bookmarksloveandlore

Before the plot twists and the hero’s journey, there’s always a living room, a favorite chair, and a heart full of dreams. 🛋️✨ #EveryStoryStartsAtHome

@DWARussell22 @BHolshouserUS Looks amazing! Great setup!

All set up for Sac Comic-Con day 1! Let’s go!!! ⚔️🔥

@KWBussard_ @BHolshouserUS Man, you both have the setup. Looks great!

Guthrie Ren Faire day 1 Setup is almost done @BHolshouserUS

@KWBussard_ Wishing you luck, bet it will be epic! Hope you find some readers!

Guthrie Oklahoma or bust....

@BHolshouserUS @KWBussard_ Good luck today! Hope you find many new readers! I have heard that festival is pretty cool!

My wife just asked me if I felt like an author yet. 100+ books 📚 Guthrie Renaissance Festival in Oklahoma with @KWBussard_ See you there! 👀

Slyte had outlived his stories. The ones told in taverns made him larger, sharper with a blade, and certain, but here, alone with the weight of his own silence, he felt smaller than the stone beneath his feet. The moon didn’t judge, it never had. It simply illuminated what was already there: a fox with a sword, and no clear reason left to draw it…except habit. #flashfiction

@AnnaTizard I had not, but I responded to you just now.

Hi @BookmarksLandL , hope all is well with you. I sent you a DM about a week ago, not sure if you've seen it? X went through a phase where it wasn't notifying me of messages, maybe it's doing the same to you? 🤔

@ArannReichhardt Awesome! Let me put some ideas together and I will DM you.

@BookmarksLandL Yup, around half my stuff goes there already

And the second sword is ready too! Love how the hollow ground section reflects the light but damn if it's not a hassle to do.

@ArannReichhardt Would you ship to the US?

@BookmarksLandL Varies quite a bit depending on design and level of detail but generally basic models start at about 800-900 euro for swords and around 400-500ish for scabbards

Every reader is a miracle, not because we're special, but because there are a million things competing for their attention, and our words won. They chose our books over sleep, over scrolling, and over the endless choices of streaming video. We should respect that. It is not about writing for numbers, but writing for the one person who closes the book and finds a part of themselves in our story. That's enough. It has to be.

@ArannReichhardt Well you do awesome work! How much do your swords generally run?

@BookmarksLandL I do not have a website. I figured that since I work almost exclusively on custom commissions trying to set adequate listings would be a bit too much of a hassle So I normally take orders directly through dms and stuff

Fantasy often deals with destiny, But here’s a twist. Readers: do you enjoy stories where the hero is destined for greatness… or where greatness is something they choose?

@DWARussell22 I am sorry for your loss. I will pray for you and your family. I believe we carry the best of those who mean the most to us.

Rest in Peace Dad! Alfred Carroll 1933-2026. 😢💔 I love you and will miss you!

Writers: have you ever written a scene purely because you wanted to see what would happen, even though you weren’t sure if it would stay in the book?

There’s a real trust relationship between writers and readers. When someone buys your book, they’re basically saying, “I believe you’ll give me something worth my time.” That’s a big responsibility. I think most serious writers feel that weight. Editing is just one of the ways we try to honor that trust, not because we’re insecure about our writing, but because we care enough about the story, and the reader, to keep refining it before we let it go.

The ppl who talk like this are the ones who don’t want. To believe their writing needs help IMO They want to just believe they can write their beautiful words & that’s enough. I’m speaking from the vantage point of the reader who is less likely to buy indies bc of ppl like this. I try to be fair but I don’t have a lot of money for all the books & other fun things I could buy, & it makes me mad when I buy a book & the person selling it to me didn’t take his or her responsibility as a professional seriously enough to make sure that book is as good as it could be.

Literally all of this. It has been such a frustrating week to be online as an editor—especially one who only recently gave up *everything* to take a risk and do this full-time, only to have people within the community turn around and call me and people like me "scammers." Just like any profession, there are good, honest, hardworking editors, and there are predatory, dishonest, lazy editors. Using blanket statements and telling fellow authors they all can't/shouldn't be trusted and are a waste of money isn't just wrong; it's harmful to those of us who do this to feed our families. To keep a roof over our heads. To survive. And I'll add to Kathryn's (who just so happens to be MY editor) point here even further: - I've been writing with the intention to make it my profession for 23 years. - I've been a paid, professional writer for 15 years. - I've been a paid, professional editor for 10 years. And you want to know something? I STILL hire an editor to go over my work. And it's not because I'm too lazy to put in the work and self-edit (I do this). It's not because I don't know what I'm doing (I've put in well over my 10,000 hours). It's because: - I'm not arrogant enough to assume my writing is perfect, even after several rounds of self-editing. - I'm too close to my stories sometimes to see the big-picture problems that may exist within it. - I love learning more about writing, and I believe the best way to do that is to get insight from others who know more than I do. Citing AI-generated responses to questions like "how much does an editor cost?" to scare writers off editorial guidance is as ridiculous as telling them editing a book is just like fixing a car. Do your research, know your budget/limitations, understand what you want out of the process (indie vs. trad), and make your decision based on that. Anyway, if you've been wondering where Blue and Yoda have been this week, they've been a little too disgusted with the discourse to offer any positivity. And if you're looking for an editor who genuinely loves what she does and has worked her entire life to get to this point, who won't scam you, and who charges far less than she should, you know where to find me.

The older I get, the more I realize that "having it all figured out" is a myth we sell to young people.

@TAR_Kirk @EamonnHBradley That's right, #yearofthecloak

@EamonnHBradley Tyler has entered the chat.

Somewhere in a parallel universe Disney made The Thrawn Trilogy and now Star Wars is bigger than ever

If an author revisits a book years later and realizes they could write it better, should they revise it… or leave it as it was originally published? Would you want to see an improved edition of a book you loved?