Darren Cools
@darrencools.bsky.social
Author, illustrator, designer. Light in the Canyon, my debut #YoungAdult #novel, arrives summer '26. Searching for the ghost.
www.darrencools.com
www.x.com/darrencools
www.instagram.com/d.j.cools
www.instagram.com/wearesuperdrive
www.darrencools.com
www.x.com/darrencools
www.instagram.com/d.j.cools
www.instagram.com/wearesuperdrive
I really want to start a Substack in 2026 (not that I have the time, but still).
So what should I write about? I can’t decide.
So what should I write about? I can’t decide.
January 21, 2026 at 6:25 PM
I really want to start a Substack in 2026 (not that I have the time, but still).
So what should I write about? I can’t decide.
So what should I write about? I can’t decide.
I’m on the @slantbooks.bsky.social homepage! ❤️
#youngadult #teenreads #scifi #fiction #novel #BookSky 💙📚 #booksky #writers #authors #readers #booklovers #writingcommunity #skybooks
#youngadult #teenreads #scifi #fiction #novel #BookSky 💙📚 #booksky #writers #authors #readers #booklovers #writingcommunity #skybooks
January 20, 2026 at 8:19 PM
I’m on the @slantbooks.bsky.social homepage! ❤️
#youngadult #teenreads #scifi #fiction #novel #BookSky 💙📚 #booksky #writers #authors #readers #booklovers #writingcommunity #skybooks
#youngadult #teenreads #scifi #fiction #novel #BookSky 💙📚 #booksky #writers #authors #readers #booklovers #writingcommunity #skybooks
Reposted by Darren Cools
Got a plant for the office. It looks like it’s comforting another plant.
January 14, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Got a plant for the office. It looks like it’s comforting another plant.
Reposted by Darren Cools
Excited, too! Such. A. Great. Book. (For teenagers everywhere and the teenager in you.)
I’m so excited to share this with you at last...
The lovely cover of my debut YA novel, Light in the Canyon! A wonderful collaborative effort with @gregorywolfe.bsky.social
Visit Slant Books for a plot teaser: slantbooks.org/books/light-...
#youngadult #scifi #novel #bookky #coverreveal
The lovely cover of my debut YA novel, Light in the Canyon! A wonderful collaborative effort with @gregorywolfe.bsky.social
Visit Slant Books for a plot teaser: slantbooks.org/books/light-...
#youngadult #scifi #novel #bookky #coverreveal
January 12, 2026 at 9:16 PM
Excited, too! Such. A. Great. Book. (For teenagers everywhere and the teenager in you.)
I’m so excited to share this with you at last...
The lovely cover of my debut YA novel, Light in the Canyon! A wonderful collaborative effort with @gregorywolfe.bsky.social
Visit Slant Books for a plot teaser: slantbooks.org/books/light-...
#youngadult #scifi #novel #bookky #coverreveal
The lovely cover of my debut YA novel, Light in the Canyon! A wonderful collaborative effort with @gregorywolfe.bsky.social
Visit Slant Books for a plot teaser: slantbooks.org/books/light-...
#youngadult #scifi #novel #bookky #coverreveal
January 9, 2026 at 8:46 PM
I’m so excited to share this with you at last...
The lovely cover of my debut YA novel, Light in the Canyon! A wonderful collaborative effort with @gregorywolfe.bsky.social
Visit Slant Books for a plot teaser: slantbooks.org/books/light-...
#youngadult #scifi #novel #bookky #coverreveal
The lovely cover of my debut YA novel, Light in the Canyon! A wonderful collaborative effort with @gregorywolfe.bsky.social
Visit Slant Books for a plot teaser: slantbooks.org/books/light-...
#youngadult #scifi #novel #bookky #coverreveal
In less than 24 hours I'll show you what @slantbooks.bsky.social and I made together. Collaboration makes everything better. If we've done our job well, it'll make you want to read my book even more than you already do. 😎
Check back tomorrow for the #coverreveal of my #youngadult #scifi #booksky
Check back tomorrow for the #coverreveal of my #youngadult #scifi #booksky
January 8, 2026 at 9:23 PM
In less than 24 hours I'll show you what @slantbooks.bsky.social and I made together. Collaboration makes everything better. If we've done our job well, it'll make you want to read my book even more than you already do. 😎
Check back tomorrow for the #coverreveal of my #youngadult #scifi #booksky
Check back tomorrow for the #coverreveal of my #youngadult #scifi #booksky
It’s almost here — the cover reveal for my #debut #YoungAdult #novel, Light in the Canyon, coming this Friday afternoon! 📗 👀
I can hardy sit still...
@slantbooks.bsky.social #booksky #books
I can hardy sit still...
@slantbooks.bsky.social #booksky #books
January 7, 2026 at 10:10 PM
It’s almost here — the cover reveal for my #debut #YoungAdult #novel, Light in the Canyon, coming this Friday afternoon! 📗 👀
I can hardy sit still...
@slantbooks.bsky.social #booksky #books
I can hardy sit still...
@slantbooks.bsky.social #booksky #books
Will 2026 be the best year ever? Seems promising... #booksky
Here’s a brief reflection some good things that have happened for me and my family in the last 12 months... it’s been a LOT.
darrencools.com/on-lists
Happy New Year! Wishing you all the magic and possibility you’ve ever dared dream of.
Here’s a brief reflection some good things that have happened for me and my family in the last 12 months... it’s been a LOT.
darrencools.com/on-lists
Happy New Year! Wishing you all the magic and possibility you’ve ever dared dream of.
December 31, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Will 2026 be the best year ever? Seems promising... #booksky
Here’s a brief reflection some good things that have happened for me and my family in the last 12 months... it’s been a LOT.
darrencools.com/on-lists
Happy New Year! Wishing you all the magic and possibility you’ve ever dared dream of.
Here’s a brief reflection some good things that have happened for me and my family in the last 12 months... it’s been a LOT.
darrencools.com/on-lists
Happy New Year! Wishing you all the magic and possibility you’ve ever dared dream of.
Working on my #solarpunk novel tonight... and man, there's noting quite like falling ever deeper in love with weird, flawed characters I'll eventually get to know so well they'll invade my dreams...
#amwriting #amwritingfiction #yafiction #booksky
#amwriting #amwritingfiction #yafiction #booksky
December 28, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Working on my #solarpunk novel tonight... and man, there's noting quite like falling ever deeper in love with weird, flawed characters I'll eventually get to know so well they'll invade my dreams...
#amwriting #amwritingfiction #yafiction #booksky
#amwriting #amwritingfiction #yafiction #booksky
While I bite my nails waiting for next steps on my debut #YAfiction launch plans, tonight I'm working on my next #novel. A disillusioned young bike mechanic and an insomniac obsessed with Henry Darger get tangled up with a messy rebel gang in a near future midwest... #solarpunk #booksky #amwriting
December 19, 2025 at 1:24 AM
While I bite my nails waiting for next steps on my debut #YAfiction launch plans, tonight I'm working on my next #novel. A disillusioned young bike mechanic and an insomniac obsessed with Henry Darger get tangled up with a messy rebel gang in a near future midwest... #solarpunk #booksky #amwriting
A teaser from Part III of my book —
#booksky #yanovel #ya #youngadult #scifi #yafiction #fiction #novel #amwriting
#booksky #yanovel #ya #youngadult #scifi #yafiction #fiction #novel #amwriting
December 11, 2025 at 5:00 PM
A teaser from Part III of my book —
#booksky #yanovel #ya #youngadult #scifi #yafiction #fiction #novel #amwriting
#booksky #yanovel #ya #youngadult #scifi #yafiction #fiction #novel #amwriting
Are you considering a tax-deductible #donation in 2025? Please support @slantbooks.bsky.social!
Slant publishes books that matter — thoughtful, meaningful work reflecting the beauty and complexity of this weird, wonderful life. (And my #debut #youngadult #novel!)
slantbooks.org/close-readin...
Slant publishes books that matter — thoughtful, meaningful work reflecting the beauty and complexity of this weird, wonderful life. (And my #debut #youngadult #novel!)
slantbooks.org/close-readin...
Books Make Something Happen: The 2025 Slant Books Annual Appeal - Slant Books
W.H. Auden’s phrase, “poetry makes nothing happen,” has been misinterpreted: instead of saying that literature is ineffectual, Auden was simply resisting the idea that literature should be reduced to ...
slantbooks.org
December 2, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Are you considering a tax-deductible #donation in 2025? Please support @slantbooks.bsky.social!
Slant publishes books that matter — thoughtful, meaningful work reflecting the beauty and complexity of this weird, wonderful life. (And my #debut #youngadult #novel!)
slantbooks.org/close-readin...
Slant publishes books that matter — thoughtful, meaningful work reflecting the beauty and complexity of this weird, wonderful life. (And my #debut #youngadult #novel!)
slantbooks.org/close-readin...
Yesterday, @slantbooks.bsky.social and I finalized a cover design for my debut novel, Light in the Canyon.
I can't show you just yet, but I'm in love 😍
I can't show you just yet, but I'm in love 😍
December 1, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Yesterday, @slantbooks.bsky.social and I finalized a cover design for my debut novel, Light in the Canyon.
I can't show you just yet, but I'm in love 😍
I can't show you just yet, but I'm in love 😍
Reposted by Darren Cools
"The key to hacking your way through the current thicket of literary noise ... is the same as the cultivation of other kinds of wisdom: paying attention to the disciplines of truthful friends, the embodied motions of prayer, the humility of the unexpected." slantbooks.substack.com/p/a-way-thro...
A Way Through the Literary Forest
How does one discern what’s actually worthwhile?
slantbooks.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:00 AM
"The key to hacking your way through the current thicket of literary noise ... is the same as the cultivation of other kinds of wisdom: paying attention to the disciplines of truthful friends, the embodied motions of prayer, the humility of the unexpected." slantbooks.substack.com/p/a-way-thro...
Once in a while I read a book that does something similar to a piece of fiction I’m working on. I love these moments. They invariably go in directions I’d never thought of, or wouldn't chose in my own work, and that’s refreshing. It energizes me to push my own a bit further, get a bit more daring.
September 25, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Once in a while I read a book that does something similar to a piece of fiction I’m working on. I love these moments. They invariably go in directions I’d never thought of, or wouldn't chose in my own work, and that’s refreshing. It energizes me to push my own a bit further, get a bit more daring.
Switching from DM'ing to playing a character for this fall season. This is one of my favorite moments of the game: thinking about the who/what/why of my brand new character. I love deciding who I'm going to become... The possibilities are effectively infinite. 🤩
#DungeonsandDragons #DnD #trpg
#DungeonsandDragons #DnD #trpg
September 18, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Switching from DM'ing to playing a character for this fall season. This is one of my favorite moments of the game: thinking about the who/what/why of my brand new character. I love deciding who I'm going to become... The possibilities are effectively infinite. 🤩
#DungeonsandDragons #DnD #trpg
#DungeonsandDragons #DnD #trpg
Please sign up for my newsletter! I'll send out semi-regular updates on the process, offer sneak peeks, and share important dates (like cover reveal and when it's available for sale). I promise I won't spam you, but I'd love to keep you in the loop.
darrencools.com/about
darrencools.com/about
Contact Darren Cools | Darren Cools
Contact Darren Cools for illustrations, graphic design, and young adult fiction and children's picture books
darrencools.com
September 10, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Please sign up for my newsletter! I'll send out semi-regular updates on the process, offer sneak peeks, and share important dates (like cover reveal and when it's available for sale). I promise I won't spam you, but I'd love to keep you in the loop.
darrencools.com/about
darrencools.com/about
I'm several hours into a new phase of editing on my #youngadult #novel, Light in the Canyon, guided by the shrewd insight of @gregorywolfe.bsky.social. I'm beyond thrilled to be under contract with @slantbooks.bsky.social. I can't wait to get my book into your hands.
#ya #booksky #amwritingfiction
#ya #booksky #amwritingfiction
September 10, 2025 at 7:57 PM
I'm several hours into a new phase of editing on my #youngadult #novel, Light in the Canyon, guided by the shrewd insight of @gregorywolfe.bsky.social. I'm beyond thrilled to be under contract with @slantbooks.bsky.social. I can't wait to get my book into your hands.
#ya #booksky #amwritingfiction
#ya #booksky #amwritingfiction
September 8, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Well, I said I was too busy to write, but I had a moment of creative compulsion today and squeezed in the last the #digitalpainting on this drawing I started long ago.
Have I ever told you how much I love her?
#art #illustration #inkdrawing #joanofarc
Have I ever told you how much I love her?
#art #illustration #inkdrawing #joanofarc
July 15, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Well, I said I was too busy to write, but I had a moment of creative compulsion today and squeezed in the last the #digitalpainting on this drawing I started long ago.
Have I ever told you how much I love her?
#art #illustration #inkdrawing #joanofarc
Have I ever told you how much I love her?
#art #illustration #inkdrawing #joanofarc
I’m too busy to work on my new #solarpunk #novel at the moment — we’re about to move and I start grad school next month — so here’s an old #DnD drawing I made...
#illustration #dungeonsanddragons #art #characterdesign #trpg
#illustration #dungeonsanddragons #art #characterdesign #trpg
July 15, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I’m too busy to work on my new #solarpunk #novel at the moment — we’re about to move and I start grad school next month — so here’s an old #DnD drawing I made...
#illustration #dungeonsanddragons #art #characterdesign #trpg
#illustration #dungeonsanddragons #art #characterdesign #trpg
Working but I want to be writing.
Boo hoo.
Boo hoo.
June 23, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Working but I want to be writing.
Boo hoo.
Boo hoo.
I’m pretty sporadic around here sometimes. And that’s ok. I’ve been outside a lot, and I’m also working on my next novel.
A new character has been prodding me to give them a place in my story, and I think I’m convinced, but... who are they?
A new character has been prodding me to give them a place in my story, and I think I’m convinced, but... who are they?
June 9, 2025 at 6:50 PM
I’m pretty sporadic around here sometimes. And that’s ok. I’ve been outside a lot, and I’m also working on my next novel.
A new character has been prodding me to give them a place in my story, and I think I’m convinced, but... who are they?
A new character has been prodding me to give them a place in my story, and I think I’m convinced, but... who are they?