Shanna Swendson
@shannaswendson.bsky.social
Novelist and nerd. Author of the Enchanted, Inc. series and a lot of other stuff. http://shannaswendson.com/
Pinned
Since I've been gaining new followers and we can now pin posts, I think an introduction is in order. Hi, I'm Shanna, and I write various flavors of fantasy: contemporary humorous, portal, steampunk, paranormal mystery, and currently doing cottagecore cozy.
I survived making my first dressing and gravy, and I've washed most of the dishes that require hand washing, so while the rest of the family is watching football, I'm resting and checking weather forecasts to plan my return trip. I think I have a window between widespread storms and freezing rain.
November 27, 2025 at 9:58 PM
I survived making my first dressing and gravy, and I've washed most of the dishes that require hand washing, so while the rest of the family is watching football, I'm resting and checking weather forecasts to plan my return trip. I think I have a window between widespread storms and freezing rain.
My mom's back went out, so I've been drafted into making the Thanksgiving dinner. Fortunately, we have a smoked turkey, so I don't have to do anything but heat it, and my brother brought some side dishes. I make corn bread all the time, so I did that but have been talked through making the dressing.
November 27, 2025 at 5:49 PM
My mom's back went out, so I've been drafted into making the Thanksgiving dinner. Fortunately, we have a smoked turkey, so I don't have to do anything but heat it, and my brother brought some side dishes. I make corn bread all the time, so I did that but have been talked through making the dressing.
I resorted to picking up some allergy meds. I really do seem to be allergic to Texas. I'm hoping this clears up when I'm back home. I hadn't realized that I pretty much felt like this all the time (in varying degrees, by season) until I moved and it stopped.
November 27, 2025 at 4:16 AM
I resorted to picking up some allergy meds. I really do seem to be allergic to Texas. I'm hoping this clears up when I'm back home. I hadn't realized that I pretty much felt like this all the time (in varying degrees, by season) until I moved and it stopped.
One of our traditional Thanksgiving dishes is a frozen cranberry fruit salad that involves whole berry cranberry sauce mixed in with Cool Whip, with pineapple, bananas and pecans. My brother is the one who loves it and insists on it. One year, he brought his girlfriend for Thanksgiving.
yes, hello, I would like to place an order for everyone’s funniest stories of holiday food-related family grudges / drama / chaotic incidents / lore
I feel like we need this
I feel like we need this
November 25, 2025 at 3:45 AM
One of our traditional Thanksgiving dishes is a frozen cranberry fruit salad that involves whole berry cranberry sauce mixed in with Cool Whip, with pineapple, bananas and pecans. My brother is the one who loves it and insists on it. One year, he brought his girlfriend for Thanksgiving.
I definitely made the right choice to travel a day earlier. I'd have been driving through a really nasty thunderstorm if I'd stuck to the original schedule, one of those when it's raining so hard you can't see anything and there's intense lightning and long rolls of thunder.
November 24, 2025 at 9:41 PM
I definitely made the right choice to travel a day earlier. I'd have been driving through a really nasty thunderstorm if I'd stuck to the original schedule, one of those when it's raining so hard you can't see anything and there's intense lightning and long rolls of thunder.
I am remembering one of the reasons I left Texas. My allergies have gone into overdrive. Everything is still green, so pollen is still in the air. It was interesting driving from bare trees, through fall colors, and then hitting green.
November 24, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I am remembering one of the reasons I left Texas. My allergies have gone into overdrive. Everything is still green, so pollen is still in the air. It was interesting driving from bare trees, through fall colors, and then hitting green.
It's a rainy/stormy day (the reason I moved my travel up earlier), and I'm enjoying a day to pretty much do nothing but rest and read. My parents put a bed with an adjustable base in the guest room, and it has a massage feature, which was useful last night after a long day's drive.
November 24, 2025 at 5:41 PM
It's a rainy/stormy day (the reason I moved my travel up earlier), and I'm enjoying a day to pretty much do nothing but rest and read. My parents put a bed with an adjustable base in the guest room, and it has a massage feature, which was useful last night after a long day's drive.
This is similar to how I say that the Cameron Diaz side of The Holiday would be my dream vacation: a stack of books, a cottage, and a fire. When she finds that she hates it and starts packing to leave, it distresses me.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but a day spent reading Agatha Christie in a Scottish Highlands Cottage in front of a crackling fireplace whilst indulging in a plate of emotional support scones will indeed fix you.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is not worthy of your friendship.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is not worthy of your friendship.
November 24, 2025 at 3:19 AM
This is similar to how I say that the Cameron Diaz side of The Holiday would be my dream vacation: a stack of books, a cottage, and a fire. When she finds that she hates it and starts packing to leave, it distresses me.
I made it to my destination this afternoon. Now I'm resting. I have about a week before I make that drive again, but it's possible that I'll have to cut the visit a little short due to weather. There's yet another front coming through that I'll want to get ahead of.
November 24, 2025 at 1:45 AM
I made it to my destination this afternoon. Now I'm resting. I have about a week before I make that drive again, but it's possible that I'll have to cut the visit a little short due to weather. There's yet another front coming through that I'll want to get ahead of.
I've always made up stories in my head. That was how I entertained myself on long car trips and how I put myself to bed at night. After lights out, I'd mentally continue whatever book I was reading or else make up something entirely new. But I wasn't thinking of that as a career.
November 23, 2025 at 2:22 AM
I've always made up stories in my head. That was how I entertained myself on long car trips and how I put myself to bed at night. After lights out, I'd mentally continue whatever book I was reading or else make up something entirely new. But I wasn't thinking of that as a career.
I've completed the first leg of the trip and am relaxing in the hotel room. WiFi is very slow and I can't figure out how to get past the initial set-up menu on the TV, so I guess I'll read a book. I need to make it an early night, anyway. It was an interesting drive today.
November 23, 2025 at 12:28 AM
I've completed the first leg of the trip and am relaxing in the hotel room. WiFi is very slow and I can't figure out how to get past the initial set-up menu on the TV, so I guess I'll read a book. I need to make it an early night, anyway. It was an interesting drive today.
I have reached the "removing items from the to-do list" stage of trip preparation. The big stuff is done. I'm now down to cleaning up the kitchen after doing a bunch of cooking. The Christmas presents for the family are just going in a big box and I'll wrap when I get there.
November 21, 2025 at 11:33 PM
I have reached the "removing items from the to-do list" stage of trip preparation. The big stuff is done. I'm now down to cleaning up the kitchen after doing a bunch of cooking. The Christmas presents for the family are just going in a big box and I'll wrap when I get there.
After another look at the forecast and at the football schedule for the big college town I'd be driving through midday on Saturday (no home game this week), I've decided to pull the trigger and travel a day early. So today will be busy. The to-do list is long, but I think it's doable.
November 21, 2025 at 2:57 PM
After another look at the forecast and at the football schedule for the big college town I'd be driving through midday on Saturday (no home game this week), I've decided to pull the trigger and travel a day early. So today will be busy. The to-do list is long, but I think it's doable.
I had a burst of sanity and cancelled my planned activity for tomorrow morning. I could probably have fit everything in, but freeing up 2+ hours should result in much less stress.
November 20, 2025 at 10:59 PM
I had a burst of sanity and cancelled my planned activity for tomorrow morning. I could probably have fit everything in, but freeing up 2+ hours should result in much less stress.
After looking at the latest forecast, I think I will move my travel up a day. Monday won't be a good day for traveling across Arkansas, with a chance of severe weather. So I'll have to get a lot done today and tomorrow.
November 20, 2025 at 6:27 PM
After looking at the latest forecast, I think I will move my travel up a day. Monday won't be a good day for traveling across Arkansas, with a chance of severe weather. So I'll have to get a lot done today and tomorrow.
The weather forecast is not accommodating my travel plans. It's difficult to plan for a two-day trip halfway across the country. If I leave Saturday morning, there may be scattered showers in the morning, but then the rest of the day and Sunday should be clear.
November 20, 2025 at 3:32 PM
The weather forecast is not accommodating my travel plans. It's difficult to plan for a two-day trip halfway across the country. If I leave Saturday morning, there may be scattered showers in the morning, but then the rest of the day and Sunday should be clear.
If you were waiting for the paperback version of Weaving & Wyverns, it's now available at Amazon (it should show up on other platforms eventually). Links to all the places you can buy it are at shannaswendson.com/writing/weav...
Weaving & Wyverns - Shanna Swendson
Will deeply held secrets save or doom Rydding Village? Rydding Village has always been a magical place, and that’s part of its charm, but when a wyvern takes up residence nearby it’s more threatening ...
shannaswendson.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:11 AM
If you were waiting for the paperback version of Weaving & Wyverns, it's now available at Amazon (it should show up on other platforms eventually). Links to all the places you can buy it are at shannaswendson.com/writing/weav...
Since it rained yesterday, I finally set up the new dehumidifier in my basement. After half an hour, the air in there already smells less musty. I have to run it for 24 hours for the first cycle, so it should be much better by then. I guess it was too much for just DampRid.
November 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Since it rained yesterday, I finally set up the new dehumidifier in my basement. After half an hour, the air in there already smells less musty. I have to run it for 24 hours for the first cycle, so it should be much better by then. I guess it was too much for just DampRid.
Recipe serving results are so weird. Tonight I made one recipe that supposedly made 4 servings that made at least 8 and one that supposedly served 4 that made 1 serving. It might have made 2 servings as just a side dish, but I had it as more of an entree.
November 19, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Recipe serving results are so weird. Tonight I made one recipe that supposedly made 4 servings that made at least 8 and one that supposedly served 4 that made 1 serving. It might have made 2 servings as just a side dish, but I had it as more of an entree.
I wish they'd give a cast list showing who's doing which voices on The American Revolution because I'm getting distracted trying to identify them. They just list names at the end, and IMDB lists them all as playing "self." Some are obvious, but there are others that are just on the edge of familiar.
November 19, 2025 at 2:08 AM
I wish they'd give a cast list showing who's doing which voices on The American Revolution because I'm getting distracted trying to identify them. They just list names at the end, and IMDB lists them all as playing "self." Some are obvious, but there are others that are just on the edge of familiar.
One of my favorite little pleasure discoveries is the wooden wick candle. It flickers like a wood fire and makes lovely crackling noises. I have one that smells like wood smoke with a hint of vanilla. It's the next best thing to having a fireplace, perfect for a rainy November day.
November 18, 2025 at 8:07 PM
One of my favorite little pleasure discoveries is the wooden wick candle. It flickers like a wood fire and makes lovely crackling noises. I have one that smells like wood smoke with a hint of vanilla. It's the next best thing to having a fireplace, perfect for a rainy November day.
Sometimes I wonder what kind of intelligence governs the shuffle function on iTunes (or Apple Music, or whatever they're calling it this week. Not a subscription thing, just playing my music I've ripped from CDs or downloaded). The selections are often eerily apt or seem to follow a theme.
November 18, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Sometimes I wonder what kind of intelligence governs the shuffle function on iTunes (or Apple Music, or whatever they're calling it this week. Not a subscription thing, just playing my music I've ripped from CDs or downloaded). The selections are often eerily apt or seem to follow a theme.
I woke this morning from a vivid dream about discussing with someone the uses of extreme wealth and what we would do if we had it. One example I cited was a famous film director who had a string quartet on staff so when he wanted to listen to music he didn't put on a CD. He called in the quartet.
November 18, 2025 at 2:13 PM
I woke this morning from a vivid dream about discussing with someone the uses of extreme wealth and what we would do if we had it. One example I cited was a famous film director who had a string quartet on staff so when he wanted to listen to music he didn't put on a CD. He called in the quartet.
Today's accomplishments: grocery shopping (for travel supplies and enough stuff to get me through this week), cleaned the air fryer, washed dishes, wiped down outside the appliances, cleaned the microwave, tidied and dusted the bedroom. House is looking better.
November 17, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Today's accomplishments: grocery shopping (for travel supplies and enough stuff to get me through this week), cleaned the air fryer, washed dishes, wiped down outside the appliances, cleaned the microwave, tidied and dusted the bedroom. House is looking better.
I just had to intervene in a cat fight. I was in my kitchen and heard a crying/yowling type sound, looked out the window and saw two cats squaring off. They were still in the circling "you're so tough, why don't you hit me, huh?" phase and both fled when I opened the front door.
November 17, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I just had to intervene in a cat fight. I was in my kitchen and heard a crying/yowling type sound, looked out the window and saw two cats squaring off. They were still in the circling "you're so tough, why don't you hit me, huh?" phase and both fled when I opened the front door.