Mary Rose Corcoran
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maryrosecorcoran.bsky.social
Mary Rose Corcoran
@maryrosecorcoran.bsky.social
Author of books and poetry. Currently writing a fantasy/mystery/alternate history. Daylights as a librarian and sometime book vlogger. Champion of many unpopular opinions. https://linktr.ee/maryrosecorcoran
Pinned
When I properly finish my website, I'll pin it, but for now, here is a link to buy my first book, Miscast Spells, direct: shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params...
#booksky 🪐📚
Miscast Spells
Bostwick, a sarcastic magician, is tasked with finding a cure for a cursed princess in the wild land of Styx. Along the way, Bostwick winds up ensnared by a goblin queen who forces him to work as her ...
shop.ingramspark.com
Had a patron at the library tell me, " Demons are coming for you," and "I'll see you in your dreams!", but then an (equally loopy) lady who was warning me about "satanists in Walmart" said, "God bless you" to me, so I think that probably cancels it out.
#librarylife #librarian #library #libraries
February 6, 2026 at 6:37 AM
Reposted by Mary Rose Corcoran
The City Streets #Mapmaking Pack is a brand new printable for drawing story-first city maps.

For #writers, #GMs, and #worldbuilders who want their cities to truly do something.

Available now in my webstore: step-by-step-worldbuilding-shop.fourthwall.com/en-gbp/produ...
February 6, 2026 at 6:31 AM
In my current book, the story is set in a single city that spans a cluster of islands collectively known as New Avalon.
#FebruaryWorldbuilders. What is the scope or size of your world, or the 'space' of the story you're writing? Does it take place on a planet? Across a galaxy? Perhaps you're only writing about one small country or even a city. Or perhaps you have many planets/worlds?
February 6, 2026 at 6:15 AM
Oooh! In Miscast Spells, there are some carnivorous mushrooms that have an anticoagulant in their bite so that what gets bit dies and they can absorb the nutrients. There are also cannibal mushrooms, but those are only dangerous if you're a mushroom. (You're not, are you?)
#FebruaryWorldbuilders What are some flora or fungi found in a notable forest of your world? Are they real or did you make them up?
February 6, 2026 at 6:12 AM
We have a "Wheelie Dan" and a "Trolley Parton", among other named book carts.
Libraries remain the best.
February 6, 2026 at 6:04 AM
This is the law and the whole of the law.
It is absolutely critical that when you drive past a cow, you must point and moo.
February 5, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Mary Rose Corcoran
Sigh.

The reason that recent signed books are not very valuable is because in America, there are more people trying to make a profit on signatures than there are people who appreciate them.

Someday, if you keep it in perfect condition, your newly signed book will be worth... the jacket price.
February 4, 2026 at 2:45 AM
In Styx, everyone is a tea person. In my new book, Constance and Cherry can go either way (though Cherry demands that her tea has honey in it no matter what); Lestrade, on the other hand, is a coffee addict and "practically lives on the stuff."
Is your original character a tea or coffee person?

#OCASK #OCQOTD #OCSKY
February 4, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Mary Rose Corcoran
Libraries are great.
February 4, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Current mood: exhausted and wishing I could be as carefree as these kitties.
February 4, 2026 at 1:14 AM
If I could have one modern book with a Catholic priest character who isn't a louse, that would be great 🙃
#booktwt #catholic
February 2, 2026 at 7:30 PM
And it's fixed! It was an easy fix, too! Thank goodness!
Currently writing... Haha, just kidding. Currently banging my head against the wall because I mistyped my own email address when registering my domain and now I have to wait (hopefully?) for an email to come and tell be how to fix it. Life is pain :)
#writing #writerslife
February 2, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Currently writing... Haha, just kidding. Currently banging my head against the wall because I mistyped my own email address when registering my domain and now I have to wait (hopefully?) for an email to come and tell be how to fix it. Life is pain :)
#writing #writerslife
February 1, 2026 at 11:23 PM
I did it! I started Chapter 1 of Book 2 ;-;
February 1, 2026 at 10:32 PM
I find that combining true crime or parapsychology with history is a good way to learn about time periods that I am otherwise uninterested in (see also: The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln's Ghost by Peter Manseau)
#booksky 💡📚
February 1, 2026 at 4:40 PM
This is a book haul I support. Buy as many bags as humanly possible; when a library does this, it means they need more space in their book sale, and it is your duty to help them get it.
it’s really dangerous out there: the library is having a fill a bag for $1 book sale
January 31, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Reposted by Mary Rose Corcoran
BREAKING NEWS:
BREAKING NEWS 🗞️ 🚨
January 31, 2026 at 10:18 PM
I'm preaching to the choir, but here's my latest post on why books a re a unique, verbal form of storytelling:
open.substack.com/pub/maryrose...
#booksky #writers #writersky #writesky #substack
Books as Verbal Storytelling
Last week, I discussed my love of stories in general, so now we’re going to take a look at books in particular.
open.substack.com
January 31, 2026 at 4:03 PM
✨🌟Bookish Checkpoint 🌟✨
✧ current read: The Mating Season by PG Wodehouse and Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
✧ last book re-read: The Great Divorce by CS Lewis
✧ last non-fiction book read: Fuzz: by Mary Roach
✧ last book added to TBR: El Narco: by Ioan Grillo
#booksky #bookish
✨🌟Bookish Checkpoint 🌟✨
✧ current read: Unfinished Portrait by Anthea Fraser
✧ last book re-read: LOTR by JRR Tolkien
✧ last non-fiction book read: the Botanic Age by Dean Falk
✧ last book added to TBR: Shuttered Secrets by Melissa Erin Jackson
#booksky #bookish
January 31, 2026 at 2:28 AM
halt! this is a bookish checkpoint.

last book: Fuzz - Mary Roach

current: The Mating Season - PG Wodehouse and Three Bags Full - Leonie Swann

newest on TBR: El Narco: - Ioan Grillo

next: The Harvey Girls: - Lesley Poling-Kempes

#booksky 💙📚
halt! this is a bookish checkpoint.

last book: i'm thinking of ending things - Iain Reid

current: best offer wins - Marisa Kashino

newest on TBR: de onzichtbaren - Frank Nellen

next: olive kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout

#booksky 💙📚
halt! this is a bookish checkpoint.

last book: my husband’s wife - alice feeney

current: wuthering heights - emily brontë

newest on TBR: an infinite love story - chanel cleeton

next: i who have never known men - jacqueline harpman

#booksky 💙📚
January 31, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Reposted by Mary Rose Corcoran
January 31, 2026 at 2:18 AM
Thoughts on Three Bags Full so far:
Why is this ram so cool? Why does he have a tragic backstory? Getting a lot of Bagheera vibes from him (a strong-silent-type black animal who was raised in captivity (or abnormal captivity, in the sheep's case.) #bookreview #cozymystery #Booksky
January 30, 2026 at 1:27 AM
Writers who use AI will never know that "Eureka!" moment of daydreaming in bed and suddenly envisioning a scene that will solve a major pacing/plotting snag in your book. It's one of the best feelings in the world. <3
#WritingCommunity #writing #books #writesky #wriersky #booksky
January 28, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Anyone else extremely squicked by the weird backlighting of most AI art, or just me?
January 27, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by Mary Rose Corcoran
Jeeves-and-Worcestershire-ass poast.
January 27, 2026 at 1:00 PM