Mahmud El Sayed

The view from my writing desk today.

You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.

Me: Are you really going to kill off this character? Really?1?

Also me: He has to go blud, he has to go!

This book is brilliant. Epic in every sense of the word.

Clinging to the Stones Adult fantasy heist by Hussain A. Ayoub 109K Words Multi-POV The river of fate drags everyone forward. Only the desperate dare to cling to the stones.

The heist: Acyrnar Acyrnar has fragile bones, a dying father, and only half the will to hunt his rogue master. But here he is anyway, because living hurts. When he learns his master’s mission might hold the only cure for the rot killing his father, Acyrnar turns coat and joins him. Simple enough. Except he must first kidnap the Empress of the Crimson Empire, brand himself an outlaw forever, and make enemies of some of the most powerful and vindictive people alive. The Counter-heist: Melam Across the sea, Empress Melam fights to protect her son from a succession ritual that will slaughter all but one heir to the throne. Scarred by personal loss and a world rigged against her, Melam does what any desperate mother would do—she turns to the criminal underworld to break her son out of the impregnable Cage. She doesn't need a savior; she needs a distraction. Their colliding paths are set to ignite a war, unravel loyalties, and decide the fate of nations.

Comparative titles: The Age of Madness series. The Lies of Locke Lamora. Andor. Grave Empire.

“You are marked by the stars.” Mother used to repeat that grim prophecy, her voice a warm feather tickling his cheek, her words an icy blade piercing his soul. “Like the Surabrenna, three daughters bind you: one will pass without you, one will weep for you, one will burn with you.” Clinging to the Stones A fantasy inspired by Syrian history & mythology.

Here's CLINGING TO THE STONES, inspired by Syrian history & mythology:

🌟A broken philosopher-warrior seeking a legendary spear.
🌟An imperial mother must extract her son from an impregnable fortress.
🌟Their paths are about to collide.

#QuestPit #Q #A #F #agentsguide

"Blah blah blah"
by
Some Guy

Just me putting placeholder epigraphs at the start of chapters

Bartender: Would you like ice in that, sir?

Me: Fuck ICE!

"Freeeeeeeeeeze! BFBI!"

(Also, Shabana Mahmood is really making me hate my name!)

You are a regular character, you can enter a scene.

You are a regular character, you can make that plot point.

You are a regular character, you know when the chapter ends.

You are a regular character, you know what it means to be you.

10 Speculative Mysteries and Thrillers to Check Out in 2026 Interesting times lead to fascinating fiction, especially in the speculative realm, where each future-set plot point feels like a logical extension of our current woes, especially regarding the imm…

That's right, REPUBLIC OF MEMORY is also a secret hardboiled detective novel (thanks to the ahem joys of multi-pov). Now ain't that a kick in the head?

crimereads.com/10-speculati...

😂😂😂

Tuppence a bag.

What did you think of the internal illustrations? (I'm not too big on sprayed edges etc but that might tempt me)

The new special edition? I like that, too. And I do have a soft spot for all the old yellow jackets as well. They were iconic!

The speakers in the British Library's Humanities 1 reading room play an unassuming white noise-y shhhhhhhhhhhhhh sound and now I can't write without it.

Comma Press also have the wonderful +100 series of short stories. I think Egypt+100 and Iraq+100 def have some good nationalist critiques.

Oh yes, this sounds exactly like ROM. I think one of my characters even decries qawmiya (nationalism) explicitly (sorry, nationalists!).

No new cover will ever top the cover of the Brazilian edition.

Oh, I like that!

Haha it must spit a lot there!

It's an apt description. God only knows what would have happened if I had said "it's pissing it down out there" 😅

Just used the term "it's spitting" to describe a particular kind of rain only to be met with a look of disgust. Is this only a UK thing?

Finally deactivated my twitter (ugh X) account. Enough is enough. I'm only here and on Instagram now.

What an amazing list, including my own lil THE REPUBLIC OF MEMORY. 2026 is set to be a great year for sci-fi!

Watching the Iranian protests and wondering, "Do we never learn?"

I could use that as a blurb.

The Republic of Memory is delicious - Raven

What a cutie! What's her name?

Thank you for the inclusion, Andrew. Let me know if I can arrange a replacement arc that can survive canine attack? 😂

It's-a-me, Mahmudio.

(It seems my novel is so dangerous, dogs attack it on sight lest it spark a spate of pro-feline revolutionary zeal 😂).

Well, that makes two of us 😂