Vera Brook
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verabrook.bsky.social
Vera Brook
@verabrook.bsky.social
4.9K followers 1.1K following 830 posts
Neuroscientist turned science fiction, fantasy, romance #writer. Stories in Analog, Escape Pod, Cast of Wonders, Utopia SF. Latest novel: THE MISFIT & THE BEAST, YA romance about first love & high school theater. Based in Edinburgh. verabrook.com. she/her
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verabrook.bsky.social
Lovely to visit & catch up with a good friend in Lisbon. My first time to walk on the beach this summer. 😎
October 4, 2025 at 2:31 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh on a sunny day. ❤️
September 28, 2025 at 5:34 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
Hello to my new followers!

I’m a neuroscientist by training, a data specialist by day, and speculative fiction #writer by night. Really into climate & environmental fiction, hopeful narratives, the heroine’s journey, and the four-act story structure.

I have some starter packs you might like. 🙂
September 28, 2025 at 5:09 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
I went hiking around the Arthur’s Seat today. Found a lovely quiet spot away from the crowded trails to do some writing. 😎🥾✍️

Also, behold the glorious sunny weather in Scotland!

#writer #Edinburgh #Scotland
September 28, 2025 at 5:07 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
Spotted today on a street in Edinburgh. Castle Removals. For when, you know, you get tired of your castle and want it gone. 😆
A truck with the logo Castle Removals and a photo of the Edinburgh Castle on the side, zooming past you on a street in Edinburgh. Too funny.
September 27, 2025 at 4:15 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
My writing spot today: a lovely, secluded corner of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. ✨✍️✨
September 27, 2025 at 2:49 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
Lunch at The Glynne Arms pub & restaurant in Hawarden on the last day of Milford SF Writers’ Workshop. Great food, great conversation! 🍻

@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF
September 19, 2025 at 10:04 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
The last day at Milford Speculative Fiction Writers’ Workshop. Very bittersweet after a week full of intense writing craft discussions, mutual encouragement & community. So happy to be part of this group.

I already reserved my spot for September 2026.✨✍️✨

@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF
September 19, 2025 at 9:59 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
Huge congrats to Ana Sun on her short fiction collection! Just out from NewCon Press (while we are at Milford SF Writer Workshop.) 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

@singingtotigers.bsky.social
@milfordsff.bsky.social
#speculativefiction #solarpunk #climatefiction #newrelease

www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.as...
September 18, 2025 at 9:24 AM
verabrook.bsky.social
The face of a writer who just wrote a brand new story (a flash). 🥳

With thanks to Milford Speculative Fiction Writers Workshop for the time, place & inspiration! ✨✍️✨

Now to revise the story that the Milford group critiqued for me…

www.milfordsf.co.uk/about.htm

@milfordsff.bsky.social #MilfordSF
September 17, 2025 at 11:04 AM
verabrook.bsky.social
Just snatched an ebook of DOS MIL 25: Hispanic Fantasy & Science Fiction anthology.

Very excited to dive in! (And I aspire to read the original SFF in Spanish one day.)

a.co/d/5ayZqWT

#sciencefiction #fantasy #newrelease #HispanicSFF
September 17, 2025 at 10:02 AM
verabrook.bsky.social
I survived my first critique at Milford Writers’ Workshop. I enjoyed it & learned a ton.

Nothing better than a dozen of your fellow SFF writers dissecting your story & suggesting ways to make it stronger.

Thank you, all! 🙏

Photo: Milford Mandrake.

@milfordsff.bsky.social #writerslife
A brown crocheted mandrake root mascot lies on top of handwritten notes & printed copies with comments. Cute but cranky too. Meet Milford Mandrake, the official mascot of the Milford Writers Workshop. You get to hold him when your work is being critiqued.
September 15, 2025 at 7:05 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
At Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden. Ready to read & write some speculative fiction and meet some fellow writers. ✨✍️✨

#MilfordSF #writer #writerslife #writingworkshop #GladstonesLibrary @milfordsff.bsky.social
September 13, 2025 at 11:42 AM
verabrook.bsky.social
A reminder that I wrote & published some books. ✨📚✨ And you can buy them & read them in ebook or print. 🙏

Sand Runner
Cage Runner
Ghost Runner

The Misfit & The Beast

The Kiss

The Opposite of Luck

verabrook.com

#writer #VeraBrook #sciencefiction #YAbooks #romance #indieauthor
September 12, 2025 at 12:29 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
I am in Chester for a day before heading to Milford Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop, and I had the most delicious lunch: pierogi!

Handmade right in front of my eyes by Kasia and Wojtek, the owners of PIEROGI on 44 Brook Street.

Spoiler: I am going back for dinner.

@milfordsff.bsky.social
September 12, 2025 at 11:44 AM
verabrook.bsky.social
My new tshirt. I got it in Sevilla on a work trip. A reminder NOT TO overthink things. In life or in writing. 🙃 #writer #writerslife
A selfie of smiling Vera in a brown tshirt. The tshirt says: Hang on. Let me overthink this.
September 5, 2025 at 12:59 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
Recent read: MOXYLAND by Lauren Beukes. A wild cyberpunk ride with a razor sharp social critique at every turn. Impossible to put down. (With the view of the Pentlands near Edinburgh.) #books
September 5, 2025 at 12:55 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
Hiking in the Pentlands near Edinburgh.
August 13, 2025 at 9:07 AM
verabrook.bsky.social
I finally read BRIDGE by Lauren Beukes. My precious autographed copy from Eastercon.

What an incredible author voice!! I’ve never read anything like it. And I’m here for all the twisted neuroscience.

More, please!

#MustRead #SpeculativeFiction #NewBook @laurenbeukes.com
A gorgeous paperback of Lauren Beukes’ speculative thriller novel Bridge. A young woman’s face on pink background but a swirly cutout in blues and greens hides or covers her eyes. A dedication to Vera with the author Lauren Beukes’ mirror signatures in two colors to symbolize parallel realities. The best reality is the one we choose, the dedication says.
August 8, 2025 at 8:08 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
A quick visit to a lovely indie bookstore in Cieszyn before I had to head for the airport to catch my flight. I cannot wait to dive into these books in Polish (my native tongue).

#writerslife #Poland
July 20, 2025 at 9:03 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
I visited the University of Silesia in Cieszyn, my first visit to Poland in a long time & my first ever professional lecture in Polish.

(Cieszyn is a very old city with a fascinating history, right on the border with Czech Republic. One half of the city is Polish, the other Czech.)

#writerslife
July 20, 2025 at 8:50 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
I made a new friend. Her name is Tigger. (She may look cute but don’t be fooled. She is a skilled hunter. The other day she killed a bird without shedding a drop of blood.)

#writer #writerslife #cats
July 6, 2025 at 8:44 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
Hiking in Eyemouth in Scotland.

#writer #writerslife #hiking @edinburghsff.com
June 7, 2025 at 8:30 PM
verabrook.bsky.social
At a science for policy conference in Vienna (in my other life where I work in open science). Behold the stunning auditorium of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. I will present here an idea pitch for 60 seconds tonight. Not intimidating at all… 😳😖😆

#writer #writerslife
May 26, 2025 at 9:55 AM
verabrook.bsky.social
When you are in Vienna for the first time, and pass a movie theatre, and an adaptation of your favorite novel ever, THE MASTER AND MARGARITA, is playing…

Reader: I watched it and it was brilliant & fearless & so so beautiful. ❤️

#writer #writerslife #inspiration #MasterAndTheMargarita #books #film
May 25, 2025 at 9:24 PM