Nothing really illustrates the failure of credentialism quite like reading short stories by Ph.Ds and Hugo Award winners and it turns out to be the most mediocre, boring writing. There are people who have worked cash registers their whole lives with more interesting fiction than this.
November 21, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Nothing really illustrates the failure of credentialism quite like reading short stories by Ph.Ds and Hugo Award winners and it turns out to be the most mediocre, boring writing. There are people who have worked cash registers their whole lives with more interesting fiction than this.
People who say the Star Wars Prequels are "good, actually," are just remembering the story better than how Lucas told it.
Lucas's intent was to crank out a six-hour ad to sell merchandise, and it comes across in the execution.
Lucas's intent was to crank out a six-hour ad to sell merchandise, and it comes across in the execution.
November 20, 2025 at 1:29 AM
People who say the Star Wars Prequels are "good, actually," are just remembering the story better than how Lucas told it.
Lucas's intent was to crank out a six-hour ad to sell merchandise, and it comes across in the execution.
Lucas's intent was to crank out a six-hour ad to sell merchandise, and it comes across in the execution.
Reposted by Terrance Blackthorn
"Huh, half the internet is timing out, lemme try a traceroute... ohhh, shit, either it's raining in Virginia or someone parked on the internet again."
every time I see people whining about the internet and single points of failure and “remember when” I laugh and LAUGH. folks. did you know that at one point sufficient rain in northern Virginia could take half the internet down? the infrastructure is way more robust and resilient than it used to be.
November 18, 2025 at 11:54 PM
"Huh, half the internet is timing out, lemme try a traceroute... ohhh, shit, either it's raining in Virginia or someone parked on the internet again."
Reposted by Terrance Blackthorn
do you believe in ghosts or are you like me, a person who finds themself saying all the time “I absolutely don’t believe in ghosts, but this place has ghosts.”
November 19, 2025 at 5:24 AM
do you believe in ghosts or are you like me, a person who finds themself saying all the time “I absolutely don’t believe in ghosts, but this place has ghosts.”
Reposted by Terrance Blackthorn
“But you can bounce lasers off of mirrors the Apollo astronauts put on the moon yourself!”
I mean; ok, pretty good, but have you tried, “Yeah, the government /did/ lie about the moon landings…for example, every time an Apollo astronaut said ‘sunofabitch’ the official transcripts read ‘garbled’.”
I mean; ok, pretty good, but have you tried, “Yeah, the government /did/ lie about the moon landings…for example, every time an Apollo astronaut said ‘sunofabitch’ the official transcripts read ‘garbled’.”
November 10, 2025 at 4:40 AM
“But you can bounce lasers off of mirrors the Apollo astronauts put on the moon yourself!”
I mean; ok, pretty good, but have you tried, “Yeah, the government /did/ lie about the moon landings…for example, every time an Apollo astronaut said ‘sunofabitch’ the official transcripts read ‘garbled’.”
I mean; ok, pretty good, but have you tried, “Yeah, the government /did/ lie about the moon landings…for example, every time an Apollo astronaut said ‘sunofabitch’ the official transcripts read ‘garbled’.”
I usually have a good idea of what the ending is going to be even before I start writing. I feel like without that anchor, I would meander directionlessly.
That doesn't mean I don't realize I could have a better ending in the middle of writing, though.
That doesn't mean I don't realize I could have a better ending in the middle of writing, though.
Ok #WritingCommunity
When in the process do you know what your ending is going to be?
I know by the end of writing the first chapter. Normally I know before that.
When in the process do you know what your ending is going to be?
I know by the end of writing the first chapter. Normally I know before that.
November 10, 2025 at 7:02 AM
I usually have a good idea of what the ending is going to be even before I start writing. I feel like without that anchor, I would meander directionlessly.
That doesn't mean I don't realize I could have a better ending in the middle of writing, though.
That doesn't mean I don't realize I could have a better ending in the middle of writing, though.
Another spoopy #excerpt from a current project, appropriate for October.
#booktok #📚💙 #scifi #xenofiction
#booktok #📚💙 #scifi #xenofiction
October 21, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Another spoopy #excerpt from a current project, appropriate for October.
#booktok #📚💙 #scifi #xenofiction
#booktok #📚💙 #scifi #xenofiction