iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I imagine it'll take quite a bit of work to remove all the trashy "renovation". This is what I imagine, except spray-painted gold:

030

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I think I have your cat's twin. Happy #Caturday from Missy!

fat fluffy white cat stretched out on the carpet

2170

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Mine says Wyoming, primarily, but I was born in the Bay Area of Cali and mostly grew up near Portland OR.

010

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Book promo, you say? My Sealed With a Kiss romantic suspense/action adventure series has brand new covers and titles! It follows the same couple throughout and hits tropes like kidnap/rescue, opposites attract, forced proximity, social anxiety. All in ebook/KU/paperback. First Call: amzn.to/4hFT5L1

image of all four books in Sealed With A Kiss romantic suspense series: First Call, Thin Ice, WildFire, Jagged Edge

011

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Pictures are working again (I wasn't aware they'd stopped working?). Post something stupid from your phone.

020

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Fairy tale retellings set in the zombie apocalypse! Tales from Beyond the End series (Hero for Hire = Snow White: amzn.to/3898njR Hero at Heart = Robin Hood: amzn.to/43ulhcu). Enjoy! 🧟❤️

image shows covers of Hero for Hire and Hero at Heart - books 1 and 2 of the Tales from Beyond the end series of fairy tale retellings set in the zombie apocalypse

010

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Reminds me of the Bob's Burgers episode where Gayle painted all the animal asshole pics.

060

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY! Buy my books (please?) Find 'em all on my website. There's plenty to choose from please and thank you. Website: www.margaretmadigan.com #books #worldbookday #author #readmybooks #authorsofbluesky

generic image of someone writing in a journal; text says "someday, you're going to be someone's favorite author" (sooner rather than later, pretty please?)

020

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

In the tradition of the #scifi genre, Thief of Gods is #spaceopera that addresses themes of privilege, class, and race, but also asks questions like what is justice and who’s actually entitled to it? and How does one navigate systems specifically meant to oppress them? #posterpit #A #amquerying

movie poster mockup for scifi novel Thief of Gods

03612

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

So far there are two and they're fairy tale retellings set in the zombie apocalypse (with an upcoming Kickstarter...) Find Hero for Hire here: amzn.to/3898njR and Hero at Heart here: amzn.to/43ulhcu Thank you! 😍

094

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

No new pictures. Where are you at mentally?

020

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

What are four Christmas movies to know you by? (honorable mention for Violent Night and Klaus. Also, we watched A Very Jonas Christmas Movie last night and it was more amusing than I expected).

071

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Post a book you love from the 80s. No explanation, no reviews, just covers. #booksky

040

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

HEART AND SOULS x PRACTICAL MAGIC - Seeking #editor for my agented cozy witchy murder mystery Summer in Paris. For a family of #witches, solving the murder of one of their own, and helping her cross over, is the trickiest #magic of all. #questpit #cozymystery #mystery #paranormal #onsubmission

1206

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

#wipsnips Oct 30 - Snip from my agented #witchy #cozymystery Summer in Paris, looking for an #editor or #publisher #ghostpit #MM #M #OS #PN

0192

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

HEART AND SOULS x PRACTICAL MAGIC - Seeking #editors for my agented cozy witchy murder mystery Summer in Paris: For a family of #witches, solving the murder of one of their own, and helping her cross over, is the trickiest #magic of all. #ghostpit #MM #M #PN #OS

1165

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

#wipsnips Sept 13 - There are many instances of "pocket" in my #fantasy Hero at Heart bcuz Robyn's weapon of choice is a slingshot and her pockets are always full of ammo. But this snip uses pocket differently. #RobinHood #retelling #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #newrelease #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at heart using the prompt "pocket": Robyn led the team down and out onto the street, her heart hammering as usual anytime she had to leave the Tower at night. The zombies may be slower at night, but they were also harder to see, and her biggest fear was walking head-first into a bunch of them and ending up their next meal. With the death of electricity, for the most part, darkness was a lot darker. Sure, there were pockets of people throughout the city using candles or, if they were lucky, solar or wind power. But it was nothing like it had been. Nighttime cities used to be lit like midday, but now, downtown Chicago at night was as dark as the remotest, uninhabited island, and flashlights were out of the question because they painted targets on their backs.

0211

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Rufus wishes you a happy #caturday. He's my elderly diabetic sweetheart boy.

040

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

#wipsnips Sept 10 - In this snip from Hero at Heart, my #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling set in the #zombie #apocalypse, Robyn and Mac share an intimate moment in the dark. #newrelease #fairytale #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "outside": “I shouldn’t be attracted to you, Robyn. You’re a thief and an outsider. I shouldn’t have been impressed by your leadership, or by how much you care about everyone around you. I sure as hell shouldn’t have noticed—or liked—that flaming hair of yours, or your lips, or eyes or any of the rest of you. It’s not a good idea. But I can’t seem to help myself.”
Robyn couldn’t see anything more than the shadowy outline of him hovering above her, but she did hear him wishing things were different. She did too. Before the infection that changed the world, they could have had a future together. Now, he was a Parker, she was a Tower girl, and despite living just across the river from one another, they may as well have lived on different planets.

0191

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

#wipsnips Sept 6 - In this snip from Hero at Heart, Robyn is holed up at an old Chik-fil-A. #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #newrelease #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "dust": She glanced longingly at the dusty old menu board. It seemed like decades ago she’d gone to restaurants just like this, stood in line and stared at similar boards before ordering a cheeseburger and fries, or chicken, or a burrito, or ice cream—all things of fading memory. Her body remembered, though, because her mouth watered just thinking about it.

0171

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

#wipsnips Sept 5 - This snip is from my current #WIP, working title Schooled in Magic, bk 2 of a #witchy #cozy #mystery series I'm working on. Bk 1 is with my agent. This snip is from the first couple of pages when Dr. Spring Fox, the MC, is about to be hit by the inciting incident of the book.

snip from my witchy cozy mystery WIP using the prompt "event": It had been less than two months since Meadow’s death, and a mere six weeks since Twelfth Night when we’d sent her off into the unknown with the most spectacular magic event that Quartermoon Hollow, my family’s coven of wisewomen, had experienced in recent memory. The ramifications of everything we’d learned about spirits, the afterlife and Otherworld, and especially the extent of our combined magical power still rippled through the coven like a tsunami.

0131

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

#wipsnips Sept 5 - closest I can get to "event" is "incident" in Hero at Heart. In this snip, Robyn and her crew attempt an incursion deep in the night to rescue Mac. #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #newrelease #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart subbing "incident" for the prompt "event": Robyn took point and John brought up the rear. They moved like the well-oiled machine they’d learned to be, and all the Monroe folks they’d brought along followed directions, though Robyn still winced at the slightest slap of shoes on pavement, heavy breathing, or accidental noise of any kind. These people weren’t used to the city or the consequences therein.
Despite the less-than-silent crossing, they were able to navigate down the middle of the bridge without incident, and then down the middle of Wacker Drive with the moon-sparkled river on their left and the wall of skyscrapers on their right without the slightest trouble. Still, the quiet made her nervous, especially since the walk had so far been thankfully zombie-free.

0111

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Your last save pic is your moral philosophy.

030

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

#wipsnips Sept 1 - In this snip from Hero at Heart, Robyn reflects on some American irony as she and her crew prep for a #zombie battle on the next day. #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #apocalypse #fairytale #newrelease #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "excuse": Robyn and the boys found nobody inside the house—either human or formerly so—and she lucked out when she found a bag of marbles in one of the bedrooms, which were perfect for her slingshot. Alan found a gun cabinet with a rifle and a couple of handguns, along with some boxes of ammunition.
Before the end, Robyn had been a staunch supporter of gun control. The thousands of annual deaths from gun violence were unacceptable in her mind, and there was absolutely zero excuse for a civilian to own weapons of war. If she had to explain to a class of college students—who should know better—one more time why the right to not be slaughtered by an asshole with either an agenda or a death wish outweighed the right to own those kinds of weapons, she might just have screamed.
Now, though, it was like Christmas finding them, and the biggest goldmine was ammunition because guns were, of course, useless without it. If it weren’t for all the zombies, Robyn would appreciate the irony that the shortage of ammo had finally rendered America’s obsession with guns moot just at the moment when surviving Americans actually needed the guns for the protection they never had before.

0131

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

#wipsnips Aug 30 - In this snip from Hero at Heart, my #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling set in the #zombie #apocalypse, Robyn and her people head out on a scouting mission. #newrelease #fairytale #indie #author #books #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "nose": Robyn checked around the west corner of the building, “Clear,” she said, although some undead shuffled along several blocks north. It was a small group, and if Robyn and her people were quiet, they wouldn’t attract any attention.
The route west looked good. Even after two years, and countless encounters with them, the undead still freaked her out. They looked mostly recognizable as the people they’d once been, but with a grayish tint to their skin, filthy tangled hair and often tattered clothing after wearing the same outfit they’d died in for two years, but the blank, hungry eyes always made her shiver. They were human, but…not. Some of them had clearly been through a lot, missing small or big bits of themselves, but apparently losing a hand, a nose, an arm couldn’t kill the already dead, so they just continued their endless, shuffling hunt for their next meal.

0121

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

How about a little self-promo cowboys? Gambling on the Outlaw is book 1 of my Nevada Bounty western romance series. Go check 'er out: amzn.to/2ROVmac. #cowboys #cowgirls #western #romance #outlaw

collage of images representing my western romance novel Gambling on the Outlaw including snow-capped mountains, a black horse, a blonde woman, the interior of a barn, playing cards, a noose, and the book cover.

010

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Without downloading any new images, where are you mentally?

040

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

#wipsnips Aug 20 - In this snip from Hero at Heart, Robyn and Mac reminisce about what they did before the #zombie #apocalypse and before survival was the job 😉 . #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #newrelease #fairytale #indie #author #booksky #books

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart where Robyn and Mac talk about their previous careers without using the actual prompt "career"

0131

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

#wipsnips Aug 19 - This snip from my #fantasy Hero at Heart is from Ch 1 when Robyn meets Mac as she's breaking in to steal some much-needed meds. #newrelease #RobinHood #retelling #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "trap": He was at the door and inserting the key, but his eyebrow went up. “You’re a little young to have high blood pressure, aren’t you?”
Robyn gave him a half-hearted shrug and a shy smile, hoping he was one of those guys who got off on protecting helpless girls.
“Well, we can’t have you suffering, now can we?”
His understanding smile reassured her, especially when he turned the key, then held the door open for her. But she wasn’t keen on getting herself trapped inside the building with him. He may or may not believe she lived there, but she wasn’t willing to take the chance. There weren’t as many people left in the world as there used to be, and while she’d spent more of the last two years dealing with the undead than the living, she hadn’t, however, become a fool. She didn’t trust him.

0121

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

#wipsnips Aug 9 - In this snip from my #spaceopera Thief of Gods, Jaska's frustration with Miklos and Rohun is at a boiling point. #scifi #sff #amquerying #booksky

snip from my space opera Thief of Gods using the prompt "brush": Before Jaska could lay into Miklos, Rohun sauntered into the cockpit, brushing her hands together and looking mighty proud of herself.
“You’re welcome,” she said, climbing into the seat at the nav center.
“For what?” Jaska asked. Irritation at both of them gnawed at his gut. If not for Miklos stowing away on The Dream Chaser, and Rohun defrosting and complicating the situation, Jaska would have already returned the ship to Otho and collected his payment. But instead, he was still shackled to these two and so deeply tangled up in complications, he could barely see a way out.

0161

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

#wipsnips Aug 6 - Snip from my #spaceopera Thief of Gods wherein Jaska faces the utter cruelty of classism. #scifi #sff #sf #amquerying #questpit #A #Q #booksky

snip from my space opera Thief of Gods using the prompt "complete": “You’re obviously guilty of an egregious crime that my son was unwittingly swept up into.”
“Oh, right,” Jaska said. “And it doesn’t hurt that his boyfriend’s dad is some church bigwig, and between the two of you, you can put in the fix to get your kids out of trouble.”
Jaska fumed. Rage burned in his chest, and the utter frustration of complete helplessness stung behind his eyes. Once again privilege beat the shit out of justice and won the godsdamned day.
Xandus sniffed, looking down on Jaska. “You’re nobody important, and once this trial and judgment is over, you’ll still be nobody important. My son doesn’t deserve to be caught up in your crimes.”

collage of pics for my space opera Thief of Gods including the interior of a cathedral, a shrine, a cell door, a frozen woman, a space ship, a gavel, a murky hooded man, a South Asian looking man, a mocked-up cover for the book.

0262

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

#wipsnips Aug 6 - This snip from Hero at Heart is from the 3rd act wherein Mac is in a pickle and Robyn and her crew are out to rescue him. #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #fairytale #zombie #apocalypse #newrelease #indie #author #genderflipped #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "complete": With a little searching, they found the stairway and followed it downward, exiting two levels below into a dank hallway.
Robyn took point and followed the passage around a corner to another door with a small, square window through which she saw a corridor where the Parkers had taken a large, open room and built four cells complete with steel bars on each side of a central walkway. Several naked lightbulbs glowed weakly overhead enough for her to pinpoint a single male form laying on a thin mattress in the corner of one of the cells. It had to be Mac.
Will peeked over her shoulder. “Jeez. Looks like an honest-to-god dungeon. Where’d they find the jail cells?”
Robyn stepped back for John to get a look.
“There are plenty of places they could have pilfered them from,” John said.
Robyn huffed a laugh. “They’ve scavenged the city for everything else, why not jail cells too?”

0191

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

No cheating. Your last saved celebrity photo is your therapist. Who is it? This is as close as I can get to a celebrity photo, from way back in Jan:

010

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

#sffchat - Just discovering this prompt list on the last day, of course. But I'll play along - My WIP is a witchy cozy mystery called Schooled in Magic wherein the HS principal dies in the MC's classroom, and she, her witchy sisters, and a cow cat named Moo dive into solving the crime.

020

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

#wipsnips July 31 - In this snip from ch 1 of Hero at Heart, my new #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling, Robyn and Mac meet as she's breaking in to steal much-needed meds for a friend. #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #newrelease #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "drop": Robyn had memorized the list of meds that Maggie, their resident nurse, had told her Peter could take for his blood pressure if Robyn couldn’t find his regular drug. She was glad, though, to find a nice healthy supply. She scooped half the bottles from the shelf into her satchel then clicked the flashlight off and dropped it in the bag, too.
She tiptoed out of the pharmacist’s area and into the main aisle again, then hurried toward the door. Almost home free.
Halfway down the aisle, though, she bumped into something tall, solid, warm, and human. He grunted and she squealed. Her night vision hadn’t completely recovered from the flashlight, but it didn’t matter when he clicked on his own light.
“Hello again,” he said, grabbing her upper arm in a firm grip. “I figured you’d head back this direction.”
Damn.
“Well, aren’t you brilliant?” she quipped.
He ignored her sarcasm and pulled her toward the door. “Come on. I’ve got a nice cozy jail cell waiting for you.”
“Seriously? You’re going to lock me up? You’re crazy.”

0152

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

#wipsnips July 28 - Subbing "garbage" for "trash" in this snip from Hero at Heart wherein Robyn and Mac are stuck in unfamiliar territory overnight and must find a safe place to sleep (and definitely nothing else...). #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #zombie #apocalypse #newrelease #indie #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart subbing "garbage" for the prompt "trash": “So, what do you suggest?” Robyn asked, planting her fists on her hips.
Mac scanned the area, scrutinizing it with a meticulous eye. With a serious squint and lips set in concentration, he rubbed his chin while he thought.
“Really, one of the garages in the alley behind the houses would be best. There’s probably only one exit to secure.”
“But you can’t see outside, so while we sleep, we could be surrounded and we wouldn’t know until we walked out into the middle of a horde.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. Since a whole house is too difficult to secure, the other option is to sleep in a car. We can see outside, but the windows are safety glass, which makes them harder to break.”
That made some sense. “As long as we can find some blankets and pillows from one of the houses, I’m okay with a car. Take your pick,” she said gesturing at the slim pickings parked along the curbs.
They were mostly sedans, which would be painfully uncomfortable, with a couple of SUVs, and a handful of minivans.
“Minivan’s probably the most practical,” he said.
“That’s what I thought.”
She hustled over to the closest one, parked halfway down the block, to check it out. Mac followed, and on closer inspection it was unlocked, empty, and in surprisingly decent condition if they ignored the vanload of old fast-food wrappers. After removing all the garbage, a car seat and a booster seat—Robyn tried not to think about what had happened to the kids who used to sit in them—and reclining the bench seats in the back, they had a cozy little place to sleep.

0131

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

#wipsnips July 27 - Subbing "sorry" for "apologize." In this snip from Hero at Heart, Robyn and Mac have reunited with the rest of their group at an old Chik-Fil-A after being separated overnight. #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #newrelease #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart subbing "sorry" for the prompt "apologize": “Man, I wish I could order a chicken sandwich right now,” Will said. “I’m hungry, and I’m tired of energy bars.”
“I’d trade an awful lot for a fresh, hot, juicy chicken sandwich,” John said.
“We don’t have time,” Mac said.
He’d been mercurial all morning—agitated, quiet, musing—but now his jaw muscles twitched, he sat stiff in his chair, and his knee bounced a hundred miles an hour. He had to be anxious this close to his sister’s compound.
“No, we don’t, but we can spare thirty seconds to fantasize about chicken sandwiches before we plan to fight our way in and out of an overrun neighborhood,” Robyn said.
Mac nodded. “Sorry. Now that we’re this close, I’m just agitated. I want to get going and get it done. I’m worried about my sister.”
Robyn reached out and rested her hand on his. While she focused on him, she felt the weight of everyone else’s eyes on their hands. She could only imagine what they were thinking. Her brother would give her so much shit.
“I know. I get it. We’ll get her out,” she said.
He held her gaze for a moment, then jerked a nod and seemed to relax a little. When she turned her attention back to her team, Alan smiled, John wore his usual enigmatic expression though it looked more amused than normal, and Will bit his lip around a smirk.
“Shut up,” she said, as Will’s smirk turned to a full-on grin. “What have you guys seen in the area so far?”

0111

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

#wipsnips July 25 - This snip from Hero at Heart comes right after my snip from a couple of days ago as Robyn and Mac sit on the roof and contemplate life before a big mission the next day. #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #newrelease #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "thrive": “It probably comes as no surprise to you that I’m not a patient man,” Mac said.
Robyn scooted closer and stretched out on her side next to him, leaning up onto her elbow so her body snuggled into his, but she could still look down into his face.
“Actually, you strike me as very patient, but also high strung. You’re used to being in control and having people listen to you and do as you say. You like order, you like rules, and when things turn to chaos it drives you crazy and you find comfort in wrestling it back into check. I imagine you thrived in the military and as a business owner.”
He shifted his gaze from the sky to her eyes. She’d read him like the proverbial open book.

0151

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Hero at Heart, my #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling set in the #zombie #apocalypse is now available ( amzn.to/43ulhcu ) for purchase and in KU. Watch for the accompanying Kickstarter soon! #booksky #books #indie #indieauthor #indiebooks #writesky #fairytale #newrelease

Cover of Hero at Heart against a gloomy background. Text: Robin Hood gets the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies treatment. Fairy tale retelling, zombie apocalypse, gender-flipped, fantasy/action-adventure, romance subplot, found family, Chicago setting.

1357

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

#wipsnips July 24 - This snip from Hero at Heart, my newly-released #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling comes in Ch 1 when Robyn meets Mac for the first time as she's breaking in to steal some meds. #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #newrelease #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "inside": “What do you need?” He asked, moving closer to the door with the key.
Robyn jammed her lockpick tools in her satchel and backed away a few steps. Was he really going to unlock the door for her? Maybe he thought she lived in the compound and realized (in the middle of the night?) that she had a sudden need for some kind of meds, so she pasted an embarrassed smile on her face and tried the truth.
“Blood pressure meds.”
He was at the door and inserting the key, but his eyebrow went up. “You’re a little young to have high blood pressure, aren’t you?”
She gave him a half-hearted shrug and a shy smile, hoping he was one of those guys who got off on protecting helpless girls.
“Well, we can’t have you suffering, now can we?”
His understanding smile reassured her, especially when he turned the key, then held the door open for her. But she wasn’t keen on getting herself trapped inside the building with him. He may or may not believe she lived there, but she wasn’t willing to take the chance. There weren’t as many people left in the world as there used to be, and while she’d spent more of the last two years dealing with the undead than the living, she hadn’t, however, become a fool. She didn’t trust him.

0142

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

#wipsnips July 23 - Closest I can get to "minor" in Hero at Heart is "less" and "insignificant." (also, the book released yesterday, so go grab it...please? amzn.to/43ulhcu ) #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #indie #author #books #booksky #newrelease

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart subbing "less" for "minor": “Couldn’t sleep,” Mac said.
Robyn scrambled out onto the roof and sat beside him, leaning back on her hands as she stared up at the sky.
“It’s so damn beautiful,” she said. “Do you ever wonder what’s out there? I mean, are there worlds where people are safe and happy and go shopping or to the park or whatever without worrying about being torn to bloody shreds?”
“I guess,” he said. “It’s just peaceful to look at. It makes everything seem smaller. Less important.”
She glanced over at him. “Is it helping now?”
If she meant did staring up into the vastness of the universe make him less anxious about saving his sister, the answer was no. But it did cast the problems of their tiny planet in the middle-of-nowhere corner of the galaxy into insignificance, and that did, in a way, calm his anxiety.

0171

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

*´¨✫) ¸.•´¸.•*´¨)✯ ¸.•*¨) ✮ (¸.•´✶ (¸.•` NEW RELEASE!! 🧟‍♂️💚 Today is release day for Hero at Heart, my little Robin Hood retelling set in the zombie apocalypse. If you haven't yet, grab it here: amzn.to/43ulhcu #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #indie #author #booksky

cover of book Hero at Heart on a rock with a yellow/orange sky and apocalyptic background. Text reads: Robin Hood gets the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies treatment. Fairy tale retelling. Zombie apocalypse. Gender-flipped. Fantasy/action-adventure. Found family. Chicago setting.

030

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

#wipsnips July 20 - In this snip from Hero at Heart, my #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling which releases in 2 days(!), Mac can't sleep anticipating the mission to rescue his sister. #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #preorder #indie #books #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "moon": Mac sat on the edge of a bed upstairs, his elbows on his knees, and dropped his head into his hands. Despite the late hour somewhere in the middle of the night, he hadn’t slept, and likely wouldn’t with his nerves wound so tight.
Finally, he stood and went to the window, crawling out onto the roof to sit. Lit only by the quarter moon, the dark houses and empty street of what remained of the Monroe Compound appeared abandoned. He had to hope Ellen was still in there, huddled in one of those houses, because he didn’t want to consider the alternative.
He lay back onto the slanted roof, folding his hands behind his head, and stared up at the stars. Without the light pollution from houses and streetlights, the Milky Way shone like a sparkling highway in a night sky spangled by stars.

0141

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

Two more days! Go #preorder now so you'll get it first thing on Tuesday 😍 amzn.to/43ulhcu #indie #books #booksky #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling #fairytale #zombie #apocalypse

021

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

When a thief finds a rich frat boy hidden on his ship with the cryo-frozen god he stole, the two engage in a battle of wills involving bounty hunters, monk assassins, and an ill-advised scheme to put the god back. But when the god wakes up, she throws a huge wrench in their plan. #bluepit #SO #SF #A

0217

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

#wipsnips July 11 - Closest I can get to "apparition" in Hero at Heart, my upcoming #fantasy #RobinHood #retelling is "ghost." In this scene, Robyn, Mac, and their ragtag group are holed up in an old furniture warehouse for the night. #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #preorder #indie #author #booksky

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart subbing "ghost" for the prompt "apparition": Then Mac heard it. Everyone left in the world had become so attuned to that sound they heard it in their sleep. In their nightmares. They could hear it blocks away and it lit up every nerve in their body, stood every hair on end, and sparked their fight-or-flight mechanism.
The furniture warehouse had been quiet already, just a few hushed whispers here and there and the soft snoring of those who’d fallen asleep. But absolute silence fell over the room when everyone heard the familiar shuffle and grumble.
Because it was dark, he couldn’t see it, but he heard the quiet rustle of fabric and felt as all eyes fell on him and Robyn.
“Dammit,” Robyn said on a nearly silent breath.
They both glanced to the front windows, and a chill skittered down Mac’s spine when he saw a dozen or so zombies shamble out of the shadows of the parking lot to stand in front of the building. Most of them just milled there sluggishly, the moonlight giving them a ghostly glow, but one came right up to the window, cupped his hands around his face, and looked inside.

1233

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

#wipsnips July 8 - In this snip from my #spaceopera Thief of Gods, Jaska and Rohun deal with panic in different ways... #scifi #sff #sciencefiction #booksky #amquerying

snip from my space opera Thief of Gods using the prompt "yell": Jaska tapped the comm button. “This is the Relentless.”
“Prepare for boarding, Relentless.”
Nausea roiled in his guts at the thought. Rohun shook her head vehemently no.
“Sorry, Dominion. Deal’s off. I’ll just be on my way,” Jaska said, then activated the sub-light engine while programming the naviputer for a hyperspace trip to Gadanta.
“Cease and desist, Relentless,” the Imperial said. “Or we’ll be forced to disable you.”
“Screw that,” Rohun said, pouncing toward the control panel and jabbing the buttons.
“Hey,” Jaska yelled, shoving at her, but she was small and moved fast. It was like wrestling a twelve-armed Olkro. Finally, he shot out of his seat, grabbed her around the waist, and threw her into the co-pilot’s station. “Stop,” he bellowed.
She stopped, but the panic in her eyes had a life of its own.
“Do you even know how to fly?” Jaska asked, sitting again and trying to make sense of what functions she’d activated in her panic.

0162

mkdbail @mkdbail.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

#wipsnips July 8 - In this snip from Hero at Heart, my upcoming #fantasy release, Robyn tries to locate Mac et al in a dark, cavernous warehouse with zombies breathing down her neck. #RobinHood #retelling #zombie #apocalypse #fairytale #indie #author #books #booksky #preorder

snip from my fantasy Hero at Heart using the prompt "yell": Robyn turned and hurried through the door, taking a moment to fumble in the dark with the lock, sending up a thought of gratitude to the universe that the door actually had a lock at all.
The warehouse was pitch black, the darkness so thick she could almost feel it wrap around her.
“Where are you?” she yelled into the darkness as the zombies reached the other side of the door, just inches behind her.
They scratched at the door with their long, rotten claws, reminiscent of nails on a blackboard. Robyn shuddered and stepped into the darkness, putting at least symbolic distance between them.

0121