Theo
@theomalings.bsky.social
Writer; Unpaid Carer; Winner of the Faber Action! Prize; Terrible at Welsh; Even worse at Elden Ring
THE RED TWILIGHT, an SFF Fantasy YA Thriller, will be published by Faber.
Agent: Emma Shercliff at Laxfield Literary Associates.
THE RED TWILIGHT, an SFF Fantasy YA Thriller, will be published by Faber.
Agent: Emma Shercliff at Laxfield Literary Associates.
Pinned
Theo
@theomalings.bsky.social
· Apr 2
Theo Malings wins Faber’s Action! Prize for ‘electric’ SFF thriller
Theo Malings has won Faber’s Action! Prize for her YA sci-fi fantasy thriller The Red Twilight. Second and third place went to Jonny Davison for The Knight Thief and Chris Watney’s Axel Ström vs the E...
www.thebookseller.com
The chimney sweep has been round so I've had both cats in with me all morning, both complaining wildly about their imprisonment. The sweep has now gone: one's asleep; the other spent 10 seconds mowing round, then came back and is preparing to sleep.
October 7, 2025 at 9:32 AM
The chimney sweep has been round so I've had both cats in with me all morning, both complaining wildly about their imprisonment. The sweep has now gone: one's asleep; the other spent 10 seconds mowing round, then came back and is preparing to sleep.
I'm impressed with sleepwalking me's ability to turn on half the lights in the house, but less impressed with her inability to turn them off again.
September 20, 2025 at 8:34 AM
I'm impressed with sleepwalking me's ability to turn on half the lights in the house, but less impressed with her inability to turn them off again.
So, apparently I'm sitting on a small fortune?
(I also still have my copy of Path of Radiance)
(I also still have my copy of Path of Radiance)
For those new to early 2000s Nintendo who may not be aware why Chibi-Robo coming to Switch 2's GameCube library is such a big deal, voilà:
August 13, 2025 at 8:59 AM
So, apparently I'm sitting on a small fortune?
(I also still have my copy of Path of Radiance)
(I also still have my copy of Path of Radiance)
I've been reading James Bloodworth's Lost Boys (about the Manosphere) and it's inadvertently illuminating re AITA's "Anybody who prevents you from having exactly what you want at the moment you want it is an asshole and you should actively not accommodate anybody but yourself" mindset.
August 7, 2025 at 8:40 AM
I've been reading James Bloodworth's Lost Boys (about the Manosphere) and it's inadvertently illuminating re AITA's "Anybody who prevents you from having exactly what you want at the moment you want it is an asshole and you should actively not accommodate anybody but yourself" mindset.
I regret to inform my mother asked who Taylor Swift is.
August 1, 2025 at 11:40 AM
I regret to inform my mother asked who Taylor Swift is.
Supposed to be getting fibre broadband today but the engineer has gone off to find somebody with a vital piece of equipment. Will he return? Was this an excuse to get out of the rain? Will I lose my Duolingo streak (2607 days) because of this?
Who can tell?
Who can tell?
July 15, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Supposed to be getting fibre broadband today but the engineer has gone off to find somebody with a vital piece of equipment. Will he return? Was this an excuse to get out of the rain? Will I lose my Duolingo streak (2607 days) because of this?
Who can tell?
Who can tell?
I do believe the first draft may be finished.
Huzzah!
Huzzah!
June 5, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I do believe the first draft may be finished.
Huzzah!
Huzzah!
OMG my local Argos alleges SWITCH 2 stock.
I would believe it because I live in the arse end of nowhere.
I would believe it because I live in the arse end of nowhere.
June 5, 2025 at 11:01 AM
OMG my local Argos alleges SWITCH 2 stock.
I would believe it because I live in the arse end of nowhere.
I would believe it because I live in the arse end of nowhere.
Saw somebody lamenting that, having had AI edit and rewrite their work, they were never going to be as good as AI was.
Friends, the AI was terrible. I have bought aubergines less purple than the AI prose. And I'm willing to bet the person posting couldn't see it because they don't read.
Friends, the AI was terrible. I have bought aubergines less purple than the AI prose. And I'm willing to bet the person posting couldn't see it because they don't read.
June 5, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Saw somebody lamenting that, having had AI edit and rewrite their work, they were never going to be as good as AI was.
Friends, the AI was terrible. I have bought aubergines less purple than the AI prose. And I'm willing to bet the person posting couldn't see it because they don't read.
Friends, the AI was terrible. I have bought aubergines less purple than the AI prose. And I'm willing to bet the person posting couldn't see it because they don't read.
Got a random numb spot on my foot that is baffling the GP. If this turns out to be a B12 or Thyroid issue when I've spent at least a year telling myself I'm tired because I'm lazy and should do more, I'm going to be quite annoyed.
June 4, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Got a random numb spot on my foot that is baffling the GP. If this turns out to be a B12 or Thyroid issue when I've spent at least a year telling myself I'm tired because I'm lazy and should do more, I'm going to be quite annoyed.
My spoiler-free opinion of The Last of Us S2 is that it felt more concerned with manoeuvring things into place for Series 3 than creating a whole story.
It is also an excellent example of why "Cut it in half and query the first half!" is terrible advice to writers with a 200K+ behemoth.
It is also an excellent example of why "Cut it in half and query the first half!" is terrible advice to writers with a 200K+ behemoth.
June 2, 2025 at 1:34 PM
My spoiler-free opinion of The Last of Us S2 is that it felt more concerned with manoeuvring things into place for Series 3 than creating a whole story.
It is also an excellent example of why "Cut it in half and query the first half!" is terrible advice to writers with a 200K+ behemoth.
It is also an excellent example of why "Cut it in half and query the first half!" is terrible advice to writers with a 200K+ behemoth.
At the "but what if you introduced a random idea 5K from the projected end of the MS and tried to retcon it in?" stage of the 1st draft.
In my defence, it's a *great* idea, it's just probably not a great idea for *this* MS.
In my defence, it's a *great* idea, it's just probably not a great idea for *this* MS.
May 30, 2025 at 1:24 PM
At the "but what if you introduced a random idea 5K from the projected end of the MS and tried to retcon it in?" stage of the 1st draft.
In my defence, it's a *great* idea, it's just probably not a great idea for *this* MS.
In my defence, it's a *great* idea, it's just probably not a great idea for *this* MS.
Good morning to everybody who is too literal to successfully complete their morning tasks. Let's start a WhatsApp.
May 29, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Good morning to everybody who is too literal to successfully complete their morning tasks. Let's start a WhatsApp.
v busy. Might start a substack.
May 28, 2025 at 8:48 AM
v busy. Might start a substack.
Sometimes I think I've gone a little too far with this book, but then I remember every teenage boy I've ever met and realise I should probably go just that little bit further.
It's a lot of fun.
It's a lot of fun.
May 23, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Sometimes I think I've gone a little too far with this book, but then I remember every teenage boy I've ever met and realise I should probably go just that little bit further.
It's a lot of fun.
It's a lot of fun.
Not my sister putting the most facetuned, eyes inflated, cheeks sucked in, pathetic nonsense of a photograph as her profile image.
Nature hasn't gifted us, bab. Accept it.
Nature hasn't gifted us, bab. Accept it.
May 21, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Not my sister putting the most facetuned, eyes inflated, cheeks sucked in, pathetic nonsense of a photograph as her profile image.
Nature hasn't gifted us, bab. Accept it.
Nature hasn't gifted us, bab. Accept it.
59,000 words down, around 15,000 to go.
a poster of a woman flexing her muscles with the words we can do it above her
Alt: a poster of a woman flexing her muscles with the words we can do it above her
media.tenor.com
May 10, 2025 at 3:07 PM
59,000 words down, around 15,000 to go.
This is a great piece.
I personally feel like some of the class problem is caused by a reluctance to define the "lower middle class". A lot of the people in the public eye who have this kind of not-WC-but-not-public-school upbringing seem to call themselves Working Class. It's not helpful.
I personally feel like some of the class problem is caused by a reluctance to define the "lower middle class". A lot of the people in the public eye who have this kind of not-WC-but-not-public-school upbringing seem to call themselves Working Class. It's not helpful.
Great essay here by @drdaveobrien.bsky.social about the change - or not - in publishing since Common People in 2019.
Please share :)
Please share :)
Publishing’s Class Problem
When you’re a child, your social class doesn’t determine how good you are at reading and writing. Yet half of our published writers are from middle-class backgrounds, and only 10 per cent are working ...
thebeemagazine.com
May 5, 2025 at 8:20 AM
This is a great piece.
I personally feel like some of the class problem is caused by a reluctance to define the "lower middle class". A lot of the people in the public eye who have this kind of not-WC-but-not-public-school upbringing seem to call themselves Working Class. It's not helpful.
I personally feel like some of the class problem is caused by a reluctance to define the "lower middle class". A lot of the people in the public eye who have this kind of not-WC-but-not-public-school upbringing seem to call themselves Working Class. It's not helpful.
How very dare my OU tutor suggest that I stop getting annoyed with myself for failing to complete the entirely unreasonable amount of tasks I've set myself? I will not stand for this kind of helpful and empathetic advice!
May 1, 2025 at 3:39 PM
How very dare my OU tutor suggest that I stop getting annoyed with myself for failing to complete the entirely unreasonable amount of tasks I've set myself? I will not stand for this kind of helpful and empathetic advice!
Reading an ARC and it's probably the most disappointed I've been in a book for a while. Total shift in tone and focus from the first in the series.
I genuinely can't see how it's going to get any better, but fingers crossed.
I genuinely can't see how it's going to get any better, but fingers crossed.
April 28, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reading an ARC and it's probably the most disappointed I've been in a book for a while. Total shift in tone and focus from the first in the series.
I genuinely can't see how it's going to get any better, but fingers crossed.
I genuinely can't see how it's going to get any better, but fingers crossed.
Upgraded the desktop from 8GB to 16GB and it is m.a.g.i.c.
April 26, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Upgraded the desktop from 8GB to 16GB and it is m.a.g.i.c.
If anybody doubted my talents or my age, I have managed to slip a disc making a bowl of All Bran.
April 24, 2025 at 2:06 PM
If anybody doubted my talents or my age, I have managed to slip a disc making a bowl of All Bran.
The bathroom panic claims to solve a problem that doesn't exist. But when control and agency have been taken from you, it is common to try and take it back.
Keeping trans women out of bathrooms will not keep anybody from experiencing DV. It will not save them from being SAed. [...]
Keeping trans women out of bathrooms will not keep anybody from experiencing DV. It will not save them from being SAed. [...]
cis folks, i'm curious for you to share answers, if you want:
what made you start caring about trans rights? who'd you know/what happened? tell me the story.
what made you start caring about trans rights? who'd you know/what happened? tell me the story.
April 19, 2025 at 1:43 PM
The bathroom panic claims to solve a problem that doesn't exist. But when control and agency have been taken from you, it is common to try and take it back.
Keeping trans women out of bathrooms will not keep anybody from experiencing DV. It will not save them from being SAed. [...]
Keeping trans women out of bathrooms will not keep anybody from experiencing DV. It will not save them from being SAed. [...]
Reposted by Theo
Calling all aspiring authors and illustrators of colour... the FAB Prize 2025 is now open for entries ✒️🎨
To enter and find out more: faber.co.uk/journal/faber-launches-2025-fab-prize-with-a-publishing-deal-for-the-winner/
To enter and find out more: faber.co.uk/journal/faber-launches-2025-fab-prize-with-a-publishing-deal-for-the-winner/
April 17, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Calling all aspiring authors and illustrators of colour... the FAB Prize 2025 is now open for entries ✒️🎨
To enter and find out more: faber.co.uk/journal/faber-launches-2025-fab-prize-with-a-publishing-deal-for-the-winner/
To enter and find out more: faber.co.uk/journal/faber-launches-2025-fab-prize-with-a-publishing-deal-for-the-winner/
If I keep to my current schedule, I will have a full draft by the end of May. *If*
And while I'm feeling incredibly exhausted by everything, I am having a lot of fun with this book. Being able to do pretty much *anything* with it is terrific. Can't wait for it to be ready for sharing!
And while I'm feeling incredibly exhausted by everything, I am having a lot of fun with this book. Being able to do pretty much *anything* with it is terrific. Can't wait for it to be ready for sharing!
April 11, 2025 at 2:06 PM
If I keep to my current schedule, I will have a full draft by the end of May. *If*
And while I'm feeling incredibly exhausted by everything, I am having a lot of fun with this book. Being able to do pretty much *anything* with it is terrific. Can't wait for it to be ready for sharing!
And while I'm feeling incredibly exhausted by everything, I am having a lot of fun with this book. Being able to do pretty much *anything* with it is terrific. Can't wait for it to be ready for sharing!