iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

They the comparison was of something like a Furby. Instead of it having pre-programmed phrases, it would learn from and respond to what the child said and did. 'I love you!' says the child. 'Love is not included in my current Terms and Conditions' says the doll. 'Please subscribe to premium...'.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

BBC news this morning. The idea seems to be that giving them interactive AI toys might increase their intelligence, which is such a horrific misunderstanding of how child development works that I want to emigrate to the moon.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Children's developing brains require immense amounts of positive social interaction to form & function healthily. Horrific experimentation has proved babies which don't get this 'fail to thrive': they die. If you try to oursource childhood to AI you will get malajusted sociopaths IF YOU ARE LUCKY.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Should we give AI toys to toddlers? Hmmm, interesting question! I think I'll just stick my neck out a little and say ABSOLUTELY THE **** NOT YOU UTTER ***** WHAT THE **** WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE READ A PARENTING BOOK FOR THE LOVE OF ***.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

I wish you long life, GenZ! Live long enough to watch every make-up or skincare product you love go out of production, and every fashion you adore become 'cringe'. Live long and suffer - as the Elder Millennials have! (No guys really its so depressing why does everything have to be crop tops now)

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Is there any jealousy in the world as corrosive as the one a writer who is just struggling into the start of a project with 100K words to go feels for a writer who is 70K into their WIP and loving it? No, I don't think so. Hisss.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

And now Jayne Eyre again. Will you all just stop? New books exist!

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Thank you! The same to you :) No one's ever burst into tears but I have had a few people sort of scoff and say 'That can't have happened!' and I am still stumped as to how to respond since to me these things seem like very normal events. Which is why they're weird, I suppose...

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

One of the strangest things about growing up in a dysfunctional family is how sometimes you tell a childhood story and everyone laughs. And sometimes you tell a childhood story & everyone stares at you in transfixed horror, at which point you realise: oh dear, that wasn't normal, was it? Oops.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

A lovely journo from the @grimsbytelegraph.co.uk interviewed me for this! Tl;dr - you can come along to Grimsby Waterstones between 11:00-15:00 on Sat the 24th to meet me, and I'll sign a book for you and give you free stuff! There might even be cookies! www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby...

grimsbytelegraph.co.uk

Chance to meet Grimsby author for book signing at Waterstones

The Moonlit Maze is a "historical mystery with a hint of a haunting"

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

* THE MOONLIT MAZE. Just one maze in the book. The second one here is free.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

The big day is finally here! THE MOONLIT MAZE MAZE makes its paperback debut today. Sundrenched 1920s glamour, spellbinding romance, and a ghostly mystery. The past can hold you in its spell... www.amazon.co.uk/Moonlit-Maze...

A page of positive reviews from sources such as Ruth Ware, Amanda Geard, Woman and Home Magazine and Susanna Kearsley using phrases like 'hauntingly beautiful', 'I read it in a single setting' and 'Exquisitely written'.

A small pile of paperbacks of the book The Moonlit Maze lying on a silk scarf surrounded by scented candles, starshaped fairy lights, orange roses and a small brass astrolabe.

Image of the paperback of the book The Moonlit Maze surrounded by greenery with the words 'Uncover the secrets hidden in The Moonlit Maze' and then beneath that 'Out in Paperback 15th of January 2026'.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Just seen someone online complaining that HAMNET doesn't reflect the 'real' age gap between Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. In fact, Jessie Buckley is 7yrs older than Paul Mescal, so the film *perfectly* reflects how little difference that age gap would have made in real life, despite ppl's misogyny.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

All the empathy! Especially for when people act like you're just being picky for correcting them. NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT IS IMPORTANT.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Please stop using the word 'Romantic' as a synonym for the word 'unrealistic', that is not what it actually means, signed someone with a PhD in What Romantic Actually Means.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

"Oh my god you are so cringe." Me: "Yay, that's what I was going for! Thanks!"

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Hello, 2026! It is delightful to meet you. Please be filled with joy, safety, opportunity, connection and love. You can do it! We believe in you!

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Reposted by Dr. Zoë Marriott

Angela Liu @angelaliu.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

“As a writer…you are the freest person that ever was.” Don’t let genAI ever take away this freedom.

“See, the thing is, as a writer you are free. You are free. You are about the freest person that ever was. Your freedom is what you have bought with your solitude, your loneliness. You are in the country where you make up the rules, the laws. You are both dictator and obedient populace. It is a country nobody has ever explored before. It is up to you to make the maps, to build the cities. Nobody else in the world can do it, or ever could do it, or ever will be able to do it again.”
- Ursula K. Le Guin, from The Language of the Night, 1989

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

People talk a lot about how hard & gruelling doing a PhD can be - but I never see anyone talk about how, once it's really complete, you miss it. I'm ecstatic that I gradutated! But I also wish I could go back & do it again, this time with a bit more trust & confidence in myself & the process.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

There is a US content creator - who I love - whose videos I found when I was first thinking about pursuing a PhD. She was, I think, in year two of her PhD then. I have now completed my doctorate. She's still working on hers. If I was in the US I would be DEAD, friends. Seven years! Yowch,

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Little tip for Wes Streeting: if you want doctors to stop striking (& leaving this country in droves) stop insulting them. Try: 'We value & respect our doctors & feel very saddened that they've felt the need to take this action. We stand ready to return to negotiate with them at any time.'

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Fellow Mint Aero fans - let my tragic tale be a warning to you. I bought a box of the Mint Aero Peppermint Mocha, followed the instructions exactly. Not only does this NOT taste like a Mint Aero, it doesn't even taste like mint or chocolate. It tastes of nothing but hot water (and disappointment).

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Reposted by Dr. Zoë Marriott

Jack Wallington @jackwallington.com · 11/12/2025

Good morning, please can you share this petition by @peatfree.bsky.social to end peat sales - all previous petitions were for the Conservative Government, and we're now close to making this law with Labour so peat habitat can never be used again actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal...

actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk

Sign the petition to end peat sales!

No more delays: Let's get peat out of gardens once and for all. The time for uncertainty has ended.

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Reposted by Dr. Zoë Marriott

It's Pipes, Mum! Pipes is here! @scriblit.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Being a British parent is so weird bc you're actually worried about paying the sky high rent/mortgage & getting GP appointments but the entire press keeps telling you you're worried there's a trans person or immigrant nearby & the vat on Eton means there'll only be two skiing holidays this year

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

When it comes to academic writing, I know very well that the 1st step is always to just GO. Splurt out all the incoherent, messy thoughts. Throw spaghetti at the wall. Boy... have I succeeded today. Yep. That's a mess all right. Time for a tea/toast break & reflective journalling, I think.

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Reposted by Dr. Zoë Marriott

Signe Maene @signemaene.com · 06/12/2025

'We are like the herb which flourisheth most when trampled upon' -Walter Scott, Ivanhoe 🎨Jan van Huijsum (detail) #BookWormSat

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Reposted by Dr. Zoë Marriott

Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

The Moonlit Maze just went on offer at 99p/c on Amazon! So if you'd like to escape the rain and darkness and explore a world of sundrenched 1920s glamour, forbidden romance and spellbinding family mysteries... grab it now! www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DB8C5VT...

Uncover the secrets hidden in The Moonlit Maze... the cover of The Moonlit Maze displayed on an ereader, mobile phone and as a paperback, surrounded by flowers

This book kept me spellbound, 5 stars, reader review

A beautiful timeslip love story, 5 stars, reader review

"A forbidden encounter, a dark secret, a house in ruins..." An image of the cover of The Moonlit Maze displayed on an ereader with the legend "99p" next to it in red

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

"Why?" I scream to the heavens, "Why won't anyone sell me a yoga vest with built in support? I don't want a crop top! I DON'T WANT A CROP TOP! Just give me a vest!" "Lol. No," says the heavens (otherwise known as the internet). "Belly out or nothing, beyotch."

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

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Reposted by Dr. Zoë Marriott

Melinda Salisbury @melindasalisbury.com · 01/12/2025

This year we're doing Whamutopia. Every time you hear Last Christmas you have to have a mulled wine at your earliest convenience and toast George Michael, because he was a lad

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Not into this new quick-change high jeopardy dance improv thing on 'strictly' at all. Far too stressful.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Migraine woke me at 2am. Didn't get to sleep until after 5. Weird side effect of nighttime migraines: a random song plays over & over & over in my head, completely inescapable. Let's just say if I ever meet Sabrina Carpenter IRL I'll punch her in the face. Also, don't offer me espresso.

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Reposted by Dr. Zoë Marriott

Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

It was great to join ITV Last Orders as they showcased a fantastic local nature project, which we should celebrate. The Yorskhire and Humber Climate Commission is leading by example, continuing the spirit of Carla Denyer’s 2018 climate emergency declaration in Bristol. #ClimateLeadership

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Reposted by Dr. Zoë Marriott

womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Caroline Johnson, contemporary UK fine artist #WomensArt

Painting of a living room interior with sofa and chairs, a bookcase filled with books and a long window to the back

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Reposted by Dr. Zoë Marriott

womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842), French portrait painter. Her subjects included Marie Antoinette and she enjoyed the patronage of European aristocrats, actors, and writers, and was elected to art academies in ten cities #WomensArt

Painting featuring the head and shoulders of a white woman facing right looking outwards, wearing a scarf like hat and scarf on her neck

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Nearly 10:30 and the fireworks are still going. I literally don't care right now if anyone's offended: people who let off fireworks close to houses in residential areas are, without exception, dangerous tossers. Yes, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Nordic Socks... where have you been all my life? So snuggly and warm!

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

And it keeps on climbing! Right next to Colleen Hoover and Libby Page! Herzlichen Dank, kind German friends! xx

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

It's like the rest of us watched Blade Runner and went 'How awful!' and the tech bros went 'Fantastic, let's do that!' I imagine the retina-scanning from Minority Report will be next...

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

Oh my goodness! THE MOONLIT MAZE came out three days ago in Germany and it's at #33 in the Apple Books Bestseller chart! I love you Germany, thank youuuu!

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Die grüne Minna 📎 @susookie.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

I've just finished this gorgeous book. Just wow! I'm at a loss for words, so I'll just leave a recommendation here, and a thank you to Zoë for writing it 🫶🏽!

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

Me: *Opens PDF* PDF: Hey, would you like to use AI to read this document for you?!?! Me: No. PDF: Are you sure? Really really sure??? Me: I'm sure. PDF: What about now???? Me: GO. AWAY. PDF: Nope! The most you can do is select 'Not for now' but we'll be back to torment you again later, LOL.

media.tenor.com

a paper clip with a face on it is sitting on top of a piece of paper .

ALT: a paper clip with a face on it is sitting on top of a piece of paper .

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Dr. Zoë Marriott @zdmarriott.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

Oh, thank you so much! I'm really glad that you enjoyed it 🥰

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