#comedy SFF

[gollancz]

We are thrilled and delighted to reveal the cover for HIGH VAULTAGE, the first novel from @victoriocity, coming in 2024.

1887. London, but not as you know it. The sprawling, chaotic metropolis of Even Greater London spreads across the southern half of England. The immense Tower casts electricity through the sky, powering the mind-boggling mechanisms of the city. The engineer-army of Isambard Kingdom Brunel swarms across the capital, building, demolishing, and rebuilding whatever they see fit. Queen Victoria is recovering nicely from her eleventh assassination, ruling with the dignity that comes from striking terror into anyone who sees the unholy union of human and machine that one has become. And at the heart of all this sits the country's first Private Investigation Agency. Archibald Fleet (formerly of Scotland Yard, currently administratively deceased) and Clara Entwhistle (formerly of Harrogate, currently intermittent crime journalist) hoped things would pick up quickly for their new enterprise. No-one is taking them seriously, but their break will come soon. Definitely. Probably. Meanwhile, police are baffled by a series of impossible bank robberies. With no trace left of the thieves, and nothing to connect each break-in to the next, their resources are absorbed by the case. Which means that when a woman witnesses a kidnapping, Fleet-Entwhistle Private Investigations is the only place she can turn for help. They're more than happy to oblige! But why would this man be a target for kidnappers? As Clara and Fleet dig into the mystery, things go deeper than they could ever have anticipated . . .

Pre-order here!

Can't wait until next year? Check out the phenomenal, hilarious podcast.

[victoriocity]

'Joyously Funny' (The Financial Times)

'The start of something very special' (BSFA)

GIVE AWAY TIME! 'High Vaultage' is released in the the USA & Canada on 22nd October. To celebrate we are giving away TWO signed copies (one first edition hardback and one special edition hardback).

To be in with a chance of winning either of these beautiful editions - head over to @victoriocity on Twitter (X) & @victoriocitypod on Instagram and follow the instructions!

Entries close at 12pm Saturday UK Time. Open to anyone, anywhere.

Good luck!

[aplpaca]

i think the popularity of anime means that books could get so much weirder and do fine if publishers werent fucking cowards like. one of the most popular recent animes has a main character who fused with his demon dog and now his head and arms turn into fucking chainsaws. soul eater was fucking huge and just look it it. the grim reapers son has 2 guns that are a pair of shapeshifting sisters and thats only a tiny fraction of whats going on in that series. we need more of this energy in english-language sff books. im begging major publishing to Get Weirder

[innocentlymacabre]

would absolutely love to read more writing from other writeblrs (and become friends with other writers!) so hit reblog with links to intros or completed projects!

prime genres of interest: SFF, gothic, slipstream, magical realism, etc.

will also accept others à la romance, comedy, etc. as long as they're quick little one shots.

[blam-marie]

Four Liars (in space) has updated!

https://tapas.io/episode/2763983

[Image ID: a book quote on a textured blue background. It says: Bee looked sharp all over, from the obsessively straight line of her fringe to her piercing brown eyes. But Chuck knew that behind her fussy manners and almost cold demeanor, she hid a big heart and an unashamed depth of caring that most people just didn’t understand. ]

[psychronia]

I dream crazy plots sometimes.

One guy was a historian who had to possess the body of a king and bring his country to ruin to escape hell. Conveniently, a huge number of historical baddies were in there, so he figured he could just welcome destruction and get the job done.

Through a comedy of errors, his openness to the maliciously-intentioned came across as too suspicious so they behaved way more and the kingdom goes on to establish 900 year old empire with a history of prosperity and reputation for social welfare.

i had a dream that time travel was invented and too many people choose to travel back in time to save the titanic from sinking (the question of whether unsinking of the titanic deserved so much attention in the face of human history was the subject of both heavy academic and online discourse), which caused a rift in the space-time-continuum that led to the titanic showing up indiscriminately all over the world’s oceans and sea in various states of sinking.

this caused a lot of issues both in terms of fixing said space-time-continuum and in terms of nautical navigation, and after a long and heavy battle in the international maritime organization it was decided that the bureaucratic burden of dealing with this was to be upon Ireland, much to their dismay. the Irish Government then released an app for all sailors and seafarers so they could report titanic sightings during their journeys, even though they heavily dissuaded you from reporting them given the paperwork it caused.

anyway i woke up with a clear image of the app in my head and needed to recreate it for all of you:

[thedreadvampy]

I mean sure, I can understand this perspective, but I'm not sure whether most people feel less shaken to be thrust into conversations about "self-unaliving" than conversations about "suicide"

and I for one as a survivor would much rather unexpectedly encounter somebody talking about "rape" than somebody talking about how funny it is to have sex with somebody when they don't want to, a normal thing that doesn't need to be named because it's So Normal.

which is to say. this is a post about words. the words are not the distressing thing about the discussion. the distressing thing is the distressing thing about the discussion. sugarcoating, dodging or renaming the distressing thing doesn't make it less distressing but it DOES often make it harder to have a frank discussion about it or address it in serious terms.

[pinch of salt: solid probability from their blog that this person is a Literal 14 Year Old and the perspective from 30 and 14 are very different. I do stand by all the points I'm making but I think this conversation lands a lot different for people at different life stages - there is something to be said for the general issue that the internet has flattened social groups to the degree that I as a 30 year old can make a post to my audience of largely adult millennials that immediately enters the same conversational space as people half my age and still in school. that seems. ungreat. as the primary way we engage in conversation. but I don't have solutions to offer.]

you gotta be able to say "die"

you gotta be able to say "suicide"

you gotta be able to talk about "sex"

they're uncomfortable topics, YEAH for SURE

because LIFE is uncomfortable. Death and suicide and sex and pain are straight up going to happen. not having words for the way it discomforts you doesn't make it more comfortable, it just makes you less able to reach out about it.

even more vital, you gotta be able to say words like "rape", "abuse", "queer" or "racist". cause we fought fucking hard to name those experiences. to identify "rape" as distinct from "sex" and "racism" as distinct from "acceptable behaviour" and "queer" as distinct from "invert"

like the function of communication is not to minimise immediate discomfort. we gotta be able to talk about stuff that's hard or sucks or causes difficult conversations.

[ofmdrecaps]

11/13-14/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Nathan Foad; Kristian Nairn; Anapela Polata'ivao; Vico Ortiz; Jes Tom; Zayre Ferrer; Petition Status; Articles; Transgender Awareness Week; Love Notes;

Hey crew! So I am trying VERY HARD to be better about alt text across all the platforms, and it's taking way longer for me to get things out because of it. If anyone has a good idea on how to do those more easily will you please let me know? I do want to try to be more accessible (and I know the Repo is absolutely not terribly accessible at the moment). Anyway-- thanks Crew! Happy Friday!

= David Jenkins =

Chaos Dad out partying!

Source: King Malisz's Instagram

Apparently (and I didn't know this, so thank you to the folks who explained to me wtf was going on) apparently CIS is considered a slur on twitter and will literally make your posts un-retweetable, and so Dad decided to go full hog and cause Cissmegeddon the other day. Props to our crewmates who helped him irritate the shit out of Elon.

Source: David Jenkins Twitter

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys is going to Australia in April! Apr 30, 2025 at the Princess Theatre in Brisbane you can see the legend in person! Are you in town then? Get tickets here!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Twitter

He's also announced all his UK & Ireland Tour Dates for 2025! You can buy tickets here!

Source: Rhys' Instagram

Reminder about new Atlanta show at the Helium clubs Nov 29, 30, and Dec 1st! Get tickets here!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rhys Darby (@rhysiedarby)

Source: Rhys Instagram Stories

= Taika Waititi =

Interior Chinatown is almost here! Remember to check it out on November 19th on HULU! Taika was out doing lots of promos with the crew!

Source: Sthanlee's Instagram

Source: Variety Instagram

Source: Jerabraham

= Con O'Neill =

Con is going to be in a new sitcom SAS Rogue Heroes! Thank you to Irene Adler for finding this! Sun.co.uk Article.

Source: Irene Adler's Instagram

= Nathan Foad =

Nathan sent us a bathroom selfie-- and ALSO shared this awesome review of Voyage of the Damned (the book he narrated) by _brainbowie_ on instagram! OH AND JUST BY THE WAY-- IT WAS NOMINATED for Audible's "Best Audiobooks of the Year 2024 in both the SFF list AND the Top 20 overall!!"

ANNND if you have read it and would like to help Voyage of the Damned out -- please put a review up on Audible! Let the world know how much Nathan's voice should be cherished! In addition - if you haven't already, please help Nathan and the author out by voting for it on Goodreads for 2024's Goodreads Choice Awards!

Source: Goodreads

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian was kind enough to share a playlist featuring his love of synthwave!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

= Anapela Polataivao =

Source: The Guerilla Connection Instagram

BTS of The Guerilla Connection!

Source: TheGuerillaConnection

= Vico Ortiz =

Vico had a great time at their first stand up comedy show! More random IG stories of it!

Source: Vico's Instagram Stories

= Jes Tom =

Jes Tom is out at Little Secrets Comedy tonight at the New York Comedy Festival if you're in town! November 15 @ 10:30 pm - 11:30 pm!

Source: Jes Tom's Instagram

= Zayre Ferrer =

Thank you so much to @adoptourcrew and Zadry Ferrer for highlighting this awesome Fellowship award awarded to our dear writer Zayre Ferrer! They were named one of the #inevitablefoundation's 2024 Visionary Fellows!

Source: Zadryg.bsky via @adoptourcrew

== Petition Status ==

Great news! Up to 90,150 signatures! To all our new OFMD fans out there, have you signed the petition yet? Thank you luci5459.bsky.social for sharing! (and @adoptourcrew for promoting!) https://www.change.org/p/save-our-flag-means-death

Source: Luci5429.bsky.social

== Articles ==

More articles featuring OFMD and Zayre Ferrer! Thanks @adoptourcrew!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Bsky

== Transgender Awareness Week ==

Happy Transgender Awareness week crew! Sending all my love out to our trans siblings out there <3 Especially know, please know how much we see and love you, and we have your backs no matter what comes, okay? Wanna learn more about Transgender Awareness Week and how you can help be a better ally? Visit GLAAD's website.

Source: Glaad Website

== Love Notes ==

Wow, now as you can tell, a lots gone on the last couple days! Especially with Rhys! Jeez! Everything seems to be ramping up, which is pretty great -- I don't know if you all are feeling the energy too, but it's nice to see some good things going on in these uncertain times. I know things are still rough right now, and some of you are itching to get out and make a difference. Please know that if you are feeling up for it now, it's totally okay to do that. Find things to do in your local community, find out how ot help online-- whatever you feel comfortable with. --and if you're not quite ready yet, that's okay too. I took two days off work this week despite having a huge project to finish, because I got sick, and my brain told me it needed a break, that there had been too much. I know not everyone has the luxery of doing that-- but if you do, please take some time if you need it. I've probably mentioned this before, but something that always bothers me about the phrase "You can't help anyone else if you don't help yourself!" is that that's not entirely true. YOU CAN. You can do all sorts of stuff without helping yourself, and by tiring yourself, and burning yourself out. But it's not sustainable, and you can't do it forever. You are so very strong, and I bet you could help so many people, and family and burn brightly until there was nothing left of you-- but that's not what any of us want. We want you to be okay on the other side of all this-- and sometimes that means taking a break even when things feel like they just can't wait. We care so much for you lovelies. Please care for yourselves too if you need it <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by You Are Another Me (@you.are.another.me)

Source: You are another me Instagram

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries below:

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan (illustrated by Fiona Staples)

The sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in a sexy, subversive drama for adults.

Graphic novel, science fiction, fantasy, adventure, series, adult

The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton

In her breathtaking debut—part space odyssey, part sapphic rom-com—Emily Hamilton tells a tale of galaxy-spanning friendship, improbable love, and found family.

So, here’s the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn’t mean to steal this spaceship. They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace, but then the stupid dark-matter engine started on its own. Now these four twenty-somethings are en route to Proxima Centauri and unable to turn around while being harangued by a hologram that has the face and snide attitude of the ship’s missing captain, Billie.

Cleo has dreamt of being an astronaut all her life, and Earth is a lost cause at this point, so this should be one of those blessings in disguise that people talk about. But as the ship travels deeper into space, the laws of physics start twisting; old mysteries come crawling back to life; and Cleo’s initially combative relationship with Billie turns into something deeper and more desperate than either woman was prepared for.

Science fiction, romance, science fantasy, comedy, cozy scifi, adult

[liesmyth]

I have been in a terrible reading slump and am looking for books to pull me out. Do you have any recommendations?

FRANCES HARDINGE. cool heroines, middle grade level that adults will love, cool fantasy premises, perfect balance of quality & light read. my faves are deeplight + cuckoo song.

If you don't like fantasy then my beloved herotic stories for punjabi widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal. everyone should read it I'm not kidding I love it to bits.

more ideas:

beach reads!! these are all fun engaging types of books:

fantasy: a deadly education by naomi novik

thriller: the it girl by ruth ware

thriller but comedy: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

horror: My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix. the coldest girl in cooldown by Holly Black

litfic: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

romance (F/F): Hotshot byClare Lydon

romance (het): Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho (contemporary). Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (historical). Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood (YA)

prose so good you want to eat it. (words are pretty but the book is a bit heavier to stomach! depends on your tastes)

matrix by lauren groff. into the woods by tana french. my dark vanessa by kate elizabeth russell. The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker.

engaging nonfiction

humble pi by matt parker. the code book by simon sigh. if you wanna go heavier, I really loved Black AF History by Michael Harriot

shorter stuff

short stories! I've loved everything I've read that was short by Tamsyn Muir, but the collection Heiresses of Rust (2016) she's featured in also has an incredible mix of short stories by various authors. the theme is lesbian fiction. another sff author I love for short stories is James Tiptree

tiny books! chaptered but on the shorter side. Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand. Houston, Houston, Do You Read? by James Tiptree Jr. One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir. The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson

[il3x]

holy shit, I just realised... this pretty much describes Worm too

> looking for a new comic

> ask friend if webcomic is superhero or fantasy

> he laughs and says "it's a good comic sir"

> look inside

[innocentlymacabre]

please go and vote on my movie about two dumbass best friends (being forced to deal with the most volatile, insane, dangerous myth-turned-to-reality under threat of death and destruction by an equally deranged harpy) to be made if you don't want me to cry

[theduckopera]

Hi! My name is Sky "Bunny" Stanton (they/she), and I'm a queer neurodivergent writer, musician, and disability advocate. I write a whole lot of poetry, am working on a musical, and last year I did my drag debut under the name of Freddy Spectrum. 🤪

I used to think my creative work had to be perfect in order to mean anything. These days, I'm more interested in exploring creativity beyond perfectionism: creativity that softly creeps into the vulnerable, creativity that can make space for wonder, grief, and joy. I'm here hoping to find--and help build--literary community outside the lines. A certain amount of shitposting would be a bonus.

Special interests include: neurodivergency and mental health, disabled culture, social justice, drag, poetry, SFF fiction, history, contemporary art, "soft" sciences, comedy, musicals, classical music, gayming, D&D, Terry Pratchett, Steven Universe, the McElroys, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, ducks.

You can find some of my advocacy work and a list of previous publications at skybunnystanton.carrd.co!