iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Bookbub works. Get book one for free or 99p, and get hooked! I really enjoyed Between Jobs by @wrgingell.bsky.social (devoured it - heatwave insomnia upside). Great characters, intriguing world, and Australian. I have a soft spot for Australian media. Delighted there's many more to read 😁

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Until my niblings get older, I have to find reasons why a teenage character doesn't use slang. So far I've used posh and brought up in an isolated magic commune, or relied on situational appropriate mirroring. But it's limiting. I made an mdb thesaurus for London slang from my era. Beautiful relic!

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Just got round to reading The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. Bit weird I haven't yet, but it's nice having more to read. He's been a (very)long-time inspiration - I'm hoping this refresher might help drive my next novel. Got a plot and characters, but felt a bit flat, and now I have some oomph!

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

I'm really enjoying @alethearlyons.bsky.social's The Somnia! So happy to be back in that world with those characters. Gripped from chapter one! I chose this book first after moving house (and associated packing and unpacking) 😁

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Rob Bignell, Editor/Author @inventingreality.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

I’m creating several starter packs for indie writers – one for each genre – that I then would regularly post links to. If interested in being in a starter back, please reply with your genre. #Indieauthor #authorsky #writersky #writingcommunity #authorsofsky #booksky

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

I finished reading the Alex Verus series (Benedict Jacka) and was not disappointed. The final book was impressively action-packed and satisfying. Everything that went before built to it - amazing (and enviable!) planning behind that.

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

I finished editing and publishing a 9-book series, and weeks later found book 10 on the harddrive. I forgot I wrote it. Had it printed and read it, and blimey is it slow and dull. No loss there! Series ends at 9 😄 Some you trunk, some you plain forget.

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Woah, someone in Australia bought one of my novels! How on earth did they find it? I don't do marketing 😄 I hope they liked it, and that it made them smile as much as their £2.46 did me! How the hell did they come across it? Baffling. Maybe they'll get the rest of the trilogy. The other 15 books...😄

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Editing this latest book was a pain. Past me was very indecisive about word choices, and left me options, thousands of them. Maxed 20 pages a day, usually fewer, but I've chugged through and today, it's done! Do a little every day, and you get there in the end.

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Brigids Gate Press @brigidsgatepress.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

See you in a few hours. Links below.

Picture of Alethea Lyons. Book cover of The Insomnia by Alethea Lyons depicting a large tree in winter against a night sky and rolling hills. Book launch party March 4th at 1 pm central. Background is an old library with purple tint.

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

The third book of my prize came!Just released, The Somnia by @alethearlyons.bsky.social - very exciting. There's a launch party online tomorrow, I believe: that's how new it is! Gorgeous cover, intriguing blurb 😁 Thanks, @brigidsgatepress.bsky.social, this is brilliant ☺️

Paperback The Somnia by Alethea Lyons, on a pale blanket in a shaft of sunlight.

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

I received two of my prize books from @brigidsgatepress.bsky.social and am duly excited. (Still can't believe I won something 😄 ) They look beautiful and I can't wait to read them. Top of my to-read stack! Thanks again, @alethearlyons.bsky.social ☺️

Books: Reawakening by Alethea Lyons and Enter the Darkness by Sarah Budd

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Do you get flashbacks to scenes you've written (or read)? There's this one (bloody awful) book I wrote, and I often see scenes from it at random mundane moments. I can't work out why that story, above others. Why that character. It's bizarre but been going on years, so now kinda comforting 😄

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

@buffyrevamped.bsky.social is a very funny one-man show recapping the series from Spike's point of view. My cheeks hurt from laughing. Beautifully done, with plenty for the experts & my less expert friend was just as entertained. The energy is incredible - don't know how he does it! Recommended.

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Gentle, magic story about life, aging and death. Bisexual, kind cast; no romance; occasional sex; lots of tea. #urbanfantasy in English countryside. Nothing much happens in a nice way. Kinda funny. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DXDBCZWV

Book cover art of Lichenlast by HE Staunton. Linocut of cabin amongst trees with a blue glow spilling out.

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Blimey! I just won three books from @brigidsgatepress.bsky.social through this platform. Incredibly unexpected. Bluesky has hugely increased my to-read pile, and now in a new way 😄 Also thanks @alethearlyons.bsky.social for mentioning the competition (and writing the books I want 😁 )

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

My process is very papery. I've just sent 3 novels off for wirebound printing. The markups I make are part of a penultimate edit, then I get a paperback & write edits in a notepad. I notice different things in print. Plus no screens at bedtime. Only a small part of why I often need more bookshelves!

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Every time I travel through London (proper), I'm reminded of Kate Griffin's exceptional descriptions (Midnight Mayor series) and that I could do better - very inspiring. Her description of the square mile predawn is etched into my memory, so familiar from traipsing home after a club night!

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

I tend to sample a new series buying secondhand. I feel guilty about the lack of royalties, but good about the re-use aspect. That the secondhand book I just got is signed has added complexity - feels like an undeserved win!

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Just finished The Hiding by Alethea Lyons. I'm not the best at reviewing but here's a few reasons I liked it. Very atmospheric with an interesting, modern alternative York. Has a believable sibling relationship centrally & strong side characters. I loved Harper's development, heart & convictions.

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

It's a good job I don't care about selling my novels, coz I'm not sure how you'd sell a cosy book about death & life. Bi MCs with polyamory, but no romance just a couple of sex scenes. It's friendly & funny, but doesn't tick any marketing boxes 😄 I love it & now I have it in paperback, so yey ☺️

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Wrote all yesterday and a little of today, and my bodyclock's gone wonky. This is breakfast time! Terry's Chocolate orange counts as fruit at this time of year, right?

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Mythcreants @mythcreants.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

"it’s my signature move to slip a single scifi story into these magic-focused articles" mythcreants.com/blog/six-fan...

mythcreants.com

Six Fantastic Uses of Magic in Popular Stories

The real magic is designing a perfect, fantastical twist.

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Books/Author & what they taught me: 2 Seanan McGuire incryptid - giving MCs a hobby/obsession (which helps them, affects easy they act/think or plot) makes characters very memorable, distinguishing siblings easily (along with other traits obvs!). As story progresses, I forget my chars have hobbies 😄

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Mythcreants @mythcreants.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

"For instance, when Eleanor tells Chidi that she’s giving him a gift by pronouncing his name correctly, he tells her that’s not a gift – it’s basic human decency." mythcreants.com/blog/narrati...

mythcreants.com

Narrative Pushback Can Make the Jerks You Write Palatable

Audiences are much less angry when the story addresses their concerns.

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Wondering how long it took to shake media's heteronormative indoctrination, I made a spreadsheet to track increasing queerness % of main chars. 2nd novel, 16yo, 25% - not as brainwashed as I thought, then 😄 (and in the days of section 28 (awful UK school policy).)

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Getting to know people you've connected with: 10 likes in no order. - writing - reading - watching the same 10 TV series over and over - eating with friends - printmaking - walking - the quiet - naff puns - raves - sleep

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Sam Cyborski💙💗💜 @secyborski.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Might be a long shot but any #literaryagent open to queries and looking for a #queer #urbanfantasy manuscript with angels and subverting religion overtones from a bisexual writer?

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Books/Author & what they taught me: 1 Kim Harrison - describe clothes, hair, accessories - helps picturing people (esp blur-face readers like me!) Keep mentioning jingling bracelet, misbehaving hair, pixie-bearing earrings: it's 1 sentence, quickly read, with insta-image reward (by the nth mention)

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

I ignored my phone for 2 days! Great writing session except I've finished my current work (bar epilogue) & will have to think up a new idea! A sequel would be easier but my MC seems complete (the undefeated villain has more evil in them 😁). Or I rushed it & forgot MC's issues in the excitement...

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Editing printouts in bed means sometimes you get woken up by rolling onto the biro you forgot to put back on the bedside table.

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Mere days on bluesky and I've had to create a new to-read list and take my mate up on their offer of an old kindle (I've never owned one). Guess this means I've connected to the right people 😁

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Hooray! Edited halfway through my current work. I wrote it in 2019, and have re-read a couple of times, yet it's surprising me 😄 No idea who the audience could be (other than me). Odd little thing. Tomorrow: writing holiday commences 😁

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Hidden in my backup to-read pile, my fifth Kim Wilkins book. More romance than I was expecting, but the voices and setting were engrossing, and I devoured it despite its not really being my thing. It's good to read outside one's preferred genre occasionally!

Photograph of paperback, Giants of the Frost, by Kim Wilkins

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

I went through a phase of slashing word/phrase choices, when I couldn't decide on the exact right word, to maintain flow. Those books are a nightmare to edit. Paragraphs shrink into sentences. Like past-me got caught in the synonym game! And it's always the first or last choice 😄

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Ches @chesj.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Today, I spent more time on social media than editing (new platform, too exciting!). But I also had a filling done, so I'm giving myself a little leeway. Not that it hurt whatsoever; the busy bus journey home was more agg 😄

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