Mike Jasper

Mike Jasper

@michaeljasper.bsky.social

Fiction and technical writer, amateur farmer, avid reader, dad of two, indie publisher. He/him. Always working on 5 things at once. https://michaeljasper.net | https://michaeljasper.net/newsletter/ | https://www.patreon.com/MichaelJasper

333 followers155 following811 posts

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

y'all, I finally made it through that treacherously dense and strange 1st-person-plural opening (not "A Rose for Emily but more like the description in a screenplay) to King and Straub's BLACK HOUSE, and now I'm totally digging it. Listening to most of that section as an audiobook helped!

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

The story continues. So much fun—the art is so deceptively simple. I’m loving the characters and story.

Matthew Dow Smith@matthewdowsmith.bsky.social

For the after lunch/west coast crowd, brand new chapter of THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY is here!

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

This is awesome, students. Love it.

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social

Students from North Carolina A&T can be seen marching back to their HBCU after voting on the first day of early voting in the state. The Guilford County Board of Elections voted to remove the school’s on-campus polling site. (video via Todd Simmons) greensboro.com/news/local/g...

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

Just for kicks, I cherry-picked some of my older stories I wrote MANY moons ago to see what I could borrow and steal for my new novel. And man, some of those stories are WILD! Like this one, which ended up in Asimov's, back in Gardner Dozois's day: michaeljasper.net/2009/12/07/c... #booksky

michaeljasper.netCoal Ash and SparrowsThis story travels back and forth in time to explore the weird history of Contagious Magic. It shows how magic has impacted various people throughout history, and what those people do with their ne…
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Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

There are also stories like this one that are a bit cringe-inducing to me in some aspects, just because it's dated (I wrote it well over 20 years ago). But damn if it doesn't have a pretty kick-ass ending that ties up the whole story nicely. Nice job, Past Me. ;) michaeljasper.net/2011/06/17/g...

michaeljasper.netGunning for the BuddhaI got on a roll with stories about travelers doing good (or not) while driving through the US and the rest of the world. (See also “Natural Order”). I love the idea of being able to use…
Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

Just for kicks, I cherry-picked some of my older stories I wrote MANY moons ago to see what I could borrow and steal for my new novel. And man, some of those stories are WILD! Like this one, which ended up in Asimov's, back in Gardner Dozois's day: michaeljasper.net/2009/12/07/c... #booksky

michaeljasper.netCoal Ash and SparrowsThis story travels back and forth in time to explore the weird history of Contagious Magic. It shows how magic has impacted various people throughout history, and what those people do with their ne…
Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

"Coal Ash" is VERY LOOSELY tied into my Contagious Magic contemporary fantasy series, and I'm still kinda shocked Gardner bought it (but I'm glad he did!). At the very end of that story, it gets pretty nuts. I'm like, "Who wrote this story??"

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

It's interesting to see how the story-writing skill can kinda go away if you focus solely on novels and don't keep writing a story every few weeks. For one, I don't think I could write ANYTHING under 3,000 words anymore.

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

Go make this bookstore's future a solid one! It sounds amazing.

Gavin, Small Beer (closed due to long covid), &c.@gavingrant.bsky.social

Launched the @bookmoon.bsky.social Indiegogo campaign (began it last December, launched today, everything I do is a little slow these days!) today but missed the actual moment as I was in teen's zoom school class . . . 😂

indiegogo.comWe're Shooting for the Moon by Gavin Grant - IndiegogoWe had a chance to buy the building our bookstore is in and we were on it faster than you can say there's a monster at the end of this book!
Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

A new book from a favorite author!! (And Clarion teacher!)

Liz Hand@elizabethhand.bsky.social

My novel Unspeakable Things is out today — here's the latest (short) review in Book Pages, with an accompanying interview. Thanks so much to everyone who pre-ordered the book and offered support — I'm very grateful!

bookpage.comUnspeakable Things by Elizabeth Hand: Review | BookPageElizabeth Hand masterfully uses the gothic to explore the tumult of the ’20s in her bold and brilliantly written queer thriller.
Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

Dan’s non-fiction reads like good fiction. Glad he survived this one!!

Dan Goldman@dangoldman.net

Hiya friends, new newsletter where I read my short story DIE MOTHERFUCKER about how film school almost killed me: kinjin.co/podcasts/pod... #WriterSky

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

Really great conversation between two smart and sharp writers. Heck it out!

Paul Tremblay@paultremblay.bsky.social

Hey, my newsletter/substack with the 5k word conversation with @stephengrahamjones.com is live. Go read it. Then go read Stephen's excellent OFF THE RESERVATION. paulgtremblay.substack.com/p/faster-and...

paulgtremblay.substack.com"Faster and Faster, like running downhill," conversation with Stephen Graham Jones (Plus my upcoming event schedule)Please consider donating to Doctors Without Borders “From Palestine and Israel to Sudan and Ukraine, civilians and hospitals should never be a target of war.”
Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

This is a REALLY COOL radio station/streaming site! Thanks for sharing it, @roncollins.bsky.social.

Ron Collins@roncollins.bsky.social

MUSIC WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE AN ALGORITHM (A RECOMMENDATION) My newest Patreon post. I made it free because it's a recommendation for an independently streamed radio station (and a new documentary) I think is cool. In this day of AI, find the real artists, right? www.patreon.com/RonCollinsWr...

patreon.comMusic Was Never Meant to Be an Algorithm (A Recommendation) | Ron Collins“Wow. What a great transition.” Lisa says this to me about once a week. Invariably she’s sitting at her desk across the way, and I’m at mine
Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

We took a ride on a train yesterday -- the Great Smoky Mountain railroad along the Nantahala River in western North Carolina. The name of the river roughly translates into "land of the noonday sun," because the river's down in a valley between steep mountain ridges, so you don't get much daylight.

Mike Jasper reposted

Banned Books Week
@bannedbooksweek.bsky.social

LET BOOKS BE LEGAL! Pay attention to what's happening in your community and TAKE ACTION! Make sure your support for the right to read can’t be ignored! #BannedBooksWeek #LetBooksBe

Mike Jasper reposted

Fabrizio Ferri-Benedetti
@theletterf.bsky.social

​"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater." — The Fellowship of the Ring (Haldir)

Mike Jasper reposted

Bookshop.org
@bookshop.org

Anti-Prime Day starts…NOW! 🥳 Today through midnight on 10/7, enjoy free shipping site-wide, all while supporting local, independent bookstores.

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

I do love a process post!

Matthew Dow Smith@matthewdowsmith.bsky.social

Making Comics Monday: Step-by-step process for a page from this week's chapter of THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY! Layouts Roughs Inks Colors #ASVS #KidsComics #BehindTheScenes

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

Mitch and I went to the Greensboro comic convention for a few hours today. SO MANY COMICS. And some writers were there, selling books. Highlight of his day was meeting actor Khary Payton from "Walking Dead" (he played Ezekiel). It was a fun time.

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

It's crazy -- the actors get $60-$80 for selfies with them, and $120 for videos with fans. Luckily, hugs and quick chats with favorite stars are still free... (we didn't pay for anything!)

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

Highly recommended! I finally found some time to finish this novelette, and I was hooked. It made me want to write something similar someday… which I think is the highest praise I can give as a writer. Go, sign up, read, and put your brain and heart back together later, when you’re done.

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Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

I thought Ted Lasso season 4 was a terrible idea, but it's been a really good watch so far. And it makes Wednesday nights fun, which is a plus in these crazy days. It's way better watching weekly than bingeing it all one or two chomps.

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

I have SO MANY books loaded up on my ereader because of this behavior. Keep it up!!

Kate Elliott@kateelliottsff.bsky.social

I am not first and will be far from the last to say this: I have purchased so many books because I saw them recommended or publicized here on bsky. I cannot urge you all enough to KEEP TALKING ABOUT BOOKS. I know it's easier to talk up someone else's book, but this also means you, the shy author.

Mike Jasper
@michaeljasper.bsky.social

I heart Stephen King.

Stephen King@stephenking.bsky.social

Reading has become an endangered species. Which is half the problem with American political life. Maybe more than half. If you can't read, you can't think. Then you can fall for anything. The idea, for instance, that the truth is fake news.