iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

I saw the Odyssey with my oldest son tonight, and we loved it. I read the thing in school, commenting on it for months, and I reread it a couple of years ago, too, but the story still gets me every time. Argo's death. Antinoos and the others sent to Hades. Ah. 1/2

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

A sculpture on Duomo of Milan, and a stowaway

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

*The speed of lush*: A slush reader at a genre mag wrote today to say that they liked my story and passed it on. It has been 340 days. After THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY DAYS. They passed it on

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

One last comment on #Alchemised. I’m generally tired of invented worlds that just repackage patriarchy, with heroines brutalized for texture and given no real arc of victory outside male agency. And I’m done with the trope of the male love interest who “teaches” her who she is. Enough already.

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

As for #Alchemised’s darkness: yes, it’s dark, but the torture and rape are never described explicitly. It doesn’t feel like gratuitous violence to me. Seen worse in award-winning spec-fic. Unsure the novel deserves all the hype, but it surprised me positively. A tour de force. I respect that. 3/3

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

I’d read so many negative reviews and watched so many critical podcasts that I was surprised to find #Alchemised (French translation)more than decent, not only in its worldbuilding, which everyone praised, but also in story and plot. Can’t say I loved-loved it, but the novel holds water. 2/

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Saw seasoned reviewers DNF #Alchemised (Del Rey ed.) over typos and… “laughing feet” (??). Switched to the French. Trusted Hachette—they delivered. France has a long tradition of translations that are not just faithful, but beautifully written. So, once typos and bad writing were out of the way...1/

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Today's weather report promised "acquazzoni a tradimento" (backstabbing downpours--a very Renaissance way of putting it). I was at the mall, so I bought a new umbrella. I have plenty of ambush umbrellas. At least a dozen.

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Go, Hungary! (Wir betreten feuertrunken!)

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Today I learned that in Old Norse poetry, an arrow is a "wound-bee." That's a kenning, the Viking poets' way of naming the world through metaphor. And it gets better. 1/7 #OldNorse #Poetry #Kennings #Vikings

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

This marvel is called "elephant's ear," (orecchia d'elefante if you want to order it in an Italian ristorante, in northern Italy--I hail from Lake Como)

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Reposted by Gio Clairval

Weaver Literary Agency @weaverliterary.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Giving priority to queries that fit ⬇️ #mswl #amquerying #writingcommunity

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Reposted by Gio Clairval

Sidney Boker @bokerbooks.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Check out my #MSWL here: manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/si..., and submission guidelines here: inkwellmanagement.com/contact/! no ai stuff pls.

manuscriptwishlist.com

Sidney Boker – The Official Manuscript Wish List Website

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Reposted by Gio Clairval

Manuscript Wish List® @manuscriptwishlist.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Hello Writing Community! We are delighted to announce our Second Official Bluesky *** #MSWL Day *** February 26, 2026. 🎉🎉🎉 Agents + editors can post what they ✨wish✨ they had in their inboxes; writers can find their next best fit for querying. Learn more: manuscriptwishlist.com/2025/01/the-...

manuscriptwishlist.com

The Next Official #MSWL Day: February 26, 2026 – The Official Manuscript Wish List Website

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Reposted by Gio Clairval

Sarah Pinsker @sarahpinsker.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Congrats to Kathleen and all the other finalists, including another two of my students, @sljohnson.bsky.social and @gioclair.bsky.social !

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Y'all, I just got another short story acceptance (from The Literary Hatchet), but I'm MAD! Why oh why didn't the guys send their acceptance BEFORE the 31th of December, to gift me with my 20th sale of the year?

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

The moon was captured, too, entangled in the trees

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

Two Santas were caught and trapped today. I wonder whether it's happening elsewhere #Xmas

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

I heard Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, say they could mobilize a million people in an emergency. Out of ~6 million. And I got curious. So I looked up what other big European countries could realistically mobilize. Germany excluded, since it’s mid-rearm. chatgpt.com/s/m_6945680a...

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

That plush, marshmallow look when snow lands on trees that still have their leaves

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

Is it true that mornings hold gold? I keep squandering mine idly learning Mandarin and Norwegian — which, honestly, is far more fun than any other language I've studied. But maybe I should be *writing*

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Found out the Paris flat I sold a few years back went up in smoke last summer. Ex-tenant in cuffs, accused of lighting up the underground garage. 100+ apartments gutted, asbestos in the dust. Looks like I walked out just before the apocalypse moved in.

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Got a pneumococcum jab (anti-pneumonia) yesterday. I expected to be under the weather but all I have is a sore shoulder. I'd planned a lazy day, reading and doing nothing! Will chill out anyway

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Rainy Brighton sky the day before the World Fantasy Convention starts #WFC

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

I've got my 18th story acceptance of the year!!! Only two months left and I hope that I will get 20! #amwriting #publishing #WritingCommunity

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

I arrived yesterday at the hotel in Brighton for the World Fantasy Convention. My main credit card wasn't working and I'd forgotten the other card's PIN. For a long hour, I expected to sleep (comfortably!) on the pier. #WFC #Brighton

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

They said, "No Kings!" So he had to steal the Empress's crown #nokings

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

I wrote a military horror thing, and here it is, amon this garhering of excellent stories.

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Lazy, who? Me? Not lazy—just a reluctant Stakhanovist. I avoid starting work because I know once I start, I won’t stop.

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

Just hit my 16th story acceptance of 2025. Starting to wonder if I’ve crushed some kind of Guinness world record—or if I just need a Guinness #amwriting #writingcommunity

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Gio Clairval @gioclair.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

A 700-year-old church tower has been suspended above a construction site during excavation works for the upcoming 50 Fenchurch Street skyscraper in London, designed by architecture studio Eric Parry Architects. (Dezeen)

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Reposted by Gio Clairval

dogyard @dogyardmag.com · 05/09/2025

Woah! Time flies when you're having fun. Only 26 days?? We can't wait to share these dogs with you, submit to find yourself in our little yard! We're open and #reading all work now! Submit #poetry, #fiction, #essay, #art, #nonfiction, and more today! #dogyard #litmag #openforsubmissions #writer