swan_tower

swan_tower, 6 days ago to random

A BREVIARY OF FIRE is out now! Sixteen stories inspired by folklore and mythology, all in a convenient ebook:

https://www.swantower.com/writing/a-breviary-of-fire/

swan_tower, 11 days ago to random

Book View Cafe has a YouTube channel for author readings -- check out me reading the prologue from MIDNIGHT NEVER COME, the first book in the Onyx Court series!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d46nJjcSUeg

swan_tower, 19 days ago to random

A BREVIARY OF FIRE, collecting many of my folklore-based stories, will be out on the 21st! You can pre-order now or wait to buy it direct from the publisher after it's out (and a print edition will follow soon, I promise):

https://www.swantower.com/writing/a-breviary-of-fire/

swan_tower, 29 days ago to random

Would love recs for video games. My criteria are: 1) I like a good narrative, 2) I suck at speed reactions/hand-eye coordination challenges, 3) I like puzzle-solving, and 4) I'd prefer something that's not a giant undertaking lasting dozens of hours. Chants of Sennaar is a good example size-wise, though more robust narrative would be ideal.

swan_tower, 1 month ago to random

I'm reading TONIGHT at Strong Women, Strange Worlds, with Jessica Peter, Ginger Smith, Rosalyn Briar, Victoria Nations, and Meredith R. Lyons -- free event, register here! tinyurl.com/m5n37k5n

swan_tower, 2 months ago to random

"Whatever the scandal-sheets may claim, I do not wear trousers at home, though I have considered it once or twice. (The incident at Booker's Club should not be counted; I was extremely drunk at the time.)"

After ten years of not knowing what the hell happened at Booker's Club, I have finally written this tale! Now I have a third Lady Trent short story, a scandal-sheet's report on the very inappropriate behavior of Mrs. Isabella Camherst while at home in Falchester. Trousers Are Involved.

swan_tower, 2 months ago to random

Having repeatedly commented "that's a good tree" while out walking with my husband, I have

1. concluded that just as all puppers are good puppers, all trees are good trees, and

2. come up with a proposed Internet Classification Scheme:

cute lil' sapling = twee
thicc trunk = tronk
gnarled trunk = burly boi/burly gurl
tall 'n thin = skypole
REALLY tall = heckin' skypole
sequoia = cloud frend (choose your preferred misspelling)

swan_tower, 2 months ago to random

This whole "we're going to change things and make it opt-out rather than opt-in" schtick has existed for a long time. It wasn't okay when Facebook decided to make your friends-only content public, and it isn't okay now.

swan_tower, 3 months ago to random

Five days left in the #Kickstarter for Year Three of the SF/F magazine ZNB Presents, and they could really use some signal-boosting! #crowdfunding

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/znb/znb-presents-year-three

swan_tower, 3 months ago to random

I really wonder how much Talenti's sales are boosted by the sheer utility value of their containers after you've eaten all the ice cream.

swan_tower, 4 months ago to random

It pleases me far more than it should to pair this hideously 1990 neon-painted long-sleeved shirt with pajama pants whose plaid does not match AT ALL.

swan_tower, 6 months ago to random

Halloween is tomorrow, and THE MAP OF LOST PLACES is barely $500 from goal! Back Sheree Renée Thomas' and Lesley Connor's spooky anthology now!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/apexpublications/the-map-of-lost-places-a-horror-anthology

swan_tower, 7 months ago to random

Tomorrow night! I'm doing an online event with @kateheartfield , who also has a Norse-inspired book (THE VALKYRIE) out now:

https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/event/marie-brennan-kate-heartfield

swan_tower, 7 months ago to random

I do not know why Japan decided to gather a couple hundred people and have them play "Ode to Joy" on theremins hidden inside matryoshka dolls, but I am here for it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiJHRn0f8yE

swan_tower, 8 months ago to random

Today marks the first time I've thought about searching the internet for the answer to a question and then decided not to bother because I might just find a random AI response instead.

swan_tower, 8 months ago to random

Amazon's subscription changes have put a LOT of magazines in trouble. Apex needs 300 new subscribers by January or they'll have to scale down future issues -- details here:

https://apex-magazine.com/apex-blog/its-not-a-sub-drive-but-its-a-sub-drive/

swan_tower, 8 months ago to random

About to head out to a celebratory almost-done-with- #DragonCon2023 dinner with @alychelms, I see we are a mere $380 from adding pattern dice to the #RookAndRose Kickstarter, and 12 backers from printing the extra cards in the deck! 47 hours to go! #DragonCon

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mariebrennan/rook-and-rose-pattern-deck/

swan_tower, 8 months ago to random

Saturday #DragonCon2023 schedule:

10 a.m. Gender Essentialism in the Wheel of Time

7 p.m. Finally! A Dragon Panel!

8:30 p.m. Back in Time: Historical Urban Fantasy

#dragoncon

swan_tower, 8 months ago to random

"'Stand on the other side from where the physics is happening' is actually a good general rule for scientific equipment." -- Randall Munroe, What If 2?

swan_tower, 9 months ago to sundaypix

@sundaypix For #SundayPixSmile, have the most blinged-out skull I've ever seen, from a random shop window in Paris!

swan_tower, 9 months ago to random

Can anybody tell me whether Mastodon has a built-in way to switch between different accounts? I run our M.A. Carrick account over on Twitter, and would like to set up one here, too, but I can't see how to manage it other than logging out and in all the time, or keeping a different browser open. Am I missing something?

swan_tower, 9 months ago to random

Anybody want to place bets on how many thousands of words I've written so far on AMA answers? (Time frame was slightly more than three hours of responding.)

swan_tower, 9 months ago to sundaypix

@sundaypix If I can be forgiven two entries for #SundayPixBirds, I have a pair of very different offerings! This first one I think of as the "ghost bird" I attempted to capture on (digital) film at Westminster Abbey . . .

swan_tower, 9 months ago to random

This is your reminder that in 1965, the average CEO was paid 21x more than a typical worker.

In 2020, it was 351x.

Is what they're doing today sixteen times more valuable than it was sixty years ago? Are we all benefiting sixteen times as much from their efforts?

swan_tower, 9 months ago to random

We've been teasing our upcoming #Kickstarter for the #RookAndRose pattern deck; here's a look at three sample cards, drawn from the titles of the books in the series! (Sign up for the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mariebrennan/rook-and-rose-pattern-deck/ )