S. L. Barrett
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slbarrett87.bsky.social
S. L. Barrett
@slbarrett87.bsky.social
320 followers 280 following 450 posts
Author (The Dissociation Gazette, The Bus to Adventure City), MFA, Secretary of the Kansas Authors Club, enjoyer of both cat and puppy snuggles. She/her.
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slbarrett87.bsky.social
Neville is jealous that he couldn't go to the sidewalk sale at Watermark with me today, but he also can't read.
Image description: a gray cat lying on a teal blanket on a bed with his back to the camera. In the top left of the picture, a paper shopping bag for Watermark Books & Cafe in Wichita, KS sits in front of him. To the right, four books are laid out on the bed: All Fours by Miranda July, Fire Exit by Morgan Talty, Swimming Shelter by Al Ortolani, and a collection of Joan Didion essays.
June 12, 2025 at 6:34 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
This is the best that I have made choux buns since the first time I made dairy-free cream puffs, when I had beginner's luck and thought to myself "cream puffs aren't so hard." It took a year and eventually adding another egg to the choux dough to get back here. But I did it! #foodsky
Image description: six large choux buns cooling on a wire rack, which is sitting on a white quartz kitchen countertop with black veining.
May 23, 2025 at 8:44 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Join the Write Pittsburgh online #Fiction Critique Group! Bring your work to get feedback (including from me!) and give feedback to your fellow writers. Advanced writing knowledge isn't necessary; your opinion is more important than you think! writepittsburgh.com/events #skywriters #writingcommunity
Image description: an info graphic of a notebook page against a red background. A cartoon writer is scribbling at the bottom. The text reads: Write Pittsburgh Fiction Critique Group, Ages 18+, Virtual, Sundays Feb 23-Mar 30 7-8:30pm Eastern, writepittsburgh.com/events
February 6, 2025 at 2:36 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
In less than a month, I'll be leading our NEW fiction critique group for @writepittsburgh.bsky.social. Bring your work, get feedback, and give feedback to your fellow writers on their work. It's a win-win! Check out writepittsburgh.com/events for this and all of our upcoming workshops. #skywriters
Image description: an info graphic of a notebook page against a red background. A cartoon writer is scribbling at the bottom. The text reads: Write Pittsburgh Fiction Critique Group, Ages 18+, Virtual, Sundays Feb 23-Mar 30 7-8:30pm Eastern, writepittsburgh.com/events
January 26, 2025 at 4:01 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Another doodle.
Image description: a pencil doodle of a brain. There's a thought bubble coming out of it that says "WTF?"
January 20, 2025 at 10:04 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Today's doodle/mood.
Image description: a pencil doodle of a hairy monster that looks kind of like an upright cat. The monster has its arms raised and its mouth open to show sharp teeth. On the bottom of the image are practice doodles of different eyes.
January 20, 2025 at 7:03 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Tell your friends! Acquaintances! People you just tolerate! This workshop is solely focused on participant work; you'll be able to get feedback on multiple submissions. New & experienced writers welcome! Check writepittsburgh.com/events for this & all of our workshops #writingcommunity #skywriters
Image description: an info graphic with a notebook page laid over a red background. A cartoon writer is scribbling in the corner. The text reads: Write Pittsburgh, Fiction Critique Group, Ages 18+, virtual, Sundays February 23-March 30, 7-8:30 p.m. EST, www.writepittsburgh.com/events
January 18, 2025 at 1:21 AM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Friends! Writers! Countryfolk! We have some amazing @writepittsburgh.bsky.social workshops scheduled for the winter term. Join @mchristinebd.bsky.social on January 25th for Scaffolding Your Novel! Only 4 spots left! #writingcommunity #skywriters #amwriting #novel #wip www.writepittsburgh.com/events
Image description: an info graphic on a pink background with minimalist drawings of books on the bottom. The text reads: Write Pittsburgh, Scaffolding Your Novel, Getting your story from start to finish, January 25, 1-5 p.m. EST, virtual, writepittsburgh.com/events
January 13, 2025 at 4:36 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Anyway I was bored during a Zoom call this afternoon and doodled some possums.
Image description: a drawing pad page filled with six simple cartoon drawings of the same possum. Its body is in profile and its head is pointed toward the viewer. There's a human stick figure in the upper left corner of the page with a speech bubble that reads "This is hard!"
January 11, 2025 at 10:06 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
We have a great list of upcoming @writepittsburgh.bsky.social workshops for the winter term, but we just announced my online fiction critique group today!!! Get feedback on your work! Give your opinions on peers' pieces! Join us! #writingcommunity #amwriting #fiction www.writepittsburgh.com/events
Image description: an info-graphic flyer of a cartoon notepaper page over a red background. A cartoon character is writing with a pen at the bottom of the page. The text reads: Write Pittsburgh Fiction Critique Group, Ages 18+, Virtual, Sundays February 23-March 30 7-8:30 p.m. EST, writepittsburgh.com/events
January 10, 2025 at 7:50 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
"New Year's Nightmare" is by the youngest Holiday Spirit(s) adult workshop participant, Tahlia Smith. If you like rich people being haunted at the holidays, this story's for you! Read the anthology for free here: www.writepittsburgh.com/holiday-spir... #booksky #ghoststories #writingcommunity
Image description: a stock photo of a car driving on a rainy road at night. White text over the image reads: "The dark, slender figure approaches me slowly. It hovers over the ground on the tips of its toes. Its face is a shadow. The tresses of hair are waist-length and matted with debris. I feel its chilling presence as if it’s that night when I ruined my life." New Year's Nightmare by Tahlia Smith, Holiday Spirit(s) Anthology
December 30, 2024 at 3:33 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
I reached "The Apocalyptic Rock Fight" in It yesterday, and last night I dreamed that my friends and I had a rock fight on an old wooden castle playground. We won because we had the biggest rocks. I'm not sure how those correlate, but it's probably not good. #booksky Bonus: Neville #catsofbluesky
Image description: a gray cat is laying on a white and light green patterned blanket that is spread across my lap. An old copy of It by Stephen King is laying on the blanket next to him. Despite being a copy from the '90s, it was never read before I got it. I ordered it from Thrift Books and the spine was pristine. That detail doesn't really matter to the image, but I just thought it was interesting.
December 29, 2024 at 2:30 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
From "A Grilled Cheese Ghost Story" by Laine Wilson in our FREE @writepittsburgh.bsky.social Holiday Spirit(s) anthology! For a ghost story collection, we got a lot of heartwarming stories. Ghosts don't HAVE to be scary😉 www.writepittsburgh.com/holiday-spir... #writingcommunity #ghoststory #booksky
Image description: A stock photo of a grilled cheese sandwich on a plate. Over top of the image is a blue box with white lettering. The text, which is an excerpt from a story, reads: "We were sitting at a well-loved kitchen table, in front of steamy bowls of homemade chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches as only a grandma could make them; filled with melty, processed cheese product, and toasted almost to burnt at the edges." A Grilled Cheese Ghost Story by Laine Wilson, Holiday Spirit(s) Anthology
December 28, 2024 at 3:39 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
An excerpt from Stacy Keene's "Bleak Midwinter: A Story To Be Read On A Long Cold Night" in our own @writepittsburgh.bsky.social Holiday Spirit(s) ghost story anthology. Which you can read for free! On our website! Which is here: www.writepittsburgh.com/holiday-spir... #writingcommunity #booksky
Image description: a stork photo of a dark room with a window to the right, looking outside and providing the only light. White text is imposed over the image, and the text reads: "If I am to be believed, and I know that fact is not assured, the story that follows is of an actual haunting. So, I ask you to choose your state of mind at the onset." Bleak Midwinter: A Story To Be Read On A Long Cold Night by Stacy Keene, Holiday Spirit(s) Anthology
December 27, 2024 at 2:29 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
This Jolabokaflod, please enjoy our just-released-today Write Pittsburgh Holiday Spirit(s) ghost story anthology!!! You can download it for free on our website! Happy reading 👻🎄❄️ #writingcommunity #booksky www.writepittsburgh.com/holiday-spir...
Image description: The cover of Holiday Spirits: A Holiday Ghost Story Anthology, edited by Samantha L. Barrett, A Write Pittsburgh Publication. The cover is black with white text, and sprigs of holly decorate the upper right and lower left corners.
December 24, 2024 at 11:50 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Neville "helping" wrap gifts. Funnily enough, I was wrapping his presents to the dogs. #catsofbluesky #merrychristmas
Image description: a gray cat sitting on a carpeted floor. Around him are rolls of wrapping paper and a roll of scotch tape. My legs are folded cross-legged in the foreground, because he sauntered right in and sat it front of me like I had nothing better to do than admire him. He's looking off to the right like he's a supermodel in a photo shoot.
December 24, 2024 at 4:50 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
I upped my sweatshirt collection game today (I love sweatshirts). #books #indiebookstore #amreading #writingcommunity
Image description: two sweatshirts are laid out flat. The navy blue on on the left says "Free societies read freely" in tan script, and there are red and yellow flowers underneath the text. The sweatshirt on the right, which is a mossy green, is a collegiate-style sweatshirt for the Raven Bookstore in Lawrence, Kansas. In the following picture I provide I close-up shot and description of the crest on it. Image description: a close-up shot of the crest on the collegiate-style sweatshirt for the Raven Bookstore. The sweatshirt is green, the lettering is black, and the highlighting is done in a light tan. A tan circle contains black text that reads "The Raven Bookstore, MCMLXXXVII." Inside the circle at the top is the town name of Lawrence, and at the bottom is the state name Kansas. A raven is perched on an open book (both the raven and the book are black), and the raven is raising its beak to the left and its wings are outstretched. Surrounding the raven is a tan ribbon which says in black letters "Algorithms can't read."
December 17, 2024 at 4:18 AM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Neville discovered the heating vent (he "discovers" it every season). #catsofbluesky
A gray cat laying on a beige carpet, and part of his front leg is folded over a heating return vent on the ground. He is looking up at the camera, and his eyes are green.
December 6, 2024 at 7:10 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Happy Thanksgiving from these two beautiful knuckleheads. #dogsofbluesky
Image description: two Boston terriers are snuggled in a fuzzy teal blanket. The face of first dog is poking out from underneath the blanket, and the second dog is resting her head on top of her sister's head.
November 28, 2024 at 4:23 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
We only have ONE SPOT LEFT in our online Write Pittsburgh Holiday Spirit(s) Workshop! You get: ghost story writing prompts, group feedback, AND a spot in the anthology. This might be your last chance to snag a spot! #writingcommunity #ghoststories www.writepittsburgh.com/tickets
Image description: A lantern is sitting on a table on the left side of the image, and gray text appears on the right. The lantern has moon and stars cutouts. The text reads Write Pittsburgh Holiday Spirits Ghost Story Workshop. The second S in Spirits is in prentheses. The text continues Write your own holiday ghost story and have your work published in the Write Pittsburgh Holiday Spirits Anthology! Writing prompts given in advance. Zoom Workshop on Sunday, December 15, 7-9 p.m. The website is listed at the bottom of the graphic and is linked in my original post. Finally, on the image, transparent illustrations of ghosts appear at the bottom left and top right.
November 26, 2024 at 11:53 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
I was listening to Ina Garten's memoir on audiobook this afternoon while working on a scarf for my niece for Christmas, and Neville was having a hard time accepting that he couldn't sit in my lap. #catsofbluesky #crochet
Image description: I'm sitting in a chair holding the phone to take the picture, and a crochetted scarf is folded in my lap. It's got thick, collegiate-type horizontal stripes of cobalt blue and sunflower yellow. My left hand is resting on the left side of the scarf, and the crochet hook is looped through the stitching on the right. The cat, who is displeased that something else would be occupying my lap, worked his way to laying between my knees and tried to inch up to my lap. His paws are resting on the scarf, even though by this point I have moved them half a dozen times. He is a large gray domestic shorthair with green eyes, which are looking off to the side. He's middle age so he also has those bald patches for eyebrows from rubbing his face on things too much. He is a sweetie.
November 22, 2024 at 4:37 AM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
I'm leading this holiday ghost story workshop for Write Pittsburgh! We announced it today and it's already half full 😲. You pick a prompt and work on it ahead of time, bring it on the 15th to get feedback, and then we'll publish it in the anthology! #writingcommunity www.writepittsburgh.com/tickets
Image description: it's an advertising graphic for a Write Pittsburgh writing workshop. A glowing glass lantern with cutouts of moons and stars sits on the left side of the image, and transparent ghost illustrations are flying over the image. The text on the right side of the image reads: Holiday Spirits Ghost Story Workshop. The S in Spirits is in parentheses. It continues: Write your own holiday ghost story and have your work published in the Write Pittsburgh Holiday Spirits Anthology! Writing prompts given in advance. Zoom Workshop on Sunday December 15, 7-9 p.m. (eastern time). It then gives the web address, which is linked in the post.
November 19, 2024 at 8:44 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
I started reading On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder and it's already got great advice. #amreading
Image description: the cover of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder. The cover is cream-colored with black lettering and thin red accent lines. Image description: Chapter 1 of On Tyranny, which reads "1: Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do."
November 15, 2024 at 2:11 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Neville is helping with the murder board today #amwriting #catsofbluesky
Image description: A surly-looking gray cat sitting on the floor. He's in front of a white board that's propped against a bookshelf. The board has some writing in black marker but only bits of it are visible.
November 14, 2024 at 6:27 PM
slbarrett87.bsky.social
Jazzy is ET this morning.
Image description: close-up of a Boston terrier juvenile little girl. She's looking at the camera with her big brown eyes, and over her head like a hood is a white Halloween blanket patterned with orange jack o' lanterns and black bats. Her top lip is kind of caught in her bottom lip, so she looks like she's making an exasperated face at the camera.
October 24, 2024 at 1:24 PM