Many people have told me how they like to read the opening few paragraphs of books before buying.

So, here is the opening to mine, 'Drystone - A Life Rebuilt' which will be available for pre-order early 2025 and then released in August.

I'm a first time author, so shares mean a lot and I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts.

#Writing #NatureWriting #Books #Bookstodon #Scotland #Caithness #Bookworm #Reading

And this illustration is finished! I imagine this as a book cover, and may get round to doing some typography for it at some point!

Forced to seek shelter from a storm, a fisherwoman meets an unexpected friend. What thrilling adventures await them upon the briny deep? 🐉⛵

#MastoArt #books

People are actively willed to be uninformed and ignorant by the rich and powerful. V for Vendetta warned us that the educated get put in camps.

In such a reality educating yourself is a rebellious act.

#politics #education #books

Just enjoy reading however, whenever, or wherever you can 😁

@litterature @reading @bookstodon @bookbubble

#ReadingMemes #Memes #ReadAllTheBooks
#Reading #Readers #ReadersOfMastodon #ReadingCommunity
#Book #Books #Novel #Novels #Fiction
#Bookwyrm #Bookworm #Bookstodon #BookLove #BoostingIsSharing

Lois McMaster Bujold is one of my favourite authors. I recently reread "Shards of Honor" (her debut) and its sequel (continuation?) "Barrayar".

Such excellent sci-fi, with a mature, competent, female protagonist; painful ethical decisions; vivid characterisation; beautiful romance. Situations where doing the right thing is almost impossibly hard, and you have characters who rise to that.

Read it if you get the chance!

#shardsofhonor #barrayar #vorkosigan #bujold #scifi #books

#books #bannedbooks #read #library

Sign at my local library today.

8 Famous Women Writers Who Wrote Under Male Pseudonyms.

Historically, women faced barriers to publication and prejudicial attitudes, leading some to adopt male pseudonyms.

thecollector.com/famous-women-…

#books #literature

8 Famous Women Writers Who Wrote Under Male Pseudonyms

While the literary industry is arguably still prejudiced in favor of male writers, historically, women faced barriers to publication and prejudicial attitudes, leading some to adopt male pseudonyms.

^{Catherine Dent (TheCollector)}

'The right to decide who can train a model on your work does you no good unless it comes with the *power* to exercise that right.'

@pluralistic on Rupert Murdoch's new enthusiasm for AI:

pluralistic.net/2024/11/18/rig…

#books #reading #writing #publishing #AI #bookstodon @bookstodon

Even Amazon can't beat my pricing.

Today only, all paperbacks are 13% off their listed price (because who doesn't love a prime number?). No code. No minimum purchase requirements. No secret handshake. Just discounted books.

And, yes, that includes books and bundles that are already discounted.

This is the third in my Move Over, #BlackFriday series of one-day sales.

Prices will be discounted at checkout.

whitehartfiction.co.uk/collect…

@lgbtqbookstodon @bookstodon #books

Friends on the Fedi:

A local high school here in KC is trying to win a $40,000 library renovation, and if you all could vote for them, I'd love you forever. No signup needed, just go to this link and vote for Van Horn High School.

Boosts welcome as well.

Thank you!!!

surveymonkey.com/r/3rd-ki-clas…

#Libraries #Reading #Books #Vote

THIRD ANNUAL KI CLASSROOM FURNITURE GIVEAWAY

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

^{www.surveymonkey.com}

"a tale that cleverly uses the reader’s expectations to make the drama more intense. We are used to Dan being the investigator and sorting things out using his intelligence, strength and friends ... this time it feels Dan and his allies are the ones needing rescuing. "

The Green Man's War has a satisfied reader here - link to full, non-spoilery review 😊

runalongtheshelves.net/blog/20…

#books #Writing #SFF #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

The Green Man's War by Juliet E McKenna

I would like to thank Wizard’s Tower Press for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review                  &am

^{Matthew Cavanagh (Runalong The Shelves)}

Over on the blog, some (non-spoilery) answers if you're wondering what sparked The Green Man's War...

julietemckenna.com/what-sparke…

#books #Writing #SFF #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy

What sparked The Green Man’s War?

The seventh instalment of Dan Mackmain’s adventures makes this the longest continuous sequence of novels that I’ve written. Okay, I actually reached that point with the last book, The Green Man’s Q…

^{Juliet E. McKenna}

"If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls of the university and laboratory until one gets a better grasp of one's subject matter."

Margaret Mead died #OTD in 1978.

#books #literature

Rowena Miller, I don't think that word means what you think it means 🤪

#RowenaMiller #Books #bookstodon #Fray

What is lost when species go extinct? Review coming soon to inquisitivebiologist.com

#Books #BookReview #Bookstodon #Scicomm #Biodiversity #Extinction #Conservation

More hearty congratulations to Samantha Harvey, who has won the 2024 #BookerPrize

Catch her discussing her Booker-winning novel Orbital and her short story Bona Fide Nihon-kitsch on the @fictionable #podcast at #ApplePodcasts #Spotify #Acast and, of course at fictionable.world/podcasts/sam…

#books #reading #writing #fiction #bookstodon @bookstodon

The Tao of Pooh is one of my favorite books. It uses the characters of Winnie-the-Pooh to explain Taoism. Great read.

#books #taoism #pooh #WinnieThePooh #tao #reading #halo

Cory Doctorow at Eagle Eye Book Shop in Atlanta on October 23, 2024. Thank you @pluralistic for hanging out with us!!

Camera: Nikon N80
Film: expired Kodak Tri-X 400

#filmisnotdead #filmphotography #photography #books #analog

One of the authors I follow, @clacksee, has made two of her #books free for today.

For some light-hearted #SciFi with plenty of hope, there's The Left Hand of Dog: whitehartfiction.co.uk/product…

If you'd rather read about old ladies getting justice by any means necessary, there's A Bit of Murder Between Friends: whitehartfiction.co.uk/product…

I can highly recommend both.

EU readers should use her Payhip shop: payhip.whitehartfiction.co.uk

#bookstodon
@bookstodon

A Bit of Murder Between Friends (Vigilauntie Justice #1) ebook

Free today only – price will be discounted at checkout. Cupcakes are sweet … but vengeance is sweeter.

^{White Hart Fiction}

C.L. Cannon's
#Fantasy & #SciFi #Book Fair 📚

Featuring 200+ #Free & Discounted #Books 🎉
clcannon.net/bookfair/

#EnterToWin #Kindle Fire 1-mo. Owl Crate sub & $10 #Starbucks Gift Card 🎁

Sorted By Subgenre!
#UrbanFantasy #YAFantasy #PNR #Adventure #Romantasy #TimeTravel #PortalFantasy #Steampunk #SpaceOpera #Dystopian #GameLit #Postapocalyptic #Military #FairyTale #Myth #Legends

@bookstodon @bookstadon @romancelandia @paranormal @fantasy @scifi @ttrpg @horror @sffbookclub

‘Celebrity’ ‘Authors’ - individual quotes

Maybe children’s books tend to be recommended by ‘adults’, promoted by people and newspapers with a financial interest and bought by their parents based on the author name? Just a thought and maybe something to discourage (not the book buying of course).

theguardian.com/food/2024/nov/…

#Literature #Children #Bookstadon #Books

Jamie Oliver pulls children’s book from shelves after criticism for ‘stereotyping’ Indigenous Australians

Billy and the Epic Escape to be withdrawn worldwide after First Nations groups say fantasy novel trivialises complex and painful histories

^{Kelly Burke (The Guardian)}

“Leaving out any other aspect of life aside from economically, these next few years are likely going to be hard for creative people — economic chaos does not breed creativity! It suppresses it because it’s hard to create when you worry about paying your bills! — so your financial support of creative people is going to be huge, and will pay off dividends in what they can create from the space of “bills paid, not starving.” — @scalzi

Thank you for writing this.

#author #WritingCommunity #books

Carl Sagan would've turned 90 today. Reading 'The Demon-Haunted World' as a teenager profoundly shaped the way I think today. Almost 30 years later the book remains (sadly) relevant...

#astronomy #science #books

Has anyone read "They Thought They Were Free"? I haven't, but I just saw it mentioned & looks like I should.

"They Thought They Were Free: The Germans 1933-45 is a 1955 nonfiction book written by Milton Mayer, published by the University of Chicago Press. It describes the thought process of ordinary citizens during Nazi Germany.

August Heckscher, the chief writer of editorials of the New York Herald Tribune, wrote that the book "suggests how easy it is for human beings in any society to fall prey to a dynamic political movement, provided their lives are sufficiently insecure, frustrated or empty."[1] He stated that the book is simultaneously a discussion on ethics, on "how political tyranny is established", and on issues in Germany and the "German mentality".[1]"
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_T…

PDF
ratical.org/PandemicParallaxVi…

Internet Archive
archive.org/details/theythough…

#AntifaAF #ArtFED #ResInt #History #Nazi #Germany #Fascism #Books

Found via Reddit. Apparently there's an upcoming book in Polish collecting letters exchanged between Ursula K. LeGuin and Stanisław Lem. Not sure if there'll be an English edition at some point, but I certainly hope so!

reddit.com/r/scifi/comments/1g…

#SciFi #ScienceFiction #books #bookstodon

#OTD in 1797.

Jane Austen's father writes to London bookseller Thomas Cadell to ask if he is interested in seeing the manuscript of Jane's recently completed novel First Impressions (later re-titled Pride and Prejudice); Cadell declines.

gutenberg.org/ebooks/42671

#books #literature

Over on the blog today, a guest post. I’ve shared in thoughtful panel discussions with Andrew Knighton at conventions, as well as more informal conversations. I am very pleased to share his article on the relationships between a character’s job of work and various aspects of a story.

I am very much looking forward to reading Andrew’s new novel, The Executioner’s Blade, when I get home from our travels.

julietemckenna.com/guest-post-…

#books #SFF #Fantasy #writing

Guest Post – Andrew Knighton on characters’ occupations.

I’ve shared in thoughtful panel discussions with Andrew Knighton at conventions, as well as more informal conversations. I am very pleased to share his article on the relationships between a …

^{Juliet E. McKenna}

Settling accounts

Before he was famous, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was Louise Dupin’s scribe. It’s her ideas on inequality that fill his writings.

by Rebecca Wilkin via @aeonmag

aeon.co/essays/inequality-was-…

#books #literature

From Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot” to Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” to H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Dunwich Horror”, whip-poor-wills have often been a dark omen that haunted classic American #horror #fiction.

But as the birds’ populations have declined by a horrifying 70%, they’re also seeing a near-extinction in books and movies:
theconversation.com/the-whip-p…
#wildlife #fiction #books #Bookstodon

The whip-poor-will has been an omen of death for centuries − what happened to this iconic bird of American horror?

A new film adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot’ swaps in an owl for the book’s haunting whip-poor-wills, showing how species loss is also tied into cultural loss.

^{The Conversation}