Darcy Marks

I totally understand! LOL.

But we've got to keep going or losers with AI prompts will try to pass slop off as kidlit.

❤️

We definitely need it! Publishing is hard. The market is especially hard. And everything else is...well, you know. Write something for you. Something fluffy and fun and weird and not at all marketable. You're a talented writer. Keep going.

Keep going. Write something fun! ❤️

The other involved an arranged marriage but the main character wasn't sure if she liked boys or girls yet. I just loved how that was phrased. Just a normal discovery that someone had to figure out as they grew up. I know news is bleak & the bigots are loud, but the kids are better than we were. ❤️

I had a writing session with a bunch of kids over the weekend and two of the kids were writing stories involving romance. One had their main character seeking revenge on an ex boyfriend and falling in love with her (female) best friend in the process.

I think people forget sometimes that representation doesn't mean it has to be a "serious" book.

Malachi, the main character in my Grounded series, is bi & has on page crushes on both a boy & a girl. It's not an "issues" book. No one cares if he's bi. It's just there, normal. Every once in a while I get emails from kids talking about how much it helped them figure out who they were.

This

@midnightburger.bsky.social is delightful! The writing is hysterical, especially if, like me, you are a Terry Pratchett/Douglas Adams fan. Go check it out if you're looking for a new podcast.

That is insanity. I'm so sorry, you had to deal with that. I hope you sent an email complaining to the book store. That should never have happened and should not happen to anyone else.

WTF.

Ooh, this looks so good!

Yup. I've had the, you can live here forever conversation with each kid.

Editing I was formerly an editor at  Quirk Books  (2021–2025), specializing in gift and lifestyle nonfiction as well as genre fiction, and the editor-in-chief of Electric Literature  (2017–2021),...

If you’re considering asking an AI slop golem for help with your writing project, why not ask me, a real person who is good at this, instead?

me and the other scheming viziers are wearing shoes gifted to us by the king that are way too big. we look ridiculous. the whole court is laughing at us behind our backs. honestly this is a pretty low point for us, the scheming viziers

I'm doing an Ask the Agent (Live!) event on 3/25/26. It's a Q&A format, aka, "Everything you've always wanted to know about publishing but were afraid to ask." It does cost $20, but all proceeds are going toward a residency scholarship.

Join us! @joknowles.bsky.social

bit.ly/3P4aIHZ

That is an amazing title!

Wow

The part people aren't getting is that creating a mass of complacent, under-educated people who DON'T think anymore is a big part of the plan. Much easier to control and mislead, especially when you can get them to accept 24/7 total, invasive surveillance as the latest fashion must-have, too.

Oooh, how do you like your mixer? I've been looking for a new one, and that one was on my list.

This is outrageous. Opt _in_ should be the default. (Or maybe just never do this kind of slopsploitation. )

Every. Single. Day.

I've never used grammarly but if you have an account, I'd throw it in the trash and set it on fire because what the actual fuck

WTF.

Yup! Me too. When to two different chains and then wised up and called the third that also said in-stock available for pickup. Nope!

If your website says something is "available in stock for pick-up," it should be AVAILABLE IN STOCK FOR PICK-UP. Not, oh, it can be available for pick-up if you order it online. If I wanted to order it online I would have it delivered to my house!

This is insane

Generally speaking all pre-orders are equal. Publishers note where the preorders are coming from, but mostly for their own information. That said, remember you can also pre-order books at your local bookstores! It's not just an online thing. Pre-ordering locally helps the bookstore and the author!

YES!!!!!

New England Chinese food is the best! Especially NE duck sauce.