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Mahaila Smith (they/them)

@mahailasmith.ca
734 followers 674 following 144 posts

Co-Editor for The Sprawl Mag Seed Beetle (2025) with Stelliform Press Mahailasmith.ca

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The Future Fire @thefuturefire.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Also: “A New Shell” by @mahailasmith.ca (art by L.E. Badillo), #ecoSF flash fiction, moral dilemma and environmental pillaging. futurefire.net/2026.77/fict...
futurefire.net
A New Shell, Mahaila Smith
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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 25/09/2026
Millions of Americans will take action on October 17 to make it clear to the regime that we won’t sit by while they threaten to sabotage the midterms. Join a No Kings event to drive massive early voting and recruit tons of volunteers to help protect our elections: www.nokings.org?SQF_SOURCE=i...
(around a map showing the more than 1,000 events planned for the next No Kings on October 17) NO KINGS
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
MAKE A PLAN TO VOTE EARLY!
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K.V. Johansen @kvjohansen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Canadians: As part of a global effort to demand regulation for artificial intelligence developers, The Writers’ Union of Canada has launched a Parliamentary Petition calling for radical transparency for AI training processes & the works they subsequently produce. www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
ourcommons.ca
Petition e-7774 - Petitions
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 20/09/2026
I have a new flash piece about space crabs in The Future Fire! 🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀https://futurefire.net/2026.77/fiction/new.html Let me know what you think!!
futurefire.net
A New Shell, Mahaila Smith
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 14/09/2026
Reading Hemlock & Silver which is my first T. Kingfisher book and absolutely loving it.
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 31/08/2026
Favourite typo of the week: “the vortext” Which, as we all know, is the swirl of word soup where the characters from half finished manuscripts twiddle their thumbs.
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 30/08/2026
rivers solomon is my favourite author of all time, everyone should go read this!!
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Jasmine 🌌🔭 @astrojaz.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
CURIOSITY HAS BEEN ON MARS FOR 14 YEARS!! HAPPY LANDIVERSARY CURIOSITY!!
Curiosity Mars rover selfie
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Devan Barlow @devanbarlow.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
✨This is over 2/3 funded, let's get them the rest of the way!✨
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 17/07/2026
Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness
Distinguished theatre critics in their box
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 16/07/2026
If you’re looking to fill up a box of 4 chapbooks during the above/ground press bday sale, why not check out my collection of surreality cover arted by my beloved sister, Leona Smith abovegroundpress.blogspot.com/2024/07/new-...
abovegroundpress.blogspot.com
new from above/ground press: Enter the Hyperreal, by Mahaila Smith
Enter the Hyperreal Mahaila Smith $5 Put on your shoes or else you need to leave after Barbara Guest Stilted bones for your birthday are an ...
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Charlie Angus @charlieangus104.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Mark Carney sold out Cuba at the UN. If you are lobbyist for a pesticide company or an oil giant looking for a handout he's got your back but a nation being crushed by an illegal blockade? Well that's another story. Call your Liberal MP and ask why. canadiannetworkoncuba.ca/2026/07/07/c...
canadiannetworkoncuba.ca
CNC Statement on Canada’s Abstention at the United Nations – Canadian network on cuba
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 26/06/2026
I have a new dystopian short story up on Short Editions and scattered in their short story machines all around the world. You can read it here for free: short-edition.com/en/story/sho...
short-edition.com
The Last Quagga
I woke up before you, looking down at your peaceful, sleeping face. You were curled into me, your breaths warm against my collarbone. I wanted to lean down and kiss you, but you needed the rest.   I
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Neon Hemlock @neonhemlock.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
50% off all ebooks until July 4th in dishonor of Amaz*n. Use code COMPOSITE at www.neonhemlock.com/ebooks.
there's a bit of graffiti that defaces amazon to say amazno with  the "no" bit struck out. then 50% off ebooks. use code COMPOSITE. and then perhaps ironically there are a bunch of paper books in the background. also a swirly bit of purple and the neon hemlock logo in the corner.
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Penumbric Speculative Fiction Mag @penumbricmag.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
The lake blooms with gasoline seams ... -from "In the wake of this decay" by Mahaila Smith ( @mahailasmith.ca ), in April's #Penumbric at www.penumbric.com/currentissue... and pdf www.penumbric.com/currentissue... #poem #poet #horror
"In the wake of this decay" by Mahaila Smith ( @mahailasmith.ca ), in April's Penumbric at https://www.penumbric.com/currentissue/smithDecay.html
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InkFoundry @inkfoundry.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
LAUNCH DAY! There's no fee to enter, and on top of the winning publication, EIGHT authors will receive $100 each. THAT'S $2,300 of community-raised funds! See inkfoundry.net/the-inkmark/ for more details!
Promo material for the InkMark that says: $1000 to a specfic magazine that pays their authors, charges no fees, bans AI, is free to read. Submissions open June 15th at inkfoundry.net/the-inkmarkThe InkMark Prizes: $1000 for one magazine, $100 for each of the five representing authors, $500 for one commissioned artist. Submissions open June 15th at inkfoundry.net/the-inkmarkThe InkMark is made possible by sponsorships from The Pulp Pit, Foofaraw, and InkFoundry
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The Sprawl Mag @thesprawl.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
3!!! More!!! Days!!
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Ness 🎃🇨🇦 @vriccithode.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Ready for a completed series? Pick up Favour Fire now! It’s got: 🔥 sword lesbian (bi) 🔥 axe lesbian 🔥 disaster bi 🔥 everything’s on fire 🔥 oh shit! 🔥 shenanigans with a volcano 🔥 intergenerational team-up 🔥 international team-up 🔥 queer firebending dragon riders 🌈📚 #booksky books2read.com/u/mqxAa8
a tall fierce black woman in armour, holding a big sword with a let's-fucking-go expression, standing back to back with a short white woman with flaming hands ready to do murder. a dragon silhouette in the background. art by @ursulagray.bsky.sociala trope card on a black and fiery background displaying the cover of Favour Fire which features an erupting volcano and dragons circling the summit. White text with arrows pointing at it reads: everything’s on fire!, epic team-up, what do you mean I have to stop this volcano?!, all the dragons!, oh shit!, series finale, stronger together.
#NessPromo
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The Sprawl Mag @thesprawl.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
There‘s less than a week left to submit! We accept spec flash fiction (1500 words or under), poems, and visual art. We pay 20$ CAD per accepted piece. Head over to our website for more details and feel free to reply with any questions you have about the magazine. www.thesprawlmag.ca/submissions
thesprawlmag.ca
Submissions — The Sprawl Mag
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 24/05/2026
I absolutely love this album! Go support haylee if you like tapes!
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Colin Alexander @colincalexander.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Author copies of “Suicide Valley Trail Maintenance” arrived today, and they look BEAUTIFUL. Grab your copy before the first printing runs out: www.stanchionzine.com/product-page... @stanchion.bsky.social
stanchionzine.com
Suicide Valley Trail Maintenance | Stanchion
The Jack London/Stephen King mashup you never knew you wanted! SUICIDE VALLEY TRAIL MAINTENANCE is a thrilling horror novella that follows a park ranger as they journey into a remote, ominous valley t...
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Alexis Ames @alexisames.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Announcing: my next book! THE LAST INFINITY is a time travel novel full of queer characters, wonky timelines, and cute robots. Check it out here! alexisamesbooks.com/2026/05/18/a.... #WritingCommunity #indieauthor #SFF
alexisamesbooks.com
Announcing: THE LAST INFINITY
If you are subscribed to my newsletter, you have already heard the news, but: my next book is coming out in August! (This is a fake book cover made in Canva and not the real cover. Stay tuned!) The…
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 15/05/2026
Seed Beetle is one year old today! I am sooo grateful to everyone who has come to my readings, picked up a copy, written a review or recommended it to a friend! You all mean so much to me 🫶
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rob mclennan @robmclennan.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
some above/ground press author activity: Rae Armantrout, rob mclennan, ryan fitzpatrick, Mahaila Smith, Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Meghan Kemp-Gee, Stephanie Bolster + Misha Solomon / @mishasolomon.bsky.social @ryanfitzpublic.bsky.social @mahailasmith.ca ; abovegroundpress.blogspot.com/2026/05/some...
abovegroundpress.blogspot.com
some author activity: Armantrout, mclennan, fitzpatrick, Smith, Saklikar, Kemp-Gee, Bolster + Solomon,
Rae Armantrout has four poems up at Granta ; rob mclennan is interviewed via Coach House for the On Occasion anthology ; there's also a heft...
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emma burnett @slashnburnett.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Do you like dystopian speculative fiction? Stories about food? A focus on parenting? Raging against the predatory capitalist machine? Awesome because I have a book for you! Pre-order your copy here: emmaburnett.carrd.co #scifi #stories #booksky 📚🪐 #parenting #food #agroecology
emmaburnett.carrd.co
Emma Burnett
Writer of stories
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 12/05/2026
same. except replace the word “tea” with yarn. I am drowning in semi-complete fibre crafts.
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Tachyon Publications @tachyonpub.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
It's a #BOOKBIRTHDAY IGNORE ALL INSTRUCTIONS by @ada-hoffmann.bsky.social is now available wherever books are sold #giveaway #thestorygraph buff.ly/tWj1nkj MOST EVERYWHERE #goodreads ENDS TODAY buff.ly/QpydExD US ONLY @hannahnpbowman.com
IGNORE ALL INSTRUCTIONS by Ada Hoffmann

Cover by Elizabeth Story

https://tachyonpublications.com/product/ignore-all-previous-instructions/
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Colin Alexander @colincalexander.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
If you've read @slashnburnett.bsky.social, you're probably hungry to read MORE, and you're in LUCK--she has a book coming out in June! Check it out:
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Stanchion @stanchion.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Check out the test copies of the eco-horror novella being called a Stephen King & Jack London mashup! Suicide Valley Trail Maintenance by @colincalexander.bsky.social is available from Stanchion on pre-order sale now and everywhere you order books on June 9th! www.stanchionzine.com/product-page...
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 02/05/2026
Still proud of this poem that came out with @penumbricmag.bsky.social!
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Cecilia Tan @ceciliatan.com · 28/04/2026
Today! Today is Release Day for my new book, the sapphic time travel fantasy coming of age novella, The Mystery of the Bitten Peach! Get it wherever books are sold... or right from Neon Hemlock: www.neonhemlock.com/...
Book cover of The Mystery of the Bitten Peach showing an androgynous figure with a Chinese dragon mask, plus the words Release Day and a sparkling golden background
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All Lit Up @alllitupcanada.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Continuing #ALUPoetsResist, we speak with @mahailasmith.ca about their poetry collection, SEED BEETLE (@stelliform.press), which follows a community fighting to reclaim its agency & unlearn harmful colonial practices. Learn more and listen to a reading of a poem at alllitup.ca/poets-resist...
An author photo of writer Mahaila Smith. They are pictured with blonde, cropped hair from the shoulders up; they are smiling directly at the camera and wearing mirrored sunglasses. The cover of their poetry collection SEED BEETLE is in the lower right corner. The ALU logo and POETS / RESIST series graphic is in the upper left corner.
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 24/04/2026
!!! Thank you so much for reading :D I read Loading…The Machine Child in one sitting an absolutely loved it.
Copy of Loading…The Machine Child by TT Madden
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Parker M. O'Neill @parkeriswriting.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
My flash “The Three Mothers You Will Never Meet” is free to read today over at @heartlines-spec.com! Go check it out if you like linen, cropworlds, space stations, mothers that you may or may not ever meet, or avocados 🥑 www.heartlines-spec.com/the-three-mo...
heartlines-spec.com
The Three Mothers You Will Never Meet
The Three Mothers You Will Never Meet by Parker M. O'Neill
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The Sprawl Mag @thesprawl.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
The Sprawl Mag is open for submissions! Check out our guidelines here: www.thesprawlmag.ca/submissions
Poster of a young woman typing on a laptop announcing submissions are opem for the Sprawl Mag until May 31
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Colin Alexander @colincalexander.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
My novella is available for preorders today! If you like eco-horror that drags you through the forest by its teeth, pick up a copy: www.stanchionzine.com/product-page.... If you preorder and repost, I’ll tell a true story of almost dying in the woods (I have a few of these)
stanchionzine.com
Suicide Valley Trail Maintenance | Stanchion
The Jack London/Stephen King mashup you never knew you wanted! SUICIDE VALLEY TRAIL MAINTENANCE is a thrilling horror novella that follows a park ranger as they journey into a remote, ominous valley t...
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Scott Edelman @scottedelman.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
My drive home from Charm City Spec was so treacherous and time-consuming due to Baltimore baseball traffic I was too exhausted then to share this pic from Charm City Spec, but here I am with the four other readers — @traewrites.bsky.social, TT Madden, @mahailasmith.ca, and Aina Hunter. A fun night!
Five writers standing in a row before a storefront window facing the street: Trae Hawkins, TT Madden, Mahaila Smith, Aina Hunter, and me. Trae Hawkins is wearing black pants, a blue vertically striped shirt, and a black coat with what appears to be a white wool lining over it all; TT Madden is wearing a white blouse, a black wrap over it with white and purple hearts, and a skirt with an image of Rivendell on the front; Mahaila Smith is wearing a short red skirt, a black top, pink and yellow shoes, and elf ears; Aina Hunter is wearing black pants and a black top, and a faded denim jacket over them; and I'm wearing red pants, a black sweater which depicts a flying saucer lifting up an abductee, and aliens down one arm, as well as shoes with multi-colored paint drips on them. I'm the only one holding a book with its cover visible: 101 Things to Do Before You're Downloaded.
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Penumbric Speculative Fiction Mag @penumbricmag.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
More thank yous! Phil Emery, Ron Sanders, A J Dalton, Jennifer Weigel, Virgo Kevonté, @gerrileen.bsky.social, Rina Song, @lynnesargent.bsky.social, Sonali Roy, Ananya Kashyap, SJ Townend, @mahailasmith.ca ... www.penumbric.com/currentissue... #fiction #poetry #art #scifi #fantasy #horror
Table of Contents for the April 2026 issue of Penumbric
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 06/04/2026
Come hangout!
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Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · 30/03/2026
Less than two days to go! Nominations for the 2026 Le Guin Prize close at midnight tomorrow, March 31st. If you need an incentive, here's a fun fact: one lucky nominator will be chosen at random to win this gorgeous stack of books—last year's entire shortlist! www.ursulakleguin.com/prize-nomina...
A mug with the Le Guin Prize logo, holding a spray of lavender, sits next to a stack of books that includes Ursula Whitcher's North Continent Ribbon; Eden Robins' Remember You Will Die; Nghi Vo's The City in Glass; Andrea Hairston's Archangels of Funk; Margaret Killjoy's The Sapling Cage; Vajra Chandrasekera's Rakesfall; Jared Pechacek's The West Passage; and Nalo Hopkinson's Blackheart Man.
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CB Droege (Manawaker) @cbdroege.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
New Manawaker Studio Book dropped today! Home Constellations: A Speculative Anthology of Unconventional Bonds is a collection of SF stories about queer and found families from a diverse group of authors. Find it in print or digital on Amazon or on the Manawaker Webstore: payhip.com/Manawaker
The Cover of Home Constellations
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 27/03/2026
I have a new poem out today in the anthology Home Constellations called “The Mythmaker.” You can read it in the Kindle preview of the book here: www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0GV...
Excerpt of the poem: When I was small, you would tell me myths of the first settlers to Teagueland, their battles against venomous gasses, their treaties with all-seeing stone, their pranks on Polaris and their betrayals against the string of hereditary cardinals. These stories were embedded into your basic code, Cover for Home Constellations: A speculative anthology of unconventional bonds edited by CB Droege. Image features a man, a woman, a tiger person and their two children in a kitchen with a view to space
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Addison Smith (Addi) @addi.social · 20/03/2026
SALE ALERT: I'm off work today, which means no pay, so I made some Cover Prompts! Not sure what to write? Use one of these covers to prompt a new story! Short, Novella, whatever! No AI, Fully Licensed, etc. $25. Just reply with which one you want, and I'll do the edits whenever you want! 1/2
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A. M. Vincent @vincent.northsky.social · 15/03/2026
Sad to see the Ides of March becoming commercialised like this. I really feel like we're losing track of the true spirit of the holiday. It's not about how many knives you can stick in a tyrant all at once, it's about the whole community coming together to stab the tyrant as many times as possible.
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Frances Boyle @francesboyle19.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
I'm very happy to have my poem "Umbra" in the lovely spec lit magazine Sprawl. Thanks so much to editors @mahailasmith.ca and @oklibby.bsky.social . www.thesprawlmag.ca/vol-3-1#umbra
thesprawlmag.ca
Vol 3.1 — The Sprawl Mag
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rob mclennan @robmclennan.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
some above/ground press author activity: Ben Robinson, Misha Solomon, rob mclennan, Mahaila Smith, Frances Boyle + Carrie Olivia Adams, / @francesboyle19.bsky.social @mahailasmith.ca @mishasolomon.bsky.social ; abovegroundpress.blogspot.com/2026/03/some...
abovegroundpress.blogspot.com
some author activity: Robinson, Solomon, mclennan, Smith, Boyle + Adams,
Ben Robinson has a poem up at NewPoetry ; Misha Solomon has a poem in carte blanche ; rob mclennan has new poems up at jagged edge ; Mahaila...
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Manuela Amiouny @manuelaamiouny.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
My poem "Apocalypse, Yesterday" is now available in issue 3.1 of @thesprawl.bsky.social 💧🌱 It's a phenomenal issue, I'm very pleased to be included in it and I think you should all go check it out www.thesprawlmag.ca/vol-3-1
thesprawlmag.ca
Vol 3.1 — The Sprawl Mag
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The Sprawl Mag @thesprawl.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
And even more stellar writers! @manuelaamiouny.bsky.social @lynnesargent.bsky.social @salenacasha.bsky.social @yasmeenfahmy.bsky.social Elizabeth Wanjiku @authortrsteele.bsky.social Teresa Milbrodt Thank you all for being part of The Sprawl 🪐
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Mahaila Smith (they/them) @mahailasmith.ca · 02/03/2026
Go and catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root, Tell me where all past years are, Or who cleft the devil's foot, Teach me to hear mermaids singing, Or to keep off envy's stinging, And find What wind Serves to advance an honest mind. John Donne
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Alexis Ames @alexisames.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Today is the day! Pick up your copy of THE CHAMOS PROJECT from the retailer of your choice! books2read.com/u/mdBDo5. #WritingCommunity #SFF
White text set against a starry background that reads: Launch Day! Available on Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, and more!
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