Farah Ali
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farahauthor.bsky.social
Farah Ali
@farahauthor.bsky.social
490 followers 420 following 260 posts
UK author of the Deerleap Hollow Series 📚

Always ✍🏼 poetry including haiku tanka haibun.
Pushcart nominated
Touchstone Award shortlisted

🖤Horror movies, nature, books, art, gardening.

PhD.🌸ND🌸
Freedom for all 🇵🇸

https://linktr.ee/farahauthor
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farahauthor.bsky.social
Farah Ali @farahauthor.bsky.social · 19d
Join me?
Reposted by Farah Ali
nehayazmin.bsky.social
Meg’s taking Padma and her friends to the local shopping centre for her little sister’s birthday celebration—and Meg runs a tight ship😉

But guess who’s planning to gatecrash?

#WIPsnips: ‘formation’
#writesky #writingcommunity #romancebooks #booksky #YA #YAlit
I tell the kids to walk to the bus stop in four rows of two, with me taking up the rear. “Keep this formation for the rest of the day, please." Padma rolls her eyes but forms the first pair up front. "Today, my sister is taking over from me as your leader. I trust you will show her the respect and fear you afford me." I shake my head. I've created a monster—well, my books have. Or maybe Padma would've been like this, regardless? There's so much content at our fingertips these days— I almost miss a step. Oli's at the bus stop. What's he doing here? "What the..." Don't drop the F-bomb in front of the kids! Moodboard with 7 images: a teenaged girl and boy smiling at each other while leaning on the rails of a staircase. a young man alone on a beach, head bowed as if sad. A young south Asian woman sitting on some stone steps. A south Asian teenaged girl walking out of the woods reading a book. a young man filming with a digital camera. A close-up of a couple holding hands. The central image is an overhead photo of a desk with a script of Romeo & Juliet on it. The text across the centre of the moodboard reads we’ll never forget”. The moodboard has the premise of the story written above it, which reads: “Oli wants to shine as Romeo and impress the film agents at the community centre’s Christmas play, desperate to achieve his dreams before it’s too late for his sick mum to see. If only Meghna—the girl the Director insisted on casting as Juliet—could act! His solution: Make Meg fall in love with him for real and wow the crowd. Meg doesn’t date though, and wants revenge on Oli for a past misdemeanour. He will need all his acting talent to win her heart.”
January 29, 2026 at 10:43 AM
Reposted by Farah Ali
vignettes.bsky.social
The beetle hired a badger to obfuscate the moon. Moths marched, muttering metrics. A snail notarised shadows. Owls wore socks. Somewhere, a ferret filed fog, and the night nodded, politely perplexed.

#vss365 #obfuscate
January 29, 2026 at 1:36 PM
farahauthor.bsky.social
I’m thinking about making poetry reading videos…it’s a bit (a lot) out of my comfort zone though but it might be fun (or terrible)
January 29, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Farah Ali
herebeshadows.com
Death. Horror. Torment. But enough about the news, why not read some of my books to take your mind off things. They're cheap, and I can 100% guarantee you they won't kidnap you and send you to a secret castle prison in the Outer Hebrides.*

*ⁿᵒᵗ ᵃ ᵍᵘᵃʳᵃⁿᵗᵉᵉ

#booksky 📚

herebeshadows.com
herebeshadows.com
The Writing of Paul John Lyon
herebeshadows.com
January 29, 2026 at 1:31 PM
farahauthor.bsky.social
Nothing better than buying a book you’ve wanted for ages at a secondhand price and it turns up brand new 🤓
January 29, 2026 at 10:46 AM
farahauthor.bsky.social
“I Might Be Stupid But I’m Not That Stupid”

- the title of my memoir
January 28, 2026 at 12:07 PM
Reposted by Farah Ali
jenthorne.bsky.social
#VSS365 #Wane #waltmarie
Diazepam Almost daily I'm looking for Lost ways I'm having so many more Odd days Now I'm never quite sure Fog stays It's becoming a chore Mind strays I don't really care much for Soft haze
January 27, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by Farah Ali
rock-rex.bsky.social
"G.W.R. Charlbury to Hanborough".

#poem #poetry #skypoets #blueskypoets #poetsofbluesky #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
i. Brown rash across the Spring: Victorian brickwork, sooty red and grey young tree almost horizontal, pulled down by the weight of ivy the cutting side where earth has washed away to leave a dry-stone buttress where a wren nests ii. Cream froth of meadowsweet spills down the green embankment; I have to conjure for myself the scent, as I peer through Great Western’s grimy glass — and you must conjure too, through my less grimy but no more transparent words
January 27, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Farah Ali
wellmanneredxs.bsky.social
Rained out, Chandra self-soothed, last tears undried.
Clay bedrock a wall, nothinginnothingout,
beneath soil become wetland in
bog-dreams, if only for a while.
And great tit for months crying wolf
Springit'sSpringit'sSpring,
finally song-truthed
by blackbird's drowsy sotto voce warm-up.
January 28, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by Farah Ali
nehayazmin.bsky.social
if someone says ‘storm’

I will never not think of these two reading Rumi while a storm raged outside♥️
They spent the next couple of hours taking turns to flick through the huge file of poetry, selecting a page at random and reading out verses and rhymes. Mukti recited them in a serious but detached voice and he did so with feigned sarcasm or scepticism. He never admitted he liked the ones he did and she became increasingly determined to find one that would impress him. Couldn't she tell that every word sounded beautiful and inspiring to him, because she was the one reading them? Was it not obvious that the drums in his head played like a backing track to the mystical sonnets, drowning out the gathering storm outside?
January 27, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Farah Ali
jordanagreene.bsky.social
In a #dystopian future, Alita becomes tribute to the leader of a mysterious race of saber cats...

#shapeshifter #magic #fantasy

Spirit Mate a.co/d/6cS7RqR

See one of my ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Goodreads Reviews
www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Cover of novel, Spirit Mate by Jordana Greene, misty mountains in the background, with a woman and giant black saber cat in the foreground. Text on cover: in a dystopian future, Alita becomes tribute to the leader of a mysterious race of giant saber cats.
September 11, 2025 at 11:26 PM
farahauthor.bsky.social
Trying to work on a poem but can’t get into so decided to work on my book but got stuck so I decided to read but don’t feel like it so thought I’d watch netflix but can’t decide what to watch…maybe I should just go to bed 🫠
January 27, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Farah Ali
tinamatijev.bsky.social
#Paintku Tuesdays Week 5

A busy week, but I’m back.

I thought we could use something lighter, so today’s pick is Laying Down the Law (1840) by Sir Edwin Landseer — a playful nod to the Court of Chancery.

courtroom
his words sealed
on their flews

Feel free to join with your own haiku.
January 27, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Farah Ali
vignettes.bsky.social
Good news 🌿😊
A haiku I wrote for the Encircling challenge is now published at Pure Haiku. I was lucky enough to have two accepted, this is the first.

Huge thanks to @freyapickard.bsky.social ✨
purehaiku.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/2...

#haiku #writing #writingsubmissions
26 – 1
“My work explores the intersections between people, place, and justice, the silent struggles of the world, and the resilience of its landscapes and inhabitants.” (UK/Italy) This is Rach…
purehaiku.wordpress.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:37 PM
farahauthor.bsky.social
So much rain today
a cartoon of a man in a yellow raincoat holding a microphone with the words it 's raining sideways
ALT: a cartoon of a man in a yellow raincoat holding a microphone with the words it 's raining sideways
media.tenor.com
January 27, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Farah Ali
nehayazmin.bsky.social
I’ve always had vivid dreams, so naturally, I write a lot of dream sequences😉

This one’s from Soulmates Saga #2 after the FMC has bid farewell to someone special😭 (text in ALT)

#snippetshare #writingq
#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt
The two of them watched the plane disappear into the blue sky, taking the sun with it. Everything went pitch black. She was about to scream when he said something—she couldn't remember what, but his voice lit a match in the dark and it was as though the moon had come out and softened the night sky. It wasn’t as bright as before, but at least she could see again.
January 26, 2026 at 8:05 PM
farahauthor.bsky.social
It’s only Monday and I’m already thinking about sushi
a cat is sitting on a table eating sushi with the words craving behind it .
ALT: a cat is sitting on a table eating sushi with the words craving behind it .
media.tenor.com
January 26, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Farah Ali
jenthorne.bsky.social
It's a bit long, but I prefer to say abundant!

@sonnetsmith.bsky.social
#WildWalkPrompt
#Abundance
When the Firethorn Burns Bright The firethorn blazes, branches bowed beneath a fever of berries, clusters like molten embers, each one a whispered warning strung along the hedgerows. They shine too brightly, lanterns lit in daylight, a stockpile of tiny suns against the dark that’s coming. Birds gather in restless flurries, wings stitching frantic patterns through the frigid air. They know such abundance is never given freely. Nature fattens her offerings only when she fears what follows. The wind tastes metallic, a hint of iron on its breath, and the sky hangs low, heavy with unspoken promises. Still the firethorn glows, its berries bright as prophecy. And those who have lived long enough to read the old signs pause at the gate and feel winter watching us. Waiting. Sharpening its teeth just beyond the frost-rimmed horizon.
January 26, 2026 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by Farah Ali
herbtate5.bsky.social
charcoal moon
white shadows winnowed
on the star-faced trees

#haiku #DailyHaikuPrompt (charcoal)
January 26, 2026 at 7:23 AM
Reposted by Farah Ali
vignettes.bsky.social
late studio light /
charcoal and silence share space /
one soft moving edge

#DailyHaikuPrompt
#prompt [charcoal]
#haiku
January 26, 2026 at 8:08 AM
farahauthor.bsky.social
Found mermaid’s purses on the shore! Eggcases for catshark or dogfish probably 💛
January 25, 2026 at 11:07 AM
farahauthor.bsky.social
Iced blueberry matcha and focaccia 😃
January 24, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Farah Ali
fiftywords.bsky.social
Given this renewed obscenity I will repost this poem
Blueprints for a Riviera They speak of turning Gaza into a Riviera, as if blood is washed clean in the crystal waters of infinity pools, as if history can be bulldozed, piled into neat dunes, the echoes of the displaced drowned beneath resort waves. But this dust, this dust is not empty. It holds the breath of generations, lullabies woven into cracked walls, the scent of cardamom, stubborn even in the ash. It is bruised, broken, burning but it is home. What is a paradise built on bones? Will the laughter of tourists drown the voices still calling out for what was lost? Can luxury bloom over soil thick with grief? They propose skylines and marble facades, luxury stitched over scars, as if grief can be landscaped, as if the sea has not already memorised the names of children it cradled when the earth offered no refuge. But you cannot evict a soul from where it belongs, no matter how many cranes you raise, no matter how bright the neon glow. Home is not fragile enough to be erased by war, nor foolish enough to be bought with promises of luxury for those who never bled here. Call it what you will, vision, plan, opportunity, but know this: you cannot build paradise on top of a hell you created and expect it not to burn. You cannot pave over a homeland and expect it not to rise through the cracks.
January 24, 2026 at 10:59 AM
farahauthor.bsky.social
Checked on my tulip bulbs…they’re shooting 🥹🌷
January 24, 2026 at 8:53 AM
Reposted by Farah Ali
themarkrob.bsky.social
2026 is gearing up to be a good one…
January 24, 2026 at 8:40 AM