Daniel Roman
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romanwriting.bsky.social
Daniel Roman
@romanwriting.bsky.social
4.8K followers 770 following 1.6K posts
Associate editor @wicnet.bsky.social, obsessive fantasy & sci-fi nerd, writer and musician | TCA member | (he/him)

https://winteriscoming.net
https://daniel-roman.com
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romanwriting.bsky.social
Ah! So...a thing may have happened 👀

So excited to find out I was accepted as a member of @tvcritics.org!
A screenshot of my Bluesky profile header. "TCA member" has been added to the bio.
November 6, 2025 at 12:06 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Weekend reading: THE WAR BEYOND by @andreagstewart.bsky.social, book 2 of The Hollow Covenant.

Gemstone magic, gods messing with humanity, beautiful/terrifying animalistic body horror, and some very conflicted relationships. Really enjoyed The Gods Below and have been dying to get into the sequel!
A hand holding a hardcover copy of THE WAR BEYOND by Andrea Stewart. The cover artwork shows a fantastical purple whale in a swirl of water with a purple gem suspended above it.
November 2, 2025 at 8:47 PM
romanwriting.bsky.social
FYI for #TheWitcher folks. Netflix secretly dropped The Rats: A Witcher Tale special with season 4. It's meant to be watched after the season. (I don't even think it appears in Netflix until you watch S4.)

I just watched it, and it is...shockingly great? Like, maybe better than the actual show?
The Rats stand on a cliffside overlooking a beach. Mistle and a witcher named Brehen stand behind a latticework iron cell door. Brehen is played by Dolph Lundgren. Mistle standing against a red stone pillar. She's wearing a deep red jacket. Brehen in a fighting ring. He's wearing brown and black witcher armor and is wielding a sword. He has a school of the Cat medallion around his neck.
October 31, 2025 at 12:26 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Some very cool bookmail has arrived!

QUEEN DEMON by Martha Wells (the sequel to the excellent novel WITCH KING), and an ARC of Brandon Sanderson's new short story collection TAILORED REALITIES (12/9). Very excited to dig into these! Thank you @torbooks.bsky.social!

#booksky #fantasy #sci-fi #sff
TAILORED REALITIES by Brandon Sanderson and WITCH KING by Martha Wells sitting on a wooden table.
October 15, 2025 at 9:08 PM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Just three cats, living their best lives.
A brown tabby and a black cat lay curled up together on a pink blanket in front of a window. A Cat in the Hat plushie is sitting next to them
October 14, 2025 at 10:00 PM
romanwriting.bsky.social
I'm deep into the new Witcher book Crossroads of Ravens and I've gotta say, this is probably the most I've enjoyed a Witcher book in years. Had middling expectation because I didn't like the last standalone and the books can be a little hit or miss, but this one really slaps.🧵

#TheWitcher #booksky
The US cover of The Witcher: Crossroads of Ravens by Andrzej Sapkowski. It shows a young Geralt of Rivia in his armor, holding a sword propped on his shoulder. A second sword is strapped to his back. A bearded, older white-haired Witcher and a blonde sorceress flank him. Ravens fly against the bloodred background.
September 27, 2025 at 2:27 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Haven't been very active here the past few weeks because I've been a little preoccupied...in the best way possible. That's probably gonna continue to be the case for a while, so if you don't hear much from me, that's why! 💙
A black and white photo of a baby's feet, swaddled up in a white blanket.
August 12, 2025 at 12:22 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Oooh, some ridiculously exciting bookmail has arrived: an ARC of CASTHEN GAIN by @essahansen.bsky.social!! I loved The Graven trilogy and have been so pumped for this new novella set in that world. Out July 28!

Thank you @grimdarkmagazine.bsky.social @thebrokenbinding.bsky.social!
An advanced reader copy of CASTHEN GAIN, a novella of The Graven by Essa Hansen, sitting on a wooden desk. The cover is purple with a bubble universe in the middle holding the title. A bookmark showing the main character Sentace Ketch looking out over a vast alien wilderness is next to it, along with a purple card that reads: "The Casthen Way Mobilize, organize, and energize the forward march of multiversal profit and economic progress. Transcending context, every thing is valuable to someone. We disassemble, evaluate, recombine. We strive to discover and utilize value without discrimination—within oneself most of all. We seek the rare or overlooked, to elevate their potential. We cultivate cast-offs and make them excellent. We remove the chains preventing you from reaching your potential."
July 9, 2025 at 9:51 PM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Saw Jurassic World Rebirth tonight and it was...well, it was a movie. Tired and incurious, with a handful of cool scenes. There's no need for this movie to exist and it feels like it knows it. Which is too bad, because I really like the cast and Gareth Edwards, but it just does not have the sauce.
A poster for Jurassic World Rebirth. It shows Scarlett Johansson's character Zora Bennett with a rifle above the logo, and a T-Rex chasing a raft down a river below it.
July 6, 2025 at 4:33 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Excuse me, what are you doing up there?
An outdoor mudroom wall. There's a small crack at the top of the wall just below the wooden ceiling. Something is peeping out of the crack. Zoomed in on the same wall, where a garter snake is sitting on the crack just below the ceiling. Some of its coils are leisurely draped over the edge of the wooden wall, and its head is raised.
July 5, 2025 at 6:08 PM
romanwriting.bsky.social
It's been a long week. Have a picture of a tortoise I caught napping at the local pet store. May your weekend be as restful as this little guy's.
A tortoise napping under a log tank decoration. Its head is resting on the ground next to its front claw, eyes closed. Its shell and body are yellow with black patterning.
July 5, 2025 at 12:57 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
A good day for a waterfall hike 😌
A waterfall in the middle of a forest. Water cascades down multiple levels of stone, into a pool at the bottom.
July 4, 2025 at 10:10 PM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Since one can never have enough animal pics, here's another. This garter snake just ate something — you can tell from the bulge in its stomach, which is whatever it's currently digesting. That means it's having a very good day! And it probably hopes you are too!
A garter snake laying in long grass. It's mid-section is bulging from the size of something it just swallowed.
June 21, 2025 at 7:26 PM
romanwriting.bsky.social
A turtle, you say? Here, have a tiny baby snapper for the TL.
A baby snapping turtle. It's a little black turtle sitting on a piece of grass. Its shell and face have some dirt on it. It is absurdly cute.
June 21, 2025 at 1:12 PM
romanwriting.bsky.social
I haven't bought Magic cards in at least 12 years...but for Final Fantasy, exceptions must be made.
A Magic: The Gathering starter kit for the new Final Fantasy set. It has two premade decks, one with Cloud and one with Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII. The box artwork also shows Cloud and Sephiroth with their signature swords.
June 14, 2025 at 1:29 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Late night animal sighting. Had to stop the car to gently encourage this beautiful bullfrog across the driveway. It's been hot and raining here and the amphibians are here for it.
An adult female bullfrog sitting in the middle of a dirt road. She has a green face, a brown and black speckled body, and a white underbelly, lit by the headlights of a car. Her shadow stretches behind her.
June 11, 2025 at 4:09 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Get you a partner who asks you to walk the driveway to move the newts before you go out.

This evening's count: 15 red efts and 2 very cool snails.
Two red efts standing on a rocky, twig-covered bit of dirt. A snail with a brown shell on a dirt driveway.
June 11, 2025 at 1:30 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Happy release day to THE WITCH ROADS, the new fantasy book from @kateelliottsff.bsky.social!

And lo! Some exciting and well-timed bookmail: a hardcover copy has arrived. I've been really looking forward to reading this one, thank you @torbooks.bsky.social!
A hardcover copy of THE WITCH ROADS by Kate Elliott on a wooden table. The artwork shows a towering spire at the end of a narrow path lined by towering statues. Two small figures approach its open gateway.
June 10, 2025 at 8:41 PM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Well, it has certainly been a day. And a good one to end with a new episode of Murderbot.
Murderbot lays on a medbay bed wearing a white gown. Ratthi stands next to him, with a typically goofy expression and his arms outstretched, like he's telling a joke. Which Murderbot obviously does not enjoy.
June 6, 2025 at 3:13 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Viewer me: Wow, cool! Stranger Things 5 premieres in three parts, the day before Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve! That'll be fun holiday watching!

Journalist me: Oh shit, wait...that means I'm going to be working like mad all three of those holidays. God damn, Netflix...
Mike Wheeler stands in front of a group of kids in Stranger Things season 5, shielding them with his arms.
June 1, 2025 at 3:43 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
The paws on Gemma's cheeks! 🥹
A little black cat and tiger-striped brown tabby cat cuddling. They are facing each other with their eyes closed. The black cats paws are against the brown cat's cheeks, one on each side of her face.
May 27, 2025 at 2:12 PM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Yes. I love this style of covers. Two more that are fantastic:
Crystal Singer cover by Anne McCaffrey. It shows a woman with brown hair and a red jumpsuit leaning back and holding up a black and red crystal. She's standing on a cliff top in an alien landscape. The cover for Hyperion by Dan Simmons. A barbed metal creature watches a ship sail across a verdant grassland.
May 22, 2025 at 1:58 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Came home to find a visitor on the front door 🥹
A gray treefrog stuck to a glass stormdoor. The picture is from the inside, so you can see it's white belly with gray speckles, and some yellow patterning on the legs.
May 15, 2025 at 1:40 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
The Murderbot covers are bangers, it is known. Artwork by Jamie Jones, design by Christine Foltzer.
The cover artwork for All Systems Red by Martha Wells. It shows Murderbot, a white-suited SecUnit, standing in front of an eerie forest with a planet and starlit sky above.
May 14, 2025 at 12:14 AM
romanwriting.bsky.social
Just two cats enjoying a rainy day nap together 🥹
A black cat and a brown tabby cat cuddle on a blanket with a dreamcatcher pattern. They're facing one another and have their paws wrapped around each other. The brown cat has her head tilted back to look upside down at the camera.
May 9, 2025 at 9:11 PM