iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

If you see this, recommend a short book: hortus animarum - Sienna Tristen The Empress of Salt and Fortune - Nghi Vo Penric's Demon - Lois McMaster Bujold The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain - Sofia Samatar The Forest God - Jamie Lackey [yes, I know it's more than one but I love short books]

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I just voted! [By mail. Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in case you are wondering.]

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

#Caturday. My bike. No, it is not too large for me. I will not be taking further questions. [N.B. It is not perhaps as clear as one could wish, but she is balanced on the seat of a bicycle.]

Photo of a tabby cat standing on the seat of a bicycle. The bike carrier is on the right in the foreground of the not-very-great photo.

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Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association @sfwa.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Today at SFWA, join Speculative Poetryfor the Quarterly Open Mic at 11am PT. Logged in users can watch live from our Events Theater or join the fun curated by Gwynne Garfinkle and celebrating Jamal Hodge. After the event, you can watch Jamal's presentation on SFWA YouTube. sfwa.org/events/?even...

Quarterly Open Mic with Jamal Hodge, October 3 at 11am

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Strange Horizons @strangehorizons.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Strange Horizons Fiction Submissions are open now! Check out our website for the fiction guidelines including the link to our Moksha submission portal ⬇️ strangehorizons.com/submit/ficti... (The window closes when we reach 1,000 submissions. Stories must be 5,000 words or less.)

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It's my birthday :-) I'm planning to spend more time than usual reading and in the evening I'm celebrating with friends and family 🎂 N.B. Good birthday gifts for authors: rating their books on Amazon :-) reading their books (library copies great) :-) reading other people's books :-) 📖📚

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Hello, it's that time again, what did folks read in September that you loved? I had a very enjoyable month. I devoured 5 books from Rachel Neimeier's Tuyo series, all of which I enjoyed very much. AND I re-read 3 books from Victoria Goddard's Greenwing and Dart series, which I enjoyed very much...

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Strange Horizons @strangehorizons.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Strange Horizons Fiction Submissions open on the 1st of October, 2026 at 3 p.m. UTC! The max word count per story will be 5,000 words. There will be a 1,000 story cap. Once we reach that number of submissions, the window will close. Link to more information ⬇️ strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Update from the reading front: I'm undecided about what to read next. I plan to do this by reading the start of four books and then picking the one I enjoyed most. Here are the 4 contenders:

Photo of 4 books: A Death at the Dionysus Club (Melissa Scott + Amy Griswold); Three Parts Dead (Max Gladstone); Blindside (Michael Mammay); Bodies of Magic (Freya Marske)

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#Caturday. Myself, age 7, with my first cat, Bilbo. And to go with it, the first mention of the cat in The Sign of the Dragon (from the poem Shazia).... Three months later, the night before Xau rode to war, he gave Shazia a black kitten, a purring softness.

Old Polaroid photo of myself (then 7 years old), a part-Chinese girl with thick-rimmed glasses holding a black kitten outside near some sweet peas.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I have seen at least a bit of only 17 shows on this list, but I am pretty sure I would have put The Great British Baking Show in my top ten. (It's #85.) And, yes, I liked The Wire when I watched it twenty years ago, but where is Taskmaster?! That's the type of cutting-edge TV that I need nowadays.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Update from the poetry front: it occurs to me that I don't think I shared my working title for my midquel(*) - which is - The Sign of the Cat, the cat having infiltrated some of the poems. (*) to The Sign of the Dragon. Available from Kobo and many others. Buy a copy! Better yet, buy three copies!

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Hmmm. "Explain this." The minister beamed. "It is my authorization for your triumphal arch, awaiting your countersignature--" "No." Xau tore the sheet in half. "Would Your Majesty prefer a grander edifice, one befitting the greatness of your accomplishment?" "We do not want an arch at all."

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This is a very good (though upsetting) article. N.B. My mother argued with my father to send me to a private school and paid the fees herself. I have no doubt I benefited from her decision. I was one of a small minority of non-white kids in a good school from age 4 to 17.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

#Caturday. Tired, so very tried. N.B. This was actually taken 3 days ago on the grand occasion of Miss Amelia's first birthday.

Photo of a young tabby cat's head and paw tips hanging over the edge of a cylindrical section of a cat tree. The cat looks sleepy, eyes closed, though her ears are alert.

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RM Ambrose @rmambrose.com · 15/09/2026

Honored to guest edit Inlandia Journal's speculative issue featuring @tobiasbuckell.bsky.social & @justinkey.bsky.social, plus @marysoonlee.bsky.social, @timonse.bsky.social, @sarahminaosman.bsky.social, @azforeman.bsky.social, Azrael Torres & many more! Free to read online now! inlandiajournal.net

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Hello. Umm. {Clears throat} If you've read any of my books(*), I would be very grateful if you gave them a rating on Amazon. It's okay not to give a review. It's okay not to give a high rating. I think any rating helps! (*) especially The Sign of the Dragon, because it's the one closest to my heart

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Lightspeed Magazine @lightspeedmagazine.com · 15/09/2026

The 2026 LIGHTSPEED + NIGHTMARE Kickstarter is NOW LIVE! Check out our star-studded lineup of authors & peruse our rewards: subscriptions, signed books, rare magazine collectibles, t-shirts, mugs, and other fun stuff. Thank you in advance if you're able to offer your support.💖 bit.ly/LS-NM-26

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

#Caturday. Just chilling. Me and the lemons. Please leave us alone.

Photo of a tabby cat lying on a kitchen counter, one leg extended out over the edge. There is a bag of lemons near her head.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

FYI, the September issue of my newsletter is now available, this one with cancer update (all well), in addition to the regular writing and reading reports. mailchi.mp/313bc47818f9... The curious can subscribe to future installments here: marysoonlee.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

An update that is neither writing-related nor poetry-related: I had my 4-year check up for cancer recurrence and no sign of recurrence was found. I had become quite anxious about this check up, so I am very relieved (understatement). Sending good thoughts to one and all.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

#Caturday. My shelves. My books. No, I don't read. What has that got to do with it?

Photo of a tabby cat sitting, several shelves up, at the corner intersection of two wooden bookcases (with books! of course!)

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Hmmm. Thinking about it, these three poems are part of a 60-plus poem follow-up to a 300-plus poem follow-up to a "standalone" poem written in 2013. Yep. Things didn't go precisely according to plan.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Finished, hah! It now appears the (repeatedly) "finished" poem required a follow-up poem. Did I mention that the first poem was itself a follow-up poem, though, in that case, more major than the seed poem. Is writing anything ever fully finished, not just temporarily abandoned?

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Finished? Did I say finished? Just spent another hour and a half revising my "finished" poem. So it goes.

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Los Angeles Worldcon @laworldcon.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The 2026 Hugo Award for Best Poem goes to “Hex Supply Customer Support Log” by Elis Montgomery (Strange Horizons, Issue 25 August 2025).

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

What did folks read in August that you loved? I most enjoyed two books I'd been hoarding for a few years: System Collapse (part of the superb Murderbot series by Martha Wells) and Plum Duff (part of the lovely Greenwing and Dart series by Victoria Goddard). And....

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

#Caturday. To sleep: perchance to dream, but, unlike Hamlet, of happy things, of feathered toys and catnip and a soft spot to sleep: perchance to dream....

Photo of a young tabby sleeping sweetly on the top level of her cat-tree-thingy-majiggy. Her eyes are closed, head tipped fetchingly to the left, one paw over the edge.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I read this news late last night and it's taken me a while to think what to say. And I haven't found anything, except to repeat that it is a great loss and a great sadness to speculative poetry. By everything I know, David was one of the good guys and a pillar of SFF poetry. Alas, alas.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

FYI, the next @sfwa.bsky.social poetry book club will be on November 14th and we will discuss Dwarf Stars 2026, an anthology of very short speculative poems published by SFPA (the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association). No poetry expertise required! But RSVPs needed. sfwa.org/events/?even...

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I've nothing insightful to add to the many tributes to Dolly Parton. But she was a real-life hero and star and icon, making the world a better, kinder, lovelier place.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Back home after returning my daughter Lucy to college. On the plus side, I've seen two very nice small zoos in the past two days(*). On the minus side, I am down a daughter for the next few months. It was a good summer though. (*) Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse + Erie Zoo in, wait for it, Erie

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Strange Horizons @strangehorizons.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

To the Reader by Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social "his deeds but paper deeds slender as river reeds." Link ⬇️ strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

For the curious, here's a link to my August newsletter, which includes a progress report on the midquel to "The Sign of the Dragon," a reading update, and the regulation cat photo: mailchi.mp/93fcbcff2a19... You can subscribe to the newsletter here: marysoonlee.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

#Caturday. My ledge. My view. My perfect dangling paw.

Photo of a view out through a glass door onto a deck. Trees in the distance. Inside on a ledge above the door, a tabby cat can be seen lounging, one paw dangling down nonchalantly.

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Uncanny Magazine @uncannymagazine.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Please share! Poets! Uncanny Magazine will be open to poetry submissions from August 17 to August 31! Poetry Editor Betsy Aoki can't wait to see your submissions! www.uncannymagazine.com/submissions/

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Time for a late-Friday-night thought: grapes are good. Thank you. I will be heading upstairs to my bedroom now. Enjoy the rest of your night.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Donated. If you can, I encourage you to donate too, especially if you are a reader / writer of speculative fiction. Sheila Williams has been a mainstay at Asimov's.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

#Caturday. My viewing ledge. My cabinet. You will not use my ledge for more of your unnecessary books.

Photo of a tabby Maine Coon lying on a shelf in a cabinet, ears pricked, one paw balanced on the edge of the cabinet. The shelf above her holds books.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Update from the poetry front: signed a contract with Merganser Magazine For the curious - poem written in 2024 - accepted in 160 days; previously rejected 7 times - they will pay $32 ($1 a line) - initially triggered by a theme from Eye to the Telescope but the poem wandered away from the theme ✏️

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Update from the poetry front: my poem Corn Snake #31 has just been published in After Happy Hour :-) For the curious - written 11/2024 - rejected 7 times before finding a home - this is my 4th corn snake poem to be published - issue online at afterhappyhourreview.com/Issue30.pdf - they pay $15 ✏️

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Update from the reading front: I've begun reading the Elgin-nominated chapbooks. Will review those I can in 17 syllables on Goodreads. But this one isn't listed there, so.... Astrosommelier, by R. Mac Jones In this wine cellar an intoxicating blend of future maybes. [Reader, I liked this a lot.]

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

#Caturday. My orchid. My window ledge. Mine the glory.

Photo of a tabby Maine Coon cat standing on a window ledge. Because of where she's positioned herself next to its (unseen) plant pot, the flowers of a purple orchid are draped across her.

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

One day early, but what did folks read in July that you loved? The SFF book I most enjoyed was "Last of the First," the latest in L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s long-running Saga of Recluce. For poetry, I liked Akua Lezli Hope's 2026 book "Telepath" and Holly Lyn Walrath's 2023 chapbook, "Numinous Stones."

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Mary Soon Lee @marysoonlee.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Update from the reading front: finished a re-read of Holly Lyn Walrath's chapbook "Numinous Stones," a pantoum progression from the darkly-fantastical to the blunt reality of loss. N.B. This is the chapbook for the next SFWA poetry book club meeting :-) www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

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