iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Joan Marie Verba

Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Fuck ChatGPT flyers. The future is broadsheets.

A crowded broadsheet with way too many fonts. It says:
Forget ChatGPT Flyers
Say it with
Broadsheets
Unlimited fonts
Stretch them
Or cram a really long sentence into one line for no good reason
No whitespace
Mix capital and lowercase
Pointing hands
(They're called manicules!)
Don't be left behind
Broadsheets are the future

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Reposted by Joan Marie Verba

Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) @mndot.mn.gov · 22/09/2026

Frodo and Sam walked all the way to Mordor—the least we can do is keep Minnesota’s crossings safe. Drivers: stay alert, slow down near crosswalks and watch for people walking. Learn more about pedestrian safety: bit.ly/3tQOPkU

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

It does, however, work for me. I have been eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, period, for decades. No snacks, no snacking. Your mileage may vary, of course.

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Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) @mndot.mn.gov · 21/09/2026

Know your ABCs? Apply them behind the wheel: Always buckle your seat belt.

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Strong Women, Strange Worlds @swsworlds.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

From Galveston Bookshop on Facebook

Sure, maybe

You don't need more books, but WHAT IF-and hear me out - the books need you.

Plane

READ ME

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Only 2 days left to buy 16 books for the price of $30, including my novel, Secrets of the Sorcerers. Buy them while they're still available at that price! storybundle.com/sfwa

Covers for the books: Physical Magic by William C. Tracy
The Dragon Next Door by Vanessa Ricci-Thode
Mirror Bound by Rhiannon Held
Cascade by Rachel A. Rosen
The Cloak and Its Wizard by R.Z. Nicolet
Witches of Castle Falls by Phaedra Weldon
A Necromancer's Guide to Grave Mistakes by Melissa Wright
Chickpea Del and the Fabled Tree of Destiny by Maya Bohnhoff
Heirs of a Broken Land by Marie Bilodeau
The Gossamer Mage by Julie E. Czerneda
Secrets of the Sorcerers by Joan Marie Verba
The Sorcery Within by Dave Smeds
The Cormac and Amelia Case Files by Carrie Vaughn

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Shawna Benson @shawnabenson.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Happy 'Please Don't Forget About Prodigy' Star Trek Day! #livelogandproper

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Bill Krause @admiralbuck.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Boldly 60.

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Today is the observance of the 60th anniversary of Star Trek. It is also 30 years since I published the first edition of Boldly Writing: A Trek Fan and Fanfiction History, 1967-1987. More information at ftlpublications.com/nonfiction.h...

Covers of paperback and hardback editions of Boldly Writing. Boldly Writing paperback cover shows Kirk in bed with an Enterprise model. Boldly Writing hardcover cover shows a viewscreen.

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

On this Labor Day: my science fiction novel, The Arachne Portal, is centered on a woman-owned company which manufactures astounding inventions. ftlpublications.com/scienceficti...

Cover for The Arachne Portal, showing a woman entering a portal.

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

For International Read a Book Day, I present my cozy fantasy, Twelve: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. More information at twelvefairytale.com #booksky

Cover of Twelve: a couple facing a castle in the distance. In the background of the cover, the interior of a castle.

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Daniel j Burns @djb-art.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Did this one for fun to celebrate the 60th. Enjoy.🖖 #StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I drove to the post office this morning. The car I parked next to had this card inserted into the window. While I can understand the observation in this case, I'm not sure I'd have the nerve to leave this card in someone else's window. (I didn't touch it. I just photographed it.) (See alt text)

A card left on a car's window reads:

Hey
You Suck at Parking
Seriously
Even a five-year old knows how to stay [inside the lines]
Learn to park
Really

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

My Secrets of the Sorcerers is among them. If you need a book for the 3-day weekend, check this out!

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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Many years ago, I wrote down this bit of a speech Obama gave to an audience in Silicon Valley. Because it absolutely NAILED the difference between government and business.

The final thing I’ll say is that government will never run the way Silicon Valley runs because, by definition, democracy is messy. This is a big, diverse country with a lot of interests and a lot of disparate points of view. And part of government’s job, by the way, is dealing with problems that nobody else wants to deal with.

So sometimes I talk to CEOs, they come in and they start telling me about leadership, and here’s how we do things. And I say, well, if all I was doing was making a widget or producing an app, and I didn’t have to worry about whether poor people could afford the widget, or I didn’t have to worry about whether the app had some unintended consequences then I think those suggestions are terrific.

That's not, by the way, to say that there aren't huge efficiencies and improvements that have to be made.

But the reason I say this is sometimes we get, I think, in the scientific community, the tech community, the entrepreneurial community, the sense of we just have to blow up the system, or create this parallel society and culture because government is inherently wrecked.

No, it's not inherently wrecked; it's just government has to care for, for example, veterans who come home. That's not on your balance sheet, that's on our collective balance sheet, because we have a sacred duty to take care of those veterans. And that's hard and it's messy, and we're building up legacy systems that we can't just blow up.

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Rhiannon Held/R.Z. Held @rhiannonheld.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Speaking of promoting your work...the Storybundle with my book is live! Don't just get it for mine, get it for all the other cool magic users too! The Wizards, Warlocks and Soothsayers Bundle storybundle.com/sfwa

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

My novel, Secrets of the Sorcerers, is part of the Wizards, Warlocks, and Soothsayers bundle on #storybundle. For more information, go to storybundle.com/sfwa (this offer will be active until September 17).

Covers for the following books: Specters From a Dream by M. Turville Heitz
The Shetland Witch by Kate Macdonald
Susurrus by B. Morris Allen
Physical Magic by William C. Tracy
The Dragon Next Door by Vanessa Ricci-Thode
Mirror Bound by Rhiannon Held
Cascade by Rachel A. Rosen
The Cloak and Its Wizard by R.Z. Nicolet
Witches of Castle Falls by Phaedra Weldon
A Necromancer's Guide to Grave Mistakes by Melissa Wright
Chickpea Del and the Fabled Tree of Destiny by Maya Bohnhoff
Heirs of a Broken Land by Marie Bilodeau
The Gossamer Mage by Julie E. Czerneda
Secrets of the Sorcerers by Joan Marie Verba
The Sorcery Within by Dave Smeds
The Cormac and Amelia Case Files by Carrie Vaughn

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Reposted by Joan Marie Verba

Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The Chain Story Project has released the latest story: Devourer of Crowns by S. E. Lindberg and Jason M. Waltz. It is absolutely wild! Please read, enjoy like and share! (Sharing is what makes it possible for us to bring you #freefiction. Thank you.) www.chainstorycore.com/blog/devoure...

chainstorycore.com

Devourer of Crowns — The Chain Story

Doctor Grave and Lord Direk—names to conjure with or fight against—unite against powers that will destroy them. But can they trust each other long enough to survive? S. E. Lindberg and Jason M. Waltz—...

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Malaclypse the Middle @malaclypse.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

A couple of weeks ago I rode to Newburyport MA and saw this COVID memorial and realized this is the only one I have ever seen anywhere. And the fact that I nearly broke down seeing it is something I still think about.

For those who died and those who survived and all we list during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Leiracal @leiracal.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The last time I researched this, I discovered the timeline "sport is open to all; woman wins; sport is immediately closed off to women; women's league is eventually formed years later" is almost universal. Women's leagues were overwhelmingly created *strictly* to protect the egos of men.

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

At the conclusion of #SelfPublishedAuthorsAppreciationWeek #SPAAW, an image of novels I've published from 2020 until now. More information (including a form to fill out for those wishing to subscribe to my newsletter) at joanmarieverba.com #booksky

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

A food allergy awareness video (5 minutes): www.foodallergy.org/our-initiati...

foodallergy.org

Food Allergy: the Invisible Disease

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Reposted by Joan Marie Verba

KJ Charles @kjcharleswriter.com · 21/07/2026

Email from an experience provider asking me to do a half day's work, on a Sunday *and* give them a bunch of free books, in return for **afternoon tea**, because of course there is no budget to pay the author, why would there be something like that.

screengrab of the end of email. "It is of course common practice to treat authors' time and labour as having no value, especially when those authors are women. Unfortunately, my mortgage company doesn't take sandwiches, or indeed exposure, as payment, and therefore nor can I.

Best wishes

KJ"

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Holland Oates @phinsphan.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

People are gonna fucking hate this if it actually happens. Enjoy all these post 8am sunrises

Maps of US showing the number of post 8am sunrises and latest sunrises of year with permanent daylight saving time from
https://savestandardtime.com/maps/

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Reposted by Joan Marie Verba

Erik Grove @erikgrove.com · 09/07/2026

My one piece of advice to new writers is that it is really, really helpful to make friends with other writers at every step of the journey. You never know when their shared experience, wisdom, or good humor will save you from some heartache.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

The Chain Story Project just released its latest: A Dangerous Place by Michael A. Stackpole. (Story's great, you'll laugh, you'll cry.) Please enjoy, like and share. (Reposting is life for a project like this. Thank you.) www.chainstorycore.com/blog/a-dangerous-place

chainstorycore.com

A Dangerous Place — The Chain Story

Myrk is a mouse. He knows more magick than is good for him. He goes for a walk in the woods, a very dark and forbidding wood. Hilarity ensues in this new story from Michael A. Stackpole.

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Anthony W. Eichenlaub @anthonyeichenlaub.com · 05/07/2026

Back home after ConVergence. Highlights were readings by @joanmarieverba.bsky.social and @naomikritzer.bsky.social Great seeing all of you that I saw. Sorry to miss those I didn’t. Such a wonderful con. #cvg2026

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Author J. Scott Coatsworth @jscottcoatsworth.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Check out Joan Marie Verba Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Sci-Fi Joan Marie Verba (she/her) is an autistic author, publisher, and web developer. She earned a bachelor of physics degree from the University of Minnesota ... www.limfic.com/mbm-book-aut... #AuthorSpotlight @joanmarieverba.bsky.social

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

My books table at Convergence #CVG2026 Selling my books as well as books by other authors.

Table full of books: The Broken Lute, Sword of Queens, Twelve, Defying the Ghosts, Interstellar Mission: Infiltrate, The Arachne Portal, Boldly
Writing, Secrets of the Sorcerers, Clash of the Sorcerers, Shadows of the Sorcerers, The Society of Guenevere, Cat's Paw, Bradamant's Quest, Wondry Dragon Finds a Home, Becoming Birch, Being Birch. Plus a lighted neon dragon on the table.

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RAW semantics @rawsemantics.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

You get a lot of resistance to this idea from clichéd rightwing-type ideology. One such cliché was described well by Robert Anton Wilson:

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Here are novels on my backlist: Defying the Ghosts (defyingtheghosts.com) Sword of Queens (see joanmarieverba.com/books.html) Twelve (twelvefairytale.com) Summoned by Dragons (summonedbydragons.com)

Covers of the books Defying the Ghosts (young woman faces haunted house), Sword of Queens (sword and crown), Twelve (woman and man facing a castle), and Summoned by Dragons (dragon next to young woman)

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

@wsbookclub.bsky.social Summer is arriving soon. Post a dragon. Here's the dragon on the cover of my novel Summoned by Dragons, at summonedbydragons.com

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Reposted by Joan Marie Verba

Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

The Chain Story Project is pleased to offer The Krells of Tancras Moor by, um, ME! Just click through on the link below and snag a copy. It's #freefiction Enjoy and please, PLEASE, share. Sharing keeps the Chain Story going. www.chainstorycore.com/blog/the-krells-of-tancras-moor

chainstorycore.com

The Krells of Tancras Moor — The Chain Story

They tricked him into committing murder, and now Black Morgan of Aldare is hunting them down in Michael A. Stackpole’s The Krells of Tancras Moor .

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W&S_BOOKCLUB @wsbookclub.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Attention, everyone! Self-published Authors Appreciation Week returns in July. You can find details on what it is and how you can join the fun below! Let's make it even bigger than last year! #bookblogger #Selfpublished #SPAAW ##SelfPublishedAuthorsAppreciationWeek #booksky

wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog

Announcement: Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week 2026

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know that I enjoy books from all publishing venues: traditional, indie, and self-published. Self-published authors are the badasses of the publishi…

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Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) @mndot.mn.gov · 04/05/2026

May the safe route guide you. Drive slowly in work zones and watch for crews.

Electronic sign on highway above traffic. The sign reads, "Yoda says, ‘Slow down you must in work zones.’”

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Author J. Scott Coatsworth @jscottcoatsworth.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Check out Susan Ruff Susan Ruff became hooked on fantasy books the first time she read The Hobbit as a child. As she grew older, she dabbled in writing her own fantasy stories and novels, but really became serious ... www.limfic.com/mbm-book-aut... #AuthorSpotlight @susanruff.bsky.social

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SZ Estavillo @szestavilloauthor.com · 26/04/2026

People think writers wait for inspiration, but most books get written on tired days, bad days, and days you’d rather quit. On the days you don’t feel creative. On the days the words fight you. On the days showing up feels harder than writing itself. Books get finished by discipline. #AuthorSky

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Elizabeth Bear @matociquala.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

With return postage and an envelope if you wanted your manuscript back. Which you did because toner was expensive.

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J.S. Ruff @jsruff.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Herbs for the Apprentice by J.S. Ruff is now live on Amazon at: www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRWWR2XM #Booksky #FantasyBooks #CozyFantasyBooks #CozyFantasy

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

At Minicon, we became aware of the announcement that the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association named Ruth Berman their 13th Grand Master. Congratulations to Ruth! (Ruth is also a novelist. The photo is of Ruth holding her awards certificate from MIPA for her novel, Bradamant's Quest.)

Photo of Ruth Berman holding the MIPA award certificate for her novel, Bradamant's Quest

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

I have also known Laramie for over 50 years. She's worked hard to find and keep her home.

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

My latest science fiction novel, just published! Kindle link: www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHV6SC5C Paperback: www.amazon.com/dp/1936881934

Cover of Interstellar Mission: Infiltrate with a woman standing with back to reader, watching moon and spaceship in the sky in a futuristic city

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Joan Marie Verba @joanmarieverba.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Similar experience here. Windows kept saving files to OneDrive when I wanted them saved to my hard drive. I now use another file saving management procedure.

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