iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

It's faint praise to be faster than the South African postal service in delivering your author copies, but I'll take it. I think you mentioned there might be interior art, the chapter ornaments and this pretty end page are it. No complaint at all, would have loved to see even more from the artist.

End page of the book. The back cover folds over 2/3 width of the page. The final page of the book has an artistic design of overlayed wings.

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I'm quite attached to the Greg Ruth cover art on the US/UK/France editions because it's what made me first pick up the book and read the dust jacket and first chapter in the bookshop, but it's great to see new cover art in a different style and this is undeniably lovely as well.

Or, to be honest, just whatever comes next because that's not meant to put pressure on an author that wants that even more than I do, Dressmaker acclaim notwithstanding. Anyway, this edition has chapter ornaments. The cover is folded over so it's extra stiff and nice to the touch.

Chapters have ornaments in a simple filigree design.

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Received my pre-ordered Spanish edition of @kerstinhall.bsky.social's Asunder, my fave book of 2024. A friend tells me the translation is very well done - my own Spanish comprehension extends to reading menus, a vocab in which Asunder is sadly lacking. Buying all the Asunders until I get my sequel.

Cover of Esquirlas (Asunder) by Kerstin Hall. A girl in patched clothing stands in front of a railing, with a cityscape behind.

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The stage design and puppetry is so good that the audience just straight up gasped at times. Scenes being met with an audible collective intake of breath. Genuinely amazing.

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

That would be the CRTC. It would depend on time of day (profanity is more acceptable after the watershed), context (it’s less about specific words being too rude and more about what they’re directed at), etc. It could also be a broadcast outside regulation based on streaming/revenue rules.

Likewise I was unaware this edition would already have this grasping hands endpaper art (leftover art from Greg Ruth's work on the cover, or the layer partly used in the ghostly hands clawing at Karys in Greg's cover art?). Felt a little bad covering it but... c'est la vie!

Endpaper is black and white on one page and amber colour on the other, it shows reaching hands from left toward the right

I saw the marble paper and was reminded of the book, so I bought it. When Morcelée arrived two months later the problems were obvious. The French edition has a direct printed cover, no dust jacket, so I had no use for the HTV cover art I had made. Guess I could make it into a T-shirt? 😆

Line drawing of cover and cover text in holographic heat transfer vinyl

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The endpaper is a handmade one-off from Jemma Lewis. It's buttermilk stock, Spanish ripple marbled in green tones and later over-marbled in black and gold vein. It's one of the nicest papers I've ever seen. With double marbling it's not as smooth and more spattered on the blank side, but worth it.

Full sheet of paper, the waves look like ripples

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Hey publishers, please bring me a sequel to @kerstinhall.bsky.social's ASUNDER. In the meantime I prettied up my new French edition. Bhatuma vs. Ephrite. My French "Nuliere edition", green like the sea. My English "Sabaster edition", red like blood.

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Oh, hello! My @litpinsandco.bsky.social special edition of @emilytesh.net's The Incandescent has arrived. Ordered it last year when it was announced so I'd totally forgotten about it, but it's lovely, the artwork is fabulous. Still a great read too.

LitPins special edition of The Incandescent. A woman holds an open book, standing in front of a large bookcase.

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Young and stupid. But more significantly it was the kind of noise that ignites your bones regardless of what you have protecting your ears. Pretty sure I still have a T-shirt from a show around somewhere.

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Rookie numbers. I heard five different kinds at a single Survival Research Labs show.

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Goddammit @scottlynch78.bsky.social you know I’m weak, you were supposed to keep my credit card locked behind the bar. It’s a lovely thing tho…

Scott’s limited edition of Locke Lamora and the Bottled Serpent. It has a green cloth quarter binding and marbled paper with green and yellow tones and a little gold

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

The Folded Sky was the first White Space series book I read. I immediately bought the rest.

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

That’s an exceptional piece of writing

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Uncertain Sons and Other Stories by Thomas Ha, if you’re in the mood for a collection

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

I did find it hilarious as I passed by East India Company in Mayfair a while back that it was shut due to unpaid taxes

Facade of East India Company with papered over windows

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

Not sure where your travels will take you, but look out for a chance to buy some Nekomarro, objectively one of the five cutest things on the planet. www.yawahada.net/product/576

Nekomarro (cat marshmallows) floating in hot chocolate

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

fwiw the UK edition by Solaris is better typeset than the Tor paperback edition, it doesn't have the oddly narrow bottom margin

Fairly unremarkable interior page layout, since the point is the bottom paragraph text doesn't come to within 1 cm of the bottom of the page like the Tor edition I received

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

I'm ridiculously fond of ASUNDER. It made @kerstinhall.bsky.social an instant pre-order for me for whatever she writes next. Thanks @solarisbooks.bsky.social for bringing out a UK paperback edition, hope many more people pick up this book which was so deserving of its Nebula and Locus nominations.

Cover of the Solaris paperback edition of Asunder by Kerstin Hall

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Pre-ordered, but I'm going to keep a watch out for special editions

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

My two favourite novels of 2025: WORKS OF VERMIN by @hironennes.bsky.social and STARVING SAINTS by @caitlinstarling.com These were the kind of books I wanted to slow down reading so I could enjoy them longer.

Covers for Works of Vermin (and Leech) on left and Starving Saints on right, held in hand in front of orchid

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Sure, agree with your thesis on voter vibes. But the worst of all worlds: a salary sacrifice announcement that upsets, but eventually doesn’t even bring in the tax money. Fiscal drag that increases tax burden, but is more regressive than just increasing the rate. Etc.

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Salary sacrifice was industrialised by corporate benefits companies. There is no way that most of the planned tax take from these changes aren’t dodged by a different arrangement (e.g. making the pension payment inflexible and not a voluntary sacrifice) given the lead time available to “innovate”.

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Every author thread about fountain pens / ink is for me a cautionary tale that I should not buy my first because this would end very badly for me. Thank you for your service. Also, lovely collection.

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Starving Saints and Works of Vermin are my two favourite reads of 2025, and I certainly don’t identify as a horror fan. They’re just that good.

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

This and Works of Vermin were my two favourite books of 2025

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Thirlwell is a name I haven’t thought of in a looong while

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Really enjoyed it. Antonia Hodgson was in London (with Emily Tesh and Sylvie Cathrall) back in May when The Raven Scholar and The Incandescent launched, they held a talk about academia as a theme/context in their respective works.

Sylvie Cathrall, Antonia Hodgson and Emily Tesh

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Insane. I got to about 115 and gave up. I couldn’t adopt reasonable strategies for many remaining jokers so it became a matter of trying to just hang on to one useless joker to the end, and so slow. I admire your patience.

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

@hironennes.bsky.social's Works of Vermin is easily one of the best books I've read in 2025. Weird, dark, artful, and rich with drippingly gorgeous prose. Felt like the first time I read Perdido Street Station - simply transported and enveloped.

A copy of Works of Vermin and prior novel Leech

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

It's so good. You need to get a copy right now, and put it near the *top* of your TBR pile.

Cover of Joel Dane's The Ragpicker held in front of a random plant

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

JLR is well capitalised. The guarantees weren't needed, but the government needed to be seen to be "doing something" to announce during their party conference, so they're not really an indication of anything. The ones who are actually suffering are the upstream part supply companies.

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Terrific summary of the depressing situation. Just FYI a very small typo should you care to correct it: “It is likely cause grave difficulties”

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

So sorry. I'm never going to take my quietly competent postal delivery for granted again.

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Ordered! Was going to get it anyway after enjoying Leech, but I’ve been hearing great things about Vermin and I’m absolutely stoked.

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Bought it on your recommendation, and it’s killer

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

My copy of @thomasha.bsky.social’s Uncertain Sons arrived in the UK and it’s every bit as good as Premee said.

Uncertain Sons and other stories, by Thomas Ha

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

In the UK some of the grocery stores have started selling butter in 200g bricks rather than 250g. 250g bricks of butter are the basis of every single damn baking recipe, it would be like in the US making butter 7/8ths of a standard “stick”. They’re morons.

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Joel Dane’s The Ragpicker. Harrowing and moving. A hidden gem of 2024.

Cover of The Ragpicker in front of a plant

Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Made sourdough bagels. Left the levain starter overnight. Mixed a little seeded flour into the dough for extra flavour. Boiled 30 seconds per side, then seeded (poppy and sesame) and baked 12 minutes. Pretty good chew, excellent flavour. #baking #breadsky

A dozen bagels cooling on two metal cooking sheets

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Flamebait @flame-bait.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Also, the gorgeous enamel pin for the book!

Starving Saints book cover with the launch event enamel pin on a card