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Ally Lester

@cogenthippo.bsky.social

Writer and reader of fiction -- history, sff, romance, thrillers. Interested in sustainability, rewilding, growing things. Knitter, early tech adopter, parent, spouse, disabled. They/them. Also writes as Frances Fox. https://lnk.bio/gjD5 πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ βœ’οΈ πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈ

1,238 Followers  |  2,015 Following  |  1,805 Posts  |  Joined: 11.07.2023
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Posts by Ally Lester (@cogenthippo.bsky.social)

A digital portrait of Pendraig, a small bipedal dinosaur, shown with a long reptilian snout and covering of coarse, filaments on its neck.

A digital portrait of Pendraig, a small bipedal dinosaur, shown with a long reptilian snout and covering of coarse, filaments on its neck.

Happy St David’s Day from a very, very old dragon. Pendraig milnerae, a 200 million year old dinosaur, was discovered in what is now the south of Wales.

01.03.2026 18:57 β€” πŸ‘ 135    πŸ” 36    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
2026 GUFF Ballot

Do you go to Eastercon/Satelite/PictCon/Fantasycon/Norncon or any of the other volunteer run sf conventions? Do you go to Swancon or Worldcon? If so, you are eligible to vote in the Southbound GUFF race: sending a fan to Swancon, AU Candidate statements & ballot are here taff.org.uk/ballots/guff...

27.02.2026 10:26 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

i want to leave something good here for people passing a long night

01.03.2026 05:07 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you ❀️

01.03.2026 11:38 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@jamanda.bsky.social saw this and thought of you x

01.03.2026 10:58 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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a bunch of yellow and white flowers in a field Alt: a bunch of daffodils growing in a field

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus, pobl!

01.03.2026 07:06 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, that's it exactly. If you sit with it and don't channel it usefully it eats you from the inside.

01.03.2026 08:01 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Waterfalls among trees, ferns, sedge, fallen leaves & mossy rocks on the River Meavy, Dartmoor, Devon, February.

Waterfalls among trees, ferns, sedge, fallen leaves & mossy rocks on the River Meavy, Dartmoor, Devon, February.

Stone, moss, waterfalls

River Meavy #Dartmoor #Devon

22.02.2026 16:12 β€” πŸ‘ 218    πŸ” 27    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 1

This is such a good🧡.

Doomscrolling and being angry is not helpful. Caring for others, however that looks, is.

01.03.2026 07:36 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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I think about this Tony Benn speech much more than I used to

28.02.2026 16:09 β€” πŸ‘ 8652    πŸ” 3574    πŸ’¬ 50    πŸ“Œ 102
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#Minneapolis #Booksky Quick fundraiser: buy a book by any of our #MNauthors (Catherine Lundoff, Michael Merriam, Jennie Goloboy or Emily Byrne) from our website today 2/28 and we’ll make a donation to our neighborhood’s rent emergency fund! queenofswordspress.com

28.02.2026 13:07 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Wild garlic season begins.

#wildgarlic #wildwood #foraging #foragedfood #smalljoys

28.02.2026 19:38 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Scones?

28.02.2026 20:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I learnt a new word of Hookland dialect today – wodwak. It's used to describe the sensation that a wood or even a specific tree is watching you. That moment when your psychic skin won't let you deny that bark-browed eyes are upon you. – #MattAdams

28.02.2026 17:57 β€” πŸ‘ 272    πŸ” 53    πŸ’¬ 12    πŸ“Œ 5
An image of the British cover of Wooing the Witch Queen shows a man in a cloak riding headlong through the night towards an ominous castle with an illuminated, crowned female figure in its doorway and bats flying overhead in the moonlight. A potion vial surrounds that central image and is further framed by leaves and branches. Crows sit on the branches, and a tagline reads: Love can be a witch. A blurb from Sarah Beth Durst reads, 'Absolutely irresistible!' 
Above and beside the cover is this snippet from the book:
Felix had never been more grateful for his concealing mask and cloak than when he'd emerged onto the tower roof to find Queen Saskia with her head thrown back, lips parted, a cloud of crows swirling around her and energy crackling so intensely through the air that it lifted the hair at the back of his neck.
It should have been a terrifying sight: the wicked witch of Kitvaria no doubt summoning a terrible storm of magic to rain down upon her enemies.
But it had stopped his breath for quite a different reason.

An image of the British cover of Wooing the Witch Queen shows a man in a cloak riding headlong through the night towards an ominous castle with an illuminated, crowned female figure in its doorway and bats flying overhead in the moonlight. A potion vial surrounds that central image and is further framed by leaves and branches. Crows sit on the branches, and a tagline reads: Love can be a witch. A blurb from Sarah Beth Durst reads, 'Absolutely irresistible!' Above and beside the cover is this snippet from the book: Felix had never been more grateful for his concealing mask and cloak than when he'd emerged onto the tower roof to find Queen Saskia with her head thrown back, lips parted, a cloud of crows swirling around her and energy crackling so intensely through the air that it lifted the hair at the back of his neck. It should have been a terrifying sight: the wicked witch of Kitvaria no doubt summoning a terrible storm of magic to rain down upon her enemies. But it had stopped his breath for quite a different reason.

This week's Saturday snippet comes from Wooing the Witch Queen on its final day as @waterstones.bsky.social Welsh Book of the Month. Thanks so, SO much to every bookseller who filled their front windows with crows this month! ❀️

stephanieburgis.com/books/wooing-the-witch-queen

#romancelandia

28.02.2026 16:17 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Spring, though. Morning coffee outside. Daffodils. Lambs. Less rain, maybe?

28.02.2026 15:43 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Look at all the good borbs

28.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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We've always been here. The colonial erasure of third-gender Ugandan Mudoko Dako community The Pre-Colonial Trans+ Identity of Lango's Mudoko Dakos: Effeminate Male, Forgotten, Third Gendered people

There's a common misconception that countries in the global majority have always rejected queerness - this is the realityΒ 

28.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah, no, not just you.

28.02.2026 15:19 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Finds like these make me think about the person who lost it. When did they notice? Did they have another one to replace it? Was it a child who got scolded? Or an adult?

28.02.2026 15:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
C18th pewter button, tiny, showing eight petal design. Shown posed in my black-gloved hand on the Thames Foreshore.

C18th pewter button, tiny, showing eight petal design. Shown posed in my black-gloved hand on the Thames Foreshore.

Tiny C18th pewter button found on the Thames Foreshore on one of this week’s two sunny days. Eight petalled flower design, so much pretty detail for such a small item. Always a treat to find haberdashery from the river #mudlark

28.02.2026 15:04 β€” πŸ‘ 56    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

That sounds like a lovely day.

28.02.2026 15:05 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Love this series, highly recommend!

28.02.2026 14:42 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
The cover of The Summer Goddess by Joanne Hall, art by Ken Dawson

The image shows the back view of a cloaked (but not hooded) warrior with her sword out. The is standing on the shore of a lake. There are mountains in the distance. Celtic knotwork decorates the corners of the cover.

The cover of The Summer Goddess by Joanne Hall, art by Ken Dawson The image shows the back view of a cloaked (but not hooded) warrior with her sword out. The is standing on the shore of a lake. There are mountains in the distance. Celtic knotwork decorates the corners of the cover.

Cover reveal! In April we are bringing back The Summer Goddess by Joanne Hall. The book was a finalist for Best Fantasy Novel (the Rob Holdstock Award) when it was first published.

27.02.2026 19:52 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 3

I am helping a friend change the washer on her bathroom tap. So far it has taken us two hours to find the stopcock, and hour to find an adjustable spanner and another half hour to realise we are not yet at the point where we need an adjustable spanner. Distraction level: HIGH.

28.02.2026 13:53 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I am helping a friend change the washer on her bathroom tap. So far it has taken us two hours to find the stopcock, and hour to find an adjustable spanner and another half hour to realise we are not yet at the point where we need an adjustable spanner. Distraction level: HIGH.

28.02.2026 13:53 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This is so fabulous. Thanks, @eoinglackin.bsky.social ! ❀️

27.02.2026 11:19 β€” πŸ‘ 554    πŸ” 110    πŸ’¬ 19    πŸ“Œ 3

I increasingly feel like I live in a cyberpunk setting but I’m not one of the cool protagonists but just like some guy who has to deal with this bullshit.

28.02.2026 06:03 β€” πŸ‘ 284    πŸ” 32    πŸ’¬ 11    πŸ“Œ 2
Front cover of book - The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker - A History of the High St - by Annie Gray

Front cover of book - The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker - A History of the High St - by Annie Gray

Enjoyed this - fascinating and entertaining. It was like having a time-travelling tour guide, walking you along High Streets through time. Revealing how shops and shopping have changed and giving an insight into that aspect of my ancestors' lives #familyhistory @dranniegray.bsky.social

27.02.2026 17:45 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

This is gorgeous and when I am rich I will be buying one.

28.02.2026 10:42 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0