Christina Kjarval

Announcing First Draft Fall Year Two! - Weeknight Writers Our answer to NaNoWriMo, First Draft Fall, is ready to launch! Check out the full schedule, including our FREE events, here!

We did the quiet update a couple of days ago, and now it's time for the big announcement: #FirstDraftFall year two is ON!! We have a new and improved schedule building on all the things we did last year

Check it out if you're looking for something to replace the NaNoWriMo-shaped void in your soul

After weeks of certification and training, weeks of veterinary fees and tears of uncertainty… I start my new job on Tuesday morning.

I have set my writing aside to focus on this slow-moving emergency and the realization that I have a start date has filled me with creative energy again 💚

This is your almost 2 hour alert, #HorrorWritersChat people. You have been warned. This is not a drill.

The characters Zero and One sitting and looking at each other. Zero is holding a big nonbinary flag, and One is holding a small rainbow flag. The words above them say "Nobody is Illegal" and "Zero & One stand with immigrants"

I'm a disabled trans author living with daily hunger.

Please back my comic on KS.

"Zero & One" is about a Human youth on a robot planet. New language, new culture.

It's a great way to start conversations with young people about immigration.

BACK TODAY:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/jam...

I do too, it takes the fun out of it and can lead to my extensive list of “somedays” from ever happening. Tinkering needs to have the spirit of fun in it and hopefully that will be with you today

I have wanted to explore this for so long, I hope you share your experience with it!

A longhair tuxedo cat gets patted on the head as she looks into the camera

Surgery day #2! It has been a hard season for this girl but we are lucky to have such love and support from our friends and family.

Respiratory polyps in kitties looks like a respiratory infection that doesn’t go away and they need a surgery to be removed.

I am on standby with Warm Blankies!

If you are in or near Baltimore you should know that the Walters Art Museum (which is free!) has a small but wonderful exhibit about cats in medieval manuscripts

A green and black cicada crawls up a weathered wooden fence. It has translucent, folded wings and large eyes

I met a friend in the garden and they serenaded me a love song that went, AAAAAAAH

PAGE 4 - PANEL A We’re closeup on Zero, who’s looking down at One. Zero motions to their chest with two open hands. ZERO MOTIONS TO THEMSELF. ZERO: ZERO. PAGE 4 - PANEL B Closeup on One, who points to itself with one hoof. THE ROBOT MOTIONS TO ITSELF. ONE: ONE. PAGE 4 - PANEL C We see Zero on the left, looking right; and One on the right, looking left. They’re each pointing at each other. They look happy that they’ve communicated. ZERO & ONE (TB): AT LEAST NOW I KNOW WHAT IT’S CALLED! ZERO: ONE! ONE: ZERO! PAGE 4 - PANEL D Zero, looking concerned, leans down to the ground and points at the soil. ZERO MOTIONS TO THE GROUND. PAGE 4 - PANEL E Closeup on One. ONE (TB): IT WANTS TO KNOW WHERE IT IS! ONE: ELENTIA. PAGE 4 - PANEL F We are behind Zero and One, and looking out over the mountain landscape. There is ship wreckage and a crater immediately around them. In the medium distance are a DynoBot and MouseBot. Soaring above them way up high is an EagleBot. Zero’s arm is making a sweeping motion toward the other Elemorphs. ZERO MOTIONS TO THE OTHER ROBOTS AROUND THEM. ONE: ELEMORPHS.

I'm a disabled trans author living with hunger.

Please back my comic on Kickstarter.

Zero & One is an anime-inspired monster tamer story about a nonbinary youth and a magical robot, who don't speak the same language! Can they escape the planet?

BACK TODAY!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/jam...

A tuxedo cat lounges in the grass of a backyard garden

I’ve been offline to focus on some things and want to share a word of hope in the hard times.

My kitty needs a second procedure and I have to borrow funds for it. I’m so worried.

I have two new jobs and have not worked a single shift after weeks of prep.

You’re not going through this alone.

Taking Submissions: Hearth Stories 2025 September Window
horrortree.com/taking-submi...
Submission Window: September 1st – 30th, 2025
Payment: $20
Theme: Speculative fiction that explores connection, family, relationships, comfort, and the natural world.

Taking Submissions: Dreams Divine
horrortree.com/taking-submi...
Deadline: August 24th, 2025
Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints.
Theme: Romantic fantasy stories set in or about dreams

Kobo Plus Bookfair Searching for your next favorite Kobo Plus read? Look no further! These bestselling authors have teamed up to offer a delightful selection of new books. Available for a limited time.

Kobo Plus readers looking for a horror read: here's a list of books available on Kobo Plus for you to check out! (All my books are enrolled buy I showcase 3 here. Read in any order.)

books.bookfunnel.com/koboplus0820...

#KoboPlus #BookSky #Horror
🌈📚😱🩸📚💙👀📚

Taking Submissions: Anomaly September 2025 Window
horrortree.com/taking-submi...
Submission Window: September 1st-7th, 2025
Payment: 8 cents per word
Theme: 300-word science fiction stories
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting

submissions for shorts & creative nonfiction are now open until we reach the cap

flash & micros are closed for august, they'll come back next month

thank u !

creepy background of a person behind a sheet. All text is in the post

What's this! He's back at the helm.

And as today is International Friendship Day, that's the theme for this week's chat.

Four questions about you and your horror work coming at you at 7pm British Summer Time, 2pm Eastern for North America.

#HorrorWritersChat

Maitake-by-the-Sea | Tractor Beam If not a breach, what is it?

Last October, I published a solarpunk piece called "Maitake-by-the-Sea" as a showcase for Tractor Beam. It's now back in their website! The magazine currently has 2 issues with great stories and comics focused on soil and environmental fiction.

www.tractorbeam.earth/story/maitak...

The cover of a Herrschners catalog that sells craft products featuring a vibrant gold, rose, and purple crochet blanket draped over a chair. The wording on the cover suggests they offer seasonal yarn colors and how to order the kit to make the pictured blanket

The demise of my local corporate craft store that once brought me colorful inspiration has been replaced by this wonderful catalog. I go through it again and again when I need a mindful moment and I walk away excited about making something beautiful

Herrschners catalogs are free!

herrschners.com

Prize — Galley Beggar Press

Our short story prize is open for submissions again! Please share this widely - and please send us your stories:

www.galleybeggar.co.uk/prize

Closing date 8 November!

Writing Folk Horror A 2-hour evening writing workshop exploring the world of folk horror, led by acclaimed lecturer, workshopper and writing mentor Alex Davis.

Come and brave the dark woods with me as we explore the beauty and terror of the old ways - WRITING FOLK HORROR runs on the evening of 14th August! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/writ...

i am going to be honest i have no idea what itch is but after reading through this thread i can say this kind of censorship is a huge dang bummer. the idea that erotic art is somehow less valid is a false trot. making space for adult themes is incredibly important

I’ve been pretty locked into Ghost’s new album Skeleta

You helped save my cat, that gave me time to find another job and the interview is today! I will return with support as soon as I have it, keeping my community in therapy and the vet bills paid gives me courage to face this new responsibility ❤️‍🩹

A Field Of Horror With The Silver Bayonet, award winning game designer Joseph McCullough takes us back to the Napoleonic era, but as John Power Jr. finds out this isn’t your father’s historical wargame...

Sharpe may have had to put up with his fair share of nonsense from both the French and his own commanding officers, but as far a I can recall he never had to put down a werewolf.

Gothic horror collides headfirst with the Napoleonic wars in Joseph McCullough's The Silver Bayonet

Taking Submissions: Electric Spec November Issue 2025
horrortree.com/july-16-taki...
Due: October 15th
Pay: $20 per story or artwork
Theme: Electric Spec prefers science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre, but we're willing to push the limits of traditional forms of these genres.
#WritingCommunity

Which reads better to you?
99 cents,
$.99,
$0.99,
or
99¢

The $0.99 I feel is better! Like I don’t have to make absolutely sure of the symbol or decimal position in a world where it’s easy to misread something.

A pile of books by Alan Moore.

Rarely have I looked forward to a Moore conversation more. Recording the new episode of @backlisted.bsky.social this morning with @unamccormack.bsky.social @birchos.bsky.social and a mystery guest. 💥