So hello, I’m an author who’s run two solo Kickstarters, two small press Kickstarters for Twelfth Planet Press, & been involved in a bunch of other book crowdfunding projects.

Yes, I have thoughts about the Brandon Sanderson Kickstarter! (thread) My first thought is mostly ‘wooooooooo’. I can’t keep my eyes off that number scrolling upwards. As one of a niche community who has regularly watched a Kickstarter like it’s my sport, this is our Grand Final. It’s our Olympics.

Art and Craft preferences of the Siege of Troy! Helen and Achilles, both hardcore knitters. Sadly they never meet but if they did they’d talk mostly about their respective yarn collections. Hector: thoughtful charcoal sketches, mostly of pets and stray animals spotted around the city.

OK I saw a book described as ‘a gritty retelling of the siege of Troy’ and… does Troy need a gritty retelling? It’s already pretty gritty what with all the rape and war and death and grief. I want the cozy retelling of the siege of Troy. All the knitting and sourdough recipes from the first 9 years they were all walled up together.

I know it feels deeply unreal and bizarre that people are wandering around blithely denying we’re in a pandemic, but… humans do this. I just, for example, started casually researching green dye for a murder mystery I’m writing... The Victorians were so obsessed with emerald dye (made from arsenic) that they happily kept wearing it, even though doctors all told them it was poisonous, even with newspapers publishing pictures of skeletons in ballgowns...

Coming tomorrow to my Patreon (subscribers only): Holiday Brew, the second Belladonna U collection of stories & novellas about Australian student witches.

patreon.com/tansyrr What’s an Aussie witch to do for Halloween when the weather is all spring sunshine and happiness? What’s the appropriate ritual for breaking up with your boyfriend on the Summer Solstice? And who did Ferd Chauvelin kiss on New Year’s Eve?

That conversation with @penguinpastiche got me thinking — what art are you making in the year of pandemic? What new art have others been making this year that makes you happy? (ALL ART IS ART) @penguinpastiche I hope when people write about this year they remember all the cool shit people did to keep each other sane. Like ballerinas dancing in the street, and Fraggle Rock coming back, and all those fanfics where they are in love but they can’t visit each other yet.

Researching the Snow Queen fairy tale, I learned today that Hans Christian Anderson is rumoured to have written it out of dejection and/or spite because Jenny Lind rejected him. (hence the queen with the heart of ice) Stopped everything to go look up details about Jenny Lind’s career as an opera singer, philanthropist and professor of music… and now I’m EVEN MORE MAD at how she was portrayed in the Greatest Showman as a needy homewrecker.

So, over the last 2-3 months I have sewed 25 individual crazy quilted fairy tale themed bookmarks for my lovely Kickstarter backers... I developed a CALLOUS. I can’t feel the tip of my thumbprint! It looks like I burned it.

So, I watched the Cats movie this week. Believe me, you don’t have to. But if you do — surround yourself with the most savagely snarky people you know. You will not regret it. I mean, obviously you will regret it, it’s the CATS MOVIE, and it will definitely put Idris Elba images in your head that will stay with you forever.

Me: starts watching Merlin with youngest child.

Me: realises never actually got around to teaching said child about Arthurian myth first, so she can happily pick holes/admire the bolshy changes.

Whump: sound of book list hitting the floor. Me: puts on Disney's Sword in the Stone movie to aid in child’s education about Arthurian myth.

Me + 10 yr old: WTF WAS THAT?

It's so bewildering to me how people get furious about history being a dynamic, changing process. Having studied history at length, for years, including my doctorate in Classics... uh yes, history CHANGES. It's not about a list of facts, it's a process by which we explore and understand the past. Every generation of historians has their biases, blind spots, etc. including the people writing documents AT THE TIME the historical events were taking place.

If you’re looking for something to read right now, my Patreon subscribers can download a treasury of ebooks when they make their first pledge! Including Musketeer Space, my fun, gender-swapped space opera retelling of The Three Musketeers.

patreon.com/tansyrr For a $2 pledge to my Patreon, you get a pile of bonus stories, including the magical Regency novella “Tea and Sympathetic Magic,” featuring a kidnapped Duke and weaponised teacups.

patreon.com/tansyrr

Normally I never share my dreams, because… it’s weird, they’re boring. (as in all dreams, all dream are boring) BUT. Last night I dreamed that I had a novel accepted by a small, earnest, high-paying literary publisher. Because I was a genre reader (and let’s face it, writer) I had to jump through all these hoops to fake being literary. It was like a screwball romantic comedy, only instead of a love interest, it was all about books (I would watch that movie, as long as it wasn’t about me).

OK here we go! Next mass tweet ranking of @bigfinish #doctorwho audios coming up! Currently #51-100 are on super sale and I’m going to tell you about my favourite 25 of those! bigfinish.com/collections/v/…
@DebStanish @VerityPodcast @KaelaJael @jashcraft88 I’m starting at #23 because some of my faves from this era of Big Finish are paired stories - not quite two parters, but linked enough they should be taken together.

Check out all the goodies available at the Castle Charming Backerkit store, for just 8 more days!

castle-charming.backerkit.com/hosted_preorde… The gorgeous Kathleen Jennings designed Castle Charming pin — and this design is now available as a sticker!

As requested by @jashcraft88, I am going to tell you about my faves of the first 50 @bigfinish #doctorwho audio plays which are all on sale right now!

bigfinish.com/collections/v/… @VerityPodcast So here it is, my top 25 of the first 50 Big Finish Doctor Who plays, ranked in reverse order! Available not only for like $1.50 each right now, but also for free on Spotify!

How to write your great isolation novel, in a time of crisis and fear.

A thread. Step one: gather your essential toolkit. Notebooks, quill pens, chalk, fresh blood of your enemies, inspirational fridge magnets, knitting needles, baker’s yeast.

95 minutes to go on the Castle Charming Kickstarter, and we’re at $8085 — 202% of the original goal! Stretch goal UNLOCKED, there will be a sequel story.

kickstarter.com/projects/castl… And because I have more backers, that means more #fairytalerecs!

I’m providing a rec of a favourite fairy tale book for every new backer who joins the Castle Charming Kickstarter now we have just over 24 hours to go…

kickstarter.com/projects/castl… #fairytalerecs Thanks, Backer 157! Today I want to rec Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest.

The first book of this extraordinary writer’s career, it immerses you in an emotional, complex Celtic retelling of the Six Swans.

Your hands will hurt as you read this book. #fairytalerecs

36 hours to go on the Castle Charming Kickstarter, and we’re at 153 backers! Get your pledges in now.

For every new backer from now until close, I’ll recommend one fairy tale themed book that I love.

kickstarter.com/projects/castl… #fairytalerecs 154! Let me tell you about Beauty by Robin McKinley, which imprinted upon my teen heart. Beauty is one of the most sympathetic protagonists I’ve ever read & her Beast is LOVELY. In a revolutionary twist, her sisters are basically awesome & worthy of her sacrifice. #fairytalerecs

Live tweeting the Into The Woods movie (DisneyPlus Australia) in 2 minutes! Mute #especiallythebeans if you don’t want to see this. And starting NOW! #EspeciallyTheBeans