iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Veronica Holmes

Hildur Knútsdóttir @hildur.bsky.social · 2h

A quick reminder that this one will be out in March! Links to preorder are here. It’s my retelling of the Icelandic 12th century myth of Selkolla. It has changelings (or does it?), mound dwellers, blót and a fair bit of blood. Preorders are the best way to support a book, its author and their dog!

us.macmillan.com

Down Where Monsters Dwell

From Hildur Knútsdóttir comes Down Where Monsters Dwell, a dark, historical fairytale steeped in Icelandic folklore about the powerful bond between mothers...

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 2h

Have a fab time! Wish I could hear you read!

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 2h

Stupid fact about me. I have broken my nose an incredible number of times for someone who has never set foot in a boxing ring. Today I broke it for the fourteenth time.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 2h

My first anthology as an editor! I learned a lot. I’m so proud of what these authors and artists brought to this book. And I have a story in here! All the feels.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Charging $32 for the kindle ebook edition of Wickhills in Australia is...a choice @torbooks.bsky.social, especially since the hardback is in the $50+ range and you're not even protecting paperback sales. Guess I'll be waiting :(

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

With my debut All or None in proofing, it’s time to kick on in earnest with the sequel…and a name reveal! The Long Night, coming in 2027 :) #amwriting

A picture of a laptop with book writing software up, showing the title “The Long Night” The Valkyrie Saga Book 2 by Veronica Holmes on the title page.

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Scylla Publishing @scyllapublishing.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Recommendations for an artist to do a bespoke Nordic (not Celtic!) knotwork design on commission?

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Well I might be the editor of this (so proud!) but I also have a story in here. “The City and Her Scars” my dark urban fantasy tale is in here.

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Scylla Publishing @scyllapublishing.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Who's calling? That would be us saying the "Who Am I? Sapphic Speculative Fiction of Identity & Purpose" cover DROPS on Friday!

Picture of a green old style rotary phone with the receiver off the hook on a wooden table/ 'Who Am I?" is written on it.

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Scylla Publishing @scyllapublishing.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Something cover-shaped is coming this Friday 👀 Until then, each image we post will give you a sneak peek at the vibes the Who Am I? sapphic speculative fiction anthology has to offer!

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

So...this was the first time I ever got up and read my work aloud outside of a creative writing class. Open Mic at ConSYDeration 2026. Thank you to the Sydney Speculative Scribes for being a safe space for me to get my sea legs under me. Credit: Alana Drayton.

Picture of Veronica Holmes looking scared shitless behind a microphone reading aloud at ConSYDeration, 2026. Photo credit: Alana Drayton

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I follow so many bookshops all over the world. I can’t help it, it’s a drug. I especially love the “I’m opening a [special niche]” bookshop stories where they’re painting rooms and stocking shelves. And the algorithm has sure found me on multiple platforms.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Best thing about being a writer is when someone says “what’s the best way to dispose of a body in a cold environment?” it doesn’t even cross your mind they’re doing something nefarious. Research!

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I jettisoned three TV streaming services in favour of five new SFF magazine subscriptions. I feel much better.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Effort, huh? #wipsnips from Chapter 3 of my novel "All or None". Currently undergoing that irritating proofing step we all loooove. #amwriting

IMAGE shows a block of text from a novel:

The healing begins, and Rayna’s gift flows over and around Signe, forcing her eyes closed.
Signe’s skin contracts painfully. The air in her lungs thickens, a smothering sensation akin to being held underwater. Soft chants fill the room, and delicate phrases call on Eir, the Goddess of Healing, to bestow a blessing. The sound is a balm to the turbulence of her emotions, and she sways under Rayna’s touch. ‘What are you doing to me?’
‘Quiet. Let me finish.’
The actual words falling from Rayna’s lips slip through Signe’s mind like sand running through a sieve, secrets not meant for her ears. She braces for more pain, she knows how this works, at least in theory, but still cries out when it comes. A white-hot blaze gathers under her skin then moves, and it is as if it hunts along her limbs seeking remnants of poison to burn from her body. The disease doesn’t give up easily; it digs in its claws like a frightened house cat. Then, Signe’s body convulses as the poison is forced to release its grip.
Her eyes open in time to catch the remains of a ghastly, red spirit heaving its last breath outside her body, then it disperses and is gone, and they are both staring at the empty air.
‘That’s not normal,’ Signe says.
‘No. It’s as if something was trying to possess you.’
‘Demons don’t do that, either.’
While Rayna recovers from the effort, her hand rests on Signe’s naked shoulder, and Signe enjoys the warmth of it. She pats herself down. Her torso now reveals a tiny web of scars, but even those small marks will fade in just a few hours now the unnatural presence is gone and her own regeneration has a chance.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Anyone who MISSED ConSYDeration run by Sydney Speculative Scribes and @westwordsorg.bsky.social because you didnt know it even existed (The horror!) now is the time to sign up for the newsletter so that never happens again! preview.mailerlite.io/forms/261999... #aussiewriters

preview.mailerlite.io

Scribes Signup

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

It took forever for me to get a bookseller in Australia to get me the first book Nordic Visions, so I already have my order in for the second!

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I’ve been doing a lot of purchasing from small SF&F presses lately for two reasons- 1) to support them, and 2) to get inspiration for what other small presses and the authors who write for them are doing successfully. I’m especially interested in what presses who specialize in queer work. 1/3

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Scylla Publishing @scyllapublishing.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The Monstrous & The Divine, our second anthology, is now closed for submissions! Our guest editor @faerywhimsy.bsky.social Nicole Field has been blogging the process, and you can read her final instalment of A DIVINE BLOG now! www.scyllapublishing.com/adivineblog

A tile, with the image of a warrior goddess, with the text Final Submissions Roundup! The Monstrous & The Divine Sapphic Anthology.

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John Wiswell @wiswell.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Indie writers are real writers. Self-pub writers are real writers. Trad pub writers are real writers. None of us are better than each other. I only wish the readers who need your work find it.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

So this...there should be entire three-day conferences dedicated to talking about this for us to express complex feelings around it. And even publishers/agents will admit they aren't gatekeeping for quality, they're gatekeeping for mass sales potential, and they reject books they love all the time.

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Scylla Publishing @scyllapublishing.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

We are about to embark on an extremely small, closed ARC process (with eARCs only!). ARC expressions of interest will be offered exclusively to mailing list subscribers later this week. If you’re interested, sign up to the newsletter at scyllapublishing.com/newsletter

scyllapublishing.com

Scylla Publishing Newsletter Signup — Scylla

Sign up for the latest news from Scylla Publishing, including behind the scenes info, cover reveals, ARC and street team signups, design sneak peeks and giveaways.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

@masonhawthorne.bsky.social is there any room left on your Australian spec fic writers starter pack? :)

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Dyani Sabin @dyanisabin.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

this is so goooood. I can't wait for the rest of the art to come out guys, this anthology is going to be so good!

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I finished writing my book today. Just wanted to say it out loud.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

List five authors you've read in the past year you can't believe you never read before: Premee Mohamed @premeemohamed.com Shauna Lawless @shaunalawless.bsky.social Silvia Moreno-Garcia @silviamg.bsky.social Melissa Caruso @melissacaruso.bsky.social A.G Slatter @angelaslatter.bsky.social

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Bryn Hammond @brynhammond.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

set eyes on layout proofs for my story in @scyllapublishing.bsky.social's Sapphic spec fic anthology WHO AM I? Looks great and such a sweet illo of my 'Home God Sewn of Fur and Bristle' (clues to the story 🐐🦌🦣) Out soon--ARCs I hear--you can sign up for the newsletter and glimpse the cover early 👀

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I barely remember anything from before I was twelve years old, but I was today years old when I realised I can still sing the whole theme song for Roger Ramjet.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Hahaha Gotta be Treehouse of Horror X - specifically the Lucy Lawless segment :)

Lucy lawless in the simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror X

Lucy lawless in the simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror X flying with Bart and Lisa

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Show is “Motherland: Fort Salem”. Film is “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”. Undisputed favourites for me.

Still from Motherland Fort Salem, showing Raelle and Scylla dancing in dress uniform.

Still from Portrait of A Lady on Fire showing the two main characters in period dress embracing on a beach.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I often see art where I think “I desperately want to write the book that would have that on the cover”.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Well this was a rollicking good time!! I’ve been reading a lot of serious books lately and all this bad language and sex and sword fighting was a blast. I tend to agree with this @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social review www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-penny... except I liked the ending.

Photo of a hand holding Pennyblade by J.L. Worrad. A stylised swordswoman stands on a black background with a face on one side of a sword and a mask on the other.

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Scylla Publishing @scyllapublishing.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

More story sneaks coming on our newsletter this week - and some small peeks at the cover! - which you won’t see unless you’re signed up. :) we wont be going to socials with the cover until it is 100% done! scyllapublishing.com/newsletter

scyllapublishing.com

Scylla Publishing Newsletter Signup — Scylla

Sign up for the latest news from Scylla Publishing, including behind the scenes info, cover reveals, ARC and street team signups, design sneak peeks and giveaways.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Meet Lia - she’s a succubus in a symbiotic relationship with the city she prowls in, trying to save the woman she loves from a desperate bargain with a demon. Meet her in the @scyllapublishing.bsky.social anthology “Who Am I?”. Thanks @kholbatar.bsky.social for the pic straight from my brain!

High contrast illustration - blue eyed sexy women at night against a dark background.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Currently reading. “Cathedral of Myth and Bone” the collection from Kat Howard @katwithsword.bsky.social, “The Spear Cuts Through Water” by Simon Jimenez, and VE Schwab’s “A Darker Shade of Magic”. Enjoying all immensely for vastly different reasons.

Three books lie on a sofa. “Cathedral of Myth and Bone” the collection from Kat Howard, “The Spear Cuts Through Water” by Simon Jimenez, and VE Schwab’s “A Darker Shade of Magic”.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Honestly I often wonder how anybody gets up the guts to publish anything when I read reviews on Goodreads. Like "this book seems like it's for women but I'm a man so it gets one star", or "I don't like kids books" and it's literally stated its a YA book. I'm baffled by humanity.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Glad I already have it on preorder :) Bring back books about magical cities and the people in them!

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

RIP Glen Hansard. Storyteller. Troubadour. A fine fellow. The world is poorer for losing you.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

There’s lots…and I’m almost always posting Motherland, so something different today :)

Nomi and Amanita from Sense8 stand in a kitchen with their arms around each other.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The cover of my debut novel is almost finished. Headed towards proofs. Shit is getting real y’all. #sapphic #amwriting

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

I own every printed book. Just an extraordinary project.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Ok. I’m gonna need to see some academic credentials going forward before entertain any further rants on The Odyssey. [skip to next subject]

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Speculative Insight journal @speculativeinsight.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Subscriptions are love! AUD30/ yr is about USD21, or GBP16, or EUR19. For that you get access to: an extra essay each month; the 6-monthly ebook collection (online essays + bonus essay)... AND the smug feeling that you're supporting writers in their endeavours... www.speculativeinsight.com

speculativeinsight.com

Speculative Insight

A journal for exploring the ideas and themes that stand behind, inform, and develop out of, speculative fiction.

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Veronica Holmes @veronicaholmes.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Hoping to meet some Sydney Spec Fic writers at ConSYDeration! We really need a successful speculative fiction writers con in Sydney. scribes.com.au/consyderation/

scribes.com.au

Sydney Speculative Scribes

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Scylla Publishing @scyllapublishing.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

This is NOT a drill. We have less than 2 weeks left in our submission period for The Monstrous & The Divine! Hit us with your re-imagined sapphic goddesses and monsters from existing mythology! Go wild :) #sapphicwriting #submissions #mythology www.scyllapublishing.com/anthology

A graphic says "Goddesses & Monsters - UNFAMILIAR in stylised writing down the edge. Statues war in the background. There's a heading that says "The Monstrous & The Divine, Sapphic Anthology".

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