Ryka Aoki

Hi Folks! A lot of things have happened since I first started writing Light From Uncommon Stars. Recently, I've asked Tor to make a change in the book for all future editions. If you've bought a copy, please feel free to make the change on your own. Yes, this is an official retcon. <3 Ryka

submitted.

Still do, btw...

Potato. Potto. Pothos. Patmos. Peat Moss.

Wow...I am putting together all the chapters...we're at about 40K words...this like a full-on novella!

@kateelliottsff.bsky.social sorry that I’ve been kind of out of it! I need to send an email to both you and Shay Kauwe to introduce the both of you!

I am wondering if the codfish is to Iceland what the olive is to Greece.

The first draft of my graphic novel script is DONE!!! Tomorrow, I will start the final check to make sure the formatting is good, look for any obvious errors...and then it goes off to my editor sometime this weekend! Woooohooooo!!!!! 🤪

Then again, "a force to be reckoned with," could mean someone whose presence interferes with the laws of physics. "We've had to adjust the Standard Model to account for the presence of Alfredo, a previously unrecognized force to be reckoned with."

Whenever I hear that someone is "a force to be reckoned with," I imagine using that person to fetch my lightsaber, shoot red lightning from my fingertips, or choke someone from a distance.

And tonight, my Icelandic tutorial program is fixated on me properly spelling hrútspungar. 🐏

"Goth witch ex machina." Fixing a plot hole by introducing a magical goth.

I tend to buy short skirts and dresses. At my height, they usually hit somewhere just at or below the knee. 😂 Sporty and sensible 😎

Wow!!! Honored to be on this list!

I go to the pet store to buy frozen rats. But not just any frozen rats--rats of specific colors and sizes. Pet store girl is super helpful, then asks, voice filled with sympathy--"Ball python?" I nod. "Yes. Ball python. I love her though!" Pet store girl smiles. "I hope she loves the rats!"

If you’re an editor looking to edit, Andy is really cool!

Every once in a great while, I buy a pack or two of Choward's Violet candies. On one hand, it feels like nostalgia, but it's a weird nostalgia, since I never had these growing up. Then again, that might be the case for a lot of things we feel nostalgic about... They are yummy, though!

Last night, I had this dream where I was asked to identify my own body. And It did sort of look like me...but then... "No. It's not me. I don't play a fretted bass. I play a fretless bass. And I use flat-wound strings."

I'm getting ready to chat with @marissalevien.bsky.social and her writing class at Stony Brook University. Gosh, after all that income tax stuff, sharing with students is SUCH a breath of fresh air!!!!!! 🤩 btw--Marissa is super cool and a fantastic writer!!! www.marissalevien.com

I should be done in an hour or two… It’s been a long weekend though. Times like this I wish someone could just call and say hey do you want to go to the beach and watch the stars for a while? And I’ll have a thermos full of hot chocolate so we can sip while we watch and listen to the tide? ✨🤩✨

I hope you all had a good weekend at least. My weekend has just been spreadsheets and itemizing stuff. 🫠I’m actually looking forward to Monday.

Hey, everyone! Come by, come by! Times listed are in Pacific time, so I should be there with no complications, and I hope good folks like you will be, too. Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026 Time: 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Pacific Location: Online mountainview.libcal.com/event/17274404

After spending the day writing, grading essays, and recording lectures, I decided at the last minute to go dancing at @club.wenzdaysparty.com . SO MUCH FUN! Best of all--afterward, coming home from the club, my Lyft driver said that I looked kind of...dangerous! Really? Me!?!

Why so many blue Jolly Ranchers?? I bought a bag of assorted Jolly Ranchers and they are mostly blue. Yes there are other colors, but sooo many blue. Is that a thing that I was not aware of? Are they cheaper? Do people particularly like blue Jolly Ranchers? It is so weird!

Hey, everyone! Come by, come by! Times listed are in Pacific time, so I should be there with no complications, and I hope good folks like you will be, too. Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026 Time: 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Pacific Location: Online mountainview.libcal.com/event/17274404

To everybody who was going to come to my creative session for the VICFA Conference— I truly apologize for my no-show. I was ready to give my talk at five pm when I realized the schedule was on Eastern Time. It was the time zone mixup and I apologize. #VICFA2026

Olmec. Modok.

Hey all! :D Name an SF/F book or series that you wish you had written--one that you read and reread and go, "Wow, it would have been so cool to have written this." I'll go first: The first five books (Corwin's) in Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.

Free livestreamed author talks run by the Mountain View library (both of these require advance registration): Charlie Jane Anders, Sept. 22, 6:30 pm Pacific time: mountainview.libcal.com/event/17233884 Ryka Aoki, Sept. 24, 6:30 pm Pacific time: mountainview.libcal.com/event/17274404

My favorite hair serum is discontinued and now I hate the world. ACK!!!! THIS IS HOW SUPERVILLAINS ARE BORN!!!!

Chopin's Nocturne in C# minor (the posthumous one). I was playing this piece years ago--and then I picked it up again, and suddenly I realized something that I'd never noticed before. It seriously feels like a revelation. I guess that's what great pieces do--they teach you over and over again. 🎵🎹💖

If I ever post something to the effect of, “I think I should get a Gaboon viper,” please reply to my post with, “No Ryka, you should not get a Gaboon viper.” Every once in a while, Peppermint goes on holiday from her enclosure and I am very happy that she is a ball python and not a Gaboon viper.

Just a quick shoutout to @rportnoy.bsky.social who's been my editor at @boom-studios.com. He's off to another adventure with @readtinyonion.bsky.social, and they're super lucky to have him! My project with BOOM! continues 🌸 (more on that l8r) but for now, I just want to say THANK YOU to Ramiro💖 !

This Worldcon, I was up for no awards. I signed up for no panels, no table discussion--nothing. So other than helping to staff the @sfwa.bsky.social table, I was free to hang with friends, meet cool people, cheer my colleagues, and just take everything in. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!

I had a lot of fun at Worldcon! My goodness, there are so many fantastic writers out there!!! ✨😊✨ I mean…y’all know who you are, but seeing you gathered in one hotel bar in the midst of whatever brilliant conversations you were having was freaking amazing!!! 🤯

Somewhere, somebody on a school board is saying,”I’ll bet we can raise our students’ math scores if we replace all the numbers with cute pictures of cats.“

I just want to know who the heck sees a bear and thinks, "I am going to teach it how to ride a bicycle."

Shoes that really fit are waaaaaaaay better than shoes that don't fit--even if they barely don't fit.

Yes, Renaissance Faire. But what about Renaissance Foule?