Varsha Dinesh

❊ Foxes & Foxgloves ❊

The weirdest story ideas come from your own obsessions Kelly Link has carved out a unique place at the intersection of magic realism and literary fantasy. Her short stories leave many questions unanswered, but stick in your mind for weeks afterwards. Now ...

Here’s some excellent writing advice from Kelly Link:

Bluesky is still small enough that there’s a part of the day when there are zero updates and everyone is asleep so I feel more comfortable rambling

Now to climb out of this purgatory I have created for myself by writing but never editing

But these days, I’m trying to give myself permission NOT to go for themes? I love stories that make me feel emotional and I love stories that have deep thematic resonance layered through the plot; I just write like a Pinterest vibe board (with plot, because ADHD). And I guess that’s more me.

I think of some strange character or a single odd image or sometimes a line (“vipasana retreat at haunted beach?”) and then go from there. I like it when I can write deeply weird, deeply fantastic, deeply second-world stories; where I struggle is when I try to pinpoint themes.

Re: last repost, I worry often about whether my stories are “thematic” or “important” enough, and then get stuck in a spiral of never finishing things. Recently I’ve been thinking that the kind of stories I’m interested in writing are always more a set of unusual images than anything else.

My advice--don't worry too much about being "original." Worry about whether the thing you're doing is interesting and fun to you. There will always be someone to say your work isn't sufficiently new. They are obviously not your audience. 5/5

This is wonderful, wonderful news! I’m so sorry that all this had to happen, but I’m awed at your persistence to fight the good fight. Bravo.

A screenshot of the audiobook of “The Saint of Bright Doors” by Vajra Chandrasekhara

let’s goooo

EEEE IT'S HERE! My Demeter and Persephone retelling "Always Be Returning" is now FREE to read in Sunday Morning Transport!! This is my first Greek retelling and that makes me 100x times more nervous and excited!

https://www.sundaymorningtransport.com/p/always-be-returning

Amma's Kitchen, by Rati Mehrotra - The Deadlands but once, after Sunday service, she heard the sexton say that there are places where the dead traverse a river after death, paying a boatsman to ferry them across the water.

The second is @rati.bsky.social’s “Amma’s Kitchen” which is about a diner in the afterlife, wisecracking frogs, memory, food and death. I thought it was beautiful. https://thedeadlands.com/issue-22/ammas-kitchen/

Today I read two stories I loved.

The first is @sloanesloane.bsky.social’s “The Blade and the Bloodwright”, which I first got to read at Clarion West last year. It was just as beautiful, brutal and powerful on reread as it was the first time!

New Fantasy Story at LIGHTSPEED: “The Blade and the Bloodwright” by Sloane Leong with a podcast narrated by Stefan Rudnicki: https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-blade-and-the-bloodwright/

DEATH IN THE MOUTH: Original Horror from the Margins Volume 2 DEATH IN THE MOUTH: Original Horror from the Margins Volume 2 is an illustrated horror anthology showcasing BIPOC and other ethnically marginalized writers and artists from around the world.

DEATH IN THE MOUTH: Original Horror from the Margins Volume 2 is NOW LIVE and funding on Backerkit! 20 illustrated horror stories showcasing BIPOC authors and artist around the world!

https://www.backerkit.com/c/sloane-leong/death-in-the-mouth-original-horror-from-the-margins-volume-2

Cook delicious South-Indian food and experience the journey of an immigrant family in Venba, available now on PlayStation 5!Venba is a narrative cooking game... Venba - Launch Trailer | PS5 Games

VENBA LAUNCHED!!

When I started on this project, my goal was to make you feel as though you're entering a South Asian kitchen.

The silverware, stainless steel, the bangles, all of it. If you can't smell it, you will HEAR it!

Hope you enjoy our little game <3

https://youtu.be/HRVt3213z6s

I’m finally playing Witcher 3 (because I did not like the series) and a horror card game called Inscryption!

I just know there’s a branding or content person in that team who sits through meetings with him grinding their teeth to nubs. I just hope that, like me, they at least get to play video games on mute while doing what the megalomaniac wants.

A photo of a Kerala beach and nearby cliffs in the early morning.

I sea again

WHO WILL COME INTO MY KITCHEN AND BE HUNGRY FOR ME!!!!!

I tell my mother I have written x number of words today and she sends me a picture of a god with “good morning” written across it in Papyrus font

these days I actually write 🫣 I feel like if I say that then some terrible luck will befall me and I will stop writing again but honestly fuck superstition I wrote 3000 words yesterday perhaps I no longer have to promise the home
-deity a cucumber sacrifice 🥳

A screenshot that says “Ravanan Bullseye: a special quail egg omelette” in dubious spelling, Ravanan is the villain in the Ramayana

A screenshot that says “Japan chicken! One of the very recent chicken appetisers in rich creamy cashew” with dubious spelling

A screenshot that says “fish palaazhi”- palaazhi is a mythological sea made of milk

A screenshot that says “Chicken Monica” followed by text in Malayalam that exhorts you to post similar such recipes

since there’s less people here I feel more comfortable sharing my latest hobby: collecting South Indian recipes with the most inspired names

“may you find the social media home you deserve” is a modern Yiddish curse

I guess I’m here also. *sigh*