iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Stephanie Burgis @stephanieburgis.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Ahhh, look at this gorgeous blurb @oliviaatwater.com sent for the full Supernatural Adventures of Lady & Lord Riven trio (incl. the final, upcoming novella, A Waltz of Sinister Import)! ♥️ You can grab the first 2 now: books2read.com/undeadInconvenience books2read.com/honeymoonGrave #romancelandia

This graphic shows the covers for all three Lady and Lord Riven novellas (A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience, A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence, and A Waltz of Sinister Import) below this blurb: "Adorable, adventurous, and often very touching, The Supernatural Adventures of Lord and Lady Riven are a wonderfully cosy indulgence, best taken with a comforting cup of tea."
- Olivia Atwater, author of Half a Soul and The Witchwood Knot.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 19/09/2026

I have only had this progesterone for two days, but like Rosa Diaz, if anything ever happens to it, I will do unconscionable things. Basically, everything in my body is suddenly working the way that it should/used to work, before perimenopause started this heinous, unprovoked war on me.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 18/09/2026

I thought getting a physical carte de sejour was going to be the hardest part of moving to France. I was wrong. Clearly, the final boss of French bureaucracy is the carte vitale.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 16/09/2026

So like, if you are an author who would like Rosemary & Thyme (book two in the Victorian Faerie Tales) for blurbing, please do let me know? (ARC copies are not yet available, I promise hungry ARC readers will get their hands on it very soon!)

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 16/09/2026

After all of the paperwork we did to move to France, if Canada NOW makes a deal for free movement in the EU... ...I'll still be thrilled, this is such a great development. ❤️❤️❤️

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Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Titan Books @titanbooks.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Rivalries ignite into heated romance, lost lovers seek second chances, and friendships turn to something more in these 12 stunning Romantasy stories... 💘🏹✨ THE HOPELESS ROMANTIC'S GUIDE TO ENCHANTMENT is out today! tinyurl.com/3s27u84h 💌

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 15/09/2026

It's celebration time! The Hopeless Romantic's Guide to Enchantment releases today from @titanbooks.bsky.social! This anthology contains one of my short stories, "The Last Train from Faerie", along with eleven other stories by various romantasy authors! oliviaatwater.com/book/hopeles...

A copy of The Hopeless Romantic's Guide to Enchantment, displayed on a silver platter next to pink flowers. The cover also reads: "12 magical romantasy tales. Kelley Armstrong, Hannah Nicole Maehrer, Rebecca Thorne, Alexis Hall, A.Y. Chao, L.R. Lam, and many more. Edited by Marie O'Regan & Paul Kane."

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 11/09/2026

Don't mind me, just wildly homesick for Montreal after Mr Atwater brought home Canadian maple syrup and Neige cider from the local grocery store. 😭😭😭 I've been listening to Je te laisserai des mots on repeat too, because I don't know when to stop.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 10/09/2026

Due to an awful hospital experience, I have an intense phobia of needles. No matter how much careful breathing or pep talking I give myself, there's always embarrassing tears during jabs. I still think vaccines are a miracle, mostly because I know my history. Got another one just today.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 04/09/2026

I am just an author standing here, begging editors to tell me when a book I blurbed is going to release. Presumably, I blurbed that book because I liked it! And I would love to tell my newsletter about it! Do not rely on me magically noticing that the book now has a release date! HELP ME HELP YOU.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 04/09/2026

"Everyone is twelve now" has a programming corollary which is "everyone is a junior dev now". The rank arrogance of thinking "the AI generated this code that seems functional right now, this is genius, I'm sure it won't heinously break under pressure" drives me professionally bonkers.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 03/09/2026

People who talk about watching the new Harry Potter immediately lose my respect, because my trans friends matter more to me than a fantasy series. That is an instinctive, bone-deep reaction that I cannot and will not change, no matter how uncomfortable it makes the people around me.

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Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Rough Draft vs Final Draft

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 02/09/2026

I feel obliged to apologise once again to the random lady whose picture Google decided was mine. If you ever see this, ma'am, I promise I have tried to tell them it's the wrong picture. (I do not actually post pictures of myself, ever.)

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 02/09/2026

It really feels like there's no such thing as uptime anymore. Everything on the Internet keeps going out lately, to very little fanfare and increasingly fewer mea culpas. I just want to make the observation that this was not the norm until recently. Our software infrastructure is decaying.

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Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Tru Skies @trudieskies.readindiefantasy.com · 01/09/2026

After a few years of hard work, The Chosen One Con is out now on ebook with paperbacks to follow soon! Available on Kindle, Kobo, Itch and more to come. books2read.com/thechosenone... But of course, I couldn't publish this book without help, and I have a lot of people to thank! 👇

A promo image for The Chosen One Con, out now on Kindle, Kobo, and Itch. It shows the book cover to the Chosen One Con (a young white man in a trench coat holding a glowing blue potion bottle as though trying to steal it) and the following text: Magic spoke to me, whispering promises of fortune and fame. It spoke when I switched on the old MV and the screen came alive with the blue glow of magic, the faint spark and pop of aether flowing through the cables.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 01/09/2026

I think three ghosts need to visit whichever idiot thinks Scrooge might have had a point.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 31/08/2026

The saddest part about moving to France the year right BEFORE WorldCon comes to Montreal is not being able to show everyone all of the amazing restaurants. I would have done nothing but force people to eat, the entire time. I can still send restaurant recommendations, but it's not the same.😮‍💨

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Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Aulet 🍂 @aulet.es · 26/08/2026

"LibreOffice 26.8 contains no generative AI features. Documents are not transmitted to remote services for processing, and no component of the suite requires network access to function. This is a deliberate position."

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Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Kate Heartfield @kateheartfield.com · 25/08/2026

Canadians, we can donate to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Canadian communities through CanadaHelps: www.canadahelps.org/en/charities...

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Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Aliette de Bodard @aliettedebodard.com · 24/08/2026

Oh hey would you like queer disasters in a ruined Paris? 👇 With bonus Vietnamese dragons and the best or worst arranged marriage between a murderous fallen Angel and a cinnamon roll dragon prince

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Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

This isn't the first time the USA has placed 50% tariffs on Canada. In 1890, the USA's Tariff Act was touted as a way to build up American industry, but the true goal was forcing the annexation of Canada. It backfired and made Canada stronger. This is the story. 📸 LoC 🧵1/10

Political cartoon criticizing the Republican platform for favoring untaxed whiskey (jug labeled "Untaxed Whiskey 20¢ Gal.") while presenting war‑taxed common cloth with an 89% tariff, highlighting perceived hypocrisy.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 20/08/2026

This may sound complicated, but cryptographic obfuscation is actually an incredibly normal attack technique that's been endlessly repeated in other ways for years. By its nature, AI cannot be secured. Period. But the people programming it don't even know enough about security to TRY.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 19/08/2026

Oh my god it's finally RAINING! I feel like a bunch of the tension in my shoulders just released all at once.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 18/08/2026

"Olivia Atwater offers up another gothic fantasy romance, full of dark magic and deceitful faeries, in the second instalment of the Victorian Faerie Tales." Rosemary & Thyme will be releasing on October 27, 2026. Pre-order the ebook now at your retailer of choice! oliviaatwater.com/book/rosemar...

An electronic tablet shows the cover for Rosemary & Thyme by Olivia Atwater. It is surrounded by a pair of scissors, two bundles of yellow flowers, and a straw hat.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 18/08/2026

Cultist Simulator? Eeeeesh. I'm getting put in the cupboard.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 12/08/2026

When I was younger, I didn't understand bigotry. I first had to make more friends and stand next to them while they were being attacked in order to *minutely* understand how ugly and irrational bigotry can be. Now, I'm realising that most average people cannot live up to their stated values.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 10/08/2026

I am one of those (foolish) women who figured I'd just do the natural thing and ride out perimenopause. This was based on a faulty understanding of what it would actually be like. I'm pretty sure I just had a period migraine for the first time in my life, and I would like some hormones now please.

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Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Stephanie Burgis @stephanieburgis.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Patrick and I have been up since 5:30 with Pebbles at the emergency vet for a glucose crash. Thank goodness she’s now stabilized. But good lord, the fees even with pet insurance - ! If you’ve been curious about any of my books, today would be a great day to snap one up! stephanieburgis.com

stephanieburgis.com

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 04/08/2026

This is a great example of how AI slowly eats itself. Unfortunately, it destroys entire Internet ecosystems while it does so.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 31/07/2026

I'm going through my work list, occasionally interspersed with further updates on how everyone I know is just trying to keep our US refugee friend safe and housed. This is not the first day this has happened, it's just hitting me harder. It should not be this difficult for trans people to just live.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 30/07/2026

Stripe: Great news, we've automatically opted you in to a more expensive AI feature. If you want to opt out, you need to log in and do it. I logged in, tried to downgrade. The confirm button isn't working. Their console is riddled with javascript errors.

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Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Dr Neil & Mr Price @drneil.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

It’s really starting to grind me down

The Barney/Moe’s Tavern meme

“Default AI features” Barney being kicked out
“Finding how to turn it all off in the settings” -satisfied Moe

Third panel Barney coming in behind “software update”

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 29/07/2026

The way I laugh when people say "well yeah, but surely you MUST at least use spellcheck, which is almost all AI, so checkmate!" Babes. Darlings. Spellcheck has become useless BECAUSE of the AI. I get complete nonsense out of it now. Of course I don't use it, I have to just... use a dictionary.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 29/07/2026

I think most conversation about the arts these days is so banal and reactionary that even reading a well thought-out criticism I might partially disagree with is too refreshing to get picky. Like. Nuance! My god, I forgot what you looked like, it has been so long. 😭

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 26/07/2026

If someone at my publisher is ever found to have used ChatGPT on one of my books or in marketing, I encourage people to yell at them en masse and boycott the book until the matter is satisfactorily addressed. That is an injury to me as well, and screw any company that puts artists in this position.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 21/07/2026

Every time the Canadian government uses the words "AI literacy", I become more determined never to vote Liberal again. Ever.

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Reposted by Olivia Atwater

Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Canadian arts and culture folks: the federal government has launched a (methodologically flawed) survey on "the Cultural Sector's readiness for Artificial Intelligence". If you're ready to resist or refuse genAI, here's your chance to let them know. pch.research-recherche.ca/f/s.aspx?lan...

pch.research-recherche.ca

National Survey on the Cultural Sector’s Readiness for Artificial Intelligence

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 17/07/2026

One would think that professional writers making their living on substack have the skills necessary to recognise the IRONY of using substack to complain about fascism. I'm still not reading your substack. I will never read your substack. There are so many alternatives out there now.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 14/07/2026

AI spam does get kind of funny when it's an English message insisting that your German translations, specifically, are the most brilliant thing the bot has ever read.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 14/07/2026

I know this is a wild idea, but. Can we just assume that Hormuz is going to be like this indefinitely and get back to ramping up renewables now? Because that strategy actually seems to be working around here. Everyone I know who has solar up is feeling really good about it at the moment.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 10/07/2026

I'm not particularly concerned about proving I don't use AI in my writing. AI is not now capable, and will likely NEVER be capable, of writing a full-length satirical novel that makes any sense at all.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 09/07/2026

For any authors who find themselves stressing about bad reviews, I have a recommendation. Look up reviews for a book that you consider to be a beloved classic. Notice that at least one person (probably many people) loathed that book and wrote several paragraphs explaining why, in great detail.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 08/07/2026

It's been a hard year, I would love to see a man with a bin on his head in a serious electoral race. If the UK is concerned about the cost of this sham election, they could just pay-per-view a Farage/Binface debate? Also, I want the merch.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 03/07/2026

I am told that the French government loves bureaucracy, while the French people loathe it. This... tracks, based on my experience so far. On the upside, I am getting the Real French Experience, as French people shake their head at me and sigh about paperwork.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 02/07/2026

Welp, ALLi’s reply to my email questioning their survey used the words “broad church” and trotted out the argument that we all just have to get along with other authors who use our stolen work. I look forward to proving I don’t HAVE to get along with anyone by cancelling ALLi.

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Romancing the Vote @romancingthevote.com · 01/07/2026

Gonna highlight some super awesome auctions! Wanna talk to @trickweekes.bsky.social, one of the smartest, kindest, most creative people in multiple businesses? Bid on their auctions here! (There's multiple: fight for them all!) www.32auctions.com/organization...

32auctions.com

Trick Weekes Consult/Crit #1

Auction item 'Trick Weekes Consult/Crit #1' hosted online at 32auctions.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 24/06/2026

How do I know @nicholasatwater.com loves me? We were playing Slay the Spire 2 together, and he secretly held onto a ritual potion until the very last boss fight and then played it on me. If you're not a video gamer, then just rest assured, this is true love.

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Olivia Atwater @oliviaatwater.com · 24/06/2026

A financial advisor once told me re: investing my retirement in US stocks: "it's basically risk-free because if there's ever a crash, the US gov will just throw money at stockholders" and. I just think people in the US should be enraged that this is the US stock market's international reputation.

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