iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

This experience has fixed my dodgy hip (ok, for the rest of the day anyway). Would happily repeat on daily basis, even more than Normal Onsen which is nice enough.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Afterwards we went here which was just unbelievably gorgeous.

Wildflowers either side of a path in the foreground, leading to a golden gate with gold dragon statues either side. Behind that is a lake fringed by low mountains with a (dormant) volcano in the distance.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

We did cheat & drove there rather than catching the train. We were not the only people there just to visit the Southernmost JR Station :) 🚆

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

SO MANY SORTS OF TOFU! 😍😍😍

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

We did have a map with us, which was handy for seeing what was on each island & for a Scenic Detour through some citrus groves, but for navigation all you do is follow the blue line painted on the road all the way from Onomichi to Imabari.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

We ended up seeing a lovely sunset + sundogs, I got to put my feet in the sea, and there were BATS at the bus stop at dusk, so delay worked out OK in the end. And it (the Shimanami Kaido) was a lovely bike ride!

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doop @doop.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

😤✋becoming a weeb due to anime 😊👉 becoming a weeb due to late Muromachi period aesthetics

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I too tried the electric bath in my side of the Kyoto onsen, and got straight out again. NO NOPE cannot bring myself to believe this is safe. (Rest of onsen delightful.)

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Adorable mountain railway train!

A station with a narrow-gauge train arriving at the platform. It has a lovely bright orange engine. Behind it are very steep very forested mountains.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Me on seeing bus: “ugh it’s v small, it‘ll be at least 3 more runs until our turn“. Then they magically rammed in about 2x the people I’d expected which turned out to be in part because you load people 2+1 seats to a row then a thing flips down to fill in each row gap with another seat! GENIUS.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

There is about a million miles of leg space. Never mind Toyama, I might just stay on the train.

Back of Shinkansen seats in front of my seat. There is a fold-down tray and a drinks holder and lots of space.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Little Bagpuss and Arfy enjoying their shinkansen ride.

Two small soft toys, Bagpuss and a white seal, looking out of the Shinkansen window. In the background are some fields.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

First shinkansen! Pointy snoot! (the Hakutaka 555 to Toyama) (previously we’ve been on local trains or limited express)

A Shinkansen (bullet train) pulling into a platform. It has a very long pointy nose!

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

According to the sign outside this is actually made of wood, with the “stones” painted on (in order to look Western and Enlightened, you see).

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I have been to an onsen! A small-ish local one with a little outdoor bath (it had a nice garden & also a view of an electricity pylon looming behind the fence 😅 ).

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doop @doop.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

We have been enjoying one of Japan’s famous hundred soundscapes: the wild bird forest at the foot of Mt Fuji

The tranquil Lake Saiko, nestled in a huge forest. Mt Fuji is in the background shrouded by cloud.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It's Book Quote Wednesday & this week's word is "knew". War is on the horizon... #bqw books2read.com/Song-Stone-S...

Quote: It was a while since I’d been to Perren. I knew tensions had been increasing, though not why. I hadn’t realised it was that bad. I’d grown up near the border. Creeping dread coiled up my spine at the idea of war, spilling into the farms and valleys of my childhood.
and book cover and link to book

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

like @doop.bsky.social I loved TeamLab Borderless in Tokyo but my favourite was the CROWS who take off in one room, zoom in circles all around you, then fly through all the rooms. Lots of things go through all the rooms (eg butterflies, the frog procession) but the crows are the best.

Digital art - white crows flying in front of a wall of pink and purple flowers.

Digital art - white crows flying in front of a wall of giant sunflowers, with outlined frog procession at the bottom
(and some visitors’ heads)

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Read this week: The Pollutant Speaks, by Alex Cochran. Really interesting book! I loved the idea of the language Para and the idea of its unavoidable clarity; and the questions around human capacity and political willingness re alien communication. Recommended. www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...

goodreads.com

The Pollutant Speaks

"Cochran deftly portrays the power of human minds to le…

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Wizard's Tower Press @wtpress.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Can a gay lizard alien find love? Or a trans woman astronaut? Wiz Duos Book 4 has some very intimate first contact stories by Stephen Cox and Ellen Mellor. On pre-order: wizardstowerpress.co...

The cover for Wiz Duo 4; art by Roz Clarke.

The image for Marooned Off Ceres shows the head of an astronaut in her helmet gazing up at a turtle.

The image for Top Tips for Loving a Lizard shows a Godzilla-like creature cuddling an ape.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I am really enjoying the post-drought return of the grass.

Lots of bright green new grass shoots coming up through old dry dead grass.

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Emma Osborne 🍉 @redscribe.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I had a lovely chat with my pal @ktidbeck.bsky.social tonight and we were talking about how they got a blurb from the incredible Ursula K Le Guin (!!!!!!) and how Ursula got a blurb from Tolkien (!!!!!!!)

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Octopus and pot netsuke! So adorable! (seen in the British Museum). By Ōhara Mitsuhiro, 1840-1860s.

A tiny model (in ivory and horn) of an octopus cuddling a large pot.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It's Book Quote Wednesday & this week's word is "tree". (I like a cherry tree.) #bqw books2read.com/Song-Stone-S...

Quote: Perhaps stopping dead—not the best choice of words—in the middle of the courtyard and shouting at nothing was somewhat unusual behaviour. I gave them a reassuring nod, and diverted over to the left, where there were a couple of cherry trees, boughs laden with flowers, and I could lose my mind in peace.
with book cover and link to book

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I have FINISHED the current (urban-fantasy-ish) project! At least to the "sending it off to people" stage; as/when/if it makes it further towards publication I am sure further edits will ensue. But for now that is a WRAP.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

at the weekend! much excite :)

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Today’s going-to-Japan prep: watching Totoro in Japanese with Japanese subtitles! (I understood… a little bit. But that’s ok because I know the film more than well enough to follow it anyway.)

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

First year we’ve ever had a second crop of figs - UK you normally just get the overwintered ones, Mediterranean you get a late summer batch too. Previous years our summer ones all fell off when they were tiny and didn't ripen…

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

It's Book Quote Wednesday & this week's word is "drip". #bqw books2read.com/Song-Stone-S...

Quote: Faint shafts of light pierced through the cracks up there, highlighting beautiful carvings on the facades of some of the buildings, where they hadn’t been knocked off by falling rocks or smoothed by dripping water. The dragon was illuminated by those same shafts of light, its scales shining blue. It was maybe the size of a couple of horses together. It was beautiful, if you cared to see it that way.
with book cover image and link to book.

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doop @doop.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

OI OI IT’S THE BANG FACE HARD CREW 🙂🙂🙂

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

After the bridge shuts again and they start opening the gates, the bikes all get to zip off ahead of the cars and for maybe a minute the bridge is entirely bikes & it is GREAT.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

So awesome! (ages since I’ve been in Singapore but I really liked it!)

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Seen the other day in the park: a crow sneaking up behind geese and pulling their tail-feathers to make them jump. Three times in a row, clearly for pure entertainment value (it wasn’t going for what they were eating or anything). Crows are great.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

It's Book Quote Wednesday & this week's word is "appear". Ghosts can be harder to conceal than you might think. #bqw books2read.com/Song-Stone-S...

Quote: “One of them’s called Misha,” Graf said, appearing behind Arel’s shoulder. I didn’t actually recoil and start swearing, but it was a close thing. “Cade?” Arel asked. “I’m. Fine. It’s fine. Uh. One of them’s called Misha, if that helps?” “Misha,” Arel breathed. “That little snake.”
with book cover and link to book

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

planning for Japan later this month! And start-of-term organisy stuff and so forth. Also not-getting tickets for the Proms tonight though not super surprising the Berlin Phil + Enigma Variations might sell out fast.

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Eddie Clark @dreddieclark.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

20) The Deep & Shining Dark by Juliet Kemp (33rt, 9rv) The opening of a 4 book series, setting out the lives of select people in the quasi-independent port city of Marek. Solid plotting, good characters, & truly excellent work on the setting; Marek one of the best fantasy cities of the past decade.

bookshop.org

The Deep and Shining Dark

You know something's wrong when the cityangel turns up at your doorMagic within the city-state of Marek works without the need for bloodletting, unlike elsewhere in Teren, thanks to an agreement three...

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Also meant I got 90 very useful min in a cafe doing admin, during the bit where they were roaming London ruling places out where I might be :)

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

The kid & @doop.bsky.social & I played Jet Lag Hide+Seek yesterday & it was top fun also I won 🎉🎉 (To be fair I won partly because I’ve played before & am thus more familiar with the failure modes of printed map+measuring on Google Maps in central London.)

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Wizard's Tower Press @wtpress.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

And finally for today's flood of announcements, the new cover for Sophia McDougall's Mars Evacuees, which will go on pre-order next week. Please note that this one is UK only. For everywhere else the book is still in print from the original publishers. The book is Middle Grade #GoAllIn #Ymgolli

The cover of Mars Evacuees by Sophia McDougall.

The image is of four teenagers in space suits set against an image of Mars and a robot goldfish.

Original art by Andy Potts, cover design by Ben Baldwin

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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

A tetanus-diphtheria vaccine that doesn’t need a fridge has passed its first human trial. UK scientists reformulated a licensed shot using trehalose, the sugar that lets desert plants survive without water, keeping it stable for up to two years at 30°C. Gavi buff.ly/1kNIUHB #ShareGoodNewsToo

gavi.org

Fridge-free vaccine passes first human trial, raising hopes for the hardest-to-reach

Unreliable electricity makes it hard to keep vaccines at the right temperature – this development could change that.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I have swum in the sea FIVE TIMES in the last fortnight, and there is no sea in London, and I miss the sea :( (The sea on the south coast atm is pretty warm; it's weird. But nice! I enjoy the exhilaration of cold water but I also must admit to liking it when it doesn't freeze my hands off.)

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doop @doop.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I was lucky enough to see her play Glastonbury: you could forgive a 68yo for taking it easy but she gave it everything and you had the distinct impression she’d happily come back and give it everything tomorrow and the next day too; just an incredible performance.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

It's Book Quote Wednesday & this week's word is "question". Sir Cade is trying to solve a problem. #bqw books2read.com/Song-Stone-S...

Quote: “Right.” Better than fading away, I supposed. But not what I wanted. Not even slightly. “So, my next question is, how about instead of that, can we put him back into, like, a body.” I gestured up and down mine, and then, for good measure, Emar’s. “Because the stories say you lot can do that."
with book cover and link to book

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

restructuring things is SLOW and I now have two slightly different outlines for the first part from two different POVs (PsOV?) BUT it will all be fine in the end I am sure. #amwriting

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

That last thing for definite.

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doop @doop.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Some time around 1835 an underground grotto was discovered in Margate, intricately covered in millions of tiny sea shells. Beyond that nobody seems to know who made it, or when, or why, but it’s pretty cool.

A skylight, decorated with concentric rings of shells

An arched passageway. The walls ate lined with intricate patterns made of shells.

What seems to be an underground altar chamber: a medium sized room with walls entirely covered in shells. There is a little alcove in one wall, and against another a little pedestal or altar.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Monday morning, I realised Current Project, all 115K of it, needs a complete ground-up restructuring. I have thus spent much of the last week alternating between staring out of the window for 30min & writing notes. Frustrating, BUT it now feels interesting again instead of unpleasant and sticky.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I’ve tried it. I am happy to knock it.

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Juliet Kemp @julietk.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

It's Book Quote Wednesday & this week's word is "busy". Sir Cade has a ghost to rescue. #bqw books2read.com/Song-Stone-Scale-Bone

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