Glenna Turnbull
@writebrain.bsky.social
I'm an award winning Canadian short fiction writer and author. My debut novel is forthcoming (Breakwater Books). I'm also a photographer & stained glass artist. I prefer to be outdoors hiking, skiing, snowshoeing & camping. I have two dogs and love to knit
Super excited! My debut novel has arrived at the publisher's EARLY!!! They sent me this photo! I can't wait to hold it in my hands. Thank you @breakwaterbooksltd.bsky.social for being so great to work with & for creating such a beautiful cover! Release date March 10th. #booksky #debutnovel #CanLit
February 6, 2026 at 3:30 AM
Super excited! My debut novel has arrived at the publisher's EARLY!!! They sent me this photo! I can't wait to hold it in my hands. Thank you @breakwaterbooksltd.bsky.social for being so great to work with & for creating such a beautiful cover! Release date March 10th. #booksky #debutnovel #CanLit
Forgot to post this yesterday, but here's the books I read in January 2026. Favourite book was Sally Rooney's Normal People. Liked it so much I read a second one of hers. Both are literary fiction that plays upon the difference between what we say and what we wish we could say. #booksky #booksread
February 2, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Forgot to post this yesterday, but here's the books I read in January 2026. Favourite book was Sally Rooney's Normal People. Liked it so much I read a second one of hers. Both are literary fiction that plays upon the difference between what we say and what we wish we could say. #booksky #booksread
I've been writing using Scrivener for my novel work for many years now. Absolutely love their program.
January 31, 2026 at 8:22 PM
I've been writing using Scrivener for my novel work for many years now. Absolutely love their program.
The talented spin doctors writing speeches know all the right words to fuel the hatred they need to make wider divisions to further their case. What did Oz say in Wicked? The best way to bring people together is to give them a good villain. The world's political systems need changing - desperately
January 31, 2026 at 8:19 PM
The talented spin doctors writing speeches know all the right words to fuel the hatred they need to make wider divisions to further their case. What did Oz say in Wicked? The best way to bring people together is to give them a good villain. The world's political systems need changing - desperately
An author on Substack asked the question, what inspires you to keep writing when, as writers, we have to deal with so much rejection?
This was my response: open.substack.com/pub/glennatu...
#writingcommunity #booksky
This was my response: open.substack.com/pub/glennatu...
#writingcommunity #booksky
Finding Inspiration
Writing for yourself v. writing for publication
open.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:50 PM
An author on Substack asked the question, what inspires you to keep writing when, as writers, we have to deal with so much rejection?
This was my response: open.substack.com/pub/glennatu...
#writingcommunity #booksky
This was my response: open.substack.com/pub/glennatu...
#writingcommunity #booksky
I just read @danacann.bsky.social story Callie the Cat. Absolutely loved it!
January 26, 2026 at 12:48 AM
I just read @danacann.bsky.social story Callie the Cat. Absolutely loved it!
It was not easy to narrow down from 70+, but here are my 15 favourite reads of 2025. Most of them are #CanLit - 3 of them by Emma Hooper! Still think Tiger should have won the #Gillerprize Had a hard time choosing which Zadie Smith book to include. #booksky #books #booksread2025 #booksread
January 14, 2026 at 9:47 PM
It was not easy to narrow down from 70+, but here are my 15 favourite reads of 2025. Most of them are #CanLit - 3 of them by Emma Hooper! Still think Tiger should have won the #Gillerprize Had a hard time choosing which Zadie Smith book to include. #booksky #books #booksread2025 #booksread
I use #Goodreads to keep track of the books I read. According to their round up, I read 80 books in 2025. If you're curious to read more than the limited characters here on BlueSky, you can find me here on Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/user/year_in... #booksky
Goodreads 2025 Year in Books
Check out My 2025 Year in Books on Goodreads!
www.goodreads.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:49 PM
I use #Goodreads to keep track of the books I read. According to their round up, I read 80 books in 2025. If you're curious to read more than the limited characters here on BlueSky, you can find me here on Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/user/year_in... #booksky
I forgot to post my #booksread in December 2025! Loved the honesty and vulnerability of Toews, the plot in Bent's novel and the characters in Quinn's. #booksky
January 6, 2026 at 5:47 PM
I forgot to post my #booksread in December 2025! Loved the honesty and vulnerability of Toews, the plot in Bent's novel and the characters in Quinn's. #booksky
A strange month of reading. Reread The Scarlet Letter then Hester in Sunlight--more like a prose poem, about Hawthorne's book; a very dense read. Adored Zadie Smith's novel Swing Time, really liked Other Worlds and had a good laugh with The Heart Goes Last. #booksky #booksread #booksreadNovember
December 5, 2025 at 6:30 AM
A strange month of reading. Reread The Scarlet Letter then Hester in Sunlight--more like a prose poem, about Hawthorne's book; a very dense read. Adored Zadie Smith's novel Swing Time, really liked Other Worlds and had a good laugh with The Heart Goes Last. #booksky #booksread #booksreadNovember
Loved that book! So much better than the Hollywoodized mini-series
November 11, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Loved that book! So much better than the Hollywoodized mini-series
Well, they say, write what you know... so...
November 2, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Well, they say, write what you know... so...
Another great month of readings, with two crossed off my TBR list, four from the Giller long list and others that were recommended. Only one DNF: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Other Tales from the Crematory. Got to the section on cremating babies and couldn't get take it. #booksky #booksread
November 2, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Another great month of readings, with two crossed off my TBR list, four from the Giller long list and others that were recommended. Only one DNF: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Other Tales from the Crematory. Got to the section on cremating babies and couldn't get take it. #booksky #booksread
I'm super excited to announce, my novel, The Art of Getting Lost and Found is now available for pre-order from most book retailers, release date March 10/26. This means I can finally share the beautiful cover. #debutnovel #booksky #fiction #CanLit #breakwaterbooks #domesticviolence #mentalhealth
October 31, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I'm super excited to announce, my novel, The Art of Getting Lost and Found is now available for pre-order from most book retailers, release date March 10/26. This means I can finally share the beautiful cover. #debutnovel #booksky #fiction #CanLit #breakwaterbooks #domesticviolence #mentalhealth
My 2nd on the Giller shortlist, this novel picks up steam like, well, like a runaway train that you cannot put down when you're told right at the start that someone with a bomb is boarding the train. Full 5/5 The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue #booksky #writingcommunity #GillerPrize #books #CanLit
October 11, 2025 at 7:46 PM
My 2nd on the Giller shortlist, this novel picks up steam like, well, like a runaway train that you cannot put down when you're told right at the start that someone with a bomb is boarding the train. Full 5/5 The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue #booksky #writingcommunity #GillerPrize #books #CanLit
Wow, my first read of this year's Giller long list. Tan captivated me right from the start with his beautiful prose, excellent pacing & recurring use of space/star/constellation metaphors. One brother in a tiger costume, the other a cosmonaut, a starlit bedroom sky...full 5/5 #booksky #gillerprize
October 5, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Wow, my first read of this year's Giller long list. Tan captivated me right from the start with his beautiful prose, excellent pacing & recurring use of space/star/constellation metaphors. One brother in a tiger costume, the other a cosmonaut, a starlit bedroom sky...full 5/5 #booksky #gillerprize
Done! I'm on substack too so hopefully you'll reciprocate.
October 5, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Done! I'm on substack too so hopefully you'll reciprocate.
#booksread in September. Full 5+/5 for Cloud Cuckoo Land and loved The Sisters Brothers. My first Louise Penny book despite not being a mystery fan. Fourteen Days had so much potential but never meshed and I hated the ending. Barkskins @700+ pages was a slog and Sisters of Belfast rated 2/5.
October 4, 2025 at 7:16 PM
#booksread in September. Full 5+/5 for Cloud Cuckoo Land and loved The Sisters Brothers. My first Louise Penny book despite not being a mystery fan. Fourteen Days had so much potential but never meshed and I hated the ending. Barkskins @700+ pages was a slog and Sisters of Belfast rated 2/5.
Honestly, I cannot believe that man is still alive. He has pissed off enough people, he needs that disgusting combover just to try and hide the ever-growing bullseye on his forehead
October 4, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Honestly, I cannot believe that man is still alive. He has pissed off enough people, he needs that disgusting combover just to try and hide the ever-growing bullseye on his forehead
I purchased Scrivener 10+ years ago and never looked back. It's incredible for novels (no, I don't work for them) Saves on exit, you can open any chapter instantly without scrolling or waiting for load, has space for notes, character profiles,etc and exportable as print, word, pdf or ebook formats.
September 28, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I purchased Scrivener 10+ years ago and never looked back. It's incredible for novels (no, I don't work for them) Saves on exit, you can open any chapter instantly without scrolling or waiting for load, has space for notes, character profiles,etc and exportable as print, word, pdf or ebook formats.
Best advice I've been given on this is, let it sit and simmer for at least a month or two before starting into revisions. Just think about it but don't touch it. When you finally do go back into it, read it from start to finish and make notes on what it needs. Then dive in! #writerscommunity
September 18, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Best advice I've been given on this is, let it sit and simmer for at least a month or two before starting into revisions. Just think about it but don't touch it. When you finally do go back into it, read it from start to finish and make notes on what it needs. Then dive in! #writerscommunity
I still write many things in first person although the novel I'm just finishing is a double narrative where one is in first and the other in third. I've written several cnf pieces in second person as well--sometimes it's the only way to deal with a really tough subject.
September 18, 2025 at 7:01 PM
I still write many things in first person although the novel I'm just finishing is a double narrative where one is in first and the other in third. I've written several cnf pieces in second person as well--sometimes it's the only way to deal with a really tough subject.
I am a true "pantser" and fly by the seat of my pants all the way, from short stories to novels. Once I set my characters into motion, it's a wild ride to try and keep up with them and roping them in trying to redirect them only results in forced scenes. I envy those who can do it the other way!
Do you outline like a planner, or do you follow the chaos?
#5amwritersclub #AuthorsofTwitter #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #WIP #IndieAuthor #HIP #OnceUponAQuestion #AmWriting #WritingCommunity
#5amwritersclub #AuthorsofTwitter #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #WIP #IndieAuthor #HIP #OnceUponAQuestion #AmWriting #WritingCommunity
September 18, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I am a true "pantser" and fly by the seat of my pants all the way, from short stories to novels. Once I set my characters into motion, it's a wild ride to try and keep up with them and roping them in trying to redirect them only results in forced scenes. I envy those who can do it the other way!
20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order:
Day 9: Kate Atkinson
Initially hooked on her short story collection, love her quirky sense of humour and adored her latest, Shrines of Gaiety.
#readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish
Day 9: Kate Atkinson
Initially hooked on her short story collection, love her quirky sense of humour and adored her latest, Shrines of Gaiety.
#readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish
September 18, 2025 at 6:55 PM
20 authors you'd recommend to a friend, 1 per day in no particular order:
Day 9: Kate Atkinson
Initially hooked on her short story collection, love her quirky sense of humour and adored her latest, Shrines of Gaiety.
#readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish
Day 9: Kate Atkinson
Initially hooked on her short story collection, love her quirky sense of humour and adored her latest, Shrines of Gaiety.
#readingchallenge #books #booksky #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish
First Colbert. Now Kimmel. Threatening broadcasting licenses to networks not spewing #MAGA propaganda is scary. There's only one way to make America great again, and silencing the truth is NOT it! American, you're becoming as censored as North Korea and China. #Trump needs to go #censorship #Kimmel
September 18, 2025 at 6:52 PM
First Colbert. Now Kimmel. Threatening broadcasting licenses to networks not spewing #MAGA propaganda is scary. There's only one way to make America great again, and silencing the truth is NOT it! American, you're becoming as censored as North Korea and China. #Trump needs to go #censorship #Kimmel