Astrid Cartesian, Author
@astridcartesian.bsky.social
Author of adventure and action novels. Working on OPERATION NACHTHEXEN as my first adventure historical fiction novel.
They painted their planes black. Not for camouflage - it was already dark. But because hope looks like someone who refused to be seen until she wanted to be.
November 9, 2025 at 11:42 PM
They painted their planes black. Not for camouflage - it was already dark. But because hope looks like someone who refused to be seen until she wanted to be.
The best writing advice I ever got: Write the book only you can write. Nobody else is obsessed with Night Witches AND engineering specs AND found family dynamics. That's my niche.
November 9, 2025 at 7:46 PM
The best writing advice I ever got: Write the book only you can write. Nobody else is obsessed with Night Witches AND engineering specs AND found family dynamics. That's my niche.
The 588th flew their first combat mission in June 1942. They flew their last in May 1945. Almost three years of nightly operations. The endurance alone is staggering.
November 9, 2025 at 6:30 PM
The 588th flew their first combat mission in June 1942. They flew their last in May 1945. Almost three years of nightly operations. The endurance alone is staggering.
What makes a good action scene for you as a reader? Clarity? Speed? Emotional stakes? Trying to calibrate.
November 9, 2025 at 5:21 PM
What makes a good action scene for you as a reader? Clarity? Speed? Emotional stakes? Trying to calibrate.
I'm not interested in writing "strong female characters." I'm interested in writing about women who did impossible things and the cost they paid for it.
November 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
I'm not interested in writing "strong female characters." I'm interested in writing about women who did impossible things and the cost they paid for it.
If my work makes one person Google "Night Witches" and fall down the research rabbit hole, I've succeeded.
November 7, 2025 at 5:31 AM
If my work makes one person Google "Night Witches" and fall down the research rabbit hole, I've succeeded.
Pro tip: If you're writing about cold, write in the cold. I'm drafting this winter scene in my unheated garage. Method writing is real and also possibly hypothermia.
November 7, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Pro tip: If you're writing about cold, write in the cold. I'm drafting this winter scene in my unheated garage. Method writing is real and also possibly hypothermia.
Reposted by Astrid Cartesian, Author
Happy to report that my new detective series is really about a forensic auditor!
Series name: THE ADVERSE ANOMALY SERIES
BOOK 1: THE WIDOW’S GOING CONCERN
<squeeee!> Excited!
Series name: THE ADVERSE ANOMALY SERIES
BOOK 1: THE WIDOW’S GOING CONCERN
<squeeee!> Excited!
November 7, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Happy to report that my new detective series is really about a forensic auditor!
Series name: THE ADVERSE ANOMALY SERIES
BOOK 1: THE WIDOW’S GOING CONCERN
<squeeee!> Excited!
Series name: THE ADVERSE ANOMALY SERIES
BOOK 1: THE WIDOW’S GOING CONCERN
<squeeee!> Excited!
The smell of aviation fuel mixed with cold air and fear. The sound of canvas flapping in wind. The weight of bombs on a wooden frame. This is what they lived with.
November 7, 2025 at 3:02 AM
The smell of aviation fuel mixed with cold air and fear. The sound of canvas flapping in wind. The weight of bombs on a wooden frame. This is what they lived with.
Some nights nobody slept. The missions were back-to-back, the targets urgent, the stakes immediate. Sleep was for after the war. If there was an after.
November 6, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Some nights nobody slept. The missions were back-to-back, the targets urgent, the stakes immediate. Sleep was for after the war. If there was an after.
OPERATION NACHTHEXEN will be published in 2026!
So excited! #nanowrimo (even though I know it’s defunct) has been great for me this year, and I’m in this book deep. I’m confident in its progress!
So excited! #nanowrimo (even though I know it’s defunct) has been great for me this year, and I’m in this book deep. I’m confident in its progress!
November 6, 2025 at 9:53 PM
OPERATION NACHTHEXEN will be published in 2026!
So excited! #nanowrimo (even though I know it’s defunct) has been great for me this year, and I’m in this book deep. I’m confident in its progress!
So excited! #nanowrimo (even though I know it’s defunct) has been great for me this year, and I’m in this book deep. I’m confident in its progress!
Quick poll: Do you prefer chapter titles or just numbers? I'm Team Titles but open to persuasion.
November 6, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Quick poll: Do you prefer chapter titles or just numbers? I'm Team Titles but open to persuasion.
The goal: Make you feel the wind in the cockpit, the weight of the bombs, the exhaustion of the 15th sortie. If I can do that, I've done my job.
November 6, 2025 at 5:27 AM
The goal: Make you feel the wind in the cockpit, the weight of the bombs, the exhaustion of the 15th sortie. If I can do that, I've done my job.
Someone asked what genre Operation Nachthexen is. Historical thriller? Aviation adventure? War fiction? Yes. All of it. Genre is a suggestion.
November 6, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Someone asked what genre Operation Nachthexen is. Historical thriller? Aviation adventure? War fiction? Yes. All of it. Genre is a suggestion.
Yevdokia Bershanskaya commanded the 588th for the entire war. Not a single night off. Over 23,000 sorties under her watch. Leadership means showing up every single night.
November 6, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Yevdokia Bershanskaya commanded the 588th for the entire war. Not a single night off. Over 23,000 sorties under her watch. Leadership means showing up every single night.
What historical figure do you think deserves their own book but hasn't gotten one yet? I'm making a list.
November 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
What historical figure do you think deserves their own book but hasn't gotten one yet? I'm making a list.
Every time someone tells me "women in combat is unrealistic," I get to say "let me tell you about 1942." It never gets old.
November 5, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Every time someone tells me "women in combat is unrealistic," I get to say "let me tell you about 1942." It never gets old.
The Astrid Cartesian catalog will be: Women who did dangerous things. Historical accuracy that reads like thriller fiction. No romance subplots unless earned.
October 22, 2025 at 7:16 AM
The Astrid Cartesian catalog will be: Women who did dangerous things. Historical accuracy that reads like thriller fiction. No romance subplots unless earned.