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Finished HAMMAJANG LUCK, by @makana-yama.bsky.social last night, and what a blast! A fabulous SF heist with great worldbuilding and a crew you can't help but love. The pacing's tight, and I could practically hear cool jazz in the background. Definitely check this one out! #AmReading #BookSky

A hand holds a paperback copy of HAMMAJANG LUCK, by Makana Yamamoto. A youth in a red hoodie, green pants, and work boots looks over a futuristic, smogged cityscape. The background features a crowded bookshelf.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 23h

Knocked out over 1,100 word today on SLIPSTREAM TANGO - not too shabby! About to (re)break my main character’s heart, so I’m just over here biding time until my next writing session… #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #BookSky

static.klipy.com

Villain Chillin Like A Villain

Alt: A cartoon villain twirls his long mustache.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 29/09/2026

Watched Oddity over the weekend, and what a treat! It had a creeping dread I loved - quieter, but spooky. Give this one a try! And man, what a house! I'm sure it'd be a nightmare to live in (ghosts aside), but I still would.

Movie poster for Oddity. A woman with white hair sits at an invisible table, eyes closed and hands spread as if conjuring at a seance. As if reflected in a pond, the figure below is of a screaming, wooden man in the same pose. The tagline reads 'Every Murder Lives On.'

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 28/09/2026

In the mood for a spooky short story? This one on my website's really stuck with me over the years: THE SEPTIC MONSTER What seems like a throwaway joke from a troubled father haunts his young son and those around him. gusryer.com/short-storie... #BookSky #AmReading #WritingCommunity

gusryer.com

The Septic Monster - M. Augustus Ryer

THE SEPTIC MONSTER What seems like a throwaway joke from a troubled father haunts his young son and those around him.A story from the archives, but one that's stuck with me over the years. Here it…

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 28/09/2026

A nice bonus of LitConnect is that it's giving me a tailor-made list of agents my manuscript matched with. Now I can query them directly the old fashioned way. Haven't taken advantage of this yet, but I plan to! #AmQuerying #BookSky #WritingCommunity

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 27/09/2026

All right readers/writers, it’s Saturday! Time for another literary-leaning cocktail. Let’s lift a glass to literature‘s saddest donkey! My take on Eeyore’s Requiem 1.5 oz Campari 1.5 oz Cocci 0.75 oz gin 0.5 oz Cynar 0.5 oz Fernet Stir over ice, express lemon. Cheers! #WritingCommunity #BookSky

A hand holds a small wine glass, full of a bright red liquid, a lemon peel sticking out of it. The backdrop is a crowded bookshelf.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 25/09/2026

The temp’s dropping, the wind’s up, and a nor’easter’s on the way. Perfect timing for a book & brew. Y’all reading anything good this weekend? #AmReading #WritingCommunity #BookSky

A bearded man in a brown suede jacket and flannel holds up a beer and smiles.

A book, Hammajang Luck, by Makana Yamamoto, rests on a leaf-strewn wooden bench alongside a beer can.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 25/09/2026

Time to come clean. If I'm reading a doorstopper of a book, I'll snap that spine like a lion pouncing on a gazelle #BookSky #AmReading

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 24/09/2026

All right, computer. I don't need this judgement.

A Windows error message that reads:

Error Copying File or Folder
X
Catastrophic Failure

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 24/09/2026

Wish I had more time to work on my novella today, but I have a a bunch of driving to do. Still, that means I get to listen to my audiobook, so that ain't half bad! Current listen is Rules for Aging and Larceny, by Julia London, and it's a hoot! #AmReading #AmWriting #BookSky

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 24/09/2026

Hey! Did you know that I'm on Threads too? The #WritingCommunity seems pretty active there, and it's been fun! Profile below: #BookSky #AmReading #AmWriting

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 24/09/2026

Bit north of a thousand words today on SLIPSTREAM TANGO - nice, steady progress. Better yet, I got to mess with a character’s head pretty bad. #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #BookSky

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 23/09/2026

Hey now! I resemble that remark!

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 23/09/2026

Getting ready for my annual skeleton nonsense and was reminded of my absurd, hardboiled, Halloween mystery: The Case of the Kernel Witch. It's got thrills! It's got chills! Give it a read if you want to get caught up: (1/31) #AmWriting #AmReading #BookSky #WritingCommunity

A skeleton dressed as a PI sits at a bar with a glass of amber liquid in front of him and one hand cradling his chin. A full bottle is nearby, just out of frame.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 23/09/2026

As the first leaf touches dead grass, something stirs under the earth. He emerges, bone by bone, with a rumbling tear as the cold wind breathes his name like a benediction: “Tibby.” #TibbyTime #Halloween

A skeletal hand emerges from loose garden soil

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 22/09/2026

Man, I love it when I find out about a book that could be a new comp! Pausing my current read as I dive into this. Put Frances in space, and she’d fit right in with my crew! #AmReading #BookSky

Audible cover for Rules for Aging and Larceny, by Julia London. An illustrated martini glass stands askew, an orange liquid within. A lanky, shadowed figure of an older lady in heels stands behind the thin stem.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 22/09/2026

Hey writing folks & readers, how do you feel epistolary sci fi these days? Dunno if I’ll go full Captain’s Log, but part of this story feels like it wants to dip a toe… A) Aye aye, Cap’n! B) Save your letters, Bram #AmWriting #AmReading #BookSky #WritingCommunity

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 21/09/2026

Today’s writerly task: several hundred words in my SLIPSTREAM TANGO novella, then some fun work designing the spaceship. Can’t say too much about the good ship Loose Screw, but it’s got these vibes: #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #BookSky

static.klipy.com

Waterworld

Alt: Kevin Costner in Waterworld cranks a winch on a ramshackle catamaran as it races across the ocean.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 20/09/2026

All right readers and writers, in the mood for a literary(ish) cocktail on this beautiful Saturday night? Join me in…The Beatnik: 1.0 oz amaro averna 0.75 oz rye 0.75 oz port Stir w/ ice, add an orange peel (or dried lemon). Dark, sweet, goes great with a book. Cheers! #BookSky #WritingCommunity

A dark ruby cocktail in a small wine glass with a dehydrated lemon sitting on the rim. It sits on a wooden table near a typewriter and small lamp

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 19/09/2026

Just watched the original Disney Snow White, and…she doesn’t make it, right? There’s no way that ‘castle in the sky’ is a real castle. More like hereafter than happily ever after

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 19/09/2026

About 1,200 words down today but, more importantly, I have a working title for my novella. No longer shall it be called Novella_TBD.scriv From now on (until I think of something better), it’s SLIPSTREAM TANGO* *.scriv #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #BookSky

static.klipy.com

Broke Cat Standing on Hind Legs

Alt: A black and white cat stands and moves back and forth as if dancing disconcertingly

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 18/09/2026

When I start slacking off on my wordcount, all I do is look at my Shakespearian insults mug. Nothing like being called a clod of wayward marl to get the creative juices flowing. #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #BookSky

A mug of tea sits on a wooden desk along with a keyboard, mouse, and computer monitor. The mug is decorated in Shakespearian insults in various fonts.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 18/09/2026

A project so new I don't even have a working title! A decent writing day today - 1,361 words. Still feeling things out in this new story, but I'm liking how the characters are shaping up. VERY excited for the next chapter. #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #BookSky

Screenshot of a Project Target window for wordcounts. It shows the manuscript at 2,187/30,000 words, and today's session as 1,361/2,000

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 17/09/2026

How had I not seen (or even heard!) of this movie until now?? What a wild ride: Dafoe vs Malkovich with a dash of Elwes. Essentially, what if F.W. Murnau (the director of the 1922 Nosferatu) hired a real vampire to play Count Orlok? So much fun, very meta. Give this one a watch! #FilmSky

Movie poster for Shadow of the Vampire with John Malcovich's portrait in the foreground. Behind him, Willem Dafoe in vampire makeup lurks menacingly.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 17/09/2026

Great writing day today! Finished up the novella outline, including chapter-level sentence summaries. Also got in some writerly admin work, plus about 850 words to boot. Let’s see what tomorrow brings! #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #BookSky

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 16/09/2026

Should have been called Goodest Boy. I loved it. Charming, fun, and refreshing. Indy is my hero.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 16/09/2026

Working on a fun little SF novella as a pallet cleanser between longer projects. Never tried a novella before, but as a habitual over-writer I'm enjoying the limitations. Wrote up a nice little outline, so now it's time for words! #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #BookSky

static.klipy.com

Sylvester Silvestre Studying

Alt: Sylvester from Looney Tunes furiously drafts at a planning desk

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 16/09/2026

Taking a night off from writing! Think I’ll mess around and build a model ship, try (and fail) to translate the Italian instructions, and watch a bad horror movie

A wooden model ship partially constructed on a coffee table. The space is littered with sawdust and little bits of wood, a rocks glass with an amber liquid inside, tools, and paper instructions.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 14/09/2026

My pitch got picked (I’m at 14:00) for a podcast! If you haven’t yet, check out Writers Bloc- it’s a hoot! Also full of excellent info. Nothing like running through a bunch of pitches to really hone in on what works. youtu.be/sLZ_Gd4AeKg?si #AmWriting #AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky

youtu.be

We Reviewed Authors' 2-Line Elevator Pitches on Threads...

YouTube video by Writer's Bloc

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 14/09/2026

Swiped from the other sites, but here are four books from my TBR I will DEFINITELY (I hope) be reading before the end of the year: #AmReading #BookSky

Book cover for THE LAST CONTRACT OF ISAKO, by Fonda Lee. A lone warrior with a flowing red cloak walks toward a frozen city, unsheathed sword in hand.

Book cover for KILLER ON THE ROAD, by Stephen Graham Jones. A pulpy, yellow-tone image of a woman looking to the side is ripped diagonally by a red muscle car, a green skull revealed under the tear.

Book cover for MOBY Dick, by Herman Melville. A wood-block style illustration of a ship tossing on rough seas, a brilliant, white whale breaching over its prow.

Book cover for THE EVERLASTING, by ALIX E HARROW. A sword, point-down, used as a silhouette for the images of a woman's face. Golden vines and flowers grow upward around it.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 12/09/2026

Book find! Stoked to crack this one open #AmReading #BookSky

A hand holds a copy of ANJI KILLS A KING, by Evan Leikam. A person with white hair and a birds beak dominates the cover, but within the silhouette is a scene of two fantasy adventurers approaching a cavern.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 12/09/2026

One of my favorite planning resources: the scene card from Lisa Cron's Story Genius. Simple, effective, and ties character development to the plot. Really digging my new project - I've finished half a dozen cards, and I'm dying to start actually writing! #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #BookSky

A copy of Lisa Cron's Story Genius leans against a curved monitor. PowerPoint is open, showing an empty planning grid for a novel scene

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 08/09/2026

Query woes? In a place like this? Never heard of ‘em. #AmWriting #AmQuerying #WritingCommunity #BookSky

A rocky shore, seaweed clinging to smooth stone with a cove beyond and pines stretching along the water.

A high vantage of a long, narrow cove flanked by stony shores and pines.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 04/09/2026

Where the magic* happens. *I panic over whether or not to remove the 7,395th instance of the word 'just' from my WIP #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #BookSky

An office with a dark teal wall lined in overcrowded bookshelves. Between them is a wooden desk with a computer monitor. Nearby is a leather couch, upon which a cat rests.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 03/09/2026

You thought I would stop Toilers of the Sea posting just because I finished reading it and no one cares except me?? Fools! Look at the peril! The drama! #AmReading #BookSky

Page from Victor Hugo’s Toilers of the Sea. Highlighted is this passage before a chapter end:

Their distant gallop was heard on the Douvres reef as Gilliatt was constructing his break water.
As we have said, Wind is all winds. The whole of this horde was now coming.
On one side was this legion.
On the other, Gilliatt.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 03/09/2026

Finished ALTERATION, by S. E. Wheeler - what a fantastic mix of drama (fam & otherwise), political intrigue, and romance. The worldbuilding's top-notch, the romance is perfect, and it’s got villains I loved to hate. Definitely check this one out! #AmReading #BookSky

Book cover for Alteration, by S. E. Wheeler. A top-down view of a dark, rocky shoreline as the tentacles of a golden octopus appear from below.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 02/09/2026

Ah, the Maybe Pile. It's good to be back! #AmQuerying

Rows of blue cloud icons, most of which have red lines coming from them terminating in a red frowny face. A few are missing that line and face, including a row highlighted in yellow.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 02/09/2026

Watched In the Mouth of Madness recently, and what a fabulous hidden (to me, anyway) gem! This was so much fun, and there were some seriously unsettling moments too. Not sure why I hadn't come across it before, but it's definitely earned a rewatch (or three)!

Movie poster for In the Mouth of Madness. An illustrated Sam Neill covered in charcoal crosses poses before the wild figure of a man with grey hair and arms outstretched. An angry mob lurks on the edges.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 01/09/2026

Started The Adversary for a long drive today, and man it is BLEAK (complementary). Glad I don’t live anywhere near this point in time/place! #AmReading #BookSky

Audiobook cover for THE ADVERSARY, by Michael Crummey. A seaside village with red buildings divided by water sits in an ink-blot style silhouette that spreads into deer antlers.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 01/09/2026

Finally saw The End of Oak Street - absolute movie magic, loved it, no notes. Fun concept, neat camera work, and everyone involved seemed to be having a blast. Sign me up for more!

Movie poster for The Endof Oak Street. A family huddled against a suburban house cowers at the humongous jaws of a carnivorous dinosaur.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 27/08/2026

With Lanebreakers deployed to the query trenches, it’s time to start my next book! Made great progress today: -Working title: SLIPSTREAM TANGO -Character roster -Protagonist backstory & flaws -Rough 3-part outline -Chapter level outline for Part I (See GIF for hint) #AmWriting #BookSky

static.klipy.com

Cowboy Bebop Jet Black Cooking

Alt: Jet from the anime Cowboy Beebop, a grizzled older man with a mechanical arm, stir fries on a stove at a spaceship galley.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 26/08/2026

How am I supposed to work under these conditions? #AmWriting #BookSky

A cat with green eyes sits in front of a computer monitor, blocking the word processor on screen.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 25/08/2026

Are folks up in arms about annotating books now? One of my favorite and most useful exercises I did as a writer was to take a novel by an author I admire and highlight instances of interiority. Seeing how they blocked it out in the text really made things click. Highly recommend.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 24/08/2026

Bookmail! Absolutely stoked to start this one! #AmReading #BookSky

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 21/08/2026

There are worse ways to kick off a Friday than a beer and a book #BookSky #AmReading

A stein of beer sits on a table at a brewery outside next to a paperback copy of Ship of Gold in the Deep Blur Sea

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 21/08/2026

I finished TOILERS OF THE SEA, a lesser-known Victor Hugo. It's undeniably a product of its time, referencing 100s of places/figures/events I'd never heard of, but there's a tremendous story in here: so much heart, grit, humor, hope, and tragedy. Give it a try! #AmReading #BookSky

A hand holds a copy of TOILERS OF THE SEA, by Victor Hugo against the backdrop of a full bookshelf. On the cover, a large rock is battered by the wind and sea.

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Gus Ryer @gusryer.com · 07/08/2026

Hell yeah this is what I'm talking about #AmReading #BookSky

A page from Toilers of the Sea, by Victor Hugo. The excerpt discusses sea urchins, with the following line highlighted: "...whose mouth is known, for some unknown reason, as Aristotle's lantern..."

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