J.A. Prentice
@japrenticewrites.bsky.social
He/they. SFWA Member. Stories published with Apex, Kaleidotrope, Big Finish, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, The Magazine of F&SF, Cast of Wonders, and more!
[email protected] is my work contact email.
[email protected] is my work contact email.
Pinned
New issue of @bcsmagazine.bsky.social is here, featuring stories by @japrenticewrites.bsky.social and @samuelchapman.bsky.social and cover art by Jereme Peabody: weightlessbooks.com/beneath-ceas...
“Little Thief and the Martyr’s Head” is available now in the new issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies! It’s about a homeless orphan girl who discovers she can speak to one of the severed heads mounted over the city gate.
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
“I think,” Tehanu said in her soft, strange voice, “that when I die, I can breathe back the breath that made me live.”
November 26, 2025 at 4:40 AM
“I think,” Tehanu said in her soft, strange voice, “that when I die, I can breathe back the breath that made me live.”
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
More musings from the Deity series. A more canine variant of a previous Sphinx design, thanks for looking!
November 12, 2025 at 11:11 AM
More musings from the Deity series. A more canine variant of a previous Sphinx design, thanks for looking!
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
Something i absolutely love about the adam west bat-man is hes such a weirdo. Youd think hed be this try status quo authority figure, but everything about him, even his morals are taken to such an extreme even the local gothamites are put off by him
November 26, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Something i absolutely love about the adam west bat-man is hes such a weirdo. Youd think hed be this try status quo authority figure, but everything about him, even his morals are taken to such an extreme even the local gothamites are put off by him
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
Found two pieces of art that my friends made me for THE FIRST BRIGHT THING. Danielle Knight drew a beautifully eerie illustration of Edward all the way back in 2015. And AJ Bauers gifted me Odette and Rin when the book came out. These two next to each other really captures the book. 💜
November 26, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Found two pieces of art that my friends made me for THE FIRST BRIGHT THING. Danielle Knight drew a beautifully eerie illustration of Edward all the way back in 2015. And AJ Bauers gifted me Odette and Rin when the book came out. These two next to each other really captures the book. 💜
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
One of my best friends was raised JW, and I asked him the other day if they believed in the devil, since they don’t believe in Hell. He said “Very much so.”
And all I could think was, “But where does he LIVE?”
And all I could think was, “But where does he LIVE?”
November 26, 2025 at 1:40 AM
One of my best friends was raised JW, and I asked him the other day if they believed in the devil, since they don’t believe in Hell. He said “Very much so.”
And all I could think was, “But where does he LIVE?”
And all I could think was, “But where does he LIVE?”
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
now that my last story of the year's out i suppose i should do a round-up?
first back in april, Bite by Bite and Lie by Lie in @smallwondersmag.com, a story with a first draft entitled Eat God and Don't Die
first back in april, Bite by Bite and Lie by Lie in @smallwondersmag.com, a story with a first draft entitled Eat God and Don't Die
Bite by Bite and Lie by Lie - Small Wonders
In a land replete with small gods and smaller miracles, a barefoot stranger in devotional robes was an afternoon’s amusement.
smallwondersmag.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:20 PM
now that my last story of the year's out i suppose i should do a round-up?
first back in april, Bite by Bite and Lie by Lie in @smallwondersmag.com, a story with a first draft entitled Eat God and Don't Die
first back in april, Bite by Bite and Lie by Lie in @smallwondersmag.com, a story with a first draft entitled Eat God and Don't Die
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
"Woman Like Stone Like Water" is my pleistocene ghost story in @bcsmagazine.bsky.social, but nobody's yet invented ghosts or mysteries so it isn't very scary
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Woman Like Stone Like Water by Malda Marlys
The stranger turned at the noise she was making and stared at her rather rudely. (Did plains people not train their children properly?) He didn’t quite seem able to stand, but he scooted away from her...
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:34 PM
"Woman Like Stone Like Water" is my pleistocene ghost story in @bcsmagazine.bsky.social, but nobody's yet invented ghosts or mysteries so it isn't very scary
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
I dunno why Victor Frankenstein is always so old in adaptations. He's meant to be like a 23-year-old, fresh out of college, accidentally becomes a dead-beat young dad, kinda guy. I really struggle to think of an adaptation that really captures that.
November 19, 2025 at 12:38 AM
I dunno why Victor Frankenstein is always so old in adaptations. He's meant to be like a 23-year-old, fresh out of college, accidentally becomes a dead-beat young dad, kinda guy. I really struggle to think of an adaptation that really captures that.
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
What if Wicked was released in 1900?
Here is my take on the book cover / movie poster using the designs W. W. Denslow and John R. Neill did for L. Frank Baum's original books.
(I made the Witch green more for colour scheme but also it's fairly significant to Maguire's book)
Here is my take on the book cover / movie poster using the designs W. W. Denslow and John R. Neill did for L. Frank Baum's original books.
(I made the Witch green more for colour scheme but also it's fairly significant to Maguire's book)
November 24, 2025 at 9:13 PM
What if Wicked was released in 1900?
Here is my take on the book cover / movie poster using the designs W. W. Denslow and John R. Neill did for L. Frank Baum's original books.
(I made the Witch green more for colour scheme but also it's fairly significant to Maguire's book)
Here is my take on the book cover / movie poster using the designs W. W. Denslow and John R. Neill did for L. Frank Baum's original books.
(I made the Witch green more for colour scheme but also it's fairly significant to Maguire's book)
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
Machiavelli: It is better to be feared than loved, but you must absolutely avoid being *hated.*
So many forget that last part.
So many forget that last part.
It is a bit alarming, when rereading Machiavelli's The Prince, that it lands as reportage rather than political theory. However, I find great comfort in the fact that they are really effing it up.
November 26, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Machiavelli: It is better to be feared than loved, but you must absolutely avoid being *hated.*
So many forget that last part.
So many forget that last part.
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
Good news! You can read an oldie but a favorite of mine in Apex today! "Before, After, and the Space Between", first published in @neonhemlock.bsky.social's Unfettered Hexes: Queer Tales of Insatiable Darkness, is about the fraught relationship between a daughter and her mother and their magic 💜🖤
"It surprises me to find you, after a childhood of rejecting your heritage, preparing for a spell this frigid evening." 🩸🌿
New fiction today by @kcolemanwrites.bsky.social: "Before, After, and the Space Between"
Read it here: www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-...
New fiction today by @kcolemanwrites.bsky.social: "Before, After, and the Space Between"
Read it here: www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-...
November 25, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Good news! You can read an oldie but a favorite of mine in Apex today! "Before, After, and the Space Between", first published in @neonhemlock.bsky.social's Unfettered Hexes: Queer Tales of Insatiable Darkness, is about the fraught relationship between a daughter and her mother and their magic 💜🖤
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
Hey uh
Don’t care what the writer did to your fictional bestie
Death threats are insane and so are you.
Because the character is fake, the person is not.
Calm the fuck down, and move on.
Learn how to offer criticism like a fucking adult.
Don’t care what the writer did to your fictional bestie
Death threats are insane and so are you.
Because the character is fake, the person is not.
Calm the fuck down, and move on.
Learn how to offer criticism like a fucking adult.
November 25, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Hey uh
Don’t care what the writer did to your fictional bestie
Death threats are insane and so are you.
Because the character is fake, the person is not.
Calm the fuck down, and move on.
Learn how to offer criticism like a fucking adult.
Don’t care what the writer did to your fictional bestie
Death threats are insane and so are you.
Because the character is fake, the person is not.
Calm the fuck down, and move on.
Learn how to offer criticism like a fucking adult.
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
I will be the first to admit I couldn’t understand why anyone would oppose Assisted Dying… and then I became disabled and had it “offered” to me.
It’s not compassionate when there’s coercion.
It’s not dignified when it’s offered in lieu of care.
Listen to disabled people.
It’s not compassionate when there’s coercion.
It’s not dignified when it’s offered in lieu of care.
Listen to disabled people.
November 24, 2025 at 9:45 PM
I will be the first to admit I couldn’t understand why anyone would oppose Assisted Dying… and then I became disabled and had it “offered” to me.
It’s not compassionate when there’s coercion.
It’s not dignified when it’s offered in lieu of care.
Listen to disabled people.
It’s not compassionate when there’s coercion.
It’s not dignified when it’s offered in lieu of care.
Listen to disabled people.
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
You should listen to Starship Sofa and if you only have one episode to listen to how about one that has a story of mine in it? www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2024/03...
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
You should listen to Starship Sofa and if you only have one episode to listen to how about one that has a story of mine in it? www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2024/03...
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
For the [ast few years I've been editing the short fiction for Star Ship Sofa, a venerable SF (not F/H) podcast. It's a small joint, and I've turned it primarily into a reprint market as we can afford only $50 per story.
I've also turned it into a reprint market because writers need money fast. 🧵
I've also turned it into a reprint market because writers need money fast. 🧵
November 25, 2025 at 4:56 PM
For the [ast few years I've been editing the short fiction for Star Ship Sofa, a venerable SF (not F/H) podcast. It's a small joint, and I've turned it primarily into a reprint market as we can afford only $50 per story.
I've also turned it into a reprint market because writers need money fast. 🧵
I've also turned it into a reprint market because writers need money fast. 🧵
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
I looooooove the Davison vibes take on the original Cusick hallways here. I like to think the Dalek spun them around itself like a chrysalis.
"IT IS THE DOCTOR! THE DOCTOR MUST BE DESTROYED!"
"Doctor Who: The Five Doctors" (1983). #DoctorWho #DrWho
"Doctor Who: The Five Doctors" (1983). #DoctorWho #DrWho
November 25, 2025 at 8:32 PM
I looooooove the Davison vibes take on the original Cusick hallways here. I like to think the Dalek spun them around itself like a chrysalis.
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
There are a lot of people who seem to believe that any Social Capital you get for being an author is the same as Financial Capital and nobody is sorrier than me to report that it is not.
November 25, 2025 at 7:50 PM
There are a lot of people who seem to believe that any Social Capital you get for being an author is the same as Financial Capital and nobody is sorrier than me to report that it is not.
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
The sun itself was hidden, but there was a glitter on the horizon, almost like the dazzle of the crystal walls of the Undertomb, a kind of joyous shimmering off on the edge of the world.
“What is that?” the girl said, and he: “The sea.”
“What is that?” the girl said, and he: “The sea.”
November 25, 2025 at 8:41 PM
The sun itself was hidden, but there was a glitter on the horizon, almost like the dazzle of the crystal walls of the Undertomb, a kind of joyous shimmering off on the edge of the world.
“What is that?” the girl said, and he: “The sea.”
“What is that?” the girl said, and he: “The sea.”
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
ok just checking: does the whole economy have to be scams? is that a rule now. I feel like we've had about a decade of 'ok we're shifting our industrial base to making those x-ray spex so you can see through people's clothes that used to be advertised in the ad pages between Batman stories'
‘Hello police? Can a headline commit murder?’
OpenAI needs to raise at least $207bn by 2030 so it can continue to lose money, HSBC estimates on.ft.com/4ij0yh8
November 25, 2025 at 8:41 PM
ok just checking: does the whole economy have to be scams? is that a rule now. I feel like we've had about a decade of 'ok we're shifting our industrial base to making those x-ray spex so you can see through people's clothes that used to be advertised in the ad pages between Batman stories'
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
And the titular story is free to read til the end of the month.
undertowpublications.com/uncertain-sons
undertowpublications.com/uncertain-sons
November 25, 2025 at 4:54 PM
And the titular story is free to read til the end of the month.
undertowpublications.com/uncertain-sons
undertowpublications.com/uncertain-sons
Reposted by J.A. Prentice
This is also how I judge the History Channel. If it’s about a topic I know, I spot at least one lie per minute watching the History Channel, so it’s horrifying to think how many lies I’d be swallowing without knowing it if I watched about a topic I don’t know.
LLM search results are even worse.
LLM search results are even worse.
Saw an interesting piece of advice recently: ask the AI search engines for an answer in a field in which you are very knowledgeable.
The results will make it clear just how much they get wrong, and how brazen they are about it.
Now, apply that to every subject in which you are NOT an expert.
The results will make it clear just how much they get wrong, and how brazen they are about it.
Now, apply that to every subject in which you are NOT an expert.
Looked up “what mobile parking app do I need for <this town>” - AI summary on Google confidently gave me the wrong answer, which I ignored because **it is wrong a third of the time, about ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING** (according to the last study I read.)
The shit just doesn’t work.
The shit just doesn’t work.
November 25, 2025 at 3:59 PM
This is also how I judge the History Channel. If it’s about a topic I know, I spot at least one lie per minute watching the History Channel, so it’s horrifying to think how many lies I’d be swallowing without knowing it if I watched about a topic I don’t know.
LLM search results are even worse.
LLM search results are even worse.