Maria Vale
As Trump makes clear that the US is not a reliable partner, new defense and economic alliances will emerge to neuter the American power that defined the post-WWII era.

Make
America
Gelded
Again
Two Danish political operatives suggest Denmark engage in dialogue with Sweden, Norway, and Finland regarding nuclear weapons:

“It's time for a joint Nordic nuclear weapons program—we could name it after Thor's hammer. We readily admit that it's a wild proposition. But we also live in wild times.”
Det er tid til et fællesnordisk atomvåbenprogram – vi kunne opkalde det efter Thors hammer
Vi indrømmer gerne, at det er et vildt forslag. Men vi lever også i vilde tider.
www-berlingske-dk.translate.goog
January 19, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Not a data person, so hoping someone can explain the numbers here.
It looks like deportations have skyrocketed under Trump (NYT) while the number of criminal aliens deported during both DJT terms was much lower than during the Biden admin. (CBP gov)

What am I missing?

bit.ly/3NCuSYR
bit.ly/3ZiW9C9
January 18, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Don't have an official number for yesterday's march but given there were only two days to pull it together it was pretty packed! Proud of my city and proud of the 80+ other marches around the country.
January 12, 2026 at 1:04 PM
To my newsletter subscribers: get ready for the Getaway Giveaway!

Pride of place goes to #ThePackingList, a chunky anthology of 12 brand new, later-in-life love stories. But I'm throwing in a lovely notebook, a travel blanket and a pink peony soap (IYKYK).

www.mariavale.com/newsletter
January 9, 2026 at 7:47 PM
I unpacked #ThePackingList!

So proud to join Jess Hardy, Kate Canterbury, Mia Hopkins, Angelina Lopez, Karen Booth, Sarah T. Dubb, L.B. Dunbar, Melanie Moreland, J. Calamy, Cindy Kehagiaras & Michelle Donn, in this hunky collection of later-in-life love stories.

bit.ly/3Xz129m
January 6, 2026 at 9:31 PM
#ThePackingList is live! 12 brand new stories of grown-up characters doing their best to get away from it all, only to have life & love catch up with them.
100% of net proceeds from this limited-time antho will be donated to sexual & reproductive health care organizations.

books2read.com/u/b69J7W
December 30, 2025 at 7:54 PM
I wrote Wistful, a later-in-life love story, for #ThePackingList anthology.

Stories never seems quite real until I get character art from the great Linnea Gear.

So why is Helen wearing Dodgers joggers & Bruins flip flops?
And why is Wich wearing 1 shoe?

Find out at bit.ly/3Xz129m
#romancesky
December 22, 2025 at 9:42 PM
The Judges Being Pizza Doxxed in My Dead Son’s Name

Gifting because this is one of the most important issues to our democracy

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/o...
Opinion | The Judges Being Pizza Doxxed in My Dead Son’s Name
www.nytimes.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:59 PM
NYC #YAlitsky: The Freedom to Read Act is stalled on Gov. Hochul's desk. AABB (Authors Against Book Bans) NY has partnered w/ PEN, ABA, Teen Activist Project, & school librarians to make some noise & get her to sign.
Bring a book and join us on Monday, December 8th at 3:30 at Union Square 17th St.
December 3, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Hey @bsky.app I have no interest in sports. Zero. My interests are pretty clear and my feeds are Moss, Nature, Birds, Writing, Fungi. etc. So why does my "Explore" tab ALWAYS look like this? I tried getting rid of News but it was the same. Any advice?
December 1, 2025 at 4:05 PM
For #TeaserTuesday, I'm here with a quote from Wistful my story about a jaded screenwriter and an actress cursed with eternal youth. The theme of this Later-In-Life love collection is vacation, but Wich and Helen never make it out of LAX!

#ThePackingList

bit.ly/3Xz129m
November 25, 2025 at 1:30 PM
The vibe of the #EpsteinFiles is Country Club at the Last Days of the Roman Empire.

Gifting an opinion piece by Anand Giridharadas that really sums it up.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Opinion | How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM
The Packing List Cover Reveal!

So proud to be part of this antho with 12 brand new stories of grown-up characters doing their best to get away from it all, only to have life--and love--catch up with them. #ThePackingList

Available starting 12/30 on KU bit.ly/3Xz129m 1/3
November 17, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Hey #writersky, Linktree has become utterly impossible to use now. What are your favorite alternatives? Extra points for platforms that don't require hours of spelunking just to post a link. TYSM!
November 14, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Hey friends, anyone in London available for a get together during the upcoming winter months? I'll be there after the holidays and through the end of April. Alternatively, if you know any great #LondonWriters groups, please let me know. TYSM!
November 11, 2025 at 11:24 PM
"I am an Alpha without a Pack. A leader no one wants to follow. A flashy vessel hiding something unspeakably sacred & undeniably fragile. I am a monster; neither one thing, nor the other, belonging nowhere.”

First time since 2/23, A Wolf Apart is on sale for $1.99.

books2read.com/A-Wolf-Apart
November 8, 2025 at 2:03 PM
#romancelandia
Making a plug for The Last Wolf, v. 1 of my obscure #PNR series. It's kind of xenofiction, almost, because the world is seen through the eyes of wolves, vulnerable, wild & raw.
Don't know how long it's on sale so TYIA for any shares.
books2read.com/The-last-wolf
October 23, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Take a look at these accounts. For my part, I found them all weirdly juvenile and blocked each and every.
A bunch of government accounts joined Bluesky today, and it seems very likely they intend to trawl the timeline for statements they can spin as inflammatory or insidious. I’m denying them access to my posts, and I suggest you do the same. Here’s how to do it in one click.
Blockety block block BLOCK!!!
October 19, 2025 at 12:29 AM
For Barack and Michelle's 33rd anniversary, breaking out my gear from a more optimistic--and pre-menopausal--time.
Happy Anniversary, you two. We miss you.
October 3, 2025 at 8:55 PM
This is so many of my favorite SpecRom (Speculative Romance) in one conversation, so you bet I'm going to be there. And the pay-what-you-can ticket goes to support Bookstore Romance Day!
eventbrite.com/e/los…
October 3, 2025 at 8:47 PM
This is so many of my favorite SpecRom (Speculative Romance) in one conversation, so you bet I'm going to be there. And the pay-what-you-can ticket goes to support Bookstore Romance Day!

www.eventbrite.com/e/lost-found...
October 3, 2025 at 8:33 PM
"I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, National Guard, but military, because we're going into Chicago very soon. That's a big city with an incompetent governor--a stupid governor, stupid."

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...
Trump Administration Live Updates: President Tells Top Brass U.S. Cities Should Be Military ‘Training Grounds’
www.nytimes.com
September 30, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Exactly one year after publication, Trump's trollsuit against the NYT and Penguin Random launches Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig's Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success into bestsellerdom. And yes, I bought a copy.
September 17, 2025 at 1:21 PM
🚨Call your representative🚨

GOP has added Provision 226 to H.R. 5300 scheduled for a hearing THIS WEDNESDAY 9/17 that would allow the State Dep't to revoke the passports of U.S. citizens on vague and subjective grounds determined by Marco Rubio.
www.house.gov/representati...
September 16, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Last year, I got a DM from Jodi Picoult introducing herself as "a writer, too." I stared at that 'too' because the idea that she imagined me in her league left me beyond words.

I don't know how Molly Molloy & the Angel of Death found its way to this amazing writer and person but I am so grateful.
Last spring, we asked Jodi Picoult what she was reading and she gave us some great recommendations!
Have you read any of these books yet?
Tell us what you are reading right now!

@jodipicoult.bsky.social @tessabailey.bsky.social @mariavalewrites.bsky.social @gillianmauthor.bsky.social

#bookrecs
September 10, 2025 at 12:10 PM