Alan K. Dell

The Magic Circle is set decades after a nuclear holocaust has destroyed a lot of the world. The remaining countries signed a pact to never communicate with each other, in the hope that if they ignore each other, they'll never go to war again.

Of course, this never stops spies...

rxe.me/JBQMRK

Happy birthday! 🎂

Rowan Moss: Dahlseid from Gresha. A green skinned plant man with leaves for hair, wearing lavender colored robes and holding a glass of wine. Arrows with words point at the character: wino, ambassador, magic, confident, is a good boi (deep down), idiot, loyal, plant man plant hair, clever, has the hots for everybody (but especially Dagan), hedonistic. From A Bitter Drink by Azalea Forrest.

Clover Ironhammer: Dwarf from Denerth. A redheaded dwarf carrying a huge hammer over her shoulders. Arrows from words say: kind & forgiving (but don't mess with her friends), sunshine, music lover, foodie (and fantastic chef), singing, passionate, the goodest, can and will crush you (with her hammer). From A Bitter Drink by Azalea Forrest.

Dagan Oyibo: Human from Outer Bisia. A dark skinned human male with dreads tied up in a ponytail, wearing a rucksack and holding a staff. Words with arrows point to the character: farm boy, philanthropist, has stick, will use, empathetic, lightweight, patient, vagabond, maybe too trusting (but not too naive), just a cinnamon roll, is a gooder boi (hands down all around). From A Bitter Drink by Azalea Forrest.

Tani Iohel: Elf from Esterfall. A purple haired elf wearing all black with a sword and arrows. Arrows point at the character: grumpy, "no good deed goes unpunished" (does it anyway), intense, has a thing for redheads (one specific redhead), blunt, neither good nor bad, themby (and she/her), spy, magic, will stab you for fun. From A Bitter Drink by Azalea Forrest.

A Bitter Drink is a high fantasy romp full of colorful characters, treason, and hedonistic apathy coming back to bite you in the ass.

books2read.com/abd
azaleaforrest.itch.i...
💙📚 #writing #highfantasy #books #reading

quote with two of your book covers and/or art pieces!

[just two, so the images aren’t squished!]

here are my two most recent cover designs, made by me. Some of my best IMO.

#booksky

Cool new scam hitting email inboxes: genAI bots threatening to create false evidence of genAI use unless you pay them money to market your books. Not just review bomb threats anymore. I love this timeline.

Thanks for sharing ☺️

#AmWriting progress: 1300 words added to Legacy of the Gods, breaking the 130k word barrier. Once this scene is done, there'll just be the climactic fight and the conclusion/denouement to go.

Definitely the longest I've written yet!

💙📚🪐 #SFF

Print mock-ups of the four Augment Saga books and a tablet mock-up of The God Sun front and centre over a background featuring the planet Mars. A row of bookseller logos along the bottom.

Anybody fancy a new book for the weekend?

... Wait, what do you mean, "It's only Tuesday"? That's some bull shit.

Anybody fancy a new book to help make the week bearable? I've got a few to choose from:
books2read.com/alank...

💙📚🪐 #SFF

Background: A shelf full of books in the colours of the bisexual flag. Front and centre is a 3D mock-up of the horror novella Dark Heart of Ilmoure by Cara N. Delaney. The text on the graphic reads: 2nd Annual Sapphic Shelf Explosion. February 26, 2026. Over 200 books! Free or $0.99! www.yearofqueerlit.com

Coming soon, for one day only: Over 200 books from all genres! Discounted to $0.99, or free! Sapphic, sale, spectacular!

Bookmark and browse the selection at yearofqueerlit.com this coming Thursday!

🌈📚😱 - 🧡👻📚 - 📢📚

@moderation.bsky.app why is this spam? Please remove label.

I'm really happy they're releasing FRLG on Switch, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they've got cooking for Gen 10

Book review banner with the cover of Cage of Stars front and centre on a stary background.

New #BookReview!

Today on the blog I have the sublime Cage of Stars by Frasier Armitage An excellent story following one fugitive robot's journey across the inside of a Dyson Sphere in a quest for freedom. Highly recommended. Loved it.

www.alankdell.co.uk/...
💙📚🪐 #SFF

To whoever bought an ebook of mine today:

May your Kindle never run out of charge;

May you always have time for one more chapter;

And may no one ever interrupt you whilst you're reading.

Just 8 hours to go on this awesome bundle. Get it while you can!

Great archery day today. I thought I was shooting pretty average but I ended up getting a PB! 🏹🎯

Crazy when that happens.

Anytime 🫡

Happy belated birthday!

You definitely ought to buy this book. It's well good.

The one... And the only. Thankfully.

"Wooo lining the pockets of millionaire scammers in positions of power, destroying the planet, and screwing over ordinary working people by stealing their creative output so they can't provide for themselves or their families is the ultimate anti-authority statement!"

Morning Womble! I finished reading Beowulf last night and started To Wonder and Starshine, a fun and whimsical short story collection by @jendiagammon.bsky.social

Yep, I keep trying to remind myself to just *make it exist* before worrying about making it good.

I'm not entirely sure. About two chapters ago I thought I was three from the end, and I still feel like I'm two or three from the end 🥴

I've got at least four key scenes to write to end the thing, one of which is the final confrontation between the MC and the Big Bad.

Indeed, the closer I get the further it seems!

Well done on possibly hitting 100k. That's an epic achievement.

#AmWriting progress: Since my last update I've written ~3300 words on Legacy for a total of 128,700.

I really shouldn't have set deadlines to finish! First by the New Year, then the first week of Jan, then the end of Jan. Now it's the end of Feb and I'm still going 😩

Still so close. Onto Ch.30!

In a few years we can expand it to a week... Like Easter.

Holy Week? ❌
FAFO Week ✅

Front and back paperback mockup of From the Grave of the Gods on the left, on a space background featuring the planet Mars. On the right are selected review extracts. The text reads: “Had me completely hooked from start to finish”, “this is a page turner of a book”, and “twisty, turny plot, likeable characters, nice world building, more please”. Underneath the book, the text reads: “Available widely. Read free on Kobo Plus”.

The shock discovery of a derelict alien warship on Mars spells disaster for the first crewed expedition, changing CMDR James Fowler's life forever, and forms the catalyst for humanity's journey to the stars.

FROM THE GRAVE OF THE GODS
books2read.com/ftgotg
alankdell.itch.io/ft...

💙📚🪐 #SFF

Now, my opinion on Charles has always been pretty low, but that was hilarious.

Take heart, USA. None of these fuckers are untouchable.

a man with sweat on his face is holding his hand up in the air and says `` if he dies , he dies . '' Alt: a man with sweat on his face is holding his hand up in the air and says `` if he dies , he dies . ''

Heh, Charlie really said