iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Day 1 of 3 at FanX Salt Lake—including my panelist appearance—is in the books! (see what I did there?) If you'll be at the con Friday or Saturday, stop by the Galaxy Press booth to say hello and pick up a book or three!

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Join me next week in Salt Lake City! I'll be appearing at FanX on the panel “So You Want to Be a Writer?” (Thursday, 4 PM, Room 255D) and signing books at the Galaxy Press/Writers of the Future booth on Literary Lane all 3 days. Hope to see you there!

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Book birthday today! 📕🎂 My story "There's Still Hope While One Tree Grows" appears in Into the Deep, Dark Woods, an anthology edited by Kevin J. Anderson—out today! Tomorrow's book launch event will be streamed live via Zoom, hosted by KJA himself—contact me for the link (or to buy a signed copy!).

stricklandia.substack.com

Book release: Into the Deep, Dark Woods

The newest anthology featuring my fiction comes out today

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TBRCon @tbrcon.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

How do you write the politics of a utopian or dystopian society? We bring you the perfect panel to solve every last question you have! Right? Right..? Join @taranhunt.bsky.social @krystlematar.bsky.social @wtalabi.com.bsky.social @mosesoseutomi.bsky.social @stricklandia.bsky.social & Brian Penn!

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

THE END OF THE WORLD CLUB Upmarket/Book Club Fiction 77K "If Matt Dinniman wrote The Fault in Our Stars" Harley, a fatalistic young man with cancer, finds a family—and a reason to live—through a D&D campaign. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 found family ❤️ romance 🎲⚔️ D&D ♿ char w/disabilities & disease #F #SP #Q #NA #Bluepit

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

The practice of these social apps time-stamping activity in terms of hours or days (e.g., "14h" or "8d") is really annoying when it comes to correlating analytics to events. Ex: Analytics show a spike of traffic on a date, then I have to count number of days to guess what might have caused it, etc.

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

#UnhingedPit #QuestPit #WhateverPit Just look at the damn agent guide pinned to my profile already! 77k upmarket book club fic with D&D fantasy vibes from a Writers of the Future winner.

static.klipy.com

Avril Lavigne - So Complicated

ALT: Avril Lavigne - So Complicated

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

THE END OF THE WORLD CLUB “The Fault in Our Stars,” but if Gary Gygax wrote it 77k upmarket book club w/ fantasy vibes #UnhingedPit #NA #Q #foundfamily #romance #D&D #didyoumeanitwhenyousaidyouwantgenreblends

Google search bar displaying the following list of searches: how do I get my affairs in order, how to play dungeons & dragons, how can I tell if someone is into me, how well does chemotherapy treat leukemia, how to make a saving throw versus the undead, how to get over someone’s death, how to be a good dungeon master, how to write an end of life letter, how to live with cancer, how do I tell her that I love her

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Come try some wine 🍷 and buy some books 📚 at Deep Roots Winery in Golden, CO! I'll be here till 4 PM!

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

"SIP & SHOP" THIS SUNDAY: Come out to Deep Roots Winery in Golden, Colorado, where I'll be signing and selling books 11 AM - 3 PM. 📚🍷 Try some wines, buy some books.

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Tune in LIVE to the “Bringing Life to Characters” podcast tonight at 6 PM MT, where I’ll be a guest with fellow Writers of the Future Volume 42 author Mark McWaters! 🎤 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drgc...

youtube.com

Bringing Life To Characters: Episode 72 Mark McWaters and Mike Strickland

YouTube video by Author R Weir

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

@teeess.bsky.social Any plans to open to queries soon? (Your Azantian page says you're open, but QM shows closed.) I have a D&D-focused story with themes of death/mortality that seems perfect for your MSWL. Agent Guide pinned to my profile. TY!

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

An agent's guide to The End of the World Club by Mike Strickland. Upmarket/Book Club Fiction, 77k words. Disease, disability, death, Dungeons & Dragons: No topic is off limits for the End of the World Club. Background image shows a prescription bottle spilling pills and D&D dice.

The Pitch: After a life-threatening cancer diagnosis lands orphaned loner Harley Cross in patient housing near the hospital, he unexpectedly becomes part of a fragile found family—both in life and in a fantasy world shaped by their Dungeons & Dragons gaming. As illness begins claiming his friends, Harley must decide whether opening his heart to love, friendship, and community is worth the pain he knows will follow. Background image shows a dark cave with stalactites and a lone figure carrying a torch.

Comps: "If Matt Dinniman had written The Fault in Our Stars." Alongside book cover of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin: Interlaced game-world narrative and emotional depth. Alongside book cover of Here One Moment, by Liane Moriarty: Exploration of community in the shadow of mortality. Background image shows a D&D dungeon grid map.

Excerpt: I want to tell her there’s no such thing as bugbears and magic spells in real life, but then the appeal of this game to these specific people dawns on me. They’re—we’re—all following a shitty storyline that someone or something else wrote: God, Fate, random bad luck, whatever. Whether we’re dealing with cancer or some other affliction, we’re fighting a fight that we didn’t choose. A game that lets you make up any story you want and live in an entirely new world with different rules, does indeed sound appealing. Background image shows tabletop with blue D&D dice.

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

IT'S RELEASE DAY in the UK, Australia, and South Africa for Writers of the Future Volume 42! 🎉📚 Spread the word to anyone you might know in those countries!

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

I'm a contest judge for the Colorado Gold Rush Literary Awards, a contest sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers association. If you’re an unpublished writer of novel-length commercial fiction, you've got 1 week left to enter. Go to rmfw.org for details.

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Any SF&F readers in the Denver or NoCo area? I'll be signing books at @lovelandaleworks TODAY 3-8 PM! 📚🍺 If you can't make it, you can also find some signed books at @tatteredcoverbookstore (Colfax) on the "Colorado Authors" shelf! 🤩

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Want a FREE Writers of the Future bookmark? (no strings) Read my latest newsletter for details. stricklandia.substack.com/p/muses-immo...

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

BOOKS & BEER! 📚🍺 If you're in the area, come meet me and other local authors — and buy some books! — this Saturday, 3-8 PM, at Loveland Aleworks in Loveland, CO. ❤️ Spread the word!

Brewery book fair, Saturday, May 16, 3 to 8 PM. Meet writers of the future winner Mike Strickland. Loveland aleworks, 118 W. 4th St. in Loveland Colorado

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

99¢ ebook sale! 📕 WRITERS OF THE FUTURE VOL. 42, containing my cyberpunk love story "As Long as You Both Shall Live," is currently on sale for 99¢ (ebook) on Amazon! 15 stories and full-color illustrations: what a deal!

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

This delightful surprise came in the mail yesterday. The book doesn't come out until July, but it looks fabulous. 💖

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

THE END OF THE WORLD CLUB Contemporary/fantasy 77K #QuestPit #Q When cancer lands Harley in hospital housing, he’s drawn into a found family—in real life & a D&D fantasy world. As he falls for blind resident Kelly & illness claims new friends, Harley must decide if belonging is worth inevitable loss

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B. van Bodegom 📃is AGENTED @bvbodegom.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

CABIN IN THE WOODS × JOHN DIES AT THE END × JUMANJI When one of them is murdered at their annual gaming retreat, 5 dads must rely on years of #TTRPG experience—& ball-busting puns—to solve the crime before they're all butchered like NPCs in a badly written supernatural campaign. #QuestPit #A #H #Q

Poster-style graphic with a black background and heavy red blood splatter. Large distressed white and red text reads “DAD BODIES.” A dagger runs horizontally through the letters, and a 20-sided die showing low numbers appears on the right. Along the bottom are black silhouettes of heads with X-shaped eyes. Beneath, smaller text reads “ROLL FOR FUCKERY,” and at the bottom: “A co(s)mic horror novel by B. van Bodegom.”

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

THE END OF THE WORLD CLUB Contemporary/fantasy dual 🕘 77K "If Matt Dinniman wrote The Fault in Our Stars" Harley, a fatalistic young man with cancer, finds a family—and a reason to live—through a D&D campaign. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 found family ❤️ romance 🎲⚔️ FRPGs ♿ char w/disabilities & disease #QuestPit #Q #A #NA

prescription bottle with pills and roleplaying dice spilling out

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

I'm on a live interview in a few minutes with The Author's Quill online radio show to talk about my upcoming appearance in Writers of the Future Volume 42! www.youtube.com/live/YZiQEDm...

youtube.com

The Authors Quill Authors Mike Strickland Zach Poulter Brenda Posey S.J. Stevenson

YouTube video by UFO GODS & EXTRATERRESTRIALS

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

@stephenking.bsky.social thanks for the opportunity to play in your world! It was a rush to write and submit a story for "Views from the Overlook." stricklandia.substack.com/p/my-view-fr...

stricklandia.substack.com

My View from the Overlook

A moon-shot attempt to get published in the literary world of Stephen King

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

"Dracula" retold as a sci-fi queer romance? Get a free short story—"Dracula, I'm Right Here"—when you sign up for my mailing list. Just 2-4 emails a month about my publications and musings about the writing craft (unsubscribe anytime). strick.land/mailing-list

A man in blue coveralls looks longingly at a dark and handsome man in a black suit, with the view of a planet from space visible in the background

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Authors: I would be interested in a photo that shows the best way to pack books in a suitcase to take to a con or book signing, so as to avoid creases, bent covers, or other damage. Substackers, this would make a fun and interesting newsletter article. Hint, hints.

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Someone out there, right now, is writing the next generation's version of "1984." It will be required reading in high school literature classes in the 2050s.

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

I typed "THE END" on my latest novel. In this world marred by destruction and ugliness, I feel proud that I created something that at least one person (me, I'm the person) thinks is beautiful.

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Want to read my latest publication, an anecdote from my Navy boot camp experience? Subscribe for free to my newsletter: stricklandia.substack.com To my fellow veterans on Veterans Day, thanks for your service! 🇺🇸

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

"Trick or Treat," my very first short story, was published 35 years ago. But its theme involving gun violence and a Halloween prank gone wrong unfortunately still resonates today. stricklandia.substack.com/p/old-public...

Detail view of the front page of a newspaper, showing the masthead title "The Bones" and the first paragraph of a story in the righthand column headed "Trick or Treat," by Mike Strickland

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CatDaMaMa @catdamama.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

@neguse.house.gov gives a lesson on how to reframe a journalist’s stupid question about #SNAP! 💪🏼

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Hot take: AI is the enshittification of civilization. HT to Cory Doctorow (who isn't on Bluesky b/c of enshittification)

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

I was an interview guest yesterday on "The Author's Quill" radio show with fellow Writers of the Future winner @kathleen-powell.bsky.social ! www.youtube.com/live/zuxTHuT...

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

Creative writing: hobby or career? A friend's wiseceack amused me, but also forced me to ponder the question. stricklandia.substack.com/p/is-my-crea...

stricklandia.substack.com

Is my creative writing a hobby or a career?

A friend called my writing a "hobby." Is he right?

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

I'm attending this FREE event. RT if you think others will find this helpful 🙌 worldshift.manyworldswriting.com

worldshift.manyworldswriting.com

Worldshift: The Speculative Fiction Writers' Summit 2025

Speculative Fiction Writers' Summit

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Holy bananas! I won the Writers of the Future contest! (3rd place) Author Kevin J. Anderson called it "science fiction's equivalent to American Idol." stricklandia.substack.com/p/im-a-write...

stricklandia.substack.com

I'm a Writer of the Future

I just won a major contest called "science fiction’s equivalent to American Idol"

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Buy my story "No More Sparrows" for just 99¢. A short read for a small price! books2read.com/b/no-more-sp...

books2read.com

Available now at your favorite digital store!

No More Sparrows by Michael Strickland

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Even the head of the Catholic Church is no match for the Antichrist. RIP Francis

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

I originally bought this T-shirt as a gag because I'm a UX writer in my day job (someone who writes messages for apps). But this morning, I realized it's a perfect metaphor for the current state of our US political system.

T-shirt message that reads an error occurred, please try again later

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Mike Strickland @stricklandia.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

5,000 words: How my latest Writers of the Future entry resulted in my best-ever day of writing. stricklandia.substack.com/p/5000-words...

stricklandia.substack.com

5,000 words in a day: a big deal for a slow writer

How my latest Writers of the Future entry resulted in my best-ever day of writing

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Common Sense @cmmnsensedspnsr.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Reposting as Sagan is so prescient from 30 years ago.

Passage from Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World

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