Sarah Zachrich Jeng
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sarahzj.bsky.social
Sarah Zachrich Jeng
@sarahzj.bsky.social
520 followers 200 following 92 posts
Speculative thrillers: WHEN I'M HER and THE OTHER ME (Berkley)
Rep: Joanna MacKenzie
Tech worker/tech skeptic
https://sarahzj.com/links.html
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sarahzj.bsky.social
Sarah Zachrich Jeng @sarahzj.bsky.social · Nov 14
I might start spending more time here (classic late adopter) so hi! I write cross-genre suspense novels with sci-fi elements.

My latest book is WHEN I'M HER, which features toxic female friendship and body swapping. I also have a substack!

sarahzj.substack.com
All Possible Futures | Sarah Zachrich Jeng | Substack
Updates from Sarah Zachrich Jeng, author of WHEN I'M HER and THE OTHER ME. Click to read All Possible Futures, by Sarah Zachrich Jeng, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
sarahzj.substack.com
Reposted by Sarah Zachrich Jeng
literaticat.bsky.social
Authors, Beware! There's a firm called "ClaimsHero" doing aggressive social media outreach claiming to
"help" you file to get $ in the Anthropic class action. In fact, it's a bait-and-switch, they are luring authors to sign up with them, then OPTING THEM OUT of the class action so they'll get zilch.
November 10, 2025 at 10:01 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
I wrote about worldbuilding in romantic fantasy and how there's plenty of room for plot-forward and character-driven SFF novels.
A world without love is no world at all
On world building in romantic fantasy
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:24 AM
sarahzj.bsky.social
💖📚 October reads 📚💖
Covers for the following books, over a background of a harvest moon and the words “October Reads”: Servant of Earth and Princess of Blood by Sarah Hawley; The Blighted Stars, The Fractured Dark, and The Bound Worlds by Megan E. O’Keefe; August Lane by Regina Black Covers for the following books, over a background of a harvest moon and the words “October Reads”: Falling in a Sea of Stars by Kristen Britain; The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile by Errick Nunnally; The Wedding People by Alison Esbach; Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood; Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer
November 8, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by Sarah Zachrich Jeng
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Support the 2026 @apexmag.bsky.social Kickstarter! Apex publishes amazing SF, dark fantasy, and horror and we need their stories now more than ever.

I'll give an Apex gift subscription and dedication to one random person who promotes this Kickstarter! 1/
www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...
Apex Magazine 2026
An award-winning digital literary magazine of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.
www.kickstarter.com
October 20, 2025 at 5:40 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
💖📚 September reads 📚💖
Covers for the following books, over a background of autumn trees reflected in a pond and the text “September Reads”: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker; The El by Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.; My Murder by Katie Williams; The Luckiest Lady in London, Private Arrangements, and His at Night by Sherry Thomas Covers for the following books, over a background of autumn trees reflected in a pond and the text “September Reads”: The Road of Bones and Kingdom of Claw by Demi Winters; Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood; People Watching by Hannah Bonam-Young
October 10, 2025 at 1:37 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
Google docs giving me a popup telling me my birthday is coming up (I am AWARE, shit I'm not THAT old) when I'm just trying to make a comment on a document is going to be my villain origin story
October 6, 2025 at 4:51 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
"You may have heard the aphorism that Happiness = Reality / Expectations. Multiply that by about 30 for your feelings about your career in traditional publishing. (What do you mean that math doesn’t make sense?)"

From my latest newsletter, about That Publishing Article:
Yes, publishing is depressing
And maybe that’s okay?
sarahzj.substack.com
October 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
💖📚 August reads 📚💖
Covers for the following books, over a background of pool water and the words AUGUST READS: The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez; Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson; Willing Prey by Allie Oleander; Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent; Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang; The Friendship Study by Ruby Barrett
September 13, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Reposted by Sarah Zachrich Jeng
samwhyte.bsky.social
This gets progressively funnier with every use of the term "floppy".
One of Britain’s most senior police officers has launched an angry tirade against Extinction Rebellion protesters going “all floppy” when they get arrested. Sir Stephen House, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said the tactic of going limp was a “flipping nuisance” as it required extra officers to drag protesters away. House told a London assembly police and crime committee hearing: “We have asked them to stop being floppy. And that might seem like a silly thing to say, but when we arrest them and pick them up, they go all floppy, which is why you see four or five officers carrying them away. It’s a complete waste of officers’ time, and a complete pain in the neck.” Extinction Rebellion: how successful were the latest protests? Read more House also expressed annoyance at how the tactic made the police look heavy-handed. He said: “The problem with them going floppy and four offices carrying them away [is that it] looks to the general public like police are overreacting here. We’re not making them go floppy. They’re just sort of being a nuisance.”
September 5, 2025 at 8:27 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
“A standalone can afford to leave questions unanswered. In fact it can’t not do that, because if you try to explain everything in one go then you don’t have a story, you have a wiki.”
Fast zombies are still the scariest
20-mumblemumble years later
sarahzj.substack.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
I ❤️ my library
WHEN IM HER by Sarah Zachrich Jeng featured on a library’s overdrive page under “freaky Friday reads: body swaps
August 19, 2025 at 2:37 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
I’ll be at Auk Market in Gainesville this Saturday for their 2nd annual book + art faire! Enjoy delicious treats and browse books and maker goods from 10-3. I’ll be inside the Protocol Gallery - come say hi!

More info: www.facebook.com/events/68414...
Graphic with the text: Auk Market Book + Art Faire - local authors - back to school items - art + craft cards. With The Lynx Books, Frenchmen Street Food. At Curia on the Drag, Aug. 23, 10am-3pm.
August 19, 2025 at 12:43 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
Happy 4th birthday to THE OTHER ME (released August 10, 2021). I’ll always love my weird speculative domestic suspense novel about an artist who discovers that marrying your high school sweetheart may not, in fact, be the best idea!
hardcover and paperback cover images for THE OTHER ME, a novel by Sarah Zachrich Jeng
August 10, 2025 at 2:24 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
I wrote about burying my father and traveling through the United States in 2025, and my complicated feelings about both.
Hostile territory
A road trip through the American heartland + my emotions
sarahzj.substack.com
August 9, 2025 at 5:47 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
The first draft of my “LABYRINTH in Florida” romantic fantasy is done! Now the real work begins.

Image is one of Kay Nielsen’s illustrations for a 1914 edition of a book of fairy tales including East of the Sun, West of the Moon. The story and illustration both capture some relevant vibes ✌️
1914 Kay Nielsen illustration for East of the Sun, West of the Moon, captoned: ‘And then she lay on a little green patch in the midst of the gloomy thick wood.’ Illustration is layered over a sunlit forest and the words “THE END”
July 15, 2025 at 3:09 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
In my latest newsletter, I write about progressing toward the ending of your novel. (It doesn’t get easier as you get closer.)
sarahzj.substack.com/p/the-mirage...
The mirage of an ending
The closer I get, the more it recedes
sarahzj.substack.com
July 8, 2025 at 9:03 AM
sarahzj.bsky.social
💖📚 June reads 📚💖
Book covers for the following books, on a background of blurred greenery and the words “June Reads”: The Legendborn Cycle by Tracy Deonn (Legendborn, Bloodmarked, and Oathbound); The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong; Fan Service by Rosie Danan; All Systems Red by Martha Wells
July 1, 2025 at 4:57 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
💖📚 May reads 📚💖
Book covers for the following books, on a background of blurred wisteria and the words “May Reads”: Faebound and Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi; As Long as You’re Mine by Nekesa Afia; The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins; Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett; When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley
June 17, 2025 at 7:02 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
Technology is so shitty rn that I started writing fantasy instead of sci-fi. sarahzj.substack.com/p/writing-sf...
Composite image of Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. Text says “Writing SFF in the age of crap technology: AKA that time I wrote a novel about Neuralink. Read post at sarahzj.substack.com”
June 4, 2025 at 8:30 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
The recent (and recurring) discourse on whether authors should post critical reviews of others' books got me thinking about professional relationships, creative insecurity, and nostalgia for well-loved media properties.

Read at sarahzj.substack.com
A person skips in a carefree manner across a field under a blue sky. The superimposed text reads: Should authors review books? Shutting up is free. Read article at sarahzj.substack.com.
May 6, 2025 at 11:11 AM
sarahzj.bsky.social
💖📚 April reads 📚💖
Book covers for the following books, on a background of blurred wisteria and the words “April Reads”: Deep End by Ali Hazelwood; The Favorites by Layne Fargo; Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis The Briar Club by Kate Quinn; In the Shadow of the Fall and At the Fount of Creation by Tobi Ogundiran
May 4, 2025 at 2:02 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
Excited to be at Thrillerfest in June! If you're going, bring your coffee at 8am on Friday, June 20 to listen to me and these amazing authors talk about writing satisfying endings. (And if you're not a morning person, I'll see you at the bar!)
Graphic showing author photos for authors on the “TEAR-JERKER, HEA OR CLIFFHANGER? Writing Satisfying Endings” panel at Thrillerfest 2025. The panel authors are Anne Burt, Audrey J. Cole, Sarah Zachrich Jeng, Matthew Sullivan, and Tony Wirt, with Allison Brennan moderating.
April 17, 2025 at 12:22 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
The ebook of THE OTHER ME is only $4.99 at all ebook retailers!

This is my debut! It's the story of an artist who is transported to an alternate life in which she never followed her dreams, and it's about the choices we make for love...and those that are made for us.
Graphic showing the cover of THE OTHER ME by Sarah Zachrich Jeng with the text: ebook sale $4.99, all ebook retailers.
April 12, 2025 at 2:53 PM
sarahzj.bsky.social
In which I do a deep dive on adolescent rebellion, romantic longing, and the ways in which a 35-year-old movie about a mostly-obsolete technology connects to our current era.

sarahzj.substack.com/p/pump-up-th...
Still from the 1990 film Pump Up the Volume. High school students converse in a group while Nora, a central character, listens or watches something with a serious expression on her face. All the characters wear quintessential 1990s fashions like retro dresses, flannel shirts, and combat boots. Superimposed over the image is the title of a newsletter article “Pump Up the Volume is about resistance: Words are like, weapons, or something.” and the URL sarahzj.substack.com.
April 10, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Sarah Zachrich Jeng
mostlybree.kitrocha.com
if I come out of this actually having been forced to understand the stock market, I'm going to be so fucking pissed
April 9, 2025 at 5:29 AM