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mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd
@mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
2.9K followers 1K following 6.9K posts
Writer of epic fantasies. Lover of cities and odd words. Just here to tell stories.
NO AI
🏳️‍⚧️they/ him
https://mcburnell.itch.io/
https://books2read.com/mcburnell
https://payhip.com/AuthorMCBurnell
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mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd @mcburnellauthor.bsky.social · Nov 18
THE TIPPING WORLD IS FINISHED
and it has everything you want in an epic

✨political intrigue
✨big battle sequences
✨new heroes coming into their own
✨morally gray ancient adepts
✨unique magic system
✨complex plot
✨vivid worldbuilding
✨terrifying villains

🌈📚🪐 #Booksky
books2read.com/Symbols-End
Cover of a book called Symbols’ End by MC Burnell depicting a slender young woman seated on a bench in a fine gown in the rain; the walls of the garden are close and too tall. Text reads: THE GRAND FINALE. Symbols’ End, Vol. 9 of The Tipping World.
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
I'm pretty sure I AM an Arctic passage to geology, so come with me if you want to live
jonolfert.bsky.social Jon Olfert 🌾🍁 @jonolfert.bsky.social · 2h
Writers, we must carve out an Arctic passage to Geology.
A multicoloured roughly circular network diagram of how academic disciplines connect with each other. Humanities and Geology are kind of out there.
February 8, 2026 at 1:38 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
It is aggressively not okay that we're a week deep in Ferururry already. C'mon!
February 8, 2026 at 1:14 AM
Reposted by Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd
parisvivian.bsky.social
#BookSky #SFF #ScienceFantasy

💙📚🪐
📚⚔️
February 8, 2026 at 1:11 AM
Reposted by Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd
jeremycshipp.bsky.social
Betsy Buttercup has more vaccines coming up, and she also needs to be sedated for an oral examination by the vet.

If anyone would like to send us some funds to help out, that would be a big help.

Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/jeremycshipp
Venmo: venmo.com/u/2252430720...
PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/Jer...
Here's a lovely photo of Betsy the tortoiseshell cat looking at the camera with pink fabric on the background.
February 7, 2026 at 8:11 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
#AwesomeCharacters
I'm pretty sure Mozaa Karphel just became Pherul's favorite place.
Rithucaride likes busy, social spaces. There are plenty in their neighborhood, and they would rather visit one of them than venture further afield in search of something new
charliedeltawrites.bsky.social ❄️Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta ☃️ @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 15h
Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters

What is your character's favorite place in their world? A place they find peace, or excitement, or joy?

Is it a type of place (forest, mall, etc) or somewhere specific?

Is it somewhere they go frequently?

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
February 8, 2026 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd
williaskip.bsky.social
February 8, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Reposted by Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd
jheijndermans.bsky.social
Hey, Valentine's day is around the corner. So next week, pick up the Valentine's day Romance Book Bundle on Itch!
That's 29 books for $25, including my smutty monster romance book 'Return the Rose'.
Find the bundle here, come Monday!
itch.io/b/3515/valen...
Banner for Valentine's Day Romance Book Bundle. 29 books for $25. Fantasy, sci fi, contemporary and more!. February 9-14, only on Itch.io. A series of romance books covers before a red background. Listed as 29 books for only $25. feb 9-14 only on itch.io
February 7, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Reposted by Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd
wylder.bsky.social
Please help?
linktr.ee/wylder
February 7, 2026 at 5:18 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
someone pls tell the sun that it's February and 20 degrees and it shining so brightly serves no purpose but to irritate me
February 7, 2026 at 6:26 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
Pot pie has me in the kitchen much of the day but I'm taking a break to draft bc Random lodged a complaint: there hadn't been any sitting on the bed next to him time today
February 7, 2026 at 6:08 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
#Caturday
It had been a while since the kids horsed around with the drapes together, but they were back at it at all hours this week, slapping each other and playing hide and seek
In a scene bathed in murky daylight, a tortie sits on a bedside table, a ginger on a windowsill. They are peering at one another around the pale gold drapes: hijinks are afoot. A ginger boy lies with legs twined in a complex knot on a bed, leaning up against a throw pillow like he fully understands what purpose pillows serve. He has a banded tail; his tummy, chest, and feet are white. His heavy-lidded eyes gaze up at you. A little tortie lies on her side on a coverlet, front legs extended like she's just finished stretching. Her fur is a mix of gray and tan striped by black and umber. Her eyes are partly-open: she is aware of the camera.
February 7, 2026 at 3:58 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
#WritingPrompt 'blue'
There were more monuments, more places for people to congregate. If you got down on the streets on your feet, you would encounter the funny truth that this was as often potential as fact: spaces had been created for parks and art installations, but they were only slowly being occupied as artists and gardeners got around to it. Millions of people called Mozaa Karphel Home now, but it had been their home less than a century. All these empty, waiting spaces gave the district a sense of incompleteness. You couldn’t see that from this distance, though, and it was very pretty. The buildings were crepuscular schist of green or blue, the pavement of the streets a hatchwork of cerulean and veridian. The trees were finally getting big enough to provide real shade and impose their presence on pedestrians, although the leafy ones were naked for the season.
February 7, 2026 at 2:49 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
#FebruaryWorldbuilders
One that I maybe haven't talked about as much is the Anseluchir River, which surrounds Mozaa Karphel itself. There are fish in the river and timber along the banks, but the real resource Menchiwu brought to the table was just space. The city sits at the foot of a waterfall,
kiraofthewind.com Kira of the Wind (Erika McCorkle) @kiraofthewind.com · 1d
Good morning, friends and #FebruaryWorldbuilders! Do you have any notable bodies of water in your book/world? Tell me about them. What's in it? What significance does it hold for the people living near it?
MonthlyWorldbuilders prompts daily feed card #FebruaryWorldbuilders Hosted by Kira of the Wind Week 1: Physical World 7. Any notable bodies of water? The background image shows a misty forest with a mysterious tower in the background. It has a cold, mysterious vibe.
February 7, 2026 at 2:45 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
#Febchantment

Pherul has just been transported to the fae megacity and is riding mass transit with Rithu. Mozaa Karphel is a phantasmagoria anyway, being stitched together from cities in more than a dozen different realities, and some of the neighborhoods are especially startling
then something went by the window of clear magic encapsulating them. It was not hard to spot a jellyfish – they looked the same here as they did back home, it turned out – but it was fifty feet in the air. There was no question he had seen what he had seen because he could still see it, dwindling: the thing was as big as the car he was in. He laughed wildly, then put a hand over his mouth when he heard how loud it was and how unhinged he sounded. “Sorry, sorry. That looked like a jellyfish.” “…it was a jellyfish.” “Ours don’t fly.” “Ours don’t either.” He looked at the person across from him. “I don’t mean to make assumptions, but is it possible you’ve never been to a city underwater?” He had been both hoping and dreading that this was the explanation and gave himself a minute to take a breath and collect himself. He fixed his eyes on their face because that felt safer than looking out a window. “We’re underwater. Right now. This is what you were referring to about changing how the funicular operates.” “Amongst other things.” Pherul was too rattled about the place he already was to ask what other crazy conditions they’d had to accommodate. “How deep are we?” They blew out a gust of air, puffing up their cheeks. “I couldn’t even guess at a figure. Very deep. The arrogant pricks who live here would be able to tell you, if you’re really curious.” “‘Very deep’ like the bottom.” “Of the ocean, yes.” They added, “Sarphin Paxagul – that’s what it’s called – was in Mineet. I know that means nothing to you, but…” Pherul had his eyes fixed on the environment, but he wasn’t going to pay the conversation with the fascinating otherworldly being only half his mind. Everything they had so far told him was fascinating. “You can’t fail to speak its name. It deserves to be remembered.” “Yes.”
February 7, 2026 at 2:34 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
#Febchantment

This is a story where a universe of magical people winds up attached to one like ours. I went with types of magic that have some obvious corollary in human myths - the taruli have mental powers to be tricksy or deceptive like faeries, the fengelm are in tune with nature like elves
professoremily.bsky.social Prof Emily @professoremily.bsky.social · 2d
#Febchantment Day 6

Tell us about why you developed this magic system! What drew you to the concepts? Why did you choose to make it the way you did? Were you inspired or influenced by any other works?

#writingcommunity #writesky
February 7, 2026 at 2:23 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 'redeem'
Unfortunate that physical evidence hadn’t been enough to sway his colleagues. As he stood on the steps of Congress Hall watching their society fall apart, he had realized the delay was his fault as much as anyone’s. He had known. Had he acted on his knowledge instead of trying to force his fellows to act on it for him, this could never have gone as far as it had. They were nearing their destination, where he could set aside his guilt and redeem himself. If he was lucky, he might even save his people along the way; the border seethed with disquiet, but their enemy had yet to cross in numbers. It helped that the border was a mighty river, far more formidable a barrier than a line on a map. What attacks there had been amounted to little more than bandit activity. A genuine assault must be coming, and he meant to get there first.
February 7, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd
earlronove.bsky.social
The art > the book!!

Art and cover by me! 🌻
two men in the center of a dark blue background with pink smears across the canvas. One man has his eyes closed and is leaning against the man behind him. He has brown hair, tanned skin, and is wearing a dark t-shirt. The one holding him has golden angel wings wrapping around them both and he has his arms wrapped protectively around the first man. This one has fluffy white hair, bright purple eyes, and is wearing a black tank top which shows off the wing tattoos on his shoulders. Behind him is a golden halo. Illustrated cover for Be Not Afraid by S. Jean. It features a young man with white hair, bright eyes, and pink wings leaping across the page in profile. He is wearing a dark tank top, light short-shorts, and bright red high tops with white socks. He has a coy smile on his lips and is staring at the camera. There is a gold, spiky halo behind him. In the background are smears of pink against a deep, dark blue and eyeballs throughout staring at him.
February 7, 2026 at 12:00 AM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
Hear lies. See feelings. Break the world and put it back together. A complete fantasy epic.

My cats say these books are good and they're really cute.

Start the legend: books2read.com/PathofEndles...
mcburnell.itch.io/a-path-of-en...
Against a dark background, the cover of a book called A Path of Endless Crossroads by MC Burnell, a man with a sword walking into a desolate landscape. Text reads: SET FORTH: The Tipping World, Vol 1. No one but a mage can kill a mage and now they're vanishing. A huge full moon in a dark blue sky. There is a big block quote: “The mage had a response to her skepticism, a pretty compelling one: she need not take him at his word, he was offering her the chance to learn the truth. Provided the process of learning what was true and what was not, what was real and what was myth, wasn’t a trap. One that would ensnare her and remake her into precisely what the mage said mages weren’t. All she had to do was take him at his word.”
February 7, 2026 at 2:57 AM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
it's such a sign of the times that *images being shiny* causes me to do a suspicious doubletake

'it has frosting on it' now means 'there's poison in it,' this is where we're at
February 7, 2026 at 2:39 AM
Reposted by Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd
backwardsknight.com
The Dark Side of Super's audio book is available RIGHT MEOW. This is not a drill, this isn't even a dill pickle, this is the real thing.

Narrated by Molly Briar and produced by Adler Audios, you do NOT want to miss out on this! AT ALL! It's so good!

books2read.com/darksideofsu...

#BookSky
Image of the cover for The Dark Side of Super's audio book. A red-hued image of a figure in a trench coat with glowing eyes staring at the viewer, amidst a sea of faceless people. Words read: The Dark Side of Super. Matthew Siadak. Narrated by Molly Briar. And features the logo for Adler Audios.
February 6, 2026 at 9:37 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
Love it when Fiona gets stressed out and can't play bc brother is watching me!

So I take him into another room, which I do by going into another room, and she follows us bc she wants to know what he's doing... 🤦
February 7, 2026 at 12:11 AM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
Getting a sense of deja vu about the scene I'm writing. Definitely had not already written this. Feel as if I did. Weird
February 6, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd
sharkiatwrites.bsky.social
Who couldn't use more friends? The friendship-centered book bundle brings you 37 books for $35 (including Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and a few horror books).

Check it out:
itch.io/b/3486/frien...

Already got too many of the books? You can also buy the ones you still need separately. We won't be mad.
💙📚📦 💀📚🪐
Friendship Centered SFF by Elise Carlson and 37 others
Friendship Centered SFF: 37 items for $35.00
itch.io
February 6, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd
ebonstorm.bsky.social
WILL AI TAKE MY JOB?

No. Someone will give AI your job.
Then AI will fail to do your job.

It will fail miserably.
AI can't do your job, not even close.

Then your employer will have to
hire someone or go out of business.

Your employer has
forgotten one other idea.

Robots don't shop.

#FiftyWords
February 6, 2026 at 7:07 PM
mcburnellauthor.bsky.social
o.m.g. guys it's in the 30s, I got to go for a run in the fresh air!
February 6, 2026 at 7:14 PM