Stuart Aken
@stuartaken.bsky.social
UK writer (12 books published). Photographer. Environment, science, humanist, walker, ancient, happily married. Find me here: https://stuartaken.net/ I DO NOT follow DMs, porn, selfie promos & users w/o profiles or posts.
Pinned
How To Make Your Brain Your Best Friend, by Rachel Barr
A book review
medium.com
I just published How To Make Your Brain Your Best Friend, by Rachel Barr medium.com/reviewsday-t...
#ourworldiswonderful; I leave you tonight with a shot from January last year of a frosty scene on the banks of the lake at Mallards Pike in the Forest of Dean, a great place for pleasant walk.
January 27, 2026 at 5:08 PM
#ourworldiswonderful; I leave you tonight with a shot from January last year of a frosty scene on the banks of the lake at Mallards Pike in the Forest of Dean, a great place for pleasant walk.
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Earth sonnet…
#Earth #MotherEarth #humanity #writingcommunity
#WritersofSky #SkyPoets
#BlueSkyRelay
#FreeVerse
#Resist #Art #BookSky
#Wellness #Selfcare
#MentalHealthAwareness
#Earth #MotherEarth #humanity #writingcommunity
#WritersofSky #SkyPoets
#BlueSkyRelay
#FreeVerse
#Resist #Art #BookSky
#Wellness #Selfcare
#MentalHealthAwareness
January 27, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Spent a few hours this morning plotting out distances to astronomical sites of interest for a Sci-fi piece and comparing them to invented metrics for the ship's FTL drive.
Space is big. Really big.
#WritingCommunity
Space is big. Really big.
#WritingCommunity
January 27, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Spent a few hours this morning plotting out distances to astronomical sites of interest for a Sci-fi piece and comparing them to invented metrics for the ship's FTL drive.
Space is big. Really big.
#WritingCommunity
Space is big. Really big.
#WritingCommunity
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Here we are preparing for Super Bowl and there are Americans preparing funerals for their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers that have been shot by ICE. Somehow we are really “off” as Americans due to Trump’s chaos. He belongs in prison. We all deserve better - shame on his enablers!
January 27, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Here we are preparing for Super Bowl and there are Americans preparing funerals for their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers that have been shot by ICE. Somehow we are really “off” as Americans due to Trump’s chaos. He belongs in prison. We all deserve better - shame on his enablers!
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Healthcare should be accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy.
Republicans sabotaged our entire health insurance system this year creating huge increases and premiums.
Then, they try to blame the ACA when it was them who created the problem.
#RepublicanHealthcareDisaster
Republicans sabotaged our entire health insurance system this year creating huge increases and premiums.
Then, they try to blame the ACA when it was them who created the problem.
#RepublicanHealthcareDisaster
January 23, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Healthcare should be accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy.
Republicans sabotaged our entire health insurance system this year creating huge increases and premiums.
Then, they try to blame the ACA when it was them who created the problem.
#RepublicanHealthcareDisaster
Republicans sabotaged our entire health insurance system this year creating huge increases and premiums.
Then, they try to blame the ACA when it was them who created the problem.
#RepublicanHealthcareDisaster
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Huge thanks to Allen Levi for the amazing 5-star review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Bold, immersive, and unapologetically mystical." ✨
Thank you for the kind words! 🙏
www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
#BookSky #IndieAuthor #SpiritualAwakening #Metaphysical #BookReview
"Bold, immersive, and unapologetically mystical." ✨
Thank you for the kind words! 🙏
www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
#BookSky #IndieAuthor #SpiritualAwakening #Metaphysical #BookReview
Allen Levi's review of Light Up The Darkness
5/5: Light Up The Darkness is an intense, imaginative spiritual manifesto that blends memoir, poetry, and metaphysical philosophy into a call for awakening. T.P. Blakewell writes with conviction and p...
www.goodreads.com
January 11, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Huge thanks to Allen Levi for the amazing 5-star review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Bold, immersive, and unapologetically mystical." ✨
Thank you for the kind words! 🙏
www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
#BookSky #IndieAuthor #SpiritualAwakening #Metaphysical #BookReview
"Bold, immersive, and unapologetically mystical." ✨
Thank you for the kind words! 🙏
www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
#BookSky #IndieAuthor #SpiritualAwakening #Metaphysical #BookReview
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Reposted by Stuart Aken
A past informs your character’s motives (why they do what they do) and your character’s attitudes (how they respond to the events and people around them).
#amwriting #writingcommunity #writingtips #WIP #screenwriting #writesky
#amwriting #writingcommunity #writingtips #WIP #screenwriting #writesky
January 27, 2026 at 3:47 PM
A past informs your character’s motives (why they do what they do) and your character’s attitudes (how they respond to the events and people around them).
#amwriting #writingcommunity #writingtips #WIP #screenwriting #writesky
#amwriting #writingcommunity #writingtips #WIP #screenwriting #writesky
Reposted by Stuart Aken
You're dealing with a Klansman-like, extra-legal secret police. It will never be legitimate or reformable. The only acceptable "reforms" are physically removing them from our cities and cutting/redirecting their funding.
January 27, 2026 at 2:00 PM
You're dealing with a Klansman-like, extra-legal secret police. It will never be legitimate or reformable. The only acceptable "reforms" are physically removing them from our cities and cutting/redirecting their funding.
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Signing this PLEDGE was one of the easiest things I have done as an MLA. It’s important for my constituents and Albertans to know where I stand on this critical issue. I urge ALL members of the Alberta’s legislature to take the pledge and make their position known.
#AbLeg
#AbLeg
January 26, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Signing this PLEDGE was one of the easiest things I have done as an MLA. It’s important for my constituents and Albertans to know where I stand on this critical issue. I urge ALL members of the Alberta’s legislature to take the pledge and make their position known.
#AbLeg
#AbLeg
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Cardiologists forecast greater heart attack risks as winter and summer temperatures become more extreme
Extreme Temperatures Can Threaten Heart Health
Cardiologists forecast greater heart attack risks as winter and summer temperatures become more extreme
www.scientificamerican.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Cardiologists forecast greater heart attack risks as winter and summer temperatures become more extreme
Reposted by Stuart Aken
ICE & U.S. Customs & Border Protection employed at least 30 people with sexual & violent criminal histories in recent years.
At least 20 agents committed offenses with underage victims. The bulk of abuse happened within the last two years.
This article includes names of the agents.
At least 20 agents committed offenses with underage victims. The bulk of abuse happened within the last two years.
This article includes names of the agents.
Here’s How Many ICE and CBP Agents Allegedly Preyed on Children
Apparently the institutions are riddled with accused sex criminals.
www.yahoo.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:18 AM
ICE & U.S. Customs & Border Protection employed at least 30 people with sexual & violent criminal histories in recent years.
At least 20 agents committed offenses with underage victims. The bulk of abuse happened within the last two years.
This article includes names of the agents.
At least 20 agents committed offenses with underage victims. The bulk of abuse happened within the last two years.
This article includes names of the agents.
Reposted by Stuart Aken
FACT: ITS BEEN OVER A MONTH SINCE A JUDGE ORDERED THE RELEASE OF THE EPSTEIN FILES.
WHERES THE JUDGE?
Bondi needs to be held in contempt.
Can the courtscdon2 things at once?
Hello?
WHERE ARE THE JUDGES? Have they been bought too?
WHERES THE JUDGE?
Bondi needs to be held in contempt.
Can the courtscdon2 things at once?
Hello?
WHERE ARE THE JUDGES? Have they been bought too?
All of the lies coming out of the trump administration are disputed by the facts!
January 27, 2026 at 12:41 PM
FACT: ITS BEEN OVER A MONTH SINCE A JUDGE ORDERED THE RELEASE OF THE EPSTEIN FILES.
WHERES THE JUDGE?
Bondi needs to be held in contempt.
Can the courtscdon2 things at once?
Hello?
WHERE ARE THE JUDGES? Have they been bought too?
WHERES THE JUDGE?
Bondi needs to be held in contempt.
Can the courtscdon2 things at once?
Hello?
WHERE ARE THE JUDGES? Have they been bought too?
Reposted by Stuart Aken
In The Wide Wide Sea author Hampton Sides has delivered an engaging and highly readable account of Captain James Cook’s third and final voyage. #booksky
The Island Greeting That We Send to You
Hampton Sides delivers with this highly readable narrative non-fiction account of the fateful, final voyage of Captain James Cook.
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
December 23, 2025 at 12:30 PM
In The Wide Wide Sea author Hampton Sides has delivered an engaging and highly readable account of Captain James Cook’s third and final voyage. #booksky
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Master class on Writing: 3 Home Remedies for Substack Writer’s Block #booksky 💙📚 #writing #authors #writersblock #remedies #masterclass #guidance
open.substack.com/pub/yourexpe...
open.substack.com/pub/yourexpe...
3 Home Remedies for Substack Writer's Block
A guide to Substack writer's block and how to avoid it from Northwestern University faculty member and bestselling writer Sarah Fay.
open.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Master class on Writing: 3 Home Remedies for Substack Writer’s Block #booksky 💙📚 #writing #authors #writersblock #remedies #masterclass #guidance
open.substack.com/pub/yourexpe...
open.substack.com/pub/yourexpe...
Reposted by Stuart Aken
See if you can't use these resources or at the very least draw inspiration from them.
January 26, 2026 at 2:59 AM
See if you can't use these resources or at the very least draw inspiration from them.
Reposted by Stuart Aken
"You can also commit injustice by doing nothing." – Marcus Aurelius
A nice reminder by @daily-stoic.bsky.social (though this one was posted on their Facebook).
A nice reminder by @daily-stoic.bsky.social (though this one was posted on their Facebook).
January 27, 2026 at 2:11 PM
"You can also commit injustice by doing nothing." – Marcus Aurelius
A nice reminder by @daily-stoic.bsky.social (though this one was posted on their Facebook).
A nice reminder by @daily-stoic.bsky.social (though this one was posted on their Facebook).
Reposted by Stuart Aken
It's so exciting to be writing my first novel: #Ellamir, a #Regency adventure #romance, featuring characters exceedingly similar to some of the most memorable #JaneAusten creations, trying to maintain decorum in an increasingly chaotic high #fantasy world. Coming in 2026!
#Fiction #BookSky #Authors
#Fiction #BookSky #Authors
September 1, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Actually, current usage of "snark" is supposedly not related to The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll, #botd in 1832. Still our world does seem to get curioser and curioser. Maybe Carroll (writer, mathematician, photographer and deacon) might be able to explain it.
#booksky #writer
#booksky #writer
January 27, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Stuart Aken
This collection of nine moments in our nation’s history sheds a light on the evolution of the promises of the American Revolution. Three and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐🌠
#booksky
#booksky
It is the Right of the People
Thomas Richards Jr. takes us through an episodic history of the expansion of American rights since the Declaration of Independence - the unfinished business of 1776
steves-book-stuff.beehiiv.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:32 PM
This collection of nine moments in our nation’s history sheds a light on the evolution of the promises of the American Revolution. Three and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐🌠
#booksky
#booksky
Reposted by Stuart Aken
#tbr #bookclub #booksky 💙📚 #booklovers #democracy Ask @joycewhitevance.bsky.social Anything!
open.substack.com/pub/borowitz...
open.substack.com/pub/borowitz...
Ask Joyce Vance Anything!
TBR Book Club
open.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:35 PM
'We lay in our familiar embrace that invariably followed a session love-making, the sunshine now vanished behind dark clouds that threatened storms outside. There had never been a storm between us. We’d always managed to recognise the tensions that might overspill to discord,'
January 27, 2026 at 12:41 PM
'We lay in our familiar embrace that invariably followed a session love-making, the sunshine now vanished behind dark clouds that threatened storms outside. There had never been a storm between us. We’d always managed to recognise the tensions that might overspill to discord,'
Reposted by Stuart Aken
The last Sunday of the month, I do a few short #Booksky book reviews! There are some @nancypearl.bsky.social-inspired explanations of unenjoyed books; some @nathanburgoine.bsky.social-inspired quick takes on enjoyed ones. This month's crop is here:
expendablemudge.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...
expendablemudge.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...
January 27, 2026 at 12:24 PM
The last Sunday of the month, I do a few short #Booksky book reviews! There are some @nancypearl.bsky.social-inspired explanations of unenjoyed books; some @nathanburgoine.bsky.social-inspired quick takes on enjoyed ones. This month's crop is here:
expendablemudge.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...
expendablemudge.blogspot.com/2026/01/janu...
Reposted by Stuart Aken
Martinez took five bullets from a CBP agent, and DHS went into overdrive claiming she was an armed threat to the agents who were merely defending themselves. Sound familiar?
The woman who survived five gunshots from a Border Patrol agent in Chicago, only to be criminally charged and then cleared, now wants a judge’s permission to share records showing how the feds respond when agents use deadly force.
@chicago.suntimes.com story: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
@chicago.suntimes.com story: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
Woman shot by Border Patrol in Chicago asks judge to let her release evidence
Marimar Martinez is blocked from releasing evidence in her case by what's known as a "protective order." Though standard, her attorney says it's “become an albatross” around her neck and “keeps the en...
chicago.suntimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Martinez took five bullets from a CBP agent, and DHS went into overdrive claiming she was an armed threat to the agents who were merely defending themselves. Sound familiar?