R.R. Virdi | Buy The First Binding (from TOR)

Could you imagine eating corn flakes all your life and then someone hands you cinnamon toast crunch?

We are now a week out from the release of SILVER AND LEAD, the nineteenth October Daye adventure, and I am staggered and overjoyed by how warmly it's been received.

Natania Barron Bookshop Natania Barron believes in monsters and hopes you do, too. She’s the author of dozens of short stories, a fistful of novellas, and a few novels. All of these works contain monsters of one variety of a...

Which reminds me, all my books (for the most part) are on @bookshop.org and it's my preferred place for purchase (if you can't order it locally--and even then, you can do it through Bookshop!).

Arthuriana. Queer Regency witches. Marvelous monsters. Etc.

bookshop.org/shop/natania...

Wish me luck, all.

Something something project - vaguebook.

Nature.

Like jfc.

Also something smart if you're just that businessy instead?

YOURE BUILDING AND SUPPORTING RELATIONS WITH YOUR LIBRARY SYSTEM

Guess what? You can do talks there, singing, meet fans, librarians rec and carry your books too

Use them. Support them

A dedicated research librarian?

They have to go to school for this
They exist to help you find stuff
Great fucking stuff
And it's free
And you can read books
And reference them, sometimes email their authors and you doing all of that supports people too and doesn't gobble up resources from

One of the saddest things recently was seeing how many baby authors want to even use so for research

Like please fucking no

It lies, it's incestuous, doesn't always lead to good sources, and dumbs down your ability to find those yourself.

Ffs two for one: libraries. Did you know libraries have -

I'm sorry wait what.

Nutmeg did...wait what?!

I...blinks. just learned something I guess..wow.

Living the mood for what you're writing for real:

A little project about cooking food.

Accompanied by cacao and decaf coffee with coconut sugar, some cayenne for kick, a touch of ghee for fat creamy, nutmeg and cinnamon, and served with some apple oat crumble cobbler.

I forgot about my novelette 'Breaking Water', which was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Awards in 2016, and follows a journalist and a cook who becomes a 'dead charmer' as they grapple with the spiritual fallout of an epidemic of the undead in Kolkata:

Banned Books List 2025 What books are banned in 2025? Thousands of titles have been removed from public schools across the country.

Checked out the list of banned books and Allegiant, Carve the Mark, and The End & Other Beginnings are on there (way, way down), which is kind of a weird assortment of my books. Why those and not the others? Unclear.

Anyway, have a look: pen.org/banned-books...

Graphic with cream bkgd and black text that reads on top “SUBSCRIBE AND GET A CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF THREE SIGNED COPIES” Under that, the cover for THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED superimposed over a wall of red text that reads GIVEAWAY Under that, black text that reads VICTORMANIBO.COM/NEWSLETTER Closes 10/13/25 at 11:59 PM EDT Open globally

October is #FAHM. There’s tons to say about being Filipino, America, and the countries’ shared history than could fit here, so I wrote about it for my newsletter dropping later this week

Sign up now if you haven’t yet. And till 10/13, new subscribers get a chance to win THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED 🔗⬇️

Submissions open for Brave New Weird volume 4 — tenebrous press REMINDER: THIS IS FOR ELIGIBLE REPRINTS ONLY Tenebrous Press presents the FOURTH (!!!) Annual Brave New Weird Awards—to reward and promote this unique blend of genres—and its accompanying antholog...

SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN!
...for BRAVE NEW WEIRD Vol. 4, our annual collection of the best **PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED** New Weird Horror of the year.
Eligibility window: stories published between 31st October 2024 and 31st October 2025.
All the deets here:
tenebrouspress.com/blog/2025/10...

Yeah, alright, no. No don't this. I'll do you a few fucking better and teach you right here and now how to do this:
You game? Blurb and lesson time. Got you.
First up, a SPOOC. This is one technique that can be expanded (gonna give you examples too). WRITING LESSONS AHOY:
🧵

“Mary Shelley has released a new title!”

She hath risen.

Deskilling is real.

This is the world generative AI peddlers long for, one where people are incompetent without their service.

Don't outsource your brain to this shit. You'll regret it.

on a fuckin' Netflix special.

No industry will get it. Publishing, media, w.e.

But so many diaspora artists do.

Something heard tonight and it's been said by me, and friends in my circle for ages with similar backgrounds:

"Too Western for India, too Indian for the West." Today I heard Vir Das say that.

It's reached mass media.

No lie...it's kinda nice having it said/summed up -- all the experiences--

YouTube video by From the Top Handbells Sparrows of Keshum

youtu.be/eZfPV3Jvs1w?...

I'll never get over the fact that this exists. A wonderful reader and musician made this for The First Binding.

You're welcome!

Is there a way to do that investing thing where you invest...like in their downfall and reap the rewards??

Or is that some made up Hollywood thing?

Aspiring authors, I’m here to help. Do you have any writing-related questions or dilemmas I can answer? Maybe you just need encouragement or a kick in the pants? Ask away…

#writing

Just signed the walls at the legendary Fountain Books, signed done copies of Tales of Tremaine for people who want them and to support an amazing indie store.

I learned the series is a staff pick, and one of their best and steadiest sellers!!!

Please support an indie book store today !

That's the best i can give from my experience. it has not been a detriment or major issue to me, but im also not publishing as prolifically as you so idk what issues you might run into - sorry in advance on that.

Also the accept/reject changes feature worked practically the same as word as well.

My personal issue was some paragraph (alignments) changed, and one centered section got turned into god knows what alignment wise, but that was a quick fix.

Yes/no

I've had some (small but still there) formatting issues going from a word docx that was the original file with track changes to doing it in libre office. I'd say it was small enough (in my personal case YMMV) to not be an annoyance - more just some confusion.

Yes, there's a changes/record feature (same function) that tracks changes to manuscripts (color coding - your control) and Libreoffice (their writer at least) is an open source one I have in addition to word on my laptop. It imports doc/docx files too.

"it is impossible for a few thousand men to rule over 350 million if those 350 million decide they do not wish to be ruled"
-Gandhi

Starting my first day at the James River Writing conference and teaching..they found hardcovers?

And some nearby stores do too.

The books been out since 2022 and hardcovers still sell and get stocked?

Wat?

Those both sound great.