Lauren Dostal
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doslauren.bsky.social
Lauren Dostal
@doslauren.bsky.social
500 followers 340 following 330 posts
Writer of SFF, poetry, and other weird stuff
Currently reading for Black Lily Zine
Work in HAD, Liminality, Partisan Hotel, and others
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doslauren.bsky.social
Why does this remind me of the Outer Worlds posters?
Poster from the video game, “Outer Wilds” saying, “Halcyon: why stay earthbound when prosperity awaits in the stars? “Come to Halcyon, the only colony on the edge of the frontier that is owned and operated by distinguished corporations!”
April 15, 2025 at 1:39 AM
doslauren.bsky.social
Correction: 5 disks. Real ones remember hitting certain areas of the map and having to insert a new CD and wait 5 min while it loaded.
An original set of 5 CDs for the computer game, Riven.
April 12, 2025 at 8:10 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
The boys decided to open a diner in the kitchen and make everyone breakfast and I hope their lifelong ambition remains feeding the people they love.
An “appetizer” of fresh fruit on a porch table beside my book, “The Last Unicorn”, glasses, and water bottle.
March 23, 2025 at 1:55 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
New book stack from Bookmarks.
Three books leaning against a lamp: Toward Eternity by Anton Hur American War by Omar El Akkad The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
February 25, 2025 at 12:33 AM
doslauren.bsky.social
Hi, yes, may I interest you in KDrama meets raging feminist vibes?
A woman holds a copy of “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” by Cho Nam-Joo, translated from the Korean by Jamie Chang
February 23, 2025 at 7:31 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Snow bird
A cardinal on a tree branch. It’s snowing in the background.
February 19, 2025 at 6:17 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Book mail from Octopus Books!!

Terror Terrible Terrific by Rebecca Wadlinger
Broadax by Amy Lawless
two slim poetry books side by side on a desk. Broadax by Amy Lawless has a minimalist mint green cover with a small white rectangle and the title in white text. Terror, Terrible, Terrific by Rebecca Wadlinger depicts a ghost-like cartoon figure with a white umbrella holding back red rain against a black background.
January 30, 2025 at 10:14 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
I think he read about the NIH funding idea in a book called, “How to Tank the Economy in 3 Days or Less!”

Find your state (and call your reps!): www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...
Screenshot showing the NIH funding for North Carolina. NIH awards funding: $2.28 B Jobs supported: 25,081 Economic activity supported: $5.34 B
January 24, 2025 at 1:03 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
GET THEM, PENNY
A ferocious kitty roars, her bottom fangs sharp and ready to tear through the oligarchs. Her top teeth… well they are gone because actually she is geriatric, but don’t tell her that. She is a LIONESS.
January 20, 2025 at 8:34 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Cat and coffee kinda rainy morning.
A tortie cat sitting on the arm of a couch. Next to her is a tall metal side table with a clay coffee mug on top.
January 18, 2025 at 3:42 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
I wish you all a delightful sunspot to rest in on a lazy Sunday
A tortie cat lying on a blanket turns her contented face towards the sun with closed eyes.
January 12, 2025 at 8:21 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Winter wonderland
A snow-covered log sticks out of a frosted creek. The sun rises over a snow blanketed park
January 11, 2025 at 3:36 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
The hushed quiet of snowfall
A woman in a black coat stands at a distance in a snowy field. The sky is grey and full of flurries, and all around are dead, brown grasses fringed with white.
January 10, 2025 at 7:25 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Portrait of a Floridian turned Appalachian who is suuuuuper excited about the tiniest bit of flurries ❄️🌨️
A white woman with brown hair smiles beneath the hood of a thick black coat. A couple of tiny snowflakes are visible against the black if you look really closely…
January 5, 2025 at 7:15 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Final book of 2024. Really weird, really great. #booksky
Counterweight, by Djuna. Translated by Anton Hur. Cover quote reads, “[A] dizzyingly subversive cyberpunk thriller…. In true Philip K. Dick style, Djuna serves up enough paranoia and clever ideas to keep you guessing.” -WaPo
December 30, 2024 at 6:45 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
If I set up this cute lil board game I got for Christmas right in the middle of the living room, surely all my family members will come play with me, right? #Everdell
Everdell, a woodland-themed board game with little creature meeples, cute lil resource bins filled with pebbles, twigs, berries, and resin, and cards laid out in an 8x2 grid. A 3D cardboard tree tops the playing board.
December 28, 2024 at 6:15 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Holiday painting sesh with the oldest kid
Two paintings side by side. On the left, a purple ornament hangs from a silver string, with a leafy garland and the words, “Happy New Year”. On the right, a red ornament hangs from a Christmas tree with the words, “Merry Christmas”.
December 21, 2024 at 3:41 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Went early holiday shopping for myself at Bookmarks (a delightful indie bookstore in Winston)
4 books laid out in a square pattern. “Beautiful Dreamers” by Minrose Gwin depicts a painting of a seated white woman (only shown from the chin down) wearing a white blouse and knee-length skirt reminiscent of 1950’s housewife fashion. Her hands are politely folded in her lap. “Days at the Morisaki Bookshop” by Satoshi Yagisawa, trns. Eric Ozawa, sports an illustrated cover of shelves packed with books. A cat sits in front of a door, behind which the silhouettes of two people stand facing away from each other. “Counterweight” by Djuna, trns Anton Hur, shows a red and orange sky with a single blue eyeball suspended from a long, metal cable. “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” by Cho Nam-Joo, trns. Jamie Chang, depicts the illustrated head of a woman with long, black hair parted in the center. The face has been replaced by an illustrated desert scene with a twisted, dead tree and a mesa rising from the horizon.
December 9, 2024 at 1:36 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Golden sunrise, first snow, winter friends
In the foreground, three birds perch on bird feeders hanging off of a balcony railing wrapped in Christmas lights. In the background, tall, leafless trees laced with snow. A thin blanket of snow is visible on the ground below.
December 3, 2024 at 12:47 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
“Fear me”
A tortie cat sits in a Cobani flip palat box with a sign taped to it. In child’s bubble handwriting, the sign reads: “Penny’s Fort. FEAR ME!”
November 24, 2024 at 2:59 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
What book/author did baby-writer-you copy incessanty before finding your own style?

Mine was Edith Pattou. Found these books at a Barnes & Noble display as a child and wrote a dozen bad fantasy stories set in this exact world.
Book cover for Fire Arrow by Edith Pattou. A girl holds a glowing arrow in her fist. She is surrounded by curls of black smoke and flames. A shadowy monster’s hands reach out from behind as if to grab her. Book cover for Hero’s Song by Edith Pattou. A boy with remarkably strong biceps holds a dagger with a blue, spherical gemstone on the hilt behind him. His left hand is held out in front of him as if to stop a gnarly looking wyrm with a long, ugly, crooked black tongue.
November 21, 2024 at 6:53 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Have you met (and followed) my friend @stephpostauthor.bsky.social ?? Bc she is the most talented, amazing writer and craftsperson I know. She wrote and bound this book by hand and added in all kinds of beautiful handmade goodies!! What a legend. The book is amazing, too. An absolute gem!
A turquoise, hand-bound hardcover book with the title, “Terra Incognita” by Steph Post. The book is tied with string, with a little ceramic owl bead. Surrounding the book are hand-printed postcards, a thank you note from the author, an hand-bound reference guide book open to a page titled “Reading List” on one side and “Disclaimers” on the other, and a package of hand-drawn art from the book.
November 20, 2024 at 1:10 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
Can’t unsee it.
Kip from the movie Napoleon Dynamite: a white man with a thin, brown mustache wears a black durag, baggy black jean jacket with a white tank top underneath, and gold and diamond chain necklace in the shape of an eagle. He is holding up a peace sign.
November 17, 2024 at 5:55 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
East Germans tearing down the Berlin wall bc they were done with fascism, thank you very much.
November 17, 2024 at 3:23 PM
doslauren.bsky.social
This series of tweets (with ALT text) from Bioware’s former lead writer, David Gaider (Dragon Age), exactly illustrates why AI is being touted as the “better” writer. It’s the cheaper writer.
David Gaider: “Writing is one of those disciplines which is constantly undervalued. It's something that everyone thinks they can do ("I can write a sentence! I know what story is!"), and frankly the difference between good and bad writing is lost on many, anyhow. So why pay much for it, right? “In games, you even see this attitude among those who want to get into the field. "I don't have any REAL skills... I can't art, I can't program, so l guess I'll become a writer? It's better than QA!" As if game writing didn't require any actual skill which requires development. “Even BioWare, which built its success on a reputation for good stories and characters, slowly turned from a company that vocally valued its writers to one where we were... quietly resented, with a reliance on expensive narrative seen as the "albatross" holding the company back. “Maybe that sounds like a heavy charge, but it's what I distinctly felt up until I left in 2016. Suddenly all anyone in charge was asking was "how do we have LESS writing?" A good story would simply happen, via magic wand, rather than be something that needed support and priority. “At the end of the day, you can say you like good writing - whether it's in a game, a movie, an online article, or whatever - but if you don't value it enough to prioritize it and support it... and, yes, pay writers what they're due... that's not what everyone else is hearing.”
November 17, 2024 at 2:59 PM