iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 10h

So I can add another book to my tiny list of books that made me cry: THE DEEP by Nick Cutter (the others are REBECCA and Mira Grant's FEED)

241

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 10h

So I can add another book to my tiny list of books that made me cry: THE DEEP by Nick Cutter (the others are REBECCA and Mira Grant's FEED)

241

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

maura quint @mauraquint.bsky.social · 13h

Yes every woman has been harassed, many assaulted. But every woman has also experienced invisible loss from moments she avoided harassment. She felt a space becoming unsafe, so she left, while men stayed on. And in leaving, she lost: opportunities, experiences, learning, promotions, even simply fun.

130134883271

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Neon Hemlock @neonhemlock.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Submissions are now open for speculative novelettes and/or tiny short story collection chapbooks. Word limit: 7,500 to 12,000 words. Limited print run. Will pay $100 and 25 copies. Deadline: October 15th. More info here: neonhemlock.submittable.com/submit/36598...

neonhemlock.submittable.com

Neon Hemlock - Speculative Chapbook/Novelette

Neon Hemlock Press is open to submissions of speculative chapbook manuscripts from August 20 to October 15, 2026. We expect to publish at least one chapbook next year; if the stretch goal in our curre...

3160145

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Zachary Gillan @megapolisomancy.bsky.social · 21h

I’m guest editing the next issue of Agita; send me your weirdest <1000 word stories about weird art. Authors from marginalized backgrounds encouraged and prioritized. No AI bullshit. The weirder the better. agitamag.com/submissions/

Issue 3: Ekphrasis
Between October 17 and November 17, guest editor Zachary Gillan will accept submissions of weird flash fiction that features ekphrasis.
Ekphrasis is the verbal representation of a work of visual art.
Weird fiction is a verbal representation of the world, in order to unsettle it.
We want stories that live at the intersection of the two. Pieces that emphasize the eerie power of weird art, whether fully ekphrastic or embedded within a traditional narrative. How does the weird seep in as reality is doubly estranged from these two layers of representation? Cursed paintings, uncanny statues, haunted mezzotints-send us your stories of weird art.
Publication date: February 1, 2027

39762

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Garth Marenghi's Catbus @catbus.phd · 20h

don't bother addressing a congregation unless you're in the baroque creature pulpit

Baroque pulpit ca. 1750, rebuilt 1856, Parish church in Dobroszów.

a fanciful scaled sculpture where the serpents open mouth serves as the pulpit

121930466

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 21h

Can't comment on the post. Must be limited. I'll be starting on Quill & Crow's edits of MASQUE within the next few weeks, to be released in 2027, when you can finally enjoy my alt-Victorian gothic pandemic novel inspired by Phantom, Poe's Red Death, Jack the Ripper, and Scream. #HorrorWritersChat

static.klipy.com

Phantom of the Opera: Gerard Butler in Red

ALT: Phantom of the Opera: Gerard Butler in Red

0106

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 21h

Well, I clearly imprinted on "Dangerous Game" from Jekyll & Hyde and the titular "Phantom of the Opera" at a formative time in my development. I've written so many things from that place in my psyche. I don't see myself stopping any time soon. #HorrorWritersChat

0143

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 22h

Halestorm touched on a few horror classics in THE STRANGE CASE OF.... I wrote a Red Riding Hood song for Lzzy Hale bc of it. Kamelot's gone a little more sci-fi lately, but they've done plenty of gothic. I want a Dracula concept album in the vein of The Swing of Death. #HorrorWritersChat

2195

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

chmmagazine.bsky.social @chmmagazine.bsky.social · 23h

Cover reveal! Our October issue looms upon the very near future with fantastic art from Katie Beardmore! zurl.co/CZz1I

0225

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 22h

Love listening to my horror playlist when writing. Puts me in the mood. If I'm having trouble, sometimes a song will inspire a fix. I also create playlists for each book. Gothic novel MASQUE is in part inspired by Phantom of the Opera. I literally wrote a few songs for it. #HorrorWritersChat

1185

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 22h

Amanda M. Blake, purveyor of dark fiction, quiet to extreme, gothic to gory. Gosh, what don't I listen to? But I started listening to my Halloween/horror playlist at the beginning of the month while working on my haunted experience rewrite. It has over 1100 songs now. #HorrorWritersChat

1217

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 22h

All my sex hormones are aggressively normal. Sigh. No explanation for acne, rosacea, whiskers, and *gestures* everything else. I'm tired of looking for answers to things. I think I'm going to stop. If life is just a hundred tiny fire-ant annoyances, I'll just live with it.

000

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

“Let’s say there’s a world or time line I exist in where A.I. has been subject to regulation. It is ethical. It has no footprint environmentally,” the novelist Jeff VanderMeer, a prominent critic of A.I., told me over the phone. “With those guardrails in place, would I read an A.I. book? All I can say is no. And the reason is, in part, because I want to read something coming from a particular mind.” Using A.I., he said, “feels like a betrayal of the whole point of why you’re a writer.”

110105322587

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

My poems are really more like whimsical narratives. Even if poetry isn't your thing, I think you might like them. In the Halloween Parade, enjoy "Caramel Apple," "Scarecrow," "Wheel of Chance," even "The Great Chili Cook-Off" (might be the only published poem in the world about chili).

011

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

From The Halloween Parade, the autumn carnival mini-collection in A NIGHTMARE FOR ALL SEASONS. You can read them all at once or save them for the seasons: www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWF7GFG8

A fall scene in a park with fallen orange leaves. Text: The Halloween Parade, "an autumn carnival": Trick or treat/Trick or treat/welcome to our/home sweet home/who might you be/who might you become (excerpt from "Trick or Treat". Purchase this seasonal horror poetry collection at Amazon. Includes a picture of the pink horror cover of A NIGHTMARE FOR ALL SEASONS.

111

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Jeremy C. Shipp @jeremycshipp.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Hey Bluesky, could you help spread the word? My goal for the day is one new sale. Here's a lovely pic of some of the Jeremy Creatures currently available at my shop. Each one is designed and hand-sewed by me and takes many hours to create. jeremycreature.bigcartel.com

Here's a lovely pic of some of my hand-sewn, fabric art Jeremy Creatures. The ground is green fur and the background is a beautiful galaxy print fabric. One creature is a gray rock with two different sizes black eyes and a little frown. There's a tall ghost with about 35 black eyes of different sizes and a wide mouth full of sharp teeth. There's another spirit with many eyes, twirly head wisps, and an open mouth with sharp teeth. There's also a ghost with a tiny face, with two different sized eyes and a little frown. There's a black ghost with a gray moon face, their body covered with hand-embroidered stars and planets of various sizes and colors. There's a frowny white ghost featuring embroidered red flowers. There's a super tiny frowny white ghost, and a super tiny black ghost with four eyes and embroidered stars.

28875

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Apex Magazine and Book Company @apexmag.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The witching hour is nearly upon us! 🎃🍄🌙 our 2027 Apex Magazine Kickstarter goes LIVE October 1st with new tier rewards and exclusive merch. Be sure to sign up for launch notifications below, and help us publish even more strange, surreal short fiction in 2027! ⬇️ www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

Apex Magazine
2027 Kickstarter
Live Oct. 1st

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/apexpublications/apex-magazine-2027

Tier Rewards -

Signed Editions from Alix E. Harrow and Erin K Wagner
Short Fiction and Query Letter Critiques
Backer-exclusive Essays and Short Stories
Books and eBooks including work by Eugen Bacon, Ivy Grimes, Cristina Jurado, Rich Larson, and Jamie Lackey
Limited Edition Stickers, Apparel, Tote Bags, and exclusive Apex Book Company and Violet Lichen Merch
AND MORE!

01713

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

PSL_4Loko @psl4loko.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The whole speech is good, but this part in particular is particularly relevant now. www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/publ...

A screenshot of a section of the linked speech by former President Harry Truman:

I've seen it happen time after time. When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive and starts apologizing for the New Deal and the fair Deal, and says he really doesn't believe in them, he is sure to lose. The people don't want a phony Democrat. If it's a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time; that is, they will take a Republican before they will a phony Democrat, and I don't want any phony Democratic candidates in this campaign.

But when a Democratic candidate goes out and explains what the New Deal and fair Deal really are--when he stands up like a man and puts the issues before the people--then Democrats can win, even in places where they have never won before. It has been proven time and again.
We are getting a lot of suggestions to the effect that we ought to water down our platform and abandon parts of our program. These, my friends, are Trojan horse suggestions. I have been in politics for over 30 years, and I know what I am talking about, and I believe I know something about the business. One thing I am sure of: never, never throw away a winning program.
This is so elementary that I suspect the people handing out this advice are not really well-wishers of the Democratic Party.

5459179

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Phew, I overdid work today. I think I ended up overstimulated by handling more items than usual, because my brain is *tired*.

130

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 22/09/2026

Happy mushroom season!

A comic titled "Types of mushrooms" with 12 mushroom species. A wrinkly-looking morel is labeled "creepy but tasty". A brownish deadly galerina is labeled "boring but deadly". A witch's butter on a branch is labeled "jiggles if you poke it". A large puffball is labeled "egg". A creepy red-dripping bleeding tooth fungus is labeled "deeply disconcerting". A fly agaric with a green treefrog sitting under it is labeled "frog umbrella". A black chanterelle is labeled "chalice for forbidden elixers". Three straight-stemmed entolomas are labeled "haha, nipples". A bright purple viscid violet cort is labeled "purple is nice". A birch polypore sticking out of a birch trunk is labeled "tree nose". A complex yellow-tpped coral fungus is labeled "cursed citadel where dwells a fairy queen". A Ravenel's stinkhorn is pixellated at the top for your safety, and labeled "NSFW".

5140321325

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Undertow Publications 🇨🇦 @undertow.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Publishers and Editors! I'm taking subs for Vol. 3 of the award-nominated "Best Weird Fiction of the Year" til end of the year. Writers! You'll get a chance to submit your 2026 stories in January. bestspecfic(at)gmail.com

Esteemed Editors and Publishers,

I am now taking submissions of original 2026 short fiction projects — magazines, anthologies, single-author collections — for consideration in The Best Weird Fiction of the Year, Vol. 3. (Publishing Sept. 2027). Vol. 1 is a World fantasy Award Finalist.

I am seeking material first published this year, in 2026. To be clear, only weird fiction FIRST published in 2026 is eligible for inclusion in this volume. I will accept translated work as long as the first English-language publication was 2026.

Stories should be between 500 and 17,499 words. Audio only stories are also ineligible, unless they also appeared as text.

Publishers and editors are encouraged to send electronic or digital copies, via the email address below. (I am not accepting hard copy submissions.) ePubs are preferred, but I will also accept text files (Word), Mobi, or PDF. Please do not cherry-pick selections. Send the entire book, journal, or magazine to:

bestspecfic@gmail.com

Thank you for your time and kind consideration.

Warm Wishes,

Michael
--

Michael Kelly / Publisher / Editor-in-Chief
undertowbooks@gmail.com

Undertow Publications
https://undertowpublications.com/

1119102

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

'Tis the season to enjoy tiny stories in the form of poetry, because The Halloween Parade is a section of A NIGHTMARE FOR ALL SEASONS. In this section, you're introduced the whole autumnal carnival in a small town. There's even a chili cook-off. www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWF7GFG8 #HorrorWritersChat

The five seasons of A NIGHTMARE FOR ALL SEASONS: Verdant with Splinter and Thorn ("a carnivorous spring") represented by flowers, The Lusty Murders of May ("a murderous summer") represented by a bright sunny day, The Halloween Parade ("an autumn carnival") represented by orange fall leaves, Bleak Midwinter ("a winter haunted house"), and Lullabies for an Apocalypse ("an ignoble end") represented by abandoned building.

0128

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Joe Koch @horrorsong.blog · 27/09/2026

Encouraging anyone interested in ambiguous erotic difficult queer fiction with lots of giallo guts to request & review. Think of it as unsolved mysteries with butt sex. www.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

netgalley.com

Dead Boys Don’t Cry

NetGalley helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies to book advocates and industry professionals. Publishers make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley comm...

33218

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Jonathan Edward Durham @thisone0verhere.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The truth in this has sat me down

650473

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Eric Deggans @edeggans.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Since Elon Musk seems to hate this documentary about him from one of my favorite non-fiction filmmakers, Alex Gibney, figured it was my duty to spread a link to the trailer so you can see it for yourself. ENJOY: loom.ly/oA2_-p8

youtu.be

Musk | Official Trailer | Bleecker Street

Musk

17870517

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Kevin Gannon (now a Moo Deng fan account) @thetattooedprof.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Well, Sen. Grassley, if he does something after you tell him he can't, and you don't do anything, it turns out he *does* have the authority.

29626

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 25/09/2026

I have blamed The agents That hacked Your website And which You probably Reasonably thought I controlled Forgive me I am rich And unaccustomed To taking responsibility

5776152104

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Ahana the Sun Goddess ☀️ 🌞 @antisanitygirl.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

i’m still raising money to pay off some of my medical bills from my suicide attempt. right now it’s for my psych hospital bills. i’m going to be in the RED this month between $100-$200. any and all help is appreciated. $125 remaining of $175 goal ko-fi.com/ahana16698

ko-fi.com

Join Ahana's membership

Support Ahana monthly

0818

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Goddammit, I didn't write the idea down, so now I've lost it and can't remember what it was.

110

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Eric Smith @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I think the most “adult who was in a gifted and talented program as a kid” thing I could have done to myself was become an author. Just giving myself endless homework and a need for people to be proud of me forever.

2442556

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 25/09/2026

It’s really stunning how the USA has so swiftly shifted from being one of the most techno-optimistic and tech-industry-loving countries on earth, to a country where most people seem to assume - not incorrectly, at least in many cases - that tech is out to get them.

641585292

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I like napping on the couch with the dog. (What I do is more like drifting, but let's not get bogged down in details, it's a system reboot.) When I wake up, though, I feel like the dog is judging me for napping such a short time in comparison to him. (He sleeps All the Time.)

static.klipy.com

The Wolf of Wall Street - Rookie numbers

ALT: The Wolf of Wall Street - Rookie numbers

020

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

IN THE DOLLHOUSE WE ALL WAIT is sitting at #35 in overall US Horror on Amazon right now, and I don't know what's happening.

041

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Fuck ChatGPT flyers. The future is broadsheets.

A crowded broadsheet with way too many fonts. It says:
Forget ChatGPT Flyers
Say it with
Broadsheets
Unlimited fonts
Stretch them
Or cram a really long sentence into one line for no good reason
No whitespace
Mix capital and lowercase
Pointing hands
(They're called manicules!)
Don't be left behind
Broadsheets are the future

206189005378

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

maple cocaine @maplecocaine.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The thing about trying to appeal to right wing bigots is that right wing bigots are all stupid idiots who get 100% of their news from propagandists so they will never actually find out that you were trying to appeal to them in the first place

7164891219

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

There have always been humans who thought: 1) The world will end soon 2) It will happen in a cool, exciting way 3) It’ll happen to me personally 4) I’ll be a martyred prophet, or a warlord, or otherwise special 5) People who don’t see this are lesser “Sexy apocalypse” is a great phrase for that

1012582515

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

🌬Breeze @cool-summer-breeze.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This is the Stolen Neighbors Quilt. Each of the 11,000 squares represents a person taken by ICE in Minnesota.

121121795167

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Just in case you're wondering, still having the weird Cinemax meets Lifetime dreams that disturb the hell out of me. I can't even use them as horror concepts. I just have to live with the fact my brain made me experience it. Blame the Quil? I don't remember having weird dreams on it before.

020

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Watched Monster Squad tonight for the first time. It's certainly great fun (despite terrible CC). I think I would have loved it as a mini-Manda.

030

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Sara Tantlinger @saratantlinger.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

*is ready to follow Sarah and team into battle* seriously, so delighted for the future HWA President and new trustees! There is some great optimism in the air.

1132

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Rob L. White (‘Cuddle’ Short Film OUT NOW!!) @therlwrites.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Instead of texting ‘on my way’ I’m just gonna start sending this

46212

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Every time I see Adam Rodriguez, I'm reminded of my brother. I always say so if my parents are the in room. They always look at me like I'm crazy. It's not that they look alike, per se. They have similar coloring and similarly strong features, so it's like they're working from the same template?

110

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Hazel E. Baumgartner - HELIRUNA OUT NOW! @hazelebaumgartner.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This is relevant.

021

Reposted by "Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚

Tom [ghostly voice] Coooooooooooombe @calmtomb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Tom Coombe, author of several short horror stories, working on a new piece with this pitch: What if there was a support group for cult escapees that was itself a cult? #HorrorWritersChat

12310

"Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game." 🪚🪚🪚 @amandamblake.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I always thank my parents for supporting me and my writing endeavors, respecting that it's work and important to me, even though they don't understand a lick of it and don't enjoy any of the genres. I really appreciate it. #HorrorWritersChat

1235