Simon Spanton
@simonguy.bsky.social
"I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself."
Wandering. Wondering. Freelancing. Often acquiring and editing SFFH for Angry Robot Books. Live in Edinburgh. Views my own and independent of my employers. Photos my own unless otherwise etc.
Wandering. Wondering. Freelancing. Often acquiring and editing SFFH for Angry Robot Books. Live in Edinburgh. Views my own and independent of my employers. Photos my own unless otherwise etc.
Pinned
Simon Spanton
@simonguy.bsky.social
· Nov 26
"Out on the pale criss-crossed sand, high-stepping, fringed, gauntleted, stalked some fantastic leviathan..."
To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
Dog Emperor of Loon.
November 24, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Dog Emperor of Loon.
There are reasons to follow Grise.
I heard somebody on the radio this afternoon as I was driving through the dark, sideways-flying squalls of wintry rain obscuring my view, and they were talking about how to tell the age of Bowhead whales. No you can't just ask them, they don't keep count like we puny humans. Anyway apparently
November 24, 2025 at 5:51 PM
There are reasons to follow Grise.
Happy birthday Billy Connolly.
Seen here, before the banana boots, with Gerry Rafferty in The Humblebums.
Seen here, before the banana boots, with Gerry Rafferty in The Humblebums.
November 24, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Happy birthday Billy Connolly.
Seen here, before the banana boots, with Gerry Rafferty in The Humblebums.
Seen here, before the banana boots, with Gerry Rafferty in The Humblebums.
Vulgar Roast is a character from Michael Moorcock's Hawkmoon novels. One of the Dukes of the Grand Empire of Granbretan.
November 24, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Vulgar Roast is a character from Michael Moorcock's Hawkmoon novels. One of the Dukes of the Grand Empire of Granbretan.
"The Golden Herm stood in the green wood.
The wood is, of course, nowhere near Athens; the script is a positive maze of false leads. The wood is really located somewhere in the English midlands, possibly near Bletchley, where the great decoding machine was sited."
The wood is, of course, nowhere near Athens; the script is a positive maze of false leads. The wood is really located somewhere in the English midlands, possibly near Bletchley, where the great decoding machine was sited."
November 24, 2025 at 4:22 PM
"The Golden Herm stood in the green wood.
The wood is, of course, nowhere near Athens; the script is a positive maze of false leads. The wood is really located somewhere in the English midlands, possibly near Bletchley, where the great decoding machine was sited."
The wood is, of course, nowhere near Athens; the script is a positive maze of false leads. The wood is really located somewhere in the English midlands, possibly near Bletchley, where the great decoding machine was sited."
Actual LOL
Client assessing if a freelancer is well enough to work or not.
Oil on wood.
Michael Sweerts
c1660.
Oil on wood.
Michael Sweerts
c1660.
November 24, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Actual LOL
When I was a bookseller in the late 80s Whitakers sent out a folder each month of microfiche cels with the entire list of UK Books in Print on it. We would swap the months over and send the previous month's to a nearby shop that didn't have a subscription.
And yes, the machine was REALLY cool.
And yes, the machine was REALLY cool.
I LOVED the microfiche machine. Secret agent vibes.
November 24, 2025 at 1:01 PM
When I was a bookseller in the late 80s Whitakers sent out a folder each month of microfiche cels with the entire list of UK Books in Print on it. We would swap the months over and send the previous month's to a nearby shop that didn't have a subscription.
And yes, the machine was REALLY cool.
And yes, the machine was REALLY cool.
Reposted by Simon Spanton
Out next week! The 30th anniversary edition of Jeff Noon's Pollen, with a new intro by Aliya Whiteley and a new afterword by Jeff.
Looking smart and cool alongside the 30th anniversary edition of Vurt with a new intro by @adamroberts.bsky.social and a new afterword by Jeff.
Looking smart and cool alongside the 30th anniversary edition of Vurt with a new intro by @adamroberts.bsky.social and a new afterword by Jeff.
November 24, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Out next week! The 30th anniversary edition of Jeff Noon's Pollen, with a new intro by Aliya Whiteley and a new afterword by Jeff.
Looking smart and cool alongside the 30th anniversary edition of Vurt with a new intro by @adamroberts.bsky.social and a new afterword by Jeff.
Looking smart and cool alongside the 30th anniversary edition of Vurt with a new intro by @adamroberts.bsky.social and a new afterword by Jeff.
"Noon dominated sea and sky—even the white line of Cannes, five miles off, had faded to a mirage of what was fresh and cool; a robin-breasted sailing boat pulled in behind it a strand from the outer, darker sea."
November 24, 2025 at 10:28 AM
"Noon dominated sea and sky—even the white line of Cannes, five miles off, had faded to a mirage of what was fresh and cool; a robin-breasted sailing boat pulled in behind it a strand from the outer, darker sea."
I have just pulled on a pair of brand new socks and the week can only go downhill from here.
November 24, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I have just pulled on a pair of brand new socks and the week can only go downhill from here.
Oh for goodness' sake.
November 23, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Oh for goodness' sake.
Reposted by Simon Spanton
“Did someone rustle a crisp packet?”
November 22, 2025 at 9:19 PM
“Did someone rustle a crisp packet?”
"There was a square room with a deep old bay window and a stone fireplace in which a fire of juniper logs burned lazily. It was wainscoted in walnut and had a frieze of faded damask above the panelling. The ceiling was high and remote. There was a smell of cold sea."
November 23, 2025 at 7:31 PM
"There was a square room with a deep old bay window and a stone fireplace in which a fire of juniper logs burned lazily. It was wainscoted in walnut and had a frieze of faded damask above the panelling. The ceiling was high and remote. There was a smell of cold sea."
Edinburgh or Shield Generator Complex on the Forest Moon of Endor?
November 23, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Edinburgh or Shield Generator Complex on the Forest Moon of Endor?
Some photo, some bass player.
November 22, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Some photo, some bass player.
This morning's walk, the dog breaking the shadow.
November 22, 2025 at 9:15 PM
This morning's walk, the dog breaking the shadow.
Reposted by Simon Spanton
Painting this tree line before the rain came in
November 22, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Painting this tree line before the rain came in
"The seventh night, I slept in Wick's quarters, and Mord, far above, slept over us, sprawled across the sea of loam and debris that covered the Balcony Cliffs. We experienced his breathing as a haunted depth charge that tumbled down through the layers, the beams..."
@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
November 22, 2025 at 9:38 AM
"The seventh night, I slept in Wick's quarters, and Mord, far above, slept over us, sprawled across the sea of loam and debris that covered the Balcony Cliffs. We experienced his breathing as a haunted depth charge that tumbled down through the layers, the beams..."
@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
*woke early*
*Followed cricket on cricinfo*
*Wished hadn't woken early*
*Followed cricket on cricinfo*
*Wished hadn't woken early*
November 22, 2025 at 6:59 AM
*woke early*
*Followed cricket on cricinfo*
*Wished hadn't woken early*
*Followed cricket on cricinfo*
*Wished hadn't woken early*
Much as I love Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films (and I really do), he did wipe the visuals of my own collaboration with Tolkien's writing. What did my Aragorn look like? My Galadriel? My Sam? No idea. They have been irrevocably overwritten by their cinematic counterparts.
November 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Much as I love Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films (and I really do), he did wipe the visuals of my own collaboration with Tolkien's writing. What did my Aragorn look like? My Galadriel? My Sam? No idea. They have been irrevocably overwritten by their cinematic counterparts.
"The eccentric lives and dramatic deaths of the martyrs, the writings of the ancient monastics with their hothouse odours of ardent lust for God, and even those parts of the holy scriptures that were not as safe as milk pudding or else as dry as dust, had all been shoved into the cupboard..."
November 21, 2025 at 3:11 PM
"The eccentric lives and dramatic deaths of the martyrs, the writings of the ancient monastics with their hothouse odours of ardent lust for God, and even those parts of the holy scriptures that were not as safe as milk pudding or else as dry as dust, had all been shoved into the cupboard..."
As RJ says - short, awful and kind of sad. Brilliant also - a masterclass of economy and emotion.
If you're wondering what Simon means. He was the first person in publishing to pick something up of mine. It's still one of my favourite shorts I've written and you can read it free here. www.patreon.com/posts/shephe...
November 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
As RJ says - short, awful and kind of sad. Brilliant also - a masterclass of economy and emotion.
This moment has been a loooooonng time coming for me, ever since a barn sagged against the weight of a terrified flock.
November 21, 2025 at 12:17 PM
This moment has been a loooooonng time coming for me, ever since a barn sagged against the weight of a terrified flock.
Eight curlews on the Police Scotland headquarters playing field, thirty-four curlews on the school rugby pitch. All on the frost.
November 21, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Eight curlews on the Police Scotland headquarters playing field, thirty-four curlews on the school rugby pitch. All on the frost.