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patricksamphire.bsky.social
Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
@patricksamphire.bsky.social
4.9K followers 760 following 6.6K posts
Fantasy writer | Freelance developmental editor | Former physicist. #SPFBO/#BBNYA finalist. He/him.

Around the web and my books: http://linktr.ee/patricksamphire

🏳️‍⚧️ rights are human rights
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patricksamphire.bsky.social
Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 3d
New year, new pinned post!

Here are all my published books so far. Check them out.

patricksamphire.com/books
Covers of books by Patrick Samphire. The Mennik Thorn series (Epic fantasy mystery). The Secrets of the Dragon Tomb series (Middle Grade adventures). The Casebook of Harriet George series (Murder mysteries on Mars). And my short story collection, At the Gates and Other Stories.
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
deanr.co.uk
“you won’t get away with this”
Uni lad headline hospice nurse who’s seen 100s of people die says everyone always says the same thing on their deathbed. Photo is a blond haired blue eyed woman’s face
January 5, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
djolder.bsky.social
"GenAI is the futu--
The Atari 2600 gaming console came into the world in 1977 powered by an eight-bit processor that ran at 1.19MhZ, and just 128 bytes of RAM – but that’s apparently enough power to beat ChatGPT at chess. So says infrastructure architect Robert Caruso, who over the weekend posted the results of an experiment he conducted to “pit ChatGPT against the Atari 2600’s chess engine (via Stella emulator) and see what happens.” ChatGPT confused rooks for bishops, and repeatedly lost track of pieces
January 6, 2026 at 3:31 AM
patricksamphire.bsky.social
Further, it can actually be unhealthy to hang on to some things for too long. Particularly if it's something like a fandom. You have to know when to move on. Otherwise you become that toxic person in the corner hating everything about the thing you once loved.
boredoftheoldone.bsky.social Ro @boredoftheoldone.bsky.social · 13h
This is brilliant and something I've been internally working on for quite sometime without realising it.

Sometimes things have a time and place.
roodypatooti.bsky.social Professional FailDaughter @roodypatooti.bsky.social · Oct 30
Wish I could internalize this
January 6, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
boredoftheoldone.bsky.social
This is brilliant and something I've been internally working on for quite sometime without realising it.

Sometimes things have a time and place.
roodypatooti.bsky.social Professional FailDaughter @roodypatooti.bsky.social · Oct 30
Wish I could internalize this
brightwanderer I think a lot about how we as a culture have turned "forever" into the only acceptable definition of success. Like... if you open a coffee shop and run it for a while and it makes you happy but then stuff gets too expensive and stressful and you want to do something else so you close it, it's a "failed" business. If you write a book or two, then decide that you don't actually want to keep doing that, you're a "failed" writer. If you marry someone, and that marriage is good for a while, and then stops working and you get divorced, it's a "failed" marriage. The only acceptable "win condition" is "you keep doing that thing forever". A friendship that lasts for a few years but then its time is done and you move on is considered less valuable or not a "real" friendship. A hobby that you do for a while and then are done with is a "phase" - or, alternatively, a "pity" that you don't do that thing any more. A fandom is "dying" because people have had a lot of fun with it but are now moving on to other things. I just think that something can be good, and also end, and that thing was still good. And it's okay to be sad that it ended, too. But the idea that anything that ends is automatically less than this hypothetical eternal state of success... I don't think that's doing us any good at all.
January 5, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
georgemonbiot.bsky.social
This explains so much.
People with psychopathic traits and low cognitive ability are over-represented in online political activity.
If someone is being cruel, obnoxious and ridiculous, don't try to reason with them. Chances are you won't get anywhere. Just block.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Dark personalities in the digital arena: how psychopathy and narcissism shape online political participation - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - Dark personalities in the digital arena: how psychopathy and narcissism shape online political participation
www.nature.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:05 AM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
woodo.bsky.social
Alt-Text Version
My American manager tried to write me up for "lack of commitment" because I leave at 5:00 PM sharp. I work in the Netherlands. I work for the Dutch branch of a large US tech company. We recently got a new middle-manager based in New York. He seemed like a nice guy at first, but it turns out he is totally obsessed with "hustle culture." Last week, we had a 1-on-1 meeting where he told me he was "concerned" about my dedication to the team. He listed his grievances quite clearly. He didn't like that my Slack status goes offline at 5:01 PM every single day. He was annoyed that I didn't reply to an email he sent on Saturday morning until Monday at 9:00 AM. And he was especially frustrated that I refused to join a "team bonding" Zoom call that was scheduled for 7 PM my time, which is 1 PM his time. He gave me the usual speech about how "in this company, we go the extra mile" and that if I want to grow, I need to be more available. I had to give him a bit of a reality check. I looked him in the eye over Zoom and told him that in the Netherlands, if you can't finish your work by 5 PM, it doesn't mean you are dedicated. It means you are inefficient or understaffed. I told him I am neither. I also reminded him that contacting me outside of working hours for non-emergencies is actually frowned upon here, and that my contract is for 40 hours, not "40 hours plus nights and weekends." He tried to threaten me with a Performance Improvement Plan. I immediately forwarded the email to our local Dutch HR representative. She literally laughed when she read it and told me to ignore him. She said she would have a "chat" with him about local labor laws. Since then, he hasn't sent a single email after 5 PM. I honestly feel bad for you guys in the US. The fact that you have to apologize for having a life outside of work is insane to us
January 5, 2026 at 2:26 PM
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strategictaper.bsky.social
There’s a reason you usually see 4’33 done with a piano. It doesn’t work on guitar. After 10 seconds the performer would start trying to check that their strings are still in tune before moving on to absentmindedly playing Wonderwall.
January 4, 2026 at 10:45 AM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
hugobookclub.bsky.social
This is the first I’ve heard of this new book.

Oh well.
January 5, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
slurmsmackenzie.bsky.social
Reposting with alt text, great to see the BBC jumping into manufactured consent so readily
As discussed in the Nine To ensure clarity and consistency in our reporting please follow these quidelines when describing the recent events in Venezuela: "Captured" - Please attribute this to the U.S description of the operation. Example: "The U.S. said Maduro was captured during the operation." "Seized" - Acceptable for use in our own reporting where appropriate Avoid using "Kidnapped.' Thanks for keeping this in mind as you work on related stories
January 5, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
molly.wiki
checking out the crypto gaming magazine’s 2026 “most anticipated” list to see how blockchain gaming has been going
Editor's note: All of the games on this list are traditional "Web2" games without crypto or blockchain integrations. But you might enjoy 'em anyway!
January 4, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
rufustsuperfly.bsky.social
This needs to be seen more - excellent anti-gambling companies attack piece by Christopher Eccleston. Good gag at 42s as well youtu.be/R6ufZU1pgs8?...
Stacking The Deck - with Christopher Eccleston
YouTube video by CEGA
youtu.be
January 5, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
stephanieburgis.bsky.social
This week's Monday snippet comes from Wooing the Witch Queen, which is out now in ebook, paper, and audiobook: stephanieburgis.com/books/wooing-the-witch-queen

...And if you're in the UK, you can snap up the ebook on sale for just 99p: www.panmacmillan.com/authors/step...

#romancelandia
In the background of this image is a lush, poisonous-looking garden of deep green leaves and red and black berries. Near the top of the image is this text: Really, if she’d known how much protocol was involved in being a famously wicked queen, she might never have overthrown her uncle in the first place. Beneath that text is the beautiful blue British cover of Wooing the Witch Queen, by Stephanie Burgis. The illustration shows a man in a cloak riding headlong through the night towards an ominous castle with an illuminated, crowned female figure in its doorway and bats flying overhead in the moonlight. A potion vial surrounds that central image and is further framed by leaves and branches. Crows sit on the branches, and a tagline reads: Love can be a witch. A blurb from Sangu Mandanna reads: ‘Warm and lovely’.
January 5, 2026 at 12:27 PM
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robjhayes.bsky.social
After the huge December list, we have quite a small list of January releases. And apparently everyone has decided their author names belong at the bottom.

Check it out...

And of course, if you have a book releasing, please let me know via the form.

robjhayes.co.uk/self-publish...
Self Published Fantasy Releases – January 2026
Visit the post for more.
robjhayes.co.uk
January 5, 2026 at 10:23 AM
patricksamphire.bsky.social
Other than the AI-generated stupidity, London and Britain were not cleaner or safer in this imagined past. They were dirtier and more dangerous. Some of us are old enough to remember.
slowbikeiain.bsky.social Iain Roberts @slowbikeiain.bsky.social · 3d
London in the good old days - before everyone's feet pointed forwards.
Idiotic right-wing propoganda: "London - before everything, it was one of the most beautiful, clean and safest places in Britain." In the AI image, a character in the foreground has his feet on the wrong way, facing backwards.
January 5, 2026 at 10:32 AM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
nerdsofafeather.bsky.social
www.nerds-feather.com/2026/01/book...

To start off your Monday and work week, @princejvstin.com reviews ENCHANTING THE FAE QUEEN by Stephanie Burgis
Book Review: Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis
T he second of the Queens of Villainy series Second in her fantasy series “The Queens of Villainy,”  Enchanting the Fae Queen continues Ste...
www.nerds-feather.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:19 AM
patricksamphire.bsky.social
I call this one, "View Out Our Window This Morning (Not Very Straight)".
View through a white window. Terraced Victorian houses opposite have snow-covered roofs. The weather is sunny, the sky blue. A bright red car parked outside has a shawl of snow.
January 5, 2026 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
kattenbarge.bsky.social
The end goal of Grok sexual harassment is to make women afraid to be visible. It’s a punishment for daring to exist in a way the perpetrators can’t control. There’s no one solution to this, because the problem isn’t just technological. It’s cultural. It’s misogyny. This is just one expression of it.
January 5, 2026 at 1:10 AM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
oisinmcgann.bsky.social
This ‘woman‘ is a cat.
wren154.bsky.social wren154 @wren154.bsky.social · 1d
Two hours later, Philippa has morphed into a human.
January 5, 2026 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
smoothdunk2.bsky.social
Two Aliens Looking At Bluesky
4 panel comic Panel 1: A Green Alien and a Pink Alien watch Bluesky on a monitor aboard their spaceship Green Alien says “Some of them are arguing about a war. And some of them are arguing about a cartoon dog with boobs” Panel 2: Pink Alien replies, “So this is happening in two separate dimensions” Panel 3: Green Alien says, “No. In the same dimension. At the same time. Panel 4: Pink Alien: “Fuckin what”
January 5, 2026 at 1:13 AM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Nixon insisted the bombing of Cambodia was just targeting Viet Cong outposts there and not meant to undermine its government, but the bombings destabilized the Lon Nol government and paved the way for the Khmer Rouge’s killing fields and the massacre of more than a million people.
beyerstein.bsky.social Lindsay Beyerstein @beyerstein.bsky.social · 1d
NBC's sources said that "the potential mission in Mexico is not designed to undermine the Mexican government." But that's what it will do if the US is doing CIA drone strikes on Mexican soil over the objections of the president.
January 4, 2026 at 7:22 PM
patricksamphire.bsky.social
Why are media like the BBC asking these kind of questions? Venezuela doesn't need to replace one dictator for another client dictator working for Trump. That's no better. They need a properly elected president.
Can Maduro's trusted lieutenant now work for Trump?
Delcy Rodríguez, a close ally of captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, has been named interim president.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 4, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
justinleeanderson.com
If you are a self-published / indie SFFH writer or reviewer, I have exciting news. We’ve just soft launched our new site, BookMatch, a matchmaking site for reviewers and books. We’re currently recruiting reviewers to our community. Want to be part of it? Come sign up! bookmatch.co.uk
bookmatch.co.uk
January 4, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
chuckwendig.bsky.social
The book gods have determined that THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS is a mere $1.99 on your favorite electromagnetic reading platform if you’d like an easy entry point to friendship breakups, broken people, creepy interstitial terrain, and a haunted house that is a house that haunts. Tell your friends!
Text: ON FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1998, five teenagers went on a camping trip in the middle of the forest. ONLY FOUR OF THEM RETURNED.
January 4, 2026 at 2:53 PM
patricksamphire.bsky.social
"Compliant".
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Marco Rubio: "It had to be done. And it's been done. And I assure you the people left behind in Venezuela now that are in charge of the police and everything else, I assure you they are gonna probably be a lot more compliant than Maduro was as a result of this."
January 4, 2026 at 4:48 PM
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ajcousins.bsky.social
Look at these beauties. I fucking love Chicago. 😍 Legion Park today, directly across the river from the path where it gets closest to the river (where the mallards hang out.)
Photo of two reddish coyotes standing on pale rocks on a hillside at the edge of the river
January 4, 2026 at 2:52 AM