iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 4m

The Song of the Vampire Out on 27th October. Available to preorder now.

Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 11h

I didn’t really think about book recaps in sequels until it was suggested to me that I put them in my own books. They’re a great idea, take no time to write, and people like them. I’ll be using them from now on.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 22h

Short answer, I’m not sure. The first 4 Riftborn are up there and that’s the same publisher, so hopefully soon.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 23h

As an author, I don’t read the reviews of my books on Goodreads. I mean, you can, it’s your life, but I personally value my mental health more than what Dave8826546 thinks of the prose of a book I wrote 15 years ago.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

If you use AI to do your book cover, I’m going to assume the book will be AI slop too. Either way, any author using an AI cover is an easy skip for me.

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Reposted by Steve McHugh

Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

“He likes power, and I feel like this is giving him some sort of power. It’s all about power and control in everything he does…” White supremacists who talk about “protecting women” from migrants are, unsurprisingly, violent misogynists. They do not want women’s safety — they want to control women.

theguardian.com

‘Bully in every way’: domestic abuse survivors say ex-partners behind far-right UK street patrols

Seven women share their stories to make people aware of patterns of violence behind anti-immigration street patrol movement

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Finished writing a book so it’s time for a good whisky. Glendronach 18 years tonight. I’d take a photo, but I’m watching Colony and can’t be arsed to get the bottle back out. Have a good Saturday!

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

City of Ghosts is done and off to my publisher. 132,000 words long is a pretty good size. And now to spend the rest of the weekend doing as little as possible.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Writing is hard. Being an author is hard. Seeing books you worked hard on and be passionate about, not sell as well as you’d like, is hard. But getting emails from people telling you how much they love your work, is awesome.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

They just go without saying. :)

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

“I love your books, but you need to stop being political.” Firstly, no. Secondly, I think you may have missed the point of the stories I wrote.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The “separate artist from art” argument pops up time and time again, especially when it comes to authors. Personally, your ability to write doesn’t mean much to me if you’re an unbelievable dickhead.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Witcher 3 Remastered is out today. And for anyone who hasn’t played this absolute masterpiece before, I envy you getting to play the Bloody Baron quest for the first time.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I know I’m probably in a minority, but I’d like it if titles of books on Amazon didn’t include things like “with a jaw dropping twist” etc. I find them really cheesy and it makes me less likely to buy the book.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I’ve got that but haven’t watched it yet. Enjoy!

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Reacher season 4 was great. Lovely ending too.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Going from editing brain to writing brain is weird. It’s like my brain needs a rolling start to get going.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Please don’t send me AI images of characters I’ve written. I’m literally a part of a legal challenge against AI companies who have been stealing my work (along with 1000s of other authors) to train their slop producing machines. There’s no part of Generative AI that I want to be involved with.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

The anti-establishment party of Reform are fronted by a millionaire, staffed full of millionaire ex-Tories, and now bankrolled by billionaires. A lot of rich, powerful people breeding hate and division to make themselves richer and more powerful.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I try to remain mostly professional online, but the more billionaires try to mess around with our democracy, and the more people I see cheering it on, the more I feel the need to tell people that the world would be a better place if their dads had just pulled out.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Love your work. I read several bits now and they’re always brilliant.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It feels like the most miserable place on earth, so yeah, that sounds about right.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Apparently men in the “manosphere” are going on a sex strike, which is both the funniest and saddest thing a bunch of virgins have ever done.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

T Kingfisher might be America’s best modern horror writer. Her work is constantly incredible.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I don’t need a Switch 2. I don’t need a Switch 2. I don’t need a Switch 2. I don’t need a Switch 2. Damn it, Nintendo.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Glendronach 18 years. It’s lovely.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Some weeks really make you earn a Friday night whisky. This week was one of them.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

David Gemmell, Terry Pratchett, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz. Oddly not a lot of sci-fi, although I mostly write fantasy of one kind or another.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Wherever you find your copy, I hope you enjoy it.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Ha! I end up with those anyway, I’d be painting Picasso like figures if I started getting jittery. 😂

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

My whole life I assumed that caffeine didn’t have a huge effect on me. Coffee never made me feel wired or alert, and I never had any issues sleeping after having caffeine. Turns out it’s another ADHD thing I wish I’d known about 30 years ago. Learning I have ADHD at 46 has been quite the weird year

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

It’s the local Pride today, and several local FB groups have covered it. Some of these groups have been inundated with hate-filled comments aimed at the LGBTQ+ community, proving why the world still needs Pride. On the plus side, I get to block a lot of local dickheads, so every cloud and all that.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

My publisher would never let the book go out without several rounds of edits.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

When I was writing Assembly book 5, I put in a chapter that was basically just chunks of exposition knowing I would have to change it all when it came to editing. Apparently now is that time, and it feels very unfair that I have to deal with the consequences of my own actions.

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Steve McHugh @stevemchugh.bsky.social · 28/08/2026