A.J. McCrae
LightNews LightNews
banner
ajmccrae.com
A.J. McCrae
@ajmccrae.com
100 followers 220 following 100 posts
Neurospicy fantasy/horror author. Appalachian green witch. Devourer of books. Eternally in my spooky era. 💜 she/her

ajmccrae.com
Posts Replies Media Videos
ajmccrae.com
It's hard not to feel a little witchy when 2 crows follow you on your walk ✨
A crow looking to the right while perched in a tree that's lost its leaves. A second crow on a different tree branch watching overhead.
November 13, 2025 at 7:27 PM
ajmccrae.com
Back on my mask nonsense with my heavily Gothic horromance inspired Wild Hunt novel and it's absolutely not because I watched Frankenstein and Crimson Peak recently.

Completely unrelated. Couldn't be further from the thing.

Maybe I should re-watch Van Helsing next....
#amwriting
A large red and gold jester mask, a dark brown and gold upper half face Incognito: Masks in the Serene Republic. A gold, blue, and white half face mask sittingmask, and a cold and blue half face mask sitting next to a reMarkable tablet displaying the book Venice on a reMarkable tablet displaying Chapter 1 of a book, titled Casanova's Carnival.
November 13, 2025 at 1:19 AM
ajmccrae.com
New novel already has a graveyard ☠️ Starting strong! #AmWriting
Screenshot of the Word app with the text "GRAVEYARD" in the middle of the document.
November 2, 2025 at 2:28 PM
ajmccrae.com
Oh, to be a cat whose human has been trying to work through a sticky plot point for the last 2 hours #amwriting
One of my tabby cats with his eyes closed and paw stretched out in pure unbothered sleep.
October 26, 2025 at 1:43 AM
ajmccrae.com
I started Sarah Rees Brennan's LONG LIVE EVIL last month as a buddy read with @dhstrange.bsky.social then proceeded to have like 3 weeks of no reading time 😅

But I finally finished it and it was fun! Lots of excellent foreshadowing and breadcrumb trails to follow. Can't wait for the sequel!! 💙📚
Me holding up Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan in front of a packed bookshelf of other fantasy and sci-fi titles. A copy of the fantasy book Long Live Evil standing spine-out on a bookshelf with a skull next to it. The fantasy book Long Live Evil open to chapter three titled The Lady Does Dark Magic.
October 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
ajmccrae.com
Woolly bear sighting while walking the dog today. Seen a few with a similar pattern. When I was little, I used to gather them up in a small bucket to see what kind of winter we were having 🐛
October 20, 2025 at 7:14 PM
ajmccrae.com
Chillin' like a villain on this #caturday 😈

Stayed up way too late finishing LONG LIVE EVIL by Sarah Rees Brennan last night (very villain coded 😉). Started it over a month ago and just haven't had much time for reading. But all done and ready for the sequel next year!
My black cat leaning against a windowsill looking out, surrounded by white curtains. My black cat seeing me watching her and turning to face me instead of the window.
October 18, 2025 at 3:37 PM
ajmccrae.com
Looks like I need to start developing a love of black walnuts 😂
Multiple buckets overflowing with the green hulls of black walnuts.
October 17, 2025 at 3:54 PM
ajmccrae.com
There is something deeply satisfying about watching a plant grow 🌿🪴
A zoomed out view of a pothos plant with roots exposed in a clear glass jar filled with water. A close-up of a pothos plant propogated in a clear glass jar, with roots visible.
October 16, 2025 at 2:58 PM
ajmccrae.com
Alright bluesky, I have a 10 gal bucket quickly filling up with black walnuts and more to come from my tree. Started collecting them so I wouldn't hit them with the mower but would love to use them.

Any suggestions/ideas/fave recipes to share?
#gardening #food #foraging
A white bucket full of the round green hulls of black walnuts.
October 15, 2025 at 9:28 PM
ajmccrae.com
The final #gardening haul for this year. After an exceptionally late start getting my seedlings planted (the ones still alive at that point...) I'm thrilled I got this much! But, alas, the frosts are coming more regularly so harvested what I could to ripen indoors.

Next year, I shall plant sooner 😅
A basket of green tomatoes and two small bell peppers, and a smaller plastic container with jalapeño peppers and chili peppers.
October 14, 2025 at 10:00 PM
ajmccrae.com
Something you might not know about me... I'm a certified fern killer 🌿💀

So what does my grandmother do? Entrust me with her beloved fern for the winter while she's away...

Wish me luck 😅 If anyone has tips/tricks for keeping ferns alive, please let me know!!
#PlantSky #HousePlants
A fern with its fuzzy roots sticking out of a basket, sitting on a fireplace mantle with books in the background. A full view of a fern in a basket on a fireplace mantle.
October 7, 2025 at 5:31 PM
ajmccrae.com
There's something eerie, almost uncanny, when the woods go silent, when the white noise of the peepers and crickets and katydids dies off and all you're left with is the sound of your own heart racing. #AmWriting #Horror #LGBTQWriteAThon
She stopped walking and stilled, allowing her clothes to hide the rise and fall of her chest. The near dark enveloped her with a weighted silence, the wood inhabitants quiet. Her sister remained quiet. Too quiet.
October 5, 2025 at 10:57 PM
ajmccrae.com
Happy #Caturday! May your weekend plans go smoothly and free of judgment from our fellow feline friends (I don't see that in my future... 😂)
One of my tabby cats staring at me with a disappointed expression.
October 4, 2025 at 3:59 PM
ajmccrae.com
I don't have anything to promote right now so I'm cheating a little and using today's prompt to promote some other books that I think would be perfect to read this month!

Ghosts and goblins, witches and crows, bones and plants and spiders and everything in between, take your pick!
#LGBTQWriteAThon
A stack of books next to a plant. The books include: Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal, Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings, Asunder by Kerstin Hall, The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw, A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock, But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo, Not Good for Maidens by Tori Bovalino, Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis, A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley, Saint Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney, and The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen.
October 3, 2025 at 1:17 PM
ajmccrae.com
The pup hates the cold and now that the nights are getting cooler, we're back to blanket snuggles 💜
My dog staring into the camera with a blanket wrapped around his head and body
October 3, 2025 at 12:31 AM
ajmccrae.com
From my current Appalachian folk horror WIP 🍄 #SFFChat
Kat started to pull the phone from her ear when she felt a feather-light touch on her cheek. She jumped and her hand flew up involuntarily. It should have launched the phone deep into the brush. Except another touch followed with more pressure, smooth and cold, and her phone remained attached to her hand. She held it to at eye level and squinted in the dark. Where the screen had been, mushrooms emerged, their caps glowing the same color as the pieces of the phone not yet consumed. A vine stretched out of the charging port and snaked toward her, rubbing against her face. Kat batted it away only to find it had already wrapped around her neck. She ripped at it, breaking through one stand only for another to take its place. A scream rose in her throat but nothing more than strangled breaths escaped her mouth.
October 2, 2025 at 11:11 PM
ajmccrae.com
My stickers arrived today which meant it was finally time to decorate the new laptop (case)! This is my favorite part of getting a new device 💜
A laptop case covered with a stupid amount of nerdy and geeky stickers about writing, spooky stuff, and more.
October 2, 2025 at 9:49 PM
ajmccrae.com
It only took all season but my snapdragons have entered the garden! I'll be honest, I only planted them because, when they dry up, they look like little skulls 😂

Only managed a few blooms this year but hopefully next year will go better! 🌿 #GardenSky
A snapdragon flower bloom in sunset colors from pale yellow to pale pink. Another snapdragon flower bloom in pale pink. Another snapdragon flower bloom in pale yellow.
September 30, 2025 at 3:14 PM
ajmccrae.com
Forgot I had my camera zoomed in for another photo and went to take one of my cat...

The absolute SASS I am getting, my goodness.
One of my tabby cats looking down at me with pure judgment for my attempts to photograph him in what I thought would be a cute pose.
September 29, 2025 at 1:20 AM
ajmccrae.com
One of my favorite parts of getting a new device is decorating it with stickers. My new laptop arrived today so got the case on it and couldn't resist adding at least one on there while I wait for the ones I ordered to arrive 😅
The back of a silver laptop with a holographic skull sticker in the center that reads "Everything is fine"
September 25, 2025 at 6:18 PM
ajmccrae.com
I've always wanted a fireplace with a decorated mantle and finally have one! Currently using it for my fall TBR and all sorts of spooky reads 📚💙
A partial view of my fireplace mantle with my fall TBR, featuring horror and paranormal books, as well as a goat skull, ghost figurine, and metal dragon sculpture. The books include: House of Hunger, Starling House, Comfort Me With Apples, Foul Days, Our Hideous Progeny, Flyaway, Mexican Gothic, Gods of Jade and Shadow, The Death of Jane Lawrence, Blood on the Tongue, and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. A partial view of my fireplace mantle and fall TBR of horror and paranormal books, as well as a wolf skull, ghost figurine, and half a human skeleton with its head leaning on its arm. The books include: Sister Maiden Monster, What Moves the Dead, The Salt Grows Heavy, Nothing But Blackened Teeth, Black River Orchard, Motheater, Honeyeater, Deathless, A House With Good Bones, and The Hacienda.
September 25, 2025 at 2:47 PM
ajmccrae.com
It's my lucky day! My pre-order of @toribovalino.bsky.social's new book, THE SECOND DEATH OF LOCKE, arrived 2 days early! 😍 Looks like I know what I'll be reading tonight 📚💙
Me, holding up the paperback of The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino in front of a bookshelf. The cover features a feminine figure wearing armor with a sword cutting across.
September 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
ajmccrae.com
Recently read Jamie Nash's SAVE THE CAT! WRITES HORROR and it might have made me like the StC story structure a little?

Will I follow it verbatim? Absolutely not, but there's some useful stuff in there that's helped me unstick a few points already!

#HorrorWriters 📚💙
Me, holding up my Kobo in front of bookshelves with a copy of Save the Cat! Writes Horror by Jamie Nash on the screen. The cover features a black cat dangling from a rope.
September 23, 2025 at 5:22 PM
ajmccrae.com
Today's Fall haul from Aldi and our local bargain outlet! The pumpkin cookware is adorable and the blankets are SO SOFT (and match my all-year decor perfectly!)
Three pumpkin-shaped casserole dishes, two orange and one white, sitting on a blanket. Three blankets stacked on each other, two in different shades of muted green and the third a navy blue with mushrooms and flowers on it. Two large pumpkins sitting in front of a brick wall.
September 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM