iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Do I look dazed? I feel it. The line edits for Fate's Attendant 2 took nearly a month longer than expected, but I'm finally, finally done. 3098 revisions now reduced to 1... a question posed by me to the proof reader. 😂

A selfie adjacent a screenshot showing only one revision remaining on a Word document.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

We visited the farmer's market in Sebastopol on Sunday, then walked across the street afterward to Sonoma Chocolatiers & Tea House. Both tea and chocolates were excellent, and this fellow in the window seemed to approve as well. 🍫☕😊

In the store front window: an illustration of a fox in olive-green jacket and brown pants, drinking tea from a blue mug.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

My to-be-read pile keeps piling. There are actually a lot more books hiding around the house, but these were the ones in easy reach of the living room sofa.

A stack of books by authors including: Lexie Sharabianlou, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammet, Dr. Yijie Zhuang, Homer, Becky Chambers, Greg Van Eekhout, Jin Yong, and James Corey.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

We went to Armstrong Redwoods State Park over the weekend, and it was just as magical as usual. Unlike Muir Woods, no reservations are required. Just find a place to park and start walking. 😊

Sunlight pouring down through the canopy of a myriad of redwoods.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Just a short note to mark the occasion: the audiobook for Eight 5: The Saint of Water launched today. 😄 If you like listening to your stories, you can find it on Audible here: www.audible.com/pd/Eight-The...

audible.com

Eight: The Saint of Water

Check out this great listen on Audible.com. The hunt begins immediately. In the wake of Old Baxteiyel, Eight and Fala pursue a fleeing spy, only to discover hints of a Maltran conspiracy threatenin...

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

The manuscript for Fate's Attendant 2 came back from the editor with... 3098 revisions. 😅

A self portrait of the author along with a screenshot of the number of revisions.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

I absolutely loved the street art at Brick Lane in London. I dropped and broke my phone while in England, so I don't have many pictures from our visit. These three are my favorites from the photographs I did take.

A multitude of stickers on a wall. The one that stands out is a cute wind-up robot with a red heart and bouquet of flowers.

A multitude of stickers on a wall. Three stand out in particular: a young girl staring at the viewer, a woman thinking "get me out of here," and a blond woman in a glamour pose with a racoon sitting on her legs.

A multitude of stickers on a wall. Two stand out: "Vote 4 Clowns" and "How did it come to this?"

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The audiobook for Eight 5: The Saint of Water is publishing on August 18. This is the last in the series, and I couldn't be prouder of how the story has turned out. We once again have the amazing Gary Tiedemann performing. www.audible.com/pd/Eight-The...

audible.com

Eight: The Saint of Water

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Today is the one-year anniversary of me writing full-time. It's been a wild ride so far, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Even when it sometimes feels like this. The painting is by Anne Karin Court-Payen, hanging in the Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis.

A man with pensive expression opens his shirt to reveal gold underneath.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Paris gets about 50 million tourists a year. I imagine even the artwork gets tired of all the people.

An elaborate sculpture on the ceiling of a woman with legs crossed, chin propped on hand, and a bored face.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

More street art from Paris. This time, it's the perfect side-eye. I love how so much of the art we saw was playful.

A wall meant to keep people out of a renovation area with lots of street art on it, including a charming illustrative portrait of a woman side-eyeing a man on the street only looking at his phone.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

There's amazing street art in Paris. The piece above is a play on Liberty Leading the People but with the flag of Ukraine. The illustration at the bottom reads "Peace is earned" with someone else adding "so is love." And in between, there's Pikachu.

The corner of a building with multiple illustrations painted onto it. At the top is a woman bravely holding the flag of Ukraine. Below is a kneeling man holding a sign. In between are various smaller images, including one of Pikachu.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

I expected a tourist trap, but our visit to the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre turned out to be meaningful. You can see the artisans' devotion in every line.

The photo features a segment of the church's ceiling: a series of arches above and below an angel carved into the stone.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

One should not underestimate the French people's love of butter. The case is about double the size that you see in the photo.

So much butter on display! And a woman reaching for some.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I'd be remiss if I didn't share a photo from at least one of Paris's glorious churches. This is the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

The church's vaulted interior, with arcs of stone against a dotted blue background. Below are rows of wooden folding chairs with a handful of parishioners sitting among them. Pillars stand in two rows to each side.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Doesn't it look like there ought to be a story taking place at the end of the street? There's even a warning sign. Apparently, one doesn't enter the Rue de Dragon unless mounted upon a bicycle.

Picture of an alley with three signs: a nameplate for the "Rue de Dragon", a do not enter sign, and a bicycles excepted sign. At the end of the alley is a building whose door faces you.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

It was cool to just be walking around Paris and finding a spot where the author of The Little Prince once used to live. We recently returned from a holiday there, and I'm going to slowly sort through my photos to share the more interesting ones.

A wall of placards, one of which saying that Antoine de Saint-Exupery had once lived in the building.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Found while walking around town.

A series of colorful illustrations featuring stick figures interacting with their mobile phones. The title at the top reads: "The Phonos."

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Step by step, we're getting there. The process of building a readership for Fate's Attendant continues. The book is now carried at a local bookstore in Santa Rosa.

A shelf in the sci-fi/fantasy section, featuring Fate's Attendant among the other books.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

I had a blast at the Velvet Chapter's Prelude Event for the Bay Area Book Festival. So many readers stopped by the table. Of course, I talked about Fate's Attendant, but we also discussed favorite books and genres. The thing everyone shared in common: a love of stories!

Samer Rabadi at the event with a table full of copies of Fate's Attendant.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

One of the best parts of being a writer is the automatic permission to go down any rabbit hole that’s relevant to a work in progress. Did you know that in the early twentieth century Los Angeles had the largest interurban electric railway system in the world?

A Pacific Electric Railway trolley passing by a beach.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

The Fate's Attendant audiobook is out on Audible! 🎉 This is a fantasy series with LitRPG elements, featuring a veteran protagonist, a mysterious system, and a measured rise in power where cunning matters as much as strength. www.audible.com/pd/Fates-Att...

The Fate's Attendant book cover with the words "Out Now" at the bottom. The cover features a swordsman and giant badger.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Continuing the series of characters who keep me company while I write, here are Chester and Gregory.

Two cats in cold-weather jackets sitting on camp chairs drinking coffee.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

“The more accurate description of modern times is that we’re starved for reality.” — Jaron Lanier Quote found in Detectives in the Shadows by Susanna Lee.

Computer scientist Jaron Lanier was asked if human brains weren't meant to handle an onslaught of incoming information. He responded:

I think the problem with the digital era is, we get a lot of signals that are actually not real signals, like, you know, buy these shoes; go to this party; oh, y ou're not as hot as the other person—I don't know—just this endless stream of stuff. And so I don't think it's so much that we're being overwhelmed by genuine details, but by pseudo-detail. And it's like w're in this behaviorist experiment where we're in this maze where instead of the world of sense and hues and shades and subtleties of nature that are ever-changing and infinitely deep, instead, we're in this world of little buttons and lights and treat dispensers, and it's actually a curtailed, simplified word that seems complex just because having a lot of it kind of takes up our time, takes up our attention. But I actually think we are built for a great deal of stimulus and detail, and we're not getting it. I think the more accurate description of modern times is that we're starved for reality.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

I’m talking to a group of students today about being a writer and decided to bring with me a stack of books from my library. Winnowing them down to something manageable wasn’t easy!

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

I wrote a scumbag today. My characters are human and flawed, but this guy is the genuine article. #WorkingOnFate'sAttendant3

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Two turkey buzzards soaring. When they're in the air like this, I have a hard time distinguishing them from the hawks who also live in the area.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

The jasmine kept its promise. I wish I could share the scent with you; it's heavenly.

A multitude of jasmine flowers blooming on a pergola.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

We're seeing flowers blooming on the trees. Soon this jasmine is going to riot its way into spring.

A handful of jasmine flowers blooming on a vine that's riddled with unopened buds.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

This is a reasonable response to almost anything disturbing, provoking, or irritating in some way.

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Reposted by Samer Rabadi

Laura Bradley @lambradley.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

THIS GUY. 🤩 Not one but TWO books published on the same day. Well done, Samer, VERY well done. And what’s a book birthday w/o cake? 🎂 😋 Check out THE SAINT OF WATER, Book 5 in the EIGHT series; & FATE’S ATTENDANT, Book 1 in @samerrabadi.bsky.social's new series, both on Amazon. Write on, friend! 🎉👏😍

Smiling man w/gray mustache & goatee holds a cake frosted like his book cover. Cake: orange frosting, title: Eight: Saint of Water; huge gray egg w/hieroglyphics & warriors. 2nd book cover: Fate's Attendant, Japanese warrior & badger.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

If two books from an author publish on the same day, does that make them twins? Both Eight 5: The Saint of Water and Fate's Attendant are now out. 😊 www.amazon.com/Eight-Saint-... www.amazon.com/Fates-Attend...

Cover of Eight 5 featuring an archer facing off against a ghostly enemy.

The cover of Fate's Attendant featuring a swordsman and a giant badger.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

When I published my first book (Eight), formatting the e-book took a week, working from about six in the evening to midnight every night. There were tools that could have sped up the process, but they didn't work for stories with embedded tables. 😅

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

I've been away from social media for months, but it's been for a good reason... later in February, I'm publishing two new novels. 😊 Eight 5: The Saint of the Water is the final chapter in the bestselling series: www.amazon.com/Eight-Saint-... It comes out on Monday, February 23, 2026.

The novel's cover, featuring an archer battling a ghost-like figure in front of a magical sculpture.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

We've had some beautiful days this past week.

View of a pathway next to a river. A mill is visible in the far background.

View from a walkway alongside a river's turning basin. A mill and a boat is visible across the way.

View of the shore along a river. A boat and buildings are visible on the other side.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

This delightful sculpture is "Luke & CP30" by Patrick Amiot. Spotted at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Mary and I stopped by the gallery yesterday to check out the exhibition of artists participating in this year's ArtTrails. The work on display was absolutely fabulous. I was so impressed.

A clay sculpture of C3PO and Luke Skywalker in a land speeder.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

I passed under these branches and their pine cones, lost in my thoughts while walking, then realized that I'd seen something beautiful and ran back to admire them.

A collection of pine cones still on their branches. The color palette is washed out; they are stark against the sky behind them.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Love is buying two donuts, and the second one survives until your wife comes home. 🍩🤸‍♀️

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Life at the scale of a mushroom... It's a jungle out there!

Close-up photograph of a mushroom among a tangle of other plants.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

When you take long strides, remember to also watch for the small steps needed along the way. This morning, I made good progress on Fate's Attendant, but then realized I'd made a mistake with power progression. It was an easy fix, but I had to go back to recheck all the other numbers.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

82 pages of Fate's Attendant are now available according to Royal Road's stats. 😊 As with everything else on that site, everything is free to read. www.royalroad.com/fiction/1287...

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

You find the most interesting things when driving the back roads of Sonoma County.

An old car rusting in a field. Looks like it might be from the twenties or thirties.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

It's official—I'm working on a new serial! Hong Fei is a broken soldier whose cultivation has been shattered, yet fate deals him (literal) cards that might change everything. The first chapters are here: www.royalroad.com/fiction/1287.... #Xianxia #LitRPG #DeckBuilder #GiantBadgerForTheWin

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Reposted by Samer Rabadi

🌈Dr. Frizzle @swilua.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

we have both computers and science fiction because Byron was so insufferable it inspired all the women around him to come up with elaborate reasons to get away

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Reposted by Samer Rabadi

Valerie Willis | Fantasy Romance Author @willisauthor.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

I give similar advice to writers. Get the story out, that first draft needs to be on paper before the magic of revisions and editing can even happen. #WritingTips #FirstDraft #CreativeWriting #WritersLife #Storytelling #WriteYourStory #EditingProcess #WritersCommunity #Inspiration #WritingAdvice

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

More birds in flight. This time, they're man-made. #FoundArt

A black wooden board with two geese in white paint.

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

All sorts of characters keep me company while I'm writing. Here's Keroppi, an especially squishy version. Look at him jiggle. It makes me smile every time I see it. 😂 #keroppi #sanrio

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

I got strong Three Stooges vibes from this one. 😂

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Samer Rabadi @samerrabadi.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Two turkey buzzards in flight. The rest of the wake was on the ground nearby feeding on dead skunk. (The smell was something else, let me tell you.)

Two turkey buzzards with their wings extended as they fly above. A smattering of tree branches frames them on the right.

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