Elspeth Cooper

Honestly, most contact form spam is so badly formatted that it's something of a treat to get one written in proper English :)

Nope, not me. At least the last spam I got of this "fulsome review" type mentioned one of my actual books!

Starting the week with contact form spam from someone claiming to be E L "Fifty Shades" James, wanting to discuss the themes in a book I didn't write.

Makes a change from AI and crypto spam, I suppose.

He is a bit of a bruiser. We think he belongs to the care home whose back garden adjoins ours catty-corner (heh) and comes for a kip under our hedge whenever he needs a break!

I do not like this gen AI
I do not like what it implies
I do not want it in my art
I do not think it makes you smart
I do not want it in my games
I do not like its goals and aims
I do not want it in my books
I do not like the way it looks
I do not like it, I don't care
I do not want it anywhere

A large orange tabby and white cat fast asleep on its side underneath a conifer hedge at the end of the lawn. It is flaunting excellent rear toe beans.

Here is a cat. It is not my cat. I have no cat, but this large orange boi under my hedge seems to be auditioning for the part. #CatDistributionSystem

I've already got Golden Witchbreed, Grunts!, Black Opera and 1610: Sundial On A Grave so it only has to count as one 😇

very important video please watch

I've got a few like that, too. Once I've girded myself to read The Books of Ash, I'll be able to count Mary Gentle in the next 5.

Five (more) women by whom I've read at least five books, just for the hell of it:

- KV Johansen
- Jen Williams
- Martha Wells
- Elly Griffiths
- Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter, who wrote the Brother Cadfael mysteries)

Blast it, I forgot about KVJ! And Jen, and Martha. And Elly Griffiths. Oh, and Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter) too . . .

Five women by whom I've read at least five books:

- Courtney Milan
- Juliet E McKenna
- Patricia Cornwell
- Kate Elliott
- R A MacAvoy

Ooo . . .

Awesome news. Many congrats!

Cover of the paperback of Angel Maker by Elizabeth Bear. A red and green tartan tablecloth is in the background.

Ooo, bookpost! Guess that's my next read sorted, then 🤩

Hiya Womble! I've just started The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham (a refugee from the TBR Pile of Doom). Only 30-odd pages in but intriguing so far!

The first step in quitting is acknowledging you have a problem.

Morning Womble! On digital I've just finished Wine of Angels by Philip Rickman (fun; went a bit darker than what I thought was a cosy mystery) and started the delightful Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis. Next up on paper is Cold Days as I continue my Dresden Files catch-up.

Donate to Three beautiful kitties in need of help, organized by Holly's Merry Moggies Hello from Holly's Merry Moggies , a small rescue for disabled, difficul… Holly's Merry Moggies needs your support for Three beautiful kitties in need of help

If we get to our fundraising goal, I will show you all our newest miracle cat. His name is Hamham, he has two noses, a wobbly head and a hearing deficiency, and he is SO CUTE I COULD SPLODE.

Trust me, you want to see this cat! Donate here:

I've been having such good fun writing over the past week or so that I completely failed to notice I'd passed the 200k milestone on The Dragon House. Blimey.

It might get finished yet. #AmWriting #TheDragonHouse

Pick up the nearest book. Turn to page 42, post the second sentence.

"Uh . . . I guess so. And, Nabeela?"

Out of context dialogue ftw!

I shall check that out! I read WH just this Xmas and my gods 😳 Heathcliff is a walking red flag.

Indeed!

Oh look, Valentine's Day is nearly here and yet again Hollywood is trying to sell us Wuthering Heights as a love story.

It is not. It is a portrait of obsession, cruelty and calculated destruction, Heathcliff is a psychopath and I will die on this hill.

Four paperback books stacked on a red tartan table cloth. From the bottom they are "Kushiel's Avatar" by Jacqueline Carey and books 2, 3 and 4 of "The Moontide Quartet" by David Hair. They are chonky. Very chonky.

I have started buying paper books again.

I fear this will not end well. 💙📚

I'm enjoying it so far!

Hi Womble! I just finished Anna Smith Spark's Court of Broken Knives (dark, uncomfortable but oddly compelling, like a bad traffic accident). On digital I'm getting my Arthurian fix with The Cleaving by Juliet E McKenna, a fresh retelling through the eyes of four women which I'm really enjoying.

Isn't it, though? Turn Coat felt like the start of an inflection point; Changes is where the bough breaks. This is my second read through it, and it walloped me just the same as it did the first time. Dammit, Jim!

Picture of a bird on a snowy lawn. The bird has a long, thin beak, dappled breast, and white belly. Its back and wings are dark brown with golden stripes. It looks like a common snipe foraging in the grass.

Unexpected visitor in the garden today, something I've never seen before. Think it's a snipe?

Paging BirdSky to confirm id #BirdSky

Oh, I like the sound of that *adds to list*