Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

A. J. Payler

@ajpayler.bsky.social

22K followers 27K following 200 posts

Author/musician A. J. Payler has published 5 novels, 2 short story collections, & 6 albums of original music to date as well as opened for Silkworm & Schizophonics, among others. Available for interviews & podcast appearances. Visit ajpayler.com for more

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Jan 10

I do read ebooks—and that's where most of my sales come—but there's still no feeling in the world quite like holding a book you wrote in your hands for the first time. A+++ would recommend. 📚💙 🦋

books2read.com/shouldtheworld

#Booksky
#writingcommunity
#writers
#authors
#IndieAuthor
#BookLovers

Should the World Fail to Fall Apart paperback book being held by its author for the first time, front cover

Should the World Fail to Fall Apart paperback book being held by its author for the first time, back cover

2 4 58

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · 1d

And as Yoko didn't include any of her songs on the original 1986 Lennon Live in NYC album, the live "Sisters, O Sisters" now exists only on the VHS release. This makes the new set well short of definitive, especially as both songs remain available on streaming. #bowdlerization

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · 1d

Obvious why they omitted "Woman Is..." from this new set (whether one agrees with this choice or not) but what was the thought behind deleting "Sisters, O Sisters" from both concerts, especially as they retained the studio version? Baffling.

superdeluxeedition.com/reviews/john...

#beatles #lennon

John Lennon & Yoko Ono / Power to the People box set – reviewed – SuperDeluxeEditionHamburger MenuCombined ShapeCombined ShapeGroup 25CommentsCommentsCommentsCommentsCommentsGroup 25Group 25

superdeluxeedition.com

1 1

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · 6d

inewsource.org/2025/10/13/s...

How often California lawmakers in San Diego didn’t vote

Some of San Diego’s delegation of state senators and assemblymembers didn’t vote more than 100 times this year.

inewsource.org

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · 8d

www.homecrux.com/kickstarter-...

Kickstarter United Workers Launch Strike Demanding High Wages

With management refusing the Kickstarter Union's demands of a codified 4-day work week and higher wages, workers have stepped out on strike.

www.homecrux.com

1 3

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · 14d

The countdown begins...

#beatles #paulmccartney

Reposted by A. J. Payler

Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 21d

A must read for writers. I'm seeing same thing Jason is seeing, in form of scammers' creation of online "readers' communities" populated with bots. AI adoption by foreign scammers has been expanding since 2023 but this year has really been a watershed. They're becoming impossible to keep up with.

Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · 21d

My new Genre Grapevine dives into the book club scams targeting authors. These scams now include creating fake Discord communities filled with AI slop and chatbots. Artificial intelligence circles every level of this scam like water down the toilet.
www.patreon.com/posts/139940...

Genre Grapevine: Book Club Scams Are a Warning of Emerging AI Super-Scams | Jason Sanford's Genre Grapevine

www.patreon.com

1 25 34

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Sep 19

Out now from @hollowoakpress.bsky.social the new anthology Short(b)Reads, featuring my new story "Table for One, Folly of Two" along with a dozen more fine tales to peruse--each one paired with a recipe from the story itself. Food for the mind, soul, & body!

#shortstories #food #recipes #writing

2 3

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Sep 11

Yikes, just yikes.

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Sep 11

Hard to argue when their only post-Wolf LP got them dropped from their label and none of them did anything of any significance afterwards.

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Sep 11

Lol, Wolf spends all of six pages recounting his 16 years fronting the J. Geils Band and what he does say can be adequately summed up as "those guys were selfish assholes who threw a good thing away over inflated ego."

1 2

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Sep 10

Wingspan doesn't count?

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Sep 3

Just one example of the kind of lazy, easily checked bullshit that pervades 'Fab': not only did McCartney not write "You're Sixteen" (the song he contributed was "Six O'Clock") but the original version of the song was a top ten hit in both the US and UK for Johnny Burnette in 1960-61. #hackwriting

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Sep 2

Stick to the two volumes (so far) of The McCartney Legacy for a far superior biographical overview which maintains journalistic standards and avoids the many teeth-gritting errors Fab imposes. Hopefully the next volume isn't too far away!

www.mccartneylegacy.com

The Home of The McCartney Legacy by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair | McCARTNEY LEGACY

The McCartney Legacy book series on Dey Street Books. A deep dive into the post-Beatles life and music of Sir Paul McCartney. Every song, every recording session, every concert, and everything in betw...

www.mccartneylegacy.com

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Sep 2

Lost count of the factual errors within this clumsily-written, badly edited book--pompous author interjects his ill-informed opinions at every opportunity. And Imelda Marcos comments without even the vaguest context of her larcenous rule? Just no.

Skip this.

archive.org/details/fabi...

#beatles

Fab : an intimate life of Paul McCartney : Sounes, Howard, 1965- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

634 pages, [16] pages of plates : 24 cm

archive.org

2 5

Reposted by A. J. Payler

The Authors Guild @authorsguild.org · Aug 19

We urge all authors who believe their books may have been unlawfully downloaded by Anthropic to visit the website and provide the requested information.

www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...

Anthropic Authors’ Rights Class Action – Author Contact Page – Lieff Cabraser

www.lieffcabraser.com

3 150 240

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Aug 11

As authors at all levels must--MUST--understand their rights before agreeing to any publication, I was happy to be quoted in this BooksUplift piece & provide what little guidance I can in hope that even one writer might avoid losing their work.

booksuplift.com/stress-free-...

#publishing #writing

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Aug 1

Daniel's virtual summits are always worth attending, particularly since you can do so for free! I never fail to come away with a new clutch of ideas, and I bet you will too.

summit.findyournextreader.com

#authorscommunity #publishing #authorssupportingauthors #writingcommunity #selfpublishing

Find Your Readers Summit 2025

Are you a writer? We'll help you find your next reader -- today.

summit.findyournextreader.com

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Jul 29

ElasticStage vinyl-on-demand record unboxing & Tangible Formats lathe cut album showdown direct A/B sound quality comparison & packaging/record jacket/disc label comparison 4K video, 24bit/96kHz PCM audio

youtu.be/1HadhJZ92Ck

#vinyl #vinylrecords

ElasticStage unboxing/Tangible Formats lathe cut vinyl record sound quality & packaging showdown, 4K

YouTube video by AJP

youtu.be

Reposted by A. J. Payler

Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · Jul 25

New at #WriterBeware: In Feb, Must Read Magazines acquired 5 well-known genre magazines. A look at the concern and controversy created by the group's new contracts, & how advocacy by the SF/F community may lead to change writerbeware.blog/2025/07/25/c...

Contract Controversy (and Change) at Must Read Magazines - Writer Beware

In a surprise move this past February, a new group called Must Read Magazines acquired five genre magazines: Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, The Magazine of Fantasy & Scienc...

writerbeware.blog

1 25 53

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Jul 25

Particularly in terms of the packaging--the album covers and labels look great, and the custom innersleeves are incomparable, well printed on good quality stock (even if I do recommend inserting a proper static-free poly liner after opening).

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Jul 25

"On demand vinyl" is basically a shiny new marketing term for hi-fi lathe cuts, which are available from many providers. But (in my experience so far, at least) ElasticStage is doing a superlative job of delivering a product which mirrors retail-ready pressed vinyl more closely than others.

1 1

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Jul 25

Hearing your own music on vinyl for the first time via ElasticStage is a pretty satisfying experience, I'd recommend it

elasticstage.com/aaronpoehler...

#vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #records #vinyladdict #nowspinning #vinylsky #musicsky

1 1 5

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Jul 17

www.sfwa.org/2025/07/14/p...

Press Release July 14 2025 - SFWA - The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association

Must Read Publishing Removes Moral Rights Clause; SFWA Will Flag Analog in Market Listings Pending Further Contract Improvements Recently, SFWA […]

www.sfwa.org

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Jul 11

And to be clear, this applies to all of the following magazines: Asimov’s, Analog, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

A. J. Payler @ajpayler.bsky.social · Jul 10

Supporting evidence: Kristine Kathryn Rusch has pulled her work from the new publishers--some of which had already been accepted for publication--due to unacceptable contractual demands by them.

kriswrites.com/2025/07/08/s...

Science Fiction Thrills

I have a lot of news, and some of it is buried inside this Kickstarter that just went live. You see…due to the intransigence of the new owners at the sf digest magazines (as well as the myste…

kriswrites.com