iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

WHERE THE LIGHT SHINES IN by Jenny Mattern ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ @jengelmattern.bsky.social

Book review typed on white background. 5 Stars

"Thank you NetGalley and North Star Editions/Jolly Fish Press for an eARC of Where the Light Shines In by Jenny Mattern.

Where the Light Shines In is the story of thirteen-year-old adoptee Gloria who plays the “Birth Mother” Game with her best friend, in which they rate strangers’ likelihood of being Gloria’s birth mother based on physical similarities. When a perfect ten looks up at her from the obituary page of her local newspaper, Gloria is determined to attend the woman’s funeral and learn about her likely birth mother. But finding the answers she desperately needs requires spinning a web of lies, implicating her best friend in the process, and hurting the people who love her most. And she’s not the only one concealing the truth.

Where the Light Shines In is a beautifully written story that is equally heartbreaking and heartwarming. Mattern illuminates the complex emotions related to adoption for adoptees, their adoptive families, and biological parents alike and treats all involved with incredible empathy and compassion. I loved how Gloria’s sense of identity and definition of family evolved so poignantly over the course of the novel. The symbolism of fixing broken pottery with gold to show that there is beauty in the broken places was also a perfect parallel to Gloria’s journey and a helpful reminder to young and old(er) readers alike.

Raw, honest, and hopeful, Where the Light Shines In is a must-read for adoptees, the families that love them, fans of heartfelt middle-grade contemporaries, and anyone who’s ever teared up listening to “What It Sounds Like” from KPop Demon Hunters."

Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

As a recovering perfectionist, I tend not to dive in until I feel capable, but I'm realizing the learning journey is a destination in and of itself. So today I "just started." A few hours later, I have a decent raspberry trellis (supporting wires later) & a boost of confidence. Just start.

Me wearing my NEVERTHELESS SHE PERSISTED sweatshirt, a black vest, safety goggles, and a pleased smile.

A raised bed with three raspberry plants and a wooden trellis om either side.

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Vicky Weber - Agent, Author, Educator 📚 @vickyweberbooks.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Writers, what’s your favorite line you’ve ever written? Not your book’s strongest line—the one that makes you secretly proud every time you see it. #writingcommunity #amwriting #amquerying

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

When an agent posted they're opening "soon" months ago and you finally see a watch notice for them on Query Tracker 😀... But it's only someone sharing insight from the agent's wish list in the comments. 🫠

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

Anyone else feeling like a pirate lately?

Black words on white background. Light-related lines are left-justified and dark-related lines are right-justified and bolded. "I’m a pirate. Well… becoming one. (It’s a work in progress) Pirates were the masters of navigating Two worlds at once. The light and the dark. The deck of ship is about as B R I G H T as can be. The radiant sunshine cascades from above and reflects back off of the shiny waves. But below deck, the light is shuttered. The belly of a ship is the dead of night compared to the decks above. But the pirates had a trick, you see. Cover one eye with a patch, and that eye is always in the dark Even when the blazing sun dazzles the other. When the hatch above closes, and the darkness of the hold rushes in, A pirate need only switch the patch to the other eye. The previously patched wastes no time adjusting to the world below, Ever ready to slip into shadow."

Black words on white background. Light-related lines are left-justified and dark-related lines are right-justified and bolded.

" Like a pirate, I’m living in two drastically different worlds. There’s the light— the joy and laughter that share gap-toothed smiles, Perfectly mispronounced words, And the best hugs at bedtime, And the dark— Pings and pop-ups that announce hate, prejudice, and greed Each more shocking than the last. Ignoring the dark endangers the light But living too long in the dark and I forget How bright the light shines above. So I must become a pirate. To see clearly in the darkness below without lingering too long So that my sun-drenched eye is still familiar With the light that gives me life. " Light-related lines are left-justified and dark-related lines are right-justified and bolded. "

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE. This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined. It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.

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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Republican Congressman Van Orden. You need to understand these people know exactly how badly they are hurting people and they love it. It’s sick.

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

MAGAS. ARE. SCARED. OF. EVERYTHING. But even my 6yo knows being afraid of something/someone doesn't give you the right to hurt them.

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Consider donating to Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity. They’ve filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court to try and stop “Alligator Alcatraz” before it opens.

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Please share this. Friends of the Everglades are organizing a protest to stop Alligator Alcatraz. Join us we have coalition members traveling overnight to be there by morning. Where: Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, 54575 Tamiami Trail When: Saturday, June 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

12.1 Million!!!!!!! 🇺🇸

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

We’re closing in on the 3.5% rule! 8.6 million and counting! We’re in awe. Lots of events still happening make sure to be counted. Big towns, small towns you showed up.

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Senator Cassidy's DC office was very easy to reach this AM. No waits or voicemails. He's a physician. He knows the damage this bill will do. Call your reps. Call other senators. They KNOW this budget bill will do irreperable damage. Let's make sure they know WE know. Who else are we calling?

media.tenor.com

a man is laying on a couch and saying they know you know .

Alt: Joey Tribbiani is laying on a couch and saying "they know, you know .

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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 10/06/2025

We don't scare easily, but presenting to ACIP makes us shiver in our 👢 ACIP members are a tough crowd! They ask hard questions and (politely) demand answers. They're rigorous. Thorough. Aware of the responsibility in their hands. 🧠🪱 cries "but industry funding! they're corrupt!"

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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 10/06/2025

Why are we so concerned that all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) were fired at the same time? ✅ Loss of top-notch vaccine experts ✅ Unchecked power for 🧠🪱 to appoint grifters and charlatans who will make America sicker

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Sharing this excerpt from my feminist, gender-stereotype-breaking MG contemporary novel today for... No reason in particular. 🍿

(White text on black background)
I bite my lip, trying to choose my words carefully, as one rogue tear skates down my cheek.
I wish I could be the baseball manager, kicking and spitting and putting on a scene at the plate. Angry crying doesn’t have the same effect. I pray Troy doesn’t notice.
My prayers aren’t answered.
“This is why girls don’t belong in the booth.” He laughs. “Too emotional. Must be that time of the month.”
Crushes. Emotions. Periods. This boy uses anything to cut me down. It ends now.

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Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Red state Dems…

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Authoritarianism isn't close. It's here. Also, did you hear this version of the not-able-to-be-filibustered budget removes the Judiciary's ability to file contempt charges? 😬

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

This poem has been brewing for a while and finally puts words to why I've felt so damn isolated lately. (Despite living in a blue area of a 💙 state, almost everyone I interact with in person supports this administration. 😔)

“Don’t mention staying at your boyfriend’s apartment
around Grandma and Pop Pop,” Mom says.
Their house is adorned with
Crucifixes, Virgin Marys, and framed pictures of Jesus,
So I put on my best “good Christian girl” mask,
(Even though I already am one.)
I don’t mind.
It’s only a few hours.

But new times bring new masks.

Beloved neighbors raise flags of hate
So I don my “Everything is okay’ mask,
while pulling the softer parts of me inwards
For safekeeping, knowing
It’s only for a few hours.

Conversations draped in a black cape
Punctuated with snip-snips of chestnut hair
No longer pamper.
I slip my mask over my disappointment
And shrink into the elevated chair.
It’s okay.
It’s only for a few hours.

Hate surges.
Rights slip away.
Humans are shipped off like cattle.
Surely this is a line in the sand
A move back towards our shared humanity
A chance to take off the protective mask.
And see person-to-person once more
How naive.

Family visits.
They echo the laughter of my precious children,
Whose future they gleefully trade away for their precious privilege.
My mask feels wrong in the place I called home.
Anger and sadness pull at me for weeks though my visit
Was only a few hours.

Finally, life grants me time with a friend
whose “I’m okay” is as fake as my own.
The same sadness lurks behind their cheerful facade.
Together, we drop our smiles.
Drop our masks.
Safe.
I sigh.
But only for a few hours.

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Chise @sailorrooscout.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

GUYS. The comment period for this ends in THREE DAYS. PLEASE if you have even a little bit of time, submit a comment here: www.regulations.gov/commenton/FD... Let them know EVERYONE should be able to get COVID vaccines. They BACK DOWN when WE PUSH BACK. www.statnews.com/2025/05/20/f...

statnews.com

FDA will limit Covid vaccines to people over 65 or at high risk of serious illness, leaders say

The FDA announced it will limit access to Covid-19 vaccines going forward to people 65 and older and others at high risk of serious illness

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Nikki T in NYC @nikkitnyc.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

You do NOT have to accept this! Post on the public comments to pressure them to NOT do this! www.regulations.gov/commenton/FD...

regulations.gov

Regulations.gov

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Roxane Gay @roxanegay.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

If you don’t want to take the booster don’t. But to prevent adults from having the choice is depraved.

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 21/05/2025

Everyone 6 months and older is eligible to get a flu vaccine. It makes no sense to restrict Covid vaccines to only people who have specific medical conditions. The FDA is basing its decisions on politics, not science.

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

We should ALL have the right to get covid vaccines if we determine it is right for our families. There are so many studies looking at vaccine safety, the relationship between vaccination & lessened LC risk, and a promising new flu/covid combined booster. Now is not the time to revoke our access.

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Kara Jorgensen @authorkaraj.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

The comment period for this ends in 3 DAYS. Please leave a comment telling them EVERYONE should be able to get covid boosters. www.regulations.gov/commenton/FD...

regulations.gov

Regulations.gov

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

I've been struggling to rediscover parts of the me that existed b4 raising 2 young children through a pandemic & 📈 dystopian world. But this is 1 of them. Crouched in an awk angle, 📷 in hand, coaching some BFFs into ridiculous poses, & struggling not to laugh before the camera's shutter blinks.

Dani, crouched on the ground against an upturned dog bed, looking through the camera at some unknown/unseen creepiness, smiling.

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

SO FREAKING EXCITED FOR YOU, JENNY!

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Kellyanne @ellarebee.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Anyone know of a LGBTQ+ children's book illustrator in the NJ area who does library programs? #coloryourworld #pride #publibs #kidlit #lgbtq #GLAMs #skybrarians #LibrarySky #BookSky #TLSky #YSLSky 📚 🍎 🏳️‍🌈

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

When I'm feeling isolated/hopeless/beaten down by our NF dystopia, I reach out to someone I haven't heard from in a while & express how deeply they matter to me/how grateful I am for the impact they've made on my life. Words matter. By using mine, I hope they feel less isolated & hopeless too🤞

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Maria Vicente @mariavicente.com · 13/05/2025

Someone is impersonating me as a means to request material from writers in various online communities. All my requests are sent from a P.S. Literary email address (maria@psliterary or submissions@psliterary).

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Ann Rose @annmrose.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

. #AskAgent — got on the elliptical extra late so this is going to be a tough one, but thought it could be fun to have an ask agent session for the afternoon crowd. Drop your comments below and I’ll do my best to get to them. Typos will happen — I am on my elliptical machine after all ❤️

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

I've eaten from my #garden every day for the last week. The best part? Most things were garden failures. Bolted cabbage (delicious sautéed w/ onions). Baby turnips & leaf lettuce harvested early to make room for warm weather crops. If failure tastes this good, I can't wait for the successes!

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Anyone else have a favorite staffer at their rep's office? I hate having new hellish EOs, legislation, cuts, & firings to call about daily, but 1 staffer in particular always makes my day. Shout out to the staffers fielding record amts of calls on a daily basis and ensuring our voices are heard. 💙

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

13yo 🏈 O-lineman, is invisible til commentator P dubs him Moose during a broadcast, launching him into fame. Now he can ask out his popular crush. But if Moose can't help P tackle sexist pranks in the booth, she'll quit, leaving the others to hype up the QB who likes the same girl. #questpit #Q #MG

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

When on-air sabotage for being the broadcast's only girl threatens Paige’s dream of commentating sch 🏈 games, she joins the unsung hero she launched into fame to protect his popularity, challenge close-minded clubmates, & tackle unfair rules that could cost her the headset. #questpit #MG #Q

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Daniele Hunter @danieledhunter.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

I have a lovely author looking to do an event for her upcoming YA novel in NYC between May 29 and 31! Can any authors or bookstores with leads reach out to me for more info, please?

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Eric Smith @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

My favorite thing about playing Oblivion is how you gain experience every time you get hurt. Just like the writing process, really.

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

This haiku was inspired by the tender green growth in my garden that yearned for warmth/sun & instead weathered plunges into the 20s this week. The sun will shine again. And they'll bask in it. (So will we) Does anyone else say "toward" as one syllable or is my Jersey showing?

Haiku with black text on white background. "The hopeful green leaves / threatened by icy rain/ stretch toward brighter skies."

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

Thank you, @yangsookchoi.bsky.social, for the wonderful school visit. My daughter was so excited to tell me about your story, your thinking chair, and the way you craft unique characters. When she got home, she jumped into her art chair and created some characters of her own. 💙 #kidlit #PB 📚

Miss 6 sitting at her easel with art supplies drawing her own characters.

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Liberal Christian friends, Are we volunteering to say grace on Easter this year amongst conservative relatives and what are we saying in that prayer?

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Brad Johnson @climatebrad.hillheat.com · 05/04/2025

Oh wow: Portland Oregon is NOT KIDDING #handsoff

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Caitie Flum @caitief.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Cory Booker is such a great example of healthy masculinity. He has talked about how much he loves so many people. He’s not afraid of showing emotions. And he has been standing for over 24 hours because of something he believes deeply in. More of this.

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Who is going to give the "Yes We Can" treatment to highlights from Cory Booker's speech? We need a song for our path forward.

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Sen. Cory Booker @booker.senate.gov · 01/04/2025

Time to speak up

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Dani Terk @dterkwrites.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

👏 👏 Good Trouble 👏 👏

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