Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
@neilwillcox.bsky.social
Poet, Writer, Jack Of All Trades
https://nightofthehats.blogspot.com/
https://nightofthehats.blogspot.com/
Pinned
Night of the Hats
Lowering the quality of the internet since 2006
nightofthehats.blogspot.com
It's sadly that time again; a post of other places I can be found on the internet if you're thinking of leaving the site.
1. My blog, Night Of The hats, which I update most days, is on blogspot because I have never moved it /1
nightofthehats.blogspot.com
1. My blog, Night Of The hats, which I update most days, is on blogspot because I have never moved it /1
nightofthehats.blogspot.com
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
I watched Rocky Balboa, a slightly tired and late coda to the boxing film series, since revived and maybe even redeemed by the Creed trilogy. nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2025/12/i-wa...
I Watch Films: Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa Fifteen years after Rocky V Rocky runs an Italian restaurant where he often entertains customers with his boxing stories...
nightofthehats.blogspot.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:51 AM
I watched Rocky Balboa, a slightly tired and late coda to the boxing film series, since revived and maybe even redeemed by the Creed trilogy. nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2025/12/i-wa...
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
I had a dream last night that seems vivid when I woke up but now the only thing I can remember is that someone had discovered an alternative Illinois called Jillinois.
It was on the other side of the river(?)
It was on the other side of the river(?)
December 31, 2025 at 11:40 AM
I had a dream last night that seems vivid when I woke up but now the only thing I can remember is that someone had discovered an alternative Illinois called Jillinois.
It was on the other side of the river(?)
It was on the other side of the river(?)
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
I would only kill five billion, nine hundred and ninety nine million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine demons.
December 31, 2025 at 12:45 PM
I would only kill five billion, nine hundred and ninety nine million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine demons.
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
Possibly my finest work this year was my involvement in this correction
This is my favorite Temz correction ever! Now in @chalicotherex.bsky.social's review of @katebeaton.bsky.social's Bodies of Art, Bodies of Labour (pub. @ualbertapress.bsky.social):
The author has been made aware of a third, unnamed elephant in medieval Europe..
www.thetemzreview.com/mcphee-31.html
The author has been made aware of a third, unnamed elephant in medieval Europe..
www.thetemzreview.com/mcphee-31.html
December 31, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Possibly my finest work this year was my involvement in this correction
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
Scoring this year 20/25
December 31, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Scoring this year 20/25
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
Taking the night off when I hear John Wick is in town; tomorrow I'll be the only assassin around and be able to name my price.
December 31, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Taking the night off when I hear John Wick is in town; tomorrow I'll be the only assassin around and be able to name my price.
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
Thx @reachyourapex.bsky.social for hosting drabbles this year. It was so fun (even though I hit a dry spell lately). It really mattered to me each time, and I send you my best wishes for the year to come (and hopefully more drabbles) 🥰
Hugs to my fellow drabblers (you know who you are ❤️)
Hugs to my fellow drabblers (you know who you are ❤️)
The community drabble for today is, "Til Next Time" by Hannya Kay. The theme was "redemption."
Find Hannya Kay on X @Hannya_Kay / BlueSky @HannyaKay.bsky.social
Care to drabble with us? Join the fun at reachyourapex.com/drbl
#authors #drabbles #writingprompts
Find Hannya Kay on X @Hannya_Kay / BlueSky @HannyaKay.bsky.social
Care to drabble with us? Join the fun at reachyourapex.com/drbl
#authors #drabbles #writingprompts
December 31, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Thx @reachyourapex.bsky.social for hosting drabbles this year. It was so fun (even though I hit a dry spell lately). It really mattered to me each time, and I send you my best wishes for the year to come (and hopefully more drabbles) 🥰
Hugs to my fellow drabblers (you know who you are ❤️)
Hugs to my fellow drabblers (you know who you are ❤️)
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
The Chain Story Project has released its latest: Demonfire by C. L. Werner. It's a dark and brilliant tale of Shintaro Oba.
Please enjoy, like share. Sharing helps so much. Thank You.
#freefiction
www.chainstorycore.com/blog/free-fiction-to-ease-in-the-new-year
Please enjoy, like share. Sharing helps so much. Thank You.
#freefiction
www.chainstorycore.com/blog/free-fiction-to-ease-in-the-new-year
Free Fiction to ease in the New Year — The Chain Story
In a perfect way to round out the year, The Chain Story Project is delighted to present Demonfire , a tale of Shintaro Oba by C. L. Werner. It’s a dark and delicious tale of demonic depravity and dut...
www.chainstorycore.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:46 PM
The Chain Story Project has released its latest: Demonfire by C. L. Werner. It's a dark and brilliant tale of Shintaro Oba.
Please enjoy, like share. Sharing helps so much. Thank You.
#freefiction
www.chainstorycore.com/blog/free-fiction-to-ease-in-the-new-year
Please enjoy, like share. Sharing helps so much. Thank You.
#freefiction
www.chainstorycore.com/blog/free-fiction-to-ease-in-the-new-year
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
a real treat to find my blog post "The Death of Robert E. Howard in the Pages of WEIRD TALES" included on ARB's list of notable criticisms for 2025!
Last post of the year! We present ARB's Notable Criticism of 2025—ten articles that highlight the vitality and possibilities of speculative criticism:
ARB’s 2025 Notable Criticism
In the field of speculative criticism, many of the challenges and positive developments we noted last year are still in full effect. 2025 has brought even more precarity for culture writers and aca…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
December 31, 2025 at 10:39 PM
a real treat to find my blog post "The Death of Robert E. Howard in the Pages of WEIRD TALES" included on ARB's list of notable criticisms for 2025!
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
As @mattweiner19.bsky.social correctly pointed out this is 100 percent incorrect an it is Wimsey who is the sexy murder poet and ironically vane who is the basically pleasant bureaucrat.
Peter Wimsey, basically pleasant bureaucrat; Harriet Vane on the other hand
December 31, 2025 at 10:58 PM
As @mattweiner19.bsky.social correctly pointed out this is 100 percent incorrect an it is Wimsey who is the sexy murder poet and ironically vane who is the basically pleasant bureaucrat.
Taking the night off when I hear John Wick is in town; tomorrow I'll be the only assassin around and be able to name my price.
December 31, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Taking the night off when I hear John Wick is in town; tomorrow I'll be the only assassin around and be able to name my price.
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
A story inspired by the five years I spent living in Malta. Please enjoy "For the Love of Drowning Isles": translunartravelerslounge.com/2025/02/15/f...
Thank you @translunartl.bsky.social !
Thank you @translunartl.bsky.social !
For the Love of Drowning Isles, by Laila Amado
When the northwestern wind blows through the island, the shutters of the grand houses on Archbishop Street rattle like the tips of snake tails. Ships moored in the harbor moan at their anchors. The…
translunartravelerslounge.com
December 30, 2025 at 10:30 PM
A story inspired by the five years I spent living in Malta. Please enjoy "For the Love of Drowning Isles": translunartravelerslounge.com/2025/02/15/f...
Thank you @translunartl.bsky.social !
Thank you @translunartl.bsky.social !
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
Wild that out of all things from medieval cosmology, the thing about the ocean being full of monsters turned out to be correct.
December 31, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Wild that out of all things from medieval cosmology, the thing about the ocean being full of monsters turned out to be correct.
Scoring this year 20/25
December 31, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Scoring this year 20/25
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
pound for pound this might be the funniest thing ever written
December 31, 2025 at 6:15 PM
pound for pound this might be the funniest thing ever written
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
as promised, i wrote up some musings on the Death of Robert E. Howard as seen in the letters-to-the-editor section of Weird Tales magazine! there's some fun, interesting, and strange stuff in there, a good glimpse at an active fandom doing the work of genre-fication!
geoliminal.com/2025/12/17/t...
geoliminal.com/2025/12/17/t...
The Death of Robert E. Howard in the Pages of Weird Tales
In the “Thief of Forthe” discussion, I posted Clifford Ball’s brief encomium to REH from The Eyrie, Weird Tales’s enormously important and incredibly interesting letter sect…
geoliminal.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:41 PM
as promised, i wrote up some musings on the Death of Robert E. Howard as seen in the letters-to-the-editor section of Weird Tales magazine! there's some fun, interesting, and strange stuff in there, a good glimpse at an active fandom doing the work of genre-fication!
geoliminal.com/2025/12/17/t...
geoliminal.com/2025/12/17/t...
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
Spotted Hyenas have the largest frontal cortex of any land based mammalian predator. This is the social area of the brain, they can outperform chimps in solving social puzzles. They handle relationships in clans of up to 100 members, rivalling dolphin pods in size. They're so smart, they can COUNT!
Ok folks: what is your favorite fact that you share with people (maybe a bit too) eagerly?
December 31, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Spotted Hyenas have the largest frontal cortex of any land based mammalian predator. This is the social area of the brain, they can outperform chimps in solving social puzzles. They handle relationships in clans of up to 100 members, rivalling dolphin pods in size. They're so smart, they can COUNT!
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
I got to interview to @wiswell.bsky.social for @splitlipthemag.bsky.social about WEARING THE LION, radical forgiveness, disability, found family, and how to win battles by flipping conflict into friendship. You can read what we said here:
splitlipthemag.com/interviews/1...
splitlipthemag.com/interviews/1...
Communing with Monsters: An Interview with John Wiswell, Author of Wearing the Lion — Split Lip Magazine
John Wiswell’s Wearing the Lion is a retelling of Greek mythology that is sharply contemporary yet roils with the magic of ancient gods.
splitlipthemag.com
December 17, 2025 at 3:46 PM
I got to interview to @wiswell.bsky.social for @splitlipthemag.bsky.social about WEARING THE LION, radical forgiveness, disability, found family, and how to win battles by flipping conflict into friendship. You can read what we said here:
splitlipthemag.com/interviews/1...
splitlipthemag.com/interviews/1...
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
Y'all should snap up this free (!) anthology of hopeful short stories. I'm proud to say that my piece, The Giant's Unquiet Bones, is included. Because sometimes you need a story about a girl marrying a dead giant's bones.
It’s New Year’s Eve, and 2025 has been A Year. I thought everyone might appreciate a cozy gift. Please get the Worlds of Possibility Volume 2 ebook for free, if you would like it! www.juliarios.com/a-gift-to-en...
A gift to end 2025 — Worlds of Possibility Volume 2!
This second volume collects short stories, flash fiction, and drabbles from the August 2023 to June 2025 issue run of Worlds of Possibility.
www.juliarios.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Y'all should snap up this free (!) anthology of hopeful short stories. I'm proud to say that my piece, The Giant's Unquiet Bones, is included. Because sometimes you need a story about a girl marrying a dead giant's bones.
Last story submission of the year (unless I get bored and try to send off Bone Thief or Eliza Sky And A Penny For Your Thoughts)
December 31, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Last story submission of the year (unless I get bored and try to send off Bone Thief or Eliza Sky And A Penny For Your Thoughts)
Possibly my finest work this year was my involvement in this correction
This is my favorite Temz correction ever! Now in @chalicotherex.bsky.social's review of @katebeaton.bsky.social's Bodies of Art, Bodies of Labour (pub. @ualbertapress.bsky.social):
The author has been made aware of a third, unnamed elephant in medieval Europe..
www.thetemzreview.com/mcphee-31.html
The author has been made aware of a third, unnamed elephant in medieval Europe..
www.thetemzreview.com/mcphee-31.html
December 31, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Possibly my finest work this year was my involvement in this correction
I would only kill five billion, nine hundred and ninety nine million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine demons.
December 31, 2025 at 12:45 PM
I would only kill five billion, nine hundred and ninety nine million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine demons.
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
Translunar Travelers Lounge will return... in 2026!
You wish all of you a great new year.
You wish all of you a great new year.
We've come to the end of our look back at the year. Translunar Travelers Lounge published two issues with a total of twenty eight stories. If any of these have stayed with you then please consider them for awards, reading lists, or perhaps you might write a review.
December 31, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Translunar Travelers Lounge will return... in 2026!
You wish all of you a great new year.
You wish all of you a great new year.
Reposted by Neil Willcox, Son of a Beekeeper
A touring arts collective has been arrested for public indecency on Harlen VII. A neat bit of diplomacy has got them released provided they take the next ship out, and you and your crew now have to fit them and their gear in with the supplies you are hauling to Conservatoire Observatory.
December 31, 2025 at 12:42 PM
A touring arts collective has been arrested for public indecency on Harlen VII. A neat bit of diplomacy has got them released provided they take the next ship out, and you and your crew now have to fit them and their gear in with the supplies you are hauling to Conservatoire Observatory.
I had a dream last night that seems vivid when I woke up but now the only thing I can remember is that someone had discovered an alternative Illinois called Jillinois.
It was on the other side of the river(?)
It was on the other side of the river(?)
December 31, 2025 at 11:40 AM
I had a dream last night that seems vivid when I woke up but now the only thing I can remember is that someone had discovered an alternative Illinois called Jillinois.
It was on the other side of the river(?)
It was on the other side of the river(?)