Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

RJ Taylor @rjtaylor.bsky.social · 1d

My novelette “The Third Movement of Time,” is now free to read in @bcsmagazine.bsky.social !

"Winter observes her frustration at Gorgós's irrational behavior and, within it, a particle of jealousy..."

www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-...

Beneath Ceaseless Skies - The Third Movement of Time by RJ Taylor

Winter heard nothing unusual, but she listens harder and there is indeed a sound different than twittering. It is the song of pipes on the wind. It is no tune she recognizes, but she observes in her c...

www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com

1 5 11

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Courtney Floyd @courtney-floyd.com · 4d

It’s book day!!!

HIGHER MAGIC is out in the US today! UK readers, it’s coming your way November 20th. I’m so excited for you all to meet Bartleby, Anne, and the rest of the gang. ✨

Higher Magic propped up against a white gnarly pumpkin and a big orange pumpkin on a bed of fall leaves.

9 13 33

RJ Taylor @rjtaylor.bsky.social · 4d

✨Happy book day!!

1 1

RJ Taylor @rjtaylor.bsky.social · 15d

And the fancy anniversary edition! Love it! Stoked to share a TOC with you

1

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Beneath Ceaseless Skies Magazine @bcsmagazine.bsky.social · 16d

BCS #442, Seventeenth Anniversary Double-Issue ebook out early today @weightlessbooks.bsky.social & Kindle Store and for subscribers, stories James Morrow @patricksamphire.bsky.social @rjtaylor.bsky.social @willmcmahon36.bsky.social: weightlessbooks.com/fiction/bene... www.amazon.com/Beneath-Ceas...

Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #442, Seventeenth Anniversary Double-Issue

Issue #442 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine, our Seventeenth Anniversary Double-Issue, featuring stories by James Morrow, Patrick Samphire, RJ Taylor, and Will McMahon.

weightlessbooks.com

8 11

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Courtney Floyd @courtney-floyd.com · 21d

I've been working on something fun behind the scenes...

This HIGHER MAGIC audio cut scene is an exclusive preorder incentive. It stars 3 of the amazing voice actors I worked with on @hauntnowpod.bsky.social. 🧵

@htpbooks.bsky.social @htphive.bsky.social

2 5 11

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Courtney Floyd @courtney-floyd.com · Sep 7

Hey! It’s a full moon. It’s a lunar eclipse. It’s a giveaway! Win an annotated copy of HIGHER MAGIC and some moon-themed stickers! 🌚 Details in thread.

A signed, annotated copy of HIGHER MAGIC propped up against a stack of other copies of HIGHER MAGIC with some moon- and magic-themed stickers.

8 35 30

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Deva Fagan @devafagan.bsky.social · Aug 26

Today is THE DAY. You can now actually order for-real copies of my adult fantasy debut HOUSE OF DUSK in hardback, ebook and audio format pretty much anywhere books are sold! Lots of links and blurbs here: devafagan.com/house-of-dusk/

Photo of Deva, a white woman with straight brown hair and large black cat-eye glasses, holding a finished copy of House of Dusk and smiling.

4 9 23

RJ Taylor @rjtaylor.bsky.social · Jul 25

Contract signed! Very excited to announce that my fantasy story, "The Third Movement of Time," will appear in a future issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies! My first sale to this beloved magazine.

6 7 66

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Courtney Floyd @courtney-floyd.com · Jul 22

Hey hey did you know you can get some cool stickers I designed with your SIGNED copy of my book if you preorder HIGHER MAGIC through my favorite local indie?

@yankeebookshop.bsky.social

8 8

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Courtney Floyd @courtney-floyd.com · Jul 13

I'm giving away an eARC of HIGHER MAGIC and digital swag to celebrate Disability Pride!

To enter:
✨ Subscribe to my newsletter &
✨ Follow me on IG or Bluesky by 11:59 p.m. on July 27th (Eastern time, or UTC−04:00)

Bonus entries for sharing this post! buttondown.com/wallowingini...

Wallowing in Ink with Courtney Floyd • Issue 37

In which: new publications, a giveaway, and some recommended disability pride and justice reads!

buttondown.com

5 6

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Courtney Floyd @courtney-floyd.com · Jul 8

Jones really wants you to know that a certain book featuring a large orange cat *cough HIGHER MAGIC cough* is 25% off July 8th-11th, via Barnes & Noble's pre-order sale. 🐈#BNPreorder @barnesandnoble.com @htpbooks.bsky.social

1 7 9

Reposted by RJ Taylor

KS Walker @kswalkerwrites.bsky.social · Jul 3

⚡New Story!⚡

'Til Earth and Heaven Ring' is a historical piece in @strangehorizons.bsky.social Afrosurrealism special issue!

Inspired by Robert Smalls' self-emancipation, this is a story about strangeness, risk, art, and of course, about freedom.

strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...

Till Earth and Heaven Ring

The first time Theo saw the Henrietta up close—dead of night, moon hanging low like ripe fruit behind the foremast, shrouded in fog—well, he felt something. Something fear-shaped but with a finer p…

strangehorizons.com

24 42

Reposted by RJ Taylor

The Vorthos Cast @thevorthoscast.bsky.social · Jun 23

Our first side story for Edge of Eterninities delves into the Kav and their planet that was. "Grasp in the Dark" by @rjtaylor.bsky.social

magic.wizards.com/en/news/magi...

Edge of Eternities | Grasp in the Dark

A squad of Memorial Navy Kav investigate an unusual structure unearthed from their collapsing homeworld, and discover something ancient and terrible.

magic.wizards.com

3 7

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Story Hour @storyhour.bsky.social · May 23

This week's Story Hour broke our hearts in the best ways. @wtalabi.bsky.social and @rjtaylor.bsky.social read person-sized stories about immense themes and subject matter. Highly recommended! #Booksky www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IVl...

May 22, 2025 Story Hour: RJ Taylor and Wole Talabi

YouTube video by Story Hour

www.youtube.com

4 10

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Story Hour @storyhour.bsky.social · May 21

Nobody tells a tale like Wole Talabi! We’re delighted to welcome him back, and to have RJ Taylor make her Story Hour debut. Want to hear authors read their own full SFF stories? Join us Wednesday at 7:00 PDT! @wtalabi.bsky.social @rjtaylor.bsky.social #Booksky www.storyhour2020.com

Waist-up color photo of Wole Talabi, a Black man with a shaved scalp and a short salt-and-pepper beard. He wears a tan-colored woven shirt with yellow detailing at collar, yoke, and cuffs; a lanyard around his neck; and a black fitness tracker on one wrist. He is standing in relaxed posture, speaking into a microphone on a podium that takes up about a quarter of the rectangular image. He appears alert but comfortable.

9 22

RJ Taylor @rjtaylor.bsky.social · Feb 20

🤩 this cover! Excited to help reveal the cover of @courtney-floyd.com's adult fantasy debut HIGHER MAGIC in which a first-gen grad student has one last chance to pass her Magic exam but discovers her students are disappearing @htpbooks.bsky.social #HigherMagic #2025Debuts #WritingCommunity #BookSky

Higher Magic book cover: an illustration of a stained glass window in the tower of a gothic university building with the moon rising behind it. Along the building, purple foxgloves and dark pink snapdragons grow. Moths flutter in the moonlight. The stained glass depicts a shield and book above the words Higher Magic in a wild branching font with swirling, ghost-like shapes beneath it.

2 8

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Zohar Jacobs @zoharjacobs.bsky.social · Feb 14

What if a hurricane hit Houston during the first crewed Mars mission? In the midst of a chaotic evacuation, a young flight controller meant to be working the night shift has to take charge. My novelette is in the March/April edition of @asimovssfmag.bsky.social, on sale now...

4 6 16

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Courtney Floyd @courtney-floyd.com · Feb 5

It's a Barnes & Noble pre-order sale day! Rewards and Premium Members get 25% off all pre-orders now through the 7th.

My PR pup Charlie recommends pre-ordering (especially HIGHER MAGIC) so that books magically appear in your mailbox all year! #BNPreorder @barnesandnoble.com @htpbooks.bsky.social

A graphic with a deep blue background featuring a temporary cover for Courtney Floyd's HIGHER MAGIC and text that reads: February 5th - 7th 25% off pre-orders Barnes & Noble Rewards and Premium Members only, use code PREORDER25 at checkout. Valid for physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks at Barnes & Noble. Some exclusions apply.

A large brown and white dog looks soulfully at the camera, the caption reads "do u like magic?"

Charlie, a large brown and white dog wearing a colorful hoodie, looks thoughtfully into the distance with captions that read "order book now and it will magically arrive later" and "aBORKadabra."

3 10 17

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Psychopomp @psychopomp.com · Jan 15

Announcement:

Psychopomp is relaunching Fantasy Magazine

WELCOME BACK, FANTASY!

full details here:

psychopomp.com/fantasy-maga...

the promo cover of Fantasy Magazine shows a women in the grass with a glowing sky behind her. The text says Returning June 2025 Fantasy Magazine

46 320 650

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Unfortunately... Podcast @unfortunatelypod.bsky.social · Dec 6

Episode 2 is here!

Mona and Courtney chat with guest @zoharjacobs.bsky.social about the particular failures that can follow early success, submission strategies, the ladder of sadness, and more.

#WritingCommunity #WritingPodcast

pnc.st

4 3

Reposted by RJ Taylor

Jennifer Hudak @jenniferhudak.bsky.social · Dec 2

Ooh, it's a story day! "The Stolen Sabbath" is out in The Cosmic Background, an online mag I absolutely adore. This one is a little cozy and a little sad, as all the coziest things are

www.thecosmicbackground.com/stories/jenn...

Jennifer Hudak -- The Stolen Sabbath

Each Friday my mother unfolded the sabbath from where it had been hiding all week, snapped it out like a fresh sheet, and draped it over the weekend. I could never quite catch her doing it; one moment...

www.thecosmicbackground.com

13 19