C. M. Rosens
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cmrosens.com
C. M. Rosens
@cmrosens.com
11K followers 3.3K following 11K posts
UK Horror & Dark SFF hybrid author - Canelo Horror (2024) & indie

ADHD. Welsh-Turkish 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇹🇷. Queer/cis🏳️‍🌈. She/her.

Podcast: @eldritchgirlpod.bsky.social
Website/Newsletter: cmrosens.com
Visit Pagham-on-Sea: visitpaghamonsea.co.uk
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I went along to the local writers circle that Himself has started going to, they have monthly meetings and a guest author each time. Tonight was Jake Arnott, with his latest book BLOOD RIVAL (a queer modern neo-noir retelling of Sophocles' drama Oedipus Tyrranus with gangsters in Kent). Loved it
A copy of Arnott's novel BLOOD RIVAL with a blue cover and red blood drops in the letters of the title, on a red sofa in low light. The title page of BLOOD RIVAL published by Datura. Jake Arnott has signed it To Mel with best wishes Jake Arnott (author signature). My small [white] hand is holding the book open.
November 12, 2025 at 9:59 PM
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Update from Saeed: 🍉

"Every contribution we receive, no matter how small, makes a big difference in our lives and gives us warmth and hope that humanity still exists. Please amplify my voice and share my story with your friends."

Support link: gofund.me/a0a540b8
A humanitarian appeal from Gaza - Saed Help me keep my family warm before Gaza's harsh winter. I'm renewing my appeal that my family urgently needs warm blankets, clothes, and shoes suitable for winter. My family and I are trying to cope despite life's hardships. But your support gives us strength and is our only source of income after we lost everything in the war. Every contribution we receive, no matter how small, makes a big difference in our lives and gives us warmth and hope that humanity still exists. Please amplify my voice and share my story with your friends. Support link on GFM: https://gofund.me/a0a540b8
November 11, 2025 at 5:40 PM
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Fancy something longer you can get your fangs into?

Try my novellas and novels- Horror and Dark SFF in the Gothic mode, from soap opera with tentacles to a sumptuously queer dark fantasy.

I even have a contemporary asexual romcom/domestic drama.

🎨 Delilah Monroe @delilah21.bsky.social
Portrait of Ricky Porter by Delilah Monroe. Ricky is a white man in his late 20s, wearing a bloodstained grey hoodie and trousers, with dark tendrils sprouting from the back of his shaved head. He is in a rustic kitchen leaning over the back of a wooden chair. A human arm is growing out of the chair and he is holding its hand.
November 7, 2025 at 2:10 PM
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Want something bite size, involving body horror and themes of love, loss, obsession, desire, and a creeping sense of unease?

Try my short stories:

LATEST: Along the Xylophone Road in OCCUPYING BODIES anthology
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The Snow Child | The Sound of Darkness | Overexposure

cmrosens-fiction.carrd.co
Occupying Bodies cover, compiled by Bernardo Villela and edited by Dean Shawker. A deconstructed human body in black, grey, white, and red, with the blood vessels of the lungs visible.
November 7, 2025 at 2:04 PM
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Walk along the harbour today for a quick look around the Natural History museum. Really enjoyed it even though a lot was under construction and new exhibition spaces are being developed. We grabbed coffee and a sandwich from Γρηγόρης and ate them in the hotel lounge.
View of a Diemotherium model from the 1st floor of the museum. It stands on the ground floor, and is a grey, long-legged elephant type creature, with tusks from its lower jaw pointing backwards, and a short trunk, which is raised. It has small flappy ears, much smaller than an elephant. The lower jaw bone of a Diemotherium excavated in Crete. It is taller than me, so maybe 5ft 6in? It shows the molars and the long curved tusk. The range of blues of the sea today in bands of colour as the waves roll in. There is a mix of greens and blues in messy bands as you go from the sea wall to the horizon, where it is a very dark blue. The marina, with small fishing boats in the foreground and the Venetian fortress on the left in the background.
November 7, 2025 at 1:38 PM
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We spent today in the city as the storms roll in. We went to the musical instrument museum (a lot of fun, the demos were great), visited St Titus & St Minas, had a long lunch and then visited The Spirit of Greece ceramic shop, full of pieces by an experimental archaeologist.
St Minas's, no longer covered in scaffolding. View to the chancel screen, the ornate chandelier and the painted ceilings. A lyre with 6 strings, or 3 double strings, that was demonstrated to us in the musical instrument museum.
November 6, 2025 at 2:39 PM
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Aghios Nikolaos- we walked up the hill to the Archaeological Museum (worth a visit) and pottered around the lake.
The famous blue and white bridge across the channel the Ottomans dug to connect the lake with the sea, as apparently it was stagnant and it stank, so they opened it up to let the water flow again. The town radiates out around the lake and the harbour. Amphorae covered in barnacles, raised from an under-sea excavation. On display at the Archaeological Museum of Aghios Nikolaos. The head of a small statue, not life size, a with an enigmatic smile. Her eyes are really cool - her pupils have been engraved using a compass.
November 5, 2025 at 4:39 PM
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Rest stop at Elounda Bay where I very very briefly saw the head and nose of what I think must have been a dolphin, bob up so fast and then dived again. I didn't get a picture, and we didn't see any more of them. I feel very lucky to have had a glimpse of one.
The sea so clear you can see the seabed and all the rocks and stones through the turquoise shot through with veins of golden sunlight. The peninsula viewed from the boat, with sparkling diamonds of sunlight on the deep blue waves.
November 5, 2025 at 4:33 PM
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Today we had a day trip to Spinalonga Island, which was occupied by Romans, Ottomans, and Venetians, before becoming a colony for leprosy sufferers in the early 20thC up to the 1950s. This last chapter of its history was brought back into the spotlight by Victoria Hislop's novel THE ISLAND.
The walls and fortress viewed from the boat, all of which is now a museum. The walls impeded life for the people there in the 1900s who were living with leprosy and trying to get goods in and make things more accessible, so some sections were demolished in that period. There are a lot of layers of archaeology and architecture on the island and the fortress walls enclose a town of Ottoman houses with windows but no balconies, and Venetian architecture, as well as remnants of the Roman constructions. As the houses were all abandoned, Spinalonga ended up as the designated place for leprosy sufferers to live rather than in caves or in the mountainns, as leprosy was mistakenly believed to be contagious until the mid-20thc, when antibiotics were developed that successfully treat it. The people there didn't receive much support until the 1930s when a young lawyer arrived, having been diagnosed with leprosy himself, and they formed a union to lobby for better assistance and care. The view from a section of the walls with a rounded dome on a lookout post visible, casting its distinct shadow on the sea, which is not just uniform blue but has clear waters near the shore where you can see straight down to the stones, then a band of turquoise, a strip of darker navy, and then the rich deep blue of the Mediterranean. Even then it is not the same colour blue to the furthest shore, there are patches or lighter shades and golden sunlight on the water. The balcony-less flat-roofed houses of the Ottoman period, a terrace of orangey-yellow plaster, with red, yellow and blue painted doors and window shutters for each building in the row of 3. (Nearest is an ochre red, middle is bright yellow, end is a powder blue) These buildings are ruins now, without ceilings or upper floors. This is a view between two terraces, up an alley with steps and a trellis bridging the gap above where vines or other plants could be grown. The houses are of rough undressed stone, with square windows facing each other.
November 5, 2025 at 4:27 PM
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Just got lucky as walk-ins for Peskesi, which is a farm-to-table restaurant in Heraklion. They won the 2023 EU Best Organic Restaurant Award. Genuinely if you can get in there (book in advance is best).

Genuinely the best value meal we have ever had for the quality of the food. Such a great night.
An under-cover outside eating area of the taverna, with tables and chairs set out beneath a roof covered in vines and branches like a grotto. Two chandeliers hang from the roof in addition to bulbs on strings to illuminate the space. A thick velvet curtain is pulled back in one corner, which could be pulled across to block sight of the creamy yellow wall that closes off that side.the other side is a white stone wall, pitted and naturally textured.
November 4, 2025 at 6:14 PM
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Knossos is massive, bigger than Phaistos, and we spent about 3hrs there in total. We could have booked a guide when we got there but R wanted to go around with a detailed guidebook at his own pace, so we did that instead!
Part of the Palace, black pillars with red and gold rings top and bottom holding up the cloister roof, with 4 doorways behind, each rectangular, with a smaller rectangle opening above the door. The walls are painted a golden yellow. A red painted room with some fun decorations around in a frieze. There is a stone throne set into the wall and a large stone basin on the floor in front of the throne. View from above a few tiers of architecture looking down. Red pillars with black and white rings top and bottom are visible on the floor below, a staircase winds down to the bottom, and the yellow dressed stone is visible. View of the tiered levels of the Palace from below, looking up beyond the ruins to the reconstructed buildings of the complex.
November 4, 2025 at 2:54 PM
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Took the bus out to Knossos and back today. Very easy to do, cheaper to buy tickets in advance rather than on the bus (€1.70 per ticket via machine, €2.50 per ticket if you buy on the bus).

Local celebs in this post, some Knossos Palace pics in this thread.
A brightly plummeged male peacock strutting about with his wings folded and tail down, blue body and green back, on dry ground. A small, sleek little Tabby cat lying on the concrete having a relax A murder of crows having a normal one and screaming at each other while gathering in a tree The Sacred Horns in stone behind a rope fence, trees in the background, in Knossos Palace.
November 4, 2025 at 2:40 PM
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Mátala - had a great lunch and now hanging out near the caves on the beach. Caves are man made and used as tombs from Neolithic to Roman times. Then became a hippy haunt in the 60s and 70s - the town still has those vibes.
Man made caves hewn into the rock so that it looks honeycombed, the cave entrances are kind of lozenge shaped with square entrances set back in them for access to inner chambers. The beach, sea, and the rocks going down into the sea, a finger of land honeycombed with caves. View of the caves again but from the walkway along the sand. View straight out to sea, the bay between the spurs of land, and a distant island. There are beach chairs and umbrellas and people swimming.
November 3, 2025 at 1:26 PM
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Some Palace of Phaistos pics
West End: a paved slope and the lip of what was a large circular thing. Archaeologists aren't sure if this was a granary or something else. The sky is a gorgeous rich blue. The central court, vast and flat and paved. A distant R for scale in black shirt and teal shorts is in the middle distance. Standing on the top of the steps at the entrance to the Palace of Phaistos, a panoramic shot of as much of the Palace as you can see from there. You get a lot of the layout of the courts and inner buildings. R descending the Grand Staircase. It is a very bright day but there is a billow of white cumulus behind the trees in the background.
November 3, 2025 at 12:30 PM
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Small sample of Gortyn pics
The front of the Church of St Titus, originally a cross shaped building. It has a window in each of its 3 sections, 2 arched and the central one is square. Internal shot of one of the side chapels of St Titus, with a short cylindrical font (?) and someone has left red flowers in vases in the alcove behind it. There is a rainbow on the floor in a straight line. The Great Inscription- found in the late 1800s and then uncovered and transcribed in the early 1900s-1910s. Worth looking up. The plane tree (now just a trunk and 2 sawn off branches) where Zeus appeared to Europa in the form of a bull. It is fenced off with a Greek only sign in the foreground, standing alone in a patch of green surrounded by a wall and fence.
November 3, 2025 at 9:58 AM
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Some of the cool things we saw! Early automata, robotics, hydraulics
The first robot, with a sculpted female face, who pours wine mixed with water when you place a cup in her free hand. A model of the temple of Dionysius with dancers around it that performs a 4 act automatic performance, painted in bright colours. The first static cinematic experience, with an automated show that could be programmed to tell a myth story. It is replicated in full on its stand and has 2 screens either side that play videos for you to learn how it works. It is a working model that is sometimes demonstrated. One of the religious technologies demonstrated at the start of our visit. No matter the size or value of the coin dropped into the top, it will always dispense the same amount of holy water, as human status means nothing to the gods. The jar is cut away to reveal the science behind the dispenser, basically a very early vending machine using water and weights.
November 2, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Greek and Roman stuff - mostly from graves and cemeteries
Clay lion lying down Stone Eagle side on, wings folded back Bronze shield with a lion's head in the centre A bowl set around with animal figures and a grieving woman, and a bird symbolising death in the centre.
November 2, 2025 at 12:17 PM
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End of this era: going into the warrior tombs of the necropolis now.
Painted fresco detail of two black African soldiers running behind a brown guard, all have anklets and similar clothing but the leader of the runners is in yellow and the other 2 are in blue. A helmet with cheek guards plated with boar tusks A tomb painted with frescos on all sides, there is a procession on this side Another painted tomb, this is plainer with patterns on it and the lid is ajar to show how the bones were laid out inside.
November 2, 2025 at 11:23 AM
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More stuff! Alt text for description and context.
Large double headed axes (3) mounted on poles and painted blocks Pyramidal porphyry weight, 24kg, with an Octopus carving relief and an attachment hole. Probably used for measuring and standardising the weight of copper ingots. Knossos Palace, 1500-1450BCE Copper figurine of a bull leaper, three dimensional male figure, attempt to capture the movement and athleticism of the feat. No bull. Mounted on a metal strip. Votive double headed axes, some inscribed.
November 2, 2025 at 10:58 AM
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Heraklion Museum of Archaeology - Day 1 (some of my faves)
Snake goddesses (votive figures) with the sun disc in rock crystal above them Restored bull head for cult libations with gold horns Minos ring, gold, engraved with an image of a temple and trees (?) The Phaistos Disc with engraved characters on its stand
November 2, 2025 at 10:46 AM
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Dinner tonight: the gyros bao

Fusion at its finest
A plate [wooden board] of 3 Bao buns stuffed with gyros [roasted pork sliced very thinly, kebab meat basically] tsatziki, slaw, and fresh, chopped tomatoes
November 1, 2025 at 11:26 PM
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#BookSky I made a trailer... 🌈📚💙📚😱🩸📚👀

You can't choose your family... but you can eat them

Adult #Horror novel, eldritch family drama with dark humour and bite. OUT NOW from Canelo Horror - get it for Halloween.

buy.bookfunnel.com/kwqd6x2s9w
October 27, 2025 at 9:57 PM
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I've also had some great Katy art - you can meet her in THIRTEENTH and/or THE DAY WE ATE GRANDAD (links below).

Art by @delilah21.bsky.social | @georginadonnelly.bsky.social | @tomsbrown.bsky.social | @visceralrevolt.bsky.social (bottom centre, available to buy as an art print). #darkart #horror 📚😱
6 images in a collage. Top Left is Katy by Delilah Monroe, a strong, athletic white woman in her early 20s with brown hair standing in front of a throne made of wailing creepy ghosts. Katy has a scorpion tail. Top centre is a portrait by Georgina Donnelly, of Katy when she was an older teen. Katy has cherry red dots in her pupils, and long straight brown hair. The top right is a black and white toned drawing of Katy by Tom Brown, again as an older teen version of the character. She has eldritch thorns coming from her head like a crown, and a scorpion tail outline behind her. Bottom middle is an art print by Visceral Revolt that you can buy from his shop. It's of Katy, again a teen version of her, marching off somewhere while angrily glaring at her glowing phone. Her tail is more tendrils interwoven with a wicked spike on the end. The bottom left image is the cover of my novel Thirteenth, and the bottom right image is the cover of my novel, the day we ate grandad, both designed by Sarah M. Whittaker.
October 25, 2025 at 4:43 PM
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I've had some amazing art of Ricky- you can buy image 2 (middle, top) directly from @visceralrevolt.bsky.social as an art print.

@delilah21.bsky.social | @visceralrevolt.bsky.social | @georginadonnelly.bsky.social | @tomsbrown.bsky.social | @bluekookutchoo.bsky.social

#darkart #AceWeek #horrorart
6 images of the same character by different artists. Top 3: Ricky be Delilah Monroe, digital art, where a white guy in his late 20s/early 30s is leaning over the back of a kitchen chair and holding the hand of an arm sprouting from the chair seat. He has sinister tendrils coming out of his head. Pic 2 is a gooey body horror version of an older Ricky by Visceral Revolt, available to buy as a print from his shop. Ricky here looks way more undead and his tendrils are fleshy, like intestines, but alive like snakes. Pic 3 is a portrait by Georgina Donnelly, blue background, much softer. Less attitude, more contemplative. Red tendrils emerge from the back of his head through a gaping scar. Bottom row is Ricky and Carrie as a couple, the left and right images are sketches by Tom Brown, and the middle is a colour picture, three-quarter length bodies, by BlueKooKutchoo. Here, Carrie is a blonde woman in a green and white supermarket uniform. Ricky wears his signature grey hoodie in all the images.
October 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM
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In time for the end of #AcePrideWeek, check out this gorgeous art from @delilah21.bsky.social

Meet Ricky Porter, ace and sex averse, in a very it's-complicated relationship with an old haunted, cursed, house.

Meet him in my books: www.cmrosens-fiction.carrd.co
A white man in a grey hoodie and grey trousers, all bloodstained and grimy, leans over the back of a wooden kitchen chair in a rustic kitchen with old tiled walls, wooden cabinets, and an aga cooker. An arm is emerging from the chair seat, blending from the wood of its origins to the flesh tones of the man, who is holding its hand. He has dark root-like tendrils coming out of the back of his head and casting shadows over his face. The tendrils have leech mouths along their lengths. He has a serious expression, looking out at the viewer with a bit of casual attitude.
October 24, 2025 at 5:22 PM