Trip Galey

don't need a free course to tell me LLMs are plagiarised slop and create *more* not less work to correct the flaws they make because they're glorified text-predictors.

how about the government put money into paid apprenticeships for older adults (not just young folk and new graduates).

Jon’s quarry, apple clenched tightly in his claws, growled from his perch at the end of a tangle of vegetation, moored to the brickwork with a slew of desiccated vines. ‘Alright now—‘ Jon’s eyes flicked to the creature’s sharp little fangs. ‘—Bramble. Can I call you Bramble? Give it here. Come on. Give it back.’ The newly-christened Bramble remained hunched over the fruit, coiling his furry little body around it like a lover, and growled deep in his throat. Then, without breaking eye contact, he slowly slid his fangs into the flesh of the apple and began noisily—and pointedly—slurping the fruit. ‘You little bastard.’ Jon shook his head but couldn’t help the smile that crept across his face. ‘At least leave me the seeds!’ Bramble growled, a happy sound, and slowly blinked at Jon, his posture softening. Jon left the little beast to his feast. If he lunged at him, Bramble would only dart away. If he let Bramble suck the apple dry, at least there was a chance Jon could reclaim the seeds. You never knew what kind of apple might grow from a seed, but even if it turned out to be all-but-inedible, at least more trees would give him more power.

From APPLE PIES AND ELDRITCH SKIES

Cheating again, because this bit of Bramble deserves a bit more.

If you plan to read and want to get the full impact of this little assbutt, maybe skip this one!

From “The Fall of the House of Valenziaga”

‘You keep saying you’d rather be talented than handsome, bur frankly, my dear, you’re never be either.’ Wiccis sniffed and turned on his lethally pointed stiletto heel and glided away.

From “The Last Dawn of Targadrides”

‘She’d hate you.’ Virtus said.

‘I think I could handle it.’ Thom smirked.

‘When I was seven, someone sent a blind assassin after her. He carved out his own heart in remorse as soon as he heard her speak.”

‘You’re fucking joking.’

‘She keeps it on her vanity.’

‘But it is not enough to simply remember these things! Not enough to simply go through one’s life merely existing! No! Not enough at all.’ Professora Traufmann flicked her fingers as if dismissing the thought from existence entirely. ‘Why is that, professora?’ River called from his position at the back of the class, knowing a cue when he saw one. ‘History is crafted! Why else would it be called ‘making history’? Do we not owe it to our descendants to live the best lives we possibly can? To create the most absorbing, most sensational history that can be made? Of course we do!’ Professora Traufmann thrust one hand up in emphasis. She held it there for a long moment, eyes glinting in the light of a dozen broken skies, before drawing it slowly down to her side as she raised her chin defiantly. ‘And we have a particular obligation to history, we who were so often mocked, despised, even reviled in our own worlds. We whose history has been denied to us, rewritten by the lowest common denominators of our cultures. We who saw our lovers recast as friends, saw our identities dismissed as eccentricities, saw our stories rewritten. And all that when we were not simply erased.’ Silence hung suspended over the top of that tower, the students assembled hardly daring to breathe in the face of the Professora’s fervour.

Actually, I’m going to do another one from this same chapter, because I adore Professora Traufmann (who may or may not bear some measure of passing resemblance to my first theatre professor at uni…)

Cheating again!

The professora stood behind her podium, glittering nails clutching the lectern as if holding on for dear life. As if the passion that rolled off her in waves was in danger of casting her up into the kaleidoscope sky she had oh-so-deliberately chosen as a backdrop for this inaugural lecture. She and River stood—and the assembled dozen or so students sat—on top of Penumbral University’s observation tower, a vast spiral of stone carefully stitched together from the shattered remnants of dozens of worlds. The weight of that history buoyed them all, professora and students. ‘Behold!’ Professora Traufmann swept her right arm out, the gauzy material of her academic regalia fluttering with the force of the motion, ‘The City of Twixt. Our home. The last refuge of those whose worlds are long since dead. Each stone and street a piece of one of those vanished lands, broken by time or terror or travesty. Each boudoir and boulevard that persists bound to one another in a mosaic of living history. We eat and sleep and breathe within a living artefact, a testament to untold deeps of history. What a gift to exist within such a place! What a treasure! What an opportunity! Here, even here, beyond the end of time, there are untold deeps of history within which to immerse ourselves.’

From an untitled novella in a potential novella series called “The Anarchivist Chronicles”

I am going to cheat on this one, because I like quite a large chunk of this. 😅

Sorry not sorry!

Buy “Apple Pies and Eldritch Skies” on Patreon | TripGaley Check out TripGaley’s shop on Patreon

…available as an ebook for a few quid on my Patreon store, currently.

(My Patreon itself is paused while I catch up with books owed and Bona Books/Fantabulosa commitments!)

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www.patreon.com/TripGaley/sh...

So, the art in the previous post is by @catandcrown.bsky.social (who will also be doing the cover for THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF VALENZIAGA)!

Also, full disclosure, APPLE PIES does not spend the entirety of its narrative in Twixt. But the snippet I included is from a chapter that is.

It’s…(1/2)

This is Bramble, a winged, vampire fruit-stoat. He is cute and furry and an absolute chaos gremlin in disguise. The picture has him leaning on an apple with one paw, whilst licking his chops.

FromAPPLE PIES AND ELDRITCH SKIES

‘Come now,’ Jon said softly. ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’

Well, presuming it wasn’t some eldritch horror in disguise, and bent on his madness or destruction. The disguise he could forgive, of course, but the latter he drew a rather firm line against.

(Spoken to:)

From“The Last Dawn of Targadrides”

Eclipsing it all was Matron Mother Vainglory Valenziaga, founder of the Legendary House and perhaps the oldest resident of the City. Hers was a preternatural beauty, a perfection more than mortal that reached out and dug its claws deep into any who gazed upon her.

From BETWIXT THE CRACKS:

If the gods of all creation turned out their pockets and shook forth the detritus of a thousand, thousand worlds so the bastard child of M.C. Escher and H.P. Lovecraft could play at blocks, this city might be the result.

From “The Fall of the House of Valenziaga”

‘Forget the killer heels, and the diamonds forged from the tears of her enemies. The one thing Mother would look best in is a mausoleum.’ Virtus smiled wryly.

That first line is definitely staying in, no matter what, though the context around it—and who speaks it—might change. I’m having some conversations with my editor about reader promises and expectations (and how those can get tricky with science fantasy!)

From “Betwixt the Cracks” a novella I’m working to finish very soon!

‘Sometimes the only good option is a very bad idea,’ Dade muttered, as much to himself as to Billy. ‘Right. I guess that’s it. Time to save the world, since I’m being the strong one right now.’

What Elegant Stars Queer Tales of Impossible Style, a fashionable space opera anthology.

“The Last Dawn of Targadrides” was originally published in GLITTER + ASHES: QUEER TALES OF A WORLD THAT WOULDN’T DIE, edited by dave ring, published by @neonhemlock.bsky.social

They have a Kickstarter live ATM! You should check it out!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/dav...

From th 1st Twixt story, “The Last Dawn of Targadrides”

Virtus stifled a laugh as Dame Fyne Kaffeh instructed her new protégay in the fine art of feminine impersonation.

“It’s tickling my nether eyeh,” Pharrah moaned.

“Count your blessings, then,” Dame Fyne shot back. “Now get that wig on, girl!”

Just started doing new data analysis and I know I keep saying this, but: I really, really don't think people appreciate how much this moral panic was a deliberate and extremely expensive invention.

I mean, who doesn’t love a bandwagon?

1 like = 1 random line from one of my WIPs/Published Works *set in Twixt, the world of THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF VALENZIAGA*

(I’ve got some short stories, novellas, and novels in the world in various states of completion.)

www.kickstarter.com/projects/tri...

Following up on this little test, the colour version of the cover was almost exactly twice as popular as the black and white version (with the rainbow in colour).

I had pretty much expected this, but as all of the artists with excellent taste that I knew preferred B&W, I wanted a wider test.

The 16th Doctor and the Tardis

I have just booked a slot to take my Life in the UK test, in advance of (hopefully) applying for ILR later this year.

I am both excited and oddly terrified.

While independent bookstores are giving out free whistles, hosting protest sign making events, and donating proceeds to mutual aid, Amazon is *checks notes* providing technology that assists ICE in their terrorizing of communities.

Independent bookstores deserve your support. Amazon does not.

Funny you should say that…I *did* grab the ground cloves and had even unscrewed the cap before the scent stopped me just in time. Haha.

But no. Excessive cinnamon, just the right amount of red pepper flakes.

#YesILikeMyAppleCrumbleSpicy

I’m gonna be real with you:

If I had to recommend one book of mine for an unknown reader with unknown taste, it would be this one.

Of special interest to trans readers & lovers of cephalopods, fantasy romance, the environment, & a ripping yarn mixing high emotional stakes & epic undersea battles.

I have overspiced the apple crumble.

Do I regret this?

…probably not, no.

Coming soon: The Fall of the House of Valenziaga: A Special Edition Novel It’s a dynastic struggle with voguing, all-but-forgotten magics, and drag as the weapons of choice in this post-apocalyptic fantasy!

Bonus response: Yes, this tip WAS brought to you by my encountering the first SPAM message of the campaign for

The Fall of the House of Valenziaga!

Apparently my banking info is incorrect and my campaign has been frozen! (It’s not, and it hasn’t)

Anyway…

www.kickstarter.com/projects/tri...

…help with their upcoming campaign. After a response with a few tips, things got a bit weirder, and then the guy cancelled the pledge and disappeared.

Not great for momentum or mental health, that.

So yes! Expect the SPAM and be prepared!

Obvious tip, but worth repeating, I think.

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…most other online spaces. Search for posts about the particular message, use your common sense, etc.

And it will happen before, during, and after your campaign. It’s ever-present.

The worst one I’ve personally encountered? Someone pledged £400 before messaging us with a specific ask for…(2/3)

27 Jan 2026

Kickstarter Tip for today?

SPAM. Because you will almost certainly encounter it. Messages saying your project is frozen, that your banking details are incorrect, that your personal information needs to be re-confirmed, etc. etc.

Always think before you respond, as with…(1/3)

For anyone who's confused by the seeming hypocrisy of, on the one hand, conservatives continually screaming about the horror of rapists and pedophiles while, on the other hand, downplaying Epstein to better embrace Trump, it's actually an easy circle to square: