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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱

@susankayequinn.bsky.social

4.3K followers 1.5K following 8K posts

Spec Fic author | PhD Environmental Engr | 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ I write hopeful climate fiction and solarpunk. Host: Bright Green Futures podcast https://linktr.ee/susankayequinn "AI is a lying machine made out of crimes." Working on a novel about families and plants.

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · Apr 11

Hello, I'm Sue, I write hopeful #climatefiction cuz HOLY HELL we need a way out of this mess.

Website: many novels, much short stories

NEW: Bright Green Futures! (stories from guests of the pod)

I wish more people would read (free):
SLIMY THINGS DID CRAWL lnk.to/SlimyWebsite
#booksky #solarpunk

Trio of recent releases from Sue:
1) "New Collection"—Bright Green Futures: 2024, a collection of the guests of the Bright Green Futures pod, edited by Sue, releasing Earth Day 2025 (cover is white background with illustrated botanical drawings of wildflowers)

2) "Hopeful Climate Fiction"—When You Had Power (Nothing is Promised 1) by Susan Kaye Quinn, the first in a 4-part series of near-future novels about an energy island Sci-Fi mystery (cover is an underwater diver with a futuristic city in the background)

3) "Solarpunk"—Halfway to Better by Susan Kaye Quinn, a collection of short solarpunk stories by Sue (cover is print art from Eddie Spaghetti showing an assortment of images each representing one of the stories inside)

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Gwen Snyder is undead @gwensnyder.bsky.social · 6h

I love him

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 6h

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

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A DAMNED Heine @adamheine.com · 7h

People who say "AI is just going to make art better and cheaper" either know little about art, know little about AI, or are just trying to sell AI.

In some cases, these are the same people.

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 16h

People already crave human-made art. They're driven to make it, they're need it to get through the day.

Art is as optional to being human as breathing.

What is the point of making art in this world when Al is just going to do it better and cheaper anyway?? There's no reason to create anymore.

We consume art to feel closer to humanity.
Lean into the humanity behind your art,
people are going to start craving it.

The Case for Making Art When the World Is on Fire | Amie McNee | TED

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 8h

That's so cool!

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The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 11h

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 8h

I'm experimenting in this novel with the 4 act structure from Henry Lien's book on Eastern storytelling — highly recommend!

This is a new process too, gathering up my ideas onto post-its so I can have some idea of where they belong. It's really just a technique to upload it all to my brain.

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 8h

Everyone has their own process! The most important thing is to figure out what works for *you*.

This is my 54th novel and definitely an outlier in the organizational front... then again, I've been working on it for 2 years in a very disorganized way. Each novel seems to take its own journey...

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 8h

Well, I've been working on this thing in a completely pantser mode alternating with fits of plotting for about 2 years, so this is really just gathering up the pieces and figuring out what it's really supposed to be. :)

(each novel seems to take its own path; this one is kind of an outlier)

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 9h

Hey, don't smear the Luddites like that! These farmers want government subsidies and cheap/terrorized labor. They are literally the opposite of the Luddites — the farmers are the factory owners, it's just an ag factory.

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 9h

😭

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 9h

In related news, I'm slightly alarmed The Novel doesn't have a title yet. Usually titles come to me right away or it's an ungodly amount of torment to produce one. And this novel's been in the works for 2 years... and no title yet... 😬

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 9h

haha yeah... the main thing was getting them written, uploaded into my brain, as it were. Not sure they're even in the right place, but they're all in my scrivener file as well, so no worries!

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 9h

No lie, the most complicated novel I've ever written (well, intend to write--cool your jets, Sue, you barely got the structure figured out)

Murder wall for The Novel about plants and families

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 11h

Which is one reason oppression focuses on convincing you resistance is futile: they need you to quit voluntarily.

They understand the power of persistence.

Trump keeps repeating the same lies again and again—his persistence is like a slow-acting poison that will eventually kill you.

4/n

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 10h

Oooh...might watch this tonight

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 11h

This is why I have a beaded saying on my wall (made by an adorable trans kid): "I hope for a world with more trans elders."

Manifest in the world. Persist. These are the keys to change.
6/n

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 11h

I'm also reminded of this when I think of the high suicide rate for trans people or the lower life expectancy of people of color.

One measure of oppression is who literally doesn't get to live.
Who's robbed of the ability to persist.
5/n

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 11h

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 11h

2 - PERSIST* Just keep coming back. Don't give up. I'm not talking about not quitting toxic things (it's key to know when to quit as well), but generally, in everything from boxing to politics to persistence hunting, you win the game by outlasting your opponent.
3/n

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 11h

WRITE STUFF DOWN
Manifest that thing in your head & put it into the world. Make the art, write the book,document the instructions, make the thing, do the work.

*Action* has power. Physical manifestations gives those things object permanence.

Just ask merchant Ea-nāṣir of the city-state of Ur.
2/n

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 11h

I'm convinced there are two powerful ways of having impact in the world, only one* of which gets recognized as such:

1 - WRITE STUFF DOWN
2 - PERSIST*

1/n

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 1d

In this battle of ideas & bodies, it's not just culture war, not just fascism rolling power back to landed white gentry...

it's CORRUPTION

So much of what's wrong in the world is simple corruption at every level: from Trump to the local county health board allowing polluters to dump in the water.

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 2d

Goose meme
First panel, goose, labeled "Artists, Writers"
Second panel, guy with goose-down vest running away labeled "Gen AI"; good yelling and chasing

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 12h

my near-future hopeful climate fiction has a powergrid mystery? susankayequinn.com/books/when-y... (4 books in the series, tightly connected)

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 12h

They will vote harder for Trump next time, that'll fix it

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 12h

before 2020 I didn't even know there was such a thing as "respiratory disease weather report" and now I check it all the time

(Hint: common cold is really high right now but you should definitely use a good test like Metrix to rule out covid) www.cdc.gov/nrevss/php/d...