Emma Baird

The Infinity Loop of Writing So the protagonist walks straight into a trap, gets held hostage and it tied to a chair. . . Wait, does the antagonist use duct tape, zip ties or good ol’ fashioned rope? Where do they get the rope from? What is it even made of? Is it, like, braided? <googles ‘how do you make rope’> <spends an hour watching Youtube tutorials> Okay, new story. A plucky young 18th century rope-maker is scraping out a living, unaware of the threat to their livelihood from the looming Industrial Revolution. . . <googles ‘Industrial Revolution’> <orders six books on the rise of steam power> Okay, so now it’s a steampunk story. A plucky young rope-maker is kidnapped for their expertise and ironically tied to a chair with their own rope by a fat cat factory owner who wants to know why industrial-produced rope is inferior to the homespun stuff. . . And on and on until the end of recorded time. . .

Ginger cat lying on a white crocheted blanket with chilli plants behind her (they are dying off, it's time to give up) and a hot water bottle at her arse.

#Caturday! Lady Lucy joins the 🌶 plants we are desperately trying to keep alive for a wee snooze in the winter sunshine.

Amazing!

You can see it - it's like in a book, the tension is building and is about to explode into conflict!

Gorgeous tribute.

Does the 'no DMs' work... ? (Although I can't get chat here anymore unless I fill in age verification. Can't be bothered, so my inbox is blissfully empty.)

Absolutely. Ours has just changed, and I've had to put an alarm on my phone to remind me to PUT OUT THE BIN TONIGHT, NOT SUNDAY (LIKE IT'S BEEN SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL).

Another fabulous 1930s murder mystery... the book moves along at a cracking pace, and just as satisfying as the murder mystery is the ongoing relationship between Dottie and William. @caronallanfiction.bsky.social

Currently free on Amazon: bookgoodies.com/a/B0D4MW5KHK

It's the wild west out there. Depressingly.

Please, gents (and I know, #notallgents, definitely #notallgents, I have fab men followers, and follow fab men) don't do this. Please. In the words of the great Donald Trump *sarcasm font* **double sarcasm font** thank you for your attention to this matter.

And because I'm a people pleaser, it feels rude, horrible and icky not to respond. Or point out, THIS IS NOT MATCH DOT COM. OR TINDER, OR BUMBLE, OR WHATEVER OTHER DATING SITES THERE ARE OUT THERE.

Reader… I sighed. A deep, ancient sigh.

The snotty messages when you don't reply. And this week’s highlight: the guy I very briefly dated in the 90s asking if I remembered him and for me to follow him (not this platform) because “he has things he needs to tell me".

Always a bad sign. The “how are you” variations.

Being a woman on the internet… gosh. Every week, some random pops up in your feed. After a while, you develop a sixth sense of who to follow back, who to scroll past. Sometimes you misjudge. A wrong 'un slips through. 100% entitlement. The DMs that start with “hi"

Cover of Dorothy Dunnett's book, The Game of Kings

Happy International Dorothy Dunnett day to all who celebrate! #BookSky

O Caledonia is so great and so absolutely up my street I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read it.

Fact. Eejit on the left, demon on the right. @weirdlilguys.bsky.social

I think I am on the fifteenth edit of my current novel now, after five years. Aaaaaaargh.

‘So, where do you get your ideas?’ I know I’ve written on this topic a couple of times before, but it’s one of those questions that never goes away. ‘Where do you get your ideas?’ This is one of the first questions…

Short answer: everywhere! @caronallanfiction.bsky.social caronallanfiction.com/2025/11/05/s...

"Falls the Breath is extraordinary in how it bridges the spiritual and emotional with elegance. Pain and resilience are portrayed with poetic subtlety. The relationship between the living and dead becomes about healing, and that resonates with anyone who has loved and lost." #booksky
rb.gy/uiupva

No worries at all!

Against All Better Judgement: Doing NaNoWriMo (Again) This year was supposed to be a no-NaNoWriMo zone, but the allure of writers flaunting their projects is irresistible! So, it's back to Highland Proposal with caffeine-fueled edits to spice up the main character. Plus, I've discovered the joy of video making—not viral, but hilariously fulfilling. Cheers to chaos!

Against All Better Judgement: Doing NaNoWriMo (Again)

This year was supposed to be a no-NaNoWriMo zone, but the allure of writers flaunting their projects is irresistible! So, it's back to Highland Proposal with caffeine-fueled edits to spice up the main character. Plus, I've discovered the joy of…

La Danse Macabre 1. The Dance of Death

That's so nice!

Criss Cross: Friendship can be Murder: book 1 I first published Criss Cross in Feb 2013. It wasn’t the first book I wrote, but it was the first book I decided to take the plunge and self-publish. An early reviewer said it was the worst b…

a new book coming up by @caronallanfiction.bsky.social
caronallanfiction.com/2025/10/29/c...

Genuinely sniggered there, like I'm ten years old.

Me too... repeat the 'mind-bogglingly useful' bit a hundred times. More than happy to subscribe for what it gives me.

No bother!