iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

This has been an amazing week of scholarly, literary, and magical discussions. Thank you so much for entertaining my clay- and career-related questions!

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Not to my taste, but still glad I gave it a try. Dark sapphic romance with a vampire twist, starring two Black women. I don't mind a dark theme, but the romance aspect fell flat for me, in comparison to the many luscious descriptions of blood. Wish the two enhanced each other, instead! #booksky📚💙🌶️

Featured Book:
'This Ravenous Fate', by Hayley Dennings

Shelf Companions:
'Silk & Steel' edited by Janine A. Southard
'midnight & indigo: 22 Speculative Stories by Black Women Writers (Issue 4)', edited by Ianna A. Small
'Blood Debts' by Terry J. Benton-Walker
'Children of Blood and Bone' by Tomi Adeyemi

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

✨️writing prompt✨️ Solstitia seeks short stories of any genre for the fourth issue of their twice-yearly zine, themed "Dragon Hoards". Fiction fans welcome here! 📝: under 10K words 🗓: due 09.01 💸: $50 award

In the fairytales, dragons are known for their hoards. But do they really all love gold? Write a story about an unusual sort of dragon, with an unexpected kind of hoard. by Maroon Stranger

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Another Black sapphic read; s/o to V. Black for handing me the spiciest book on her table at ReadOut! Reminds why I've loved fanfiction; it's hard to find a well-written tale of two women with full arcs, flaws, and victories, falling in love, on traditional shelves. Kudos to you! #booksky 📚💙🌶️🪐 #bvm

Featured Book:
'No Shelter but the Stars', by Virginia Black

Shelf Companions:
'Faebound' by Saara El-Arifi
'The Splinter in the Sky' by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
'The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms' by NK Jemisin
'Black Sun' by Rebecca Roanhorse

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

✨️writing prompt✨️ Bannister Press seeks visually evocative, thought-provoking fantasy short stories of otherness for the second installment of their annual anthology "Other". Submit the first 1500 words of your story to be considered. 📝: 2.5K - 3.5K words 🗓: due 08.31 💸: $0.08 CAD/word

We all know what it's like to be an outsider, noses pressed to the window of where we want to be. Write a story that re-examines or subverts the view through the glass. by Maroon Stranger

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

One of my first forays into Black sapphic romantasy. Loved the drama, creative worldbuilding and fresh take on those tired old fantasy tropes. Still learning about this genre, but I'm curious to read more! #booksky 📚💙🌶️ #blackbooks #blacksky #bvm

Featured Book:
'Faebound', by Saara El-Arifi.

Shelf Companions:
'Masquerade' by OO Sangoyomi,
'The Bruising of Qilwa' by Naseem Jamni,
'Witches Steeped in Gold' by Ciannon Smart,
'Iron Widow' by Xiran Jay Zhao.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

✨️writing prompt✨️ Silver Sun Books seeks fantasy short stories of Potions & Paramours for Issue 20 of their quarterly anthology "Indie Bites", featuring indie authors whose books are self-published, hybrid, and unpublished. 📝: up to 7.5K words 🗓: due 08.31 💸: £5 honorarium, plus donations share

Love can be complicated... even more so, with magic involved. Write a story of potions and paramours, and the promises, or perils, of mixing the two. by Maroon Stranger

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

Haul from my local bookstores on Bookstore Romance Day! Excited to start Lana Harper's sapphic witchy series. Expanding my Romantasy repertoire! #booksky #blackbooks #blacksky #bvm 📚💙🌶️

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Honestly, my ideal historical romance. Real, unsung histories of women of color, portrayed as playful, nuanced and powerful as I know they must have been. Sapphic history can be uplifting... and sexy! More, please, Adriana Herrera! #booksky 📚💙🌶 #blacksky #blackbooks #bvm #sapphic #lgbtq #lesbian

"An Island Princess Starts a Scandal" by Adriana Herrera

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

✨️writing prompt✨️ Author Henry Neilsen seeks cyberpunk horror short stories of a technofeudalist future for his upcoming shared-world anthology, "The Disconnected". 📝: up to 3K words 🗓: due 08.16 💸: AUD$10/500 words #writingcommunity #bvm #writesky #litmag

From "Blade Runner" and "Neuromancer" to "The Matrix" and "Ghost in the Shell", many cyberpunk futurisms seem halfway to coming true. So... what's next? Write the story if what comes after dystopia.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

Another Caribbean author; loved exploring the rich world of Xaymaca through this fantasy lens. A good YA read for lovers of dense world-building, full casts of moody characters, and plots with more turns than a mountain highway! #booksky 📚💙🪐 #blacksky #blackbooks #bvm #specfic

"Witches Steeped In Gold" by Ciannon Smart

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

✨️writing prompt✨️ Author Claudie Arsenault seeks sci-fi/fantasy short stories centering non-romantic relationships for her upcoming anthology, "Common Bonds". Aromantic writers encouraged! 📝: up to 7.5K words 🗓: due 08.15 💸: 8c/word #writingcommunity #bvm #writesky #litmag

Much has been written about romantic love. What about the other bonds that shape our lives? Write a sci-fi or fantasy tale celebrating sister, teachers, neighbors, or best friends. (Maroon Stranger)

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Falling in love with Nalo Hopkinson. This short story collection is such a delight! "Broad Dutty Water" and "Inselburg" were my favorites. I love her unapologetically exuberant imagination! What should I read by her next? #booksky 📚💙🪐 #blacksky #specfic #blackbooks #bvm

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

✨️writing prompt✨️ Air & Nothingness Press seeks speculative short stories of memory manipulation for their upcoming anthology, "Mmeory". Writers of Color strongly encouraged! 📝: under 2K words 🗓: due 08.15 💸: 8c/word #writingcommunity #bvm #writesky #prompt #litmag

Memory is where we create the world, in retrospect. What happens when our memories are altered? Write a story wherein all is not as we remember it to have been.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

What's a writer to do when @reactorsff.bsky.social lists her first short story among the top ten of June 2025? Buy more books, of course! 🥰 Thank you again to @lunastation.bsky.social for giving Deepika's story a home, and to Book + Bottle for helping me celebrate! Can't wait to share more.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

A fresh take on the sci-fi thriller. Thoroughly enjoyed! Recommended read to those who enjoy unique perspectives, engaging mysteries, and a little dash of horror in their not-too-far-off future fiction. Looking forward to more from this author! #booksky 📚💙🪐 #scifi #mystery #thriller #asianauthor

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

Whew, what a ride! Highly recommend to readers curious about what speculative fiction can do. A swift, fierce, and explosively creative dive into a world shaped by anti-literacy. #booksky 📚💙🪐 #scifi #caribbeanauthor

A Stranger in the Citadel, by Tobias Buckell

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

My first time reading a medical mystery plot in a fantasy... and I want more! Loved the complicated explorations of Persian history and identity, presented through an alternate world where blood magic and bioscience intersect. #booksky 📚💙🪐 #fantasy #lgbtbooks

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Reflexive Resistbot @vidyapdot.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Loving @maroon-stranger.bsky.social 's 'Lentils for Breakfast'! Such an evocative (and fragrant!) way of portraying the challenges of assimilation while holding on to one's cultural roots. Looking forward to the other stories too!

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

What a tender story. I resonated with so many aspects of Jess's journey, and the Ghosts v Gods v Gangsters action did not disappoint! Great read for fantasy lovers looking beyond the Euromythos, and for Queer children of Asian diaspora. #booksky 📚💙 #fantasy #lgbtq #sapphic #lesbian 📚🏳️‍🌈

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Better is a direction! And paradise is in the mind... Feeling inspired by this read. At times painful; as a mixed kid, Sidney's self-hatred reflects who I could've been. Grateful for the family & community who guided me to love, instead. #booksky 📚💙 #blackbooks #fantasy #bvm #blacksky

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

😃 I'm stunned!! Thank you @jamieboyd.bsky.social for sharing this... and thank you so much @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social and @reactorsff.bsky.social for featuring my story! I'm so glad Deepika is reaching the hearts she's meant to. #booksky 📚💙 #writesky #blackbooksky #bvm

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Some lighthearted fantasy romance treats (and one poetry anthology!) from a local book fair. I've read a few of these already; my favorite was the Kimberley Lemming! Any other lovers of her work? #booksky 📚💙 #romantasy 📚🌶 #romancebooks #bvm #blackbooks

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

My second Silvia Moreno-Garcia read; first was Mexican Gothic, which I read when it came out and still bring up in book conversations to this day. Luxurious, culture-rich, fantastical, and sweetly achingly human. More brown fairytales, please! #booksky 📚💙🪐 #fantasy

Gods of Jade and Shadow, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

South Asian villainess arc. Binsa's fear & ambition cast such a compelling story, even as she makes every wrong decision imaginable. My closest comparison is OO Sangoyomi's 'Masquerade'. Still chewing on this book, and imagine I will be for quite a while. ❤️ #booksky 📚💙🪐 #darkfantasy #asianauthor

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Another favorite read of 2024. Real, flawed characters in a deeply imagined, fantastical world... plus, all the martial arts movie drama one could ask for! Made me nostalgic for a time&place that never existed. Looking forward to the next installment! #booksky 📚💙 #fantasy #asianauthor

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

"They're gone. Now you got no excuse for who you can be. So who you gonna be? Same as you were? Or everything you would've been otherwise?" So much wisdom&imagination in this book. This is why I read speculative fiction! #booksky 📚💙 #blackbooks #fantasy #bvm #blacksky

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Just finished this incredible nonfiction read. Found at The Lit Room in Boise; Black history is everywhere. Highly recommend for fresh perspective, engaging storytelling, and a deeply researched dive into oft-ignored history. Here's to our future. #booksky 📚💙 #nonfiction #africa #blacksky

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

Idli blew on her chai, and the cooled surface wrinkled at her breath. A wave of warm cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and fennel wafted up to her nose; her mother's magic. "Yes?" * Lentils for Breakfast by Maroon Stranger Read on in Issue 62 of @lunastation.bsky.social #booksky 📚💙 #fantasy 🪐 #specfic

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

New read! Love the premise, very excited to see where this one goes. What would you do, if all the white folks in America up and walked into the sea? #booksky 📚💙 #blackbooks #bvm #blacksky #fantasy

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

"[Her parents] set her up to have a life different from theirs, free of the hardships they'd had to endure. The result... almost all her troubles were exciting new troubles, beyond their skillset to address." Right in the 1st-gen feels 🥲 #booksky 📚💙 #asianauthor #fantasy #lgbtq #sapphic #lesbian 🏳️‍🌈

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Sistah Scifi @sistahscifi.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

This week, we're diving into New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color! 🌟 @nisishawl.bsky.social @AllysonJohnson @rebeccaroanhorse.bsky.social @silviamg.bsky.social @DarcieLittleBadger www.sistahscifi.com #sistahscifi #blackownedbookstore

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Final prompt for the week! Inspired by... Banshee Press seeks thought-provoking #speculative short stories for their 20th issue, themed "It doesn't have to be this way". buff.ly/QMzU0yY 📝: <5K words 🗓: due Mar 31st 💸: €250 📚💙 #writingcommunity #bvm #writesky #prompt #litmag

Playful, subversive, and uncanny, Speculative fiction invites us to reimagine the world we think we know. Through the lens of another world, share your vision for how different ours could be.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

My small but growing shelf of Black historical fiction! 📚⏳️ Not sure if I love the genre (my go-to is SFF 📚🪐), but willing to keep exploring. Fave so far: god loves haiti. Léger's "fabulist" tone transformed devastation into laughter & joy. Any recs? #booksky 📚💙 #blackbooks #bvm #blacksky

Three books sit stacked on a white-painted stone: "god loves haiti" by Dimitry Elias Léger, "Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi, & "The Fraud", by Zadie Smith. In the background is a bush of bright green leaves.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Calling all writers of color! This prompt inspired by... Hearth Stories seeks #sliceoflife, non-industrial, #cozyfantasy. Bonus for 🏳️‍🌈 romance! buff.ly/kRoIOLM 📝: 1.5K-3.5K words 🗓: due 03.31 💸: 1c/word 📚💙 #writingcommunity #bvm #writesky #prompt #litmag #lgbtq

Where were you, before European influence & industrialization? How might you live, and love, in a world after? Write your dream of a non-industrial world; ours or another.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

LOVED it. coffeeshop!AU made legit. What sustains revolution in the real world: small, genuine acts of care & love for those around us. One cup of coffee at a time. On the lookout for more books in this genre, especially by Women of Color authors! #booksky 📚💙 #cozyfantasy 📚🪐 #sapphic #lgbtq 📚🏳️‍🌈

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

First of this week's prompts! Inspired by... On the Premises' current short story contest, themed "Somewhere Else". Any genre, new & unknown writers encouraged! buff.ly/NDE7Fpp 📝: 1K-5K words 🗓: due Mar 28th 💸: $75-$250 📚💙 #writingcommunity #bvm #writesky #prompt #litmag

'Where' things are often matters just as much to us as 'what'. What happens when the people, and things, we care about are not where we expect them to be? Write a story centering a move to Somewhere Else... for better or worse.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

New read! Picked up years ago, then immediately set aside... Jessamyn's tension w/her family&culture sounded so achingly close to mine. Finally worked up the courage to read; we're off to a wild ride! #booksky 📚💙 #fantasy 📚🪐 #asianauthors #sapphic #lgbtq 📚🏳️‍🌈

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Frustratingly boring read. Missed the meat&depth I love in novels; felt more flat/clean like a screenplay. Flipped to the back & found out, it is! 👀🎬 POC screenwriters: is it easier to get picked up for book+movie rights, than directly by Hollywood? #booksky 📚💙 📚🪐 #blackbooks #afrofuturism #bvm

I sit on a patio, wearing a red patterned skirt and caramel shirt. Two beaded necklaces hang around my neck. Behind me are a white fence and a green basket chair. In my hands I hold a book: Tomi Adeyemi's "Children of Blood and Bone".

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Current read! Picked up at ReadOut; cover art had me hoping for a sweet sapphic subplot. Even if that doesn't pan out, so far I'm enjoying the gentle worldbuilding, postheroic plotline, and warmly painted characters. Fast becoming my new favorite genre. More, more! #booksky 📚💙 📚🪐 #cozyfantasy

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Beautiful; heartaching. Love the perspective on generational trauma: we do not, cannot, heal it all in one life. I wish there was a way to talk about my lineage, my history, without the horror of what was done to us. There isn't. I guess that's the point. #booksky 📚💙 #blackbooks #africanauthors 📚⏳️

A brown-skinned woman wearing a beige and brown patterned top and a cream shirt holds a book in her hands: Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

Calling all Speculative Short Story Writers of Color! ✍️🏽 I'm creating writing prompts from open submission calls of spec fic #litmags & anthologies, esp those seeking underrepresented voices. Submission details in thread. 📚💙 #writingcommunity #bvm #lgbtq #writesky #scifi #fantasy

Mummification has occurred in cultures around the globe.
Colonial fascination stole many of our ancestors' remains, far from their places of rest.
Write the story of a mummy awakening now. How do they see this world, old and new?

Sometimes reality can feel like an alternate world.
With the mysteries and monsters of your dreams as a map,
Write your way to Where We Are Now.

Magic and technology are often posed as opposites.
So, what happens when they work together?
Write a story featuring a miracle of engineering; a device with a spark of the extraordinary.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Richly textured Black Speculative Fiction, steeped in Memphis memory. Stories you read more than once, to uncover latent layers of meaning, and imbue some of your own. For lovers of the surreal and superreal, #afrofuturism, Black magic, and Rivers Solomon's "The Deep". #booksky 📚💙 #blackbooks

I am wearing a multicolored shirt, drawn in at the waist by a wide soft purple belt. The tattoo at the base of my throat is visible, of an eight-pointed star. Behind me are a reddish floor, white tassels of a rug, and white wooden fencing with greenery peeking through. In my hands I hold a book: "Nine Bar Blues" by Sheree Renee Thomas.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Some 📚🏳️‍🌈 books picked up this weekend... I'm excited for my first dive into the "cozy fantasy romance" genre with Legends & Lattes! #booksky 📚💙 #queerbooks #sapphic #lesbian #lgbtq

I am wearing a light blue 1950s vintage dress with thin multicolored stripes and a wide collar. A gold hoop earring dangles into frame. Behind me is a bookshelf with assorted speculative fiction books. A tattoo of an eight-pointed star is visible between my collarbones. I hold in one hand four books:
"THIS A Simple, Complex Love Story" by Naomi Rivers,
"No Shelter But The Stars" by Virginia Black,
"Legends & Lattes" by Travis Baldree,
and "The First Bright Thing" by JR Dawson

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Frankly drove me nuts; if I knew Ti-Jeanne in real life, we'd be having words 🙄 Read for frustration, Black magic, afrofuturist dystopia, & generational healing. From the same house as Butler & Vinge; WA had a good nose for classics of the genre! #booksky 📚💙 📚🪐 #afrofuturism #blackbooks #BHM

I am wearing a bright orange and red patterned flowy dress, with a white lace top visible underneath. Over my shoulders I have a white overshirt with black painted patterns evoking African art. The tattoo at the base of my throat is visible, of an eight-pointed star. A thin gold chain drapes across it. Behind me is a bookshelf, with various sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery books on display. I hold a book in my hands, opened to read, with the cover page visible: "Brown Girl In the Ring", by Nalo Hopkinson

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

My fave epic fantasy read of 2024 🙌🏽 Vulnerable characters making all the wrong choices, for some of the right reasons, in a complex, living, Afrohistory-inspired world. Ready to bite my nails, whoop and wail at the next installment! #booksky 📚💙 #blackbooks #afrofantasy #BHM

I am wearing a blue puff-sleeve shirt and orange patterned dress with light pink flowers and ruffles adorning it. I have a blue-and-pink patterned scarf tied around my neck, and am wearing dangling orange silk flower earrings. A beige beret perches on my head. Behind me are a blue sky, fronds of a palm tree, the top of a green house, and a black bicyle against a white wooden fence and pillar. I am looking at the book held open in my hands: "Son of the Storm", by Suyi Davies Okungbowa.

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Alex Sujong Laughlin @alexlaughs.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

I am once again asking the publishing industry to implement physical+digital packages for books the way vinyls do!! I would love to buy a physical book and have a code to read on ereader if I want to switch back and forth!

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

My first Okarafor read. Some elements of YA I don't prefer (fast-paced & emotionally bimodal), but I loved unapologetic African Woman roots, culture, & perspective in a sci-fi world. Up next: acclaimed "Who Fears Death" or her latest "Death of the Author"? #booksky📚💙 📚🪐 #blackbooks #afrofuturism

I am wearing a dark blue fluffy dress with black, white, and gray accents. Underneath, a white long-sleeve cotton shirt with black buttons on the cuffs and gray flowers on the collar. The tattoo at the base of my throat is visible, of an eight-pointed star. I hold a book in my hands: "Binti: The Complete Trilogy", by Nnedi Okorafor.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

Drawn in by Black joy & music of NOLA; stayed for lovingly crafted Black trans experience, family bonds & growing pains. This riot of color & sound whisked me to a world of wonder, imagination, & heart. For superhero fans & surreal fantasy lovers alike! #booksky 📚💙 #blackbooks #afrofuturism

I am wearing a blue and white patterned dress with boats, rivers, and buildings on it. Underneath, a sherbet-orange puff-sleeved shirt. A yellow patterned silk scarf is tied around my neck, and large blue fabric disk earrings dangle at the top edge of the photo. Behind me are a white fence and a black bicycle. I cradle a book in my hands: "The Ballad of Perilous Graves", by Alex Jennings.

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Maroon Stranger @maroon-stranger.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

#NoGoogleWeek Day 7, and experiment complete! Surprising result: I don't miss the tool at all. Bonus: rediscovering closer-to source research has rekindled my curiosity and love of learning. I don't *need* Google's one-stop-information-shop. So... why did I feel that I did? 🤔

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