iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 6h

Tx for the kind words, and yes, I did get hyped up typing some of the details. Admittedly, some are gross, but I suspect real-life skull cleaning is pretty disgusting!

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 11h

Tx for reading, Maria, and for the kind words! It's a long one, and I'm glad I kept it interesting enough to make it through. And yes, I got to go in depth on skull collection, cleaning, reassembly, and presentation. 😅 Probably need to find a new topic for my next story. 😂

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

😅 He was only about 13 pounds in this picture (now 17), but he looks huge! I mean, he's almost as big as the mansion! 😂

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I'm very fond of this story and honored to have it up in Hidden Peak Press. Many thanks to the Eds. for publishing me. It's been a while. And tx to @klgriffiths.bsky.social & @travisjudegrant.bsky.social for helping me touch it up. 🙏 🐺🏔️🐶🕷️🕸️ hiddenpeakpress.com/2026/09/27/a...

hiddenpeakpress.com

American Jackal

TOM LINED THE CROSSHAIRS of his Ruger’s scope on the hump of tattered gray-and-brown hair. The arched back peeked above the snow bluff, moving ever so slightly, the head of the creature likely burr…

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It's a mansion in town where I walk my dog. It was owned by Nelson Story, who was the historical basis for McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. He did the first cattle drives from Texas to Montana, so everything around here is named after him. I thought I had some better pics, but this is all I have:

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The flowers at Story Mansion don't seem to know it's October. #FlowerReport

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Now that the RV travel season is winding down, I need to get in the lab and cook something up. Hope you will join me . . .

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Congrats to @maurayzmore.bsky.social on the release of her collection. I've read many of these stories through the years. Looking forward to revisiting them and discovering new ones. Check it out here:

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

You are lucky! I can't think of anyone I'd rather see perform than these two. Shane Gillis, maybe, but he's young. I believe Steve said in a recent interview that he plans to wind things down. He's had a very long run at this. One of the great performers of all time.

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Postcards from The Road: Some awesome cloud cover in the High Plains last week, rivaling what you'd see in Big Sky Country . . .

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Awesome, and what a b-day present! Did they mainly do songs, or stand-up, or what? You guys got to see two of the greatest living performers. What a treat.

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

No way! I love both of them and always wanted to see them perform. The Father of the Brides and ¡Three Amigos! are some of my fav movies of all time. You are lucky!

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Back yesterday. 😞 More like back to reality. Laundry. Bills. Lawn mowing. Cleaning. Ugh. You know how it goes!

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

They were amazing to see, and EVERYWHERE! Lots of deer, too, but I expected that.

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Postcards from The Road: The wild turkeys were in full force this last week, near the center of the U.S., Black Hills region. A little arrogant, considering it's getting close to Thanksgiving . . .

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Thank you, Maura! I'm still minimizing SM but that doesn't mean I have to cut this place out entirely. Some good peeps here who aren't anywhere else.

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ellipsis zine @ellipsiszine.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Submission details: www.ellipsis-zine.com/submit

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Maura Yzmore / Fiona Embers 😱🥵😎 @maurayzmore.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

DANGLING by Maura Yzmore is coming out October 1 from Anxiety Press A collection of twenty-eight stories about people on the precipice. Straddles absurdism, literary realism, and horror, with a dash of the speculative www.goodreads.com/book/show/25...

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Frog and Toad Bot @frogandtoadbot.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

“What happened then?” asked Toad.

Toad spurs on Frog, enraptured by the latter's ghost story.

From "Shivers"
In *Days with Frog and Toad*

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The Molotov Cocktail @molotovlitzine.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Deep breaths. You've still got over a month to send us your #FlashMonster entries. But hey, why wait? Send 'em if you got 'em. #flashfiction #writingcontest Top 10 published on #Halloween. themolotovcocktail.com/flash-monste...

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The road home from Glacier, late August. Two-lane almost the entire way . . .

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Maria Carvalho @immcarvalho.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It's a soggy Sunday, but yesterday was a spectacular Saturday and I got to see this!

View of a colorful, rocky bluff overlooking the Atlantic ocean. Above is a vibrant blue sky with wispy white clouds.

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Maria Carvalho @immcarvalho.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Happy to share that 518 Publishing Company, a fab women-owned press, is publishing my micro story "Second Son" in their Dragons & Droids anthology 9/25! They did a little Q&A feature with me: www.pub518.com/post/droids-...

pub518.com

Droids & Dragons Author, Maria Carvalho

Meet Maria Carvalho, a lifelong Connecticut resident. Maria is a published author and poet. "Writing stories and poetry came naturally to me as a child, but I got away from it as an adult, focusing o...

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The Molotov Cocktail @molotovlitzine.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Yeah, you! #FlashMonster submission season is in full swing. Deadline hits October 18th, but we read in order received, so get at it and send in yours early. #flashfiction #writingcontest Read guidelines and submit here: themolotovcocktail.com/flash-monste...

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The Molotov Cocktail @molotovlitzine.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

We can't wait to get a taste of those sweet, sweet #FlashMonster entries you cook up. Submissions open now. Top 10 published on Halloween. Guidelines here: themolotovcocktail.com/flash-monste... #flashfiction #writingcontest

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The Molotov Cocktail @molotovlitzine.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Need some inspiration for our #FlashMonster the 13th contest? Reread last year's Top 10 to get those creative juices flowing. (This year's contest guidelines can be found here: themolotovcocktail.com/flash-monste...) themolotovcocktail.com/2025/10/31/f... #flashfiction #writingcontest

themolotovcocktail.com

Flash Monster 2025

This is Halloween. I We Were Never Afraid of the Spider by Timothy Fox II In Darkness by Eoin Nordman III Toxoplasma Odocoileus by Colin Alexander IV Son of Seanfhocail by Joseph Gilbride V…

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M Lenoir Bond @mlenoirbond.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

We’re baaaack…

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Yes, there is no other way to approach these. So happy to see you guys still running with FM strong!

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Yes! The 13th can only mean one thing . . . perhaps the best FM yet? . . .

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Thank you, rain, for clearing out the smoke and keeping the fire threat down in my area of the world . . .

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old roadside pics @roadside.xor.blue · 14/07/2026

chronicle building, 926 sprague, spokane, washington, 2003

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old roadside pics @roadside.xor.blue · 09/08/2026

tungloon garden restaurant, spokane, washington, 2003

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I feel like that was just an OK pun. I can do better. 😂 Admittedly, an owl in an onion is a tough one.

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

You can barely see the Bridgers behind the smoke coming from the fires incinerating my hometown of Spokane, Washington, four hundred miles away. This mountain range is almost 10k feet high, but you can't tell it is sizeable with all the haze.

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Sauté that in some oil and throw it in your egg & cheese owlet for breakfast!

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Michael Grant Smith @michaelgrantsmith.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Don't miss your chance to read my latest fiction. I'll have to take it down when I sell the imaginary movie rights for big imaginary $$$. I quit my job and sold my clothes this morning. The story is a strong contender for an imaginary literary prize, maybe the Pulitzerbookernobel or whatever.

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

No way! That's how we looked and we were proud.

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Michael Grant Smith @michaelgrantsmith.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Hey, it's been a while, but one of my micro fictions was selected for Ellipsis Zine: Six. Don't let that stop you from grabbing a free download! Lots of cool futuristic "what if" stories to read.

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Maria Carvalho @immcarvalho.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Pumped to have a twisty tale in this month's issue of SciFanSat Magazine! Check out my flash fiction piece "Origin", along with all the other fab offerings! 👽✨️

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

It was a fun, quick trip. The weekends seem to blow by these days. And the months. And the years. 😮

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Postcards from The Road. One bald eagle and one grizzly, deep in Yellowstone last weekend. Also pictured: first trout of 2026!

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Went with a simple pumpkin design this year. Roasting seeds today and handing out some candy later with The Shining playing in the background. Haven't picked a costume yet but I have all day. Happy Halloween everyone!

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Michael Carter @michaelcarter.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Dropping in from an extended, mood-enhancing SM break to congratulate everyone. Still the best comp out there, IMHO. Looking forward to the next one!

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