Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 1d

Catching a little local horror

Reposted by J. D. Hellen

The Oatmeal @theoatmeal.bsky.social · 3d

Let’s talk about AI art.

theoatmeal.com/comics/ai_art

A cartoonist's review of AI art - The Oatmeal

This is a comic about AI art.

theoatmeal.com

56 530 1K

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 5d

THE RAGE

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · 14d

The NY Times Connections is an agent of chaos.

The NY Times Connections Destroyed Society and We're Fine With It - Electric Literature

Flash fiction by Pardis Parker

buff.ly

1 1

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 11d

Just one #tweak, and it's approved.
#7syllablesentence

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 11d

He turned his wrist, listening to the last of the liquid swirling around inside the can. He promised to try harder, to #sublimate his incessant craving with healthy distractions—walking the dog, getting around to chores.

But the soda was already in the house. And he wasn't a wasteful man.
#vss365

2 8

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 12d

If you never #bend, you'll break.
#7syllablesentence

2

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 13d

I #wave and hope to forget.
#7syllablesentence

1

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 13d

“That's it?” I want to bite my tongue, but I'm tired of the disappointment. “Nothing good. It's always #scrutiny with you.”

Mom's lips are tight, wordless. It's her eyes that speak. But before I can make sense of them, she looks away, at the door.

This will never be good enough for her. #vss365

1 2 8

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 15d

Quick poll for writers!

open.substack.com/pub/kristent...

Writers' Input Requested: Please take my poll & share it with your writer friends!

If asked to subscribe, unsubscribe after & it's fine

open.substack.com

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 20d

"Kerfuffle" is a fun word to use in everyday conversation. 😉 You're welcome.

1

Reposted by J. D. Hellen

PseudoPod @pseudopod.org · Sep 5

“My neighbors smile when they burn.”

Chattering Spines, by Mike Wyant Jr

Narrator: Dave Robison
Host: Alasdair Stuart
Audio: Chelsea Davis

This is a PseudoPod original

C/W immolation, guns, animal harm

pseudopod.org/2025/09/05/p...

PseudoPod 992: Chattering Spines

My neighbors smile when they burn. The flames melt the flesh from their bones, revealing the full six inches of sharp spines that brought them here. I swear they sigh in relief. Hell, I would…

pseudopod.org

1 7 15

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Sep 10

Something super fun came in the mail! Grateful for Margot Atwell starting the Kickstarter and all the backers getting this project out there! Looking forward to reading these pieces. It's always RHPS season in my book, but it's especially fun this time of year. 👄👠🕸️

ABSOLUTE PLEASURE: QUEER PERSPECTIVES ON ROCKY HORROR edited by Margot Atwell, foreword by Carmen Maria Machado

1

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Sep 10

Holy crap. If you want a read that tears into you, check this out.

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · Sep 8

A fiction debut by Hope Henderson (@hoperhenderson.bsky.social), about a scientist couple grappling with their young daughter’s devastating illness, recommended by Willem Marx.

buff.ly/Ho0ScjN

Illness Is a Tear in the Great Cosmic Pattern - Electric Literature

“Poppy” by Hope Henderson, recommended by Willem Marx for Electric Literature

electricliterature.com

1 1 4

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Aug 29

My husband's drink for tonight. It's amazing outside. 🐙🍋‍🟩 #InverteFest

Can of Dogfish Head SEAQUENCH ALE. Art shows a cephalopod with a lime.

4

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Aug 29

Check out that silk work. 🕷️🕸️ #InverteFest

1 4

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Aug 29

Honestly, I kind of get it.

Pool Party @poolpartymag.com · Aug 14

"When I told people about this fear, they’d laugh and I’d laugh and I’d say, “I know, I know” and I’d do this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and we’d move on."

We're FUCKING THRILLED to publish "Megalohydrothalassophobia, or Something" by the wildly talented @aubrirose.bsky.social 🗿🌊😱

poolpartymag.com/megalohydrot...

Megalohydrothalassophobia, or Something by Aubri Kaufman

I can’t pinpoint the onset of my giant underwater statue phobia, but I suspect it crystallized ten years ago, around the first time I saw a photo of a massive Jesus submerged somewhere in Key Largo. C...

poolpartymag.com

1 1 2

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Aug 29

This was hard to capture. What's going on here? #InverteFest

Two black ants of different sizes. A smaller ant is dragging a larger ant (on its back) across asphalt. Image is close up.

1

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Aug 28

Labor Day Weekend plans 🐛🪲🐙

franz @franzanth.bsky.social · Aug 27

Activities for this season of #InverteFest:

Community science
www.inaturalist.org/projects/inv...

Art book submission form
docs.google.com/forms/d/1jHk...

Writer/artist collab anthology
bsky.app/profile/saim...

Reposted by J. D. Hellen

Cursed Morsels @cursedmorsels.bsky.social · Aug 24

If you like your #ghost stories dark, scary, and full of sharp social commentary, read our Shirley Jackson Award-winning anthology Why Didn't You Just Leave. This weekend, we're offering the ebook for free. It's best to read it right before bed. #booksky 👻

dl.bookfunnel.com/tg9np8e7ap

The ghosts that haunt us ... and the reasons we stay with them.

It's the question asked of any story about a haunting: why didn't you just leave? But if accounts of people who have stayed in haunted houses are any indication … it's never that simple.In this book, ...

dl.bookfunnel.com

2 21 46

Reposted by J. D. Hellen

thank u, hexed @lindsaykingmiller.bsky.social · Aug 21

Suddenly, Seymour is standing beside you. A moment ago you were alone in the room. His eyes are black and depthless. The lights go out.

1 7

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Aug 19

This actually made my jaw drop.

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · Aug 13

“The little Angus heifer was lying in the shade of a black oak in the south pasture, legs tucked beneath her and her head a half foot off the ground.”

Whatever's Killing the Cattle Is Killing Him Too - Electric Literature

“The Cattleman” by Aaron Gwyn, recommended by Wynter K Miller for Electric Literature

buff.ly

1

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Aug 18

Our brains when we query: open.substack.com/pub/kristent...

A Hopeful Author Apologizes to a Literary Agent for an Email Error

Please know I appreciate your patience and understanding, and that I love you

open.substack.com

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Aug 16

Something exciting came in the mail today—a bunch of zines from @cursedmorsels.bsky.social! If you've read them, do you have a favorite?

A fanned stack of zines from CURSED MORSELS. TECH BRO TERRORS is on top of the stack.

1 5

Reposted by J. D. Hellen

Electric Literature @electricliterature.com · Aug 15

Books to read if you find a failed friendship more shattering than a failed romance.

9 Books About Female Friendship in Every Decade of Life - Electric Literature

Romance has nothing on the impact of a lifelong best friend

buff.ly

2 4

J. D. Hellen @jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · Aug 12

Enjoyed this!

X-R-A-Y Literary Press @xraylitmag.bsky.social · Aug 12

we have an amazing story by Anna Koltes !!

as an apartment rental lease application gets filled out, a story is told. we are surrounded by all kinds of 'literary forms' outside the traditional story, & i like when writers apply their imagination to them.

xraylitmag.com/rental-lease...

RENTAL LEASE APPLICATION by Anna Koltes

Name: You almost write his surname in place of your own, a knee jerk response. You slap the mosquito that has landed on the back of your neck to feed. Upon assuming his name, you forgot your own. You ...

xraylitmag.com

2 2