Sign in

caasbrey

@caasbrey.bsky.social
4.5K followers 2.8K following 2.2K posts

C. A. Asbrey is a Scottish mystery author. Fan of all things Victorian, obscure, forensics, jaywalking, ordering the best meal, and dropping out of society. caasbrey.com www.facebook.com/mysteryscrivener

PostsRepliesMedia
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 8h
Civilised nations build libraries; lands that have lost their soul, close them down. Toby Forward (From the Retired School Librarian.cpm)
061
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 8h
Lavacultophilia 1. The desire or urge to stare at someone in a bathing suit. 
“Mortimer parlayed his lavacultophilia into a thriving career as a high-fashion swimwear designer, where is ogling was no longer considered troubling, but was instead praised as a ‘discerning eye for finer details.’”
010
Reposted by caasbrey
Barbara Stocker 💙📚 @bluebirdbhs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Go Jess @piperformissouri.bsky.social
07422
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We are writers, my love.We don’t cry. We bleed on paper. A.Y.
1172
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Culaccino 1. The stain left in the table from a cold glass of water.
“The most irritating thing about hosting a soiree is cleaning up after, and the most irritating part of that is the finding of a culaccino on our George II walnut side-table.”
0157
Reposted by caasbrey
Jess Piper Fan Page 💙 📚 @jesspiperfanpage.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
No King @ruralfreedomnet.bsky.social @mrsdeborahlynn.bsky.social @unauthorizedbeast.bsky.social @jbminatra.bsky.social @papillonjaune77.bsky.social @mlipsitt.bsky.social @lyndapole.bsky.social @naelairone.bsky.social @itistherealjas.bsky.social @docsociology.bsky.social @sheilaharris.bsky.social
842670418
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Merriam Webster ‘Phonetic’ is not. ‘Abbreviation’ has twelve letters. ‘Thesaurus’ doesn’t have a synonym. ‘Monosyllabic’ has five syllables. Say what you will about English, but it has a sense of humour.
1194
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Munz-watcher 1. One who clandestinely observes the dalliances of secret lovers; with the intent to blackmail them
“My inamorata and I truly gave that gimlet-eyed muni-watcher a real show and I can assure you, it was worth every cent.”
093
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Come on over to my blog and read about the birth of modern policing. Scotland was truly innovative and punching above its weight. caasbrey.com/the-birth-of...
0146
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Books are amazing because a stranger from 200 years ago can still ruin your afternoon emotionally.
02911
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Stridulation 1. The shrill sound produced by crickets and other insects
“The Great American State Fair promised the thunder of a grateful nation, but delivered only a windswept midway, the stridulation of crickets and the foreboding squeak of a ramshackle Ferris wheel.”
0115
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
An absolute power move is to be relatively quiet on social media for a while and then reveal that you’ve written a novel. So it brings me great pleasure to reveal that I have not done this.
0143
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Clinchpoop 1. An ill-mannered lout; one who lacks gentlemanly breeding.
“Chad was not merely uncouth; he was a maladroit clinchpoop of such churlish vulgarity that even the village goats, those beared barons of indiscriminate appetite, surveyed him with aristocratic contempt before returning, with evident relief, to their midday repast of odiferous scran.”
02013
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Non-writer: You’re seriously still working on that book? Me: Unless the next words out of your mouth are “here’s a giant cookie” this conversation is over.
051
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Ripesuck 1. An easily duped person. 2. An individual who is easily bribed.
“Clud’s chief flaw was not ignorance but enthusiasm; he approached the world as a gormless ripesuck approaches a carnival barker: with reverence, gratitude, and a pocket farcate with tintinnabulatory specie.”
073
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Thanks to Tea and Books for the lovely review of The Innocents The Innocents - C. A. Asbrey. mybook.to/JiG68 "The characters began coming to life in my mind, and they all seemed appealing. In particular, our detective, Abigail was a strong character who made her presence felt. Romance and tension."
04529
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Austensibly 1. “Her own thoughts and reflections were habitually her best companions.” 2. (Pauses in thought.) 3. Also chocolate.
0144
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Heanling 1. A base, abject, or wretched person. 2. A self-abasing person.
“Hadley Hogwood, the hapless heanling, has a horrible hibernal habititude of hurriedly helping himself to heapings of Hogmanay honey baked ham.”
0105
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
What to do if invited to a social gathering. Step One. Ask, “Will there be books?” Step Two. Send your regrets.
0225
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Rendling 1. The process of transforming milk into cheese.
“Blessed are the cheesemakers, for through the holy mystery of rendling they transform humble lactate into curds of glory: yea: from vat cometh fromage, and from fromage cometh gladness, so let us bow our heads in praise of cheese.”
0158
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
“Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.” Oscar Wilde Irish poet.
0141
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Beneficent 1. Doing or producing good: performing acts of kindness and charity; characterised by kindness.
“Few stars have been as beneficent as Dolly, transforming a lifetime of success into a legacy of gentle munificence.”
0185
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
She's just an amalgam of women I've admired. She's way cleverer than me! Thanks so much.
010
Reposted by caasbrey
𝕬𝖓𝖆 𝕽𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖓 @nims06.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
ok woke my husband up laughing is way too good lmao. been meaning to check this series out a Pinkerton detective as lead is such a good pick. Curious to know what made you go with that era? and is she loosely based on a real agent or all you? and yeah .. congrats, so well deserved 🙌 😊
131
Reposted by caasbrey
Jess Piper Fan Page 💙 📚 @jesspiperfanpage.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I Bought it 😀 Should be on New York Times Bestseller Check it out 👉 www.amazon.com/dp/B0CV8YZV2... Debbie a resident of Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri My Home area @piperformissouri.bsky.social @stegenmodem.bsky.social @iquitcigs.bsky.social @mrsdeborahlynn.bsky.social @papillonjaune77.bsky.social
54921
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Author: After all  . . .why not? Why shouldn’t I interrupt the love interests right before they kiss?
062
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Keeve 1. A large tub or vat for holding liquid, especially for brewing or fabric dyeing. 2. To set in a tub for fermentation.
“Unable to locate a tub capricious enough to suit his peculiar purposes, the eccentric doctor commissioned one from a local cooper, who knew better than to ask questions.”
0102
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Write like the ghosts of all the women who weren’t allowed to write are standing next to you wondering what a laptop is and why you’re still in your pyjamas.
03618
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Gozzan 1. An old wig grown yellow with age
“The press assembly was treated to a clear view of the dumpy dottard attempting to board Marine One as his greasy gizzard took flight and vanished into the rotor assembly in a brief but gratifying explosion of yellow horsehair.”
02714
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
 
Gainstrive 1. To contend or struggle against: to oppose, resist, or withstand
“As I passed the patisserie, I fund myself powerless to gainstrive it intoxicating aroma; in I went, leaving my diet behind like a dog tethered to a ’No Parking’ sign.”
0198
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
When a character you didn’t like (so you killed them) presets the perfect ending for your book
0113
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Writers trying to clean up the chapters they edited when they were drunk.
0217
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Impudicity 1. A lack of humility or shame; immodesty
“The gamboge grifter’s ridiculous fusion of imbecility and impudicity makes him a blundering laughingstock as he rage-sweats his way through another cack-handed interview.”
02615
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
How your character reacts to your carefully plotted outline. 
S̶p̶r̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶A̶n̶a̶r̶c̶h̶y̶ Don’t tell me what to do!
0152
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Bespoke 1. Custom made for a particular customer or user
“Having cultivated an aristocratic horror of anything so vulgar as prêt-à-porter, Percival would entrust his wardrobe to none but the bespoke tailors of Saville Row.”
0103
Reposted by caasbrey
kaceykells.bsky.social @kaceykells.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
#FriYAY💃💖💋 @jordanagreene.bsky.social @lisettebrodey.bsky.social @joannepaulson.bsky.social @caasbrey.bsky.social @cynleader.bsky.social @darbooks.com @browneyedsusan.bsky.social @alhanda.bsky.social @bluetauri.bsky.social
1243
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Melsh-Dick 1. A sylvan goblin believed to guard hazelnuts from premature gathering
“‘Now, mind you keep well away from those hazel trees or the melsh-dick’ll take you away! came the familiar warning as her grandson scampered out the door.’”
0136
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Nothing humbles a writer more than reading something they wrote yesterday.
02514
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Palpebrous 1. Having thick or bushy eyebrows
“Victor, whose palpebrous physiognomy had long been a source of considerable vanity, met a macabre end when his luxuriant eyebrows; pushed beyond endurance by the curling iron, rose up and strangled him.”
02111
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
“Lucent and delicate, drama entered, mincing like a cat.” Dorothy Dunnett
0102
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
052
Reposted by caasbrey
JoeD55 @joed55.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Yep! I do that!
031
Reposted by caasbrey
Carry Cockburn @carrycockburn.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
You forgot that they should help to hide the body!!🤪
121
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Farouche 1. Having a fierce, wild, or cranky temperament. 2. Marked by shyness and lack of social graces; sullen and gloomy.
“Let us not forget the cautionary tale of the good Dr. Jekyll; aesculapian by day, fiendishly barouche by night.”
0166
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I’m not saying that books are better than people. But I can return a disappointing book.
0124
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Nequient 1. Unable or incapable of doing something; lacking the necessary mean, skill, power, or opportunity
“Barnabus was not unwilling to assist with the repairs; he was simply nequment, being deficient in tools, practical knowledge, and any inclination to acquire either.”
0209
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Things You Can do to Support Authors:
Buy their books
Leave reviews online
Request that your local bookstore or library cary their books
Do their laundry
Watch their kids for a few weeks
Do their taxes
Lie to the police for them if they are ever in trouble
2147
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Obstreperous 1. Clamorously unruly or boisterous; noisily resistant to control, restrain or authority.
“An orchestra of obstreperous owls outside our oriel orchestrated an ostrobogulous obnoxity of an outrageously operatic osprey.”
0103
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Lost Protest Scenes in Literature
1. Dracula (Signs: Count me Out & Fangs off our blood) The local chapter of TRAP (Transylvanian Rural Antivampire Peasants) pickets Castle Dracula.
2. Lord of the Rings (Sign: sign here) Gandalf collects signatures for his “replace Sauron the Dark Lord with a Democratically elected council” petition.
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Signs: Workers’ Rights & Wonka Plonka) Locals boycott all Wonka products to protest about Oompa Loompa working conditions in the factory.
093
caasbrey @caasbrey.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Well said!
000