iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 5h

You can get 15% off the paperback of Dionysus in Wisconsin (and all the other books on season 3 of Historical Romance Sampler podcast) with the code Book15 here: bookshop.org/lists/season... Also I think you're supporting a bookstore AND the podcast, so a triple win.

bookshop.org

Season 3 of the Historical Romance Sampler

Use code Book15 for 15% off these paperbacks, Oct 1-17, 2026!

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 5h

I got the skeleton (named Rasputin) to decorate outside, but the kids have taken great joy in moving him around. This morning I came down from dealing with the 5yo and discovered he had taken my spot on the fainting couch.

A skeleton reclining on a red sofa with a orange cat at his feet.

A skeleton in an armchair. He is wearing sunglasses.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It's banned books week, and I don't have anything better than anyone else to say, except that our old doggo who died last year (Dr. Maya Angelou the Dog, DFA) got her name because my husband saw I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings on a list of most-banned books and was super outraged.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I just want to show you all this little wine cup that is held at the Chazen because it is adorable. It is from c. 450 BCE. Full info here: chazen.wisc.edu/collection/1...

A wine cup in the red figure art style with a little owl on in it between some plants that might be owls. It might actually be a little owl, i.e. Athene noctua, which is found throughout the Mediterranean and is closely associated with Athena, hence the Latin name. There was actually a Greek coin from about 500 BCE that had a little owl and an olive branch on one side, and I think that owl/branch looks like this. But I'm a nobody, so.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

There was a documentary (I have no idea what! It was probably on PBS though) that included some clips of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I was probably 8. I didn't sleep that night.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

There's a really famous speech in Angels in America where Belize tells Louis why he is angry at/about America. I went to a reading once where the undergrad interviewing Tony Kushner on stage read that bit aloud and then asked, "So why do you hate America?" Tony Kushner graciously did not slap him.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I wound up reading an excerpt from The Whole Wide World at Rainbow Space Magic Con, and I think it went well! I felt the text stood up, anyway.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Autumnal! 🍁🍂 I like that. ☺️

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It's up on the blog: ehlupton.com/2026/10/02/o... Also, no, I didn't drink any water today that wasn't run through a coffee bean first, and no, I don't feel great.

ehlupton.com

October 2026: The October 2026 Newsletter – PretenseSoup

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Me trying to write the newsletter today. I got nothing, but I also got a deadline, so...out it goes. Last minute sign-ups welcome here: winnowingfanpress.eo.page/lupton

static.klipy.com

Lin-Manuel Miranda: Come On Brain, Think of Things

Alt: Lin-Manuel Miranda: Come On Brain, Think of Things

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#fridayFling The book is actually called The Whole Wide World.

“Mm.” Laz got up and filled the kettle. Eli listened to the sounds with a sense of relief. There was still normalcy in the world. Laz put the kettle on the burner and switched it on, then busied himself getting out the tea. “When I tell you that we need you to participate in this ritual,” he began, and then stopped, watching Eli’s face. “I see.” After another moment he added, “Eat your lunch, Eli. You look like death warmed up.”
Eli felt himself flush and looked down at his plate. The beans glistened in their tomato sauce, suddenly unappetizing. But Laz was right, so he forced himself to scoop up a forkful of beans and ate them.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

As part of a campaign to close all of my tabs, I just finished reading a paper called "The Cultural and Religious Background of Sexual Vampirism in Ancient China." I don't remember why I opened it. Also, it is not about the type of vampirism you're thinking of right now. Still an interesting paper.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Hi hello yes, you like 20th century historical romance? So do I. We have put together a group of these novels all in one place for your convenience! Some of these I've read, others I'm excited to start. All AI-free and amazing. books.bookfunnel.com/20thcenturyh... #booksky #romancelandia

A photo of James Dean with the words, "I'm not saying the answers to all my problems aren't in this curated list of 20th century historical romance books but I'd better double check..."

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Eliot @eliotedits.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Want to actually write that romance novel you've been dreaming about? Join me for this practical and fun class starting 2 weeks from today! Lmk if you have questions 💖 loft.org/classes/plan... #WritingCommunity #Writers #AmWriting #Romancelandia #QueerWriters #FictionWriting 🌈💜

Text reads: Plan and Start Your Romance Novel, online at the Loft with Eliot West, October 15 - December 10

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J.A. Jablonski | Resolute Death out Oct 28! @jajablonski.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

🎉 Cover Reveal Day! 🥳 So jazzed to show off the cover of RESOLUTE DEATH, my academic mystery novel debuting on 28 October! Preorder info here (plus bonus audio narration of the opening Prelude): jajablonski.com/books/ (Book description in alt-text.) #AcademicMystery #CollegeMystery #CollegeCrime

Front and back cover of Resolute Death by J.A. Jablonski. Original art: Stephen Richards. Front is a presentation. Against an all-white background, is a large black raven in flight. All-caps, dark red title is set midway on the cover. Text below in a small, black serif font reads "An Osley College Novel." Below that, in a dark red font matching the title is the author's name.

The back cover shows more of Richards' design: black and grey, ink-wash drawings of tree trunks against a white background. Superimposed is the book description/blurb: a roughly, dark-red outlined box enclosing the book's description:

"Resolute Death offers an intense, immersive tale with masterful plotting. An essential read for those who love an intricately woven mystery that highlights loss, memory, retribution, and found family.

When a glamorous music professor is found dead in the carillon tower of Osley College, a small liberal arts college in the Driftless Region of western Wisconsin, Maude Ascham, the new chief of campus police, has her hands full. Her investigation leads to porn-watching students, an angry boyfriend, a betrayed lover, and feuding colleagues. Students, faculty, and staff: all are implicated. When the Dean of Libraries commits a gruesome suicide three weeks later, the investigation becomes more than a matter of murder.

Who is blackmailing James North, the bereaved, ex-hobo English professor and celebrated poet? Why would someone destroy the 175-year-old bonsai of the cantankerous college gardener? Was last December’s drowning of a senior music student really an accident? And what of Ariel Ellis, the eccentric, blue-haired barista, who is clearly hiding something behind their theatrical banter; and Esha Larkin, the maps librarian seen weeping on the old library’s roof at dawn? Each appears to hold a vital piece of a dangerous puzzle. There is a killer on campus . . . can they be stopped?"

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Welcome to yearly task that is boring, time consuming, requires a lot of focus, and which I did not document certain specific details of last year and therefore have had to spend 45 min reengineering my own thought processes.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I finished Nobody's Baby by @oliviawaite.com this morning. It was delightful! Some beautiful language that the audiobook really brought out. Also v amused to find another book with a Peregrine in it that came out a month before Renaissance. Must've been something in the water this past spring.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Hey, Rainbow Space Magic Con is this weekend and you should come--it's free! I'll be doing a reading on Saturday afternoon (15:30 central) and a panel on writing groups on Sunday (11:00 central). Plus there will be lots of other good discussions on resilient communities. www.rainbowspacemagic.org

rainbowspacemagic.org

Rainbow Space Magic – the craft of writing queer SFF

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Today, September 28th, is the day the Norman Conquest of England began when William landed at Pevensey. Also we have a fresh episode of #AskAMedievalist for you! On Augustine! Go check it out! askamedievalist.com/2026/09/28/e... #medievalsky

askamedievalist.com

Episode 101: Just What? – Ask a Medievalist

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I dropped The Alignments into this contest!

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Publish podcast. Immediately realize that I left the introduction from the previous episode in the template. I swear I do remember how to do this.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

When I was busy rewriting, the novel crept above 90k words. Renaissance, at 92k, was the longest book I'd written when it came out this past April. TWWW may wind up longer!

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Choose the correct one of "reign" vs "rein" on the first try. Challenge difficulty: impossible.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Share the last photo of the sky from your camera roll. I take a lot of photos of the sky because I've been trying to learn to paint clouds better. I took this one about fifteen minutes ago.

The full moon and some high clouds above a Chinese restaurant.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

At a child's birthday party. One of the dads came over to ask if I've read a book that turned out to be Gormenghast. I pitched him on Gideon the Ninth and Hell's Heart, which makes it sound like I'm reading a lot of lesbians in space. ...Maybe I am? (My husband read Hell's Heart—I haven't yet.)

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

New episodes of Ask a Medievalist start next week! Who's excited?

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Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Fuck ChatGPT flyers. The future is broadsheets.

A crowded broadsheet with way too many fonts. It says:
Forget ChatGPT Flyers
Say it with
Broadsheets
Unlimited fonts
Stretch them
Or cram a really long sentence into one line for no good reason
No whitespace
Mix capital and lowercase
Pointing hands
(They're called manicules!)
Don't be left behind
Broadsheets are the future

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Audiobook of the week: The Hound of the Baskervilles Chapter 1: Watson: this kind of stick is called a penang lawyer. Me: is that...casual racism? From my Watson? Me: Actually maybe a corruption of "penang liyar" (Malay word for a type of tree). Client (to Holmes): I covet your skull, sir.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

#fridayFling I seem to always be using the word "grounds" in the context of coffee, so here's "ground" instead. I don't know if it's exactly the same vibe, but it's a nice moment.

Eli got home late that afternoon to find Laz and Django out in the yard. Laz, appealingly scruffy, was wearing a sleeveless undershirt and driving wooden stakes into the ground with a long-handled mallet. Django was throwing a tennis ball into the lake and laughing uproariously as the dogs dove after it.

"What ritual is this?" Eli asked, only half in jest. Laz waved toward a piece of paper that had been set on the stoop and weighed down with a rock. It was one of his plans, consisting of scratchy lines and a lot of math. "You weren’t serious about building a deck?"

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J.A. Jablonski | Resolute Death out Oct 28! @jajablonski.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Audiobooks aren't for me* but for those into them, check out E.H. Lupton's short reading here. (Or get the whole book narrated by Scott Paige on Audible, Audiobookstore, or via Hoopla at your public library.) *I once almost drove off a highway listening to Patrick Stewart's A CHRISTMAS CAROL. 😆 📚💙

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I can always tell when I was super tired the night before because I will wake up and find I took my glasses off and left them someplace weird (is not next to the bed). A tough problem to remedy when I'm getting up at 5:30 and trying not to turn on any lights.

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Jordan L. Hawk @jordanlhawk.com · 25/09/2026

OUT NOW! The Devouring time is available in ebook and paperback! Bookseller Sterling Caine and investigator Adrian Evans must find out what happened during Sterling’s forgotten year, or all of humanity will pay the price. CLICK HERE: buy.bookfunnel.com/2n2porj6w5

An ebook and paperback stand against an orange gradient. The covers are the same, and feature a cracked clock face against a blue background. Two illustrated death's head hawkmoths flutter around it. To one side, there is a "bug" featuring a light blue vortex surrounded by the words Widdershins Universe. Text reads: Bestselling author of Whyborne & Griffin, Jordan L. Hawk, The Devouring Time, a Widdershins Universe Novel. Beside the books is text reading: Now Available, The Devouring Time. Can a handsome investigator help an amnesiac bookseller regain his memories before it's too late?

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

When I was out running, my podcast player switched from the Maintenance Phase ep on AIDS denialism to a philosophy podcast about Foucault and the panopticon, and boy howdy is that a wild bit of synchronicity.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This is what happens if I sit next to markers for too long.

A piece of cardboard with different colored/sized circles drawn on it.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Not to be all theater nerd here, but isn't the fun of an audiobook the interpretation? The performance? Also, didn't Draft2Digital have a survey a few years back about whether writers wanted to license their books to AI companies for cashmoney, and the answer was resoundingly negative?

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Restaurant I ordered dinner from: Here's your receipt. Restaurant: How did you like it? Restaurant: Because we really like you 🤗 Restaurant: You've earned 34 noodles and a free Regular Mac! Restaurant: When will you order again? Restaurant: Long have we yearned to hear from you...

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I'm on the Historical Romance Sampler Pack podcast today talking about Dionysus as a revolutionary and reading from Dionysus in Wisconsin! #books

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Me: At least this feels like a fairly contained project I could do relatively quickly. Friend: Em, I wish you would stop saying things like that out loud. Me: ...did I do the thing again? Friend: You did the thing.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Booked Eau Claire day 2! Come by and say hello!

Copies of the Wisconsin Gothic books and my friend standing behind our table.

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Rainbow Space Magic @spacemagiccon.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Join us on October 4th for "Finding Writing Communities When You Have Constraints" with @cloviseditorial.bsky.social Alex Washoe @pretensesoup.bsky.social @antoniaaquilante.bsky.social @authoralexharvey.bsky.social RSM is a free, virtual queer speculative fiction con! More at rainbowspacemagic.org

To the left of the background is dark blue with lines connecting small white lights in a seemingly random pattern. Across the image in the middle is a rainbow. The rest of the background is dark blue. The text reads: Rainbow Space Magic, A Queer SFF Convention, RainbowSpaceMagic.org October 3-4 Below that it says: Finding Writing Communities When You Have Constraints Then there is a row of pictures of individuals with their names below. The names are: Genevieve Clovis, Alex Washoe, E.H. Lupton, Antonia Aquilante, Alex Harvey-Rivas

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Trae Dorn - Writer/Witch/Weirdo. @traegorn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I'm at #BookedEauClaire today and tomorrow! Stop by if you're here!

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

#fridayFling I use the word "fear" a fair amount, and I don't know if this is the best example, but it is the most recent.

Laz nodded thoughtfully. “So the question is, should we head for Bangkok, or wait here to see if we can find a lead.”

“Bangkok,” Phra Nok said instantly. “As it is, he has such a lead on us that if we do not start soon, we risk losing him completely. Indeed, I fear we may have already.”

“How far is it? Three hundred miles or something?” Laz squinted at the sky, thinking. “It’s gotta be an hour by air, tops.”

When he looked back, Phra Nok was smiling. “Yes, but we are not birds.”

“Who said anything about birds?” Laz got to his feet. “You want to go to Bangkok? Come by the base in an hour or two. I’ll find us a plane.”

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Eliot @eliotedits.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Do you want to write a romance novel? My online class Plan and Start Your Romance Novel starts 4 weeks from today! Includes tons of resources and ideas + instructor feedback on your plans. loft.org/classes/plan... #WritingCommunity #Writers #Romancelandia #QueerWriters #FictionWriting 🌈💜

loft.org

Plan and Start Your Romance Novel

Do you want to write a romance novel? This practical, friendly, information-rich class will give you a boost! We’ll cover the building blocks of the genre: romantic leads, point of view, romance barri...

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I don't really watch TV or care that much, but I want to say that I watched the first season of Supernatural with a friend back in 2005 and said, "Well, that isn't gonna last." And then it ran for another 14 seasons. 🤣 I'm really good at anti-calling things.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Where, you might rightly ask yourself, is the envelope with five hundred dollars in it? Turns out it was well hidden under a mountain of books that are either freshly painted or awaiting treatment. Oops.

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kay taylor rea @kaytaylorrea.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

there is no more romantic relationship status than ‘in cahoots’ and more people need to understand that

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I thought this was a pretty good article: www.wheresyoured.at/ai-is-alread... Key points: talking about AI doing terrible things "someday" is a convenient mask to the fact that it's already doing terrible things, using anthropomorphic language for AIs obscures the actual facts about them--

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Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

GEFILTE PHISHING

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This looks good. I do love a lady with a sword.

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E. H. Lupton @pretensesoup.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This is the funniest misspelling of my name I have ever seen. Yes, tell me more, queries dot Emily Knopf publishing at Gmail dot com.

A note from Knopf Doubleday
Dear hupton,
I'm reaching out because I'd like to ask you a question about your writing.

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