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Cynthia Swanson

@cynswanauthor.bsky.social

670 followers 340 following 520 posts

Author of suspense novels Anyone But Her, The Glass Forest & The Bookseller; editor of Denver Noir. Developmental editor, content editor, ghostwriter. Reader, walker, hiker, skier, urban farmer. Blue to the core. https://linktr.ee/cynthiaswanson

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Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 2d

In today's What If Journal on #Substack, I discuss the oh-so-helpful (catching the sarcasm there?) AI "suggestions" that permeate our lives—and how to navigate them if you prefer thinking for yourself.

#WritingCommunity #Creativity #Books

thewhatifjournal.substack.com/p/no-i-dont-...

No, I Don't Want a Smoothie for Breakfast

On the Invasiveness of AI in Our Lives

thewhatifjournal.substack.com

Reposted by Cynthia Swanson

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 23h

🏆 How does a comedy show have the best news research team? @thedailyshow.com

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Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 21h

Looks pretty scary. Be careful out there, folks.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

#WarRavagedPortland

Reposted by Cynthia Swanson

Carole King @carolekingofficial.bsky.social · 2d

Carole at home in the canyon, 1970.

📷@guywebsterphotography

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Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 2d

No, I Don't Want a Smoothie for Breakfast

On the Invasiveness of AI in Our Lives

thewhatifjournal.substack.com

Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 3d

That looks exactly like my grandparents' house in Milwaukee (decades ago). But they didn't have a cat!

Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 4d

Ya think???

Just Jack @just-jack-1.bsky.social · 4d

Nothing says America First like bailing out Argentina while making healthcare unaffordable for 20+ million Americans.

Or signing an Article 5 protection treaty with Qatar coz they bribed you with a plane, while screwing over longstanding NATO allies.

Folks, I think America First might be a scam.

Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 5d

Best thing I read on an otherwise doomscrolling type of day.

Rae Radford @raeradford.bsky.social · 6d

#BookSky

🤗

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Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 7d

I've been listening to this beautiful audiobook by Jane Goodall, with Douglas Abrams...all the more special upon hearing news of her passing. RIP, Dr. Goodall, you will be missed.

libro.fm/audiobooks/9...

The Book of Hope Audiobook on Libro.fm

In a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to hope?This program is read by the authors and includes a bonus PDF.Looking at the headlines—the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss...

libro.fm

Reposted by Cynthia Swanson

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9d

Pritzker: "In any other country, if federal agents fired upon journalists & protesters when unprovoked what would we call it? If officials marched down streets harassing civilians & demanding their papers, what would we say? I don't think we'd have trouble calling it what it is: authoritarianism"

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Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 10d

Many thanks to my in-laws for having the foresight to have my husband at the end of September, so we would be able to always celebrate his birthday with a glorious #Colorado aspen hike.

#Fall #Aspens #ColorfulColorado

Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 12d

All of this!

I hope "seeking out independent publishers along with books from the major corporate publishers" also means indie authors. Yes, there are indie authors who pub before they're ready, but there are also many high quality indie pubbed books. Seek them out & support those authors, too.

Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 14d

My way of coping with all of the madness is focusing on what I can do to make my community a little bit stronger. So excuse me for all of the earnestness, but I wrote about ways we can all pitch in to support a thriving literary culture. lithub.com/how-to-be-a-...

How to Be a Good Literary Citizen (in Seven Easy Steps)

Last Sunday I spent hours at the Brooklyn Book Festival, a too rare occasion for me to pull myself away from the internet for an entire afternoon. As I looked around at the crowd on their way to pa…

lithub.com

Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 12d

Did a college campus tour today with my kiddo, and can I just say, I love college campuses? Every time I’m on one, I want to go back and get a do-over for college. I definitely did not appreciate it enough the first time around.

Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 12d

Great piece -- thank you, Tajja. After two Big 5 novels, both of which were fairly successful but have not yet earned out, I ended up self-pubbing my 3rd novel, which has done quite well by self-pub standards. Will do so again if novel #4 (in progress) isn't picked up by a large or midsized house.

Tajja Isen @tajjaisen.bsky.social · 12d

I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...

The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus

Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it

thewalrus.ca

Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 14d

Great reminders. I'm biking a lot these days -- spending more time on the bike (thanks to Azalea, my new ebike) than in the car, and that's making me more aware of these issues than ever before.

Stay safe out there, everyone!

NPR @npr.org · 14d

In 2024, 7,100 pedestrians were killed on the road, and in recent years, more than 1,000 cyclists have been hit and killed annually. Safety experts explain how bikers and walkers can stay safe.

8 walking and biking safety tips that just might save your life

In 2024, 7,100 pedestrians were killed on the road, and in recent years, more than 1,000 cyclists have been hit and killed annually. Safety experts explain how bikers and walkers can stay safe.

n.pr

Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 14d

I see your Molly and raise you a Molly (such a good dog name).

Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 14d

Apparently, no one ever showed this to the orange menace.

Reposted by Cynthia Swanson

Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 15d

Let's be clear: no one should be taking medical advice from the man who told Americans to inject bleach.

To moms worried about the Tylenol they took while pregnant: you deserve better than being RFK Jr's scapegoat.

And to the autism community: you are loved exactly as you are.

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Reposted by Cynthia Swanson

Hillary Rodham Clinton @hillaryclinton.bsky.social · 17d

Jimmy Kimmel and other late-night comedians have certainly said things about me that I found offensive, even outrageous.

It never crossed my mind to call up the networks and say, "Hey, get rid of this guy."

Because that's not how America works.
play.prx.org/listen?ge=pr...

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The Washington Roundtable is joined by the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Keren Yarhi-Milo, the dean of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, to discuss...

play.prx.org

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Reposted by Cynthia Swanson

50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 @50501movement.bsky.social · 18d

Anti-fascists (Antifa) storming the beaches of Normandy.

a black and white photo of a group of soldiers getting off a boat in the ocean .

Alt: Allied forces landing on Normandy beaches in WW2.

media.tenor.com

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Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 18d

Never jumped on the TikTok wagon, and I'm particularly glad of that now.

50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 @50501movement.bsky.social · 18d

Delete TikTok, and tell everyone you know to do the same. It’s going to be a surveillance and propaganda tool for the Trump regime.

US will control TikTok’s algorithm under deal, White House says

Trump has repeatedly flouted a congressionally passed ban on the app to give more time for negotiations over ownership.

www.politico.com

Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 18d

Spotted in a thrift store, and this is how you do it.

#Books #BookSky #Read #KidBooks

Reposted by Cynthia Swanson

Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 18d

In a moment like this, when tensions are high, part of the job of the president is to remind us of the ties that bind us together.

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Cynthia Swanson @cynswanauthor.bsky.social · 18d

In case you're wondering how this all went down.

The postscript is a plummet in Disney stock value. We DO have power...we just need to use it.

Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 18d

Did Donald Trump cancel Jimmy Kimmel?

We need a free press, not a few corporate media giants bowing down to Trump.

Graphic that reads: DID DONALD TRUMP CANCEL JIMMY KIMMEL?

After Colbert’s show was canceled, Trump posted that “next up” is Jimmy Kimmel.

Jimmy Kimmel is on ABC (owned by Disney). Some ABC stations are controlled by a media company called Nexstar.

Nexstar and Disney both need the Trump admin’s approval of 2 big business deals.

Talking about Kimmel and ABC, Trump’s FCC Chair said, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

ABC execs were reportedly "pissing themselves" over fear of Trump retaliation.

Nexstar announced it won’t carry Kimmel's show. ABC indefinitely canceled Kimmel’s show.

Trump called it “great news for America.”

We need a free press, not a few corporate media giants bowing down to Trump

Reposted by Cynthia Swanson

Republicans Against Trumpism @rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social · 20d

Stephen Colbert: “Tonight we’re all Jimmy Kimmel…. With an autocrat, you can’t give an inch. If ABC thinks that this is going to satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive, and clearly they've never read The Children's Book If You Give a Mouse A Kimmel.”

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Reposted by Cynthia Swanson

dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 21d

it’s a really good time to pick up reading as a leisure form of escapism

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