Vanessa Knipe

Oh yes, I understand the yearn. 😪

The Waterborne Blade The Waterborne Blade by Susan Murray from kevin's library.

I decided I needed some fantasy reading, so started The Waterborne Blade by @pulpthorn.bsky.social.

I enjoyed it so much, I kept reading later than I should have... 💜

We're already past the date I set for Pill Wars. 😕

They get a little upset when I insist they use the aligator pool to do the laundry. I think they like their fingers.

A comic of two foxes, one of whom is blue, the other is green. In this one, Blue and Green are at a fast food restaurant, observing an automated self-serve menu stand. Blue: These self-serve fast food ordering things sure are convenient. Green sits back and watches as Blue ticks through the options of his order. Blue: No pickles, no onion… Green: I wonder if it lets me order one with nothing. Blue watches incredulously as Green makes his own order, choosing no ingredients. Green: No pickles, no sauce, no onion, no patty, no bun… Once Green has finished making his order, both foxes jump in fright as an unseen kitchen staff fox yells angrily. Kitchen fox: Who ordered the nothingburger?!

I currently have a question mark in my schedule for what I'm going to publish on Dec. 26. If you've got a boxing day story that fits our guidelines, send it my way.

hellitself.com/submission-g...

Cover of The Waterborne Blade by Susan Murray. A woman clad in an ornate gown is moving past the viewer, a long dagger held in her blood-spattered right hand. Cover art by Paul Young.

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.

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

Text: Drew shouldered his bag and walked down the gangplank. The timber was springy beneath his feet, a very different sensation from the gentle roll of the deck during the voyage. And different again was the stone-paved dock. The solidity was disconcerting and his feet scuffed on the ground as he anticipated a movement that was no longer there. Watery sunshine barely penetrated the sea fret. Workers scurried to and fro with barrows, offloading the ship's cargo. Drew dodged between them as he made his way to the steps leading up from the lower level of the harbour toward the town. The air was filled with seagulls, wheeling and shrieking at the far end of the harbour where a fishing boat was winching off its catch. Two falconers were at work, keeping the gulls at bay while the catch was sorted. He asked directions of a dock worker who was trundling past with an empty barrow. 'The palace? Up yon hill. Follow the road to the big gates. Can't miss it once the fog clears.' He looked Drew up and down, assessing something Drew could not fathom. 'Mainlanders aren't much welcome in these parts just now. Best keep that accent to yourself.' Drew fumbled in his pocket for a small coin. 'Nah, pal. Look as if you need it more than me.'

Today's #BookQW word is MISS.

Extract from the third Waterborne book: Drew, fresh from imprisonment at Highkell, has been sent on a mission to the Outer Isles.

Work in progress, so the usual caveats apply (screenshot from Obsidian).

In the background of this image is a lush, poisonous-looking garden of deep green leaves and red berries. Near the top of the image is this text: Really, if she’d known how much protocol was involved in being a famously wicked queen, she might never have overthrown her uncle in the first place. Beneath that text is the beautiful blue British cover of Wooing the Witch Queen, by Stephanie Burgis. The illustration shows a man in a cloak riding headlong through the night towards an ominous castle with an illuminated, crowned female figure in its doorway and bats flying overhead in the moonlight. A potion vial surrounds that central image and is further framed by leaves and branches. Crows sit on the branches, and a tagline reads: Love can be a witch. A blurb from Sangu Mandanna reads: ‘Warm and lovely’.

This week's Wednesday snippet comes from Wooing the Witch Queen: stephanieburgis.com/books/wooing-the-witch-queen

...And if you're in the UK, you can snap up the ebook on sale for just 2 more days!

#romancelandia

I stood for a couple of minutes staring at the blue sky trying to decide whether to hang out my laundry on the garden line, but instead hung it on the indoor airer.

But it still started raining. I apologise.

The really dangerous thing for the locals will be all the reform-inspired protesters bused in to start riots.

😂😂😂

They can't have shared the link widely enough. 😂

I was about to ask for a link, so I could sign it.😂🤣😂

Scientists Found a Dinosaur Tail in Amber That Almost Became Jewelry In northern Myanmar, a market vendor almost sold a lump-sized piece of amber with a leaf inside that he was about to turn into jewelry.

Nice!

In the end, don’t we all want the same thing?
A mossy haunted cottage in the woods, tea and snacks to share with the wild forest folk, and a lending library of books that would make the old gods blush?

😂

Dr. Jonas Salk, born on this day in 1914, developed
the first safe and effective polio vaccine. His
breakthrough reshaped the fields of virology and
immunology, paving the way for modern vaccine
science.

If you could thank one scientist from history, who
would it be, and why? 🧪🥼

A cartoon of a witch stirring her cauldron while looking at a laptop. Caption: The book of evil spells became a thing of the past with the advent of Wickedpedia.

Hey Emme and friends!! Even the witches aren't immune to our ever-evolving technology! #Friday #fun

It’s beautiful, Edwina . . . But we’ll have to say I painted it, unless you want all the reviews to be about your face and what you’re wearing.

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." Widely attributed to American author and social critic H. L. Mencken. The same is pretty much true everywhere. Not just the DM though.

A colouring page with a half-coloured red dragon and a tub of marker pens to finish the job.

My latest colouring page, D is for Dragon. I'm having fun making these.
I wonder what I'll draw for E.
ko-fi.com/s/b83c03f48d

Looking for something to read for Halloween? Check out these books with Halloween stories and get your spooky fix! 🎃 👻

If only thinking added the trim to the kitchen cabinets...

YouTube video by Benedict Terry The Future of Cinema- Animated Short Comedy Film

IT'S HERE!!

My latest short film is now available to view on YouTube. Check it out right here: youtu.be/YfEfT17CqGk

#newfilm #comedyfilm #shortfilm #animation #toonboom #satire

Thinking is the most important part of writing.

Ah well, I was thinking of putting my A-Z of British Mythology Hand drawn colouring pages up on Etsy, but I can't compete with 100 pages of (probably AI) mindfulness coloring book for $2.99.

The *vast* majority of sales come through Amazon. And when readers boycott Amazon, they don't in general shift to buying indie books elsewhere. They simply stop buying indie books.

I detest Amazon, but as a self-published author, I simply cannot have a career without publishing there.

2/2

Did you know if you are an attending or online member of #WorldFantasy2025 you can get a bunch of free eBooks right now (including two that feature me)? Just log in and look for the Members Only Content button!

😆