Jack O’ Lantern 🎃

I write books. They might not be your sort of thing but maybe you know someone who’d like them. They’re about middle-aged people falling in love. I also work on other people’s books. The one on the right I am particularly proud of. I post about writing, editing, and rocks, amongst other stuff.

1503 Albrecht Dürer - The Large Piece of Turf, Public domain

People who table at conventions - could you send me pictures of your table setup? I've got the opportunity to flog some books at an event next year and I'm wondering what I'll need to make my table look good.

Hey Bsky! Our fantastic CBD+THC tincture will be going away at the end of November because of Republican fuckery, so here's a coupon for ten bucks off if you wanna stock up now. Just use code BSKY at checkout or click this link. milkbarn.farm/discount/BSK...

Late, as ever, to the party, I watched The Substance at @matwinser.bsky.social's yesterday so we have a new phrase to use when appropriate - 'coughed up a tit'.

I fucking wish my life was ‘frictionless’. I play on a pretty easy setting (white, more-or-less middle class) but I am beset on all sides with endless bleeding friction. Tried to ring the bank recently and spent THREE HOURS waiting for their chatbot to have a moment to speak to me.

Here's that Friday Shop Plug. The lino prints of weird misericord guys I keep banging on about are now available in the shop, along with all the usual stuff. Thanks..! 👁️ slipperyjack.bigcartel.com

Three years ago, my dad said that all fish are the same shape. Out of spite, I decided to draw all 478 families of bony fish listed in Nelson 2016. There's still some stuff I need to edit and some fish I want to redraw but, after 985 days, I finished my big dumb fish project last night.

Listening to this on the train. What a fucking banger. m.youtube.com/watch?v=pSq3...

Extremely Seasonally Appropriate post from the ECW here. Read to the end of the thread for a Fun Fact!

Machine that’s programmed to be sycophantic favoured over friends by 1 in 5 arse-holes who expect people to agree with them and tell them they’re right, and unique and a thinker like no one else in history. That so many people don’t know the difference between sycophancy and empathy is a tragedy

Really lovely and interesting article. It reminds us that publics are people. Excavations or other project taking place in a community often makes more difference than any amount of writing or filming. Also like the complexity of emotion, moving beyond 'pride'

Every gothic horror:

Am printing just a few more well over £350 raised for the foodbank will put final figure up when I transfer money. Thanks

🔥Witch! Here’s the 3rd in my series of lino prints inspired by the weird guys on church misericords. This one is inspired by a wonderful carving of a witch and her familiar at Great Malvern Priory. Prints will be available in the shop from 12 00 (GMT) on Friday 23rd Oct. 👁️ slipperyjack.bigcartel.com

This is an interesting thread. I guess I taught myself to do this in my mid-teens and have never stopped. Unlike Rhodri, though, a decent treble clef has always eluded me.

Parp! 📯 Here’s the second in my series of lino prints inspired by the weird carved guys found on church misericords. This one is based on a 14th century carving located at St. Katherine’s Chapel in Limehouse. Prints available in the shop from 12 00 (GMT) on Friday... 👁️ slipperyjack.bigcartel.com

Happy Birthday @badmachinery.com! I hope you've had a lovely day and that Des bought you something special! 💐🎂🥳

ALWAYS RE-POST VINEGAR TOM

Latest painting.. #art #painting #HumanMade

If you’re an author who’s been receiving verbose AI scam emails on a daily basis, and you’re wondering how gullible and ego-driven people think you are, this article helps to explain them. Sadly, they are successful enough to have been built into a big business. www.thedial.world/articles/new...

Lil Halloween dudes [1/2]

Oooohhhh I can hear an OWL. (Or in fact, two owls calling to each other.) I'm just in my sitting room, so that's quite exciting.

aw fuck, we’ve got fraggles. they’re bigger than I thought. woke up last night to see one standing in the corner of my room, vaping

Here’s the first in a series of four lino prints inspired by the weird carved guys featured on church misericords. This first guy can be found at Great Malvern Priory. Prints will be available (in limited quantities) in the shop from 12 00 (GMT) on Friday 23rd Oct... 👁️ slipperyjack.bigcartel.com

I just finished reading Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton. Anybody read that? It's 660 pages and despite it being quite slow-moving I felt incredibly tense throughout. With good reason. #booksky 📚 #amreading

Christ alive, just had the most ridiculous scammy 'book marketing' email. They'd written 4750 words of AI bollocks. In an email. 4750 words! THIRTEEN PAGES OF A4. I'm afraid I don't read documents of that length unless someone is paying me. And if a machine wrote it, I am never reading it.

A little further from the everyday. Open the map, linger over the photographs and follow the discoveries as they unfold. Pembrokeshire to Norfolk, starting tomorrow. Join the free Digest. www.digest.andymarsh...

Go to your camera roll and search “boat” and then post a picture of a boat you like. Swallow, from the 2016 Swallows and Amazons film. (c. 1950, currently at the Windermere Jetty Museum)

[Two Opticians getting married] Priest: For better or worse? Better or worse? Better or worse?

My mate @gemmaclark.bsky.social has been fundraising for Rape Crisis Glasgow, powered by the abuse she received after speaking at the Reclaim the Night demonstration in Glasgow, last Monday . Scotland has some amazing people and I am lucky to know one of them bsky.app/profile/gemm...

Please share this and support me!

“The darkness is my birthright.” -Nico #BOTD

Just finished this by @rjbarker.bsky.social - a sparky sci-fi novella full of great ideas and fab characters. (Cats in space you say - sign me up.) (Also rooks - there’s a lack of rooks as characters in most books, I find.) Looking forward to the next one! #booksky 📚

On this day 1605 Guy Fawkes began his journey to London. It would take him several days because his legs were made of old tights stuffed with newspapers.

They Shoot Horses (for Tax Purposes), Don’t They?

Hey, if you’re not already generally furious about everything, this little bit of historic sexism will top off your irritation nicely.

Just went to the opticians, thrilled to learn that my eyesight is finally bad enough (minus ten, baby, whoo hoo) that I qualify for a tenner off my specs.

So, editorially, I wonder what the ethical position is when a quoted statement from a family involved in a crime or disaster or something contains a spelling or grammatical error. I can see that it's not really acceptable to put (sic) in a statement of that nature.

Some good and important things to hear today, what with *ahem* one thing and another.

okay I've set up a clearance area of my shop because I really need to make some room in my little studio for new Xmas prints - have a look & see if anything catches your eye 👀 shop.frankduffy.co.uk/clearance-pi... very grateful for all shares as ever!

Today's the 960th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, so obviously I'm reposting my scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry in Playmobil.

This made my day

My publishers have sent me some graphics for Wayfarers and they’ve basically said, if I’m reading this right, that if I don’t share them on social media they’ll send the boys round. Modern publishing is brutal.

Friend shaped cookie 🍪

Hey so it’s our anniversary today. We’ve been together for thirty years. Here’s a pic of us in 1996 and a rather more recent one from the other year.