iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 2h

In addition to exploring Mount Vernon, I took advantage of being in a real metro area and did a ton of shopping. A big Ikea run, plus picking up other stuff that's harder to find out in the boonies. Now to play with all my new toys. I've already set up a lamp for my office.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 3h

I took a short road trip. I went to Mount Vernon yesterday, then did some shopping in the evening and this morning, and then took back roads home. Now very tired (so much walking yesterday). It's good to be home. The Appalachians have definitely claimed me. I can feel it.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I had to hide under the bed during the Monstro scenes when I listened to my "story and songs" record of Pinocchio. Also, I had to be taken out of the theater because I was so freaked out by the blueberry scene in Willie Wonka. I didn't see the whole movie until I was in my 30s.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I've been pondering going on a short trip this week. I have it all planned. This is probably going to be my best opportunity. I want to go, but I can't seem to make myself commit and actually make a hotel reservation.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I managed to drag myself out tonight to see the high school theater production of Hogfather. For extra guilt/incentive, I learned that a kid who sings in the choir (and whose parents and grandfather are in the choir) was on the stage crew, so it became an obligation.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

It's a cool, rainy day here, so it's perfect timing for the Cozy the Day Away Sale on cozy and cozy-adjacent fantasy and paranormal books. Oct. 3-4. cozyfantasysale.promisepress.org

Cozy the Day Away Sale
A two-day sale specifically for the cozy fantasy genre.
Sat 3rd/Sun 4th Oct
cozyfantasysale.promisepress.org

Image shoes a creature on a pile of books with a cup of tea nearby.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The introvert's dilemma: There's something I want to do, but it involves leaving the house. Will this thing be more fun than sitting on my sofa and trying to decide what movie to watch until I realize it's too late to start one?

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I attempted an "unboxing" video when I got a mysterious package from Japan. And I forgot to post it here. So, here goes.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I learned this morning that the "good" Dollar Tree store is the one somewhat near my house, and I figured out how I could walk to it without having to walk on the major street that only has sidewalks on one side, but they keep switching sides. This one is cleaner and nicer than the other store.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

One of my neighbors is now flying a United Federation of Planets flag from the flagpole in front of her house. Now I really want to find a Rebel Alliance garden flag (one that's not AI art).

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I may have overestimated what I'm capable of accomplishing the day after finishing a book. So far today, I've managed to pay a bill and wash my hair. I guess I've done some planning for the mini-break trip I want to take next week. And I returned a phone call. Otherwise, where did the day go?

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The day after I finish a draft is always so weird. I simultaneously want to do nothing and do everything I was putting off while in writing mode. My brain feels lost without a story to think about. I need to reset the house and do promo, and maybe some grocery shopping. But I have no energy.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The book is done! I suspect it will have to be fleshed out a bit and tweaked in revision. This was as close to pantsing a book as I've ever come. I never got around to doing my usual detailed character work and plot outlines. The opening scenes came to me, so I wrote them. Scenes kept coming.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's #BookQW and the word this week is "treat." I'm using it in the medical sense, in this bit from my latest cozy fantasy release, Pottery & Peril, where the Cat Distribution System has done its thing. shannaswendson.com/writing/pott...

Pottery & Peril book cover is set against a background of a black cat.
Quote: My apprentice found her and brought her to me to treat an injury, but we never found any other kittens or a mother, so I’m not sure where she came from.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I have hit the target word count for this book, but I need about a scene and a half to finish the story, so on I go. After I get some more tea.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

One "joy" of releasing a book: All the spam that follows. Suddenly, all the "book clubs" want to feature it, all the "marketing experts" want to help me get attention for an underappreciated book, and all the "bestselling authors" want to become besties and help my career.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I was pretty sure today was compost collection day, so I spent about an hour and a half weeding last night to fill a bag. But this morning my neighbors hadn't put out their bin. I thought I heard the wheels of the bin on the driveway and went to water the plants so I wouldn't look like I was lurking

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I have under 2000 words to hit my word count goal for this draft, probably about a chapter or two (but short ones) to wrap up the story. I may try to write a bit more today, but for now I'm making tea and I'm going to sit on the deck and read for a while because my brain is tired.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I think I figured out one of the things that's making me skim this book I'm reading in which the story intrigues me, but my eyes just keep jumping ahead. The book seems to be very D&D-coded. Not in a "I wrote up my campaign" sense, but rather it seems to be set in that world.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I think I may actually take my mini vacation to Mount Vernon next week. It turns out that the downside to waiting until the weather will be pleasant is that in the "off season" some things are only available on weekends, so no river cruise from Mt. Vernon and some tours are limited.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm so close to the end of this book, under 5000 words to my target word count. The story may run a little over that, but not by much. I may finish the draft by the end of the month. Then I will reset my house, take a little vacation, and replot the book I wrote earlier in the year.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I may have falsely accused the perfume wearer yesterday for triggering the allergy attack because it's lingering. Not quite at "Ragweed!" levels, but I think something blew in when the wind changed direction. I may not try to work in the yard this evening.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I did a brain dump this morning, supposedly to get everything I need to think about or do out on paper so I could focus on something else, but I think it amounted to opening a lot of new tabs, so I'm even less focused with so much to think about.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm reading a book that I'm going to have to analyze because it's changing my usual reading behavior. I'm more a "journey" than "destination" reader. It's more about spending time with the characters and in the world than about how it ends. I enjoy a good twist, but spoilers don't ruin things.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I watched Toy Story 5, and I'm amazed at how they keep coming up with something profound to say with each film. I never feel like they're truly milking the franchise. This one's about how hard it can be to make friends and the mixed bag of technology, with both benefits and issues.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I had a massive sneezing fit while the choir was singing this morning. I managed to hold it back almost all the way through, then it escaped during the last note, and I buried my face in my folder, so I don't think it was too loud. I suspect someone in the choir loft was wearing perfume.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

No wonder I was overwhelmed at the festival yesterday, they're estimating about 40,000 people at the event, 15,000 more than they planned for. This is in a town of about 25k. A lot of attendees are local, but even if every single person in town was there, that's a lot of extra people.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I went downtown for the festival, walked a few blocks, couldn't find the things I wanted to see because they called the locations in the schedule different names from what they are in real life, got overwhelmed by the crowds, and noped out. Look at how full the streets are.

Throngs of people, most of them wearing wizard costumes, clog the street of a Victorian town.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I'm feeling quite justified in my decision not to go for that long hike up a mountain. It was chilly this morning, and my knees ached even while I was lying in bed, and it's quite windy. I wouldn't want to be going up a mountain or sitting on a ridge in this wind.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I took this picture a few weeks ago on my walk to the garden market. I think someone's clearing out an abandoned house. Or is it a Halloween decoration? On that street, there's no telling. The headless skeleton was missing today, so someone may have snagged it.

A big wooden crate overflows with junk. A poster and the handles of some tools stick out. A headless plastic skeleton is draped over the top, its legs hanging off the side.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The event I volunteered at Monday was at the high school, and when I was looking around between training and event, I noticed that the official school posters for announcements, events, etc., were all obviously and obnoxiously AI, the kind that I instinctively recoil from.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

My Monday-night volunteering has paid off. I went to the community garden market to get cherry tomatoes because this would be the perfect night for that polenta and roasted tomatoes dinner, but they didn't have any out. After we chatted for a while about the event with another customer, I asked.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I have joined the BlueSky granola cult. I figure the oats plus flaxseeds will be good for my Lowering My Cholesterol project. The granola is currently cooling, so I can't touch it, but it smells wonderful. Maybe it'll be cool in time for an afternoon snack.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

According to my outdoor thermometer, we dipped down into the upper 30s last night. If my heat had been turned on, my heater would have kicked in, but the thermostat is still on cool because it was in the upper 80s very recently. I can't bring myself to turn the heat on in September.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Well, that was fast. The print version of Pottery & Peril is available now! www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKY9VHW...

amazon.com

Pottery & Peril

Amazon.com: Pottery & Peril: 9798176831641: Swendson, Shanna: Books

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I managed to do some book launch promo today, went grocery shopping, got the paperback version set up, and I still hit my word count. I had to write at night, but I got the words done.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I had an email issue and didn't realize that I've had the Pottery & Peril paperback cover since August (it only comes up when I search, not in the in-box), so I now have that set up and awaiting approval. That can come within hours or days, but I'll keep everyone posted.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I got a really good deal on chicken leg quarters at the store today, so I will have to make chicken and dumplings (though not for dinner tonight). I need to find some more chicken stew recipes since that's currently about the only affordable meat.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

It's release day! Book 5 in my Tales of Rydding Village cozy fantasy series, Pottery & Peril, is now available. This may be as close as I come to an "enemies to lovers" story. shannaswendson.com/writing/pott...

Pottery & Peril book cover against a backdrop of fireworks
Text says "It's Release Day! E-book Now Available"

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm glad I didn't sign up for that hike. I woke this morning with very creaky knees and had to use the hand rail to get down the stairs, so going up and down a mountain might have been a challenge. I need to get back to my physical therapy exercises. And also rest after last weekend.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The problem with using water from the dehumidifier to water my outdoor plants is that in extreme cases my water needs are out of sync with my water supply. On hot days when the plants need more water, the AC is running, so there's less water from the dehumidifier.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I'm trying to decide if I'm brave enough to sign up for a Sierra Club hike this weekend. It's nearly 8 miles, up to a high ridge, and it's labeled "strenuous," with a suggestion to use trekking poles. I don't have trekking poles, but I do have a staff. I would likely be the youngest person there.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It's #BookQW and this week we "know" (or "knew) a lot. Sometimes, knowing something isn't comforting, as in this teaser tidbit from book 5 in my Tales of Rydding Village cozy fantasy series, Pottery & Peril, which launches tomorrow. shannaswendson.com/writing/pott...

Pottery & Peril book cover
Quote: She’d made it to the square, with the inn not far away, when her lantern went out. She knew what that meant, and she tensed in dread.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

My morning glories are finally blooming! This is just the start. I hope to have more in weeks to come (especially if we get actual fall instead of leaping straight from August to November)

Two large, blue morning glory blooms top a mass of leaves. There's a bud for a soon-to-be bloom behind them. One of the blooms shows beads of water from an overnight rain.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I've had jigsaw puzzles on the brain lately, probably because of the cool, rainy weather that makes me think of cozy pastimes, plus they were doing puzzles at the retreat last weekend. I've been thinking of putting together some kind of puzzle board that I can move out of the way.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I didn't have to go anywhere yesterday, but I did have a webinar, so I had something on the schedule. Today, I have nothing scheduled at all. I need to do lots of promo, with a book coming out tomorrow (eep!) and I want to do a lot of writing. But I don't have to look at the clock.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It's finally cool enough for me to wear my new pajamas I bought myself for my birthday. They're really more of a weekend thing, since they're designed for lounging (they're a camisole top, long pants, and a long cardigan), but I'm enjoying a midweek celebration.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

It was a nice writing day, cool and rainy. I had a candle going, lit the room with my light-up mini birch trees, played some Enya, had tea, and I hit my word count as well as doing a small promo task. Now I'm going to let myself relax and rest this evening. Frozen pizza for dinner.

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Shanna Swendson @shannaswendson.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Fun life in an old house game: What is that weird smell in the basement? I came home after being out of town to an odd smell. I can't quite place it. I don't know if it's the dehumidifier having to work too hard, then having to cut off because it was full, or if something died in there.

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