M.O.Anderson
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moanderson-author.bsky.social
M.O.Anderson
@moanderson-author.bsky.social
100 followers 140 following 42 posts
📖 Aspiring author - Sci-Fi/Fantasy, YA
🪨 Geology Professor in 🇨🇦
🐶 Dog Mom
🌻Neurodivergent / ADHD
💙💜

Current project: A Different Kind of Fear (Near-future apocalytic YA + grounded survival + slow-burn Sci-Fi suspense)
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moanderson-author.bsky.social
#AugurMicros2025
@augursociety.bsky.social
For a geologist, the past is the key to the present and future.
Geologic Journey by Melissa O. Anderson At the top of the lonely mountain, I extracted my quarry from the cold slate. "Hello, my friend," I said to the Cambrian trilobite, whose slow tectonic ascent mirrored my own. Inch by inch, irresistible forces conspired with time to bring us here. In the language of geology, my rock companions spoke of the history of the world: trilobites ruled the oceans for millions of years before extinction. How long until our own? Yet, as my mind expanded to encompass Eons, the constraints of humanity relaxed: anxieties that were fossilized in my chest gave way to awe.
September 10, 2025 at 9:35 PM
moanderson-author.bsky.social
Upcoming book launch for the incredible "Realities End" by Jamie Babb, Sept 13 at the Imperial Pub, Toronto. Hosted by the Toronto Sci-Fi Fantasy Writers Group. Everyone is welcome! Available now for pre-order! a.co/d/bepcnyD
#booksky #fantasysky #scifisky #writingcommunity
Flyer for the Book Launch event of "Realities End" by Jamie Babb, Sept 13, 4 pm, at the Imperial Pub, Toronto. Hosted by the Toronto Sci-Fi Fantasy Writers Group. RVSP on MeetUp.
September 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM
moanderson-author.bsky.social
A DIFFERENT KIND OF FEAR - 80K Contemporary YA Sci-Fi

🔎Creeping Sci-Fi mystery
👽Alien invasion as a metaphor for trauma
🥾Gritty wilderness survival
👩‍👧Unconventional found family
🌻Neurodivergent protagonists
🧠Mental health awareness
🐶The emotional glue that bonds them

#PosterPit #YA #SF #ND #MH #W
A move poster for "A Different Kind of Fear" with a young woman wearing a backpack hiking over rocks under a green starry sky. Text reads: Inspired by We are the Ants and the Last of Us. Two Women struggle to survive and find purpose in a collapsing world: A teen runaway coping with PTSD. An anxious geologist hiding from her past. The wounded stray dog they save. A looming alien threat. A DIFFERENT KIND OF FEAR. A WIP by M.O. Anderson. Survival is hard. Trusting someone is harder. Image credits: Karol Smoczynski (foreground; Unsplash); NASA/Keegan Barber (sky)
August 17, 2025 at 12:22 AM
moanderson-author.bsky.social
Re-reading "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson and I'm just in tears -- it's an incredible emotional journey. From a YA Sci-Fi no less!

Looking for recommendations for other YA/adult Sci-Fi/contemporary mashups that will make me feel all the feels!
August 8, 2025 at 7:54 PM
moanderson-author.bsky.social
A DIFFERENT KIND OF FEAR is a Contemporary YA with creeping Sci-Fi Horror as a metaphor for trauma, with:

A sharp-witted teen coping with alienation and PTSD

A geologist who hides in her research rather than confront her dark past

A looming 👽 threat

(also, the 🐶 they rescue)
#questpit #W #YA #SF
A collage that represents the vibes of "A Different Kind of Fear" referred to as We Are the Ants meets The Last of Us
August 7, 2025 at 3:22 AM
moanderson-author.bsky.social
A DIFFERENT KIND OF FEAR:

A lifetime of trauma & isolation leaves foster teen Nellie deeply distrustful & self-reliant.

Then 👽 lights appear in the sky.

She seeks refuge in the wilderness with Anna, a grieving geologist.

Survival is hard. But trusting someone is harder.

#questpit #W #YA #SF
August 6, 2025 at 3:51 PM
moanderson-author.bsky.social
WE ARE THE ANTS x THE LAST OF US

A DIFFERENT KIND OF FEAR:
Bullied & abused, a teenager runs away, leaving her vulnerable on the streets when 👽 invade.

Along with a grieving geologist & a stray dog, she struggles to survive & find meaning in a world on the brink of collapse.

#questpit #W #YA #SF
A Venn diagram of Genre Overlaps in YA Sci-Fi. A Different Kind of Fear is an introspective book, with alien influence, and apocalyptic survival. A Venn diagrams of thematic overlaps in YA Sci-Fi. A Different Kind of Fear features themes of powerlessness vs. resistence, fear as transformation, and belonging and found family.
August 6, 2025 at 1:00 PM
moanderson-author.bsky.social
My #WIPSnips contribution for the day - "street" comes up a lot in my contemporary YA Sci-Fi "A Different Kind of Fear" as the MC ends up running away and living on the streets... leaving her exposed and vulnerable just as aliens arrive 👽.

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPromtps
Excerpt from "A Different Kind of Fear:" Water dripped from my still-half-shaking body as I crouched to dig my phone out of my pants. Numbly, I entered my social worker’s number; my lifeline to another bed in another house, with yet another stranger pretending to care. But my thumb hovered over the “call” button. What choice do I have? None. Not really. Unless… I could just leave. Run away. Go live on the streets. I wiped the fog from the mirror, peeling back the blur like a barely-healed scab, exposing everything I didn’t want to see. I faced my ragged reflection, somehow still standing. What do I do? I wasn’t ready for another turbulent round of foster home roulette. Not the invasive conversations with counselors who’d already given up on me. Not the psych evals that made me feel crazy. Not the caseworkers dictating my life like prison guards. There was no way to win; as soon as things began to feel stable, the ground would start to erode—pressure building until the inevitable landslide tore everything apart. I’d already been in seven foster placements, seven homes that had each left a new kind of scar. I’d endured things I still can’t say aloud, and others my brain refuses to remember.
July 30, 2025 at 9:13 PM
moanderson-author.bsky.social
My #WIPSnips contribution for the day ("trash") from my contemporary YA Sci-Fi novel "A Different Kind of Fear." Can you guess the age of my protagonist?

Feedback welcome!

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
An excerpt from my WIP "A Different Kind of Fear"
July 28, 2025 at 8:39 PM
moanderson-author.bsky.social
🐶 Chance isn’t JUST the dog in my YA sci-fi A DIFFERENT KIND OF FEAR. He's the emotional glue that binds characters together as the world falls apart. A wounded stray they refuse to leave behind. He softens hardened hearts. His love is the foundation of a found family.
#BookSky #WritingCommunity #W
A medium-sized red-and-white Welsh Springer Spaniel cuddling a toy version of himself
July 24, 2025 at 9:33 PM