T. Rutherford
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trutherford.bsky.social
T. Rutherford
@trutherford.bsky.social
450 followers 740 following 190 posts
Academic by day, fiction writer by night (and on the weekends, and lunch, and in any spare moment).
She/Her
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T. Rutherford @trutherford.bsky.social · Oct 16
Realized identity is a big theme of all three of my novels so far although diff genres:

OUR ELSEWHERE, speculative women's fiction
FOUR PLAYS, cozy contemporary romance
FAMILY SCIENCE, book-club fiction

Guess I have kept things close to home as a psychologist who studies motivation/identity!
trutherford.bsky.social
Trying to get back into the habit of posting #WIPSnips
Today's word for Jan 14, "current," from Chapter 10 of my speculative fiction, Anti-Charter Campaign
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting
Martin returned wearing a worried look. “Goblins. They’re heading down the road, ripping up Doz’s signs.” It was such a silly thing that didn’t really involve them, but Sprintze knew logic didn’t weigh heavily when it came to interactions with goblins. A tendril of anxiety crept around her, joining the vines and wildflowers in which she was crouched. She’d handled goblins before, and if the adventurers were lucky, they’d just pass by her and her companions. Perhaps they would be too occupied with their current destructive activity to pay any mind to the picnicking party.
January 14, 2026 at 11:35 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
Used the wrong hashtags for this post about ANTI-CHARTER CAMPAIGN
Reposting with the right ones and adding fantasy, because there wasn't one for speculative
#BluePit #BluePit📖 #A #W #F
trutherford.bsky.social T. Rutherford @trutherford.bsky.social · 3d
ANTI-CHARTER CAMPAIGN: Speculative Fiction
Jumanji X Abbott Elementary
School librarian Britt and her teacher friends must figure out how to stop a charter takeover of their beloved school.
The strange D&D game they're playing may hold the key.
Querying Soon
#BluePit 📖 #A #W
An image of a classroom over an image of a D&D game with dice. Text reads: Speculative fiction, Anti-Charter Campaign, is Jumanji X Abbott Elementary. Librarian Britt and her teacher colleagues must make the right rolls in a magical RPG to save their school from a charter takeover.
January 13, 2026 at 6:15 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
Meet the characters from ANTI-CHARTER CAMPAIGN
These four must band together to defeat the monsters in D&D and to save their school from a charter takeover in a speculative fiction that's Jumanji X Abbott Elementary.
Querying Soon 📆
#BluePit #BluePit📖 #A #W #F
Quadrant of four characters: Angelo, a PE teacher who plays a rogue with a circus past; Susanne, a chemistry teacher who plays a paladin; Catherine, a first-grade teacher who plays an elf sorcerer; Britt, a librarian who's the DM
January 13, 2026 at 4:29 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
ANTI-CHARTER CAMPAIGN: Speculative Fiction
A group of elementary teachers fight a charter takeover by playing a D&D game with real-life corollaries
For fans of The Grimoire Grammar School PTA, D20, and Roll for Romance
Vibes and scenes in this mood board
Querying Soon
#BluePit #BluePit📖 #A #W
Images: apple in classroom, elementary school, man in tie with "evil corp" as nametag, hand holding money, basket of butterscotch, four friends cheersing beers, happy kids with backpacks in hallway, magic book, dice on D&D character sheets, map of PA, ants
January 13, 2026 at 1:54 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
ANTI-CHARTER CAMPAIGN: Speculative Fiction
Jumanji X Abbott Elementary
School librarian Britt and her teacher friends must figure out how to stop a charter takeover of their beloved school.
The strange D&D game they're playing may hold the key.
Querying Soon
#BluePit 📖 #A #W
An image of a classroom over an image of a D&D game with dice. Text reads: Speculative fiction, Anti-Charter Campaign, is Jumanji X Abbott Elementary. Librarian Britt and her teacher colleagues must make the right rolls in a magical RPG to save their school from a charter takeover.
January 13, 2026 at 5:14 AM
trutherford.bsky.social
Not the word I would have expected. Maybe I'll win the lottery.
Or maybe I'll have some other kind of riches . . .
Your 2026 Word: opulent
January 1, 2026 at 7:26 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
About a year ago I started fiction writing and I also increased my fiction reading--reading is craft learning!
These are the books I finished this year (not counting 17+ beta reads, a few DNFs or partial craft book reads, and lots of academic reading for my day job)
Enjoyed most of them very much
A graphic of 58 books read by TRutherford. Mostly romances, cozy fantasy, contemporary fiction, and speculative fiction
December 30, 2025 at 5:28 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
My first #WIPSnips from my new speculative novel.
Dec. 13's word, "control," from Chapter 6 of Anti-Charter Campaign.

#amWriting #WritingCommunity #WriteSky
Now that old spark was back. As glad as Susanne was to see her friend finally excited about something, she couldn’t help the wriggle of anxiety at the back of her mind. Patty had skated by when Britt was on cruise control. The poor paladin was probably in for it now. And the fact that the campaign itself was from some random unearthed box in Britt’s attic didn’t do much to calm Susanne’s nerves. But Suze had been known to enjoy a good creepy story. It wasn’t like she actually thought they’d unleash a real Demogorgon or anything like that.
December 14, 2025 at 4:59 AM
trutherford.bsky.social
Excited to announce that Our Elsewhere has won the general fiction category for the 2025 Book Pipeline Unpublished contest! bookpipeline.com/winners

Honored they recognized Our Elsewhere--a speculative fiction where a widow journeys across worlds via death to find and save her husband.
Screenshot of the contest winner page showing T. Rutherford's picture and bio
December 5, 2025 at 10:45 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
JUMANJI X ABBOTT ELEMENTARY X D&D

When a school librarian and colleagues play a bespoke RPG campaign, they learn their game moves have real-life metaphorical corollaries. They must make the right rolls to defeat the monsters and save their school from an evil charter.

#WIPPIT #A #Spec #F #UP
November 23, 2025 at 5:26 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
I'm between two of these.
October 24, 2025 at 3:26 AM
trutherford.bsky.social
Realized identity is a big theme of all three of my novels so far although diff genres:

OUR ELSEWHERE, speculative women's fiction
FOUR PLAYS, cozy contemporary romance
FAMILY SCIENCE, book-club fiction

Guess I have kept things close to home as a psychologist who studies motivation/identity!
October 16, 2025 at 3:58 AM
trutherford.bsky.social
I just entered #RevPit #10Queries. Enter now for a chance to win free feedback on your query and 1st 5 pages

Excited to see the posts!
reviseresub.bsky.social Revise & Resub @reviseresub.bsky.social · Sep 12
🎉We're baaacckk!!!🎉

RevPit's #10Queries October event opens for submissions October 10!

#amwriting #writersky #writersofbluesky
RevPit #10Queries Returns Enter on October 10. Don't forget to Sign Up for Substack
October 10, 2025 at 4:05 AM
trutherford.bsky.social
From Peter Pan to Scrooge, it takes FOUR PLAYS for Nicole to build her confidence, convince her ex that community theater is good for their daughter, and land the leading man.
FOUR PLAYS is for lovers of cozy slow-burn romance and musical theater.
#DVPit #A #CR #WF
October 8, 2025 at 8:00 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
In FAMILY SCIENCE, developmental psychology meets family drama, as Hannah navigates being a widow, parent, & PhD student, while balancing her deceased husband’s formerly-estranged famous family, her own disappointed parents, and a potential romance whose kid and hers are at war.
#DVPit #A #CR #WF
October 8, 2025 at 6:59 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
What if DARK MATTER was told from a woman’s perspective? And involved collaborative (self) body snatching?

OUR ELSEWHERE follows as widow Mara chases her husband through death, merging with multiple versions of herself in worlds increasingly different from her own.

#DVPit #A #F #WF #SpecFiction
October 8, 2025 at 5:57 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
When a single mother brings her kid to audition for the local theater, she finds herself pulled into the theater’s community to act, to shape her own identity, and to find love with the leading man.
FOUR PLAYS: Hallmark levels of cozy. For fans of Katherine Center or Emily Henry
#DVPit #A #CR #WF
October 8, 2025 at 4:56 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
Her husband died and left her lost.
But when she dies, she enters another world.
He must be here, or in the next.
*She just has to die enough times to find him.*
OUR ELSEWHERE, curio fiction for fans of The Midnight Library or This Time Tomorrow
#DVPit #A #F
October 8, 2025 at 3:55 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
Some crying, some laughing, some gushing at the adorable antics of cute kids. FAMILY SCIENCE is a women’s fiction with romance that integrates real developmental science (written by a psych PhD) into a family drama.
For those who like Jojo Moyes, Emma Straub, and Ali Hazelwood
#DVPit #A #CR
October 8, 2025 at 2:52 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
Today's #WIPSnips is "pressure" and is found in Chapter 3 of my women's fiction/romance, Family Science.
#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
“It’s a tale that too many young actors can tell. The fame. The pressure. The access. All of it swirls together into an intoxicating cocktail, and like many others, I turned to drugs for escape.” The audience lets out an audible gasp even though Jade Logan’s story was old news. Her tragic downfall from superstardom happened twenty years ago. Why was this on a show today? A twinge of annoyance tickled Hannah’s throat. Heartburn at having to rehash ancient history. But still she didn’t change the channel. She didn’t mute the TV and return to the thick stack of reading for her classes. She watched James’ sister tell her tale. His tale.
September 9, 2025 at 6:21 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
A #haiku for a friend who passed away this week.
He ran a store/gathering space that made a huge difference to many people.

You ran the place that
Played a part in making me--
For good or for ill

#WritingCommunity #AmWriting
September 6, 2025 at 10:01 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
Today's (9/4) #WIPSnips, "coffee" is used a ton in my WIP, Family Science.
Here's an instance from Chapter 15
#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Jade Logan’s Secret Child? The headline invaded Hannah’s phone right when she was glancing at the time. She couldn’t be late for her meeting with Maggie. Not when she actually had a decent idea. Her finger twitched and she had opened the news site—if it could be called that—before she was able to ask herself if she really wanted to see this. When the page loaded, her morning coffee caught in her windpipe. There, under the headline, was a picture of Jade holding her hand out to the camera and looking very paternalistically concerned as she turned back toward where Millie and Hannah stood.
September 4, 2025 at 6:07 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
Translating query rejections into dating rejections...

QUERY: "Due to a high volume of queries, I must be extremely selective."

DATING: "Everybody wants me. Why should I settle for you?"

#Revspirations
chloemarcus.bsky.social Chloe Marcus @chloemarcus.bsky.social · Aug 22
Translating query rejections into dating rejections...

QUERY: "I'm sure someone else will feel differently."

DATING: "I'm not interested. But, maybe someone else will be into you."

#Revspirations
August 22, 2025 at 7:16 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
Today's #WIPSnips from August 21, "shout"
Here it is from Ch. 6 of Family Science
#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
Hannah had the sudden urge to reach out her arms and swallow her friend in a hug. The pain and longing from Abby was so loud that the shouts and laughs of the children playing faded to a background hum. How had Hannah missed what she was going through before? How had she not known Abby had experienced such a profound loss?
August 21, 2025 at 8:15 PM
trutherford.bsky.social
Actually have this one today.
"Career" for the 8/20 #WIPSnips from chapter 3 of Family Science
#AmWriting #WritingCommunity
But what had Jade said? That they left their successful business . . . That wasn’t the story Hannah knew. James’ parents built their career one hundred percent on Jade, taking double ten percents as her agent and manager, curating her America’s sweetheart little girl image until she had aged out of pigtails and no one would consider her for grown-up roles. And so their parents had chased that fame beyond its expiration date, investing everything in Jade and nothing in James. Well, nothing except attempts to get him to work for them too.
August 20, 2025 at 5:57 PM