Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Charles (Cy) Payseur

Fantasy Magazine @fantasymagazine.bsky.social · 44m

Thanks so much for the reviews, @cypayseur.bsky.social 🙌

"a strong issue" means so much to us! 💖

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 2h

Short SFF Reading Update #quicksipreviews

Fantasy Magazine #98 Autumn 2025 (4 originals, 2 poems)

A grim issue all told, with some lingering on death and family and justice (or a lack thereof). The poetry strikes a bit more of a defiant tone, especially Eleanor Ball's "All of Our Mothers Are Dead"

1 2

Reposted by Charles (Cy) Payseur

Jen Karner @articulatedream.bsky.social · 1d

It's cover reveal day so I got u dis.
Snag the new cover on sale all month long using the spooky sale section of the link in my bio.

The new cover of Cinders of Yesterday is shown. Emilie (blonde, curly hair) is on the left leaning against Dani (long black wavy hair, leather jacket, holding a glowing blade). Around them a fire rages. The top reads "Jen Karner", middle text reads "Cinders of Yesterday" and at the bottom "Legacy of Shadows Book 1"

7 10

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 2h

So yeah a strong issue that you can check out here: psychopomp.com/fantasy/issu...

@fantasymagazine.bsky.social @psychopomp.com

Fantasy Magazine - issue 98 | Psychopomp

Fantasy Magazine Issue 98 features work by: Eleanor Ball, Christian Emecheta, Sunwoo Jeong, Mateo Perez Lara, Tracie McBride, Eleanna Castroianni

psychopomp.com

2

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 2h

Living with the memories of those lost, and those battles lost, while trying to imagine a future that is different (an often difficult if not impossible task for those with such deep trauma). But there is help, community, compassion, and possibility. There are returns, and there is memory.

1

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 2h

Sunwoo Jeong's "The Dragon and the Bog" is beautiful and quietly devastating, and Eleanna Castroianni's "They Return" is a sad angsty queer story that I quite liked. Both are very grim but not nihilistic—both reach for hope, recognizing that surviving in itself is often about the pain of living

1

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 2h

Short SFF Reading Update #quicksipreviews

Fantasy Magazine #98 Autumn 2025 (4 originals, 2 poems)

A grim issue all told, with some lingering on death and family and justice (or a lack thereof). The poetry strikes a bit more of a defiant tone, especially Eleanor Ball's "All of Our Mothers Are Dead"

1 3

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 3h

if you want to keep up with me, i do encourage people to check out my Patreon, which I'll be revamping over the rest of the year. The free tier will still get you a lot, but obviously I appreciate any and all support
www.patreon.com/c/quicksipre...

creating reviews, fiction, recommendations, & more!

www.patreon.com

2

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 3h

It's all very much a work in progress. Right now this feels the right level of low effort, high reward in terms of still trying to be a resource in following the short SFF field, while not burning myself out even more

1 1

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 3h

I'll likely compile these every month or so on my Patreon just to keep them all organized. I don't intend to revive the blog aspect of QSR, but this will allow me to keep it alive through these posts and my Patreon.

1 2

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 3h

So you might have noticed that I've started posting little threads about my short fiction reading (with the hashtag #quicksipreviews). I'm testing this out bc I'll still be reading a lot of short fiction, but want the freedom to say as much or as little as I want, and to do it without deadlines

1 3 21

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 6h

Anti-Prime Day Sale at @jms-books.com!!

50% all ebooks, including a ton of gay and queer SFF romance/erotic romance by me! You can browse my titles and save big here: www.jms-books.com/charles-pays...

1 5

Reposted by Charles (Cy) Payseur

mere rain @mererain.bsky.social · 6h

Includes new releases such as my "Princes at War"
browse books from @klnoone.bsky.social
@elliethomas.bsky.social @cypayseur.bsky.social @authorjdwalker.bsky.social @authorhollyday.bsky.social and everyone at @jms-books.com.
www.jms-books.com/mere-rain-c-...

3 4

Reposted by Charles (Cy) Payseur

Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · 22h

Exciting news! My novel Plague Birds, which was a finalist for the Nebula & Philip K. Dick Awards, will be rereleased by Apex Books @apexmag.bsky.social in an new edition with extra content in June 2026. And a sequel will be published by Apex in Oct. 2026. 1/
www.apexbookcompany.com/products/pla...

Cover of Plague Birds by Jason Sanford, which was a finalist for the Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards.

13 53 170

Reposted by Charles (Cy) Payseur

Lara Elena Donnelly @larazontally.bsky.social · 1d

There's a lot of stupid shit happening in the world but we still decided to start a small press. www.kickstarter.com/projects/hom...

Homeward Books: The home for books without a home

Splendor over mediocrity. Stories for the hot bath & the cold plunge. Defying the constraints of genre & delving deep into your heart.

www.kickstarter.com

2 44 60

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 1d

But yeah that "horror of innocence" is interesting, probably growing out of the ways that people are biologically wired to respond to babies/small children, and the friction that can come from feeling perhaps manipulated by that and the natural weight of it.

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 1d

I've been away from regularly covering the publication for a while bc it was assigned to a different reviewer at Locus but I plan to get back to it now.

Anyway, here's the link to the issue: www.thedarkmagazine.com/issues/septe...

September 2025 - The Dark Magazine

Each month The Dark brings you the best in dark fantasy and horror! Selected by award-winning editor Sean Wallace and published by Prime Books, this issue includes two all-new stories and two reprints...

www.thedarkmagazine.com

1 3

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 1d

Short SFF Reading Update #quicksipreviews

The Dark 9/25 (2 originals)

A nice pairing of original stories about creepy magical/evil children and the people who become their victims. Very different settings and characters, but both dealing with the horror of... innocent evil?

1 1 4

Reposted by Charles (Cy) Payseur

Stephanie Burgis @stephanieburgis.bsky.social · 2d

A reminder for UK readers: the ebook of Wooing the Witch Queen is on sale for just 99p this month at every online retailer!

Snap it up now at
Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Wooing-Witch...
Kobo: www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/...
and Bookshop: uk.bookshop.org/p/books/wooi...

#romancelandia

An open e-reader shows the gorgeous UK cover of Wooing the Witch Queen in color on its screen. The e-reader is set on a white sheet beside a rose gold-colored tray wiht a cup of either very dark coffee or hot chocolate inside. Two ivy branches trail around the tray.

22 24

Reposted by Charles (Cy) Payseur

Bogi Takács / SONG OF SPORES coming Nov 2025! @bogiperson.bsky.social · 1d

REVIEWERS: I have e-ARC copies of SONG OF SPORES, my weird trans, intersex space opera book coming Nov 4 from Broken Eye Books!

You can request a copy here:

forms.gle/XZamWpmBUGwH...

I will be offline soon for Sukkot, so tell your friends in the meanwhile & I'll respond on Wed night (G-d willing)

Get an e-ARC of SONG OF SPORES!

This is for reviewers to request a copy (epub, pdf) of the weird trans, intersex space opera book Song of Spores by Bogi Takács, Broken Eye Books (upcoming Nov 4 2025). Please do not self-reject :) I ...

forms.gle

1 33 37

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 1d

(and I consider act 2 the top down section after you finish the cabin)

1

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 1d

For real! It didn't grab me quite as much as Blue Prince, which is the game Inscryption was recommended to me as "if you like BP then you'll probably vibe with Inscryption" but it still hooked me good

2 1

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 1d

I did end up making it through and clicking a little more with Act 2, though the first part is still my favorite. Act 3 is a lot of fun, too, though, and it's fun to see how it all starts to fit together. I'm not sure I'm ready to try the extra challenges, but it's a very fun game

1 1

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 1d

Also as an aside it's very nice to see GigaNotoSaurus return after their short hiatus. I've missed them and this is a great welcome back.

2

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 1d

I like that it doesn't really try to make itself clear cut in terms of identity—the messiness reflects this inner truth that can't be simplified, and McGill really nails the strange, magical nature of the situation in the prose and world building. Very nice.

link: giganotosaurus.org/2025/10/01/a...

A Good King - GigaNotoSaurus

In the last blush of autumn, the King of the Forest requested an audience with the King. The King was so delighted that he agreed at once. The audience was held in the King’s hall, the burnished tile ...

giganotosaurus.org

1 1 3

Charles (Cy) Payseur @cypayseur.bsky.social · 1d

Short SFF Reading Update #quicksipreviews

GigaNotoSaurus 10/25 (1 original) @giganotosaurus.bsky.social

"A Good King" by Sarah McGill is a lovely and moving story about a king, a fox, and a secret (maybe more than one secret). It moves like a fable but messier.

1 2 6