Z.D. Gladstone - author

Just spent a powerful morning attending the Connecting Community Listen Deeply storytelling event through https://bellinghampubliclibrary.org/ Moving, soul-uplifting--so glad I made the drive!

Getting my Halloween vibe going with a hike around Cougar Mountain! Nothing like spooky trees & abandoned mine shafts to set a mood!

Happy National Black Cat Day!

My cat is looking at a rainbow.

Two for mirth.

Adventures Underground in Richland, WA

Saw this mural, had to go inside. Best choice I've made all week!

THE best way to start my favorite season! 😍 Spooked: Live at the Moore Theater!

Gettin' my caffeine on at the Northwest Tea Festival. Sooooo much core-warming deliciousness!

A friend of mine "liberated" this old tree root that had grown into a chain link fence, & I LOVE it! It's like a cross between a wizard staff & an anti-zombie defense!

I get really immersed in movies, I'm easily entertained that way. But no matter how good the film, the moment something crashes into the water - a tower collapses into a moat, the train derails into a river, Godzilla gets nuked at sea - I think: "Some poor fish just got traumatized."

Celebrating the anniversary of Star Trek's first episode, 59 years ago today (TOS, obvi)! Definitely disregarding the fact that it's a work night so I can binge a few episodes. And DEFINITELY thinking of how to celebrate the 60th anniversary next year!
Live long & prosper, everyone!

The amount of enraging, heartbreaking, & trauma-triggering BS in the world right now is insane...especially because it is human caused, which means it is also human preventable. And. *You have to take care of yourself.* You DO have power. Breathe. Recharge. Collaborate. Then do what you can.

they think they can just erase trans joy and trans freedom. they can't. they can make things a lot harder and more painful. but that joy and that freedom is not theirs to take and it is incumbent on all good people to say so.

Time has passed, & my World Con adrenaline has faded, allowing the Anxiety Gremlin under my bed to start poking me in the middle of the night. "Hey! Remember that thing you said on that one panel? CRINGE!" But the dopamine has NOT faded, so I just laugh & roll over, relishing good memories.

Someone is very, VERY happy I'm home from the Con. She's holding me hostage with purrs.

#seattleworldcon2025 is over

I don't wanna go back to reality!

Light side hat vs. Dark side hat. I'm the Dark side. Obviously.

@seattlein2025.org The evening somehow ended in a hat-off. Damn do I love my fellow crazy nerds.

A gorgeously gloomy Seattle day. Perfect for an evening panel on local ghost lore. #seattleworldcon2025

Hitting my first panel with my fellow authors @gwendolynnix.bsky.social & @sandrarosner.bsky.social! #seattleworldcon2025

Let teh awesome begin.

My homemade TTRPG Game Master screen

The do-it-yourself Game Master screen I made for directing "Girl by Moonlight." (Yesterday was Episode 4, btw.) The goal is to cover it in nerdy, joy-inspiring stickers; I'm hoping to find plenty of those at World Con this week!

My final tea pairing for this year's Hugo nominated novels! To accompany Tchaikovsky's "Service Model," I went with a long-steeped Irish Breakfast. It's what I imagine the protagonist would serve, but the long steep adds just a hint of bitterness, reflecting how easily things can go...wrong.

Sipping my way through the novels nominated for a Hugo award this year, I paired Jackson Bennett's "The Tainted Cup" with a full-leaf sencha. Which...yeah, ok, a little dark on my part. But this is a tea I drink on humid rainy days, so it immersed me even deeper into a captivating story.

Tea pairing for Hugo nominee #4 is a finely steeped cup of Darjeeling with T. Kingfisher's "A Sorceress Comes to Call." Quite simply, I didn't think the antagonist would settle for anything less than the "champagne of teas."

My third Hugo nominee tea pairing is "The Ministry of Time" & Ty-Phoo tea. Historical significance inspired this choice, as Ty-Phoo was a critical ration for troops in WWI. Hard times call for bracing beverages. Would love to talk about this more at the tea panel! #Worldcon

Happy Good Trouble Day, everyone! Take inspiration from Congressman John Lewis, & make time to stand up for justice & equity. If not in word, or deed, then perhaps in what you read. Never forget that literacy & access to books are sources of power, & rights worth protecting!

My second Hugo nominee book-&-tea-pairing suggestion: while reading Wiswell's "Someone You Can Build a Nest In," I wanted something with a warm, herbal flavor...that also helped digestion. A rooibos blended with chamomile & mint fit the bill nicely.

Finding inspiration at Third Place, one of my favorite local bookstores.

In anticipation of World Con, I'm suggesting a tea pairing for each novel nominated for a Hugo this year! For Tchaikovsky's "Alien Clay" I recommend a chocolate pu-ehr: earthy flavor from microbial fermentation, an almost soft bitterness...if you've read the book, you get it.

Had an awesome time at Seattle Trans Pride on Friday, celebrating friends & sharing their joy. And so many fantastic organizations showed up to declare their support & share resources! There's nothing like the vibrancy & joy of being true to oneself. #TransAlly