toad.social is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
Mastodon server operated by David Troy, a tech pioneer and investigative journalist addressing threats to democracy. Thoughtful participation and discussion welcome.

Administered by:

Server stats:

214
active users

#commentingiscool

0 posts0 participants0 posts today

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.18 — Show us the cover to yesterday's book, and tell us what you don't like about the cover.

The cover art features a woman with a knife and what looks like a wookiee. Whilst dressed nominally (and correctly) as a man, she looks like an anglo white Vogue model that would convince nobody she's a guy; she's supposed to be ethnically Japanese. There's a vast difference between a sheep dog and a wookiee. I dislike covers that are wrong in great detail, but the publisher sold through a big printing, without any advertising, using it, so I forgive them. Since there were virtually no returns, I suppose even the duped Star Wars fans loved the story.

I am not showing the cover as I did not publish it under my current nom de plume. Sorry.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author photographer chef cooking
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.17 — Tell us about a book you like despite its cover (don't show the cover yet.)

The elevator pitch is "Yentl in the future." Google Yentl. My novel†. An SF YA. Published years ago before I took the R.S. nom de plume.

=-=-=-=-=-=
† I edited the post to be clear, Yentl is not my novel; I am simply not stating the title. Aren't the vagaries of English wonderful?

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer #chef #cooking
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.14 — Self-promotion day. Show us what you're proud of. Let's boost away.

What I'm proud of today, I'm going to title Savory Soup. It features both my writing and cooking skills, is 502 words, and provides a good insight into the character of one of my women MCs—from what may yet turn out to be a cozy (yet spicy) romance fantasy (it has dragons) novella. Best of all, the excerpt is posted here on Mastodon. It ought bring you a smile, so please give it a read.

Savory Soup: eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/11481439

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author photographer chef cooking
#romance #fantasy #sf #sff
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory

Eldritch CaféRS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist (@sfwrtr@eldritch.cafe)> #WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2025.07.07 — Show off a bit of text describing a meal. This excerpt is from *Inklings*. It's a magical fantasy in my Wands universe in first draft. The POV has a gift for befriending beasts that comes with a cost. She was raised in part by wolves and doesn't understand human beasts very well. > "Sit back and take some deep breaths. I think you will feel better after I heat you up some soup." He clunked a pot on the stove and rummaged in the icebox for a container filled with a liquidy stew. > I padded over to the Dragonfyre [stove] and knelt before it. With my practice of Dragon Speak firmly in my mind from before, I said, "Furor!" and focused the bulb of the heated dragon word over the metal mesh usually reserved for fire spells. My new [vibrissae] sense on my cheeks of distant shapes and textures, let me "touch" the the edges of the box-like area and feel the wires and metal tubes. It allowed me to center my aim. > "Hey! You need to rest. Don't bother doing that!" > Saying the dragon word a few times, turned the sponge bright red as the heat made the skin on my face tighten. He thumped the container on the granite sideboard; his arms went under mine, hefting me up. > "Excuse my touching, but really! I'm beginning to worry you'll hurt yourself further." He set me in my chair and Flash [the cat she just magically befriended] jumped into the newly created lap. > He was acting sweet, again. That word! People being somehow *sweet* made me go warm all over, and forget my new worry about being shy, and the residual tightness in my muscles from the agonizing part of using my gift. Having a human male care about me felt... I could only express the sentiment in Wolf Speak, so I smiled up at him. > He rolled his eyes and huffed like a wolf replying. He splatted the soup into the pot, which made a brief hiss from the heating it had undergone empty. > "No problem," I said. > "About what?" He stirred the soup. > "You're welcome to touch me." > He shook his head slightly. Soon he placed a green-striped earthenware bowl of chicken vegetable stew before me, which smelled of cabbage, carrots, squash, and parsnips, and of chicken. The fatty broth glistened in the deep spoon. He raised it and blew on it, before presenting it to me. > Across the room, Mother Wolf had taken notice of the delicious smell; I could tell by claw clicks as she approached. He was determined to see me rest. > His attention felt excessive. He had seen the scar grow on my arm from using my gift. Had that worried him badly? Did he feel responsible? > Nevertheless, I smiled as I shut my eyes and opened my mouth. It forced him to put his other hand under my chin as I slurped, touching me again. > "Oh, that's nice!" I said, leaving it vague as to whether it was the soup or his actions I referred to. I liked the velvety broth and the savory pepperiness of it, recognizing, sage, sweet forest herbs, and woody mushrooms mixed in—but human beasts flavored things with too much salt, I thought. > I opened my mouth again. > "You're working this," he murmured. [Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.] #BoostingIsSharing #gender #fiction #writer #author #romance #fantasy #writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers #RSdiscussion #RSstory #RSInklingsStory #microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.10 — How difficult would it be to continue your creative activity(ies) if you couldn't have your favo(u)rite beverage?

More worrisome would be why I couldn't have my favorite beverage. Is it a world disaster? Am I being marched off to a concentration camp? Has climate change destroyed the crop forever!? All or any of that would worry me a lot and I might fail to write. That's not going to happen, is it? Is it? Oh, noes! Now I'm REALLY anxious…

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author photographer chef cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.04 — How do you feel about breaking the fourth wall? If you write, have you ever done it?

I generally write in 1st person POV. Such POV characters tell their own stories, aware they're being read. They take license to be secretly snide to influence or entertain the reader whilst being proper in dialogue. They'll lie or misrepresent facts (for later reveal, of course). It's an opportunity to demonstrate the duality of people's personalities and how we cynically self-censor.

Do these characters converse directly with the reader? If it fits their personality, or it follows from their narrative: Yes. Whether it survives revision depends on whether it works well or not.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author photographer chef cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.01 — What do you want to work on this month? Alt: Bread?

Baking bread—instead of trying meet the guests, schmooze, and network at an SF convention as a shy published author trying to recreate their career—would be a lot less scary and far more pleasant, despite being on a low carb diet. Oh my, am I craving carbs right now. Ice cream, please.

I've made a badge extender that states what I am and that I'm shy. I am reading one of the guests of honor's book (M.A. Carrick). I've researched the others. This weekend is all I can think of for this month.

Will I survive peer interaction?

If you never hear from me again after this weekend, you'll know what happened!

Meanwhile, if you have ideas for conversing with authors or a comics artist, or just anyone, a suggestion or two might help me survive.

🍞🥖🥐😥

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.24 — Tell us about a time when you pushed yourself outside your comfort zone with your creativity. How did it go?

Work in progress!

I am attending Westercon over the 4th of July weekend. I registered at a level that gets me invited to guests of honor events, including a luncheon. I am a shy person.

Normally, this would not end well. Already my heart is racing just thinking about what I will encountered a week and a half from now…

In an effort not to lock up and become unable to speak, I am trying these strategies:

  1. I will add to my name tag that I am an SFWA member.
  2. Add a small picture of a novel I wrote.
  3. Add the line: "Shy person, but I WANT to communicate."
  4. I will study and memorize all the information I can about the guests of honor.
  5. I will write a list of questions I can ask.
  6. I will write a list of topics I can talk about if I go blank.

Any other tips or suggestions?

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #gender #fiction #writer #author photographer chef cooking
#writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.19 — Did you ever try talking a friend or loved one into taking up your creative activity too? How did it go?

No. Never tried, never will, never happening, Becoming an author requires faculties very few people possess, that must be combined with discipline. You have to want to tell stories and be okay with working alone like a monk, possibly never having anyone read any of those stories except yourself. Despite knowing before I was twenty that this was my avocation, and having sold and published, I still burnt out for 15 years.

I'm of the opinion that friends don't encourage friends to become writers. Okay, maybe sadistic friends do…

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author photographer chef cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.13 — Self-promotion day: show us what you're proud of. Let's boost away.

While I plod at composing story, work at revising stuff, have brought a decades old story into Scrivener to rewrite, and work with beta readers on the most recent novel, what I'm proud of is some of this month is my photography. The moving images are photos: live photos rendered as a wigglegram aka a Harry Potter photo. It includes one tree from my Trees project.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer chef cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.11 — Do you give any of your work away for free?

Those that follow me may recall that I started recovering after a burnout in 2015. For the next seven years I wrote in another "medium" under a different "pen name" than I write my SF now. During that period, practicing my craft, perfecting (to the extent that's possible) writing in a 1st person POV, I wrote the equivalent of nine standard novels, a total of 45 stories. My output consisted of a handful of novels, a few series arcs, novellas, novelettes, and short stories. About 900K words.

I gave it all away. Free. Because of the medium, I could not sell it if I wanted to. In return I got plenty of feedback (though never enough), likes, and comments. A few fans.

If I could have had a $1 for each view, I'd have made a nice chunk of change, though, frankly, it would have been way under minimum wage.

As for the last three years, I've been writing SF and fantasy exclusively. The first result of that is being beta read. Do I give away any of my work for free? Plenty. Take a look at my samples! I have a Samples post pinned to my profile. When I get closer to publication, with some inventory to ensure people who like my writing can find more of it, I'll likely make excerpts free on a yet-to-be-created author website. I may write short side-stories. I won't commit until I see what's necessary.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author photographer chef
#mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.10 — What role do you think social media plays in shaping photography trends today and impacting emerging photographers?

Opinion here, not fact.

I do not think "Social Media" shapes photography trends, just shows what's trendy today and not necessarily tomorrow, and it's not necessarily what people are buying.

Social media is both good and bad.

In the pre-Internet days it was clubs, school galleries, photography contests, hustling for assistant jobs with established photographers, and maybe getting a photo featured in a local newspaper. The costs of printing were expensive, especially compared to the costs of posting online today, not to mention the skill necessary to master a darkroom, or worse, the willingness to forgo and print directly without a darkroom. Thus social media and Internet posting sites (really variations of the same) are very good for encouraging photographers to capture, post-process, and post their results. Practice is always good. People get exposure that would never have gotten it before.

It feels like democratization.

What's bad is the sheer multitude of images online. You are about as likely to be noticed by your photography alone as you are to be hit by lightning. That doesn't mean you won't get likes; it means there's so much fabulous work out there that you will likely be missed, or your name when noticed will be forgotten in the cloud burst. This can be construed as bad.

Being one of a crowd that is occasionally noticed can also be taken as a chance when previously chances were slim.

Building a business via social media will take time, maybe a lot, so patience is key. Jumping on opportunities that present themselves is key. Discovering unique content only you (mostly) can provide is key. Mixing posted photos with other content is important, as is an actual web presence (at minimum a personalized store) so that you can sell images or your services.

In any case, if you like capturing images, social media at minimum provides exposure [pun intended]. Be aware that you may very well lose copyright to images you post simply by posting online (even on Mastodon), especially on the big photo sites run by the tech companies.

Read the terms of service!

Don't post full size or even usable size to social media. Watermarking is also important, but less so.

Mind your metadata! If you don't add it, or even know what that means, the first step toward being professional is to (1) find what metadata is, and (2) to learn the best practices for using it.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer #photography #metadata #copyright cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.09 — Tell us about the book that received the fewest votes yesterday.

Ratha's Creature by Clare Bell.

Clare Bell is an emotive and talented author of a number of what might be considered YA books. Ratha's Creature fits my description of science fiction as a story about how technology affects people. In this case, it's the discovery of how to use fire. The people here, however, are sentient leopard-like cats, but make no mistake, they are human stand-ins with a different biology and a very different society. You know you are no longer in Kansas, Toto, yet the main character is very accessible and easy to empathize with. A lot is said about fearing change, about being female, and about abuse. The latter is devastatingly subtle and you might find yourself not noticing it, but the author realized it in a sequel, which is well worth reading, also. The story is poignant and a good, fast read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author photographer chef cooking
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.06 — What’s your best dish? What are the ingredients and how do you make it?

Not going to say it is my best, but it is a new favorite invented by my spouse. It's super easy super tasty, and I want to share it with y'all.

Soufflé Hamburgers 🤤😋

This recipe creates fluffy tender moist burgers that almost fall apart. It is not suitable for the bbq grill. I've only pan cooked them, but the recipe might work in the oven. Practice raw meat and egg safety when making this.

Makes 4 large burgers.

Essentials:

  • 2 eggs or 3 egg white portions (see criteria below)
  • 20 oz of ground meat: beef, chicken, or turkey
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese; more to taste. Substitute similar cheese if desired

Add ins to taste:

  • Your usual burger seasoning if not wet, or add salt and pepper being aware the cheese is a source of salt

Or mine:

  • Fresh torn basil leaves, 6 or more
  • Fresh chopped oregano, about a tsp minced or more
  • Rosemary leaves chopped, 1/4 tsp or more
  • Cloves of garlic minced fine — I use a tsp (1 clove) freeze dried, ground in a mortar
  • 7 Black peppercorns ground in a mortar, or more

Preparation:

  1. Mix (by hand recommended) ground meat in a bowl with egg
  2. Mix in seasoning
  3. Mix in cheese

This makes an intentionally soupy mixture (like a thick pea soup, but it mostly holds shape). If your meat is very dry, or your mixture isn't soupy, you may need to add more egg. For this reason, a carton of egg whites might be easier to work with.

Because of the soupiness, we often freeze between parchment paper 4 large burgers, then cook from frozen in a ceramic surface pan with a tiny bit of olive oil (enough to prevent sticking). However, you can ladle or spoon into a hot pan immediately. If so, you'll need slightly more oil. Be careful when turning to wait for the burger to harden on a side first.

These burgers cook much faster than you expect! Use your food thermometer.

Extra credit:

Place a bottle of cooking sake, red wine, or large glass of hot, preferably boiling, water together with a silicone cooking brush beside the stove. As the burger cooks, the fat browns and burns on the surface of the pan. This is part of the taste produced by the Maillard reaction, lost! Pour in at least an ounce of liquid (do not drown pan) and brush the pan as if deglazing, scrubbing up and dissolving all burnt or browned juices. Add enough that it doesn't boil away. Once the burger has a hard shell on top, brush the glaze on the burger. Repeat while flipping until the meat reaches doneness. I often start with the wine then when there is a few ounces in the pan, I switch to water. Brush flipped burger on plate with any remaining liquid.

Serving Suggestion:

On a bun or toasted low carb bread (I recommend Inked Bread Co. Keto), lightly slathered with brown or Dijon mustard. Extra decadent? Top burger with a medium fried egg and squash the bread down so the yolk runs!

Bon Appétit!

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#chef #cooking #burger #food #burgers #hamburger #hamburgers #recipe #photograph #photo #gender #fiction #writer #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.05.31 — How did it go? Any changes you want to make next month?

Got the beta out to beta readers; this was good. Worked through pushback from the internal censor. Got only one chapter finished, but boy howdy: it clarified the antagonist's motivation in starkly scary terms, and it made one MC quite proud.

Next month. More composing; revision should be subservient to that work. If I can gain momentum, finish the novel.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author
#mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.05.30 — Did you have a teacher who either supported or hindered your creative activity?

Weird story.

I had an AP analytic geometry class. I'm bad at arithmetic but good at logic. So long as I don't have to plug in numbers, I can solve math problems. I don't usually do good at these things, but I was excited that I might get a good grade and studied very hard. Very. Hard.

I arrived and the final was open book. Easy.

I had so much creative energy built up, I went home and over Christmas break wrote and completed my first novella (25K typewritten) in two weeks.

True story.

Okay neither supported nor hindered, but I give the teacher credit nonetheless for inadvertently starting my career.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author #
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.05.27 — Think of something really boring. Now try to describe it in an interesting way.

Like an ameba, it flowed in a long drip that eventually reached the shellacked oak moulding, then flowed over, down slowly and deliberately, before it puddled, forming a quarter-sized lake of weakly yellow milky mud. The smell of latex filled the room and it drew the housekeeper, who stood aghast. Sky blue, Swiss Mocha, Pearl White, Passionate Pink, and off-grey spatters littered the wall as if someone had thrown spaghetti at it to see what stuck, and at this moment it hadn't stuck enough as the pink drip started spattering over the dark century-old walnut floor. The spaghetti thrower sat in the corner with open cans, themselves dripping and forming rings on the unfortunate and unlikely ever to survive-unmarred floor, snickering quietly, the screwdriver he was stirring with clicking and clanking, an equally dripping ladle under his arm, wetting is blue striped white shirt. He even had paint in his hair.

The housekeeper tasted blood as her teeth dug into her lips, before she shouted, "Percy!"

[Paint drying by itself might be MORE boring, but it needed conflict! —R.S.

Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory