Anna ZenKen Stephens

WHY ISN'T THERE MORE SUPPORT?
The rallying cry for the ages (in the white western world)

You heard Robbie Daymond! 👆 👆 👆

Happy #InternationalWomensDay from Critical Role! ✨

Thank you so much! I'll look at it.

Melissa is absolutely right. We might be traditionally published, and we might occasionally break out with a bestseller, but midlist authors are often neglected by publishers while the big titles suck up all the oxygen. There are some brave and exciting books out there that deserve a lot more hype!

Hmm, I am not but will look into it, thanks. Any particular brand you'd recommend?

Thanks, buddy. Means a lot. X

Oh, Claire, I'm so sorry you can't enjoy this amazing moment as much as you want. Just remember you wrote this book and got here despite this body bullshit and you should celebrate as best you're able. HUGE CONGRATULATIONS on a (probably) lifelong dream.

Angry. Sad. Unable to think or move or be without The Body having an opinion.
I have honestly never been so miserable in my life.
So unlike the person I always wanted to grow into.
What's that saying about the past being another country? It's true because I don't even know where or who I am.
End.

The worst is that I no longer remember what it is like to be me. I'm a stranger in this itchy, unregulated, unfamiliar skin. I have a distant memory of being the person I've spent the last 4 decades evolving into. And now I'm...whatever this is. A stranger to myself. An imposter. A thing.

Today I shouted at my dog, who didn't deserve it, and then sobbed uncontrollably. I'm currently wearing shorts and a vest in a house that is 15 degrees and shivering with cold because I can't be any warmer without triggering The Incandescence.
None of that is the worst.

My smart watch, which ain't so smart, recorded me waking up 9 times last night. Those were the 9 hot flushes that meant I had to drag off all the blankets and half my clothes. It doesn't count the hours I was lying awake with joint pain or itchy skin or restless legs or anxiety.

Menopause talk. Because it's 10.30pm and I've had a couple of drinks and my life is a fucking nightmare because my body no longer works.
I now have an inkling why 45-55 is the prime age for people with uteruses to attempt s*icide. No, this is not me. I'm not there. I just... can see it.

Recent midlist SFF books that deserve everything:

The Tales of the Plains trilogy by @davewragg.com

The Works of Vermin by @hironennes.bsky.social

Seven Recipes for Revolution by @ryanprose.bsky.social

A bit older but The Graven trilogy by @essahansen.bsky.social

Build Jakapan Puttha | Actor Known for: KinnPorsche, Tra Barb See Chompoo, KinnPorsche side story

This is him m.imdb.com/name/nm12728...

I did, yes! I'll drop you a reply in the morning (my time)

The one wearing that pretty diamond collar, yes. 😉

Hey, @zackpolanski.bsky.social, what are your thoughts on the prospect of wholesale theft of the UK's creative industry? Yay or nay.

Can we just go back to when "AI" meant a pattern recognition machine that could highlight number discrepancies and analyse biopsies for cancer and all the stuff it's actually really good at, rather than destroying the creative industry and the planet?

Nearly ready to publish but not sure which way to go? We'll be talking trad, hybrid, indie and self-publishing in #Shrewsbury. Come along for a fun, friendly day of advice and book chat. www.spotlightindie.co.uk #authorevent #writingadvice #indieauthor #publishing #indiepublishing #writingcommunity

ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT to support black authors by backing THE COOKOUT anthology of speculative fiction from the African diaspora: sci-fi, fantasy, & horror stories centered around the tradition of the cookout. We're $200 away from funding! Who will push over the top? www.kickstarter.com/projects/and...

A.I. Didn't Read?

I work 3 jobs, 1 of which is writing. I'm not a lazy cunt for wanting to dedicate my time to my other profession. You just don't understand that a working class person has to sacrifice monetary comfort to follow a dream. You never had to. You had privilege. I had to give up wages to write. To be me.

You know what I'm excited to do in the morning? Tell the recruiter I don't want the job, regardless of whether I was going to be offered it. People who mock you for "wanting to do your own thing" in the off hours when you've applied for PT job ... do not understand your life. I'm a writer. I write.

Actress Lupita Nyongo'o holding a basket of fruit.

People were up in arms over the casting of THIS WOMAN as Helen of Troy because "she wasn't black".
You're missing the point. Helen was the most beautiful woman in the world.
LOOK AT LUPITA NYONG'O. Who else could play her???

Sign up for this, it's a bloody brilliant book!

Delighted to announce that two of my artworks have been shortlisted for the British Science Fiction Association awards this year!
The artworks are:
- The cover for DARK CRESCENT, by @lyndseycroal.bsky.social, published by @lunapress.bsky.social
- MUSHROOM FAIRY, published to instagram

I’m always reminded of Vimes (Dis)Organiser in Jingo when AI assistants get mentioned.

Bingely Bingely Beep! Hi there, it looks like you’re about to be attacked by an assassin. Would you like some help?
Oh. Wait. Wrong trousers of time. Never mind.

Oh, interesting. I hadn't really considered that before. It's definitely helping me with extended periods of concentration, I think.

A miniature human character seen from the back, for use in a DND campaign. Brilliant red coat.

Have been doing lots of mini painting lately. I'm so bad at it, but as a writer, am intimately familiar with the idea of slow but steady progress and allowing myself grace. This guy is definitely my best to date.

YouTube video by Sideshow Collectibles Critical Role Fans NEED to See This! | Sam Riegal REACTS to Fresh Cut Grass Statue

Well ain't they the cutest thing ever? @collectsideshow.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/Vvbng...