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Alexander Thomas

@alextomauthor.bsky.social
187 followers 114 following 256 posts

Author, science geek, and part-time baker. www.alexanderthomasauthor.com

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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
TIL about the "Banana Equivalent Dose," how radiation amounts are measured in terms of how many bananas you'd have to eat to have the same dose. Standing in the sun for 1 hour: 1 banana. A CAT scan: 100,000 bananas. Will it come up in the book? No. Was it useful research? Yes. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Got the beta reader feedback for the first draft of the latest book! They loved the characters and environment, yay! However... They identified issues with the second half that matched some of my own concerns. And I don't think there's a simple fix. So: write another one! #sff #amwriting
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Best part of living in a city that's hosting World Cup games: everyone hangs their soccer underpants outside! #WorldCup
Bakery with what looks like soccer underpants hanging in front.
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Plotting for the new novel and I just mis-spelled "superintelligent." Maybe a sign? #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Five minutes after submitting to a beta reader, I find a typo in the manuscript. Isn't that always the case? Now that I'm sending this project off for review, time to start on the next one! My first three books were fantasy, but the most recent and the next one are SciFi. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Finally wrote the (first draft) Synopsis for the latest book! Good news: I enjoy writing Synopses. Bad news: I'm not very good at it. Still, I can send this off with the rest of the manuscript for beta reading and improvement. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
TIL solar panels use visible and near-infrared wavelengths. They don't use the more energetic ultraviolet--that's a tiny amount of the sun's output. Another example of research to keep the plot realistic that I'll never bring up in the book because it isn't otherwise relelvant! #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Still going on a revision pass! I wish I could just write "The End" and hand off to Beta Readers, but of course it doesn't work like that. The book changed too much as I wrote it! But I think I'm getting close. Only a few critical items to finish before handing off. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! 4/13 -- winners announced Congrats to all the Winners + Runner's Up for the 2026 RevPit contest! A lot of great submissions there. Good luck to all authors on their next steps! And thanks again to all the editors and first readers! #amwriting
reviseresub.com
Revise & Resub 2026 Winners Announced
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the authoreditor pair announcement! Drum roll please…
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! 4/12: Encouragement Congrats and good luck to everyone with their projects! RevPit has been a great way to strengthen my network of authors. A real pleasure to interact with so many folks from all over the world. Keep writing! And keep reading. #amwriting
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! 4/10: Writing Goals 1) Complete my current scifi novel (1st pass) and get it to beta readers. 2) Get my RevPit submission updated and off to the query trenches. 3) Start on project #5! #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! 4/8: Plotter or Pantser? Plotter! I always planned since I like tight plots. But I've amped up the planning stage in recent works since I *also* need to write shorter books. But I write 100% linear so characters and themes have their own chance to grow. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! 4/6: Art The art I have most in my works is maps. I love maps. This is the one I commissioned for my RevPit submission. Did I mention I love maps? If book #2 (unpublished epic fantasy) ever gets published I would release an illustrated version of that. #amwriting #sff
A black-and-white map of Estana and environs, particularly rivers and cities.
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! 4/3: Writing space I don't write at home, it's too distracting. So I tend to write in coffeeshops [photo here with Turkish coffee]. I have a minimal kit I can bring anywhere. Ideal writing location: bottom of a pit with no other light source. #amwriting #sff
A tablet, keyboard, and headphones on a table with coffee.
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! 3/30: Critique Partner Shoutout! There were dozens of selfless authors in the Beta Reader message boards on Goodreads who CP'd my first, VERY BAD manuscripts years ago. I can't tell you how much I grew from that. Some would say I have much further to go :) #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
My March 2026 Author Newsletter just dropped! (Link to Goodreads blog below) No surprises if you're reading my Bluesky posts: - I wrote another book, my first sci-fi novel. - I'm polishing my 3rd book for querying - I'm participating in this year's #RevPit! #amwriting #sff #RevPitWaiting
goodreads.com
Alexander Thomas's Blog: Alexander Thomas - Blog
See what your friends are reading
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! One WIP I've just finished (first pass): sci-fi where a junior employee is invited on an executive retreat, but the would-be hunters become prey on a planet with something to hide. My first sci-fi novel! (after 3 fantasy). Fun and fast-paced. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Two issues in the sci-fi manuscript to solve today: 1) Solving my oxygen supply problem in the final showdown: easy! 2) Getting my freakout character to freak out consistently: hard! People are always the problem... #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Current WIP is complete (1st pass), so I had to write the Blurb and Logline as well. Just finished! They're hard, but I've found I need to get drafts of these early, so they go through Beta Reading like everything else. For me, Blurbs and Loglines need time to percolate! [1 of 2] #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! Today: Fav Book. There's too many, so I won't try to list. But I will call out Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher. It's a short, intentionally silly book, but it brought me back to the genre. Wit and several clever points without being self-important. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! Fun idea for today: go back through past #10Queries from RevPit. Here's an example from 4 months ago. It's a great way to see what works and what doesn't, and how editors (and agents) could react to queries and pages. I wish I'd done this earlier! #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Doing taxes. Yuck. I won't tell you how much money I spent on writing last year, but it was significantly more than my few royalties! (Marketing + Beta Readers + Graphic Design = $ a lot) Silver lining? It's a real tax deduction. But, yes: I'd rather *make* money doing it. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! For today, a link to the Written Word 2026 Reader Survey. I always find nuggets of insight. No huge surprises: readers rely on the big portals to find books, and price is important. You need a presence across all formats. And as always, marketing matters! #amwriting #sff
writtenwordmedia.com
2026 Reader Survey: What Readers Want, Buy, and Expect - Written Word Media 2026 Reader Survey: What Readers Want, Buy, and Expect
Discover 2026 reader trends from over 3,500 surveyed book lovers. Learn what readers want, how they buy, and how authors can better reach them.
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! Book: The Prosecutor's Aegis Vibe: Joe Abercrombie dating A Midsummer Night's Dream. I wanted to bring some of the spirit of a Shakespeare rom-com into a grounded fantasy novel. Did it work? Maybe an amazing RevPit editor will tell me! #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Hello #RevPitWaiting! Close 3rd person, single POV. Single POV imposes more constraints on the author, but works for me. MC: Emilia, junior prosecutor of her abbey. Smart but not violent and wonders how she will stop an invasion. Shakespeare fan but isn't supposed to admit it. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
#RevPitWaiting for today! Book: The Prosecutor's Aegis Adult (crossover?) Fantasy Romance. Logline: An abbey prosecutor convicts an evil warlock, then needs his help to break out of prison and save the country. Vibes: Joe Abercrombie dating A Midsummer Night's Dream. #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Of course there's a #RevPitWaiting event, because all of us are, well, waiting. 3/16 Intro: I'm a science nerd who also likes writing and baking! (TBH I do more writing than baking these days.) Hobbies also include enjoying the great outdoors with my family. #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Good luck to all that submitted to RevPit! I got my entry in a few minutes before the window closed. It is a great exercise! I need every prompt I can find to polish my query materials and synopsis, not to mention the manuscript itself. And now, back to editing... #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
reviseresub.com
Home
Welcome to Revise & Resub! Revise & Resub (RevPit) is a writing community cofounded in 2017 by a group of editors. It supports autho
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Trying to complete "just a few" edits in my manuscript prior to RevPit submission this weekend. Yikes! Plenty of work cut out for me. The good news is that they are pretty small and targeted. Good luck, all! #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
media.tenor.com
kermit the frog is using a typewriter in a messy room .
Alt: kermit the frog is using a typewriter in a messy room .
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
R U ready for RevPit? I'm putting my current project on hold (too new), and pulling up the previous project (almost ready to query). The benefits of taking time away from it: I spotted issues with the query and synopsis right away. A long shot, but hey: you gotta dream. #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
reviseresub.com
Home
Welcome to Revise & Resub! Revise & Resub (RevPit) is a writing community cofounded in 2017 by a group of editors. It supports autho
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Are you interested in this year's #RevPit Contest? Don't forget you can browse previous winners for inspiration! reviseresub.com/showcase/rev... reviseresub.com/showcase/rev... reviseresub.com/showcase/rev... ...and so on. #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
reviseresub.com
Revise & Resub 2025 Winners Announced
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the authoreditor pair announcement! Drum roll please…
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
DID IT! Completed the first draft of book 4. [This is the 4th stand-alone book I've written, not 4 in a series] Final word count: 93K (vs 70K target). Only 2 months behind schedule :) Now I'm facing an intimidating editing pass, but it feels great to get to this point! #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Just hit 90K. My word count target was 70K! But I'm almost done. I wanted to stay well under 100K and I'll do that. My protagonists are in extreme peril right now. I'd help, but I won't be able to write them out of it for another several hours. Wish them luck. #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Hey all -- did you see this? ManuscriptWishList just made it easier to search for all the Bluesky MSWL posts. This is saving me a lot of search time! #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Almost done with the first draft of this manuscript. The 2nd worst baddie has met his end! I'd say a kind word in remembrance, but let's face it: he deserved it. There was nothing redeeming about him, except a misplaced sense of efficiency. On to the final baddie... #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Did it! Hit my word count target. Unfortunately (of course) the book isn't done. Still several chapters to go, plot-wise. But this time I purposely set a word count so that even if I go over, the manuscript will stay well under 100K. Bitter experience finally pays off! #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Me: I won't write much today, I'm away from home, and this is a hard chapter... Also me: wow, 2000 words written? Somehow I got to the downhill part. Also me: tearing up in the restaurant because I had to kill off a favorite character. The baddies are closing in, after all. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Great to see all the pitches and inspiring manuscripts during yesterday's #QuestPit! Hope you all had as much fun as I did. Now, back to it: the writing. I mean, after I distract myself with another cup of coffee and liking more amazing pitches. Stay awesome. #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
WORLDKEEPERS Who is chasing Juan Ramirez today? 1. Hungry predators. 2. Ruthless kidnappers. 3. Killer drones. 4. Loan collectors. And he thought a corporate retreat on a remote planet would be relaxing. Of course, things are about to get much, much worse… #QuestPit #SF #W #A #YA
Milky Way over jungle, public domain, courtesy of Luz Calor Sum (pexels.com)
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
THE PROSECUTOR’S AEGIS Emilia Leftraro protects her abbey from forbidden magic. So she won’t fall for an evil warlock, no matter how hot, even if he breaks her out of prison, or if only they together can defeat the unholy creatures invading the country. Right? #QuestPit #F #RF #W #A #YA
Medieval City on a River (wikipedia)
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
WORLDKEEPERS Not all posh corporate retreats on remote planets go to plan. On this one, Juan Ramirez and other employees are chased in the rainforest by wildlife and kidnappers alike. And ancient hunters within the planet may join the pursuit. Time to ditch the champagne. #QuestPit #SF #W #A #YA
Trifid Nebula (from Wikipedia, Deddy Dayag, photographer)
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
THE PROSECUTOR'S AEGIS Emilia Leftraro never expected to hide her identity in a performance troupe, acting in a romantic comedy opposite a convicted warlock. Her abbess would be horrified. But then again, Emilia never expected to be hunted by marauding armies, either. #QuestPit #F #RF #W #A #YA
Pisano and Imogen (Shakespeare, Cymbeline, Act 3, Scene 4)
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
CALLING ALL FASHIONISTAS: I need advice for a character. You're going on a luxury retreat in a remote rainforest. What do you take with you? Boots: check. Bags: check. Sun hat: check. What else? And how do you make them not just apparel, but STATEMENTS? #amwriting #writesky #sff #fashion
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Reposted by Alexander Thomas
questpit || next event: NOV 4th @questpit.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
‼️IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT‼️ In solidarity with the general strike happening this Friday, we’re postponing this week’s event by ONE day. The event will now take place January 31st on Saturday. This strike is important to the both of us and we would appreciate you joining us.
strike poster
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
I only had one job today. I was supposed to help my protagonists escape. Instead, I made things worse. That's kind of my other job. Cheers to all the authors out there making your characters' lives miserable. See you at #QuestPit tomorrow! #amwriting #writesky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Got to the "Bad Guys Close In" part of the plot, and amped up all the baddies. It's getting intense now! Did I overdo it? I don't see how the protagonists can escape. But hey, that's a problem for tomorrow me. #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
I've had it up to here so I'm just going to say it: THE PAST TENSE OF "GLIDE" SHOULD BE "GLID." Right? I cringe every time I write "glided." #amwriting #WriteSky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
The good news: I'm over 90% of my target word count! The bad news: I'm going to go over the target word count again :( I missed my #NaNoWriQ4 goal, but should have the first draft wrapped by by February, and I'll take that. See y'all at #QuestPit! #amwriting #writesky #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Latest #NaNoWriQ4 update: work kicked my butt this week, and I only wrote 2500 words (vs 5000 target). I'm still targeting completion of the first draft by the end of the year! But I'll need some epic writing sessions. Send cookies and caffeine. #amwriting #sff
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Alexander Thomas @alextomauthor.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
My #NaNoWriQ4 idea is taking off like wildfire! Thanks to all who support! (both of you) For my part, good progress so far. I'm projecting to complete on time, unless I write too much, in which case I'm going to slap myself with a wet noodle because I WANT A SHORTER BOOK. #sff #WritingCommunity
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