Susan Murray
@pulpthorn.bsky.social
Writer of Fantasy & SF. Northerner. Girly swot. She/her. Ooh, squirrel...
Pinned
Susan Murray
@pulpthorn.bsky.social
· Oct 23
"AWAKE! for Morning in the Bowl of Night
Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight:
And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught
The Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light."
Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight:
And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught
The Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light."
Reposted by Susan Murray
We have made the decision to formally close our X social media account. Once a vibrant platform to promote the interests of authors, we feel X is no longer a trusted place for balance, community support, and reliable information.
January 20, 2026 at 10:00 AM
We have made the decision to formally close our X social media account. Once a vibrant platform to promote the interests of authors, we feel X is no longer a trusted place for balance, community support, and reliable information.
Reposted by Susan Murray
Talking about climate change and poverty without talking about taxes for the rich is like being at a fire-fighters conference and not talking about water.
It's that magical time of year when private jets descend on a Swiss mountain village to discuss climate change and poverty! Anyway, here's my annual reminder. I'll stop posting this when they stop avoiding the real issue: their own massive tax avoidance 💰
January 20, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Talking about climate change and poverty without talking about taxes for the rich is like being at a fire-fighters conference and not talking about water.
Reposted by Susan Murray
Still feeling icky talking about self-promotion and upcoming books.
But here I am:
queenofswordspress.com/authors/joyc...
But here I am:
queenofswordspress.com/authors/joyc...
Joyce Chng - Queen of Swords Press
We're going to be releasing Joyce's sapphic pirate story collection, Sailing the Golden Chersonese, in first quarter 2026! Preorders coming soon - stay tuned! Joyce Chng lives in Singapore. Their spec...
queenofswordspress.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:05 AM
Still feeling icky talking about self-promotion and upcoming books.
But here I am:
queenofswordspress.com/authors/joyc...
But here I am:
queenofswordspress.com/authors/joyc...
Reposted by Susan Murray
January 19, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Susan Murray
Tonight’s aurora from Cork, Ireland. This shot was looking south. Great experience. #aurora #trees #green #northernlights
January 19, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Tonight’s aurora from Cork, Ireland. This shot was looking south. Great experience. #aurora #trees #green #northernlights
Just stood on the doorstep in the rain for a few minutes in case the sky miraculously cleared.
(It didn’t.)
(It didn’t.)
January 19, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Just stood on the doorstep in the rain for a few minutes in case the sky miraculously cleared.
(It didn’t.)
(It didn’t.)
Reposted by Susan Murray
🚨 Aurora alert! 🚨
A geomagnetic storm is expected over the next 48 hours due to the expected arrival of a coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on 18th January.
View the full forecast:
geomag.bgs.ac.uk/data_service...
📷 Aurora borealis over Aviemore - credit: J Orsi
A geomagnetic storm is expected over the next 48 hours due to the expected arrival of a coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on 18th January.
View the full forecast:
geomag.bgs.ac.uk/data_service...
📷 Aurora borealis over Aviemore - credit: J Orsi
January 19, 2026 at 9:12 PM
🚨 Aurora alert! 🚨
A geomagnetic storm is expected over the next 48 hours due to the expected arrival of a coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on 18th January.
View the full forecast:
geomag.bgs.ac.uk/data_service...
📷 Aurora borealis over Aviemore - credit: J Orsi
A geomagnetic storm is expected over the next 48 hours due to the expected arrival of a coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on 18th January.
View the full forecast:
geomag.bgs.ac.uk/data_service...
📷 Aurora borealis over Aviemore - credit: J Orsi
Reposted by Susan Murray
Reposted by Susan Murray
@vienna_official
today we welcome his imperial highness archduke franz ferdinand to sarajevo. unity, stability, progress.
@pan_slav_posting
wild that austria thinks this is a good idea but ok
today we welcome his imperial highness archduke franz ferdinand to sarajevo. unity, stability, progress.
@pan_slav_posting
wild that austria thinks this is a good idea but ok
as a black comedy, someone should write a version of WWI leadup that has social media. Don't bother about incongruity of fitting 21st century social media tech into early 1900s. Just imagine what it would have been like
January 19, 2026 at 7:04 PM
@vienna_official
today we welcome his imperial highness archduke franz ferdinand to sarajevo. unity, stability, progress.
@pan_slav_posting
wild that austria thinks this is a good idea but ok
today we welcome his imperial highness archduke franz ferdinand to sarajevo. unity, stability, progress.
@pan_slav_posting
wild that austria thinks this is a good idea but ok
Reposted by Susan Murray
very excited to edit this anthology. send me your stories for consideration! submission info and form below 👇
you have until 1 Feb before I close the sub portal
you have until 1 Feb before I close the sub portal
Wild Hunt Books are seeking short stories (1500-5000 words) for our upcoming anthology, Modern Decadent. The anthology embraces the fin de siècle literary and arts of the decadents & more
Submissions are now open and close on 1st February 2026, 20:00 GMT 🖤
www.wildhuntbooks.co.uk/blog/now-ope...
Submissions are now open and close on 1st February 2026, 20:00 GMT 🖤
www.wildhuntbooks.co.uk/blog/now-ope...
January 19, 2026 at 10:42 AM
very excited to edit this anthology. send me your stories for consideration! submission info and form below 👇
you have until 1 Feb before I close the sub portal
you have until 1 Feb before I close the sub portal
Reposted by Susan Murray
COW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS
Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows
Brown Swiss in Austria has been discovered using tools in multiple ways – something only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:06 PM
COW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS
Reposted by Susan Murray
Fiction submissions are open now!
The window will be open until January 21st 2026 at 3 p.m. UTC.
For additional information about submitting including our Moksha link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/submit/ficti...
The window will be open until January 21st 2026 at 3 p.m. UTC.
For additional information about submitting including our Moksha link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/submit/ficti...
January 19, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Fiction submissions are open now!
The window will be open until January 21st 2026 at 3 p.m. UTC.
For additional information about submitting including our Moksha link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/submit/ficti...
The window will be open until January 21st 2026 at 3 p.m. UTC.
For additional information about submitting including our Moksha link ⬇️
strangehorizons.com/submit/ficti...
Reposted by Susan Murray
Smart.
i turned this image into a column and pointed out the obvious: this is bad mkay?
as.ft.com/r/6ab36f93-7...
as.ft.com/r/6ab36f93-7...
January 19, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Smart.
Reposted by Susan Murray
#Booksky We’re one of the participating publishers in #SmallPitch this week!
The #SmallPitch submission window is now OPEN for 48 hours!
Reminders:
- Underrep writers only
- Finished manuscripts only
- One pitch per manuscript
- Up to 3 manuscripts per writer
- No hashtags in your pitch
- Comps & emojis are ok
Once submitted, check your pitch here: database.smallpitch.org
Reminders:
- Underrep writers only
- Finished manuscripts only
- One pitch per manuscript
- Up to 3 manuscripts per writer
- No hashtags in your pitch
- Comps & emojis are ok
Once submitted, check your pitch here: database.smallpitch.org
#SmallPitch Submission Form
Please use this form to submit your pitch.
A few reminders:
You can pitch up to three manuscripts, with a limit of one pitch per manuscript.
Finished manuscripts only. No WIPs allowed!
One pitch per ...
docs.google.com
January 19, 2026 at 1:01 PM
#Booksky We’re one of the participating publishers in #SmallPitch this week!
Today, in why are brains like this: Digging into the origins of images of victorious warriors frolicking atop mountains of enemies slain in battle.
Absolutely nothing of consequence hinges on this, but I'm convinced this concept is pretty much as old as time itself, and pre-dates christianity.
Absolutely nothing of consequence hinges on this, but I'm convinced this concept is pretty much as old as time itself, and pre-dates christianity.
January 19, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Today, in why are brains like this: Digging into the origins of images of victorious warriors frolicking atop mountains of enemies slain in battle.
Absolutely nothing of consequence hinges on this, but I'm convinced this concept is pretty much as old as time itself, and pre-dates christianity.
Absolutely nothing of consequence hinges on this, but I'm convinced this concept is pretty much as old as time itself, and pre-dates christianity.
Reposted by Susan Murray
Great piece.
A piece about earnestness, and what happens when you stop saving up goodwill and consider running up some irreverence debt.
kristiedegaris.substack.com/p/on-acciden...
#Writing #WritingCommunity #Scotland #Women #Reading #Books
kristiedegaris.substack.com/p/on-acciden...
#Writing #WritingCommunity #Scotland #Women #Reading #Books
On Accidentally Becoming Earnest
I have a dirty mouth.
kristiedegaris.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 9:59 AM
Great piece.
If he really wanted a golden dome he could shave his head and spray paint it.
January 17, 2026 at 7:14 PM
If he really wanted a golden dome he could shave his head and spray paint it.
Reposted by Susan Murray
Obviously Denmark is part of a broader military coalition pledged to defend them in case of attack. I would have thought a guy who sold his house to go live on a military base because he was scared of his neighbors would get this.
Miller: Denmark is a tiny country with a tiny economy and a tiny military. They cannot defend Greenland… Under every understanding of law that has existed about territorial control for 500 years, to control a territory you have to be able to defend a territory…
January 17, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Obviously Denmark is part of a broader military coalition pledged to defend them in case of attack. I would have thought a guy who sold his house to go live on a military base because he was scared of his neighbors would get this.
Reposted by Susan Murray
If you support eating-- or at least TAXING-- billionaires, please pick up a copy. Buy a copy for an angry friend. It's short, punchy, stabby, brutal. It's cathartic. It's fun. It's only $2, which is less than a gallon of gas bc, again, BILLIONAIRES.
Link: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763731...
Link: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763731...
January 17, 2026 at 2:59 PM
If you support eating-- or at least TAXING-- billionaires, please pick up a copy. Buy a copy for an angry friend. It's short, punchy, stabby, brutal. It's cathartic. It's fun. It's only $2, which is less than a gallon of gas bc, again, BILLIONAIRES.
Link: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763731...
Link: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763731...
Reposted by Susan Murray
Had an intriguing editorial discussion recently: how did people in the past talk about 'minutes' when they didn't have watches or standardised times? How does that affect your thinking?
Come down an Elizabethan/Jacobean rabbit hole with me.
1/
Come down an Elizabethan/Jacobean rabbit hole with me.
1/
January 17, 2026 at 10:34 AM
Had an intriguing editorial discussion recently: how did people in the past talk about 'minutes' when they didn't have watches or standardised times? How does that affect your thinking?
Come down an Elizabethan/Jacobean rabbit hole with me.
1/
Come down an Elizabethan/Jacobean rabbit hole with me.
1/
Reposted by Susan Murray
“The researchers suspect it once contained an ointment used for pain relief, because the woman’s skeleton shows signs of lesions and joint inflammation”
I disagree. This looks exactly like a dice 🎲 box that you hold game pieces and dice in. As a Roman historian: I don’t think it’s ointments. 1/2
I disagree. This looks exactly like a dice 🎲 box that you hold game pieces and dice in. As a Roman historian: I don’t think it’s ointments. 1/2
Archaeologists Unearth Intricately Decorated Box Carved From Deer Bone That May Have Once Held Ancient Ointments
The box was excavated from a Roman-era grave in England. It was found among a trove of artifacts spanning roughly 8,000 years of human activity
www.smithsonianmag.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:33 PM
“The researchers suspect it once contained an ointment used for pain relief, because the woman’s skeleton shows signs of lesions and joint inflammation”
I disagree. This looks exactly like a dice 🎲 box that you hold game pieces and dice in. As a Roman historian: I don’t think it’s ointments. 1/2
I disagree. This looks exactly like a dice 🎲 box that you hold game pieces and dice in. As a Roman historian: I don’t think it’s ointments. 1/2
Have fixed a wonky drawer in the kitchen. FEAR MY GODLIKE POWERS.
January 17, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Have fixed a wonky drawer in the kitchen. FEAR MY GODLIKE POWERS.
Reposted by Susan Murray
Abolish "A.i." from your life and your business.
January 17, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Abolish "A.i." from your life and your business.
Bah. Rejection for the cursed novella (with a ‘happy to see more of your writing’, so not all doom and gloom, but…). Told myself when submitting it that would be its last roll of the dice.
Not ready to trunk it, though - could rework it as a novel, or do I have the cojones to self-publish it?
Not ready to trunk it, though - could rework it as a novel, or do I have the cojones to self-publish it?
January 17, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Bah. Rejection for the cursed novella (with a ‘happy to see more of your writing’, so not all doom and gloom, but…). Told myself when submitting it that would be its last roll of the dice.
Not ready to trunk it, though - could rework it as a novel, or do I have the cojones to self-publish it?
Not ready to trunk it, though - could rework it as a novel, or do I have the cojones to self-publish it?