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Stephen Cox

@stephencoxauthor.bsky.social

2.3K followers 1.2K following 5.8K posts

Novelist+comms. London, bi, Quaker, parent. Spooky? THE CROOKED MEDIUM's GUIDE TO MURDER out 1st Sept. "A pleasure from start to finish" Also Our Child of the Stars/Our Child of Two Worlds. https://stephencox.co.uk/ https://linktr.ee/stephencoxauthor

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Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · Sep 1

"A book I've been looking for all my life. Queer found family all wrapped up in a supernatural murder mystery. Absolute perfection.”

The Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder - Out worldwide!

#womensleuths #mystery #sapphic #spooky #books #booksky #LGBT+ #Victorian

stephencox.co.uk/books/upcomi...

Stephen Cox - genial guy with grey beard and hair, holding copies of The Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder. Outdoors, trees in background. Book description A striking book cover with the title and author name dominating.
A rich dark blue background, and a touch of mist. The text appears in gold in a gold rectangular frame, the font is old fashioned implying C19th century. The frame has three rondels or cameos each containing a picture. Top right is a golden bee brooch with the body and one wing streaked with red blood. Middle left is foxgloves, spires of small bell flowers in pink, white and purple. Bottom right is a dark brown medicine bottle, with a pale label. The word LAUDANUM is just visible.
There are pink highlights on some of the letters.
Taken together it is bold, mysterious, and Victorian.

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Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 17m

Great session with Reading Writers Group - wide ranging talk #trad #indie #plotting #fiction etc. The Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder went down well.

Someone asked if AI was useful. My response in the picture. I was calm.

A Victorian painting showing fire and water and lightning destroying a city, with two small white clad figures on a cliff.

Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 4h

Includes 'you have an agent but they're not representing this novella. which is handy for some people.'

Reposted by Stephen Cox

Ariell Cacciola @ariellcacciola.bsky.social · 5h

Keeping everyone on their toes with this wee drive by submission window

I'm open to unagented manuscripts until Sunday evening

#mswl #booksky #writingoppurtunity

Wild Hunt Books @wildhuntbooks.bsky.social · 5h

*SUBMISSION WINDOW NOW OPEN 5 DAYS ONLY*

We're open to unagented subs from 6-12 Oct. For this submission period we are looking for novellas only (35K-50K). We're specifically looking for novellas that play w horror, mystery, weird & the unusual.

More info 🐐
www.wildhuntbooks.co.uk/blog/pop-up-...

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Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 9h

Pay artists and bankrupt crooks?? Don't threaten me with a good time.

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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Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 9h

Captain Teach and Blackbeard say asking bullion carrying ships for permission to board them would kill the pirating business.

Reposted by Stephen Cox

The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 10h

20,000 new members have joined the Green Party in the past month.

This is the Green surge.

Want to be part of it? Join the Green Party today ⤵

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Reposted by Stephen Cox

Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 11h

Why? Because your readers do. The literary world is full of people wanting to write children’s books, who haven’t looked at a children’s book since the 60s. Or people who want the sales associated with romantasy (or cosy crime, or sci-fi), but don’t actually know the genre, or want to read any.

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Reposted by Stephen Cox

Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 11h

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 1579: If you’re going to write in any genre (children’s fiction, SFF, romance, etc), you need to read EXTENSIVELY in that genre. You need to read current authors in the genre. You need to know what’s been done; what tropes exist; how the genre has changed.

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Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 11h

Not enough people remember that Edward Heath, Tory leader, sacked Enoch Powell. He got a lot of flack but was unrepentant he didn't want him on the team

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Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 11h

See also, Brexit.

Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 11h

Christians believe it does.

Reposted by Stephen Cox

Andrew Sparrow @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social · 11h

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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Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 11h

It's about soft power. It's about having a vision of society that goes beyond slaving for a sociopathic corporation.

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Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 11h

It's not like the creative industries add anything significant to GDP (it's £124 BN!).

Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 12h

Kemi Badenoch is the Leader of the Opposition in the UK, the leader of the Conservative Party, which has been over time one of the most effective political parties in history*, and which under her leadership may become extinct. She's that bad.

*booooo

Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 12h

Pratchett is a wise thinker. But we should include in great art, eople who do that most extraordinary thing, making one laugh. Being funny is not trivial.

Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 12h

Didn't A S Byatt say she rated him?

Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 13h

I see what you did there. Or ask her whether she liked Mr Hedgehog.

Reposted by Stephen Cox

Mike here, hello @mikecornes.bsky.social · 1d

Eastern Europeans coming over here, cooking swans. 😬 #GBBO #BakeOff

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Reposted by Stephen Cox

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 1d

I know statistics are poorly understood and are misused. But facts matter

Between the 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 Census *every* ethnic group in the UK has become *less* geographically segregated and *all* groups, majority and minorities, are more likely to interact with people not like them

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Reposted by Stephen Cox

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah - it's really striking how much the pro-car bias of our politics just does mean we treat 'roads, which earn no direct revenue' as just Common Sense, Not Spending At All Really whereas building further extensions onto the private sector Underground is an indulgence.

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Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 1d

I've read most of the classical times ones. The lesbians on a houseboat was fun but the ending sells out.

Reposted by Stephen Cox

Sam Missingham @samatlounge.bsky.social · 1d

The first person who messages me with any insider gossip will get my undying love. What I'm hearing is nobody knows what has happened. 👀

Sam Missingham @samatlounge.bsky.social · 1d

Huge news that Charlie Redmayne has resigned from being CEO of @harpercollins UK. Wowser, wonder what happened.

And although it is great to see a woman take over as temporary CEO, Kate Elton is one of the most insipid publishing execs I have ever encountered.

www.thebookseller.com/news/harperc...

HarperCollins CEO Charlie Redmayne resigns as Kate Elton steps up

HarperCollins UK CEO Charlie Redmayne has resigned from his post, with Kate Elton appointed as interim CEO.

www.thebookseller.com

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Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 1d

PaddingDirect, to solve all your workcount problems!

Stephen Cox @stephencoxauthor.bsky.social · 1d

Wedded to the belief that three old white farmers in a diner in a small white state are more 'typical Americans' than three public school teachers in a big city.

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