Melissa Burkart

This thread is is so accurate and validating, even as a kid who never got to finish her first year of ballet

Broke: "You should smile more"
Woke: "You should smile less"
Bespoke: "You should smile when you feel like smiling"

Cover of Issue 5, Fall 2025, of Trollbreath Magazine. The art is by Peter Bartels, and it shows an old style light green pickup with the word CHEVROLET on the tailgate floating hovercar style above a dirt road. The scenery is comprised of somewhat flattish terrain in browns and yellows like a dusty southwest scene. In the far distance at the horizon is what appears to be a futuristic city with domes and spires.

Reminder: our next issue drops on September 1st!

Also: our next Open Submissions period begins the same day, so sharpen your arrows, tighten your slings, and get ready to send us stories and poems of outrageous fortunes (or, you know... sci-fi, fantasy, etc)!

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🤣 in a way, since I am concurrently adulting for myself, my kids, and the person who should very much do her own damn adulting. But the chickens are moved! Without my help!

I f*ing hate adulting

I love Briar Patch!

All. The. Time.

Until I have to deal with certain family members. Then I realize I’m not doing so terribly at this whole adulting thing, after all 🤦🏻‍♀️

This is the sort of escape I need to continue functioning with current events. I mean, my kids don’t give me the option of not functioning, do I will take ask the help I can get

This makes me realize I haven’t watched nearly enough k-pop music videos! Time to change that (and my k-pop fan kids wouldn’t object to helping me with that, either)…

#tfw your costar is total golden retriever energy but you’re more cat…

The amount of times he’s just excitedly sharing his ideas and I have to stop myself from pointing out potential problems because I don’t want to dim the enthusiasm (I’ll leave that to the director) 😂

#TheatreSky #ActorProblems

We still have about 2.5 weeks but I am feeling this so hard. It feels extra pointed this summer, probably because the 4 y/o will be joining his sister this year (omfg I am so grateful we have public pre-k now)

Fuuuuck I feel called out (as a kid from a household like that—I hadn’t seen it laid out like this before but I’ve actively worked to not perpetuate these things four or kids)

An eye with lips at one corner and something blue squirting out of the other, surrounded by blue flame-like curves and small bubbles-like circles of yellow

Skate park chalk art! Getting the kids out and trying to make the most of the last of summer

It’s true, we DO read those things. 🙃

Lovely poem by the always delightful Mary Soon Lee.

I really really wish my dad had gotten Canadian citizenship (my grandfather was originally from New Brunswick). That would have been a nice safety net…

I have spent all morning waiting on my sister instead of doing any of my giant-ass To Doom list and that’s pretty reflective of this entire summer, honestly

Omg of course you have a photo of DD in there 😂 (the mermaid in the last one—she was a tech kid who worked with my husband several years ago)

Whenever I see my different spheres colliding, it is both so weird and so awesome 💜

Think a modern sapphic Sherlock Holmes with magic and fey.

I love these stories so much!!! Go read them 💜

I definitely remember The Janitor!

I want a video game where you play an NPC who has to clean up after the players and reset everything within the downtime or weird narrative shit happens. And players are like the worst tourists who leave mangled bodies behind and don’t understand you if you don’t follow the script

Ok so now I need to make plans to fly out your way so we can celebrate our 45th together 💜

Still not convinced there wasn’t an extra island or 2 out there today but that didn’t stop us from spending a glorious couple hours out there

A fish did try to take a bite out of my shoulder blade though, so who knows

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Flanders

One of Maine’s few sand beaches, empty except for a tree, pile of rocks, and 2 kids. There are a few islands covered in evergreens. The water is calm (as far as we can tell), the sky a perfect blue with both wispy and fluffy clouds

It’s probably not a good sign when we’re get to the pond and my first thought is, “Are there more islands than normal?”

🤷🏻‍♀️

#MaineGothic

An image with a pale yellow background reading "25% off RRP On Upcoming Books, Pre-order now with code: SUMMER25 28-31 July / Online Only" and the book cover image for Ring of Salt: A Memoir of Finding Home and Hope on the Wild Coast of Ireland" by Betsy Cornwell

Preorders are pretty much the best thing you can do for an author, and I am grateful for every one. waterstones.com/campaign/jul...

Do. It. Her games are amazing! (and she’s also the entire reason I met my husband 23.5 years ago 💜)

OMGOMGOMG YOU’RE COMING HOME?!?! If you’re not absolutely booked solid, I would really really love to see you 💜