Ally Lester
@cogenthippo.bsky.social
Writer of queer romance, often historical and/or paranormal. Reader, gardener, knitter, early tech adopter. Parent, spouse, disabled, carer. No longer keeps poultry. They/them. Also writes as Frances Fox. https://lnk.bio/gjD5 🏳️🌈 ✒️ 🏳️⚧️
Pinned
Ally Lester
@cogenthippo.bsky.social
· Mar 11
When I feel grim I try and practice gratitude for small things. Probably a thread.
Today I'm grateful for yesterday -- TC was on particularly good form and cheerful about a couple of things they've got going on. On-form teenagers are hilarious.
What about you?
Today I'm grateful for yesterday -- TC was on particularly good form and cheerful about a couple of things they've got going on. On-form teenagers are hilarious.
What about you?
Reposted by Ally Lester
RAISE YOUR VOICE:
Now is the time to pledge your support for banning octopus farming. Octopus farming would be an ethical and environmental disaster, but with enough public support, we can protect octopuses from a lifetime of suffering:
secure.everyaction.com/lE4sjpZgqUST...
Now is the time to pledge your support for banning octopus farming. Octopus farming would be an ethical and environmental disaster, but with enough public support, we can protect octopuses from a lifetime of suffering:
secure.everyaction.com/lE4sjpZgqUST...
November 6, 2025 at 8:18 PM
RAISE YOUR VOICE:
Now is the time to pledge your support for banning octopus farming. Octopus farming would be an ethical and environmental disaster, but with enough public support, we can protect octopuses from a lifetime of suffering:
secure.everyaction.com/lE4sjpZgqUST...
Now is the time to pledge your support for banning octopus farming. Octopus farming would be an ethical and environmental disaster, but with enough public support, we can protect octopuses from a lifetime of suffering:
secure.everyaction.com/lE4sjpZgqUST...
Reposted by Ally Lester
“I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time.”
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 5:26 PM
“I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time.”
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
Reposted by Ally Lester
So a transphobe is threatening @northwestbylines.co.uk with defamation over this 100% accurate and factual piece of Journalism.
Support us by sharing it far and wide 🏳️⚧️
northwestbylines.co.uk/news/equalit...
Support us by sharing it far and wide 🏳️⚧️
northwestbylines.co.uk/news/equalit...
A demonstration of compassion and unity by the trans and cis community
Trans and cis people united in a heartwarming display of kindness outside the Scottish (Holyrood) Parliament on 1 November
northwestbylines.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 1:30 PM
So a transphobe is threatening @northwestbylines.co.uk with defamation over this 100% accurate and factual piece of Journalism.
Support us by sharing it far and wide 🏳️⚧️
northwestbylines.co.uk/news/equalit...
Support us by sharing it far and wide 🏳️⚧️
northwestbylines.co.uk/news/equalit...
My sis has persuaded me to join ancestry dot com and I am obsessing about long-dead relatives.
Also fighting a desire to do a DNA-test to see what comes up and who I might link to. Mr AL argues, rightly, that they can then sell my genetic information to anyone they like so it's a bad, bad plan.
Also fighting a desire to do a DNA-test to see what comes up and who I might link to. Mr AL argues, rightly, that they can then sell my genetic information to anyone they like so it's a bad, bad plan.
November 9, 2025 at 9:47 AM
My sis has persuaded me to join ancestry dot com and I am obsessing about long-dead relatives.
Also fighting a desire to do a DNA-test to see what comes up and who I might link to. Mr AL argues, rightly, that they can then sell my genetic information to anyone they like so it's a bad, bad plan.
Also fighting a desire to do a DNA-test to see what comes up and who I might link to. Mr AL argues, rightly, that they can then sell my genetic information to anyone they like so it's a bad, bad plan.
Reposted by Ally Lester
Head's up there is a Bluesky ban scam going around. This account just joined 40 mins ago and send me this DM.
DO NOT CLICK THE LINK.
Bluesky would NEVER send a DM like this and make you scared. This would come through email and would have a more professional email than this.
Stay safe!
DO NOT CLICK THE LINK.
Bluesky would NEVER send a DM like this and make you scared. This would come through email and would have a more professional email than this.
Stay safe!
November 8, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Head's up there is a Bluesky ban scam going around. This account just joined 40 mins ago and send me this DM.
DO NOT CLICK THE LINK.
Bluesky would NEVER send a DM like this and make you scared. This would come through email and would have a more professional email than this.
Stay safe!
DO NOT CLICK THE LINK.
Bluesky would NEVER send a DM like this and make you scared. This would come through email and would have a more professional email than this.
Stay safe!
Reposted by Ally Lester
A small story of the pain off loss, memory, and #remembrance in 1920s Seven Dials.
November 9, 2025 at 8:34 AM
A small story of the pain off loss, memory, and #remembrance in 1920s Seven Dials.
Reposted by Ally Lester
Hello! Hope you’re on the mend? I’m reading House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson. It’s gorgeously written
November 9, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Hello! Hope you’re on the mend? I’m reading House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson. It’s gorgeously written
Reposted by Ally Lester
Happy Sunday Womble! I’m currently rereading Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie for the first time since it came out and trying to fend off a migraine (nrgh)
November 9, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Happy Sunday Womble! I’m currently rereading Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie for the first time since it came out and trying to fend off a migraine (nrgh)
Reposted by Ally Lester
Got round to this novella by @leemandelo.bsky.social yesterday. Halfway through now. It's a thoroughly fresh, sharply written and increasingly sinister slice of queer historical Appalachian horror.
I'm absorbed, unsettled and impressed.
I'm absorbed, unsettled and impressed.
November 9, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Got round to this novella by @leemandelo.bsky.social yesterday. Halfway through now. It's a thoroughly fresh, sharply written and increasingly sinister slice of queer historical Appalachian horror.
I'm absorbed, unsettled and impressed.
I'm absorbed, unsettled and impressed.
Reposted by Ally Lester
Morning, I'm just about to start Snake-Eater by T Kingfisher then the conclusion to the Sworn Soldier trilogy when I've finished that, so a Kingfisher week
November 9, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Morning, I'm just about to start Snake-Eater by T Kingfisher then the conclusion to the Sworn Soldier trilogy when I've finished that, so a Kingfisher week
Reposted by Ally Lester
Good Morning Blue Sky! Hope you’re all ok? Today after being a little unwell I am planning to finish the excellent The Salt Oracle by Lorraine Wilson. What Are you reading at the moment?
November 9, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Good Morning Blue Sky! Hope you’re all ok? Today after being a little unwell I am planning to finish the excellent The Salt Oracle by Lorraine Wilson. What Are you reading at the moment?
I read this in the week and it's another corker. Highly recommended -- I am starting a a series reread off the back of it.
Just published, the new Green Man book: wizardstowerpress.co...
November 9, 2025 at 9:19 AM
I read this in the week and it's another corker. Highly recommended -- I am starting a a series reread off the back of it.
Reposted by Ally Lester
I don't use generative AI because as a writer of fiction, it offers me nothing useful creatively and nothing trustworthy when I do research. It's not worth the environmental impact. That it's been created by stealing my work and using it in breach of copyright law is a further but separate issue.
Hands up if you've never used Chat GPT ✋
(I feel like Dozer and Tank in The Matrix right now - at first I didn't use it because, rather ironically, I'm lazy and stubborn (peak Taurus energy there) - literally no, don't make me use the new thing I don't wanna. Now I'm glad I didn't 😅)
(I feel like Dozer and Tank in The Matrix right now - at first I didn't use it because, rather ironically, I'm lazy and stubborn (peak Taurus energy there) - literally no, don't make me use the new thing I don't wanna. Now I'm glad I didn't 😅)
Probably a good way to tell right now if the job you’re applying for is run by absolute dumbfucks is to ask if they’re using AI.
November 9, 2025 at 8:57 AM
I don't use generative AI because as a writer of fiction, it offers me nothing useful creatively and nothing trustworthy when I do research. It's not worth the environmental impact. That it's been created by stealing my work and using it in breach of copyright law is a further but separate issue.
Reposted by Ally Lester
1,300 copies of Magic, Maps, and Mischief sold since 24 October.
I always believed that there's a readership for this book but the response so far has been beyond what I thought I could do without a publisher. Thanks to *everyone* who has helped me from a word of encouragement to buying the book ❤️
I always believed that there's a readership for this book but the response so far has been beyond what I thought I could do without a publisher. Thanks to *everyone* who has helped me from a word of encouragement to buying the book ❤️
November 6, 2025 at 6:51 PM
1,300 copies of Magic, Maps, and Mischief sold since 24 October.
I always believed that there's a readership for this book but the response so far has been beyond what I thought I could do without a publisher. Thanks to *everyone* who has helped me from a word of encouragement to buying the book ❤️
I always believed that there's a readership for this book but the response so far has been beyond what I thought I could do without a publisher. Thanks to *everyone* who has helped me from a word of encouragement to buying the book ❤️
Reposted by Ally Lester
I would love it if you could join me at one my upcoming events to celebrate the release of Daughters of Nicnevin
Waterstones events here: www.waterstones.com/events/searc...
The Highland Bookshop tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/daughters-...
Waterstones events here: www.waterstones.com/events/searc...
The Highland Bookshop tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/daughters-...
November 7, 2025 at 5:25 PM
I would love it if you could join me at one my upcoming events to celebrate the release of Daughters of Nicnevin
Waterstones events here: www.waterstones.com/events/searc...
The Highland Bookshop tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/daughters-...
Waterstones events here: www.waterstones.com/events/searc...
The Highland Bookshop tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/daughters-...
Reposted by Ally Lester
"I’m convinced that it’s the cost of living, not immigration, that voters care about. The Green party is the only party honest enough not to try to conflate the two for political convenience."
– @zackpolanski.bsky.social
– @zackpolanski.bsky.social
Zack Polanski: ‘Hope has just won in New York – it can win here too’ | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 8:46 AM
"I’m convinced that it’s the cost of living, not immigration, that voters care about. The Green party is the only party honest enough not to try to conflate the two for political convenience."
– @zackpolanski.bsky.social
– @zackpolanski.bsky.social
Reposted by Ally Lester
There's less fraud in disability benefits than the average millionaire's tax return. We can't save money by screwing over disabled people - that would lead to higher spending in health and social care. (As well as being a crappy thing to do.)
Tax wealth; raise welfare.
#DisabilityBenefits
Tax wealth; raise welfare.
#DisabilityBenefits
November 9, 2025 at 4:18 AM
There's less fraud in disability benefits than the average millionaire's tax return. We can't save money by screwing over disabled people - that would lead to higher spending in health and social care. (As well as being a crappy thing to do.)
Tax wealth; raise welfare.
#DisabilityBenefits
Tax wealth; raise welfare.
#DisabilityBenefits
Reposted by Ally Lester
"The AI industry’s most important product at this moment is not a chatbot or a video generator; it’s the story the AI industry is telling about itself.... According to an MIT study, 95% of businesses that have deployed generative AI have gotten no value from it." www.theringer.com/2025/11/04/t...
How Catastrophic Is It If the AI Bubble Bursts? An FAQ.
The AI industry's most important product is not a chatbot or a video generator; it's the story the AI industry is telling about itself
www.theringer.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:00 AM
"The AI industry’s most important product at this moment is not a chatbot or a video generator; it’s the story the AI industry is telling about itself.... According to an MIT study, 95% of businesses that have deployed generative AI have gotten no value from it." www.theringer.com/2025/11/04/t...
In good news though I got my quarterly from the fab @jms-books.com and despite having done no marketing at all for god knows how long, I made some sales!
I'm trying to work out whether to get my newsletter going again, what to put it in, how frequently to send it, all that stuff.
I'm trying to work out whether to get my newsletter going again, what to put it in, how frequently to send it, all that stuff.
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 AM
In good news though I got my quarterly from the fab @jms-books.com and despite having done no marketing at all for god knows how long, I made some sales!
I'm trying to work out whether to get my newsletter going again, what to put it in, how frequently to send it, all that stuff.
I'm trying to work out whether to get my newsletter going again, what to put it in, how frequently to send it, all that stuff.
I would like a quiet day reading today.
I half-said I'd go to the Remembrance Sunday service with my sis, but I'm not sure I can bear to. It's a long walk up the church path to begin with, and then you walk past Mama's and Littlest's graves. A bit too much remembrance, really.
I half-said I'd go to the Remembrance Sunday service with my sis, but I'm not sure I can bear to. It's a long walk up the church path to begin with, and then you walk past Mama's and Littlest's graves. A bit too much remembrance, really.
November 9, 2025 at 8:21 AM
I would like a quiet day reading today.
I half-said I'd go to the Remembrance Sunday service with my sis, but I'm not sure I can bear to. It's a long walk up the church path to begin with, and then you walk past Mama's and Littlest's graves. A bit too much remembrance, really.
I half-said I'd go to the Remembrance Sunday service with my sis, but I'm not sure I can bear to. It's a long walk up the church path to begin with, and then you walk past Mama's and Littlest's graves. A bit too much remembrance, really.
Reposted by Ally Lester
#20s30s
Note the absence of kitsch, maudlin plastic tat, and fascists trying to co-opt the memory of war (for now).
Note the absence of kitsch, maudlin plastic tat, and fascists trying to co-opt the memory of war (for now).
The 11am silence on Armistice Day, London, 11th November 1925.
November 9, 2025 at 8:08 AM
#20s30s
Note the absence of kitsch, maudlin plastic tat, and fascists trying to co-opt the memory of war (for now).
Note the absence of kitsch, maudlin plastic tat, and fascists trying to co-opt the memory of war (for now).
Reposted by Ally Lester
November but my nasturtiums are still blooming.
November 8, 2025 at 7:42 AM
November but my nasturtiums are still blooming.
Reposted by Ally Lester
Hah yes this.
Some of the books I loved as a teen have really not held up, while others did and are clearly excellent.
But there were books I was also just not ready to read, and my opinions on them were a waste of space.
Some of the books I loved as a teen have really not held up, while others did and are clearly excellent.
But there were books I was also just not ready to read, and my opinions on them were a waste of space.
November 8, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Hah yes this.
Some of the books I loved as a teen have really not held up, while others did and are clearly excellent.
But there were books I was also just not ready to read, and my opinions on them were a waste of space.
Some of the books I loved as a teen have really not held up, while others did and are clearly excellent.
But there were books I was also just not ready to read, and my opinions on them were a waste of space.
In other news, Frenchie, the stomach on legs, ate a £26 packet of functional mushroom gummies yesterday morning.
Was she very cheerful and focused all day? Yes. Was her bottom very sad? Also yes, but that might have been down to the Bertolli spread she stole from the fridge and hid in the garden.
Was she very cheerful and focused all day? Yes. Was her bottom very sad? Also yes, but that might have been down to the Bertolli spread she stole from the fridge and hid in the garden.
November 8, 2025 at 7:55 AM
In other news, Frenchie, the stomach on legs, ate a £26 packet of functional mushroom gummies yesterday morning.
Was she very cheerful and focused all day? Yes. Was her bottom very sad? Also yes, but that might have been down to the Bertolli spread she stole from the fridge and hid in the garden.
Was she very cheerful and focused all day? Yes. Was her bottom very sad? Also yes, but that might have been down to the Bertolli spread she stole from the fridge and hid in the garden.
Slight vaguepost: Humaning is complicated and I still after 55 years feel that I'm terrible with people and am crap at the intersection between friendship and boundaries.
Sigh. This too will pass, live and learn etc. I do feel a bit meh about it all though.
Sigh. This too will pass, live and learn etc. I do feel a bit meh about it all though.
November 8, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Slight vaguepost: Humaning is complicated and I still after 55 years feel that I'm terrible with people and am crap at the intersection between friendship and boundaries.
Sigh. This too will pass, live and learn etc. I do feel a bit meh about it all though.
Sigh. This too will pass, live and learn etc. I do feel a bit meh about it all though.