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Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

@patricksamphire.bsky.social

4.7K followers 750 following 5.7K posts

Fantasy writer | Freelance developmental editor | Former physicist. #SPFBO/#BBNYA finalist. He/him. Around the web and my books: http://linktr.ee/patricksamphire 🏳️‍⚧️ rights are human rights

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Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · Oct 6

Lots of new friends on Bluesky. Hello! In case you haven't come across me before, I'm a fantasy writer, and these are all the books I've published so far.

patricksamphire.com/books

Covers of books by Patrick Samphire. The Mennik Thorn series (Epic fantasy mystery). The Secrets of the Dragon Tomb series (Middle Grade adventures). The Casebook of Harriet George series (Murder mysteries on Mars). And my short story collection, At the Gates and Other Stories.

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Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 2m

I am starting to wonder whether the internet can really survive much longer. With so many scams and so much AI slop, what was once an incredibly useful place is exhausting ow.

Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 2h

To be clear: like the real KDP (which has also been impersonated by scammers), the real IngramSpark does NOT charge any fees to create an account & upload a book, and does NOT sell paid adjunct services like editing and book cover design

Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 6m

Honestly, that's what I do when I get more than 20 interactions.

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Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 7m

Mute the thread!

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Stephanie Burgis @stephanieburgis.bsky.social · 1h

PS: remember the gorgeous character art Rafael Batista da Silva created for Lady & Lord Riven in A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience?

My personal goal is to sell enough copies of its sequel to justify commissioning more character art! I know exactly which scene needs illustration. :)

In a nighttime library lit only by candles, a determined-looking, dark-haired young woman in Edwardian dress brandishes a book to prove her argument to the tall vampire who stands before her, smiling down at her in delight. He is wearing a formal eighteenth century aristocratic outfit, and his long blond hair is tied back, eighteenth-century style. A pot of tea sits on a low table beside them.

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Solaris Books @solarisbooks.bsky.social · 4h

At 7pm on 9th October, don't miss @aptshadow.bsky.social at Leeds Waterstones for a very special panel event on "Building Brilliant Worlds" alongside @rjbarker.bsky.social and
@davewragg.com in association with @britfantasysoc.bsky.social!

Tickets only £5! www.waterstones.com/events/panel...

A screenshot of the Waterstones Event Graphic.

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Elizabeth Boyle @thecelticist.bsky.social · 4h

Reminds me of this excellent sign that I saw at the Tubman African American Museum in Macon, Georgia.

Piano, which once belonged to Little Richard, with a sign on it saying "Do not attempt to play Little Richard's piano. He will know."

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Melissa Scott @blueterraplane.bsky.social · 4h

So I understand it's World Octopus Day. (From the Heraklion Archeological Museum. One of what seemed like dozens.)

Bulbous Minoan clay vessel with narrow neck and two loop handles, decorated with a big-eyed black octopus in a seascape.

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zoë @zo-e.xyz · 5h

www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/securit... source on this if you're interested - discord's zendesk data breach likely includes images of people's government IDs which were processed for age verification in places like the UK

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𝒫𝒽𝒾𝓁𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓀ℯ𝓇 @philspeculates.bsky.social · 3h

Writing books is part of the job. In my post, Being a Semi Professional Author, I cover all the other work that's involved in this job. It's about getting "out there", getting recognised, having an identifiable brand as an author.
www.philparker-fantasywriter.com/post/being-a...
#writingcommunity

Being a semi professional author

Writing your book is great but it's only part of the job. Getting recognised, building a fan base, gaining acceptance from other writers - it's all part of being a semi professional author. Here are s...

www.philparker-fantasywriter.com

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Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 3h

I never met him, and I regret that enormously.

Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 6h

These may well be the best books I've ever read. Certainly the ones that had the most effect on me.

Simon Spanton @simonguy.bsky.social · 8h

"You're a mythago. I made you. My dreams made you. Like the journal said..."

A photo of copies of the 1986 Grafton paperback of Mythago Wood, the 1990 Grafton paperback of Lavondyss and the 1994 Grafton paperback of The Hollowing, all by Robert Holdstock. The cover art of the first is by Peter Goodfellow and of the second and third by Geoff Taylor.

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Terri Windling @terriwindling.bsky.social · 7h

These are ground-breaking, influential books by a writer (and friend) I deeply miss.

Simon Spanton @simonguy.bsky.social · 8h

"You're a mythago. I made you. My dreams made you. Like the journal said..."

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Moose Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 8h

The sort of cartoon you'd expect to see from me

www.worldofmoose.com/products/con...

Cartoon showing a man reading from a dictionary to another. He says "So, it turns out confirmation bias means exactly what I expected it to mean|"

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BonneFyre 🤍💛💙💕💜 @bonnefyre.bsky.social · 10h

This is one of the first things I mention when I talk to anyone about transition. Anyone who thinks people are being rushed through and pushed into decisions they might later regret is absolutely incorrect. Even going privately was a whole, long ordeal. Not to mention incredibly expensive.

QueerAF @wearequeeraf.com · 10h

Most Trans+ people in the UK will wait more than a third of their adult life to get their first appointment at an NHS gender clinic, and some will never receive care, QueerAF can reveal 👇

www.wearequeeraf.com/gender-clini...

Some people in Scotland will never get gender clinic appointment on 224-year waitlist

Revealed waiting times of all GICs in UK: Most Trans+ people in the UK will wait more than a third of their adult life to get an appointment, and some will never receive care

www.wearequeeraf.com

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Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 7h

It would be really nice if the price of renewable electricity like this wasn't tied to the price of gas in the UK, so we weren't paying absurdly over the actual cost of it.

Euronews @euronews.com · 9h

Solar energy is now so cheap it costs as little as €0.023 to produce one unit of power, a new study has found.

Solar power named the world’s cheapest energy source

Solar energy is now so cheap it costs as little as €0.023 to produce one unit of power, a new study has found.

l.euronews.com

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Euronews @euronews.com · 9h

Solar energy is now so cheap it costs as little as €0.023 to produce one unit of power, a new study has found.

Solar power named the world’s cheapest energy source

Solar energy is now so cheap it costs as little as €0.023 to produce one unit of power, a new study has found.

l.euronews.com

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Stephanie Burgis @stephanieburgis.bsky.social · 7h

It's time to vote in my annual poll for which of my series should get the next tie-in short story!

Subscribe to my Patreon at the Dragon Ruler level to vote now: patreon.com/stephanieburgis

Creating Stories and Book Recs

patreon.com

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Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 7h

And so it goes, as always. Cf. Brexit etc.

Andrew Sparrow @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social · 9h

People who back leaving ECHR know less about what it actually does than those in favour of staying, poll suggests - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 2d

Covid is not over.

People are still dying and becoming disabled every day.

We rushed “back to normal” for the economy, not because the threat had passed.

When you wear a mask, you’re not only protecting your health, you’re saying you don’t believe anyone is expendable.

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Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 7h

Also the person who claims to love Terry Pratchett but has picked up zero of the point of any of the stories.

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Plashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 9h

In a woodcut released today the Guild of Thieves and Cutpurses declared that enforcement of regulations against Thieving and Pursecutting would ‘devastate a growth industry’ and damage the economy.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Oregon 🕎🎲 @oregonthedm.bsky.social · 1d

Boxes also work on bobcats

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Patrick Samphire but for Halloween 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 8h

The Express continues to be absurd. 1. Putin isn't a communist and Russia hasn't been communist for a very long time. 2. The party the Express loves, Reform, has long-standing and deep links to Putin.

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 19h

I'm never actually going to need to write another comment piece again am I?

The right wing shit rags are just going to keep recruiting for us.

Folks - want a better country?

Join.greenparty.org.uk

The party even more dangerous than Starmers labour - UK's answer to Putin's communists

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The Onion @theonion.com · 22h

Health Experts Recommend Standing Up At Desk, Leaving Office, Never Coming Back https://theonion.com/health-experts-recommend-standing-up-at-desk-leaving-o-1819577456/

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Jennifer Kretchmer @dreamwisp.bsky.social · 20h

Because it feels relevant as we continue to evaluate the media and our representatives’ statements, my favorite way to identify the active vs. passive voice.

A post by Rebecca Johnson:
“I finally learned how to teach my guys to ID the passive voice. If you can insert "by zombies" after the verb, you have passive voice.”

A tumblr respond from mightymur:
“The final, brilliant word on passive voice.
"She was killed [by zombies.]"<--passive
"Zombies killed [by zombies] her." <-- active”

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