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Jamie M. Boyd

@jamieboyd.bsky.social

1.5K followers 1.1K following 270 posts

Writer. Mother. Recovering Journalist. Words in Strange Horizons, Heartlines Spec &more. SFWA. Codex. www.jamiemboyd.com

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · Nov 12

Hello! I write speculative fiction centering the natural world relationships and weird stuff from biology/anthropology. Recent stories on:

The anxiety of parenting & kids turning into creepy animals
strangehorizons.com/fiction/the-...
Love, regret & aliens
www.heartlines-spec.com/the-architec...

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 3d

Lush strange & beautiful flash by @mizukiyamagen.bsky.social

"A snail no larger than my pinky glides from the wound leaving a delicate silver calligraphy across the pillowcase. .. I hold my breath astonished less by its existence than bythe elegant hydraulics of emergence. hexliterary.com/?p=2878

The Hand's Aperture by Mizuki Yamagen

There is an aperture in my hand, a thumb-print whirl where tissue once flowed uninterrupted—like a channel grown curious and turning back on itself. Last week it was a mosquito bite: a temporary river...

hexliterary.com

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 4d

The story was "On Sacrifice," and it appeared in the science fiction anthology Brave New Worlds, edited by S.C. Butler and @joshuapalmatier.bsky.social.

Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 4d

I’ve always had a good feeling about life on Enceladus.
The very first short story I ever had published imagined an ancient forest of giant, coral-like sea life hibernating there.

With studies like this, maybe we'll have some exciting news in my lifetime.

Quote from the story "On Sacrifice" by Jamie M. Boyd. "When the Briareus first came into view, they were so far below us they looked like a small, bleached coral reef. But as we dove, it felt more like plummeting into a giant tree canopy. Some were smooth and hard as bone, others lacy and flexible like gigantic sea fans, their branches twisting and undulating all around us. Like ghosts."

The cover of Brave New Worlds, edited by S.C. Butler and Joshua Palmatier, features an astronaut walking away from the reader toward the image of several planets and moons. The cover art is by Justin Adams.

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 7d

RIP, Jane Goodall.

Jane Goodall reaches out to hold the hand of a baby chimp. Photo by Hugo Van Lawick/National Geographic Society.

Reposted by Jamie M. Boyd

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 8d

This is the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), native to North America. And it runs a PROTECTION SCHEME.

It's 'connected', see, A Wise Guy, an Avian Cosa Nostra, a Made Bird. "Nice nest here, be a shame if something happened to it."

Let's talk about the MAFIA HYPOTHESIS & brood parasitism.

a black and brown bird with a red head is perched on a wire fence .

Alt: A black and brown bird with a brownhead is perched on a wire fence. It fluffs feathers, swelling in size, and hops to one side.

media.tenor.com

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 10d

I just finished The Starving Saints by @caitlinstarling.com. Wow! 🤯 What a strange, beautiful novel that somehow manages to be both stomach churning and intoxicating.

The cover of the novel "The Staving Saints" by Caitlin Starling features a nun in a habit holding a bee hive, only instead of a face, there is a portal to another world with blood and gaping beings.

Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 12d

Of course if you can afford to donate, you should!🚀🦅🪐🏰🕊️

Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 12d

Starts today! I'm always amazed at the quality of programming given this accessible, all-online conference for writers and creators of speculative fiction is FREE.

Just a few sessions I'm 👀 today:

Publishing Contracts
Sinners film discussion
Spec Biology
New Gender
Gothic

LET'S GOOOOOOO ...

Dream Foundry @dreamfoundry.bsky.social · 14d

ICYMI

We have FOUR Guests of Honours this year for Flights of Foundry. Can you name them? 👀

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 13d

Here's hoping people can start reaching for an adjective other than "sassy" or "feisty" when talking abt mature women.

Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 14d

Love this.

Congrats @pedroiniguez.bsky.social

Pedro Iniguez @pedroiniguez.bsky.social · 15d

Happy to announce that my poem "Perish and Live Forever," which first appeared in MEXICANS ON THE MOON, has just won the @sfpoetry.bsky.social 's Dwarf Star Award for poetry. This award is for best micro poem of 10 lines or less. Many thanks to members who voted. It is a big honor. Much love!

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 16d

I'm the mother of two teenage daughters, so this story hits home. And that ending? 💀

I see you @jenniferhudak.bsky.social !

smallwondersmag.com/piece/echo-s...

Echo Syndrome - Small Wonders

When my daughter climbs in the car, there’s three of her. They shouldn’t all fit in the passenger seat, but they overlap each other to save space.

smallwondersmag.com

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 18d

I did! Sorry I didn't see your comment til just now. Hope you enjoyed the virtual con. I heard a lot of it may have been reordered for rewatch. I need to go find out if that's true ...

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 18d

Life is wild. 🐝 🐜 🕷️🧬

www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...

These Ant Queens Seem to Defy Biology: They Lay Eggs That Hatch Into Another Species

Iberian harvester ant queens produce offspring of their own species and of the builder harvester ant, seemingly by cloning males

www.smithsonianmag.com

Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 19d

I have a room full of framed, favorite literary quotes. This one seemed particularly relevant this week.

Image shows a framed quote from George Orwell's Animal Farm next to an ominous illustration of farm animals. "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."

Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 21d

I spent a lot of time potty training the new puppy today, which meant more time outside staring at my lawn between rainstorms.

Guess what I found hiding in the blades? 🍄

(I promise none of the photos are 💩 😂)

Bonus points for anyone who can help me identify them! 🧪

#fungi

Bernedoodle puppy on a leash sits on a grass lawn.

Yellowish orange fan-like fungus grows from a piece of dead wood. I think it's called Orange Jelly?

A cream-colored, button-like mushroom with brain-like markings sits next to some delicate orange capped mushrooms.

Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 23d

Incredibly important news flash:

WE HAVE A NEW PUPPY!! ❤️🐶🐾🥳

White and brown Bernedoodle puppy paws toward the camera playfully.

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · 26d

It’s normally too hot for mushrooms to grow in my yard, but it’s been raining so much this little guy pushed through the soil to say hello. 🍄

#fungifriday

Small white mushroom with thin stalk and delicate ruffled cap.

Reposted by Jamie M. Boyd

John Wiswell @wiswell.bsky.social · 28d

Hey! Are you sure being on social media is what you need right now? Maybe you'd be better served by a book, a Discord call with friends, or diving face-first into a tub of chocolate pudding.

If socials are right? Then great. But please be good to yourselves.

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · Sep 9

In ugly times, beautiful things are still being created all around us.

The brightest area in this NASA Photo of the Month is the "Butterfly Star," a young protostar still gathering mass from its environment surrounded by a disc where baby planets may be forming.

esawebb.org/images/potm2508a/

Dusty wisps round a dusty disc

esawebb.org

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · Sep 6

I love when I’m “forced” to do research for a short story.

This incredible book on a deadly 1996 Mount Everest expedition is a classic, and its reputation is well deserved. It’s made me angry, sad and, above all, amazed at what people will put themselves through to achieve a dream.

The nonfiction disaster book "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer features a cover with a photo of Mount Everest and a quote that says it "Ranks among the great adventure books of all time."

Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · Sep 5

I was told the only thing that ever came close to beating it would be stories about endangered puppies (puppy mills, stray pet adoption drives, etc). So there you have it, boobs and puppies. What makes the world go round.

Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · Sep 5

... the most popular feature had been No 1 not for days or weeks but MONTHS. It was (drumroll please … ) a series of photos from Miami Dolphins Cheerleader try-outs.

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · Sep 5

I covered local news for over a decade and once made the mistake of asking what the most viewed item on our site was. This was back when newspapers were still relatively healthy. We vigorously covered politics, big disasters, and several of our reporters had been nominated for Pulitzers. Turned out

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · Sep 5

Great story by @tiatashiro.bsky.social

"When Mark told you he was marrying your clone you said congratulations on autopilot, because that’s what you say when your friend tells you theyre getting married & you had promised to stay friendly after the divorce."
clarkesworldmagazine.com/tashiro_07_25/

Missing Helen by Tia Tashiro

Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

clarkesworldmagazine.com

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Jamie M. Boyd @jamieboyd.bsky.social · Sep 4

Good thing we have so many limes (and lemons) on our trees right now.

I’m thinking tequila shots might help me process yet another brilliant policy decision coming out of the state of Florida. 😣

A sliced lime and green lemon sit on a bamboo cutting board.