M. A. Holland
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maholland.bsky.social
M. A. Holland
@maholland.bsky.social
260 followers 570 following 63 posts
Reader/writer. Meanjin/Brisbane, Australia.
Probably misses his old glasses.
#amrewriting: RAVEN QUEEN'S FLIGHT/RAVEN QUEEN'S RETURN, YA Ornithopunk Duology

mrkhllnd80.wixsite.com/maholland
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maholland.bsky.social
Final November check-in! Hit my target of 30K a few days back, ended with 32.5K on CursesWIP, and 35.7K overall including other projects.

I don't know people do 50K+. I'm exhausted. 🥱
A word tracker for CursesWIP. A moody forest with a calendar superimposed, with daily word counts, and a total at the bottom.
November 30, 2025 at 10:42 AM
maholland.bsky.social
THE ENGINES THAT DIVIDE

Sometimes the easiest decisions to make are the hardest to live with.

A YA/NA dieselpunk novel about two sisters, one a mechanic, the other a pilot, following different paths through a world at war.

#WIPPIT #YA #NA #SFF
A mock cover for the novel THE ENGINES THAT DIVIDE, with the title over art of a dieselpunk fighter plane (art by Ryan Li), with the tagline 'Sometimes the easiest decisions to make are the hardest to live with', and the byline, 'A Novel By M. A. Holland'.
November 23, 2025 at 11:56 AM
maholland.bsky.social
THESE CURSES WE BEAR

If the cursed won't help the cursed, who will?

A dark, fairy-tale inspired YA fantasy.

#WIPPIT #YA #F
A mock cover for my NovelNovember project, These Curses We Bear. A dark forest background with ragged edges, a gothic script in blue reads: These Curses We Bear, with white subtitle at the bottom: If the cursed won't help the cursed, who will?, and my name: M. A. Holland at the top.
November 23, 2025 at 7:34 AM
maholland.bsky.social
Twenty days down, ten straight days over 1000 words, almost 2000 words ahead of my goal currently.

Ten more days to go, and I'm quietly confident I will make my goal of 30K.
A word count tracker for CursesWIP, with a calendar tracking daily word counts superimposed over a picture of a dark forest.
November 20, 2025 at 11:35 AM
maholland.bsky.social
At the halfway mark of November, and I'm on program. I'm as shocked as anyone...
A tracker for CursesWIP, with a calendar tracking daily wordcounts superimposed over a dark forest. The total for November is 16383 after 15 days.
November 15, 2025 at 8:24 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Tonight was a struggle, and I sense it will get more difficult from here - but ten days in to November I'm tracking for 30K words!
A tracker for CursesWIP - a photo of a dark forest, with a calendar superimposed over the top, with word counts marked accordingly.
November 10, 2025 at 11:47 AM
maholland.bsky.social
As the resource-hungry Sovereignty expands unchecked, two sisters find themselves at odds: one a Sovereign pilot, the other a rebel. Their paths collide over besieged Iskar, where magically engineered weapons are unleashed by both sides—at great cost.

#QuestPit #W #YA #NA #SFF
A moodboard for The Engines That Divide, setting a dieselpunk theme with gloomy factories, mechanical walkers, magical science, and unique races.
November 5, 2025 at 10:56 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Check in time - five days down in November, and I'm sort of on track with CursesWIP! 🙃

I'm on track for somewhere between 25K-30K, with a goal of 30K, so I'm doing okay so far.
A word tracker for CursesWIP. A dark forest background, with a calendar over the top. Daily word counts are marked on relevant days.
November 5, 2025 at 7:53 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Following her parents’ assassination, Aveline must flee from those intent on stealing her throne. Adrift in foreign lands, she finds allies in an unlikely place: three hawk-riding scouts, who aid her in her quest to reclaim her birth right.

#QuestPit #W #Revising #YA #SFF
A mood board for the book Raven Queen's Flight, with strip images of a silhouetted bird of prey, foggy, wooded mountainous landscapes, and a close up of a brown bear.
November 5, 2025 at 7:39 PM
maholland.bsky.social
As the resource-hungry Sovereignty expands unchecked, two sisters find themselves at odds: one a Sovereign pilot, the other a rebel. Their paths collide over besieged Iskar, where magically engineered weapons are unleashed by both sides—at great cost.

#QuestPit #W #YA #NA #SFF
A mood-board style card with the title The Engines That Divide, YA/NA Dieselpunk. There are various images, including a mechanical walker, a fighter plane, a factory, and others. A image of a factory in orange and blue, with large smokestacks, with text reading: Sometimes the easiest choices to make are the hardest to live with. Kira Sahl is happiest with soil beneath her feet, tinkering away at machines. Her sister Tam, though? She just wants to fly. Cast into a war half a world away, the sisters find themselves on different paths. Gifted pilot Tam becomes an ace in the elite Sovereign Aerocorps. Mechanic Kira, meanwhile, gets a taste of the war up close. When Kira crosses paths with an enigmatic enemy artificer, she is presented with a choice: stay and fight for a cause she has no faith in, or leave everything she has ever loved behind to join the rebellion. Throwing her lot in with the rebels––the Inkari artificer, a rogue arcanist, a free-thinking mechanoid, and a pair of savage Korat––she puts herself on a collision course with Tam in the battle over a besieged city, where both sides plan to unleash magically-engineered weapons—at devastating cost. A image of a factory in orange and blue, with large smokestacks, with text reading: Featuring: Siblings At Odds Fighting the Empire x Crushing the Rebellion Fading Magic x Rising Machinery Unique Races Dieselpunk Setting Fighter Planes Mechanical Walkers Devastating Weapons A image of a factory in orange and blue, with large smokestacks, with various comps, including Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, Lost Stars by Claudia Gray, the game Iron Harvest, and the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, with various descriptive tags linked to them: Dieselpunk Setting, World War Aesthetic, Mechanical Walkers, Fighter Planes, Dual POVs, Coming of Age, and Empire + Rebellion.
November 5, 2025 at 11:25 AM
maholland.bsky.social
Following her parents’ assassination, Aveline must flee from those intent on stealing her throne. Adrift in foreign lands, she finds allies in an unlikely place: three hawk-riding scouts, who aid her in her quest to reclaim her birth right.

#QuestPit #W #Revising #YA #SFF
A foggy, wooded mountainside, over which there is white text reading: Raven Queen's Flight, The Voronova Duology: Book 1 An image of a silhouetted bird of prey, along with text describing the book's format and themes: YA Ornithopunk (Eagles and Airships), Dual POV, Planned Duology, Lost Throne, Coming of Age, Daunting Legacy, Grief + Loss, Friendship + Found Family, Responsibility v Desire, Imperialism v Autonomy. Also pictured are four comp titles: The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson, Dragon Rider by Taran Matharu, The Waking Land by Callie Bates, and Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian. A foggy mountainside, with text: After her parents are assassinated, Aveline, young heir to the throne of Voronova, must flee those once sworn to serve her. Adrift in foreign lands, Aveline knows she will need allies if she is to survive, let alone honour her father’s legacy. Kohl, a goshawk-riding scout, is on patrol when he spies an unmarked airship stealing through the border mountains. Assuming he has intercepted ordinary smugglers, he sneaks aboard and finds more than he bargained for: a runaway queen. After tragedy strikes, Kohl and his companions Matthy and Surit are drawn into Aveline’s quest to reclaim her throne. Her goal - to seek the help of her maternal uncle, Iskander, and his fierce bear-mounted cavalry. But she scarcely knows the man, and his lands lay on the far side of the continent besides. Mounted on the backs of immense birds of prey, the quartet will make their way across the continent, freeing allies and evading capture… A mountain lake, with text of the following snippet from the book: Through the porthole she watched the palace drifting slowly out of view. The city of Nov Voronova was clustered behind it, on the shore of the glistening Lake Vanda. The palace had been her home for all of her fifteen years - and now it wasn’t. One day, she thought, it will be again.
November 5, 2025 at 7:32 AM
maholland.bsky.social
As the resource-hungry Sovereignty expands unchecked, two sisters find themselves at odds: one a Sovereign pilot, the other a rebel mechanic. Their paths collide over besieged Iskar, where magically engineered weapons are unleashed by both sides—at devastating cost.

#SFpit #YA #NA #WIP #SFan
A banner mood board for the novel The Engines That Divide, with various elements suggesting a militaristic dieselpunk setting.
October 21, 2025 at 12:52 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Does anyone else remember this cult classic from the late eighties? Such feel-good fantasy vibes! A stolen throne, a lost queen, coming of age, true friendship, giant goshawks and airships...!

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who has seen it...

#PosterPit #W #YA #SPF
A movie poster for the novel Raven Queen's Flight, with a young princess standing in front of a great grey goshawk, with three birds flying in the background through a blue sky over mountains. The title is written in gold font, with credits below. The tagline at the top reads 'To win back her throne... ... She'll need to take flight.'
August 16, 2025 at 4:26 AM
maholland.bsky.social
I: RAVEN QUEEN'S FLIGHT | II:RAVEN QUEEN'S RETURN

A tale of friendship, courage and self-belief in the face of betrayal.

A stolen throne

A perilous journey

Eagles and airships

Coming of age

Found family

#questpit #W #YA #SFF
A black raven on a grey background, with a crown and the book titles. A black raven on a grey background, with a blurb about the books. A black raven on a grey background, with an excerpt from the manuscript. A black raven on a grey background, with a list of tropes.
August 6, 2025 at 8:11 AM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 20
December 6, 2024 at 9:06 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 19
The cover of the book Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch.
December 5, 2024 at 8:36 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 18
The cover of the book On Writing by Stephen King.
December 4, 2024 at 8:39 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 17
The cover of the book The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte.
December 3, 2024 at 10:25 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 16
The cover of the novel Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin.
December 2, 2024 at 10:04 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 15
The cover of Scott Westerfeld's novel Leviathan
December 1, 2024 at 9:16 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 14
The cover of the graphic novel Fables 1: Legends in Exile.
November 30, 2024 at 8:56 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 13
November 29, 2024 at 11:45 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 12
The cover of Philip Pullman's novel Northern Lights.
November 28, 2024 at 9:51 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 11
The cover of the book Blue Meridian by Peter Matthiessen.
November 27, 2024 at 9:51 PM
maholland.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Day 10
The cover of Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird.
November 26, 2024 at 9:46 PM