Aeryn Rudel
@aerynrudel.bsky.social
Author, rejectomantic blogger, dinosaur nerd, sword enthusiast, SFWA & HWA member. Stories in PseudoPod, On Spec Magazine, Factor Four Magazine, Radon Journal, others.
https://linktr.ee/Aeryn_Rudel?utm_source=linktree_admin_share
https://linktr.ee/Aeryn_Rudel?utm_source=linktree_admin_share
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Aeryn Rudel
@aerynrudel.bsky.social
· Nov 15
Hey, #writingcommunity! Guess I should do an intro post. So, I'm a former #TTRPG game designer, former magazine and fiction editor, and current short fiction, media tie-in, and #amquerying author. I talk about all that, plus offer dubious writing advice on my blog, Rejectomancy. :)
rejectomancy.com
rejectomancy.com
Knew a guy who worked for the Department of Sanitation in New York. When he’d have one too many, he’d get this look on his face—half crazed, half terrified—and say, “You know, Dan, the giant alligator thing in the sewers is a #myth, but the spiders, the spiders are real.”
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 12, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Knew a guy who worked for the Department of Sanitation in New York. When he’d have one too many, he’d get this look on his face—half crazed, half terrified—and say, “You know, Dan, the giant alligator thing in the sewers is a #myth, but the spiders, the spiders are real.”
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
My dad was a carpenter, and though he wouldn’t exactly be proud of the life I’ve chosen, I remember some of the old man’s wisdom. Case in point, whenever I have to make a body more manageable for disposal, I hear his voice in my head. “#Measure twice, cut once, Bobby.”
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 11, 2025 at 6:10 PM
My dad was a carpenter, and though he wouldn’t exactly be proud of the life I’ve chosen, I remember some of the old man’s wisdom. Case in point, whenever I have to make a body more manageable for disposal, I hear his voice in my head. “#Measure twice, cut once, Bobby.”
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
Grandpa was a #literature professor, and on his death, he left specific instructions on what was to be done with his library. Most of the books were donated, but those he kept under lock and key were to be burned. Burned inside a pentacle inscribed with great staring eye.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 10, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Grandpa was a #literature professor, and on his death, he left specific instructions on what was to be done with his library. Most of the books were donated, but those he kept under lock and key were to be burned. Burned inside a pentacle inscribed with great staring eye.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
Hey, folks, got a new story up at @factorfourmagazine.com. It's about demons, social media, and the perils of practicing magic while high. 😉
I'm also sharing the ToC with superlative writer and frequent critique partner @mmschreier.bsky.social.
#writingcommunity
factorfourmag.com/care-and-fie...
I'm also sharing the ToC with superlative writer and frequent critique partner @mmschreier.bsky.social.
#writingcommunity
factorfourmag.com/care-and-fie...
Care and Fiending by Aeryn Rudel
Ran out of toilet paper. Had to use paper towels. Not recommended. Jerri, my ex, bought toilet paper, the dish soap, and all that other household stuff. So I got in the car and drove to Target. Wha…
factorfourmag.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Hey, folks, got a new story up at @factorfourmagazine.com. It's about demons, social media, and the perils of practicing magic while high. 😉
I'm also sharing the ToC with superlative writer and frequent critique partner @mmschreier.bsky.social.
#writingcommunity
factorfourmag.com/care-and-fie...
I'm also sharing the ToC with superlative writer and frequent critique partner @mmschreier.bsky.social.
#writingcommunity
factorfourmag.com/care-and-fie...
#Law is important, even at the end of the word. Of course, it’s more a personal moral code at this point.
Law 1: Humans aren’t meat.
Law 2: Be armed at ALL times; do not hesitate to defend yourself.
Law 3: If Law 2 is necessary, then Law 1 is temporarily suspended.
#vss365 #amwriting
Law 1: Humans aren’t meat.
Law 2: Be armed at ALL times; do not hesitate to defend yourself.
Law 3: If Law 2 is necessary, then Law 1 is temporarily suspended.
#vss365 #amwriting
November 9, 2025 at 6:30 PM
#Law is important, even at the end of the word. Of course, it’s more a personal moral code at this point.
Law 1: Humans aren’t meat.
Law 2: Be armed at ALL times; do not hesitate to defend yourself.
Law 3: If Law 2 is necessary, then Law 1 is temporarily suspended.
#vss365 #amwriting
Law 1: Humans aren’t meat.
Law 2: Be armed at ALL times; do not hesitate to defend yourself.
Law 3: If Law 2 is necessary, then Law 1 is temporarily suspended.
#vss365 #amwriting
Chatting with a writer pal on discord who reads slush, and she mentioned how much she likes it when a cover letter is addressed to "Dear Magazine/Editorial Team", as it includes slush/first readers. I like that a lot. I might amend my standard cover letter to something like that.
#writingcommunity
#writingcommunity
November 8, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Chatting with a writer pal on discord who reads slush, and she mentioned how much she likes it when a cover letter is addressed to "Dear Magazine/Editorial Team", as it includes slush/first readers. I like that a lot. I might amend my standard cover letter to something like that.
#writingcommunity
#writingcommunity
All the popular #language apps recently added INFERNAL to the mix. It’s been handy for necromancers and thaumaturgists boning up on their demon summoning. Less so for the unobservant normies who thought they were learning ITALIAN and instead summoned Agramog the Defiler.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 8, 2025 at 5:03 PM
All the popular #language apps recently added INFERNAL to the mix. It’s been handy for necromancers and thaumaturgists boning up on their demon summoning. Less so for the unobservant normies who thought they were learning ITALIAN and instead summoned Agramog the Defiler.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
As a freelance hitter, you gotta keep your HV up to date. That’s your #history of violence. Your rap sheet plus a list of past targets rolled into one. Each entry in mine is inscribed on .45 brass to let prospective clients know that making copies will just pad my resume.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 7, 2025 at 5:04 PM
As a freelance hitter, you gotta keep your HV up to date. That’s your #history of violence. Your rap sheet plus a list of past targets rolled into one. Each entry in mine is inscribed on .45 brass to let prospective clients know that making copies will just pad my resume.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
Deep space probes revealed a peculiar #geography on the distant planet Tythus. The topography was uniformly flat save for a slit-like trench thousands of miles long bordered by jagged mountains. Probes sent to investigate the trench stopped transmitting almost immediately.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 6, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Deep space probes revealed a peculiar #geography on the distant planet Tythus. The topography was uniformly flat save for a slit-like trench thousands of miles long bordered by jagged mountains. Probes sent to investigate the trench stopped transmitting almost immediately.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
You want to be #famous? Find another line of work. Monster hunters, even the best of us, die unknown and unsung. You see, it's hard to convince the normies you’re keeping them safe when your evidence turns to dust, gets banished back to hell, or un-wolfs when you win.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 5, 2025 at 6:42 PM
You want to be #famous? Find another line of work. Monster hunters, even the best of us, die unknown and unsung. You see, it's hard to convince the normies you’re keeping them safe when your evidence turns to dust, gets banished back to hell, or un-wolfs when you win.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
My official #education as a vampire began on November 2nd. My maker sat me down, put an old-fashioned alarm clock on the table between us, and said. “Okay, listen up. Spring forward, fall back. Understand? I’m not losing another fledgling to bloody daylight savings time.”
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 4, 2025 at 5:24 PM
My official #education as a vampire began on November 2nd. My maker sat me down, put an old-fashioned alarm clock on the table between us, and said. “Okay, listen up. Spring forward, fall back. Understand? I’m not losing another fledgling to bloody daylight savings time.”
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
Atavistic gene technology has ruined the pet trade. Walk into any pet store, and it’s nothing but Velociraptor chicks and Smilodon cubs. They’ll say these antediluvian throwbacks are safe and #domesticated. They'll sell you one, too . . . right after you sign a waiver.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 3, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Atavistic gene technology has ruined the pet trade. Walk into any pet store, and it’s nothing but Velociraptor chicks and Smilodon cubs. They’ll say these antediluvian throwbacks are safe and #domesticated. They'll sell you one, too . . . right after you sign a waiver.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
He had a way with little #creatures. Birds, squirrels, rabbits. The small and forgotten. They’d come to his tent in droves, cover him in in fur and feathers when it was cold, bring him stolen morsels to eat. When he died, a mournful parade of tiny things carried him away.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 2, 2025 at 6:18 PM
He had a way with little #creatures. Birds, squirrels, rabbits. The small and forgotten. They’d come to his tent in droves, cover him in in fur and feathers when it was cold, bring him stolen morsels to eat. When he died, a mournful parade of tiny things carried him away.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
The day after Halloween is generally a slow one in the vampire hunting #business. Most vamps lay low, groggy from a night of excess. But excess begets carelessness, and you can sometimes follow a trail of candy wrappers to an unlocked coffin and an easy stake-and-bake.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
November 1, 2025 at 4:46 PM
The day after Halloween is generally a slow one in the vampire hunting #business. Most vamps lay low, groggy from a night of excess. But excess begets carelessness, and you can sometimes follow a trail of candy wrappers to an unlocked coffin and an easy stake-and-bake.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
Today on the blog, it's a special entry into The Daily NO. The one and only rejection I have ever received on Halloween. Check it out.
#writingcommunity #rejections #writersofbluesky
wp.me/p6jTNd-2pQ
#writingcommunity #rejections #writersofbluesky
wp.me/p6jTNd-2pQ
The Daily NO – Halloween Special
Today on The Daily NO, we’re celebrating Halloween by looking at all the rejections I’ve received on the spookiest day of the year. However, to my shock and surprise, in over 12 years a…
wp.me
October 31, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Today on the blog, it's a special entry into The Daily NO. The one and only rejection I have ever received on Halloween. Check it out.
#writingcommunity #rejections #writersofbluesky
wp.me/p6jTNd-2pQ
#writingcommunity #rejections #writersofbluesky
wp.me/p6jTNd-2pQ
Halloween in the middle of the World Series? Is there a more appropriate book for this moment than one about a werewolf who plays baseball? I think not. :)
#baseball #werewolf #halloween #horror
www.amazon.com/Effectively-...
#baseball #werewolf #halloween #horror
www.amazon.com/Effectively-...
Effectively Wild: A Baseball Horror Story
Effectively Wild: A Baseball Horror Story [Rudel, Aeryn] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Effectively Wild: A Baseball Horror Story
www.amazon.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Halloween in the middle of the World Series? Is there a more appropriate book for this moment than one about a werewolf who plays baseball? I think not. :)
#baseball #werewolf #halloween #horror
www.amazon.com/Effectively-...
#baseball #werewolf #halloween #horror
www.amazon.com/Effectively-...
I don’t give out candy on #Halloween. Instead, the kids get vials of holy water, miniature crucifixes, and cloves of garlic. They hate me for it, call me crazy, but on this night, there are more than trick-or-treaters roaming the dark, and not every monster is a costume.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
October 31, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I don’t give out candy on #Halloween. Instead, the kids get vials of holy water, miniature crucifixes, and cloves of garlic. They hate me for it, call me crazy, but on this night, there are more than trick-or-treaters roaming the dark, and not every monster is a costume.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
It ain’t like the old days. You wanna be a successful hitter, you gotta use the social media, come up with a catchy name. I used to be Raymond Bardelli, but try gettin’ Instagram followers with that. Now I’m Sting #Ray. It’s embarrassing, sure, but the contracts roll in.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
October 30, 2025 at 6:02 PM
It ain’t like the old days. You wanna be a successful hitter, you gotta use the social media, come up with a catchy name. I used to be Raymond Bardelli, but try gettin’ Instagram followers with that. Now I’m Sting #Ray. It’s embarrassing, sure, but the contracts roll in.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
Hey, folks, I have an article up at @chillsubs.bsky.social about form rejection letters. What they mean, and what they don't. You know, rejectomancy stuff. :)
Check it out.
#writingcommunity #writersofbluesky
www.chillsubs.com/blog/what-yo...
Check it out.
#writingcommunity #writersofbluesky
www.chillsubs.com/blog/what-yo...
What Your Form Rejection Actually Means (And What It Actually Doesn't) | Chill Subs Blog
A beginner’s guide to “rejectomancy”
www.chillsubs.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Hey, folks, I have an article up at @chillsubs.bsky.social about form rejection letters. What they mean, and what they don't. You know, rejectomancy stuff. :)
Check it out.
#writingcommunity #writersofbluesky
www.chillsubs.com/blog/what-yo...
Check it out.
#writingcommunity #writersofbluesky
www.chillsubs.com/blog/what-yo...
Today on the blog, another entry in my Ten Years of Rejectomancy series. Year eight this time. Like it says on the tin, serviceable but not sensational. Check it out.
#WritingCommunity #writersofbluesky
rejectomancy.com/2025/10/28/t...
#WritingCommunity #writersofbluesky
rejectomancy.com/2025/10/28/t...
Ten Years of Rejectomancy: Year Eight- Solid and Serviceable
Although 2021 wasn’t a terrible year for submissions, I definitely went into 2022 hoping to improve, and in some ways I did. Mostly, though, I kind of held course with a solid but not excepti…
rejectomancy.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Today on the blog, another entry in my Ten Years of Rejectomancy series. Year eight this time. Like it says on the tin, serviceable but not sensational. Check it out.
#WritingCommunity #writersofbluesky
rejectomancy.com/2025/10/28/t...
#WritingCommunity #writersofbluesky
rejectomancy.com/2025/10/28/t...
Case #1567
Brief: Random hell-gate generation in suburban home. Homeowner #experimented with Go-Pro and fishing rod.
Outcome: Found homeowner comatose. Cause: soul consumption. Dumped body and evidence into hell-gate. Performed rite of closure.
Status: Case closed.
#vss365 #amwriting
Brief: Random hell-gate generation in suburban home. Homeowner #experimented with Go-Pro and fishing rod.
Outcome: Found homeowner comatose. Cause: soul consumption. Dumped body and evidence into hell-gate. Performed rite of closure.
Status: Case closed.
#vss365 #amwriting
a woman in a black dress is standing in front of a burning doorway .
ALT: a woman in a black dress is standing in front of a burning doorway .
media.tenor.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Case #1567
Brief: Random hell-gate generation in suburban home. Homeowner #experimented with Go-Pro and fishing rod.
Outcome: Found homeowner comatose. Cause: soul consumption. Dumped body and evidence into hell-gate. Performed rite of closure.
Status: Case closed.
#vss365 #amwriting
Brief: Random hell-gate generation in suburban home. Homeowner #experimented with Go-Pro and fishing rod.
Outcome: Found homeowner comatose. Cause: soul consumption. Dumped body and evidence into hell-gate. Performed rite of closure.
Status: Case closed.
#vss365 #amwriting
All members of The Yellow Court were found dead of fright-induced heart attacks inside their labyrinthine church. Soon after, journals detailing the cult’s odd religious practices came to light, most of which centered on the #heliacal rising of Aldebaran, a distant star.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
October 26, 2025 at 7:22 PM
All members of The Yellow Court were found dead of fright-induced heart attacks inside their labyrinthine church. Soon after, journals detailing the cult’s odd religious practices came to light, most of which centered on the #heliacal rising of Aldebaran, a distant star.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
“The delegation from Uranus will now address the galactic federation.”
“Thank you. Our grievance is simple. People from Mars are called #Martians. People from Venus, Venusians. Those from Pluto, are Plutonians. Why—"
“Point of order. Can you Assholes get the point?”
#vss365 #amwriting
“Thank you. Our grievance is simple. People from Mars are called #Martians. People from Venus, Venusians. Those from Pluto, are Plutonians. Why—"
“Point of order. Can you Assholes get the point?”
#vss365 #amwriting
October 24, 2025 at 4:34 PM
“The delegation from Uranus will now address the galactic federation.”
“Thank you. Our grievance is simple. People from Mars are called #Martians. People from Venus, Venusians. Those from Pluto, are Plutonians. Why—"
“Point of order. Can you Assholes get the point?”
#vss365 #amwriting
“Thank you. Our grievance is simple. People from Mars are called #Martians. People from Venus, Venusians. Those from Pluto, are Plutonians. Why—"
“Point of order. Can you Assholes get the point?”
#vss365 #amwriting
VHS is the only media format that can record ghosts and other #unseen entities. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to keep poltergeists and specters OFF a VHS recording. Most folks just don’t realize their old home movies are one step shy of a found-footage horror flick.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
a black and white photo of a room with a date of dec 7 1999
ALT: a black and white photo of a room with a date of dec 7 1999
media.tenor.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:10 PM
VHS is the only media format that can record ghosts and other #unseen entities. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to keep poltergeists and specters OFF a VHS recording. Most folks just don’t realize their old home movies are one step shy of a found-footage horror flick.
#vss365 #amwriting
#vss365 #amwriting
For the third time in my writing career, I hit 100 #submissions in a year. Here's how it breaks down and a little advice on "hitting the ton" yourself. :)
#writingcommunity #writersofbluesky #shortstories
wp.me/p6jTNd-2pq
#writingcommunity #writersofbluesky #shortstories
wp.me/p6jTNd-2pq
Hitting the Ton: 100 Submissions
I’m a car and motorcycle enthusiast, and one of my favorite bits of (now outdated) slang is “hitting the ton”, which means going over 100 miles per hour (usually on a motorcycle).…
wp.me
October 22, 2025 at 6:48 PM
For the third time in my writing career, I hit 100 #submissions in a year. Here's how it breaks down and a little advice on "hitting the ton" yourself. :)
#writingcommunity #writersofbluesky #shortstories
wp.me/p6jTNd-2pq
#writingcommunity #writersofbluesky #shortstories
wp.me/p6jTNd-2pq