Astrid Cartesian, Author
@astridcartesian.bsky.social
Author of adventure and action novels. Working on OPERATION NACHTHEXEN as my first adventure historical fiction novel.
Real talk: Some days writing feels like magic. Other days it feels like pulling words out of concrete. Both are valid. Both are work.
November 15, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Real talk: Some days writing feels like magic. Other days it feels like pulling words out of concrete. Both are valid. Both are work.
Writing dialogue for a character who's flying through flak while her navigator shouts coordinates is a special kind of chaos. I have to stand up and pace it out. The neighbors think I'm unhinged.
November 15, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Writing dialogue for a character who's flying through flak while her navigator shouts coordinates is a special kind of chaos. I have to stand up and pace it out. The neighbors think I'm unhinged.
The distance between takeoff and target: usually 10-20 miles. The distance between life and death: a few feet of canvas and wood. They knew the math and flew anyway.
November 15, 2025 at 3:16 AM
The distance between takeoff and target: usually 10-20 miles. The distance between life and death: a few feet of canvas and wood. They knew the math and flew anyway.
Shoutout to archivists everywhere. You're the real MVPs. Without you, stories like the Night Witches might have stayed buried in dusty records.
November 14, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Shoutout to archivists everywhere. You're the real MVPs. Without you, stories like the Night Witches might have stayed buried in dusty records.
The Po-2 had a maximum speed of 94 mph. Modern cars on the highway go faster. These women bombed German positions in what was essentially a flying lawn chair.
November 14, 2025 at 3:25 PM
The Po-2 had a maximum speed of 94 mph. Modern cars on the highway go faster. These women bombed German positions in what was essentially a flying lawn chair.
The Night Witches navigated with maps, stopwatches, and pencils. No radar. No GPS. Just math, landmarks, and nerves of steel.
November 14, 2025 at 5:31 AM
The Night Witches navigated with maps, stopwatches, and pencils. No radar. No GPS. Just math, landmarks, and nerves of steel.
I write adventure fiction for people who want their adrenaline grounded in reality. If it happened, it can be thrilling. It should be.
November 14, 2025 at 4:18 AM
I write adventure fiction for people who want their adrenaline grounded in reality. If it happened, it can be thrilling. It should be.
Today's achievement: Wrote a bombing run scene that made me physically tense while typing. If I'm stressed, the reader will be stressed. That's the theory anyway.
November 14, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Today's achievement: Wrote a bombing run scene that made me physically tense while typing. If I'm stressed, the reader will be stressed. That's the theory anyway.
Landing a damaged plane in the dark, on a makeshift airfield, with no lights to guide you. That's not in the training manual. That's just survival.
November 13, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Landing a damaged plane in the dark, on a makeshift airfield, with no lights to guide you. That's not in the training manual. That's just survival.
Picture this: Darkness so complete you can't see your own hand. The only light is enemy searchlights hunting for you. You cut the engine and glide. This was routine for them.
November 13, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Picture this: Darkness so complete you can't see your own hand. The only light is enemy searchlights hunting for you. You cut the engine and glide. This was routine for them.
23 of the Night Witches were awarded Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest military honor. Only 23 out of hundreds who served. War doesn't always recognize its heroes.
November 13, 2025 at 5:27 AM
23 of the Night Witches were awarded Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest military honor. Only 23 out of hundreds who served. War doesn't always recognize its heroes.
Just spent an hour debating whether my character would say "aircraft" or "plane" in 1943. This is what my English degree prepared me for.
November 13, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Just spent an hour debating whether my character would say "aircraft" or "plane" in 1943. This is what my English degree prepared me for.
My partner just asked "Are you researching or procrastinating?" and honestly, with historical fiction, it's both simultaneously.
November 13, 2025 at 2:30 AM
My partner just asked "Are you researching or procrastinating?" and honestly, with historical fiction, it's both simultaneously.
Writing historical fiction means honoring the people who lived it. They weren't characters. They were real, and they deserve better than mythology.
November 12, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Writing historical fiction means honoring the people who lived it. They weren't characters. They were real, and they deserve better than mythology.
Writers: What's the weirdest thing you've researched for your book? I need to know I'm not alone in my search history chaos.
November 12, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Writers: What's the weirdest thing you've researched for your book? I need to know I'm not alone in my search history chaos.
Deleted 3,000 words today. Hurt less than expected. Sometimes you have to write the wrong version to find the right one.
November 12, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Deleted 3,000 words today. Hurt less than expected. Sometimes you have to write the wrong version to find the right one.
My browser history is 40% Soviet aviation manuals, 30% Russian winter survival guides, 20% "how to write faster," and 10% "is this much coffee bad for you."
November 12, 2025 at 3:11 AM
My browser history is 40% Soviet aviation manuals, 30% Russian winter survival guides, 20% "how to write faster," and 10% "is this much coffee bad for you."
Irina Sebrova flew 1,008 sorties. One thousand and eight. She survived the war and lived until 2000. Sometimes the heroes make it home.
November 12, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Irina Sebrova flew 1,008 sorties. One thousand and eight. She survived the war and lived until 2000. Sometimes the heroes make it home.
Marina Raskova convinced Stalin to let women fly combat missions by basically refusing to take no for an answer. Sometimes changing history means being the most persistent person in the room.
November 11, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Marina Raskova convinced Stalin to let women fly combat missions by basically refusing to take no for an answer. Sometimes changing history means being the most persistent person in the room.
The Night Witches dropped 23,000 tons of bombs during the war. That's meticulous, repeated, dangerous work. Night after night after night.
November 11, 2025 at 2:17 PM
The Night Witches dropped 23,000 tons of bombs during the war. That's meticulous, repeated, dangerous work. Night after night after night.
Imagine being 19, flying through searchlight beams with nothing but linen between you and the ground, dropping bombs by hand calculation. Then doing it again. And again. That was just Tuesday for the 588th.
November 11, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Imagine being 19, flying through searchlight beams with nothing but linen between you and the ground, dropping bombs by hand calculation. Then doing it again. And again. That was just Tuesday for the 588th.
Historical accuracy isn't boring. The real story of the Night Witches is more thrilling than anything I could fabricate. My job is just to make you feel it.
November 11, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Historical accuracy isn't boring. The real story of the Night Witches is more thrilling than anything I could fabricate. My job is just to make you feel it.
The youngest Night Witch was 17. Seventeen. Still young enough to believe nothing could touch her and old enough to know better. She flew anyway.
November 11, 2025 at 1:19 AM
The youngest Night Witch was 17. Seventeen. Still young enough to believe nothing could touch her and old enough to know better. She flew anyway.
Today's writing soundtrack: Soviet military marches and the ambient sound of propeller engines. My Spotify Wrapped is going to be weird this year.
November 10, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Today's writing soundtrack: Soviet military marches and the ambient sound of propeller engines. My Spotify Wrapped is going to be weird this year.
The Germans put a bounty on Night Witches pilots. Getting shot down by a "lady pilot" was considered shameful. The misogyny was the point - and the 588th used it as psychological warfare.
November 10, 2025 at 7:48 PM
The Germans put a bounty on Night Witches pilots. Getting shot down by a "lady pilot" was considered shameful. The misogyny was the point - and the 588th used it as psychological warfare.