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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖

@assaph.bsky.social

2.8K followers 1.9K following 550 posts

Author of Murder In Absentia, an historical-fantasy murder-mystery in a quasi-Roman Ancient World (see http://egretia.com); Mad genius behind http://TheProtagonistSpeaks.com

egretia.com);

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · Dec 7

Since it's been a while & I met a lot of new peeps here, some introductions are in order!
Here you'll find Bookish stuff:
* I read & review novels 📚
* I write some too 😉
* It's all about fantasy, mystery, & history
* The occasional nature pics, history & archaeology tidbits, and rants against 🤖
🧵👇

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 7h

Some I already have (I *like* reading my stories). Some do not actually exist (typos are as inescapable as death and taxes). Others are overlapping, but 2k word/day and immunity from distractions sound lovely 😁
#writerslife

Title:
You can only choose three potions:
Row 1 (left to right):

built-in mental thesaurus
remember all of your worldbuilding
banish imposter syndrome
ability to finish your WIP

Row 2:

Marketable™ ideas
never get tired of reading your own work
infinite grammar skillz
coherent first drafts

Row 3:

2000 words every day guaranteed
immune to distraction
desire to actually write when you sit down
eradicate typos permanently

Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 13h

#BookReview : An entertaining adventure tale based on a lesser known Greek 🏺 mythological character, and I’ll certainly be looking for future installments by Sidiropoulos in that world.
egretia.com/2025/10/15/b...

Book Review: Autolycus the thief, by Michail Sidiropoulos

A lesser known bronze-age character as a basis for mythical story – of course I jumped on the chance to read it. What to Expect An embellished telling of the life of the grandfather of Odysse…

egretia.com

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 3d

Indiana Jones and the Protracted Peer Review?

Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 3d

I have no trouble with said 😁

Indiana Jones replacing an object: "said" -> "words that no sane person would use in place of said"

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 4d

Realistic Indiana Jones movies 🏺😁

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 6d

Last 24 hours to grab this amazing anthology on the cheap!
It Takes A Village: a speculative anthology about the meaning of care. Edited by Eric Klein.

It Takes A Village: a speculative anthology about the meaning of care. Edited by Eric Klein.

Can Care and Compassion be legislated? Utopia or Dystopia?

What do Care and Compassion mean in the age of Artificial Intelligence?

Is there space for care and compassion on interstellar travel? Penal Colony or war?

Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 8d

One of my proudest side-projects: stories of care and compassion (and who doesn't need some these days?) On special this weekend, so grab your copy!

On Special - Oct 3-11!
ebook $0.99!
Book Title: It Takes A Village
Subtitle: An Optimistic Anthology Speculating about the Meaning of Care
Editors:

Alison-Maynard
Gillbee, KC
Eric Klein
(Plus Past Precedent, Internationalist, Women's Faction - smaller text)

Story Themes/Content:

Utopian and Dystopian Futures
Assorted Gods (old and new)
A Criminal Trial
Shadowy Government Agencies
Colony Ships and Interstellar Travel
Tangible Benefits of Compassion
Fantasy Social Justice
Artificial Intelligence (of various flavors)
The meaning and merit of Care

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Reposted by Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖

Drew, Allegedly @thescribblings.com · 10d

🚨🚨Sale Alert 🚨🚨
Offer open to all humans

Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 10d

It Takes A Village: a speculative anthology about the meaning of care, bringing some of the best indie #scifi and #fantasy voices to speculate about what it is to be human. On Promo this week! amzn.to/42pE2ww

It Takes A Village: ebook on $0.99 special Oct 3-11

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 10d

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 11d

My latest newsletter: a short story. Can you guess which mountain?
egretia.substack.com/p/mountain-v...

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 12d

May not work if you like writing in cafés.

1. Victor Hugo wrote naked.
To meet deadlines, he locked away his clothes so he couldn't leave home. Naked at his desk, he forced himself to face the page. It worked: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame was finished on time.

[The image also shows a photograph of Victor Hugo and a title page of "Les Misérables"]

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 14d

A few weeks ago we came back from a book fair with a haul of some interesting finds from the “Old Books” tables. I’d like to draw your attention to those below, as I’ve bought them with the explicit intention of incorporating into my own future writing.
egretia.com/2025/10/01/w...

Writing Old Books

A few weeks ago, the wife and I went to a used-books fair. We came back with a haul of some interesting finds from the “Old Books” tables. While there were too many others we had to lea…

egretia.com

Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 15d

As someone who deals with AI professionally, I know well their ability around creative writing 😜

Dragon head: Trad books
Dragon head: Indie books
Stupid dragon head: AI books

Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 17d

😅

Things that make writers nervous:
1. Writing
2. Not writing
3. Someone asking about the writing.

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 17d

Things to amuse the author #57 - naming your scenes:
* Phallic surgery
* NOT a road trip
* Mission Impossible
* Fight Club
* Obligatory sewer trip
* It's not over yet

(All real scenes names! Some were the author inflicting misery on the characters, some were the characters fighting back 😈)
In Victrix: A Story of Togas, Daggers, and Magiv

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 19d

Tonight's protagonist interview: a Jewish private detective, talking about his life as a policeman after WW2, and about the dark underbelly of society where shadows dance with malicious intent and faith emerges as his sole weapon.
theprotagonistspeaks.com/2025/09/26/h...

Harold Bergman (of The Wichita Chronicles, by H.B. Berlow)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a Jewish private detective who is rather introspective after coming back from WWII. He is here to talk about his life as a policeman before becoming a private detec…

theprotagonistspeaks.com

Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 26d

Tonight's protagonist interview 😃📚
theprotagonistspeaks.com/2025/09/19/j...

Jasper Ashford (of Little Hamlin Chronicles, by Sarah Ashworth)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a high-school student, juggling school, life, and magical training. He’s here to tell us about supernatural occurrences, a shipwrecked redhead, and a mysterio…

theprotagonistspeaks.com

Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 26d

Too true 😅Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it.
Those who do study history are doomed to run around screaming "AHHHHHHHH AHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHY DON'T THESE FUCKING IDIOTS STUDY HISTORY!!!!!!!!!???

Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it.
Those who do study history are doomed to run around screaming "AHHHHHHHH AHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHY DON'T THESE FUCKING IDIOTS STUDY HISTORY!!!!!!!!!???

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 27d

Then you'd love this one - some sentences have two (and both in the middle, to ensure you have to read it multiple times)

Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · 28d

Short version: It's an interesting read and all the footnotes and referenced contemporary manuscripts make a useful jumping board for those who like primary sources. Focuses on England ghosts. Recommend if you enjoy geeking out on footnotes.
egretia.com/2025/09/17/b...

Book Review: A Natural History of Ghosts, by Roger Clarke

I came across this on The Rest Is History podcast, where the author featured as a guest and reviewed some of the history of ghosts in the UK. What to Expect An attempt to examine if England truly i…

egretia.com

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · Sep 14

I always imagined them as gremlins, but this works too 😅

Happy man: authors ready to publish their book
Menacing psycho behind: Typos

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Reposted by Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖

Luke Tarzian @luketarzian.bsky.social · Sep 12

🎧 The World-Maker Parable

🎧 The World-Breaker Requiem

Coming soon as audiobooks.

😋

The guilt will always call you back...
THE
WORLD-MAKER PARABLE
AN ADJACENT MONSTERS NGHTMARE
THE
- WORLD-BREAKER REQUIEM
INSTERS NIGHTMARE
*AN ALL CONSUMING DREAMSCAPE THE LIKES OF POE OR MORPHEUS."
- FANFIADDICT
LUKE TARZIAN
*GORGEOUSLY STARK AND DESOLATE."
- OUT OF THIS WORLD SFF
LUKE TARZIAN
The ADJACENT MONSTERS duology

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · Sep 12

From years of experience in both Roman practices and Australian wildlife, I can attest this is true 😂😂

yknow it's a real shame that romans didn't have access to australia specifically for augury reasons. i really wish i could have seen a roman augur have to deal with australian birds. like imagine trying to properly interpret an omen from a fuckin. cassowary

loving that the general consensus here is that "the omen when you see a cassowary is that you are about to die of cassowary"

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Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · Sep 11

I'd get up (cranky, but still), and then get distracted by the kid asking about why one cat is humping the other and the dog barfing.

I'd be a terrible superhero. I'd see the signal calling in the sky from home, and be like "I literally just sat down."

Assaph Mehr 📚⚔️🕵️👻🏺🏛️🤖 @assaph.bsky.social · Sep 9

Ziggy wrote one of the best reviews I ever saw, which made me chuckle 😃
For anyone who wants to read it in full: www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

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