iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm always amazed how just a few small tweaks can transform a story, finding that one missing link to tie it all together. Today was a good day for solving that puzzle in my latest non-fiction piece, connecting the motifs to feel that magic. #writingcommunity #writing #booksky

4131

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Thank you @joannemerriam.bsky.social for this lovely shout out! I will have to check out Blaine Thornton's book of poetry!

011

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

It's been a whirlwind of bookstore signings, interviews and readings for the past month with one more reading this Saturday in Summerland, BC at the Okanagan Regional Library. I believe there's a concert afterwards and lots of fun activities so should be a great day! #booksky #CanLit #Summerland

060

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

War is the enemy of all mankind It all points to the folly of an oil and gas–fuelled economic system in which profit and power are worshipped regardless of the enormous costs. davidsuzuki.org/story/war-is...

davidsuzuki.org

War is the enemy of all mankind

It all points to the folly of an oil and gas–fuelled economic system in which profit and power are worshipped regardless of the enormous costs.

021

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Awaiting the first review on my novel was scary but thank you @themanitoban.bsky.social for your very kind words. Official release date for The Art of Getting Lost and Found is March 10 #writingcommunity #booksky themanitoban.com/2026/02/the-...

themanitoban.com

The Art of Getting Lost and Found releases March 26 – the Manitoban

040

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

February might have been a short month but was full of lots of good books. One from the upcoming Canada Reads list, a couple of short story collections and some good novels that took me to Haiti, Uganda, a farm in the US, a reserve in Canada and more. #writingcommunity #booksky #booksread

170

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

A huge thank you @alllitupcanada.bsky.social for giving me the opportunity to write about the creation of my novel, The Art of Getting Lost and Found #Canlit #debutnovel #writingcommunity #booksky alllitup.ca/writers-bloc...

alllitup.ca

Writer’s Block: Glenna Turnbull – Alllitup.ca

1121

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Pinch me! That's my debut novel The Art of Getting Lost and Found on the shelf beside the legendary Jane Urquhart!!! Me! Beside Urquhart! Release date isn't until March 10th but the book has been spotted in stores across Canada already. Including @MosaicBooks #Canlit #booksky #writingcommunity

090

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Super excited! My debut novel has arrived at the publisher's EARLY!!! They sent me this photo! I can't wait to hold it in my hands. Thank you @breakwaterbooksltd.bsky.social for being so great to work with & for creating such a beautiful cover! Release date March 10th. #booksky #debutnovel #CanLit

0170

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Forgot to post this yesterday, but here's the books I read in January 2026. Favourite book was Sally Rooney's Normal People. Liked it so much I read a second one of hers. Both are literary fiction that plays upon the difference between what we say and what we wish we could say. #booksky #booksread

081

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

An author on Substack asked the question, what inspires you to keep writing when, as writers, we have to deal with so much rejection? This was my response: open.substack.com/pub/glennatu... #writingcommunity #booksky

open.substack.com

Finding Inspiration

Writing for yourself v. writing for publication

010

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

It was not easy to narrow down from 70+, but here are my 15 favourite reads of 2025. Most of them are #CanLit - 3 of them by Emma Hooper! Still think Tiger should have won the #Gillerprize Had a hard time choosing which Zadie Smith book to include. #booksky #books #booksread2025 #booksread

181

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

I use #Goodreads to keep track of the books I read. According to their round up, I read 80 books in 2025. If you're curious to read more than the limited characters here on BlueSky, you can find me here on Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/user/year_in... #booksky

goodreads.com

Goodreads 2025 Year in Books

Check out My 2025 Year in Books on Goodreads!

020

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

I forgot to post my #booksread in December 2025! Loved the honesty and vulnerability of Toews, the plot in Bent's novel and the characters in Quinn's. #booksky

040

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

A strange month of reading. Reread The Scarlet Letter then Hester in Sunlight--more like a prose poem, about Hawthorne's book; a very dense read. Adored Zadie Smith's novel Swing Time, really liked Other Worlds and had a good laugh with The Heart Goes Last. #booksky #booksread #booksreadNovember

040

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

Another great month of readings, with two crossed off my TBR list, four from the Giller long list and others that were recommended. Only one DNF: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Other Tales from the Crematory. Got to the section on cremating babies and couldn't get take it. #booksky #booksread

020

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

I'm super excited to announce, my novel, The Art of Getting Lost and Found is now available for pre-order from most book retailers, release date March 10/26. This means I can finally share the beautiful cover. #debutnovel #booksky #fiction #CanLit #breakwaterbooks #domesticviolence #mentalhealth

1151

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

My 2nd on the Giller shortlist, this novel picks up steam like, well, like a runaway train that you cannot put down when you're told right at the start that someone with a bomb is boarding the train. Full 5/5 The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue #booksky #writingcommunity #GillerPrize #books #CanLit

000

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Wow, my first read of this year's Giller long list. Tan captivated me right from the start with his beautiful prose, excellent pacing & recurring use of space/star/constellation metaphors. One brother in a tiger costume, the other a cosmonaut, a starlit bedroom sky...full 5/5 #booksky #gillerprize

020

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

#booksread in September. Full 5+/5 for Cloud Cuckoo Land and loved The Sisters Brothers. My first Louise Penny book despite not being a mystery fan. Fourteen Days had so much potential but never meshed and I hated the ending. Barkskins @700+ pages was a slog and Sisters of Belfast rated 2/5.

000

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

I am a true "pantser" and fly by the seat of my pants all the way, from short stories to novels. Once I set my characters into motion, it's a wild ride to try and keep up with them and roping them in trying to redirect them only results in forced scenes. I envy those who can do it the other way!

010

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order: Day 9: Kate Atkinson Initially hooked on her short story collection, love her quirky sense of humour and adored her latest, Shrines of Gaiety. #readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish

030

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

First Colbert. Now Kimmel. Threatening broadcasting licenses to networks not spewing #MAGA propaganda is scary. There's only one way to make America great again, and silencing the truth is NOT it! American, you're becoming as censored as North Korea and China. #Trump needs to go #censorship #Kimmel

010

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

August reads included 2 from my longtime TBR pile. Very hard to pick a favourite. Most were Canadian authors. Shrines of Gaiety had me laughing out loud; Help Me Jacques Cousteau, The Beekeeper of Aleppo and The Shipping News had me hugging the books at the end. #booksky #books #reading

030

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order: Day 8: Caroline Anderson 🇨🇦 Absolutely loved Ellen in Pieces and her short story collection, A Way to Be Happy #readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #CanLit

220

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Read some new, some classics, some short stories and some connected short stories. One off my bucket list of classics that could have stayed here... not a huge James Joyce fan, I guess. #booksky #booksread #writingcommunity #readreadread

020

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Really enjoyed the last one on endings and hope I can find enough cell service to jump in to this one. For those who don't know about these, it's a great chance to discuss the craft of writing with Simon Fraser University's writing program. #amwriting #WritingCommunity

132

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order: Day 7: Lawrence Hill 🇨🇦 My favourites of his novels: Book of Negroes and The Illegal--I could not put either of them down! #readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #CanLit #LawrenceHill

020

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order: Day 6: Michael Crummey🇨🇦 My favourites of his novels: Sweetland, The Wreckage and The Adversary but loved them all. #readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #CanLit #MichaelCrummey

000

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order: Day 5: Richard Wagamese🇨🇦 My favourites of his novels: Ragged Company, Medicine Walk, Indian Horse, brilliant writer! #readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #CanLit

210

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

You know it's Mercury retrograde when Sirius stops working in your car, your Apple TV drops your streaming app and your car windows start going up instead of down. Yep, Mercury's at it again. #mercuryretrograde #glitches

000

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order: Day 4 Waubgeshig Rice🇨🇦 His Novels: Moon of the Turning Leaves and Moon of the Crusted Snow Dystopian page-turner novels #readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #CanLit

060

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order: Day 3 - Esi Edugyan🇨🇦 Her Novels: Washington Black, Half-Blood Blues, The Second Life of Samuel Tyne Edugyan is a highly gifted storyteller #readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #CanLit

110

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

A7 My novel coming out in March has a dual story line. The first was written in my usual pantser style but the 2nd was based on a legend where I knew the ending and had to write backwards. It was tougher trying to steer the story without is sounding contrived. Also why I dislike outlines. #TWSOchat

141

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

A5 In Astra by Cedar Bowers, each chapter is told by different people who knew her. LOVED it until the last on, told by Astra tying a big pink bow on top. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, WOW, but the G.O.T. "red wedding" ending was like slamming into a wall. Endings can taint a great book. #TWSOchat

121

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

A2. I always tie everything up neat and tidy, then delete it. It's important for me to know how these lives I've created will turn out but nothing makes me groan more than reading that in someone else's novel. Leaving the door open to possibilities is best. #TWSOchat #writingcommunity #amwriting

041

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

A1. Q1. Working on a novel that I'm 3/4 through. As a 'pantser' I'm not sure of the ending yet. I rarely know the ending of anything when I start writing, just wait and see where my characters take me. After I write it all out, I slash it back so it's not overwritten. #writingtips #TWSOchat

221

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order: Day 2 - Christine Higdon🇨🇦 Her Books: Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue The Very Marrow of our Bones Loved them both and can't wait for her next #readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #CanLit

010

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order: Day 1 - Emma Cooper🇨🇦 Her Books: Etta & Otto & Russell & James We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky Our Homesick Songs. Loved all 3 of them #readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #CanLit

220

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Read a ton during June plus 2 audio books. Enjoyed Bel Canto, laughed all the way thru Grand Union, related too well to More or Less Maddy, DNF Dream of a Woman. Favourite book of the month by far was Emma Hooper's Our Homesick Songs. What a brilliant writer! #booksky #books #booksreadinJune #read

260

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Forgot to post my books read in May. So much good reading. Favourite book of the group was Ellen in Pieces by Caroline Adderson. It's written from several different POV and shows the effects we have on other people's lives. Brilliant book, full 5+/5 #books #booksky #booksreadinMay

240

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Despite making several contest shortlists my story Carousel was repeatedly rejected due to its theme. Each time it came back I tweaked it, trying to create more balance. Finally, I've received word it will be included in the new Sorry, Not Sorry anthology of Canadian stories! Yippeee! #revisions

010

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Today is #RedDressDay here in Canada, a day set aside to bring more awareness to missing and murdered indigenous women. As a former victim of both spousal abuse and violent sexual assaults, I am doing what I can to promote awareness in my own way.

000

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

One of my short stories was chosen for Best Canadian Stories 2025 anthology and is being featured on the publisher's substack. If you're curious, you can find it online here: substack.com/history/post... #ShortStoryMonth #writingcommunity #booksky

substack.com

A Good Short Story

The make-up of Best Canadian Stories 2025

050

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Another month filled with reading. My favourite April read was undoubtedly Do Not Be Afraid of the Sky by Emma Hooper. Absolutely riveted to this story of sisters, set during the age of Christians being fed to the lions. If you haven't discovered Hooper, you need to! #BookSky #writingcommunity

020

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Happy #EarthDay It is a truly sad one right now, with #MAGA idiots slashing environmental protections, #Poilievre threatening to remove single use plastic bans in Canada, #GreenPeace being sued for trying to stop protests, #ClimateChange disasters everywhere. The Earth deserves more than one day.

020

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

💙📚20 Favorite Women Authors No particular order Day 17/20 Beverly Cleary #Booksky 🪐📚👀 #bookchallenge #WomenAuthors #AnyGenre After stumbling my way through Anne of Green Gables, a librarian introduced me to Beezus and Ramona, and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. Cleary cemented my fate to be a reader.

1141

Glenna Turnbull @writebrain.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

💙📚20 Favorite Women Authors No particular order Day 16/20 Emma Hooper #Booksky 🪐📚👀 #bookchallenge #WomenAuthors #AnyGenre #EmmaHooper #CanLit Emma and Otto... was a Canada Reads finalist this year and that's how I discovered this brilliant author.

020