Notices by LJ (lj@zirk.us)

The Kickstarter campaign is live! And word on the street is I'll have an audiobook sample to share with you in another week or so!

Plus, I'll also be sharing some music composed for the intro/outro of the audiobook.

Exciting things on the horizon... or maybe just through a portal...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ljcohen/entangled-realities-litany-for-a-broken-world?ref=crk90d

#kickstarter #EntangledRealities

Like author readings? Want to enjoy a 'tasting menu' of work by a group of women & non-binary writers of spec fic?

6 authors, (including me!) 8 minutes each. Plus, there will be prizes / giveaways! And you don’t even have to leave the house!

Free, just please pre-register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/strong-women-strange-worlds-33460611105

I'll be reading from LITANY FOR A BROKEN WORLD.

Hope to see you there!

#SWSWQR

@timberwraith I'm thinking hard about this thread. I wanted you to know that. No answers. Only a wish that more people would open their definition of 'us'. There is no them. Not on a rock with a thin shell of air hurtling through space.

@timberwraith If there are alien civilizations in the cosmos, it's no wonder they haven't come here. We are probably the universe's warning sign.

This is terrifying.

@DoomsdaysCW https://kolektiva.social/@DoomsdaysCW/116020961581784821

@inthehands holy shit.

@silver_huskey @damagecontrolblog this was my kids' favorite movie back in the day! I can probably still quote tons of lines from it.

@skinnylatte oh, this thread made me happy cry.

Very proud of my music loving son who cancelled his Spotify account, set up a home music server & uses the money he's saving from not subscribing to buy music directly from artists or via Bandcamp every month.

I went to a well known juried art show today & bought myself a mug. Yes, I'm a potter. Yes, I make mugs. But this is completely different from what I create & it makes me smile. I had a lovely conversation with the potter.

There were a number of potters there & I was shocked by how many of them were selling work with flaws I would consider unacceptable for functional ware. Including glaze pitting & crazing, & work significantly warped.

1/

I'm not looking for perfect. But there's a difference between recognizing the hand of the potter & flawed work that should be corrected.

One porcelain artist made exquisite pieces, but every item was badly crazed. This wasn't raku or a specialty firing where crazing is a feature. I have a hard time understanding how you can be a production potter & not understand about critical flaws in the making.

But I have a new mug that is my new favorite.

2/2

For anyone interested in my books & who doesn't want to purchase via Amazon or any other vendor-locked retailer, you can buy all of my novels as ebooks via gumroad. I've just uploaded my newest LITANY FOR A BROKEN WORLD there.

http://ljcohen.gumroad.com

(I never use drm in my ebooks. If you've purchased any at the 'zon or elsewhere & need them as a transferable file, lmk & I'll send it to you.)

Also, I can directly sell signed print books w/free US shipping. Just ask!

#bookstadon

@quixoticgeek LOL. I wrote a white on white apartment for a character in one of my novels as a way of showing how empty her life was.

Incoming rant.

Stop using AI/LLM tools. Just stop. Especially if you're using them as a lark.

I'm going to be my most judgemental self here. If you post something that's generated by a LLM, (you know, ChatGPT, Gemini, etc) I will assume:

You don't give a shit about stealing from artists/writers.

You don't give a shit about the earth burning up.

You don't give a shit about clean, drinkable water.

You don't give a shit about people & their creative work.

#NoAI

@inthehands Yup. No matter that cold rain is expected. I'm a hearty New Englander. And a 60-something silver haired post menopausal woman with absolutely no fucks left to give.

I know that creating in a time of chaos is part of resistance. So is joy. And it's really hard to believe either of those things right now.

I feel terrible if I read the news. Guilty if I don't.

I feel guilty for wanting people to read the book I just released. I beat myself up for scrolling on my phone instead of writing.

So, if you are making anything beautiful or interesting or weird, please talk about it.

The bad shit isn't going away & I need your art to encourage me.

A blogpost: the struggle getting across the finish line with my latest novel - that was 6 years in the making.

https://blog.ljcohen.net/2025/01/litany-for-broken-world.html

"And isn't leveling up critical to the creative process? I'm not in competition with any other author or book out there in the world. I'm here to work harder and write better than my past self. To grow as a creator. To fail better in the immortal words of Samuel Beckett. "

#amwriting #LitanyForABrokenWorld

I don't know if anyone will be able to access this article, but it is enraging. Ralph DeLatore is the embodiment of evil. He has destroyed communities by closing hospitals while pillaging them for profit.

Venture capital destroys everything it touches.

This man should be in jail and ALL his personal and corporate assets confiscated to build new hospitals to provide health care to underserved communities.

Turning patients into profit
https://mobileapp.bostonglobe.com/01052025_563fb4c2-ca46-11ef-abe6-dc00fc1f370f/content.html

Now that I've sent this out to my Newsletter subscribers, I can share the cover for my upcoming release!

LITANY FOR A BROKEN WORLD
Entangled Realities, book 1
Pub date: February 10, 2025

http://ljcohen.net/litany.html
Pre-orders coming soon!

The cover artist is Chris Howard. He is also a wonderful writer of spec fic. http://saltwaterwitch.com

#LitanyForABrokenWorld
#NoAi

@tim was 1° F when I woke up this morning. Brrrr. Neither dog was interested in leaving the nest of the blankets.