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Nick Badot

@nickbadot.bsky.social

1K followers 1.2K following 490 posts

Irish-Belgian writer of things macabre and fantastical. Words in Factor Four, Solstitia, Andromeda Spaceways, Impossible Worlds, and more. I'm querying a dark fantasy novel partly set in early 1900s Dublin

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Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · Jul 13

ANNIHILATION X FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM X MALAZAN

INFERNAMUS has
🐛Bizarro liminal spaces
😱Gothic horror
🧭Realm-hopping
👽CREATURES
👬Gay male protagonists
🦊Irish mythology (and others)
🪳Ancient mysteries and cults
🐱Cat-people
🧛‍♂️IRA fighting a vampire
🌃 Lost cities
🐪Magical desert warfare

Pitch thread:

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Lilly Lockwood 🔥Pre-Order Broken Bells!🔔 @voicesofvalhoon.bsky.social · 1d

In just 1 week my debut novel will be officially out in the world 🫨 It’s so hard to believe I wrote a book that people can actually read.

The paperback for Songs of Broken bells with a backdrop of a brick wall. There are bells on ribbons hanging next to the book.
Glowing text says Releases in 1 week!
To the right of the book there it’s text that says

"This is an easy recommend for folks looking for rich, queer-normative worlds with lots of diversity and world building, cozy-but-not-cozy fantasy, and lighter romance/friendship subplots that aren't the central focus."
-ARC reader

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Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 3d

THE DEVOURERS is lightly discounted on Bookshop.org again, stick it to Prime Day if it is indeed Prime Day.

Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · Jul 11

Bookshop.org (still blocked where I am for some reason) is having an anti-amazon-prime sale, & you can my books there, including THE DEVOURERS, my queer dark fantasy/mythic realist debut about shapeshifters in the 17th c Mughal Empire & modern India, slightly discounted. It won a Lambda Award.

The Devourers: A Novel

A Novel

bookshop.org

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Jen Donohue @authorizedmusings.bsky.social · 2d

If you want a sample of what the Deadlands can bring YOU, please read my short story "doorbell dot mov" that they published just last year!

psychopomp.com/deadlands/is...

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 2d

The global whaling industry experienced a boom c. 1840-1950 as technology allowed whalers to hunt the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.

Under standard models, we would have expected krill populations to have *exploded*.

Instead, they DROPPED exponentially.

Let's talk about the KRILL PARADOX.

Change in distribution and abundance of southern right whales. (A) Shows historical and contemporary wintering distributions (Figure 1 from Carroll et al., 2018), and (B) shows decline in abundance and subsequent recovery (solid line is the mean, dashed line shows upper and lower 95% CI). Modified Figure 1 from Jackson et al. (2008). Contemporary sightings are divided into regions where large aggregations are seen during winter: Argentina (ARG), Brazil (BZL), South Africa (SAF), southwest Australia (SWA), south central Australia (SCA), and New Zealand sub-Antarctic (NZSA) and regions where sightings are typically of small numbers of individuals per year. The large aggregations are IWC management units and correspond to historical whaling grounds, although another 5 whaling grounds show little sign of recovery. Summer feeding areas are poorly described and so not shown.

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Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 3d

Seriously, the EIC @btricebasa.bsky.social did incredible work here.

Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 3d

Having complained in the past about the dearth of #sff lit mags in Ireland, I'm delighted to see (and have a piece in) Labyrinthine's inaugural issue PHANTASMAGORIA

Ireland's first #zine focusing on the gothic and the new weird and absolutely gorgeously designed

heyzine.com/flip-book/0b...

ISSUE 001: PHANTASMAGORIA | PDF to Flipbook

Created with the Heyzine flipbook maker

heyzine.com

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Lilly Lockwood 🔥Pre-Order Broken Bells!🔔 @voicesofvalhoon.bsky.social · 5d

I’ve admittedly fallen behind on posting SoBB snippets, but given that it comes out in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS 🙀 I figured it was time to remind you all about my writing.

Pre-order ⬇️
Universal Link: books2read.com/songsofbrokenbells
Itch: voicesofvalhoon.itch.io/songs-of-bro...

WITHOUT A SHADOW
OF A DOUBT
Líadan stared down at Casca as his chest slowly rose and fell. A bumblebee breezed above his head, legs brushing against his ear, causing it to twitch and swivel.
Casca opened one eye and lazily swatted at the bee, and then yawned, revealing a toothless maw. The corner of Liadan's mouth twitched up, and she gave the shadowkat a scratch between the ears. He was surprisingly solid for a creature made of shadows. Small black tendrils twirled around her fingers as she pet him.
He bunted his head against her hand, purring loudly.
FUN FACT
Casca the Shadowkat is based off of my very own toothless shadow, Livia. She had severe stomatitis as a kitten so had all of her teeth removed and has lived happily toothless and pain free ever since! I love her little muppets mouth when she yawns, so I just had to include a Casca yawn.
SONGS OF BROKEN BELLS
PRE-ORDER TODAY!

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Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 5d

Hmmm risky one but environmental impacts of AI (while significant) are overstated to the point it risks becoming the cause célebre of the environmentalist movement the way plastic did a few years ago (which was also overstated). Frontlines of environmental justice are the same as they always were

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 6d

THREE DAYS LEFT. This ebook is FREE for the next three days!

On the night that humans all go out wearing monster masks, there’s a monster in a small Irish town wearing a human mask.

#PucaFestival #Halloween #SpeirGorm #Samhain

Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 8d

HALLOWEEN MADNESS!

The ebook of The First Fire of Halloween is available for FREE for the next five days. A whole novel inspired by the earthy origins of #Halloween? For FREE?! Have I lost my mind?

#SpeirGorm

Amazon UK: www.amazon.com/First-Fire-H...

Amazon US: www.amazon.co.uk/First-Fire-H...

An image of the cover of the book set against a background similar to that used on the cover, a dark sky over a field. Under the words 'Punish him slowly, and make sure he is alive when you bury him?' The front cover itself features a púca, the mythical Irish shape-changer, as a muscular human figure with a goat's head. He's standing in a field in darkness, with a fire blazing in front of him. Inset in the dark sky above and behind him are a pair of yellow goat's eyes. The title is in orange against the sky, and my name is in black against the fire.

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Seán @wizardhill.bsky.social · 6d

Anyway, you can sign up to and read all of Shadows & Sorcery for free because it's my weird little project and I wanna share it with people. Never be without something to read again!

shadowsandsorcery.substack.com

#Fantasy #DarkFantasy #FantasyReads #FlashFiction #IndieAuthor #WritingCommunity

Shadows & Sorcery | Sean Hill | Substack

Weekly fantasy flash fiction right to your inbox. Click to read Shadows & Sorcery, by Sean Hill, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

shadowsandsorcery.substack.com

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Lesley Conner @lesleyconner.bsky.social · 8d

The Apex Magazine 2026 Kickstarter is just over 25% funded! That means we're a quarter of the way to securing another year of dark speculative fiction! Will you help us get there? www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

Apex Magazine 2026

An award-winning digital literary magazine of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.

www.kickstarter.com

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Marie Sinadjan @quillandcrib.bsky.social · 8d

Any authors in the 🇵🇭 who managed to publish directly via B&N? A friend is asking how you worked around the US/UK/EU/CAN/AUS limitation without going through an aggregator like Draft2Digital. Thanks!

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Translunar Travelers Lounge @translunartl.bsky.social · 13d

Translunar Traveler's Lounge is open for speculative fiction, 5000 words and under. Please check the guidelines before submitting, but other than that, don't self-reject. translunartravelerslounge.com/submissions/

Submissions

Broadly defined, the type of fiction we are looking for is “fun”. [Go to Submissions]

translunartravelerslounge.com

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Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 13d

Thank you 🙏

Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 13d

Excellent. I think I will make good use of this

Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 13d

Thabk you! I always had kind of a pop culture blund spot for swift so this may be the perfect time to amend that

Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 13d

I figured you might have something to add yo this one :)
(Plus one of these is actually was one of the songs we both listened to when we started dating ~5yrs ago so doubly fitting)

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Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 14d

Alright Bluesky, gimme your best movies/books/songs etc. for breakups. I'm talking the stuff that drills under the skin and then brings it home for the catharsis and the ugly crying

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 15d

Is this the MOST Halloween book you'll ever read? Maybe, but it IS set around the Irish hill where the bonefires were first lit. It is a story about the very roots of Halloween; the horror, mythology, and the harvest festival that lies between life and death.
#Halloween #Samhain #Tlachtga #SpeirGorm

The full cover, back and front, of my book, The First Fire of Halloween. The front features a púca, the mythical Irish shape-changer, as a muscular human figure with a goat's head. He's standing in a field in darkness, with a fire blazing in front of him. Inset in the dark sky above and behind him are a pair of yellow goat's eyes. The title is in orange against the sky, and my name is in black against the fire.

On the back cover, the blurb reads: Thief. Trickster. Murderer. Humans have forgotten why they once feared the púca. But he will make them remember. In the small Irish town of Athboy, there is a hill where the first fire was once lit each year to mark the beginning of Samhain. Bonfires would then be lit across the country, launching a festival to celebrate the last harvest before the harsh months of winter. On the night when the boundary with the Realm of the Dead was at its thinnest, it was believed that the spirits of the dead wandered the land. In recent years, that fire has been lit again every Halloween night.

Jamie Sheldon is an American girl visiting the town with her parents for an archaeological dig. Rone O’Callaghan lives on a farm near Tlachtga, the ancient site on the Hill of Ward. Both teenagers are close by when a local man is murdered. The circumstances suggest the killer may be acting out some ancient ritual.

The truth is even more macabre. This Halloween, as humans wander the streets wearing monster masks, there is a monster among them wearing a human mask. The most treacherous of all the ancient faerie folk . . . The shape-changing púca.

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Lilly Lockwood 🔥Pre-Order Broken Bells!🔔 @voicesofvalhoon.bsky.social · 19d

Songs of Broken Bells releases October 17th, but you can make this indie debut author's day by pre-ordering it right now!

Universal link: books2read.com/songsofbrokenbells
Itch: voicesofvalhoon.itch.io/songs-of-bro...

(I recommend watching with the sound on 😊)

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Lilly Lockwood 🔥Pre-Order Broken Bells!🔔 @voicesofvalhoon.bsky.social · 21d

It would be extremely radical and very cool if I could get up to 10 pre-orders for Songs of Broken Bells (we’re halfway there!).

Universal link: books2read.com/songsofbrokenbells
(Paperbacks ordered from my payhip store come with a bookmark and art!)

Itch: voicesofvalhoon.itch.io/songs-of-bro...

A guide to
SONGS OF BROKEN BELLS
By Lilly Lockwood
Adult High Fantasy
Word Count: 98k

Background is floating embers with a string of bells on either side

EVEN BROKEN BELLS CAN RING
The hungry flame inside Liadan has been silent, kept hidden, for the last fifteen years. But something has called out to it, awakening it from its slumber. And it is oh so ready to burn.
Vasil, her best friend and the one sworn to end her life should her magic reappear,
defies his pact and spares her life. He vows to keep her safe, no matter the cost.
Minno, a follower of the god of truth, was never meant to find themselves caught up in the wildfire of Liadan's life. But the fates must have had another path in mind for them.
Aila, daughter of the god of entropy, promises herself as Líadan's only chance at surviving the torment of the hungry flame. Though, perhaps even the child of a god lacks faith sometimes.
Their fates are intertwined in the never ending motion of the Maelstrom, and it is their choice alone to decide if they walk the road the fates set before them, or choose another path.

On the left:
You may like SoBB if you enjoyed
The fantasy setting of pathfinder 2e
The narrative style of Steal the Sky by Megan O’Keefe
The unique pantheon of Priest by Matthew Colville
The MCs struggle with magic in Imbued by Helyna L Clove

On the right:

TROPES &THEMES
Queernormative setting
found family
multi POU
magical flora & fauna
Living magic
Crisis of faith
Manipulative gods and saints
Paying the price
Magical corruption
Two romance subplots
(sapphic slowburn + second chance
disaster bisexuals)

SNIPPET
"Liadan, it's pitch black in here. I can't see
anything."
"That's part of it, just give me a minute."
Liadan reached inwards for her flame, feeding it the memory of Aila hugging her the day they kidnapped her from Newhen, silently praying that the Maelstrom let her keep it. A small flame appeared in her hand, illuminating just her face. She held it still for a moment, and then with her other hand swirled it out, where it found the wick of a candle. She jumped it from candle to candle until they were surrounded by a soft light.
The Maelstrom let her keep the memory, instead peeling back the skin from her thumbs, leaving muscle exposed to the cool air of the cave. She dismissed the flame in her hand and breathed deeply, the candlelight growing and shrinking with each breath.

On the right is a picture of one of the main characters, Líadan.

Líadan from Songs of Broken Bells. She is posed holding a candle, looking down at it and guiding the flame up with one hand. She has orange skin, black spirals that coil up her arms, silver hair in a bun, and curled black horns. She is wearing a yellow dress and a green cloak.

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Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 21d

You stand up as soon as the plane lands because you're in a rush to go nowhere. I stand up when the plane lands because I have Evil in my feet that cannot be contained. We are not the same

Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 21d

The best part of visiting Burger King is when the butcherman hops over the counter to lovingly place a crown on your head and says: "Here is your burger, king."

Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 21d

Tried to buy a mask before travelling - none in the supermarkets or the euro shop.

Me: Any masks?

Pharmacist: (cheerfully) No!

Me: If not in a pharmacy, where can I get them?

Pharmacist: *internal server error*

Me: ...

Pharmacist: Have you tried the supermarket or the euro shop?

Unbelievable

Nick Badot @nickbadot.bsky.social · 22d

#SFFChat

The Figure is ambitious and pragmatic, and naturally becomes a leader - but he may find he isn't as ruthless as he thinks he is

SFFChat @sffchat.bsky.social · 22d

#SFFChat Q2: What is your MC's relationship to those with power? Are they a leader or some kind of royalty themself? Are they a rebel? Are they struggling as a cog in the machine?

An ink illustration of what looks like an Eastern European or Nordic queen on a throne surrounded by large candles. There is a floral border.

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