Lindsey Carmichael
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utarcher.bsky.social
Lindsey Carmichael
@utarcher.bsky.social
390 followers 520 following 320 posts
Writer & Paralympic medalist. FD/MAS. She/her.

♿🏳️‍🌈

https://www.lindseycarmichael.com

📷 PFP credit to Ace Jones Taylor.
🧵 Cover credit to HGEmbroideryArt.
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utarcher.bsky.social
"The future is accessible." -Annie Segarra

Updating cover art w this amazing #embroidery artwork. Shared w permission, credit to HGEmbroideryArt! www.etsy.com/shop/HGEmbro... 🏳️‍🌈🧵

Based on a photo of me dancing in a wheelchair from my 2018 #HealingVisibly photo-essay project. #TheFutureIsAccessible
An embroidery hoop with white fabric showing a complex artwork of a person in a manual wheelchair lifting a walker above her head, and kicking a leg up above their chair's leg rest. The person's hair is long and galaxy-colored. The embroidered text reads "The future is accessible," which is a quote from Annie Segarra. Artwork copyright HGEmbroideryArt, DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION!
September 11, 2025 at 10:45 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
What a pick-me-up for a rough day of con-drop after #WorldCon! @libro.fm just popped up with a wondrous notification allowing me to download my pre-order of Lessons in Magic and Disaster by the legendary @charliejane.bsky.social! Esp after the Feminist Futurism Salon, I am SO excited!
Screenshot of the Libro FM app showing the purple and yellow cover of the audiobook Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders, narrated by Lisa Flanagan, Marisa Calin, and Sena Bryer.
August 19, 2025 at 4:35 AM
utarcher.bsky.social
"Sometimes I get reminded that media exists that isn't gay at all, and it really saddens me." @hanalee.bsky.social #WorldCon
A four panel meme with a photo of a fluffy white dog being tossed up into the air by a human. First panel says "so lomg human." Second panel shows the dog further away as if flying up into the sky and says "i have achieved my goal." Third panel the dog is far away and it says in rainbow text "everyone gay." The final panel is an empty sky because the dog has ascended.
August 17, 2025 at 1:13 AM
utarcher.bsky.social
My favorite part of what Becky Chambers said in the "Genre in Conversation with Itself" panel at @seattlein2025.org #WorldCon, which I really needed to hear.

A response to the question, "how do you deal with the emotional impact of someone responding to your works?"

Cameo by George R. R. Martin.
Discord screenshot of transcription of 242 words of Becky Chambers and George R. R. Martin speaking on a panel at Seattle WorldCon. Becky Chambers: This is so much easier said than done. But it's not personal, right? I'm not my work. My work is something I made in a very contained period of my life. And so… whatever someone's response to that is, is really not my business. Right? I… I did not feel this way when I first started out. Part of it is just time, and growing that thick skin. Unfortunately, thick skin is not something that you can develop overnight. But it is just a matter of constantly grabbing yourself by the scruff and being like, "hey, is this conversation that's happening actually a space that you should be in?" Right? Because most of the time when people are talking about my work it's not a place I need to be. And they're… because they're not talking about me. They're talking about their own feelings about the work. They're talking about their own personal conversation with it. And it's usually a conversation with something I made 10 years ago. I'm not that person anymore. I'm doing my own thing now, right? It takes practice. I'm not always good at it. But… it does get easier with time. George RR Martin: But don't you love the things that you wrote 10 years ago? I mean, they're your children, and someone's saying your firstborn children is ugly. Becky Chambers: Oh, I love them. I love them to bits, but I would edit. [laughs]
August 15, 2025 at 11:03 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
Becky Chambers & @isabel.kim said so many wise things today about the cooperative nature of the dialogue inherent within the SFF genre.

Two excerpts that resonated with me as both a writer and reader, from the #WorldCon panel "A Genre in Conversation with Itself" with @scalzi.com Olav Rokne & GRRM.
Discord screenshot of 355-word convo w/ Isabel J Kim, Becky Chambers, and John Scalzi. Isabel J Kim: One thing I've been thinking about a lot is that you don't respond to something you don't care about. Regardless of whether you love it or hate it, you do kind of give a shit about it. This is something you care about, this is something you want to expand on. It's like, if someone really hated something, or if something didn't matter, then it would just disappear from the canon, it would never be responded to. Yeah, I don't know, I got a lot of people being like, “do you like or hate Ursula K. Le Guin?” after I wrote a response piece. And I was very much like, “Of course I like her work.” I wouldn't spend my brain and my brain power on responding to something I didn't care about. Becky Chambers: That's exactly what I was thinking about through this whole back and forth. I think, love it or hate it, I mean, fuck the binary, right? [audience cheers] It's… Does a conversation have to be adversarial? It's not a debate. Right? It's a conversation. There are different viewpoints, there are different takes. Some of them are gonna land with some people, some are gonna land with others, right? That's just how art works. I personally don't see… when I write things that are… you know, “ooh, I really love that, but what if we did this?” I don't see that as, “I'm correct, and I am going to have the only correct take there is!” No, I'm putting my spin on it. Because I love it. Or because I was like, mm, I loved that little kernel. But what if we did this instead? I don't think there's… it's not a competition, as far as I'm concerned, and I know I'm a great big marshmallow, but… For me, it's collaborative. Even if I don't know the people, even if these are people I've never met, I am collaborating with all of the authors who came before me and after me. John Scalzi: So you're saying the genre is free-form jazz? Becky Chambers: Yes. And I play saxophone. (No, I don't.)
August 15, 2025 at 10:53 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
My story "Marit the Resolute" is a portal fantasy about belonging, trust, & traveling while disabled.

Traveling Light: Tales of the Magical Gates is available in eBook & paperback!

📘 Bookshop: bookshop.org/p/books/trav...

📗 B&N: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/traveling-...

📙Amazon: a.co/d/3n3loft
Book cover showing a stone archway, green grass, and the tattooed hands of someone with light brown skin who has fallen through the portal. Text shows Traveling Light: Tales of the Magical Gates, Presented by Worldbuilding for Masochists, and the names of the twelve authors.
July 30, 2025 at 10:19 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
Hi! I'm a nerdy queer writer w/ work in the anthology Traveling Light from Hugo-finalist podcast @worldbuildcast.bsky.social. A 2x Paralympian, I set a world record in 2004 & won a bronze medal in 2008. So far I'm the only US woman to win an Olympic or Paralympic archery medal in singles since 1996.
Lindsey is sitting with her arms folded on a table with a grey tablecloth, a microphone and packet of typed notes in front of her. She's wearing a blue face mask with a blue sweater and has medium-length wavy brown-silver hair. In the foreground you can see a portable air purifier and a paperback titled Traveling Light: Tales of the Magical Gates, with twelve authors listed on the cover, herself included. She looks very happy.
July 30, 2025 at 10:06 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
It took me two hours of executive dysfunction (and roughly 20 non-consecutive pages of The Illiad, of all things) to track down my response. Which also came from Insta. When a writer friend sent this to me, it made me laugh-choke on my tea 😂

CW for death/morbid humor, I guess?
Screenshot of a social media post by maria sherman @mariasherm. Text says "being a writer is cool because it's like always having homework & then you die"
July 10, 2025 at 4:15 AM
utarcher.bsky.social
Today marks 48 years since the end of the 504 Sit-In!

Did you know disabled people have accessibility in the US largely because some brave people held the longest nonviolent occupation of a federal building in US history?

I was in my 30s before I learned the history that made my life possible.
A black and white photo of legendary activist Judy Heumann speaking into a microphone at an outdoor event. She's sitting in a wheelchair and is wearing octagonal glasses and a winter coat with a button that says SIGN 504.
April 29, 2025 at 7:26 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
If you see this, post your pride flags!

(And optional crafts you made of those flags.)

Don't forget the alt text!
Omnisexual pride flag in five bands of pinks and blues. Omnisexuality is defined as the sexual attraction to people of all sexes and gender identities, wherein gender plays a role in one's attraction. An embroidery hoop with geometric shapes I stitched in five bands of color for the omnisexual pride flag. The hoop itself is painted pink, and the original design credit goes to Wolfratsen. Polyamory pride flag with a yellow heart on a white triangle and bands of blue, purple, and pink. Disability pride flag with a charcoal grey background and diagonal stripes of five colors symbolizing cutting across inaccessible barriers. The red band is for physical disabilities, gold for neurodivergence, white for undiagnosed and hidden disabilities, blue for mental disabilities and mental illness, green for sensory disabilities. The charcoal represents mourning for ableist violence, and honoring those lost to disability and illness. It was originally designed by Ann Magill, a disabled activist, and later revised with community input to improve visual accessibility.
February 28, 2025 at 5:54 AM
utarcher.bsky.social
"To refuse to participate in the shaping of our future is to give it up. Do not be misled into passivity either by false security (they don't mean me) or by despair (there's nothing we can do). Each of us must find our work and do it."

Audre Lorde, 1982 speech at Harvard, "Learning from the 60s"
The quote transposed over a photo collage of Audre Lorde, a Black woman with short natural hair in a purple floral top, set against an ornate background of flowers and a circle of dots radiating from Lorde's face. The artwork is from the 2020 edition book cover of Lorde's short 1980 essay collection The Cancer Journals.
February 13, 2025 at 10:36 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
Listening to Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Shaping Worlds by @adriennemareebrown.bsky.social today, and this quote from Detroit organizer Morgan Mann Willis stood out to me.
Screenshot of an ebook that reads: “I believe in the honesty of trees. I, like many organizers, have spent a lot of time processing the notion that anything worth its outcome involves everyone’s priorities, desires, visions and perspectives in every phase and around every decision. I look at the anatomy of trees as one of nature’s examples of successful organizing that realizes that our power is in our ability to both be fiercely centered and grounded but also infinitely reaching towards our unique sources of energy, light, and growth. Each tree’s elements are reliant on one another but totally unique in form and function. There is no competition or pressure to be the root or the trunk or the buds that bloom. Each tree is a universe, a master delegator, a puzzle and a puzzle piece. They have encouraged me to not worry so much about making everyone ‘feel important’ and to focus on how to create systems and support efforts where everyone is important and clear on how their work is unique, crucial and totally interconnected.” —Morgan Mann Willis
February 2, 2025 at 11:08 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
Today I discovered this unexpected marigold amid the annual letting-go of wintertime gardening.

What are some unlooked-for joys keeping you going through the exhaustion of recent events?
A yellow marigold flower in a green mass of leaves, nestled into a container full of dead and dried pepper and okra plants.
February 2, 2025 at 10:45 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
Anyway I am forever grateful and full of admiration for Becky Chambers. I'm sad she's not on social media but I am also glad she knows herself and her limits. Mad respect.

Here's the AMA I quoted.

www.reddit.com/r/books/s/8K...
Screenshot of the AMA. DM for full text. Summary is: What's some advice for aspiring authors? 1. You are not defined by how productive you are, or whether you get published or if your work is any good. Tell anybody who romanticizes burnout to f*** off. Writing is just a cool thing that you can choose to do. It's not what makes you worthwhile. You already are, without doing anything more. 2. Experiment constantly. Give yourself new puzzles to solve. Figure out your preferences and strengths, never stop exploring those things. 3. Research the practical side of writing professionally to have a clear idea of what you're working towards. There's no wrong answer. 4. Sometimes this job sucks. It's okay to go eat some other art for a while. Find something that lights stuff fire in. You, grab it with both hands as hard as you can, and start running again. It always comes back. Screenshot of the rest of the AMA. DM for full text. Summary is: 5. Some stories don't work, and that's okay. Don't ever throw anything out. Always be open to recycling. 6. If you love your story, somebody else will too. Believe in it.
January 30, 2025 at 6:13 AM
utarcher.bsky.social
Serendipity! Met @drstephaniecawthon.bsky.social at Bookwoman & rolled right into a great convo. Instabought her new book #DisabilityIsHuman + workbook, she was kind enough to sign them & pause for a selfie. CONGRATS on your publication! I'm excited to come back for the full event at 7pm on 2/5!
Lindsey is in a wheelchair, blue jean jacket, and purple mask, holding up two books in green and purple with spirals on the cover and the title Disability is Human, plus the accompanying workbook. Stephanie stands nearby in a long sleeve shirt, orange vest, and black face mask. In the background are bookshelves and colorful decorations.
January 23, 2025 at 12:25 AM
utarcher.bsky.social
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is about a woman cursed to endure my worst fear. Seeing her manage to find meaning was SO healing for me. Gorgeous writing, 5 stars. Please, VE Schwab (are they on Bsky yet?) keep building those armored giants, going on those quests, sitting in the chair to write. 💜
Screenshot of tweet that reads: Victoria/V.E. Schwab, @veschwab. Look, writing books isn't that hard. All you have to do is build an armored giant out of all your fears and then fight it to the death and melt the metal down to forge a pair of doors locked by doubt and go on a quest to find the key and then sit your ass in the chair and write.
January 15, 2025 at 9:51 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
Post your favorite #DoctorWho. Wrong answers only.
A painting of Robinton, Master Harper, from the book series Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. A man in a doublet and cape holds a harp and a glass of wine, looking majestically out over a desert sunset as a massive blue dragon poses behind him. There's a rider on the dragon's back and the tail of the creature is wrapped possessively around the man in a way that is almost guaranteed to trip him, spill the wine, and probably strum the harp too.
January 13, 2025 at 8:47 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
Photos of a Frostweed plant stem splitting into a spiral frost-flower. Species is Verbesina virginica. Taken yesterday morning in a breathless rush before therapy. ❄️

(Plus a bonus photo of a Monarch butterfly feasting on the white flowers of this same plant during warmer seasons. 🦋) #NativeTX
Closeup of delicate ice swirling out of a broken plant stem, surrounded by blades of grass. A photo of the entire plant with ice spirals at its base. The leaves are large, drooping green-yellow, and there are clusters of seeds at the dried flowers at the top. The background is a lot of uncut St Augustine grass. A bright warm photo of a black and orange monarch butterfly perched on the white flowers of a Frostweed plant, which is healthy and green at a different part of the year. The grass behind is also a vibrant green.
January 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
You've been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who is coming to save you?

YESSSS GOAT HOUSE! 🐐🤘🏻😎

My @dimension20.bsky.social addiction is the gift that keeps on giving. #MisfitsAndMagic
Five people cheering on a split screen, with a miniature castle in the foreground and the colors of a geodesic dome in the background. Clip from Misfits and Magic, a Dimension 20 show on the amazing Dropout network.
January 5, 2025 at 4:16 AM
utarcher.bsky.social
My whole body wants to make sure I know some Big Weather is coming. Bone aches in places I don't even remember having injuries + an ocular migraine that made me go 75% blind w fractals for half an hour. Guess it's "quiet audiobook" day.

Finding solace in @jarodkanderson.bsky.social's writing again.
A black and white photo of a table with a cup of tea, a banana, a small dish of medicine, a pair of over-the-ear bone-conducting headphones, a pencil, and a hardback book, Something in the Woods Loves You, by the poet and Cryptonaturalist podcaster Jarod K. Anderson.
January 4, 2025 at 8:20 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
(CW surgery details)

Definitely feeling very #CripPunk filling out this hardcore detail from the hardest, longest surgery I've been through.

I'm an actual mutant and I've had multiple experimental bone-strengthening treatments.

Sorry 'bout your bone saws, bro 🤷‍♀️
Closeup of screenshot of the webform asking type of procedure, and to explain complications. My text shows "replace femoral rods, shorten L femur, lengthen R" and in complications it says "dulled 2 bonesaws, 17 hrs" which is admittedly brief enough to be confusing, but it's not my fault you only gave me 25 characters.
December 12, 2024 at 7:27 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
(CW surgery details)

45 mins to get to the point in this "medical passport" where I'm finally going to fill in my extensive surgical history, one procedure at a time, and it gives me *25 characters* to explain what the complications were.

Guess I'm too human & messy to be contained by this tech.
Screenshot of a web form page titled Past Surgical History. It's asking me to enter each procedure, the type, when, and if there were complications then it gives a tiny box to explain. The one I have entered here says "emergency surgery to replace plate, broken screw, within the last 10 years, yes there were complications," and in the final box I have tried and failed to fill in "life-threatening drop in" which has been cut off due to lack of space.
December 12, 2024 at 7:06 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
Love this. Feeling so safe, knowing that this surgery center is clearly following the rules and cares about my health, esp as a high risk person, esp during a high risk season.

Why on earth would you ever require masks for a SURGERY CENTER?

This is fine.

(/s)
Screenshot of a web form of visit details for a surgery center. It mentions the ongoing pan demic, tells us to stay home in case of CO VID symptoms. I have highlighted the lines that say "the center has implemented the following strategies to minimize risk: 1. Masks are currently optional."
December 12, 2024 at 6:46 PM
utarcher.bsky.social
One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.

No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 6

#booksky💙📚
#bookchallenge
Photo of a paperback book laying on a blue-teal scarf. The book is the 1987 edition of Ratha's Creature by Clare Bell. The illustration on the cover is done in stylized colored pencil, showing a female saber-toothed lion surrounded by tropical plants with a river in the background.
December 10, 2024 at 5:42 AM
utarcher.bsky.social
One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.

No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 5

(Nobody said they had to be consecutive days, right? 😅)

#booksky💙📚
#bookchallenge
Photo of a paperback book, the 1987 edition of Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey, with cover art by Jody Lee. The artwork shows a teenager with short brown hair, in brown androgenous clothing and a long tan scarf, astride a gorgeous magical white horse called a Companion, with an intricate blue saddle and ornamentation. A mountain and pine forest rise in the background. The art is rich with pink, gold, and purples. The book is laying against a scarf with black and purple designs.
December 9, 2024 at 4:12 AM