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Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨

@karenaparker.com

320 followers 320 following 230 posts

I’m that BIPOC Buddhist book coach who helps systemically oppressed speculative fiction writers plan, polish, and pitch their novels through decolonial dharma. | linktr.ee/kparkerlinks | ✊🏽🌈🎭🧠 | 🍉

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Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨ @karenaparker.com · Aug 6

N.K. JEMISIN x AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

A grieving witch, a righteous killer, and a conflicted prince must embrace their monstrosities in the coming war between their world’s old gods, or else they’ll never reach their destined collective enlightenment.

#questpit #Q #A #YA #F #POC #LGBTQ+ #ND

A moodboard for #FeatherWIP featuring (from left to right) the Taj Mahal, a dagger, desert sands, black feathers, ocean waves, a knot, and kingdom mountain carvings from Petra, Jordan.

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Reposted by Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨

KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 6d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

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Darling Axe Editing @darlingaxe.com · 6d

"Zen" in Japanese derives from Chinese "Chan," which in turn comes from Sanskrit "dhyāna," meaning “meditation” or “meditative absorption.”

#etymology

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jenn m. jackson @jennmjacksonphd.bsky.social · 7d

The Vice President of the United States used his social media page to tell Joy Reid, a private citizen with no connection to the government, that she should express "gratitude" for how this country has treated her.

Black women remain the most consistent targets in all of this.

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Bryanna/Brioche, Angry Noodle @theangrynoodle.com · 8d

Capitalist innovation is taking away a feature that used to be free (like YouTube allowing videos to play in the background) and then offering that same service back to you for a paid subscription.

Capitalist innovation is creating problems and then charging you for solutions.

✨ Innovation ✨

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Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · Sep 10

Just so we’re clear, Charlie Kirk shouldn’t be shot down while talking and kids shouldn’t be shot down in classrooms. It’s that easy. However, a lot of powerful people are okay with both things, so here we are, surrounded by bullets, blood, thoughts, and prayers.

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Tessa @tessicat.bsky.social · Sep 10

It's World Suicide Prevention Day today.

Be Kind.

X

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Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨ @karenaparker.com · Sep 8

Wrote a poem about my succulent, patience, and back injuries because some things can't be talked about through blogs. #amwriting #amwritingpoetry #amapoet

Reverence for the Flowers: A Poem — Karen A. Parker

In my excitement at its growth, I had diligently watered my budding aloe vera plant, unaware of white mold which sprouted beside it. I have since bathed the buds in sunlight and picked the six-leafe...

www.karenaparker.com

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Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · Sep 5

Not joking. Let’s go. If you can get the authors paid, drop me a line.

Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · Sep 4

Dear publishers:

Hello! Wanted to say I’m a little tired of dark academia novels set in Ivy League schools and would love to edit an anthology of dark academia set in universities across the world, in local community colleges, and online. I have a PhD and everything! Let’s talk.

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Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · Sep 3

Top reasons to get the ebook of House of Bone and Rain today:
- Only $3.99 everywhere!!!
- Creatures from beyond the reef
- Friendship
- Magic and monsters
- Violence
- Every copy pushes me closer to a new contract 😬
- It hates fascism and colonialism

www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CP...

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Eric Smith @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social · Sep 2

The uptick in “our book club wants to read your book!” followed by expensive fees to share with their members is absolutely wild.

Be careful? These scams wouldn’t be so prolific if they didn’t work every now and again.

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Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨ @karenaparker.com · Aug 30

Just started a sensitivity read for an author of a Big 5 Publisher. If all goes well, that'll be 2 out of 5 that I've worked with so far. #amediting #amreading #amfreelancing #amflexing

a cartoon duck is hanging upside down on a beach .

Alt: Psyduck, a yellow Pokemon with two arms, flexes his muscles confidently.

media.tenor.com

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Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · Aug 29

Excellent question.

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Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨ @karenaparker.com · Aug 28

I just discovered SmartArt on PowerPoint, and y'all ain't ready. #amabookcoach #ampresenting #amlevelingup

a woman is holding a red purse and says you are not ready for this

Alt: A Black woman is holding a red purse and says, "You are not ready for this".

media.tenor.com

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Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · Aug 25

We all need an occasional reminder, so listen up. Write that book. Send that story. Query that agent. Ask for that blurb. Maybe it doesn’t work out, but there’s a chance it will, and that chance—however small you think it is—is all you need.

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Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨ @karenaparker.com · Aug 23

One of my favorite books of all time. An absolute must-read.

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R Michael Howard @ixcel.bsky.social · Aug 22

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Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨ @karenaparker.com · Aug 23

Very beautiful illustration of the "just make it exist first" argument.

The Witch's Bakery - Sunny Lab @sunnylabgames.bsky.social · Aug 22

Just make it exist first, you can make it good later ✨

#indiegames #cozygames

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amy brown (spooky edition) @amybrown.xyz · Aug 22

this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like

Why should I write better when a machine can do it for me?
Because actually no one can do it for you, because your voice is unique among all the people on earth. Siri never petted a horse's neck. Alexa has never been ghosted by the captain of the football team. But you have lived, your heart is beating, you have suffered, and you have something important to say. It's a human's job, to use words, and whatever job you give to a machine, that part of your brain goes dark. Maybe it's worth it when it comes to remembering phone numbers and directions, but when that part of your brain that uses words goes dark, that's a vast area that's very close to your soul. Don't let some internet platform convince you that what you have to say and create isn't worthwhile. Words are the echo of your soul. Honing that echo matters.

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Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨ @karenaparker.com · Aug 21

I played Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memoirs instead of working on my new novel today, and it was worth it. Sometimes, you need a break from being in the writer headspace. #amwriting #amgaming #amtrying

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Eric Smith @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social · Aug 20

I’ve learned more about being a better advocate for my son, through the questions children have been kind enough to ask.

A little essay for The Huffington Post, and how I learned to shed my “it’s not my job to educate everyone” armor, for the child who needed me to. www.huffpost.com/entry/answer...

People Love To Ask Invasive Questions About My Son's Autism. These Are The Only Ones I'll Answer.

"I’ve never liked talking about my son’s autism with other people."

www.huffpost.com

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Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · Aug 13

Holy shit, yesterday it was DARK in my head. Today there’s some light, and that’s all we need, right? Wishing you a bit of light today. Text a friend. Call your mom. Listen to some good stuff. Make art. Read (I have some recs!). Listen to the birds. Take care of yourself.

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Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨ @karenaparker.com · Aug 13

First partial request! #amquerying #amwriting

joy from inside out is dancing with her arms in the air and saying yay !

Alt: Joy from inside out is dancing with her arms in the air and saying "Yay!!!"

media.tenor.com

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Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · Aug 8

Reminder: Write that thing. Pluck it outta your soul with rusty pliers. Hit the keyboard like it owes you money. Write whenever, wherever you can. Tell your story. Make the words dance. Whatever you want—a novel, a short story, an agent, a movie—it all starts with the writing.

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Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨ @karenaparker.com · Aug 7

While waiting to hear back from agents I've queried, I'm torn between working on the sequel for #FeatherWIP and starting an entirely new book to build my backlist. What do y'all think?

#amwriting #amquerying #amtorn

cookie monster from sesame street is holding a tray of food and says me can 't decide

Alt: Cookie Monster from Sesame Street is looking a tray of food with a plate of cookies and a plate of fruits. The caption reads, "me can't decide".

media.tenor.com

Karen (they/them) is ✨querying✨ @karenaparker.com · Aug 7

One last #questpit post for #FeatherWIP before the deadline...

Because when a grieving witch, a righteous killer, and a conflicted prince have to navigate the revival of an ancient Egyptian snake god, there's bound to be some dead folks.

Not saying who, though🤫

#Q #A #YA #F #POC #LGBTQ+ #ND

Meme of Anakin and Padme.

Anakin: "So, I wrote this fantasy novel..."

Padme: "And nobody dies in it, right?"

Anakin: *smirks*

Padme: ...Right?