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Helena O'Connor

@helenafiction.bsky.social

Aussie SF/fantasy author, ex-academic, chronic illness. Debut horror novella Willow Close out now from IFWG publishing! Short stories in Nature, Kaleidotrope, Aurealis. Likes video games, cats, coffee and lil treats. She/her

507 Followers  |  599 Following  |  392 Posts  |  Joined: 15.08.2023  |  1.6041

Latest posts by helenafiction.bsky.social on Bluesky

I took this pic btw, thats why no attribution. I was actually there, I sat in the chair in the cozy writing nook of my dreams ๐Ÿ’–

05.12.2025 15:38 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Delicious in Dungeon.

02.12.2025 06:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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We are very excited to unveil our special edition of Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher in association with @titanbooks.bsky.social ks!

05.12.2025 13:57 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 15    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Cozy writing nook goals

26.11.2025 05:57 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Wrote a chapter, blew up a mage ๐Ÿ‘

25.11.2025 11:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Wrote a chapter, accidentally added more mages ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ

21.11.2025 10:14 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A black and white cat perched on top of a chair. His eyes are closed and he is yawning wide, displaying his sharp, sharp teeth.

A black and white cat perched on top of a chair. His eyes are closed and he is yawning wide, displaying his sharp, sharp teeth.

behold my cat and his inherent majesty

13.11.2025 23:57 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 86    ๐Ÿ” 12    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
screenshot of a slide deck that says please buy sublimation so that i dont have to return to the law firm. in the corner it says please buy my book if we all preorder my book i can write more weird fiction forever and not return to being a corporate lawyer

screenshot of a slide deck that says please buy sublimation so that i dont have to return to the law firm. in the corner it says please buy my book if we all preorder my book i can write more weird fiction forever and not return to being a corporate lawyer

doing real productive shit tonight (making a slide deck of why you should buy my book, a piece of content NO ONE asked for and is NOT what does well on ANY social media)

18.11.2025 03:08 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 79    ๐Ÿ” 20    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

Is so funny being roughly three books ahead all the time, like i say "my new book", oh you mean Willow Close? nope, thats already out. Oh, the mermaid horror? no, thats in the endless queue. Oh, the weird Sci Fi one? Nope, also in a queue ๐Ÿ™ƒ So for reference, current new book is royal mage isekai ๐Ÿ‘

21.11.2025 06:30 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Worldbuilding for new novel, knowing i have to sell it in the first three chapters...
Me: with all the character development in chapter two, i hope it doesn't lag too much...
My brain: i mean, you have a lot of mages, what if some of them just... blew up?

19.11.2025 09:31 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Write book to make money? Haha, no
Write book to get famous? Haha, also no
Write book because you cant live if you dont put words on the page and you know it probably wont get published and probably noone will read it, but none of this matters because it is your calling and you love it. Haha, yes ๐Ÿ‘

18.11.2025 04:45 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Stayed up till 5am editing a novella for sub, then immediately saw a call for novels id love to sub to, but its due in jan and the best fitting project i have is only like 2 chpts in... i can do it tho right ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ‘

15.11.2025 05:09 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Finished Cloudward Ho, which was awesome, and now im watching Starstruck and its already so goood ๐Ÿ’•โœจ๏ธ

13.11.2025 11:32 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Editing my novella and just did the sci fi version of the world works the way i say because โœจ๏ธmagicโœจ๏ธ in that I had a moment of panic wondering whether peach blossoms could still be falling in late spring at sea level... and decided yes, because โœจ๏ธscienceโœจ๏ธ ๐Ÿ‘

13.11.2025 05:25 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

The latest Aurealis (issue 186) includes a lovely review from Jemimah Brewster of my book Willow Close!!

"It takes skill to pull different kinds of horror together into one story"

"This is a very Halloween-y book, great for fans of slasher and cosmic horror in particular"

Thank you so much!! ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ™

13.11.2025 04:32 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Thank you!! ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ’• Hope you like it, really looking forward to reading yours too!

12.11.2025 10:21 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Orion (my assistant) and some of my books/stories

Orion (my assistant) and some of my books/stories

Lilly-Mae who I always love to talk stories with.

Lilly-Mae who I always love to talk stories with.

Helena Oโ€™Connor, Leanbh Pearson and Matt Tighe in the background. Super talented writers.

Helena Oโ€™Connor, Leanbh Pearson and Matt Tighe in the background. Super talented writers.

A few years since Iโ€™d seen entertainer and writer Danny Wynne!

A few years since Iโ€™d seen entertainer and writer Danny Wynne!

A really fun day @supanovaexpo.bsky.social with @ifwgpublishing.bsky.social

Gave away 50 of these sneak peek (peak! haha) ๐Ÿ‘€ previews of my novel Staerstone. Just a few left!

It comes out next year. Canโ€™t wait!

If you want to know when itโ€™s published sign up to IFWGโ€™s newsletter or my blog.

08.11.2025 10:07 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Random 4am thought. My book Willow Close is basically Scooby Doo x Cthulhu, with pizza, coffee and cats. Is this genius or am i very sleepy, idk will revisit in the morning ๐Ÿ‘ป๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ•โ˜•๏ธ๐Ÿ˜ป

04.11.2025 18:02 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Spread Me Spread Me is a darkly seductive tale of survival from Sarah Gailey, bestselling author of Just Like Home. A routine probe at a research station turns deadly ...

Spread Me, my erotic horror novella about an isolated research team and the specimen that wants to explore them back, is available everywhere you buy books.

us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

29.09.2025 00:10 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 154    ๐Ÿ” 60    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 11    ๐Ÿ“Œ 10
Color photo of a white man down on his knees, petting a white cat with tabby spots. The man is looking at the cat very earnestly as if talking to it or disciplining it about some serious matter. The cats looks annoyed that this man dares to be in its presence, much less to touch and speak to it. The room decor is a symphony of browns, typical of the 1970s.

Color photo of a white man down on his knees, petting a white cat with tabby spots. The man is looking at the cat very earnestly as if talking to it or disciplining it about some serious matter. The cats looks annoyed that this man dares to be in its presence, much less to touch and speak to it. The room decor is a symphony of browns, typical of the 1970s.

Photo from my collection that I call โ€œThe Talkโ€. Obviously ca. 1970s.

27.10.2025 16:37 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1566    ๐Ÿ” 102    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 32    ๐Ÿ“Œ 3

My new year's resolution is gonna be somehow do better at socials media ๐Ÿ™ƒ

27.10.2025 23:28 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
a handful of novel editing tools (pens, highlighters, post-its, flags) wedged into a blue and green handmade ceramic cup. the cup has tiddies with starfish on them. mermaid tiddies, if you will.

a handful of novel editing tools (pens, highlighters, post-its, flags) wedged into a blue and green handmade ceramic cup. the cup has tiddies with starfish on them. mermaid tiddies, if you will.

"What advice would you give early career writers?"

*most lofty authorly voice* Well as we all know, it is important for an artisan to use the finest tools, and store them in the finest receptacles

05.10.2025 23:36 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 317    ๐Ÿ” 24    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 11    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

So anyway, there's only three novels, a novella, and a short story i want to write next ๐Ÿ™ƒ

30.09.2025 16:32 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Fishtopher, a classic brown tabby cat with green eyes, laying on his side. He holds a yellow banana cat toy in his front paws, and bites at it. His back legs are kicking the back end of the toy. An orange cat tail tip lays on top of Fish's tail, the orange cat out of frame.

Fishtopher, a classic brown tabby cat with green eyes, laying on his side. He holds a yellow banana cat toy in his front paws, and bites at it. His back legs are kicking the back end of the toy. An orange cat tail tip lays on top of Fish's tail, the orange cat out of frame.

he is a little baby cat. banana for scale

28.09.2025 18:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1349    ๐Ÿ” 103    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 10    ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
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Some transgender people see only darkness in front and behind them.

The current climate is especially accelerating this.

Transgender people just want to love the people they love and live their lives as themselves.
Let's all join hands and change the world๐Ÿซถ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿซถ

25.09.2025 21:11 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 19418    ๐Ÿ” 5995    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 209    ๐Ÿ“Œ 162
Black-and-white photo of a beautiful medium haired, white and tabby cat lying on its side and a dirt driveway or other hard packed service. It looks soulfully at the camera.

Black-and-white photo of a beautiful medium haired, white and tabby cat lying on its side and a dirt driveway or other hard packed service. It looks soulfully at the camera.

Those soulful eyes. ๐Ÿฅน Photo from my collection, no date/info.

24.09.2025 21:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1902    ๐Ÿ” 145    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 16    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
My photo shows a black and white floor mosaic with a depiction of a very striking octopus in the womenโ€™s changing room at the Central Baths in ancient Herculaneum. The octopus with eight writhing arms is composed of small black tesserae (tiles) laid in a white tesserae background

My photo shows a black and white floor mosaic with a depiction of a very striking octopus in the womenโ€™s changing room at the Central Baths in ancient Herculaneum. The octopus with eight writhing arms is composed of small black tesserae (tiles) laid in a white tesserae background

Spectacular octopus from the floor of the womenโ€™s changing room at the Central Baths in ancient Herculaneum.

This magnificent #Roman monochrome mosaic makes quite an impact!

๐Ÿ“ท by me

#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology

22.09.2025 11:36 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1288    ๐Ÿ” 245    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 12    ๐Ÿ“Œ 14
Me, in a blue tshirt with a arch of flowers background, holding a copy of my novella Willow Close, and doing this: โœŒ๏ธ

Me, in a blue tshirt with a arch of flowers background, holding a copy of my novella Willow Close, and doing this: โœŒ๏ธ

A lil self-promo, forgive me, for my debut novella Willow Close! If you're in the mood for a sweet spooky story with fiesty protags, solid pacing, a dash of cosmic horror, and two really cute cats... check it out ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿค

19.09.2025 10:23 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

So my oh it's definitely gonna be a novella, oh well i guess maybe a short novel, oh well i guess it'll be a normal size novel etc etc... came in at 114k words ๐Ÿ˜ญ

19.09.2025 10:07 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Black and white photo of two white cats on a cushion or folded blanket. A shorthaired adult cat is on the right while a fluffy long haired white kitten is snuggled into her on the left. They appear to be a cozy mother and kitten, cuddled and relaxed.

Black and white photo of two white cats on a cushion or folded blanket. A shorthaired adult cat is on the right while a fluffy long haired white kitten is snuggled into her on the left. They appear to be a cozy mother and kitten, cuddled and relaxed.

โ€œJust we twoโ€ Postcard from my collection. Copyright 1907, mailed 1909. This is by C.E. Bullard, my favorite of the Victorian/Edwardian cat photographers. He seemed to genuinely love cats and didn't restrain them or cram them into tiny costumes.

14.09.2025 22:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2460    ๐Ÿ” 294    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 38    ๐Ÿ“Œ 15

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