~CRK

Maybe you are like me and this is a difficult time of year for you. Here is a poem from my forthcoming book Bureau of Useless Splendour (ECW Press, Fall 2026) that cheered me up this morning. Perhaps it will do the same for you.

onlypoems.com/poems-catalo...

ZCN & Friends

Zena is silent like a ninja. Mostly because of learning to be quiet at home and sneaking around the house to hide. But Zena often startles other characters by appearing out of thin air. Zena also struggles with speaking up, but there are moments where she speaks her mind!

#WIPSnips #WriteSky
OSS🎹

Francis joins Melody and Martin for some ghost hunting!

#QueerPrompts
This is a fun one! For OSS🎹, this is how everyone sees Francis.

Olga: the weird kid who goes by the beat of his own drum

Emmanuel: everyone says he’s a prodigy, but he’s very normal and misunderstood

Devon: very emotional and kind

Letty: eccentric but sweet

Female red-breasted merganser with what appears to be fishing line caught in its bill.

Sandwich Tern

Great Black-Backed Gull

Dark-bellied Brent Goose

I very frustratingly missed the forsters tern in Poole Park this afternoon. Some other birds showed themselves very well. It’s only after looking at the photo that I’ve noticed the merganser appears to have fishing line caught in its bill. #Birds #DorsetBirds #WildlifePhotography #UKWildlife

SNOWDROPS Do you know what I was, how I lived? You know what despair is; then winter should have meaning for you. I did not expect to survive, earth suppressing me. I didn't expect to waken again, to feel in damp earth my body able to respond again, remembering after so long how to open again in the cold light of earliest spring— afraid, yes, but among you again crying yes risk joy in the raw wind of the new world.

after so long how to open again in the cold light
of earliest spring—

Louise Glück

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

OSS🎹

After Francis gets upset at Olga for mistreating his song and piano, we get this dialog.

Book cover with a black and white photo of a fluffy pigeon roosting by the Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Title reads in indigo color and cursive font: The Elusive François-Marcel. FM Saga, Short Stories, and Other Things. The author’s name, ~CRK, is in the bottom right corner

Brand new book cover for the upcoming revised version of The Elusive François-Marcel! I love FM. He’s one of my favorite characters.
The revision will be infinitely better, and I’m really enjoying working on it so far. More info coming soon!

#writesky #writingcommunity

Book nook containing a unicorn standing in a woodland scene with waterfall. Sitting on a bookshelf with other books

I got an AC adapter for this book nook so I can use it as a night light.

It makes me SO DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY

Redacted — March 2026 Writing Challenge Powerful people are implicated in horrific crimes, and then show up to work the next day. What happens when redaction becomes a tool of power?

A great #poetry challenge

The responses to #vss365 for lightning fairly sang with creativity. It's a pleasure to be part of a group that is so talented and gets along so well together. I'd like to buy you all a soft drink to enjoy as you contemplate the March 10 #prompt: #harmony.

Thought I'd post a poem for International Women's Day. Hmm, what poems have I written about women? Here is 'Mermaid' from my collection The Burning Circus.
#poetry #poets #womensday #internationalwomensday #mermaid

#vss365 #prompt #spellbound #poetry

Bound:
arrested, tied, wrapped-up, captured, surrounded, stuck, paralyzed, compelled

By Your
Spell:
enchantment, charm, hex, charisma, curse, dazzle, temptation, mystique, malediction

Your wonderful #vss365 posts grace my timeline like the finest jewelry. The genius you show takes my breath away. I can't wait to see how you dazzle me with the March 8 #prompt, #spellbound.

Very cute ^_^ I noticed I use “beam” a lot for my character, too, who has a very bright smile lol

OSS🎹 Chapter 3

Francis meets a rival pianist named Olga who is first to point out Francis’ unorthodox playing style
For those curious, Francis is playing Debussy’s “Rêverie” here.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Black text, green background, no highlight It's totally possible-nah, the word is likely-that Mom likes my obnoxiously cheerful dead best friend more than she likes me. "Pass me the salt, Blake," she says, but it's already appeared, at least to her eyes, next to the stove. Ren has his ever-present smile already spread across his face, so when she says, "Thank you, Ren," he has no way of showing his joy except to get brighter, nearly blinding the only person in the room who can see him. Me. "Turn it down." It's the sort of thing I've always said, but instead of grumbling it, I kind of laugh instead. She's keeping him entertained, he's helping her out, they're both happy, and I'm free to escape to my room. How can I be annoyed by that?

Guys, Ren is a ghost who literally grows brighter when he smiles. And I love the word “beam.” So you’d think I would have one instance in 3 books of Ren beaming

You’d be wrong.

So here’s him “beaming” at the beginning of book 3

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
From A Paranormal Bromance 3 👻😁

Sounds more like they’re making hundreds of millions FROM the therapy

#woodduckchicks #muskrat
#lakestclairmetropark #huronmetroparks #MI
#2024

#birds
#photography
#birdphotography
#BirdWatching
#birdsofbluesky
#nature
#wildlife
#wildlifephotography

#QueerPrompts March 8

ZCN & Friends starts November 1, 2005, and Zena is 12.
Even though irl these events began mid-summer, I wrote it happening in November because of the dead atmosphere of the plants decaying, a chill coming in the air. It really feels like the end is coming.

The Pope REALLY did not like this art. What do you think? Artist: Leon Ferrari #arthistory YouTube video by Josie Lewis

“It’s great when God is on your side and hates all the same people you hate.”
An intelligent critique of war and religion through artwork

youtube.com/shorts/gfERL...

As a writer in the modern era, I’ve learned one thing. Everything has been done before, sure, but it hasn’t been done your way. Write your story.

#writesky

Living life is difficult enough, but when you share your life and body with seven others that all want to do something at the same time… Well, let’s just say I wish there were 48 hours in a day 🥲

(I want them to be happy…)

Just been told by a man from a removal company, “Oh wow. It’s very unusual these days to see anyone with so much physical media.” Rarely have I felt more like a true relic.

#MSWL Make me laugh, make me cry, draw me in and make me forgot about all the horrible things that are happening in the world. #YA #MG #PB @manuscriptwishlist.bsky.social Full MSWL here: www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/sh...

In the end, my tastes skew more literary on the MG side. I love a tearjerker and I'm always open to novels-in-verse.

I look forward to seeing lots of great new projects in my query inbox!

#mswl QueryManager.com/HamessleyQuery

victoria zeller's author website this is victoria zeller's author website

I'm always on the lookout for more trans girl stories, especially now whether in fiction or NF across all ages. In the meantime, you should pre-order @dirtbagqueer.rocks's ONE OF THE BOYS that fulfilled a longtime #MSWL item of a football book that gave me FNL vibes.

victoria.monster#preorders

I’d rather read mss that attempt difficult things and execute them pretty well than ones that attempt what’s easy and execute it flawlessly. Dream big #MSWL! Open for submissions in May, read more about what I'm interested in at www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/ch... @lfpbooks.bsky.social

@manuscriptwishlist.bsky.social Open to queries soon. Seeking strong, diverse, multi-cultural voices. PB's with humor, whimsy. YA/MG that oozes coming of age, distinct voices. Adult fiction- friendships, emotional angst, family saga, deep/edgy storylines.
www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/sy...

Thinking of our query inboxes! 👀

Check out our team's #mswl and who's currently open to #queries.

Currently open: Tamar & @loveleemonicaa.bsky.social
Opening soon: @jsinsheim.bsky.social

View our submission guidelines: buff.ly/P2lftqZ