Jamie M. Boyd

I don't know what to tell you. You can't sit at a piano for the first time ever and play a sonata. You can't pick up a tennis racket for the first time and serve a 110MPH Ace.

You have to fuck up.

You have to be able to handle failing.

You have to love it enough to not get it right and keep on.

Loved the voice of this piece.

www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-...

I was mostly being silly abt that amazing last moment-- although in Florida, the truth does always seem to find a way to be stranger than fiction ...

Here's good story if you need something uplifting today.

Nine out of ten newly sentient robots agree: Grandmas are the best!

Jennifer’s Daughter - Nightmare Magazine My mom was sixteen when a band of boys took her out to the woods and bound her to a tree and tortured her to death, like in Jennifer’s Body, so you see her womb was kinda already out of commish by the...

I adored this dark-yet-somehow-kinda-heartwarming tale and its twist on the movie Jennifer’s Body, by @smessenger.bsky.social.

As for its depiction of rural Florida? This native attests 100% accurate. Especially that end scene. 💀🐊

www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/jenn...

Flames leap in the air above a black metal fire pit.

The boys got a little carried away with the fire pit.

We rarely get temperatures down in the 40s here, so there was much excitement this week. I’m happy to report the evening ended safely.

Damn, hadn't read this letter by MLK in a while.

"The ... great stumbling block [is not the ...] Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice."

THIS.

"We are fighting and struggling and self-caring our way through the apocalypse, and every day there is something terrible but also something lovely, and we are caught in constant whiplash between the two."

Moment of zen before the holiday craziness begins!

They say the best perfumes are a mix of something alluring with something disgusting. Guess this story proves the same rule for writing. So strange, so problematic, so good!

smallwondersmag.com/piece/tuesday/

Bernedoodle puppy plays with a ball at the beach.

New Puppy's first trip to the beach!

Made a site comparing the sizes of living things :)

The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used

> neal.fun/size-of-life/

Eerie, abstract image of what could be a human eye, but in place of the black pupil is a ghostly, blurry face. Text reads: "The Best Weird Fiction of the Year, Volume 1," curated by Michael Kelly.

Great anthology with a strong selection of stories that run the wide spectrum of weird. Horror, fantasy and sci-fi are all here, along with just plain odd and eerie tales.

The Best Weird Fiction of the Year, Volume 1, curated by Michael Kelly, @undertow.bsky.social.

Cartoon. Girl with long brown hair holds a round, golden vase and says "Look what I made" a woman with curly blonde hair touches her chin and says, "You should..." Over her a thought balloon shows a red, angular vase.

Another old illustrated blog post: on the dangers of taking too much advice. 
https://www.marievibbert.com/mud/

The new issue is out! Need a break from the holidays? We've got aging druids, adorable bee-cats, vengeful weather witches & more.

www.lunastationquart...

#ShortStories #WomenWriters #SpeculativeFiction #Fantasy #SciFi #Books #Reading #Writing #Magazines

Bree Wernicke > Doctors HATE Her!! Local Woman Is NOT Cursed > Bourbon Penn Help! Possible curse?? Hi! Not sure this forum is the right place to post this, but bear with me. So about a week ago I came down with horrible stomach cramps. I assumed it was something I ate (I’m la...

This short story by @breewernicke.bsky.social is so bizarrely wonderful, especially if you think *stepping* on Legos is painful ... 👀

www.bourbonpenn.com/issue/37/doc...

Photo of the Cuypers Library within the Rijksmuseum. Library shelves filled with books stretch several stories tall below beautiful arched windows.

Look at this dream library within the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The museum is so huge I didn’t know it was there when we visited. I was so jealous my husband found it and snapped this photo while we were each exploring on our own.

If I ever go back, it'll be near the top of my sight-seeing list.

an old photo of a Nevada goldrush town

Cast of Wonders 664: Blood and Talent by @jamieboyd.bsky.social narrated by Boocho McFly produced by @jeremycarter42.bsky.social hosted by @chesneycat.bsky.social

www.castofwonders.org/2025/11/cast...

content notes: injury, violence, historical racism, domestic violence, death

My takeaway: even an artist as talented as Rembrandt couldn’t perfectly predict or control what his audience found most interesting (or lurid) about a painting. But he could adapt and alter the work to fulfill his vision — a good thing to keep in mind while editing and revising. 4/4

The problem, the employee said, was people looking at the painting didn’t pay attention to anything but that chopped-off hand. The artist Rembrandt and his patron wanted their attention on the lesson, so he painted over the corpse’s stump with a new hand. 3/4

You’ll notice, the staff member said, that the dead man’s right hand is a slightly different color than his body. This is because originally the corpse had no right hand. Back then, autopsies were done on criminals. This man stole something, lost his hand and then was executed. 2/4

"The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp” is a Rembrandt painting that pictures seven men gathered around a corpse while a doctor does a dissection and gives an anatomy lesson on the dead man's left arm.

The most unusual painting I saw during my visit to the Mauritshuis museum in Amsterdam this summer was "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp." What's stuck with me months later is a story the museum staff told abt the painting — a story I think any artist or writer would appreciate. 🧵 1/4

I loved hearing you read this at Worldcon. Chills!

Azure skies and puffy white clouds stretch above the blue-green waters of Miami's South Beach. Umbrellas and lounge chairs line the white sand in neat rows.

South Beach never fails to excite and inspire. Back from a quick weekend getaway and feeling refreshed.

Charlotte would be proud.

"If I can fool a bug, I can surely fool a man. People are not as smart as bugs."
-- E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

This is such a fun story and the perfect example of a character I love to hate!

Four-month old Bernedoodle puppy poses for the camera after waking up her owner at 6 a.m.

It's been several days and the New Puppy still doesn't understand the clocks "falling back." So here we are. Up since 6 a.m. on a rare morning I could've been sleeping in.

She's lucky she's cute.

IN ANOTHER LIFE, I AM A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF SHARKS by Bethany Cutkomp And if I do not keep moving, I will pass away. They call this ram ventilation, a shark’s way of breathing. My invisible gills demand the same method of survival. Since hatching from your womb, I have ...

If you or anyone you love has trouble sitting still, read this bite-sized story by @bdcutkomp.bsky.social.

"My teachers exchange concerns abt the pacing the rocking the bouncing..Theyve got it all wrong."

xraylitmag.com/in-another-life-i-am-a-direct-descendant-of-sharks-by-bethany-cutkomp/fiction

A historic photograph of the gold rush town Virginia City, Nevada, during the Old West/Wild West era. Men sit in a stagecoach surrounded by horses in front of an old building.

I’m excited to announce the sale of my short story “Blood and Talent” to @castofwonders.org . It’s a murder mystery set in the old Wild West … with magic! Many thanks to Katherine Inskip, Alicia Caporaso and team for giving it a home.

Blue 1966 Mustang sits parked in a driveway.

Well hello there, gorgeous. Fancy meeting you here.