K. S. Niels
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ksniels.bsky.social
K. S. Niels
@ksniels.bsky.social
63 followers 51 following 58 posts
ksniels.substack.com • BLM • Indigenous Lives Matter • #Writer • #GLP1 super responder • #vss365 • #WritingCommunity • RWA finalist • she/her 🌻
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ksniels.bsky.social
Hey #writingcommunity #amwriting #PB #MG #YA writers & artists

I subbed to #WNDB 2026 Mentorship program this week. Anyone else sub too?

I’d love to connect & hear about your projects!

Mine’s an #MG adventure/mystery novel
September 4, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
weneeddiversebooks.bsky.social
🔔 Now accepting 2026 Mentorship applications!

Want to participate in our annual Mentorship Program, where we pair emerging writers & illustrators from diverse backgrounds with experienced professionals in the field? Visit the link below (🔗 also in bio) to apply today!

💻 bit.ly/2026Mentorships
Light yellow graphic titled “2026 Mentorship Applications Now Open!” Beneath the title text is an illustration of a light-skinned person with shoulder-length brown hair sitting at a desk with a notebook open in their lap and their desktop computer showing screens full of emails and word documents. At the bottom is a search bar graphic containing the shortened URL “bit.ly/2026Mentorship”, which will redirect folks to the 2026 Mentorship application. Light yellow graphic titled “About the Mentorship Program.” Beneath the title text is a mock-up internet browser window, with the search bar at the top containing the shortened URL “bit.ly/2026Mentorship”, which will redirect folks to the 2026 Mentorship application. The program description in the browser says, “The WNDB Mentorship Program aims to support writers and illustrators by pairing them with an experienced professional in the field. Our mentors work one-on-one with a mentee and their completed draft of a manuscript over the course of a calendar year, offering advice to improve craft and to better understand the publishing industry. For 2026, WNDB is offering fifteen mentorships split amongst the following categories: Picture Book Text (PB), Middle Grade (MG), Young Adult (YA); and Illustration (IL).”
September 2, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
weneeddiversebooks.bsky.social
Meet our 2026 Mentors! Through our annual Mentorship Program, we pair aspiring creators with published authors to hone their craft, learn about publishing, and launch their careers.

Applications for our 2026 Mentorship Program will open soon in early September, so get ready to apply 📝
Collage graphic styled after a scrapbook and showing twelve close-up book cover illustrations. At the center of the graphic is a scrap of paper that says, “Meet the 2026 Mentors”. The illustrations are from “Queen of Tejano Music: Selena,” “The Borrow a Boyfriend Club,” “Salvación” “The Truth About Triangles,” “Mapmaker,” “The House Next Door,” “My Little Golden Book About Frida Kahlo,” “Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation,” “She is a Haunting,” “Curry Means more,” “Hanukkah,” and “It’s You Every Time.” Graphic styled to look like an open spiral-bound notebook. Title text at the top says, “About WNDB’s Mentorship Program,” followed by two polaroid-style photo frames displaying illustrations from “Ramadan on Rahma Road” by Razeena Omar Gutta and “José and Feliz Play Fútbol” by Susan Rose and Silvia López. The program description reads as follows: “Since 2016, WNDB has welcomed over 100 writers and illustrators into our Mentorship Program. Over the course of a calendar year, our mentees work one-on-one with their mentors to edit their manuscripts and learn about the publishing process, preparing them to navigate this competitive industry. Applications for the 2026 Mentorship cycle will open in early September!”
August 25, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
aurumsella.bsky.social
"This is the strangest #vigil I've ever taken part in. Why are there a hundred thousand people praying naked in the street tonight? I thought it would be just the two of us."
"Oh, right. Word got out. Evidently a lot of people liked the idea."
"People are so weird."
"Yep. They are."

#vss365
August 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
mythoversal.bsky.social
#VIGIL

A vigil for humanity,
striving for our place,
toward the fated destination
of the human race;
will we spread ourselves to Mars,
will we float among the stars,
will that future soon be ours,
or will we be replaced?

323rd #vss365
August 20, 2025 at 3:05 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
#vss365

It had been years since her last #vigil.

She hadn't meant to. Too much coffee, it led her mind to spin, and she ended up here, at the edge of the canyon. Waiting. Again.

As if he could come back.

As if leaping was something that could be undone.

He'd let go. She had to too.
August 20, 2025 at 5:38 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
Running left me exhausted and hungry.

After hitting a 2-month plateau, I realized walking was actually faster for me.

Here are 4 reasons why walking beats running for fat loss:
ksniels.medium.com/walking-migh...

#health #wellness #weightloss #writingcommunity #amwriting
Walking Might Be Better for You Than Running
Running can cause weight loss stalls. Walking can improve insulin responses and help you lose weight faster.
ksniels.medium.com
June 11, 2025 at 11:49 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
Pre-diabetes… Your body’s “we need to talk” text

Not a breakup — more of a warning before it starts throwing jeans and old books out the window

Here's what happened, and how I'm turning it around:
ksniels.substack.com/p/pre-diabet...

#health #humor #amwriting #WritingCommunity
a cartoon drawing of a person sitting next to a cell phone
ALT: a cartoon drawing of a person sitting next to a cell phone
media.tenor.com
June 5, 2025 at 5:47 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
Feel like you’re always hungry, exhausted, and gaining weight just by looking at bread? 🍞 🥯 🥧

It might be your hormones

Insulin and leptin resistance explained (with jokes):
medium.com/@ksniels/ins...

#MetabolicHealth #InsulinResistance #amwriting #writingcommunity #weightloss #health
Insulin Resistance, Leptin Resistance: When Your Fuel Gauge is Empty and the Zombie Apocalypse Has…
Hormones. Life is amazing when they all work well, and absolute torture when they go rogue.
medium.com
June 4, 2025 at 4:39 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
Are you on #Ozempic or #Mounjaro?

A lower dose might work better—if you make these lifestyle tweaks. Here’s why:
substack.com/home/post/p-...

#GLP1 #health #wellness
Why a Lower Dose of Ozempic or Mounjaro Might Be Better
Six months ago, when I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and fatty liver disease, my doctor suggested I try Ozempic, and I refused.
substack.com
May 28, 2025 at 4:34 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
Have you ever eaten less and still gained weight?
That used to be me. Here’s what finally worked:

open.substack.com/pub/ksniels/...

#weightloss #healthylifestyle #healthandwellness #wellness #amwriting #reversediet
Reverse Diet: Be Crazy, Be Brave, Eat More!
If you’re on a weight loss journey, like me, reverse dieting sounds like a scam.
open.substack.com
May 21, 2025 at 6:51 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
Weight loss stalled on GLP-1s?
You’re definitely not alone

Before you crank up the dose, try these 3 things:

👣 More movement
😴 Better sleep
🪷 Less stress

Want more tips? Here's how I turned things around:
substack.com/home/post/p-...

#ozempic #mounjaro #weightloss #health #wellness
When GLP-1 Meds Lose Their Magic: Try This Before Upping Your Dose
When I first started Ozempic, it was like a fairy godmother flitted down and flipped a secret switch, one I didn’t even know existed.
substack.com
May 14, 2025 at 7:07 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
I'd like a Mother's Month

You know how Boxing Day spread out to be a weeklong thing and now it's a whole month?

I want 31 days of breakfasts in bed and flowers 😁

I've got the other 234 days of the year covered

#writingcommunity #amwriting #momlife #momhumor
May 11, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
mythoversal.bsky.social
#SCAR

The invisible scar
runs deep,
a secret ache pulses
in the heart of my being
as your ghost forever twists
the blade of your sadism.

anger?
sometimes.

regret?
often.

pain?
never-ending.

healing?
denied.

#vss365 #trauma 130/365
May 10, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
stephlepht.bsky.social
A cup bears
A #scar from
A time when
People sat
In dining
Halls and swam
In drink and
Laughter till
The sun brought
A steep bill

#vss365
May 10, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
lena1370.bsky.social
Societal acceptance

Scars I bear
Marks of disfigurement
Deformity and flaws
Judged by societal standards
Never the beauty
Never perfection
Always trying to fit in
Assimilation to norms
Assimilation to society
The wrong path

The genuine path
Is a lonely path

#vss365 #poetry #poem #scar
May 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
imanicv.bsky.social
The scars we don’t see
send us on journeys
we don’t understand

#vss365 #poetry #writingprompts #scar

🎨 Romel de la Torre
May 10, 2025 at 8:35 AM
ksniels.bsky.social
My brother
has a #scar
on his lip

As a child
it marked him

Made him a target
for cruelty
for pain

But now
its hidden
completely

behind the scruff
of a beard

But the wounds
from jeers
and jabs
fist fights
and stabs

They never leave

#amwriting #vss365
May 10, 2025 at 7:33 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
I’m so ready to ditch my #CPAP

Pressure down from 12.0 to 6.8
3 months away from getting some real sleep

Want to ditch yours too?

Here’s what’s working for me — totally free:
ksniels.substack.com/p/ready-to-d...

#HealthTips #Sleep #SleepApnea #WeightLoss #AmWriting #WritingCommunity
May 10, 2025 at 6:32 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
Is #Ozempic or #Mounjaro not working like it used to?

Before upping your dose, try these 7 evidence-based strategies to get back on track with your #GLP1 meds

On Medium (members only): medium.com/@ksniels/whe...

Coming to Substack (free) next week: ksniels.substack.com
When GLP-1 Meds Lose Their Magic: What to Try Before Upping Your Dose
When I first started Ozempic, it was like a fairy godmother flitted down and flipped a secret switch, one I didn’t even know existed.
medium.com
May 9, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
ha-ok.bsky.social
If I #trace your name in the water, the ripples will follow their own fluid laws. You will not be represented in any manner, and that is a lesson to me, gone one. Water is my heroic medium, my steadfast balm. I will learn from it and believe when it tells me you don't exist and never did.
#vss365
May 7, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
taintedtrailer.bsky.social
PIG 🐽

Not a #trace of irony,
Just pure unadulterated fantasy shovelled into my gob from a bowl of simmering self-delusion.
Over-fed,
Over-confident,
Over-indulged.

But I can't stop eating.

#vss365 🥣 🐙
May 7, 2025 at 8:21 AM
ksniels.bsky.social
Curious about GLP-1s (like #Ozempic and #Mounjaro) — but want to boost it naturally?

Here are 5 evidence-backed ways to do just that

1. Prebiotics
2. Probiotics
(And 3 more surprising ones...)

No hype. Just science.

ksniels.substack.com/p/5-ways-to-...

#health #weightloss #GLP1 #amwriting
5 Ways to Naturally Boost GLP-1
What Weird Wizardry is This?
ksniels.substack.com
May 7, 2025 at 4:27 PM
ksniels.bsky.social
#vss365 #TrueStory

I'm at my desk and my kids are hounding me for oil pastels for a car #trace.

Sure whatever. Just let me work.

5 mins later, streaks all over the lino floor. They are scooting all around, butts balanced on tiny toy cars.

What the?

Oh… Mario Kart race. Not car trace. Dammit.
May 7, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Reposted by K. S. Niels
inpoetsshoes.bsky.social
Look out upon the lake
Ripples gently flutter by
A boat floating all alone
Not a trace of you in sight

Check my hands and my feet
Rub the dirt far far away
One more glance to be sure
On my way forevermore

#vss365 #trace
May 7, 2025 at 6:05 AM