Cat Kimbriel
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catkimbriel.bsky.social
Cat Kimbriel
@catkimbriel.bsky.social
2.5K followers 1K following 19K posts
Writer (mostly SFFH) navigating Life, Interrupted. Avatar by Ethan Kocak. My sunset photo. Lead with kindness. 😷

https://linktr.ee/dragonrain33

Most current pubs https://bookviewcafe.com/bvc_author/katharine-eliska-kimbriel/
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catkimbriel.bsky.social
My Burmese boys, now ghost kitties. But always nearby.
Two sable brown Burmese cats are sprawled in a cream-colored, heated pet bed sitting on top of a queen sized mattress. Photo by KE Kimbriel, copyright 2009.
November 17, 2025 at 2:32 AM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
For starters, a cat opinion about snow.
A single cat paw print in icy snow tells us everything we need to know about how this cat felt about the weather beyond its door.
November 17, 2025 at 2:24 AM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Opinion of many if not most cats:
ALT IMAGE: A single, clear cat paw print in snow. It looks like a cat reached one paw past a threshold, placed a paw, and then pushed off back the way it came. FIRMLY pushed off, down to ice/concrete. A definite NOPE. ALT TEXT: (Black band across image with white letters.) How my cat feels about snow
November 14, 2025 at 7:09 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Valuable quote I keep in mind.

It's writer Kurt Vonnegut, talking about writer Joseph Heller, who was talking about billionaires.
JOE HELLER True story, Word of Honor: Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer, now dead, and I were at a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island. I said, "Joe, how does it make you feel to know that our host only yesterday may have made more money than your novel 'Catch-22' has earned in its entire history?" And Joe said, "I've got something he can never have." And I said, "What on earth could that be, Joe?" And Joe said, "The knowledge that I've got enough." Not bad! Rest in peace! - Kurt Vonnegut, The New Yorker
October 27, 2025 at 12:58 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
"Where's Milo?"

"Watching some new thing called MTV."
The iconic BLOOM COUNTY image (by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Berkeley Breathed.) It's a perfect parody of the Maxwell audio/videotape ads, only instead of a stereo speaker blowing the man in shades out of his chair, the rock videos on the TV are shaking Milo's world. He has sunglasses, a Bob Dylan tie flying in the breeze, and a martini leaping off the side table. Milo Bloom is gripping the arms of an old wrap-around vinyl chair so he won't blow away. Even the lampshade to his right is tilting from the force of the music.
October 13, 2025 at 8:31 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
@davidatkinsonpoet.bsky.social commented:

"There is something hauntingly beautiful in this juxtaposition of sadness and hope"

'Although the wind'
- Izumi Shikibu

#poetry
#poemoftheday
#ALTforyou
"Although the wind …” BY IZUMI SHIKIBU TRANSLATED BY JANE HIRSHFIELD Although the wind blows terribly here, the moonlight also leaks between the roof planks of this ruined house.
September 26, 2025 at 11:36 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
THE PHOENIX FEATHER OMNIBUS by Sherwood Smith: FLEDGLINGS, REDBARK, FIREBOLT, & DRAGON AND PHOENIX.

Visit Sherwood's ❤️ song to East Asian history, literature, & art with disguises, secret identities, cultivation arcs, family sagas, & even “there was just one bed!”

bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announce...
[ALT TEXT: THE PHOENIX FEATHER OMNIBUS, four complete novels. FLEDGLINGS * REDBARK * FIREBOLT * DRAGON AND PHOENIX. By Sherwood Smith. ] [ALT IMAGE: A simple book cover of matte gold, with black text and white blossoms that may be cherry blossoms, along with a circle of black and white patterned tiles and within the circle a glorious phoenix drawn in back and white.] Sherwood Smith’s media happy place tends toward braided tales, with characters growing and changing in a world both breathtaking and strange, where striving to become the best one can be matters. She found that in Chinese and Korean historical dramas, which kicked off years of immersion in East Asian history, literature, art, and language. In 2020 when the world hibernated from the pandemic, she began writing The Phoenix Feather quartet, drawing on all those influences, and throwing in all the tropes she liked best—disguises and secret identities, cultivation arcs, big tropes such as family sagas, and little ones such as “there was just one bed!” Premise: Twenty-five years ago a pair of lovers ran for their lives from an angry prince and washed up on an island where they adopted new identities—and found themselves blessed by an omen promising great things, a single golden phoenix feather. Then their three children were born, and found themselves cast out into the world. . . .
September 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
I'm amused. I probably share five images in 24 hours. I'm probably around 99.?% I share two or three people who don't ALT for Reasons and they describe their photos so well, it's an ALT. Or I build an ALT and share.

This is from cred.blue/alt-text.
This is a screenshot of an individual's Alt Text Rating from https://cred.blue/alt-text. The Bsky user (writer Cat Kimbriel) is amused because it analyzed 1846 posts and found 5 contained images, no replies, five contained ALT Text. Score: 100.00% (Smiley, happy emoticon next to percentage.) She figures she shares or posts five images per 24 hours.
September 14, 2025 at 2:27 AM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Hop on a trip through time & space using THE TIME MACHINE GENE. #SF #mystery

"Dreams, delusions, hallucinations--past lives? Whatever they are, I want them to stop."

Peter August is a puzzle piece in a mystery that could change how humans perceive reality. . . .

bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announce...
[ALT TEXT: THE TIME MACHINE GENE, a Peter August Mystery by Anthony Frangione & New York Times Bestselling Author Maya Kathryn Bohnhoff ] [ALT IMAGE: On a cover of vivid orange and gold clouds and light, layered on castles and Victorian buildings of deep russet brown, a similarly painted coffin of a pharaoh of all Egypt faces the reader. The eyes are very natural and seem to be contemplating the viewer. In the lower left hand corner next to the words "a Peter August Mystery" is a tiny white silhouette of a Pony Express rider.] Writers Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff & Anthony Frangione are about to take you on a claustrophobic, mind-expanding trip through time and space using THE TIME MACHINE GENE. An original SF mystery from Book View Cafe. "Dreams, delusions, hallucinations--past lives? Whatever they are, I want them to stop." Peter August is a puzzle piece in a mystery that could change how humans perceive reality. He has the ability to track a missing artifact through time, and he has to figure out why others are willing to kill for it. Because the answer might change everything. . .and not in a good way.
September 9, 2025 at 4:29 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Book View Cafe & @patriceauthor.bsky.social are delighted to bring you THE SCOUNDREL'S DEADLY DEED, #2 of Pat's new Gravesyde Village Mysteries. Historical mystery spiced with romance!

Remember, second chances can be murder.

Try a sample!

bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announce...
[ALT TEXT: THE SCOUNDREL'S DEADLY DEED, Gravesyde Village Mystery Book Two by New York Times Bestselling Author Patricia Rice. "Second chances can be murder . . . "] [ALT IMAGE: A dark book cover with decorative gold lettering at the top and bottom. In the large center, storm clouds are parting, bright light seen at a distant horizon past a village, woods and a lake. A well-manicured farm, sheep grazing on a hill, can be seen in the center. Close to the viewer are two figures, one a young woman with flaming red hair looking off to the right of the picture. She's dressed in a vivid green floor length dress. Several feet behind her is a gentleman in dark business clothing, also looking to the right of the frame, intent on something happening beyond our view. ]
July 15, 2025 at 7:52 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
ALT IMAGE: Captain America in his uniform, blue light reflecting off him as he stands looking down and out of a comic box frame. His expression is implacable. ALT TEXT: DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE PRESS SAYS. DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE POLITICIANS OR THE MOBS SAY. DOESN'T MATTER IF THE WHOLE COUNTRY DECIDES THAT SOMETHING WRONG IS SOMETHING RIGHT. THIS NATION WAS FOUNDED ON ONE PRINCIPLE ABOVE ALL ELSE: THE REQUIREMENT THAT WE STAND UP FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE, NO MATTER THE ODDS OR THE CONSEQUENCES. WHEN THE MOB AND THE PRESS AND THE WHOLE WORLD TELL YOU TO MOVE, YOUR JOB IS TO PLANT YOURSELF LIKE A TREE BESIDE THE RIVER OF TRUTH, AND TELL THE WHOLE WORLD-- --"NO, YOU MOVE."
June 30, 2025 at 3:00 AM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
My tags (that are going to be Solstice tree ornaments) came from @kikidoodle.bsky.social ! ❤️ 🐈‍⬛

Plus several void stickers, so cute. Now I have to decide if a friend needs void ornaments, too. 🤔

Those stickers will likely end up on my laptop or ereader....
For this year's Solstice Tree, pet tags designed by Kiki from Kikidoodle.com, engraved for beloved cats already at the Rainbow Bridge. Kiki put a simple key ring in gold on them for me. This side of the business card also has / purrmaids.com / kikidoodleart@gmailcom on it. The little girl who is fishing is demurely ignoring her skinny void cat. Void cat is reaching down to paw at a Purrmaid, a half fish, have cat creature, who has risen above the water to make eye/gaze contact with the small void cat. (This may be inspiring chaos into the Solstice season, as all of these cats whose names are engraved here knew what a Solstice tree was for, and it was not for remaining covered with things that glittered and swayed in the wind. But my tree is unique, and carries my past and future on it. So--new ornaments.)
June 19, 2025 at 9:55 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
BVC presents DESCENDING FROM THE MOON by Steven Popkes.

LeRoy Parkin had a secret: a project to raise the intelligence of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, & baboons to human levels.

Then the apes began discussing who they were and what they wanted. . . .

bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announce...
[ALT TEXT: DESCENDING FROM THE MOON by Steven Popkes ] [ALT IMAGE: Under a full moon and a starry sky, a gorilla is playing a gleaming white upright piano. There's a tree leafed out above the back of the instrument, and also an adult pangolin standing on top of the piano.]
June 17, 2025 at 7:24 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
I admit I started laughing. . . .

#parody #humor
A green pixels parody design of a Conestoga wagon and oxen echoing the 1980's Oregon Trail Game. This image appeared with a boxed label when something had gone catastrophically wrong. e.g. "You have just died of dysentery."
June 12, 2025 at 11:57 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Here's an ALT version for you!
SOME ARE POSTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA SOME ARE PROTESTING IN THE STREETS SOME ARE DONATING SILENTLY SOME ARE EDUCATING THEMSELVES SOME ARE HAVING TOUGH CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY A REVOLUTION HAS MANY LAYERS BE KIND TO YOURSELF AND TO OTHERS WHO ARE TRAVELING IN THE SAME DIRECTION JUST KEEP YOUR FOOT ON THE GAS. --Author currently unknown
June 10, 2025 at 7:50 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
New from Book View Cafe!

Ridley “Trouble” Matthews is a blank slate.

“Who am I?”

For some people, this is a philosophical question. For “Trouble” Matthews, it’s an existential one.

And knowing the answer could be just as deadly as not knowing.

Read a sample: bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announce...
[ALT TEXT: A SEA OF STARS AND TROUBLE by New York Times Bestselling Author Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. "...a colorful and swash-buckling space adventure... with a rogues' galley of interesting characters." -- Kevin J. Anderson ] [ALT IMAGE: Against a section of deep space covered in stars and cosmic dust, a man's strong-featured face seems to appear from the darkness. He looks as if his dark gaze is fastened on the reader.]
June 3, 2025 at 2:40 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Happy Pride Month to all my friends who celebrate!

Enjoy Georgie's art. 🌸

www.duniathcomics.com
ALT TEXT: More Pride Less Prejudice. Below text is the logo of Duniath Comics, https://www.duniathcomics.com/ (Art by Georgie Castilla.) ALT IMAGE: A full rainbow plus more stripes are a vertical backdrop to a smiling sideways figure dressed in a Regency England period dress, holding a cup of hot tea, the steam forming a heart. https://www.duniathcomics.com/
June 1, 2025 at 5:09 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Philadelphia, 1950‘s: a boy, a baseball, a cockroach. Unlikely place. Unlikely characters. Unlikely love story.

Book View Cafe brings you @mayakbohnhoff.bsky.social's very personal fantasy A PRINCESS OF PASSYUNK in #ebook. Where Maya proves there's New World magic!

bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announce...
[ALT TEXT: A PRINCESS OF PASSYUNK by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. "Philadelphia, 1950's: a boy, a magic baseball . . . a cockroach. Unlikely place. Unlikely characters. Unlikely love story.] [ALT IMAGE: A top and bottom frame of warm brown with pale letters edges a photo montage of vintage 1950s brick sidewalks, old mercury vapor lights. . .and a fiery burst of lights over a trashcan in a dark alley. In the center, a youth in a hooded navy blue sweatshirt is looking to his left, out at the viewer. He's holding a suspiciously white baseball, and a cockroach is sitting on the ball.]
May 20, 2025 at 7:48 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
As a friend says, I am too nice to live. (They are wrong, I am too kind to live, but not Nice.)

You are 76.7% good, 51.7% lawful, making you lawful good.

Then where does all the chaos come from? I must open temporal portals a lot. 🤨
A Moral Alignment Test with Good----Evil and Lawful----Chaotic in a 3x3 nine square grid shows a dot at high Lawful Good. "You are 76.7% good, 51.7% lawful, making you lawful good."
May 7, 2025 at 5:38 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Thank you! 🌸 I write dark fantasy, SF, and ghost stories. Most of them can be found at Book View Cafe, an Indie coop. Also Kobo, in paper at Bookshop & Powell's, and B&N & the Zon, because argh! (Considered by some cozies, but not Nice.) The POV lives!

bookviewcafe.com/bvc_author/k...
Cover of NIGHT CALLS by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel. TEXT: When you have the Gift, your life is not your own. "I wasn't there when Papa killed the wolf. But then girls usually aren't allowed to hunt them. This was an ongoing argument in our household, the hunting thing, and that night was no different" Locus review quote, also. Lots of red veils and sparkles!
May 5, 2025 at 11:36 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Today will need more coffee. . . .
Photo of Grumpy Cat looking off to viewer's left. TEXT reads "How do I take my coffee?" Below the cat, larger print says: "Seriously, very seriously."
May 1, 2025 at 2:09 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Need a good source on the art of world building? You can collect Marie Brennan's NEW WORLDS series and gain essential understanding of the things that make good fiction! Now available--NEW WORLDS*YEAR EIGHT, More Essays on the Art of Worldbuilding.

bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announce...
[ALT TEXT: NEW WORLDS * YEAR EIGHT. More Essays on the Art of Worldbuilding. By Marie Brennan, Author of THE MEMOIRS OF LADY TRENT.] [ALT IMAGE: Against a black background, a giant spiral pinwheel of reds, oranges, greens, and glints of gold spins in the center of the cover.]
April 29, 2025 at 3:11 PM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
With thanks to @silona.bsky.social because this is how it feels at the best of times.
America is finally being run like a business: a business acquired by private equity that's being stripped for parts before being liquidated.
April 13, 2025 at 1:53 AM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Here's our Betty with an ALT Text.
(Mrs. Betty Bowers icon/avatar top left of screen.) ALT TEXT: Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social I learned this week that you can put our troops' lives in danger, compromise our national security, and violate the Espionage Act. And the government will do nothing. But if you write an editorial for your school newspaper that Trump doesn't like, you will be abducted on the street and disappeared.
March 29, 2025 at 1:09 AM
catkimbriel.bsky.social
Let's see if I can ALT this....
Sepia-colored photo of a long library table, someone working at a computer with their back to the photographer. The wall beyond is floor to ceiling bookshelves. Across a brown banner reads white text: Writers - Teachers - Librarians Go on Being Dangerous (Dangerous is underlined in a slash of red.) Below: "The first people a dictator puts in jail after a coup are the writers, the teachers, the librarians - because these people are dangerous. They have enough vocabulary to recognize injustice and to speak out loudly about it. Let us have the courage to go on being dangerous people." ~ Madeleine L'Engle badassteacher.org @BadassTeachersA] (BAT logo suggests a bat and a flame)
March 19, 2025 at 12:48 AM