Michelle Manus
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michellemanus.com
Michelle Manus
@michellemanus.com
730 followers 140 following 2K posts
Is tentatively back online.

Still vicariously living my dreams of having badass magical powers and destroying evil men through the characters I write.
michellemanus.com
https://payhip.com/michellemanus
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Reposted by Michelle Manus
kristadb1.bsky.social
Last spring, I encouraged folks to channel their fears and anxiety about the state of the world into being prepared.

The guide is still completely free to access. Large parts of it involves you organizing what you have, and not spending money. There's also a "I'm overwhelmed" section.
kristadb1.bsky.social Krista D. Ball: Canada's Snarky Potato @kristadb1.bsky.social · Mar 10
As requested!

Here is the free, public post for everyone wanting some basic, no-judgement, no weirdo emergency preparedness.

I'll do a few more of these, but I was requested to do them in smaller posts to start. I'll combine them down the road.

www.patreon.com/posts/no-nuk...
No Nukes: A beginner series on emergency preparedness | Krista D. Ball
Get more from Krista D. Ball on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 11, 2026 at 12:56 AM
michellemanus.com
@skyladawn.ca and I are both having dumpling soup like proper sick people. Mine is faux chicken with carrots and the drop dumpling recipe I stole from her.
A white soup bowl filled with a vegetarian broth soup with faux chicken pieces, carrots, and drop dumplings.
January 10, 2026 at 9:50 PM
michellemanus.com
I've been thinking a lot lately about the misinterpretation of art, and how much/when it matters. I've been thinking of a particular instance of a song that is very obviously about saying farewell to someone who has just died...that was played in the grand-gesture moment of an early 2000s romcom 1/
January 10, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Michelle Manus
kristadb1.bsky.social
THE TAGLINES ON THESE PREMADE COVERS OMG

payhip.com/b/RPqu9
Premade Cover: Classic UF Trilogy
You are buying a trilogy of premade covers. The downloadable file is the one with the placeholder text. Upon payment, I’ll contact you within three business days via the email address provided with yo...
payhip.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by Michelle Manus
skyladawn.ca
Do people buy trilogy/duology premade covers? Almost never. Is anyone still buying classic UF style ones? No. Did I make these anyways? Absolutely, they make me happy.
A trilogy of premade urban fantasy covers with placeholder text. They have the vibe of a mid-2000s cover. The girl on each of them is wearing short jean shorts with black fishnets and a white t-shirt. She has a katana and a gun. Her hair is pink. The tagline says "Remember when covers used to look like this? We used to be a real genre."
January 6, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Reposted by Michelle Manus
diane.dianeduane.com
...Meanwhile I have to book an MRI for next week, and I'm going to have to pay for this one... so I've kicked prices at the #Ebooks Direct store down to their pre-holiday levels, particularly for the Whole Store ebook package. (ebooks.direct/products/ebo...) Everybody feel free to take advantage! 😀
In a snowy forest, a saurian wizard and his brother with a pile of all the books at the Ebooks Direct store.
January 5, 2026 at 1:55 PM
michellemanus.com
Look, in my defense, it can't reasonably be considered an impulse buy, I thought about it for a whole 30 minutes before deciding I needed it.

And @skyladawn.ca pointed out I only had 5 covers that I don't have titles for yet, and I really needed 6 so they could hang out in groups of three....
A beautiful cover in tones of black, red, and orange featuring a raven silhouette with a tree inside it. The raven is reminiscent of flames, as are the smaller ravens up by its top wingtips. A receipt page showing the cover "The Raven" has been purchased.
January 4, 2026 at 11:28 PM
michellemanus.com
It's that time of year again. The time of year when I fight the forces of darkness urging me to give all my money to Skyla for Pretty Shinies I don't have time to write.
skyladawn.ca Skyla Dawn Cameron @skyladawn.ca · 6d
Operation: Use the Stock You Already Have, Skyla is...mostly successful lol.
Screenshot of five premade covers for sale.
January 4, 2026 at 10:53 PM
michellemanus.com
Giving myself the gift of staying off the internet for at least the next 8 hours. Good luck out there, everyone!
January 4, 2026 at 3:27 PM
michellemanus.com
The cat would like you to know she gets canned food at 0500. Not 0510, not 0520, and certainly not 0530. Humans need to get out of bed.
January 4, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Michelle Manus
skyladawn.ca
Dragging this thread up from last month because see this is legit it for some people.
Krista's post: "Lunch is simple fried rice with cashews and broccoli for a little fun." The response is "Why are people posting pictures of their food? Is anyone interested? Certainly not me. Stop it!"
January 3, 2026 at 4:00 PM
michellemanus.com
No, Gothic Fantasy Idea, I don't have time for you right now. Keep your crumbling estate and magical puzzles and cats who know more than they should to yourself for a bit.
January 3, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Michelle Manus
nikitagill.bsky.social
Ever relevant, this poem by Mary Oliver, especially today.
OF THE EMPIRE We will be known as a culture that feared death and adored power, that tried to vanquish insecurity for the few and cared little for the penury of the many. We will be known as a culture that taught and rewarded the amassing of things, that spoke little if at all about the quality of life for people (other people), for dogs, for rivers. All the world, in our eyes, they will say, was a commodity. And they will say that this structure was held together politically, which it was, and they will say also that our politics was no more than an apparatus to accommodate the feelings of the heart, and that the heart, in those days, was small, and hard, and full of meanness.
January 3, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Michelle Manus
dinajames.com
Anybody else want to join me and Cheyenne in exercise against our will three times a week? I’m starting tomorrow. For the pony.

(I won’t exercise for myself, but will for a friend’s horse in solidarity. Motivation is weird like that.)
dinajames.com Dina James @dinajames.com · 7d
Okay, Cheyenne. We’re gonna be miserable together, buddy.
A bad picture taken from my iPad of my phone showing a calendar entry for Saturday January 3 at 8AM for “Misery Pony Walk” with a horse emoji The same bad photo from previous only this one shows the whole name of the event in My Calendars The Stupid Walk for my Stupid Mental health photo of a wet grumpy bald eagle
January 3, 2026 at 2:14 AM
michellemanus.com
Cheyenne would like you to know that being made to do light exercise 3x/week is abuse, actually. "Look at this fleece cooler!" he says. "It makes me look like a camel when put over my saddle! Who cares if it keeps me warm on the walk to the arena? I look subpar! And then there's the actual work!"
A bay horse with a large white blaze stands in an indoor tack area. He is wearing a black fleece cooler over a western saddle and wearing an expression of abject despair.
January 3, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by Michelle Manus
tychebooks.bsky.social
I feel like that bumper sticker is excellent marketing for our anthology Saltwater Sorrows, edited by @rhondaparrish.bsky.social

Lemme know if you agree: www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/...
January 2, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Reposted by Michelle Manus
skyladawn.ca
Ex-debutante. Single Mother. Treasure Hunter. Solomon's Seal in audiobook, brought to life by Kristi Burns, is $12.99/€9.99 all month long for Kobo's Start a New Series sale: www.kobo.com/ca/en/audiob...

Price-matched at Payhip: payhip.com/b/rgxXP

As a bonus, it'll be $1.99 in eBook next week!
A promo graphic that says "Adventure starts here!" and there's a woman silhouetted by a sunset climbing up a cliff. The book cover for Solomon's Seal is there in eBook and audiobook, an adventure novel with a woman's silhouette in the mouth of a cave. The rest of the text says "Get the audiobook brought to life by Kristi Burns for $12.99/€9.99 January 1 - 31 at Kobo. $1.99 in eBook January 8 - 21"
January 2, 2026 at 5:20 PM
michellemanus.com
Yes, I only wrote 1k words today BUT I expressed my creativity in other ways and also learned stick figures are hard to draw, actually.
michellemanus.com Michelle Manus @michellemanus.com · 9d
Proud to have reached the stage of my career where, like many authors before me, I market my book via my non-existent drawing skills.

A Song to Wake a Thousand Sorrows, a Cartoon in 8 Parts.

Buy direct: payhip.com/b/YQI6i
Buy anywhere else: books2read.com/u/mdYzPW
A two-pane cartoon drawing. Pane 1 says "This is Clare" and has a stick figure drawing of a woman with long hair holding a sword. Pane 2 says "Lots of bad shit has happened to Clare. It has made her a simmering volcano of rage." It has a stick figure drawing of the woman with long hair, her arms crossed, flames around her head. A volcano is erupting next to her and she is standing on a river of lava. The second 2 pane drawing in this cartoon. Pane 1 says "An ancient magical entity lives in Clare, constantly putting thoughts in her head." Stick figure Clare, brandishing a sword again is on the left. On the right a box labeled Ancient Magical Entity has a dialogue bubble that says "Have you ever thought about destroying the world?" The second pane reads: "Clare wants the entity to fuck off so she can gain social and financial stability via her musical talents. Stick figure Clare brandishes a guitar on the bottom right. The bottom left says "Clare writes songs and plays guitar and sings good." The third 2-pane drawing in this cartoon. The first pane says: Unknown to Clare, the evil Jackal King wants the magical entity for himself, and her plant to gain status draws his attention." At the bottom is a stick figure wearing a crown. His dialogue bubble says "Want power." The second pane says: Clare meets nice people for the first time in her life and experiences unpleasant things like friendship and feelings. In the first row of drawings, two female stickers figures labeled Alys and Lina holds holds. Two male stick figures labeled Verol and Marquin hold hands. A male stick figure labeled Numair stands off to the right. On the bottom row of drawings, a stick figure horse is labeled "Kialla" and "VIP character". Stick figure Clare is lying on her back below stick-figure Numair. Her dialogue bubble says "Feelings suck." The last 2-pane drawing in this cartoon. Pane 1 says "When these new attachments are threatened, Clare's rage explodes in spectacular fashion." A box labeled "Clare's Rage" is exploding. Beneath it is the word BOOM! Around it are four dialogue bubbles from offscreen people saying "Ah!", "What?!", "Help!" and "Oh no!" The final pane says "Consequences ensue". Pissed off stick-figure Clare has a dialogue bubble that reads only, "Fuck."
January 1, 2026 at 10:32 PM
michellemanus.com
It is a good time to be a patron.
skyladawn.ca Skyla Dawn Cameron @skyladawn.ca · 9d
In about three hours, the big January update is coming to patrons--I've got a cover reveal for one project, an announcement about a BRAND NEW Elis story, and an excerpt from this year's serial some of you won't want to miss. patreon.com/skyladawncameron
A promo graphic with a drawing of a young woman holding two cats in her arms, one grey and one black. The words say "Help new books get made (by which I mean help feed my cats so I can focus on writing and not be eaten)" and "this month: exclusive cover reveal, special Elis O'Connor story announcement, excerpt from the upcoming 2026 SUPER SECRET serial"
January 1, 2026 at 7:49 PM
michellemanus.com
Nothing is more fun than writing your character's internal thoughts, where they know 100% that a certain thing is This Way, and they are 100% wrong.
January 1, 2026 at 7:46 PM
michellemanus.com
Let it be so.
dansheehan.bsky.social Dan Sheehan @dansheehan.bsky.social · 9d
This is analog's year, I can feel it. Film photos, physical media, doing things in personal, and consuming imperfect art made by real people
January 1, 2026 at 7:45 PM
michellemanus.com
You have been warned about the peril. 👀
January 1, 2026 at 7:44 PM
michellemanus.com
Sometimes you know you will cut a scene because it doesn't belong in the book, but you have to write it anyway. I don't make the rules.
January 1, 2026 at 6:38 PM
michellemanus.com
I have paid my 4th quarter business taxes. I am now sad. Fellow humans making self-employed money in the US, your 4th quarter taxes are due by January 10th.
January 1, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Michelle Manus
jessicadennis.bsky.social
It’s a really really really good book — I am practically salivating for book 2
michellemanus.com Michelle Manus @michellemanus.com · 9d
Proud to have reached the stage of my career where, like many authors before me, I market my book via my non-existent drawing skills.

A Song to Wake a Thousand Sorrows, a Cartoon in 8 Parts.

Buy direct: payhip.com/b/YQI6i
Buy anywhere else: books2read.com/u/mdYzPW
A two-pane cartoon drawing. Pane 1 says "This is Clare" and has a stick figure drawing of a woman with long hair holding a sword. Pane 2 says "Lots of bad shit has happened to Clare. It has made her a simmering volcano of rage." It has a stick figure drawing of the woman with long hair, her arms crossed, flames around her head. A volcano is erupting next to her and she is standing on a river of lava. The second 2 pane drawing in this cartoon. Pane 1 says "An ancient magical entity lives in Clare, constantly putting thoughts in her head." Stick figure Clare, brandishing a sword again is on the left. On the right a box labeled Ancient Magical Entity has a dialogue bubble that says "Have you ever thought about destroying the world?" The second pane reads: "Clare wants the entity to fuck off so she can gain social and financial stability via her musical talents. Stick figure Clare brandishes a guitar on the bottom right. The bottom left says "Clare writes songs and plays guitar and sings good." The third 2-pane drawing in this cartoon. The first pane says: Unknown to Clare, the evil Jackal King wants the magical entity for himself, and her plant to gain status draws his attention." At the bottom is a stick figure wearing a crown. His dialogue bubble says "Want power." The second pane says: Clare meets nice people for the first time in her life and experiences unpleasant things like friendship and feelings. In the first row of drawings, two female stickers figures labeled Alys and Lina holds holds. Two male stick figures labeled Verol and Marquin hold hands. A male stick figure labeled Numair stands off to the right. On the bottom row of drawings, a stick figure horse is labeled "Kialla" and "VIP character". Stick figure Clare is lying on her back below stick-figure Numair. Her dialogue bubble says "Feelings suck." The last 2-pane drawing in this cartoon. Pane 1 says "When these new attachments are threatened, Clare's rage explodes in spectacular fashion." A box labeled "Clare's Rage" is exploding. Beneath it is the word BOOM! Around it are four dialogue bubbles from offscreen people saying "Ah!", "What?!", "Help!" and "Oh no!" The final pane says "Consequences ensue". Pissed off stick-figure Clare has a dialogue bubble that reads only, "Fuck."
January 1, 2026 at 4:53 PM