Jon Sparks
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jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
Jon Sparks
@jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.8K following 2.4K posts
After more than 30 years, and 60 books, as an outdoor writer and photographer, I’m now fully focused on fiction with the Shattered Moon series. AI-free (and I mean free).
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jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 17/2:
#WIPSnips are from Book 8 of The Shattered Moon, still untitled, but well advanced.
There are eight occurrences of ‘value’.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
"I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your offer. How much I… value you for making it. But it’s all come on us very suddenly. We can take a week to think about it, can’t we? And I won’t think less of you if you have second thoughts." "Then you’re more forgiving of me than I would be of myself." They said farewells, and he mounted up, but just as he was ready to move she rested a hand on his thigh. "Kerriel… You’re a very dear man. You said 'best friends', but I’m not sure… not sure that tells the whole story." She took a step back, and then, with a flashing mischievous grin, gave the horse a good slap on the hindquarters. He was in motion before he’d had chance to conjure a reply.
February 17, 2026 at 7:42 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 17/2: Would you still write if you had to use a typewriter or pen and paper?
That’s how I started. My first published articles were done on a manual typewriter. I didn’t get a proper computer (Mac IIsi) until seven or eight years…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 17, 2026 at 7:37 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 17/2: How do you write about ecstasy, in a spiritual, artistic, or sensual context?
I don’t ‘write about’ emotions. There’s no ‘ecstasy writing kit’. I aim to be open to whatever the characters are feeling at any given moment and…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 17, 2026 at 7:36 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
Latest Substack Post considers two short novels (novellas?) by my favourite writer.
And there’s a positively Pratchettian plethora of footnotes.
The Eye of the Forest
In praise of short novels (with a positively Pratchettian plethora of footnotes).
open.substack.com
February 16, 2026 at 11:58 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#wordweavers 16/2: If your MC had a statue put up in their honour, what would it be for?
Jerya would be mortified by the very idea. Since her daughter’s an artist, she can’t very well refuse to sit for at least an informal portrait, and…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 16, 2026 at 7:33 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 16/2: What’s the most ridiculous place you’ve tried to sneak in some writing?
I don’t know about ‘ridiculous’… How about two places I *can’t* write: in a moving car, or on a bus. Any attempt to write (or read) leads to nausea. Trains…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 16, 2026 at 7:32 AM
Reposted by Jon Sparks
tomgauld.bsky.social
A romance cartoon for the @theguardian.com
A large Regency house. Two sisters named Emilia and Charlotte talk on an upper floor. "Mister Blackwell has come to call again." says Emilia as she looks out of the window "Oh, how I despise his uncouth manners and electric bicycle!" Charlotte says "Sister, you will end up a spinster if you insist on a historically accurate suitor." and continues "The romance novel has changed, Emilia, and so must we." Emilia replies "Easy for you to say. You are engaged to the richest werewolf in the county!" They are walking through the house. Charlotte says "Look at Cousin Lucy: She is quite plain, yet made a most advantageous match with the dragon queen of nalthrax." "True." says Emilia opening the door. The tall, solid figure of Miuster Blackwell stands at the door wearing a top hat and tailcoat: "Ladies, I triumphed In my ice hockey match and won ten thousand a year in sponsorship! Miss Emilia, will you be my bride?" he is holding a hockey stick. Emilia swoons into Charlotte's arms.
February 15, 2026 at 10:30 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips are from Book 8 of The Shattered Moon, still untitled, but well advanced.
There are 163 occurrences of ‘never’. You’ll be shocked to hear that I haven’t gone through them all to find the ‘best’.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
"I think I may have done something rather stupid," he said. Ysutèni gave him one of her sharpest looks. "Are you going to tell me what it is?" He explained the background, perhaps at rather more than necessary length. After a while, Ysu said, "Ever since I first arrived, yesterday, I’ve had the impression that money was tight. I never knew what that looked like, not in the Zenana, not at Skilthorn; not until I visited a couple of friends’ houses when I was a bit older. And I saw… it was clear enough they’d made sacrifices to give their girls an education. In one case, I won’t say who, she was the one who’s gone on to University, while her brother’s stayed home to help run the estate. It’s very unusual, of course, to put a girl’s education ahead of a boy’s, but they were all proud of it, including the brother, and they talked freely about it."
February 15, 2026 at 8:16 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 15/2: How big are your settings?
The scale expands as the series progresses. Book One is entirely within the Sung Lands, which are about the size of England. Book 2 takes us into the Five Principalities, similar in size.
Later books…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 15, 2026 at 8:11 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 15/2: Describe your MC’s eyes.
There’s nothing exceptional in Jerya’s eyes—to look at. What matters, as is clear from Chapter One of Three Kinds of North, is what they see. From an early age she’s been unusually watchful and observant.
Oh, …
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 15, 2026 at 8:10 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 14/2: Who does your antagonist care about?
Perriad will always say she only cares for the Guild of Dawnsingers. Others might say it’s curious how the best interests of the Guild so frequently seem to coincide with the advancement of… Perriad.
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February 14, 2026 at 7:52 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 14/2: Share a short paragraph of raw prose: the more unpolished the better.
Everyone: What’s the most prominent signature in this draft?
I don’t really do ‘raw’; I could blame my freelance experience, but mostly it’s just the way I am…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
When he’d finished, Torvyn sat silent for long enough to make him shift uneasily in his seat. Finally, she said, "I’d like to say, 'thank you for being honest', but since half of what you’ve told me is an admission that you began your… overtures with the intention of deceiving me, why should I believe you now?"
February 14, 2026 at 7:51 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 13/2:
#WIPSnips are from Book 8 of The Shattered Moon, still untitled, but well advanced.
There are 31 occurrences of ‘serious’.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
Though you’d probably disdain it any other time, somehow you couldn’t beat a soft, floury, white bap as a container for three rashers of bacon, glistening under the lights as Clerry folded them onto the bread, crisp at the edges but still succulent within. A glob of ketchup, and… "Clerry," said Fed after a couple of mouthfuls, "You are a culinary artist of the highest order." "You will have your little jest, sir." "Oh, I’m renowned for it. But on this occasion I’m perfectly serious." "Then I thank you, sir. But I must give most o’the credit to Kallim, as supplies the bacon—and the sausages. And I couldn’t show my face at home if I didn’t give due notice to my missis and her magnificent ketchup." "My compliments to your wife, then, and to Mester Kallim."
February 13, 2026 at 7:49 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#writersCoffeeClub 13/2: Do you use maps as reference materials?
Yes. In the current series they were just rough sketches and mental maps for sometime before I drew the world properly, but one way or another, maps are important.
I’ve never quite gone the…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 13, 2026 at 7:44 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 13/2: SC POV: You get an unlimited budget to buy one thing. The money can’t be used for other purposes. What will you get?
Railu: oh, this is fantasy, isn’t it? There’s no such thing as an unlimited budget, not in reality: not even for the…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 13, 2026 at 7:43 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
Continuing this serialised novel of murky goings-on in the great outdoors.
Free to read.
The Kanchenjunga Manifesto—Chapter Twenty-eight
Continuing this serialised novel of murky goings-on in the great outdoors.
open.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:19 PM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 12/2:
#WIPSnips are from Book 8 of The Shattered Moon, still untitled, but well advanced.
There is precisely one occurrence of ‘defence’.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
His face changed and he wrenched himself out of his seat. Kel, bemused, spun around to see Torvyn being confronted by a stranger, and Fed with a hand just taking a grip on the fellow’s arm. He got hastily to his own feet, but before he could arrive the fellow was stumbling away with a swaying irregular gait. Torvyn was smiling as they retook their seats. “—for your intervention. Though I don’t doubt I could have handled that one; he was so drunk he could hardly stand. And we do have self-defence lessons at the Fellowship.” “Ah,” said Fedwyn, grinning at her, “But do they teach you how to defend yourself when carrying a tray of beer? And without spilling any?” She chuckled, and raised her glass to him.
February 12, 2026 at 7:39 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 12/2: What would you tell a fellow writer struggling with self-doubt?
Remember the impulse that made you want to write in the first place.
& remember that the point about your writing is that it’s *yours*. Nobody else can write what you can.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 12, 2026 at 7:35 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 12/2: How unique is the setting of your current WIP?
The idea that something can be ‘slightly unique‘ is a good example of the sort of linguistic drift that robs a word of its particular meaning. Unique is unique, and we don’t have a…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 12, 2026 at 7:34 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
"The Prime Minister cited an IMG report that claimed that, if fully realised, the gains from AI could be worth up to an average of £47 billion to the UK each year over a decade."
BARONESS KIDRON quoted in societyofauthors.org/2026/01/30/b...

#JusticeForCreators
Brave New World? Justice for creators in the age of GenAI   - The Society of Authors
We have joined forces with other creator-led organisations to co-launch a ground-breaking report showing the onset of a creative jobs crisis in the UK.
societyofauthors.org
February 11, 2026 at 1:50 PM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 11/2: MC POV: Sit down, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. What do you see in your mind’s eye?
Jerya: yesterday I saw a demonstration of two model ‘locomotives’ and heard a vision of travel times being cut…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 11, 2026 at 7:26 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 11/2: What time of day is most productive for you? Why?
I had to be flexible about writing times during my freelance career. Often I’d be out doing things and seeing places during the day, and writing them up would happen in the…
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February 11, 2026 at 7:25 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 10/2:
#WIPSnips are from Book 8 of The Shattered Moon, still untitled, but well advanced.
No occurrences of ‘liquid’, or of ‘fluid’. Beer, of course, is the noblest of liquids, but this morning I’m sticking to water, which occurs 26 times.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
"An obvious inference, we soon agreed, was that this was a device akin to the renowned Vertical Tramway of Drumlenn—I imagine most people are familiar with this, at least from pictures and written accounts. Of course that is not really vertical; its true angle is not even quite forty degrees, but it does carry people and goods up and down a steep slope. It is not impossible, I suggest, to envisage how we might construct a vertical equivalent. "Now, the Drumlenn Tramway operates on gravity, using the weight of water. We might also perhaps consider the use of steam engines; these certainly are used in various places for hauling heavy goods, and sometimes people, up and down inclines, and in mines.
February 10, 2026 at 7:06 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 10/2: Talk about a work which subverted your expectations, in a good way.
Let’s take the book I’m currently reading, ‘Helm’ by Sarah Hall. It’s about the Helm Wind, the only named wind in the UK. I’m not sure…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 10, 2026 at 7:00 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 10/2: Have you ever dedicated your work to someone?
All the books in the Shattered Moon series (which now numbers seven) have a dedication to family or friends. Book Eight will have a ‘repeat’ dedication…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
February 10, 2026 at 7:00 AM