iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 19h

Feeling strangely bereft since finishing WAR AND PEACE. Mortally tempted to tackle ANNA KARENINA next...

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

My OH is guiding Americans round Steall Falls today, my son is walking in the countryside in Corsica, and my daughter is serving hot chocolate to tourists. I am making notes for my panels at FantasyCon, and listening to the dog snoring.

070

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

According to LinkedIn, someone from the European Space Agency found my profile. Dunno what they were looking for, unless it was that one story about a space alien that lands in a 18th century village and gets mistaken for a witch.

270

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

My husband is in Mountain Rescue and last night the call-out alarm went off twice, incredibly loudly, and the second time that was it, I couldn't get back to sleep, so if you want to know how I am today, 3 shades off the walking dead, thanks.

090

Reposted by Helen Grant

Maria J Pérez Cuervo @mjpcuervo.com · 02/10/2026

I enjoyed the new Sense and Sensibility more than I thought I would. The three girls were good, Mrs Jennings superb, Edward charming, Willoughby charismatic with a Byronic streak. Brandon was my least favourite. Controversial, but David Morrissey’s Brandon will always be my favourite Austen hero.

2112

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Finished WAR AND PEACE today (3 October) having started it on 1 January. Still digesting it as I feel rather stunned by the final 42 pages of historical theorising! But wow. Worth the effort.

190

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I am still reading WAR AND PEACE. I'm about 60 pages from the end. Today I was walking into the Co-op and I came face to face with a bloke who was exactly how I imagine Pierre looking from Tolstoy's description. I wonder if he went in to look for Blini and Borscht?

170

Reposted by Helen Grant

John Coulthart @johncoulthart.com · 01/10/2026

My cover wrap for Ghosts on the Cam. A tricky one because all the photo reference is partial views with conflicting perspectives. I scaled back some of the foliage which has grown a lot more over the past century. There may be a ghost in this picture.

A wide blue-tinted nocturnal view of the Bridge of Sighs which spans the River Cam in Cambridge. Spot the ghost.

1173

Reposted by Helen Grant

Swan River Press @swanriverpress.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Yesterday we announced our forthcoming title GHOSTS ON THE CAM edited by Robert Lloyd Parry. This meticulously researched volume gives insight into M. R. James's Cambridge, and even sheds light on the possible identity of the elusive "DNJ". Pre-order here: swanriverpress.ie/srp-title/gh...

02111

Reposted by Helen Grant

Hellebore @helleborezine.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

⚡️IT’S HERE!⚡️ Ruined temples, living myths, riddles and enigmas, Medieval mystics, a gas-lit world of secret societies and energy grids, psychedelic revivals, and sonic experiments at the City of the Dead. 👉🏼 Gaze into the eyes of the sphinx and pre-order The Mystery Issue on helleborezine.com

A woman standing by a sphinx, the wind beating her cape

423893

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

With Hallowe'en approaching, I thoroughly recommend David Longhorn's YouTube channel, which has beautifully done readings of both classic ghost stories and tales by modern authors. Ideal for listening while you carve the pumpkin! www.youtube.com/@valdemarsqu...

youtube.com

David Longhorn

GENERATIVE AI WAS NOT USED TO CREATE ANY OF THE VIDEO OR AUDIO CONTENT ON THIS CHANNEL A British bloke who edits a magazine dedicated to ghostly and weird tales and also writes horror fiction for the...

041

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I saw this poem going round on FB and sent it to my family, because we have a dog called Persey and it could've been written for her. Then I discovered it was in fact written about a dog!!! ❤️

050

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

NIGHT CREATURES launch event (Doncaster)! £5 including readings, wine and nibbles! www.dovecotgallery.co.uk/photo_175355...

dovecotgallery.co.uk

Night Creatures 24October: dovecot gallery

015

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Stuff I'll be doing at FantasyCon in Glasgow next month!

Helen's events at FantasyCon:
Reading from STEAL ME, Saturday 6pm
Cursed Objects, Cursed People (panel), Saturday 7pm
Creating new folklore (panel), Sunday 10am

054

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Eating a chilli con carne my son made. It is delicious but so hot that my nose is running.

080

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

NIGHTMARE ABBEY 11 is out! Includes my tribute to Arthur Machen: "Viridian". www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HKRT576...

amazon.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk

274

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Daughter left out a pile of things to be chucked/donated and oh dear that badge is rather poignant

Items including badge with the word HOPE on it

072

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Rewatching SPACEMAN with daughter and somewhat reluctant OH. "You have many boundaries, skinny human. Perhaps they are the cause of your loneliness."

010

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I get lots of emails asking me to sign petitions etc and fairly often I am sympathetic to them. Just got one asking me to "Stop Killer Robots". Um, sure. I bet a petition or me sending £2 will sort that problem just fine.

static.klipy.com

Terminator Robot with Glowing Red Eyes

ALT: Terminator Robot with Glowing Red Eyes

070

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Just a reminder that if you'd like to read my "Ghosts and Scholars" magazine inspired story "Reading Matter", there is this lovely reading by David Longhorn! A tribute to the small press magazine. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K2a...

youtube.com

'Reading Matter' by Helen Grant

YouTube video by David Longhorn

164

Reposted by Helen Grant

Boo-tros Boo-tros Ghoulish @dlbowman76.com · 24/08/2026

Alright, book friends, what strikes your fancy?

A stack of books:

"Dreyer's English" -Benjamin Dreyer.
"Atmospheric Disturbances" -Helen Grant.
"Silent as the Grave" -Cornell Woolrich.
"Nocturnal Mirrors" -Richard Gavin.
"How Do People Stay the Same" -Mark Bowles.
"Big Money" -P.G. Wodehouse.

341

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The other day I saw a video of a bloke in a khaki t-shirt earnestly telling people how to prep for the apocalypse by rotating the food in your pantry so the stuff with the longest sell by date is at the back. Dude, I have fed a family of four on a budget for 28 years. This is not news to me.

1160

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I have decided to cook the padron peppers because we all need some unpredictability in our lives

240

Reposted by Helen Grant

Paul Kane @paulkane.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Huge thanks to the mighty Barnes & Noble - our antho #TheHopelessRomanticsGuidetoEnchantment front and centre on this new releases promo. Link to buy below: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hopele...

032

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Wandering around Scone Palace maze like a lost soul

1120

Reposted by Helen Grant

Maria J Pérez Cuervo @mjpcuervo.com · 17/09/2026

In the post today is the latest by @helengrantsays.bsky.social, which I read and blurbed a few months back. A beautifully atmospheric novella that evokes the golden era of dark fantasy. Out now with PS Publishing.

Steal Me by Helen Grant. The cover shows and elderly woman standing on a threshold of a bookshop with strange shapes and shadows behind her

"Transplants the atmosphere of a Grimm fairy tale to a small town in Scotland, simultaneously evoking the antiquarian terrors of
M. R. James and the golden era of dark fantasy."
MARIA J PÉREZ CUERVO
(Founder/Editor of Hellebore)

132

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I have a fasting blood test at 09:30 and here we are at 07:25 and I am really wishing I'd taken the earlier appointment 😱

0140

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I just saw a pic of a writer's study where they can shut themselves away and work in peace. Now I have study envy. Yesterday I tried to work while helping one of my adult kids with a job related issue, nipping out for groceries for dinner and holding the dog on my lap so I could scratch her ears.

2171

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Highest compliment: a friend reading this book during his extremely ritzy holiday ❤️

THE SEA CHANGE by Helen Grant, with background of pool and palm trees

2121

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

If you missed the last ever issue of GHOSTS & SCHOLARS, the M.R.James magazine, you can catch my short story "Reading Matter", which appeared in it, here! Beautifully read by David Longhorn. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K2a...

youtube.com

'Reading Matter' by Helen Grant

YouTube video by David Longhorn

1137

Reposted by Helen Grant

Alexander Rooksmoor @arcrooksmoor.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

My wife had to start her chilli harvest early to avoid aphid damage, which was a shame as some were not ripe. Added to that some that are supposed to be red have come out dark chocolate brown, a known colour for chillis, but not the ones we thought we were growing.

121

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Email from the market garden where we get our veg box: "We began the squash harvest a little early to avoid vole damage." This is marvellously wholesome and also we can all sleep more easily knowing that we have swerved vole damage.

270

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This Friday (11th) in Alloa! A chance to try out #RLFReadingRound for #BookClubDayUK! Come and hear a poem and a story, and discuss them - no pre-reading needed. Free, but booking required.

223

Reposted by Helen Grant

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I’m pleased to say I have been elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, so I am now officially an Antiquary and have to have a Cabinet of Curiosities, embark on ill-advised investigations of barrows, and write ghost stories 🪔 👻

3835616

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

At the dentist with my daughter, as she's currently on crutches. She just pointed out that all the posters of smiling dental patients are reminiscent of "There are Monsters" and now I can't unsee it 😱

060

Reposted by Helen Grant

Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I question how “unpopular” these opinions really are. I would add that I hate how tech bros have used technology to *constantly* try to sell me things I don’t want. I’m always being hectored to either subscribe, upgrade, or purchase.

3324046999

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

At the Scottish Crannog Centre! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

070

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Daughter and I drove up to the dam yesterday just to get a change of scene. We didn't stay long. Effing midges! One of the little f***ers bit me right on the median cubital vein and it itches like an absolute bastard.

220

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

A while ago we bought the tiny doggo a new bed, which she flatly refused to sleep in. She would sleep on the bare floor rather than in that bed. So we gave her back her old, tatty one, and she still sleeps in that, even though she's spilling out of it. Meanwhile, the CAT has moved into the new bed.

280

Reposted by Helen Grant

Tom Reagan’s Witch’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

This still remains the best explanation as to why I don’t watch a lot of tv shows anymore

525546

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Near London? Fan of classic ghost stories? Check this out! November event. www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk/pleasing-ter...

thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk

Pleasing Terrors: the MR James Festival - Drayton Arms Theatre

165

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

There are all these slightly annoying videos on FB going "Somewhere in Scotland there is a..." and it's always an abandoned asylum or a crypt in the woods, and never a particularly large branch of ALDI

070

Helen Grant @helengrantsays.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I decided that this would be the year I read WAR AND PEACE, so I started on January 1st and read at least one chapter per day. I am now on page 1143 of 1358 and thoroughly recommend this approach. It feels really manageable. Just hope I don't get run over by a bus before I get to page 1358 though!

370