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Susan Murray

@pulpthorn.bsky.social

1.2K followers 610 following 11K posts

Writer of Fantasy & SF. Northerner. Girly swot. She/her. Ooh, squirrel...

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Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · Oct 23

"AWAKE! for Morning in the Bowl of Night
Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight:
And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught
The Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light."

Morning sunlight is finding its way round (and through) a yellow curtain which is still closed over an east-facing window. In the foreground is a floofy black cat, leaning forwards and slightly sideways from the right of the frame to peer intently into the camera with wide eyes, pupils dilated.

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Reposted by Susan Murray

Vanessa Knipe @vjknipe.bsky.social · 2d

Fun new project, I'm creating a colouring book, The A-Z of British Mythology. I've put up the first page, A is for Albion King of the Giants, on my Kofi account, if anyone wants a preview of what the book will look like.

ko-fi.com/s/5f8608667b

A is for Albion colouring page - Vanessa Knipe's Ko-fi Shop

In my A-Z of British Mythology, I'm starting right at the beginning. Albion was king of the giants and the country took his name.

ko-fi.com

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Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 11h

Shiny. You been decorating again?

Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 12h

WOOHOO! Congratulations!

Reposted by Susan Murray

👻 The Phantasmic Paul Jessup 👻 @pauljessup.com · 12h

From the silence comes the sound. From the Shadows comes life

itch.io/blog/1069829...

From the silence comes the sound. From the Shadows comes life

It's been a few years, hasn't it? In the meanwhile I've been focusing on my horror writing career (5 books published in three years and counting...not to mention awards, short stories, and etc), but i...

itch.io

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Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 12h

Parts of the third book (which may yet turn out to be two books in a trenchcoat) are still scuttling around inside my skull. 2025 continues to be a severe test of the dictum that creativity thrives under constraint.

Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 12h

Today's #BookQW word is STRONG.

In this extract from Waterborne Exile (sequel to The Waterborne Blade), Brett's spotted unfamiliar horses approaching their remote settlement.

First two ebooks available here: angryrobotbooks.com/books/the-wa...
and here: angryrobotbooks.com/books/waterb...

“Halt and state your business.”

“My business? Putting food on freemerchant plates, as it ever has been.”

With a flush of relief Brett recognised his father’s voice. Rogen eased his bowstring and returned the arrow to his quiver, before pushing himself to his feet. Brett followed him out from behind the cover of the rocks. Close to he had no difficulty recognising his father’s taller figure, riding a grey horse without the benefit of saddle or bridle, only a meagre halter. Behind him, the other two riders were women, both mounted the same way as his father, without saddle or bridle. Both women slumped on their horses. They must have been riding half the night. Their heads were wrapped in scarves to protect them from the heat of the sun and the dust. They rode side by side, until the track they followed narrowed and the slighter- built one reined in her horse, dropping to the rear. She had tanned skin and freckles. Wisps of hair escaped from beneath her scarf; her forearms were wiry, strong.

Brett moved his attention to the woman who rode behind his father, eyeing her with curiosity. She had fair skin, ill-suited to the desert heat. There was something ethereal about her, something he couldn’t quite name, some sense of – what, he wasn’t sure. As if aware of his scrutiny she looked up and her eyes met his. Brett caught his breath. For a moment it was as if she could read his innermost thoughts. But that was silly. No one could do such a thing. There was a slight twist of her mouth that might have been a smile then she nodded and he found he could turn his eyes away at last, aware of a sudden sense of great grief. Such a sorrow as he’d never known before. He felt strangely guilty, as if he’d intruded somehow.

He fell in behind their horses as they picked their way up the valley. This was something important here, something momentous.

Cover of Waterborne Exile by Susan Murray. A woman dressed in a blood-spattered white gown moves past the viewer, holding a bowl of blood before her in both hands. A bloodstained dagger is tucked in her belt. Cover art by Paul Young.

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Reposted by Susan Murray

Ben Jeapes @benjeapes.bsky.social · 21h

It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is STRONG. The Thief has possessed a healthy young body and now intends to take over the world, but there are still barriers to overcome. #bookqw #yafantasy www.benjeapes.com/index.php/th...

Hear me read a longer version at benjeapes.substack.com.

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Reposted by Susan Murray

Juliet E McKenna @julietemckenna.bsky.social · 21h

Book Quote Wednesday's word is 'strong' #BookQW
Dan Mackmain's physically fit and mentally tough. That means nothing in this situation. Want to find out what happens next?
The Green Man's War is a 99p Kindle UK deal for October.
www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Mans-W...

Cover art by Ben Baldwin shows a lethal, pale-scaled serpent-dragon or wyrm lurking in woodland. It looks straight at you as its forked tongue flickers between open, sharp-toothed jaws.

Book extract reads: The man by the door with the mattock said something I didn’t catch, but he was obviously warning the others. Sledgehammer guy looked around again. His mate with the pickaxe took a couple of steps towards a jewellery seller at the other end of the barn. She was tiny, wearing a long black dress, with purple hair that matched her lipstick and eyeshadow. If she was next on their list, there was nothing I could do.
I’d have to take that sledgehammer off the short-arse in front of me, then get past his mate with the mattock. No chance. My mother’s a dryad, but that doesn’t give me superpowers, not really. A dryad’s daughters take after their mothers and live for centuries in the unseen world alongside normal life. I’m tall and strong and hardly ever get ill, but I’ll grow old like my dad.
Billhook guy called out. I realised I hadn’t misheard mattock man guarding the door. Whoever these thieves were, they weren’t speaking English between themselves

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Reposted by Susan Murray

Donna Scott @wishusdonna.bsky.social · 20h

More places to pre-order this title coming soon. Meanwhile check out this #BookQW extract by @epiphanyferrell.bsky.social

The Slab Press @theslabpress.bsky.social · 20h

It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is STRONG. #BookQW #BookSky
Hiding Under the Leaves is launching at World Fantasycon on Friday 31st October. Release date 3rd November. Pre-order now Amazon/Barnes and Noble: ISBN 9781738426867

“What the fuck, man, what are you doing in my house?”
Mateo roared, his voice scratchy and raw.
He sprang out of the bed straight at Jimmie, fast as a
coiled snake. Mateo caught Jimmie at the waist, his strong
arms holding him in a bear hug. Jimmie beat him with the
dead rabbit, pummelling so hard with it for a moment he
thought it, too, had come back to life.
The two men crashed to the floor. Mateo was bigger and
stronger, but Jimmie was meaner. And Mateo’s legs were
tangled up in bed sheets. Jimmie rolled away from Mateo,
got to his knees and swung the rabbit at Mateo again and
again. He’d forgotten what he held in his hand, only feeling
that it was a weapon. He lost his grip on the rabbit, and it
smacked against the wall. Mateo reached up with his hands
for Jimmie’s throat. He was on his back, Jimmie with a knee
on either side of him. Jimmie dropped down onto Mateo’s
stomach. Mateo grunted, the air driven from his lungs and
his grip on Jimmie weakened.

Epiphany Ferrell - Muddy Water - Hiding Under the Leaves.
Forthcoming from theslab.press 3rd November 2025

Book details: Black cover with red leaves and white badger skeleton

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Reposted by Susan Murray

Juliet E McKenna @julietemckenna.bsky.social · 19h

Book Quote Wednesday's word is 'strong' #BookQW
Dan and Fin know there's a threat out there, but it really would help if they knew what they were dealing with...
From Wizard’s Tower Press on 30th October 2025
For preorders, check your preferred retailer
www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Mans-H...

Cover for The Green Man's Holiday by Juliet E. McKenna. Artwork and layout by Ben Baldwin.

A mysterious animal with very sharp teeth peers out from a hollow in a pile of grey stones. Green foliage and white flowers surround it.

Book extract reads: ‘I don’t think we should split up. Not now. Not if there’s any chance that beast-thing will turn up again.’ I couldn’t decide which possibility worried me more: coming face to face with it on a hillside on my own or being away from the cottage when it smashed its way in and attacked Fin.
‘I agree.’ She sounded relieved.
We carried on stripping fibres from the nettles. We soon had enough for me to plait bundles of three or four into longer lengths. I could have made a much stronger, twisted cord, but I didn’t want to tie anything around these trees that would stay there long enough to damage them.
When Fin had finished stripping the last few stalks, I fetched the bucket from the shower room and filled it from the kitchen tap. I grabbed the cleanest-looking tea towel and picked up the tyre iron from the kitchen counter. I gave the tyre iron to Fin as she handed me a last handful of damp nettle strands.
We walked down the garden.

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Reposted by Susan Murray

Wizard's Tower Press @wtpress.bsky.social · 18h

It is Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'strong'. In Of the Emperor's Kindness by Chaz Brenchley, Malance has had a terrible shock and Vivi thinks she needs a distraction. #BookQW
wizardstowerpress.co...

Vivi was apparently in another mood, imperious, explicit. No surprise.
Vivi’s hand on her cheek. turning her head: gentle, firm. Irresistible, yes.
Vivi’s eyes, wide and dark, determined.
Vivi’s lips on hers: exploratory, insistent, assertive. Nothing tentative or suggestive, nothing like her own ways of seduction. No offer of pulling back, or waiting longer.
Malance could lean into that certainty and find comfort there, and support. It was too soon for promises, but tonight she’d take this gladly. Someone who could seem stronger than herself, someone who knew what they wanted. Someone to take charge, just for the night. In the morning she would need to be herself again, ambassador again, mistress in her own house. Tonight, though—tonight she could yield, and follow Vivi’s determined lead, and let her choose the way.

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Reposted by Susan Murray

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 15h

OpenAI and Anthropic “have traditional business insurance coverage in place, but insurance professionals said AI model providers will struggle to secure protection for the full scale of damages they may need to pay out in the future.”

Insurers balk at multibillion-dollar claims faced by OpenAI and Anthropic

Companies struggle to assess scale of financial risks emerging from artificial intelligence

www.ft.com

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Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 15h

I think we can all agree this demonstrates why turnips are unlikely to feature in an action movie any time soon.

Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 15h

Here, in its place, are two small turnips.

Two small, freshly harvested purple-topped turnips in a stainless steel sink. Variety: The imaginatively-named Purple Top Milan.

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Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 15h

Consensus seems to be that cat video was AI-generated, so into the bin it goes.

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Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 17h

End times are upon us, lads:

Screenshot from 14:21 of a Bluesky search for ‘cat’ returning the result:

“No results found for cat”

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Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 17h

Looks like it. Unless the internet’s changed dramatically in the last couple of hours.

Screenshot from 14:21 today showing results for a search for ‘cat’ which read:

“No results found for cat”

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Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 19h

Imagine hearing Boris ‘Spaff it up the wall’ Johnson bollocking on about newts and thinking ‘Yes, that is what I want to emulate in my political career.’

Dan Davies @dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 1d

A little bit of background suggests this is really potentially worrying and she knows nothing about what she's talking about. The snails are not "on the site" (if they were it would be less of a problem because you would just pick another site)...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Rachel Reeves clears planning blockage amid ‘good relationship’ with developer

Exclusive: Chancellor says 20,000 homes were being held up due to ‘some snails that are a protected species or something’

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Susan Murray

The Bear @bearlypolitics.co.uk · 1d

So, the plan is to cut English, the arts, and sociology - the degrees that actually study culture - while on another part of your platform claiming to “defend” British culture.

It’s performance nationalism with a reading age of seven.

Badenoch: Curb students taking 'rip-off' degrees such as English
The performing arts, sociology and anthropology are among the subjects the Conservatives would like to cut

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Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 21h

Three random swallows on the overhead wires, enjoying this morning’s sunshine.
Swallow 1 (sitting apart from the other two): I dunno, guys. Don’t think this is as far south as south goes.

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Reposted by Susan Murray

👻 The Phantasmic Paul Jessup 👻 @pauljessup.com · 1d

HEY IT'S MY BOOK BIRTHDAY

YESSSS

Cancer Eats the Heart is out in the world! Disabled, dying, and chronically ill turn to vampirism as a cure, only to be hunted by twisted vampire hunters for their bones

pauljessup.com/books/cancer...

Cancer Eats the Heart

For Nix, waging her own private war with multiple sclerosis, a haunted house and a cryptic drifter aren’t the strangest things she’s ever encountered. No, what unnerves Nix is the adole…

pauljessup.com

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Reposted by Susan Murray

Richard Moon, but, like, scaaaaaary! @rmoonhill.bsky.social · 7d

HAPPY OCTOBER!

COVER REVEAL!

TO CONQUER DEATH is a story of family and migration, grief and purpose, in the bronze-age world teetering on the edge of collapse as the dead rise from their rests to destroy the world of the living.

Coming out November 18th, 2025. Pre-order links coming soon!

Cover for a book entitled "To Conquer Death" by Richard H Moon. A black obsidian Ankh symbol is in the process of shattering, with a background of brown papyrus covered in detail hieroglyphs.

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Reposted by Susan Murray

Jaunty Art @jaunty.art · 1d

hang in there bud

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Susan Murray @pulpthorn.bsky.social · 1d

It’s just easier to keep track of, isn’t it?

Reposted by Susan Murray

Doug Aoki @nantanreikan.bsky.social · 2d

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