iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

"L'Arabe du Futur" by Riad Sattouf. As a biracial, multicultural person raised in France, this touched me in a very specific way.

Kid on the shoulders of his dad holding his mom's hand. Syrian military guy on a billboard in the back.

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"Lightfall" by Tim Probert. I should study the craft of middle grade and children's books, 'cause they're the ones who make me cry the most hahaha.

A girl next to a frog-like knight on top of a green hill, both looking ready for adventures.

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Reading graphic novels as my "light" summer reads, so here are three all-time favorites of mine: "Morgane" by Kansara & Fert (French). Not sure what translations exist out there (sorry!), but look how stunning! Feels like it belongs alongside Angela Carter's stories ^^

Morgana wearing a crown and pulling excalibur from the stone. Blue and dark pink palette.

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Uncanny Magazine @uncannymagazine.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Much of re-educating myself emotionally as a grown up woman has been reframing relationships in the shows I loved back then (and actually still love). I feel so much of the "Love takes work" paradigm in media has been ignoring the part of "who exactly has to do the work"...

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Reposted by Divya Kernan

PLEASE SHARE! Writers! Uncanny Magazine will be open for short story submissions from August 24 to September 7! WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR AMAZING, HUMAN-WRITTEN STORIES! www.uncannymagazine.com/submissions/

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Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

It's been six months since my story "Wintering" came out in Lost Balloon: lost-balloon.com/2026/02/11/w... It is one of my most mellow pieces, though not entirely painless. If you read "Love for the Artist" in Strange Pilgrims and enjoyed it, maybe you will like this one too?

lost-balloon.com

Wintering by Divya Kernan

My neighbor shouldn’t live on his own. Not once in the four weeks since I moved in, have I seen a soul enter his apartment—no friend, no family, no girl—and yet, the boy cannot be older than sevent…

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Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Write sober, edit drunk—did I get that wrong? ><

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Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Build a pinhole projector to watch the eclipse. Decide it's too small. Build a bigger one. Rage for 5 minutes that it's not working. Realize there's a tree in front of the sun 😅 #TellMeYoureChaoticGoodWithoutTellingMeYoureChaoticGood

Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

The relief of going back to a WIP after a pause and finding lines that make me grin or rub my hands like a cartoon villain... If past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, well, maybe I can do this: finish that dang book! Come, girl, just remember how to write hahaha.

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Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Coming up with a random piece of tiny magic for a sequel book I may *not* write in two or three years is such a delightful feeling hahaha.

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Read that one when I was 13 and loved it! Though I had to sleep with the lights on for a while afterwards hahaha. Realized recently Flagg also shows up in The Eyes of the Dragon as well as other unrelated books, which I find fascinating in terms of worldbuilding!

Today's #SFFChat and its focus on diseases and infections reminded me of an old discussion with a friend: if scientists or sorcerers created a disease that only killed "bad people", would the creators die? Feels like a mind twister to be found in @afterdinnerconversation.com maybe?

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PseudoPod 1040: Flash on the Borderlands LXXIX (79): Ubi amor, ibi dolor

Thanks for hosting! May I interest you in my little horror flash piece "Third Date" published last week in PseudoPod? pseudopod.org/2026/07/31/p... The dangers of dating meet reclaimed agency... or do they? Count your toes before leaving!"

pseudopod.org

Ubi amor, ibi dolor – where there is love, there is pain “Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken.” – C. S. Lewis No one knows who found the Dark Room first. Maybe it found us?

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The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. Big fan of Holly Black in general 😀

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Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

#SFFChat Intro: Hi there! I'm Divya, chaotic good SFF writer with disjointed passions and too many thoughts. Favorites are hard to pick, but most recently I had a blast with Ikezu Ishi (RPG).

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As a huge fan of Alexander Skarsgård (The East! Murderbot!) passing through a gas station often triggers fond memories of his scene in Zoolander hahaha. Looking forward to Wicker!

On a lighter note, here is a little musical pairing, with a dash of Him vs. Her: "Animals" by Maroon 5 "what it means to be a girl" by EMELINE

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Today I can enter connections from a place of trust and vulnerability because I trust myself. To anyone out there on that journey of escape or recovery, I hope you will trust yourself! And please take care of yourself, read trigger warnings. ↓

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As for my author notes, I'll echo something I've seen going around: to write, you don't need AI, only personal trauma 😬. Yet, healing from a many-year-long toxic relationship allowed me to develop a strong red-flag radar and deep-rooted skills to enforce boundaries. ↓

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I am buzzing with excitement: my new flash piece "Third Date" is out in PseudoPod! Listen to it or read it here:

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Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

"This character will die abruptly in the next five minutes" is a personal favorite hahaha.

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Every now and then, I wish Colin Firth had played Chéri in his youth. Then he would have gifted us the perfect embodied trifecta of male characters: Valmont, Chéri and Darcy.

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Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Gentle chaos and reading intent ^^

Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Gently dozing off with a friend's manuscript in hand, while laundry dries on the line and the sun bathes cornfields. Have I stepped into a cosy summer slice of life or at last unlocked cottage witch mode ><?

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Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Every once in a while, I think of "What Of This Goldfish Would You Wish?" by E. Keret. It is by far my favorite take on the three wishes tale. Such precise subversion of expectations to reveal the warmest core!

Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

The absolute thrill of creating a new *Secret Project* file... [Sorry current WIP, I'll be back]

Extra Delight: I got to babble endlessly about art I love in the interview that comes with the story [in which I reveal all my secrets and weaknesses hahaha]!

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It was exhilarating, if slightly intimidating, to record the audio version myself >< Made the most of my three and a half acting classes. Also, self-consciousness compels me to state publicly: this is not the way I sound in day-to-day convos 😅 Anyway, hope you will enjoy it!

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This story came about around the time when videos of Will Smith eating pasta started to look uncannily realistic but before the recent AI-generated fight scene between Tom Cruise & Brad Pitt. I thought: isn't the luxury to see real people emote? Isn't that why people get intense crushes on actors?

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Love for the Artist by Divya Kernan

Thrilled to have my story "Love for the Artist" out in Strange Pilgrims: www.strangepilgrims.com/p/love-for-t...

strangepilgrims.com

"I own a man. I don’t fuck him—" | Flash Fiction #8

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Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Writing speculative fiction, a lot of my effort goes into providing enough details for the reader to happily suspend disbelief. Funnily, I've noticed that it is always the elements directly lifted from reality that people challenge most. I guess life is often stranger than fiction?

Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

For a girl who eats up dramatic storytelling, days that start with quiet narratives only to devolve into unhinged laughter are the ultimate, flavorful experience. What is one to do but embrace one's absolute delight in horrific chaos? 😅

Divya Kernan @divyakernan.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

The half of my desk that lets me pretend for just a lick of a second I am a serious person. [Posting as a reward for meeting my daily goal]

Desk with writing books piled to the right, computer to the left, and various notebooks and items lying around.