Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Melissa Tyndall

@melissatyndall.bsky.social

510 followers 290 following 540 posts

Author of spooky things, mom, Dean girl, & champagne lover ready to burst into a cauldron of bats. Rep: Ann Rose at The Tobias Literary Agency

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Nov 30

What would your character’s search history look like? My MC’s & her BFF’s would really reflect their grumpy/sunshine pairing. #writingcommunity

Emma's search history:

Great British Bakeoff
Hallmark romance
Caramel + coffee
Punny pajamas
Sapphic romance novels

Maddie's search history:

how do serial killers choose victims

diy pink hair dye

neon nail polish

giant flower print sweater

best pencils for sketching

1 7

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · 7d

At this point, he’s just getting off on being a pseudo-intellectual, contrarian mansplainer for the social media attention.

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · 7d

It’s already here

Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 7d

I think this is right:
"We've slid into some form of authoritarianism," says Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard. "It is relatively mild compared to some others. It is certainly reversible, but we are no longer living in a liberal democracy."
www.npr.org/2025/04/22/n...

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · 9d

MAGA is SO worried about immigrants and trans people, so let’s do some U.S. population statistics.

Unauthorized immigrants = 3% to 4%

Trans folks = 1%

People who think cilantro tastes like soap = 4-14%

Republican married men reported ever having extramarital sex = 13%

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · 13d

How come the plural of louse and mouse are lice and mice, but we call them houses rather than hice?

a woman with a backpack is standing in front of a car talking to someone .

ALT: a woman with a backpack is standing in front of a car talking to someone .

media.tenor.com

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · 19d

As a writer and true crime fan, I’d like to think I’d be good at cleaning up a crime scene, but I can’t get through breakfast without getting Chobani Flip yogurt on my pants.

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · 19d

You can now eat your salad in peace without worrying about your enemies.

Reposted by Melissa Tyndall

ACLU @aclu.org · 21d

Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after our government threatened a private company with retaliation, marking a dark moment for free speech in our nation.

More than 400 artists across our nation signed on to say: We refuse to be silenced by those in power.

We the people must never accept government threats to our freedom of speech. Efforts by leaders to pressure artists, journalists, and companies with retaliation for their speech strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.

Last week, Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air after the government threatened a private company with retaliation, marking a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation. In an attempt to silence its critics, our government has resorted to threatening the livelihoods of journalists, talk show hosts, artists, creatives, and entertainers across the board. This runs counter to the values our nation was built upon, and our Constitution guarantees.

We know this moment is bigger than us and our industry. Teachers, government employees, law firms, researchers, universities, students and so many more are also facing direct attacks on their freedom of expression.

Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country. We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power – because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.

This is the moment to defend free speech across our nation. We encourage all Americans to join us, along with the ACLU, in the fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights.

A graphic listing the names of the more than 400 signers of the ACLU's letter condemning the federal government's retaliation against Jimmy Kimmel. For the full list of signatories, visit aclu.org/kimmel-letter-bk

54 1.1K 3.5K

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Sep 10

3 main tactics are utilized:

✅ The “savage” enemy is portrayed as an irrational aggressor.

✅ Their brutality of innocent victims is graphically described.

✅ The government describes their hand as being “forced” to preserve peace.

Sounding familiar yet?

1 3

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Sep 10

This is disgusting rhetoric, but it’s nothing new. I did my master’s thesis on the Bush presidencies’ wartime rhetoric in a continuation of a 1980 essay by Robert L. Ivie called “Images of Savagery in American Justifications for War.” The original paper can be found here: tinyurl.com/savageryrhet...

1 1 3

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Sep 6

If you’re a fantasy writer who likes the Middle Ages vibe, you might want to read this. wordsmarts.com/twelfty/

How Many Is “Twelfty”?

“Twelfty” sounds like a meal that a hobbit might enjoy every day around noon. But in the Middle Ages, it was a real word referring to a specific number.

wordsmarts.com

1 1

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Sep 4

By Larry David www.newyorker.com/humor/shouts...

A Letter from Ghislaine Maxwell

I’d like to take this opportunity to clear up any lingering doubts, particularly in regard to President Trump’s involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s life.

www.newyorker.com

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Sep 4

A friend asked me what movies scared me. But I don’t really get “scared.”

Maybe anxiety/dread over a ticking clock or going back to a killer’s house for a stuffed bunny. 🙄

Grossed out over body horror like Amy Smart in Mirrors or the kittens Brand New Cherry Flavor.

Do you get scared? Of what?

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Sep 4

You: You, know. Because Laura is creepy and looms over the children.

Agent:

Reposted by Melissa Tyndall

Stan Yan - Kidlit Graphic Novelist @zombicatures.bsky.social · Sep 3

B&N members! @barnesandnoble is having a preorder sale! If you haven't ordered #TheManyMisfortunesofEugeniaWang yet, this is a good time to do so!

@simonkids
@thetobiasliteraryagency

#2025debuts #debutnovel #mg #gn #kidlit #kidscomics

2 2 8

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Sep 3

The fact this man did these sorts of things is serial killer-like behavior. It’s also alarming if everyone knew it. I’m so glad you got someone new.

1 1

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Aug 24

www.teenvogue.com/story/ice-wa...

How to Keep Tabs on ICE Agents Who May Be Surveilling Your Neighborhood

Here’s a step-by-step guide.

www.teenvogue.com

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Aug 23

This gives, “The biggest lie that they tell you is you need college. I’m way smarter than my friends who went to college and paid money for thoughts.” While no one who went to college cares if you did or not.

1 13

Melissa Tyndall @melissatyndall.bsky.social · Aug 23

Get ready for 19 new, gerrymandered maps. At this point, we’re one huge coup against his political enemies from being Nazi Germany in 1934. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Trump mobilizing up to 1,700 National Guards troops in 19 states in crime crackdown

Deployments reportedly set to take place largely in Republican-controlled states

www.independent.co.uk

Reposted by Melissa Tyndall

Lacey N. Dunham (she/her) @bookbent.bsky.social · Aug 22

The National Endowment for the Arts has officially canceled the 2026 Creative Writing Fellowship.

If you value books and authors, now is the time to buy a book, borrow it from a library, or drop an author you love a note.