No, soap operas bore me to tears. Thanks for the clarification. Even the costumes wouldn't be enough to get me through that. 😂
Writer, editor, lover of dreams and folktales. BLM. Trans Rights. Women's Rights. Refugee Rights. Human Rights. We're all just walking each other home. She/her
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No, soap operas bore me to tears. Thanks for the clarification. Even the costumes wouldn't be enough to get me through that. 😂
I haven't seen this, but I loved reading your take-down of the costumes. I almost want to watch it now, just for the laughs. Thank you. 😂
I love @arvonfoundation.bsky.social. In-person retreats, online masterclasses, monthly writers' club session online (which is pay-what-you-can) –– all astonishingly good quality, supportive and helpful without being patronising.
Thank you. He's still not brave enough to be explicit, I see. Framing it in terms of racism is funny in a way, because he's not picking the side he thinks he's picking.
What did he say? It's a deep shame that he comes into office and starts this new chapter IMMEDIATELY establishing that he's not trustworthy. How can anyone depend on him, if his foundation even at this point is one of hiding the truth for his own advancement?
🧡
Don’t tell me to report anything suspicious that I may see. Tell me instead how with rosy steps the morn advancing drives the shades of night away and standing barefoot on a Herdwick rug, earthfast, I’ll call to the common mind that it is needed, urgently, its common care. Peter Riley
Still working on my selkie novel, on draft 4 now, but I think very close to completion. Hoping to tie it up with festoon of seaweed by the end of the year at the latest. (But who knows? It will do what it will do.) Very happy to see #WomenWritersNet here on Bluesky. 💙
So glad these chats will happen on Bluesky soon. A frantic hour of interesting questions, trying to add useful answers into the mix, engaging with as many of the other insightful responses as possible (which often isn't many because time RACES). Bucket-loads of wonderful women writers out there!
First sunlight cast along the canal represents eight Canada geese as a golden flotilla. Under their gold they worry and watch as usual. What kills me in love is when the world falls into the song and laughs itself out again. 'Truth, Justice...', Peter Riley longbarrowpress.com/current-publ...
This. ✍️ 'Tell the whole truth. Don’t be lazy, don’t be afraid. Close the critic out when you are drafting something new. Take chances in the interest of clarity of emotion.' ––Jane Kenyon
Courtney nailed it. I'd add, in parentheses, that the Regency era was when women began to write novels for other women. Jane Austen, certainly, but also Ann Radcliffe and a bucketful of others, many forgotten. The roadmap was drawn then.
My deep, heartfelt regrets to anyone who followed me to have lovely chats about writing, the nature, purpose, process and joy of writing, and instead has been peppered by my stressed-out yelps of indignation when any given politician says or does something blatantly cruel. Which is constantly.
They talk about 'common sense.' To me, that's common sense.
What party says: No one is illegal Everyone has rights No one is worth more or less than another You may not harm, attempt to harm, or threaten to harm others That is illegal Until you do that, you are within your rights Demonstrate. Express yourself. Wee where you're comfortable. Be kind. ?
Goodnight to Lewis - I hope he wakes in the morning with nothing worse than a hangover, though I won't bet on it. Goodnight to Leah, though I expect she'll find it hard to sleep. Goodnight to all of Hookland, and to you.
Scott, gifts can be sent, can't they? I'd be happy to send you one as a gift from one Hookland enthusiast to another.
I bought me one for me. 🖤
The (American) football game I slept through while Michigan fans screamed around me. Or the time I dozed in the airport and woke after my plane had left without me. The plane ticket was technically pricier, but the cost of the football ticket was ratcheted up by the loss of my husband's goodwill.
What, you're not walking it over? 😘
Twenty years ago we re-mortgaged our house to start Bluemoose and find great new writers who were being overlooked by the industry. In the last 2 years we've had 2 BBC TV series adapted from books we published. Not bad eh! www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
In the light of this, can you clarify your views, @zarahsultana.bsky.social? Transphobia is a deal breaker. Assuming that gender is binary is unscientific, transphobic, and frankly stupid. Assuming that trans people are a threat just because they are trans is transphobic. There are better ways.
The party on the left has 72 MPs - more than any liberal party has had for 100yrs. party on right has been around a tiny fraction of that time & has just 4 seats. Greens also have 4 - more than ever 72 v 4 v 4 Demand fairer coverage now Sign and pass on.. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...
@sheffcitycouncil.bsky.social, this is sane, healthy and upholds basic human rights. Worth a look.
That glow, though. 🔥
🥳🌟
Getting the right ADHD meds changed my life. Enjoy it!
💔
It's the year 2025 and I'm so tired of having to say: - immigration is good - racism is bad - bodily autonomy is good - policing bodies is bad - consent is good - overriding or ignoring consent is bad Why are so many people determined to ignore these demonstrable facts?
She has that air of desperation, poor thing. You heartless beast.
Goodnight, Hookland. I hope your body is easy and your spirits serene. Sleep well.
Thanks for the tip. I will always be prepared. 👍😁🤺
Emily is my girl. I love her.
How though? You can't leave it like that. What should I do if a pack of wolves runs me up a tree? 🐺🌲🌖
I have this deck, it's amazing and gorgeous. Powerful stuff.
Brilliant.
Sending good wishes to all of you, that the hares may be at peace, and Meg may find a thorn bush growing by the garden gate, that houses flocks of sparrows and keeps malice away. May tomorrow be kind to you, and healing be swift. Goodnight, Hookland.
Sending good thoughts to the sparrows. May they be well. And to you too.
This got inside my heart.
Stunning microfiction (or you could call it a prose poem, yes?) by @jeffreyhermann.bsky.social. Hop on over to The Disappointed Housewife online journal to read more of his excellent work! thedisappointedhousewife.com/2025/08/20/t... #microfiction #poetrysky
My heart.
Oh! Oh! Oh! I have rewrites to do! I'm so excited. The best feeling in the world is opening your eyes in the morning after an unusually good night's sleep and thinking, 'I get to write today.' It's going to be brutal and exhausting and joyful. I can't wait. ✍️
I would like to be friends with this man, we need more of this. “The No 1 thing I want to show is that unregulated, brutal capitalism is not the way forward, and that we can behave another way. I would go as far as to say the future of our planet depends on it.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
I support Sally Rooney. She can't publish her statement in a UK newspaper — because that would now be illegal. But you can read her message in support of Palestine Action in the Irish Times, here: www.irishtimes.com/culture/book... #STOPtheGENOCIDE www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
I thought it was too soon. I've been looking for them, but you're right, they're gone.
I love what you do for a living too. 💙 All this time, as I've been writing Isla, I've used your image as an inspiration. (Mainly the head silhouette, but also the girl on the rock with the huge seal). Isla is nearly ready! Just a few more weeks, then I start searching for an agent. 🌊🦭🤞
It's really tough. I have to stop looking at news if I'm going to write, but you may not be in a position to do that. Even a short detox helps clear the brain. No news on any given day until after 1. Breakfast 2. Walk 3. Writing. But I'm retired, which is a massive luxury for a writer.
It might take a little time.
For me, this London Trans+ Pride was about fighting back. I have been working relentlessly since the judgment in April to find ways to protect my community's human rights. I will keep fighting for our community as long as there is breath in my body. Photos by AJ Stetson outside the Supreme Court.
Such a lovely scrambly walk, and takes you up to within striking distance of the Redmires Reservoirs. From there, if you have the energy, to Stanage Edge. (After that you could walk over to the Lake District if you put your mind to it.) 😄
When someone at your work says "AI is coming" or "AI is the future", ask them why they're saying that. Show how flimsy the foundations are. Be a nuisance about it. I'm going to be using the research cited in this excellent piece to advocate against AI in my workplace and I urge you to do the same
"I realize, to the outside world, and especially our predominantly white suburb, we looked a lot alike. We functioned as a unit. The Sharp Sisters. As the littlest, the last hurrah, I had to keep up and live up to the good name my sisters made for us."
Oh god oh god oh god. Laughed till tears poured down my face.
I imagine these will be in pretty much perfect condition, and definitely in better nick than when you've read them a few times. At half price, they're an absolutely beautiful bargain too. Highly recommend Rob Hindle, Nancy Gaffield and Matthew Clegg but the others will be ace too.
I see her! What a great image, I love the wolves too. I look at your seal print on my wall every day when I'm working. Isla is nearly ready! 🌊🦭🐾
What could possibly go wrong? Goodnight to Susie and John, and their red-eyed companion. Goodnight to Cassie, and goodnight to all of Hookland. Sleep well. May the Hoarse Hags sleep too, and everyone have a quiet night.
Ursula Le Guin: “The shift from denial of injustice to recognition of injustice can’t be unmade.... Once you see the injustice, you can never again in good faith deny the oppression and defend the oppressor. What was loyalty is now betrayal. From now on, if you don’t resist, you collude.”
I joined the Green Party two weeks ago but my membership is still pending. No one is responding to my emails asking why. Is anyone else having this problem? Are they just overwhelmed by the amount of people joining at this time? @zackpolanski.bsky.social @greenparty.org.uk
UK peeps, might be worth staying in the loop about this sort of thing, as there are abundant hints it may be coming our way too.
Keep flapping.
I'll be making up stories all night now. I expect Dr. Thorpe will too; I hope he manages to get some sleep, though I doubt if he will. And you too, Hookland. Get some sleep, may it be restful. Goodnight.
From 1 September, this will be our main home online. We’re migrating from Twitter/X and moving here to Bluesky. It’s exciting, and we look forward to many engaging conversations - including Bluesky chats! Thanks for finding us! #WritingCommunity
Today I started Draft 4 of this novel of mine, which has been five years in the making, to date. This is, I hope, the last draft before seeking an agent. Bits and pieces to clean up, polishing and cutting, fixing typos. Shouldn't take too long. And then... I can't even think about it.
An open letter to M&S that people can sign openletter.earth/an-appeal-to...
Woods, hills, rivers... Can't go anywhere without gorgeous vistas opening up in front of you. It takes my breath away every day. Love Sheffield.
So lovely.
The first August post on the swifts we share our house with @longbarrowpress.bsky.social @drjomaher.bsky.social @sheffswiftnetwork.bsky.social
This is the political communication we've been waiting for. There'll be no need for a new left party with leadership like this.
After Ragnarok, a poem speaks of the gods' return & their finding gaming-pieces scattered in the grass. I feel that's us, returning to pre-Christian thought, finding hints like pieces of a boardgame, not knowing rules or if the bits are all there. It's how I think of my own Heathenry. #HeathenSky
Gorgeous.
Polish a manuscript? Never. I sand. I saw. I delete 10k words and question my life choices. #booksky #writers #writing
Goodnight to the guardians and goodnight Liv. Goodnight, Hookland. May joy enter through the doors of your dreams.
😆 I think it's very much a personal preference these days. I'd ask Beth.
In my humble opinion, obviously! 🤣
Mrs. is an abbreviation of Mistress. Technically, so are Ms. and Miss. People can choose what title they prefer, I don't think it's a statement of who you're married to. That went out with women not being allowed their own bank account without their husband's permission. Does Beth prefer Ms or Mrs?
Mrs. Paul Jones = archaic and awful. Personally I'd let my fingernails be pulled out before I called a woman by her husband's name. If someone did it to me I'd hunt them down and hang them by their toes from a clothes line. Hasn't the practice been obsolete for decades now? My parents used to do it.
Me too, Frank. Me too. Goodnight, Hookland. Sleep well.
these still need to dry some more but I'll be adding them to my shop this week ✨
Gorgeous and fierce. @everyheron.bsky.social
This is very beautiful.
Thank you.
Just preordered this. A subject dear to my heart, and many familiar names among the contributors - looking forward to reading @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social, @gregorynorminton.bsky.social, @nicolawriting.bsky.social, Sheffield's own Harriet Tarlo, @glynedwards.bsky.social and many others.
Me too. And now I am retired, bar a strictly limited amount of editing for other people. And I have written a book, just the final polish draft still to do. I make no claims to a masterpiece, but seven-year-old me is feeling vindicated.
Even a short book can be a masterpiece. (And then you can retire. And write another one, maybe even a slightly longer one, if you feel like it.)
I wish I'd known about this earlier. I can't be there today, but I hope you'll post updates and more information. The link you posted seems to just lead to old campaign information.
I keep signing. Open letters, petitions, writing directly to government etc. I know it's depressing when no amount of reasoning yields any kind of response, other than a patronising 'don't worry, we're ignoring all this, we're going to do the awful thing anyway.' Please keep trying.
The Chowns/Ramsay partnership seems to be explicitly transphobic at this point. Zack Polanski does better. As for the Corbyn/Sultana situation - I think part of the idea is to develop policies with input from interested followers. I've signed up in case that comes to anything. We'll see.
It's a masterpiece. Perception, compassion, humour, honesty. She was an astonishing writer, right up at the top of my list of historical people I wish I could have dinner with.
I've bought lots* of books because I heard about them on Bluesky. *Lots = more than I can easily remember.
To be fair, I don't think signing up to follow what is currently a non-existent party constitutes preference. Just a desire to find out more and potentially have a voice of some sort.
Ah. Yes, of course, my apologies. But I'm not eligible to join either of those.
The fight for trans safety is a fight for everyone’s safety – MPs must have the chance to debate it
I hope this email never finds you. I hope a single shaft of light pierces the broken ceiling, giving life to saplings and ferns. I hope the old computer went dark years ago, and the office smells of moss and wild spores. I hope that you are free.
What are the others?
The Starmer government wants to impose a toilet ban that will result in trans people being assaulted, r*ped and quite possibly murdered. A group of cis women who oppose him using them as a justification for doing this have set up a petition “Not In Our Name” Please sign and share…
I think the problem is more a perceived blur over various non-tree-related issues. But maybe I'll join just to vote for Zack. Transphobia is a deal breaker and not 'actual existing left' in any way. I have tree cooties already.
I love this deck. It has a powerful perspective none of my other decks quite match. I love Frank Duffy's art generally, in fact. Beautiful, spooky and often funny.
Shiveringly beautiful poem.
Okay, well, I was in two minds but not anymore.