James L. Sutter
@jameslsutter.bsky.social
Co-creator of the Pathfinder & Starfinder TTRPGs. Author of the queer young adult romance novels DARKHEARTS and THE GHOST OF US, plus fantasy novels, comics, video games, and more. Musician. ME/CFS husband.
Pinned
James L. Sutter
@jameslsutter.bsky.social
· Nov 23
OBLIGATORY INTRO POST: Hi everybody! You might know me as a co-creator of the Pathfinder and Starfinder roleplaying games, but these days I'm mostly writing queer young adult rom-coms. If you need some grumpy teen kissing in your life, maybe check 'em out? jameslsutter.com/novels.html
SEATTLE! Come hang out with me this Sunday at 4:00pm as part of Beguiled Books' grand opening of their new all-romance brick and mortar bookstore in Pioneer Square! www.beguiledbooks.com/opening
November 12, 2025 at 4:56 PM
SEATTLE! Come hang out with me this Sunday at 4:00pm as part of Beguiled Books' grand opening of their new all-romance brick and mortar bookstore in Pioneer Square! www.beguiledbooks.com/opening
Art is a way more stable foundation for a career than influence.
We're often told to build a platform so we can sell our art, but the art *is* the platform. Focus on making things people love and they'll follow you. Fame can evaporate in a blink, and often doesn't translate to sales anyway.
We're often told to build a platform so we can sell our art, but the art *is* the platform. Focus on making things people love and they'll follow you. Fame can evaporate in a blink, and often doesn't translate to sales anyway.
November 11, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Art is a way more stable foundation for a career than influence.
We're often told to build a platform so we can sell our art, but the art *is* the platform. Focus on making things people love and they'll follow you. Fame can evaporate in a blink, and often doesn't translate to sales anyway.
We're often told to build a platform so we can sell our art, but the art *is* the platform. Focus on making things people love and they'll follow you. Fame can evaporate in a blink, and often doesn't translate to sales anyway.
To this day, my geographical instincts remain hamstrung by the bone-deep knowledge that west Philadelphia and Bel Air can't be farther than a cab-ride apart.
November 9, 2025 at 6:26 PM
To this day, my geographical instincts remain hamstrung by the bone-deep knowledge that west Philadelphia and Bel Air can't be farther than a cab-ride apart.
A fantasy-themed cabaret called Moulin Rogue.
November 8, 2025 at 8:53 PM
A fantasy-themed cabaret called Moulin Rogue.
Want to volunteer but too exhausted? You can help humanitarian workers reach those affected by Hurricane Melissa by categorizing satellite images and identifying road blockages. Super easy, important, takes less than a minute each, stop and start whenever you like: www.zooniverse.org/projects/ali...
Zooniverse
The Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research.
www.zooniverse.org
November 7, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Want to volunteer but too exhausted? You can help humanitarian workers reach those affected by Hurricane Melissa by categorizing satellite images and identifying road blockages. Super easy, important, takes less than a minute each, stop and start whenever you like: www.zooniverse.org/projects/ali...
My story "Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds" just went live on @nightmare-magazine.com—it's about grief, love, and birds nesting in your thoracic cavity, and I think it's one of the best things I've ever written.
You can read it for free right now: www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
You can read it for free right now: www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
November 6, 2025 at 12:28 AM
My story "Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds" just went live on @nightmare-magazine.com—it's about grief, love, and birds nesting in your thoracic cavity, and I think it's one of the best things I've ever written.
You can read it for free right now: www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
You can read it for free right now: www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
Reposted by James L. Sutter
It's the first Wednesday of November, and that means it's time for the first story in Nightmare's annual Dark Fantasy issue! Prepare to have your heart squeezed by @jameslsutter.bsky.social's beautiful & touching "Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds."
www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds - Nightmare Magazine
The surgery is an aortic something-or-other—you don’t really bother to listen. You don’t need some surgeon barely out of pull-ups to tell you your heart hasn’t worked right since Sam died. They put yo...
www.nightmare-magazine.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
This is possibly the most personal story I've ever written, about love and grief and a bird nesting inside your thoracic cavity, and I'm so glad it's out in the world today. ❤️
It's the first Wednesday of November, and that means it's time for the first story in Nightmare's annual Dark Fantasy issue! Prepare to have your heart squeezed by @jameslsutter.bsky.social's beautiful & touching "Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds."
www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds - Nightmare Magazine
The surgery is an aortic something-or-other—you don’t really bother to listen. You don’t need some surgeon barely out of pull-ups to tell you your heart hasn’t worked right since Sam died. They put yo...
www.nightmare-magazine.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:43 PM
This is possibly the most personal story I've ever written, about love and grief and a bird nesting inside your thoracic cavity, and I'm so glad it's out in the world today. ❤️
Reposted by James L. Sutter
It's the first Wednesday of November, and that means it's time for the first story in Nightmare's annual Dark Fantasy issue! Prepare to have your heart squeezed by @jameslsutter.bsky.social's beautiful & touching "Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds."
www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds - Nightmare Magazine
The surgery is an aortic something-or-other—you don’t really bother to listen. You don’t need some surgeon barely out of pull-ups to tell you your heart hasn’t worked right since Sam died. They put yo...
www.nightmare-magazine.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:29 PM
It's the first Wednesday of November, and that means it's time for the first story in Nightmare's annual Dark Fantasy issue! Prepare to have your heart squeezed by @jameslsutter.bsky.social's beautiful & touching "Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds."
www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/make...
Reposted by James L. Sutter
I just read @jameslsutter.bsky.social's "Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds" in the latest issue of @wnwagner.bsky.social's NIGHTMARE magazine and good GODS what a story. I want to go find a quiet spot and stare into space for a while. A perfect depiction of grieving and of being alive.
November 4, 2025 at 9:13 PM
I just read @jameslsutter.bsky.social's "Make of Your Chest a Place for Birds" in the latest issue of @wnwagner.bsky.social's NIGHTMARE magazine and good GODS what a story. I want to go find a quiet spot and stare into space for a while. A perfect depiction of grieving and of being alive.
Voting matters. Even if you think you're just voting for the lesser evil—couldn't we use a bit less evil in our government right now?
November 4, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Voting matters. Even if you think you're just voting for the lesser evil—couldn't we use a bit less evil in our government right now?
"How can we make every dystopian novel a reality at the same time?"
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
October 29, 2025 at 4:31 PM
"How can we make every dystopian novel a reality at the same time?"
I've got a cool (and free!) thing coming out soon—if you don't want to miss out due to the whims of the algorithms, sign up for my extremely sporadic mailing list! eepurl.com/gpPbxX
James L. Sutter
James L. Sutter Email Forms
eepurl.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:24 PM
I've got a cool (and free!) thing coming out soon—if you don't want to miss out due to the whims of the algorithms, sign up for my extremely sporadic mailing list! eepurl.com/gpPbxX
There's still time for a supernatural sapphic YA romance before Halloween! 👻
jameslsutter.com/novels-ghost...
jameslsutter.com/novels-ghost...
October 25, 2025 at 10:38 PM
There's still time for a supernatural sapphic YA romance before Halloween! 👻
jameslsutter.com/novels-ghost...
jameslsutter.com/novels-ghost...
October 21, 2025 at 6:49 PM
A woodpecker just flew up to my window, grabbed the siding above it, and squashed its cloaca directly against the glass. Literally a halo of tailfeathers around a single staring eye.
Did... did I just get mooned my by a bird? 🤨
Did... did I just get mooned my by a bird? 🤨
October 20, 2025 at 6:18 PM
A woodpecker just flew up to my window, grabbed the siding above it, and squashed its cloaca directly against the glass. Literally a halo of tailfeathers around a single staring eye.
Did... did I just get mooned my by a bird? 🤨
Did... did I just get mooned my by a bird? 🤨
Thinking about a game dev I worked with, back before the ACA. He had health conditions that meant no company would insure him—even through work—because there was no law saying they had to.
He knew it was just a matter of time till he went bankrupt, because the free market was happy to let him die.
He knew it was just a matter of time till he went bankrupt, because the free market was happy to let him die.
October 19, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Thinking about a game dev I worked with, back before the ACA. He had health conditions that meant no company would insure him—even through work—because there was no law saying they had to.
He knew it was just a matter of time till he went bankrupt, because the free market was happy to let him die.
He knew it was just a matter of time till he went bankrupt, because the free market was happy to let him die.
Reposted by James L. Sutter
The hole in a guitar is traditionally used to store soft cheeses and dried meats which are fed to the drummer when he does a good job
October 16, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The hole in a guitar is traditionally used to store soft cheeses and dried meats which are fed to the drummer when he does a good job
Thank you to everyone who's out protesting today.
October 18, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Thank you to everyone who's out protesting today.
Halloween decorating is my passion—just look at all these spiderwebs I've intentionally left up around the house! Took me all year to assemble this many!
October 15, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Halloween decorating is my passion—just look at all these spiderwebs I've intentionally left up around the house! Took me all year to assemble this many!
Just remembered being 12 and begging my mom to let me watch STRIPTEASE, and her saying "sure—you can watch it with your dad and grandfather."
I made it through maybe ten minutes before combusting with embarrassment and fleeing to hang out with her and grandma.
Absolute parenting power move.
I made it through maybe ten minutes before combusting with embarrassment and fleeing to hang out with her and grandma.
Absolute parenting power move.
October 14, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Just remembered being 12 and begging my mom to let me watch STRIPTEASE, and her saying "sure—you can watch it with your dad and grandfather."
I made it through maybe ten minutes before combusting with embarrassment and fleeing to hang out with her and grandma.
Absolute parenting power move.
I made it through maybe ten minutes before combusting with embarrassment and fleeing to hang out with her and grandma.
Absolute parenting power move.
I try to be very focused and specific when calling my reps, but tonight it feels like:
"Hi, I'm a constituent from Seattle, and I'd like to ask the senator to please FIGHT ALL OF THIS! YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON! IT'S EVERYWHERE! LOOK OUTSIDE! PICK AN ISSUE AND DO SOMETHING! Thank you."
"Hi, I'm a constituent from Seattle, and I'd like to ask the senator to please FIGHT ALL OF THIS! YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON! IT'S EVERYWHERE! LOOK OUTSIDE! PICK AN ISSUE AND DO SOMETHING! Thank you."
October 14, 2025 at 3:23 AM
I try to be very focused and specific when calling my reps, but tonight it feels like:
"Hi, I'm a constituent from Seattle, and I'd like to ask the senator to please FIGHT ALL OF THIS! YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON! IT'S EVERYWHERE! LOOK OUTSIDE! PICK AN ISSUE AND DO SOMETHING! Thank you."
"Hi, I'm a constituent from Seattle, and I'd like to ask the senator to please FIGHT ALL OF THIS! YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON! IT'S EVERYWHERE! LOOK OUTSIDE! PICK AN ISSUE AND DO SOMETHING! Thank you."
I find most reaction videos dystopian because they're so clearly serving our desire to experience things with friends—the joy of watching a loved one laugh at a joke or groove to a new song—except it's a stranger on a screen, turning our drive to strengthen connection into monetized loneliness.
October 10, 2025 at 4:44 PM
I find most reaction videos dystopian because they're so clearly serving our desire to experience things with friends—the joy of watching a loved one laugh at a joke or groove to a new song—except it's a stranger on a screen, turning our drive to strengthen connection into monetized loneliness.
Is there an app where I can follow my favorite authors and be notified when they've got a new book out? (Preferably something not owned by Amazon, and that automatically scrapes the new release data rather than relying on authors manually adding themselves.)
October 10, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Is there an app where I can follow my favorite authors and be notified when they've got a new book out? (Preferably something not owned by Amazon, and that automatically scrapes the new release data rather than relying on authors manually adding themselves.)
Reposted by James L. Sutter
WATCH: ‘Portland Frog’ pepper balled by ICE agents
October 6, 2025 at 5:39 AM
WATCH: ‘Portland Frog’ pepper balled by ICE agents