Maégan Jane Smith (née Boyle)

Cold. Grey. Damp.

Typical British weather 😅

The Creatives Grant let's make art less middle class

£500 given out to a working class writer every month.

Details in link.

Please share :)

My beautiful flowers from Alex (husband), for our 17th anniversary of being together 🥰

Been together half our lives now! 💖

Haha! Think I'm already good at doing that 😅 they're beautiful! Bet they make you smile every time you pass them.

Darley Anderson launches Illustration Mentorship Prize 2026 to champion under-represented talent

The Darley Anderson Illustration Agency has launched the Darley Anderson Illustration Mentorship Prize 2026, a new opportunity designed to support and spotlight emerging illustrators from under-represented backgrounds 👇 #BookSky

What is your secret? Mine looks like it might be dying 😅

A light gray, Pusheen cat-shaped ceramic mug, is filled with a frothy, light brown latte. The background is a blurred shot of a desk setting, with a dark keyboard featuring purple backlighting.

Nescafe Kitkat latte in a giant Pusheen mug 💜

Besties came to visit last weekend, and we swapped Christmas gifts. I hope Alex and I can see them more this year!

This cute mug (which came with pretty pink fluffy socks rolled up inside) was one of my gifts from them 😍

Oh, are you an artist? ^_^ yeah, that should be fine, drop me a DM whenever x

If on a hunt, typical all-black assassin attire, with lower face veiled. Lots of throwing blades. Rope & phials on utility belt.

Either crouched in shadow, back against an outside wall beside a bright window, or stood over a tied up "sinner".

If in guise, simple blouse/boots/coat; playing cards.

Emerging Writer's Residency 2026 - Nottingham City of Literature A paid residency for emerging writers. Applications are open to explore the feminist archive at the Nottingham Women's Library.

Residency for two emerging writers to explore the feminist archive at Nottingham Women's Library.

Details in link.

Please share :)

Image by Heather Newsom via Unsplash. Edited in Canva.

A single blade of grass is silhouetted by golden sunlight that comes through trees. Upper right text reads: 'Raised to honour.' Lower left text reads: 'Forced to burn.'

Kaelen.

Raised to honour.
Forced to burn.

Character aesthetics from my current WIP, Eidolon.

#fantasywriter #amwri̇ti̇ng #darkfantasy #worldbuilding #characteraesthetic

- Artist Spotlight -
🦋 Lauren Marx 🪻

Really love this one. Would be gorgeous in a custom frame made of branches.

"From Our Flesh"
Mixed Media, 2015
(Diptypch)
Lauren Marx

#darkart #illustration #artsky #art #bodyhorror #natureart #horrorart #nature #animalart #deerart

Oh look, another book nook! Phenomenal way to channel stress into creative work.

Dark blonde/light brown hair. Dark eyes. Ivory skin with a rosy complexion. Slender but not skinny; appropriately muscular for her position. Friendly smile, but a hard, dark glare.

The story is about Eida, an assassin-witch trained to feed sinners to her god as justice, is taken prisoner by the order of her enemy deity. Forced proximity, buried trauma, and dangerous attraction begins to unravel everything she believes.

Another character aesthetic post was published yesterday :)

He is one of two MMCs. The second MMC character aesthetic will be posted in a couple of days!

bsky.app/profile/maeg...

Government pledges £27.5m to Libraries Improvement Fund as part of £1.5bn package

ICYMI: The government has pledged £27.5m to the Libraries Improvement Fund as part of a £1.5bn package to be invested in cultural organisations over a five-year period 👇 #BookSky

Anti-hero - morally grey, raised in an institution that trains cruelty as virtue, and teaches justice as a binary system.

Image by Marek Piwinick via Unsplash. Edited in Canva.

Soft white-grey smoke twirling upward on a black background. Off-white text reads top right: "built to liberate", and bottom left reads: "bound to fall".

Shadow.

Built to liberate.
Bound to fall.

Character aesthetics from my current WIP, Eidolon.

#fantasywriter #amwriting #darkfantasy #worldbuilding #characteraesthetic

Image by Jordon Conner via Usplash. Edited in Canva.

An eclipsed sun behind light cloud. Top left-aligned text reads 'Born to serve.' Bottom right-aligned text reads 'Made to break.'

Eida

Born to serve.
Made to break.

Character aesthetics from my current WIP, Eidolon.

#fantasywriter #amwriting #darkfantasy #worldbuilding #characteraesthetic

It can be hard to find the spirit of joy when the heaviness of grief is deep in your bones.

Usually I love decorating a 6ft Christmas tree - and have loved it for as long as I can remember

This year, however, I've gone for something smaller 🤍

Here's a quick update because I frequently forget about bsky.

My mum passed away in May.

My dad's lung cancer came back, now stage 4.

I was diagnosed with ADHD combined in October.

I still plan to put The Dreamer on RR, just delayed.
Focusing on Eidolon, so currently at 1/3rd written.

A text image listing current writing projects. It says: Current projects: Title: The Mortal Overseer Genre: Adult Fantasy Status: First draft, half-way through. Title: Eidolon Genre: Dark Romantasy Status: First draft, approx. 1/6th written. Title: The Company [of Demons] Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy Status: First draft, half-way through. Title: The Dreamer Genre: Young Adult Epic Fantasy Status: Final edits; preparing for online publication. Information: 'The Dreamer' will be given in chapters to read for free via Royal Road (or a similar platform if I find something more suitable for my genre). Further updates and information will be given once I have a clearer time frame - right now it's early days, and is dictated by my chronic illness. Note: All book titles may be subject to change prior to any publication, but I'm usually quite set on titles very early on in a project.

Update on current writing projects 😊

For further updates, please follow my writer Facebook profile:

www.facebook.com/profile.php?...

Happy Father's Day to my incredible dad. I love you lots xox

Your hard work remains, as does your light. I miss you mum x

Life will not be the same without you x

Breakthrough Scholarships | Curtis Brown Creative Our scholarships provide regular funded places on our courses to talented writers facing barriers to entry.

Curtis Brown Creative offer a series of breakthrough scholarships, bursaries, courses and mentoring for new writers, writers of colour and writers on low income and others.

Details in the link.

Please share :)