What's up, everyone? You all set for Thursday Recs?
Do you have a rec for this week? Just reply to this post with something queer or queer-adjacent (such as, soap made by a queer person that isn't necessarily queer themed) that you'd, well, recommend. Self-recs are welcome, as are recs for fandom-related content!
Or have you tried something that's been recced here? Do you have your own report to share about it? I'd love to hear about it!
Title: Road to Ruin (Magebike Courier duology #1) Author: Hana Lee Genre: Fiction, fantasy, dystopia, post-apocalyptic
I have a job again! \^o^/ This means I am back on the audiobook train and today I wrapped up Road to Ruinby Hana Lee, book 1 of the Magebike Courier duology. This is a low fantasy dystopian novel located in a place called the Mana Wastes, where protagonist Jin works as a courier transporting goods between protected cities. Jin runs a lot of odd jobs for various clients, but her most lucrative by far are Prince Kadrin and Princess Yi-Nereen. Jin has been ferrying love letters between them for three years--while hiding the fact that she's fallen in love with both of them. But everything changes when Yi-Nereen decides to run away and asks Jin to help her.
First, don't let the hokey title put you off. I started this one a bit warily, but it turned out to be quite a lot of fun! The worldbuilding is pretty light, but the novel seems aware of that and doesn't overpromise on that front. What is there serves its purpose well. It's not anything particularly novel, but not every book needs to be.
Jin, Yi-Nereen, and Kadrin are all wonderful protagonists; each of them has a distinct personality, perspective, and motivations, and I really enjoyed all of them. I was rooting for them the whole book and it was great to watch their various interpersonal dynamics unfold. If you're a fan of stories about mutual pining, this one is definitely worth checking out. However, if that's not really your speed, I didn't feel like the book spent too much time harping on about feelings we all suspect or know are requited. The romance element is definitely there, and it's a significant motivator for all three of them, but there's plenty else going on in the book too.
The book avoids falling prey either to the Charybdis of black-and-white morality where everyone who stands in the way of the protagonists is evil, or to the Scylla of "everyone is friends if we just talk things out," which is a relief after some recent reads. There's definitely a sliding scale of antagonism here, with some characters who are obstacles but not necessarily bad people, and others who run much darker.
I also enjoyed the presence of the "Road Builders." Jin and her peers inhabit the Mana Wastes, a treacherous desert wasteland where little survives and almost none of it without human intervention. They sustain themselves with "talent"--magical abilities common among humans, but becoming less common by the day--and travel along ravaged roads built by some culture who came before, about which Jin and her peers know very little. These are the "Road Builders" and are, I believe, strongly hinted at to be us. Lee keeps them a pleasant mystery humming in the background of everything else going on.
There were a couple contrivances near the end to aid a dramatic conclusion, but nothing so egregious I wasn't willing to continue to play ball with the book. Similarly, I'm on the fence about where this book leaves the relationship between the main trio, because it feels a little too much like Lee felt it was a necessary hook into book 2, but I'll reserve judgement until I've actually read book 2. And perhaps it's better that everything doesn't wrap up too neatly here.
On the whole, I had a lot of fun with this book and I will definitely read the next one.
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 10 secrets from Secret Submission Post #976. Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ]. Current Secret Submissions Post:here. Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
These questions were originally suggested by bricksonbricks.
1. Do you consider yourself to be a good housekeeper? Why or why not?
2. Are there any household chores that you enjoy doing? If so, what and why?
3. Which household chore frustrates/angers you the most?
4. When doing household chores, what do you do to make them seem less of a "chore"?
5. Which chore do you find yourself doing most often, and why?
Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.
If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!
First day of school, jostling for position at the bus stop.
Rory’s acting cocky. Just back from Canada, he’s sporting a new puffa jacket. Superior filling, not the polyester of his peers.
The bus arrives and they swarm towards the open doors.
POP goes Rory’s jacket, and goose feathers fly.
Bryony Lorimer is a Scottish writer living in Edmonton, Alberta. Her work has appeared in Capital City Press Anthology (a project of the Edmonton Public Library) and is forthcoming in DarkWinter Literary Magazine.
It’s the liminal space between Christmas and New Year, and I’m dreaming of a writing adventure for 2025. There are some wonderful opportunities such as Clarion, Milford, Odyssey, Viable Paradise, offering residential and online experiences: workshops, retreats, residencies in faraway places—on the seas, in European castles, on cowboy ranches—with famous and fabulous writer-mentors and a dozen new writing friends.
I want to do them all.
Imagine, a week of writing immersion and friendship. My stories improving in leaps and bounds. In a few years, my sales are through the roof, I retire my other half, there’s a movie in the works, (but I’m not famous). I want to level up. I want transformation. If I go to one of these events, my writing will finally be everything I want it to be.
But transformative writing experiences are often expensive, selective, and have significant time and travel commitments. Like many of us, I’m pushed for time and troubled by the cost-of-living crisis. This is going to be another year when the opportunities pass me by. I’m disappointed. It seems like these workshops are out of my reach and will always be so.
So Many Writing Choices
Downhearted, I do what I always do in these situations, I complain to my writing friend, Sylvia.
And one of us, probably Sylvia, because she’s much smarter than me, suggests a DIY writing retreat. I’m all over this idea. We need to decide what kind of experience we want and how to do it on the cheap.
Retreat: Go somewhere different; write on your projects. In your free time, talk with other writers.
Workshop: Learn craft, often from a famous writer, through lectures, workshops, and feedback, and from peer-led critique.
Residency: Go to a special place and write, often with a commitment to create work for the host.
A DIY experience is undoubtedly different, but in some ways it’s superior. We can tailor our writing adventure to our whims.
Join me in a snapshot tour of our writing retreat, and let me suggest ideas for planning your own.
An Idea Is Born
It’s a week later, things are moving fast. I’m in a mini panic. I’m hosting the retreat, and it feels like a lot. I take a deep breath and start planning. Planning is work. Decide who’s going to do it. Consider travel, budget, and time restraints. Also, how many days will this particular retreat be?
Snapshots from Our London Libraries Retreat
It’s early January 2025, and we’re embarking on our London Libraries Retreat. It’s exclusive, just me and Sylvia, using resources I previously didn’t know existed—all for the cost of a week’s public transport. We’ve planned a real-life, seven-day retreat visiting free libraries and other free writing spaces.
We begin at the National Art Library in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Take time out of your day-to-day schedule—it may be a few hours, a day, a week, a real-life or online retreat, on your own or with others.
We’re at the Wellcome Library, sitting in the foyer. I’m thinking about the curator talk I’ve just listened to, thinking about the transformation of lead into gold, eating my packed lunch, and drinking Bovril from a flask. How much is the retreat budget? Who’s going to do the cooking?
The next day, we’re in Wetherspoons, a British pub, enjoying breakfast. We worked for a couple of hours at my dining room table, so this is our second venue of the morning. Moving to a new place gives me a surge of energy. I must remember this when I get back to real life.
We’re in the British Library, which is free, like all the writing spaces we visit. London is a great place for writing, but you can do this anywhere. Google free places to write in your location. Libraries and museums are good places to start. Consider a spot of travel to widen your net. Write in nature. At a writing friend’s house. In a cheap cafe. On public transport with your rucksack as an unsuitable desk. Do you have a room of your own? (I have a settee of my own. Sadly, my family doesn’t acknowledge this.)
We’re on the tube. I’m reading a craft book. If you want to work on craft elements, consider this unsurprising detail: Writers write books. Pick your favorite craft book, work through a chapter, do the exercises at the end. And we’re part of an incredibly generous community; there are lots of free craft resources on YouTube and on podcasts.
We’re marveling at the neoclassical clutter in the Sir John Soane’s Museum, listening to music in The Guards’ Chapel, we’re in the Tate Modern. If you’re out and about, seek inspiration in your new surroundings. Attend free events, visit special places. Fill the creative well.
We’re walking fast along the dark Southbank. We’re late for a concert. I can see the Shard, but I can’t seem to get to it. I’m worried, but, wow, the view of the Thames at night is mighty pretty. Not everything is going to go perfectly, and that’s fine.
I say goodbye to Sylvia for a few days. Flexibility is our superpower. Sylvia takes the weekend off to visit other family and friends (and possibly to get respite from me).
We’re walking through a park. I’ve only a vague idea of where I’m going, but that building looks a bit familiar. Hold on a minute, isn’t that Buckingham Palace? Don’t forget to enjoy the location.
We’re walking along Holborn Viaduct, chattering like mad about writing. Sylvia really gets it. Find your writers online or in real life and schedule some time with them.
We’re alone in the National Archives study room. Sylvia is critiquing my pitch to Planetside (how very meta). Schedule critiques, co-working, or discussion sessions with other writers. Receive feedback on your work, and develop critical skills along the way.
Planning the Next Retreat
What a fabulous week yomping around London libraries. Writing can be hard at times, but it’s also a gift. Let’s have some fun with it.
We’re at the Quality Chop House, it’s been a very successful week, we’re celebrating our final day and already planning the next retreat. I wanted to attend a special writing event, but I couldn’t afford it until I realized just how rich I was.
We created a writing retreat that was everything we needed it to be, without breaking the bank. It makes me wonder what else we can do.
Editor’s note: Have you tried building your own writing retreat? What worked for you? We’d love to hear about your experiments, whether they were successful or chaotic. Pitch us your DIY retreat stories, and let’s keep the conversation going.
Deborah Walker lives in London with her other half and her two grown-up children. She’s published hundreds of short stories and a half-dozen novels. Her stories have been translated into a dozen languages. Find Deborah in the British Museum, trawling the past for future inspiration.
Our favorite fall teas, elegant tin. I excitedly open this year’s edition, nostalgia steeping strongly.
Spiced orange warms when we’re chilly, sleepy herbal for cozy nights in. Mystery blend which always intrigues us, berry green with hearty meals.
Robust Irish black, his daily favorite. Even on his very last day.
Sara Kate Egan is a travel writer by trade, turned fiction crafter plus secret poet on the side, most often inspired by Mother Nature’s grand magic. She finds that observing how these four elements relate and intertwine is a fun fascination all in itself.
“Magic realism usually makes no attempt to explain or justify the anomaly behind the magical event. Its justification lies in the conceptual possibilities it allows for in the narrative, pleasure it provides, and feeling of strangeness that comes from a familiar world being tweaked.” — Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, Not Here, Not Now: Speculative Thought, Impossibility, and the Design Imagination, 2025
Did you know?
You might be familiar with the Greek word homos, which means “same.” It is from this word that we get words like homonym, homogeneous, and homophone, all of which have to do with sameness or similarity. What does this have to do with anomaly? Although it’s not obvious, homos is a part of the etymology of anomaly, too. Anomaly is a descendant—by way of Latin and Middle French—of the Greek word anṓmalos, which means “uneven” or “irregular.” Anṓmalos comes from the prefix a- (meaning “not”) and the word homalόs (meaning “even”)—and homalόs comes from homos.
Candle Arc #1, color version, at candlearc just to keep it corralled. Note that it's viewer discretion advised on account of cuss words, violence, and hexarchate-typical awfulness.
I have the Ka-Blam setup in progress so fingers crossed I can make it available via print-on-demand at Indyplanet in the nebulous future, depending on how orchestration homework is going. /o\
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 20 secrets from Secret Submission Post #976. Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ]. Current Secret Submissions Post:here. Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
He hated living in her songs. Each lyric cut too deep, making his life a chorus for strangers.
She called it love.
And then, as if the weight finally reached her hands, the guitar slipped out of tune.
Complete silence.
Perhaps she finally understood love wasn’t meant to be performed.
Ran Walker is the author of over 40 books, the most recent of which is Fragments of the Afroverse, releasing on October 1st. He teaches creative writing at Hampton University and lives with his wife and daughter in Virginia.
“Practice drafts” are my least favorite thing about writing. It took me years to admit I sometimes need them, and longer still to actually implement them in any useful way, and I don’t use them very often even now. But when I need them, they’re really useful.
To cast this spell
ink the wrinkled skin
of a virgin centenarian
making these markings
a ritualistic sigil
utilising quills
plucked from a specific fallen angel
whose once white feathers
are dyed eggshell blue
in psychedelic tribute
to a sky they once knew
and the time that they once flew.
Steven Holding lives in the United Kingdom. His story SMUDGE appears in the collection TREMBLING WITH FEAR MORE TALES FROM THE TREE VOLUME 5. You can follow his work at stevenholding.co.uk.
About Me: Been on dreamwidth for about five months now. For a while I've mostly used my journal as a personal diary, but recently I've wanted to make more public posts about the various things I enjoy. I've kind of distanced myself from being online everywhere else, but I'm still up for meeting new people here. I'm ideally looking for other active journals to read and maybe become mutuals with. Don't have to be in the same fandoms, but as long as we have some common interests then that's good enough for me.
I mostly post about: Just whatever I get up to in the week (mostly shorter posts). I'm also trying to make a habit of journaling any media I get into, but that's definitely a skill I need to work on.
My hobbies are: Writing, music, language learning, reading, gaming
My fandoms are: Various anime, comics, games etc. that I can't list out (my interests tend to change a lot)
I'm looking to meet people who: Neurodivergent and/or queer people, nerds who post about fandom/media often (especially meta stuff but that's just personal preference), people interested in languages, people who post about cooking or just anyone who wants to see me scream into the void about things that vaguely matter to me
My posting schedule tends to be: Anytime I want
When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Anyone under 18, not too picky with anything else but as long as we still click in some way then we're good (I think me saying that I'm queer should be enough of a signal though)
Before adding me, you should know:
Don't give out access to people unless we've been mutuals for awhile or already know each other.
Occasional venting and suggestive/nsfw posts (you can read the terms in my intro post for more info)
“The dancers are young men from the neighborhoods dressed in dark robes accented by bright yellow, red and blue accessories and tall, maroon hats called Tkoumbout adorned with silver jewelry. The men’s dances and women’s chants have been passed down through generations. Children participate in the festivities by mimicking the older performers. Boys brandish miniature swords and scarves in their small hands and girls stand with the female drummers.” — Audrey Thibert, The Associated Press, 1 July 2025
Did you know?
The word brandish is often paired with a word for a weapon, such as knife or handgun. The link between brandish and weaponry is present in the word’s etymology: brandish comes ultimately from a Germanic word meaning “sword.” Since the word’s 14th century introduction to the English language (by way of Anglo-French) weapons have commonly been the things brandished, but also extensive is the use of brandish with things that are wielded to defeat in other ways, such as banners and placards used in the war of ideas. One can even brandish something that isn’t physical, such as a law or one’s intellect. In that case, you are figuratively waving the thing in someone’s face so that it cannot be ignored.
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