Picture of myself, with my name (Aaron Canton), labeled as a presenter at StoryCon.

As a reminder, I will be presenting two talks at StoryCon this coming Friday: one on freelance writing / work-for-hire projects, and one on game writing. I hope to see many of you there!

Thank you!

Excited to announce that my historical fantasy short story "Law and Power on the Waves" will appear in the sea-monster themed Opal Kingdom anthology "Tentacles and Tides!" This is my first sale to Opal Kingdom and I'm excited that soon you'll all have the chance to see it.

Back from
@ltuesymposium.bsky.social
! Fantastic conference. Did some pitches and got some partial / full requests, had a good career talk with John Goodwin, met up with friends like DJ Butler and @gallowglas.bsky.social, and attended some awesome panels!

Free Fiction for Deep Winter — The Chain Story As the winter digs in, the Chain Story Project is happy to bring you Terror Above Icehenge by Malcolm T. North. It is the latest in his series of stories in The Adventures of the Threefold Cord. It’...

The Chain Story Project has just released its latest: Terror Above Icehenge by Malcolm T. North!

Please enjoy, like and, especially, repost. It really helps. Thank you.

www.chainstorycore.com/blog/free-fiction-for-deep-winter

Awesome! Josiah and Dr Euan ride again!

Coming March 13th…

#madscience #booksky #kidsadventure

@superstarswriting.bsky.social was fun, but now it's time to get back to writing--using what I learned at the con, of course. Got a first draft of a sword and sorcery short (~10K words) that's due for a round of revisions and editing. I'm enjoying writing this one.

Back from @superstarswriting.bsky.social! Fantastic conference -- I learned tons from the panels, had great pitch meetings and career counseling talks, and thoroughly enjoyed signing and selling the new anthology "Requiem: Tales of the Undead," which has my story in it! Can't wait for next year!

Requiem: Tales of the Undead Requiem: Tales of the Undead [Maberry, Jonathan, Mangum, Lisa, Christensen, Wendy] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Requiem: Tales of the Undead

"Requiem: Tales for the Undead," the 2025 @superstarswriting.bsky.social anthology, debuted-and my story "Symphony for Solo Strings" is in it! We sold out at the conference, but it's available online. If you want a great anthology--including a #dybbuk story by me--check it out! tinyurl.com/RequiemA

At @superstarswriting.bsky.social! Looking forward to meeting up with some friends, seeing some of my favorite authors, and attending some great panels! Also to signing copies of the conference anthology since I've got a story in it. This is going to be a great week!

Made a honey walnut cake. Very happy with the results.

Made a chocolate babka for the first time. It was a very successful experiment.

Also saw 30 notable movies from all sorts of genres, read 79 books, met some day-job and health goals, and so on.

All in all, I'm very happy with how the year turned out.

My 2025, writing-wise:
* Wrote 10 short stories, 4 accepted.
* Wrote 4 game writing commissions, all approved.
* Wrote 2 novel drafts.
* Wrote 91,500 words (completed fiction) + 74,500 words (novel draft).
* Attended 8 conventions, spoke at 1.
It was a good year. Hope 2026 is great too!
#amwriting

20 of the books I read this year.

One of my goals for this year was to read more, and I did, completing 79 books! 20 of them were physical books, and I photographed them below. I liked most of the books I read, and I'm looking forward to more reading next year! @kundalinisteve.bsky.social, @michaelastackpole.bsky.social, etc.

I especially loved reading the "This Dark Descent" and "Our Deadly Designs" duology by Kalyn Josephson. Excellent high fantasy novel with stellar usage of Jewish lore and legends. I also started reading #Discworld this year (got through about half of it) and am loving that too.

I loved Shadow Hunter. Never got to Coruscant Nights, but maybe I'll go back and check it out at some point -- I've heard it's a good noir take on #StarWars.

The last chapter of Jim Thompson's "The Getaway." ("Getaway" has been adapted twice, but both adaptations cut off the last chapter, which is a massive genre shift from the rest of the book. Whereas I think you could get an awesome movie out of *just* the last chapter.)

So something like "Repeaters"? (The 2010 Canadian thriller movie).

Good luck!

The Magic of Yuletide The Magic of Yuletide [Sherrer, Lydia, Osborn, Stephanie, Nials, Jon] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Magic of Yuletide

My short story "A Time For Rest," about a half - #golem at #Chanukah who risks overworking herself and who must learn to relax and enjoy the holiday, will be coming out tomorrow in the anthology "The Magic of Yuletide." www.amazon.com/Magic-Yuleti... And the anthology's forward is by David Weber!

Free Fiction, Round Eleven — The Chain Story This week the Chain Story Project is happy to introduce Pip Strongpaw, hero, wanderer and mouse. Please enjoy his debut tale from the pen of Bryan Young, Ice Hawk’s Aerie .

The Chain Story Project has just released a brand new story: Bryan Young's Ice Hawk's Aerie. This is the first of many stories about Pip Strongpaw, the last of the Great Catriders.

www.chainstorycore.com/blog/free-fi...

Ice Hawk's Aerie by Bryan Young. A mouse with a runesword and red cape side by side with his cat wearing a saddle stare at an icy landscape and a hawk with glowing blue eyes.

Who wants to read about a warrior mouse who rides a bad ass cat and fights hawks to save his forest?

Ice Hawk's Aerie is Part 1 of the Adventures of Pip Strongpaw and is available FREE as part of @michaelastackpole.bsky.social's Chain Story project! www.chainstorycore.com/blog/free-fi...

Corsairs and Cutlasses (Raconteur Press Anthologies Book 66) Where’d ye stumble in from, mate? Ah, ye’ve come for the second round o’ tales from the black deeps and starry voids? Don’t let the ‘droid spook ye—Qular’s got a chassis like a freak, but a heart o’ p...

My story "Ice and Gold" was published in Raconteur Press's "Corsairs and Cutlasses!" It features a pirate pursuing a great treasure deep in the arctic wastes, only to learn that the only thing more dangerous than the treasure's curse might be the greed of her fellow buccaneers. amzn.to/3LRFoun

Excited to announce that my #golem #Chanukah story "A Time for Rest" will be appearing in the Chromosphere Press anthology "The Magic of Yuletide"! I'll drop a link here once the anthology's available. #amwriting

Coming Soon! Planks & Plunder Prepare to repel boarders!

I originally sent a story submission for this anthology, however, the press received so many stories they liked, they decided to open up a second anthology. I love the cover for this anthology! Can't wait to see the second volume cover.

Fantastic Schools Familiars Fantastic Schools Familiars - Kindle edition by Nuttall, Christopher G., Finn, Declan, Salle, Denton, Pyles, James, Lauser, Patrick, Lamplighter, L. Jagi, Furby, Erin N.H., Arkison, Nicholas, Canton, Aaron, Wheeler, Ben. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Fantastic Schools Familiars.

My magic school story "The Dancer" is now live in the anthology "Fantastic Schools: Familiars"! If you're looking for a story about a corrupted witch in an evil magic school who seeks redemption with the help of a loyal familiar, check it out! www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXXXNXXG

I will be presenting a panel at StoryCon next year. If you're attending, feel free to say hi!

Congratulations! I have a story in "Corsairs and Cutlasses" too. I'm really looking forward to seeing the anthology go live. #amwriting

Drafted a new #Noir #Fantasy story this weekend at 8000 words. A bit of revision remains, but after that, I'll be excited to send it out the door. #amwriting