sara waxelbaum🌻
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woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
sara waxelbaum🌻
@woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
300 followers 270 following 800 posts
author • pirate enthusiast • audhd • antifascist jew • land back • acab

Sara Waxelbaum: Don’t Forget to Breathe (10.21.25), Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl
Sara Taylor Woods: Hold Me Down, short stories
rep: Rebecca Podos
www.woodsandwaxelbaum.com
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woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
alas I have but one hound to share
A probably-fox hound reclines indulgently on a blue-gray couch, her jowls cushioned on a yellow and purple striped throw pillow, while looking directly into the camera. She’s exhausted from a long day of barking at the neighbor’s dog, eating 4’s abandoned Goldfish, and not listening to a single goddamn thing any human has said to her.
November 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
looking for something tender and evocative and (most importantly) gay to read this weekend? DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE, our autistic-as-hell sapphic YA is available right the heck now: a.co/d/dLYndhl
November 7, 2025 at 6:14 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
I just dropped my goodest boy off at the vet for suspicious lump-removal surgery, so good vibes are very very appreciated. also behold his perfect old man face
Black dog with flopped-over yoda ears, a graying English professor goatee, and a white stripe on his chest, his tail mid-wag, standing in my kitchen. Ignore all evidence of children, aged 4 and 7, of which there is an incredible amount.
October 23, 2025 at 1:38 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
our beloved secondborn, DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE, emerged today, directly into your hands. it’s very gay and very messy and we hope you love it as much as we do 🤍 bookshop.org/p/books/don-...
the giddy authors, Sara Waxelbaum on the left and Brianna R. Shrum on the right, pose in front of their book, Don’t Forget to Breathe, which sits on a Barnes & Noble shelf.
October 21, 2025 at 10:53 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
@chuckwendig.bsky.social what in the black river orchard—
an eighth of an apple, showing the apple’s demon seeds beginning to sprout INSIDE THE APPLE
September 25, 2025 at 5:10 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
life, uh, finds a way
(fuck suburban grass monoculture honestly)
in a the foreground: a pumpkin sprout with three leaves amidst a slightly embarrassingly overgrown lawn in the background: the edge of a curving yellow slide, a white vinyl privacy fence
August 18, 2025 at 12:30 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
everything is terrible but my Lazarus cucumber* is thriving and fruiting

*not a real strain of cuke, just a plant I revived
a sad looking cucumber plant inside the circle of a tomato cage, planted in a cardboard box in my backyard. behind it, a purple plastic bin with carrot stalks and pole beans. same cucumber plant 24 hours later, looking much perkier. two weeks later, the same cucumber plant thriving and broad-leafed within the loving confines of its tomato cage. a few small yellow blooms can be seen amongst the leaves. foreground: a tiny spiky cucumber fruit on a vine, an unopened flower bud at its end. background, blurred: a yellow pot with stubbornly ungerminated lavender seeds, and a black dog named Archer lying on the grass behind it all.
June 13, 2025 at 11:19 AM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
If you see this post a flower 🌼

the butternut squash blooms are coming fast and furious
A butternut squash plant in a rectangular container next to a white panel vinyl fence; two bamboo stakes are on the left for the plant to climb. A big bright yellow flower rests against one of the stakes, surrounded by broad green leaves. A second yellow flower is half-hidden in the leaves on the right side of the plant, towards the back of the frame.
June 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
A gif from Our Flag Means Death season 1: Taika Waititi as Blackbeard in the center of the frame. Belowdecks. Closed captioning reads, “Not bloody optimal.”
March 5, 2025 at 1:19 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
the text in question lmao
Open book: on the left is a cutaway drawing of the sun, showing the convective zone in orange, the radiative zone in yellow-green, and the core in blue. In the right is text with the heading “The Many Layered Star,” followed by block text discussing the layers of the sun, the temperature of the sun, and the process of nuclear fusion that creates helium from hydrogen, and what happens with the leftover energy from the process. (It’s…very not a book for a four year old, but my four year old nerd child was very into it.)
March 4, 2025 at 3:13 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
ICYMI @briannashrum.bsky.social and I scored this breathtakingly lovely cover for our next f/f YA, DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE, on sale 10/21 from @epicreads.bsky.social. you can preorder here: bookshop.org/p/books/don-... #booksky
book cover: a white girl in a pink mini-dress and athletic sneakers sits on the large branch of a tree, in front of a swath of the tree's blooming white flowers. her head is not in the picture. below the tree branch (about halfway down the image) is a night sky, with two constellations highlighted--Maui's fishhook and Orion. layered on top of the sky is text: the top two lines are in a small white block font, in all caps; they read, "even when/you're falling..." Below, in the same shade of pink as the girl's dress, is the title of the book, one word on each line: "Don't Forget to Breathe." The first and third words "Don't" and "to" are in block caps, and the second and fourth, "Forget" and "Breathe" are in a romantic script, accentuated with the tree's white blossoms. Below the title are the authors' names, in the same white block font as the first lines: Brianna R. Shrum & Sara Waxelbaum.
February 23, 2025 at 8:59 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
BEHOLD. the absolutely gorgeous cover that Clare Vaughn and her team at @epicreads.bsky.social got @briannashrum.bsky.social and me for our next sapphic YA romance, DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE. it's out 10/21, and yes, you can preorder it! bookshop.org/p/books/don-...
book cover: a white girl in a pink mini-dress and athletic sneakers sits on the large branch of a tree, in front of a swath of the tree's blooming white flowers. her head is not in the picture. below the tree branch (about halfway down the image) is a night sky, with two constellations highlighted--Maui's fishhook and Orion. layered on top of the sky is text: the top two lines are in a small white block font, in all caps; they read, "even when/you're falling..." Below, in the same shade of pink as the girl's dress, is the title of the book, one word on each line: "Don't Forget to Breathe." The first and third words "Don't" and "to" are in block caps, and the second and fourth, "Forget" and "Breathe" are in a romantic script, accentuated with the tree's white blossoms. Below the title are the authors' names, in the same white block font as the first lines: Brianna R. Shrum & Sara Waxelbaum.
February 21, 2025 at 5:00 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
same energy
a still from Netflix show Bojack Horseman featuring Vincent Adultman (clearly a child dressed in a trench coat, fedora-style hat, with a broom for a hand) sitting behind a corporate style desk, holding a few sheets of paper. on the desk is more paper, a computer monitor with a vague chart on it, and a Newton's Cradle pendulum toy. above Vincent's head, thick white block all-caps text reads "BUSINESS-WISE," and below him, "THIS ALL SEEMS LIKE APPROPRIATE BUSINESS."
February 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
today is the final day of @barnesandnoble.com's preorder sale, where you can get 25% off your soon-to-be-faves—including this autistic ballerina/adhd pianist f/f romance @briannashrum.bsky.social and I cooked up just for you. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dont-forge... @epicreads.bsky.social #booksky
beige background divided into four quadrants: in the upper left, a white ballerina in black footless tights points her foot in a laced up white pointe at the gray floor of a ballet studio. in the lower right, a white pianist's hands on the keys of a piano (only the hands and one wrist of the person are visible); very little of the piano itself is visible, just the keys and triangle of the wood of its casing. in the lower left, the title of the advertised book, Don't Forget to Breathe, is featured in a scripty hand-lettered font; below it in a printed sans serif font is "coming 10.21.2025." in the upper right, a line drawing of the constellation Orion, drawn in a warm pink, is below the text "bn.com preorder sale | 25% off | code: PREORDER25 | February 5-7 only!"
February 7, 2025 at 3:28 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
February 2, 2025 at 7:30 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
Sara coded characters
Taika Waititi as Our Flag Means Death’s Ed Teach. Only his face and beard are visible over the curved edge of the tub he’s lying in. The bathroom is warmly lit. Dan Levy as Schitt’s Creek’s David Rose. He’s wearing a black and white print button down shirt, buttoned up to the top, and a short silver chain necklace on top of the shirt. His expression is skeptical or confused. The caption reads, “I’m trying very hard not to connect with people right now.” Aubrey Plaza as Parks and Recreation’s April Ludgate. She’s sitting behind a cluttered desk with a pen poised to write in her right hand and a tea bag mid-dunk into a mug. She’s wearing a black crew neck sweater over a white button-down shirt. She’s looking straight at the camera; her expression is annoyed and bored. Murderbot. Cover illustration from Martha Wells’ All Systems Red. The colors are largely green and gray. The background terrain is rocky and barren; the sky is greenish-yellow and has puffy cumulus clouds and several spherical bodies that are likely moons. The foreground is a humanoid figure in full body armor; its helmet has an opaque face plate.
February 2, 2025 at 3:03 AM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
good morning. Han Solo wanted me to remind you that it’s never too late to join the fight, no matter how long it’s been going on.
A hand holds a mug in the foreground of a kitchen. The mug features an illustrated Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the Millennium Falcon. Han is holding a blaster and behind three are three Rebellion X-wings flying, orange jet trails behind them. Behind the mug is an out-of-focus set of three windows, plants on the windowsills.
January 30, 2025 at 3:12 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
being real normal with the book I brought to read while I wait for my kid
Grady Hendrix’s Final Girl Support Group sitting on my lap.
January 16, 2025 at 3:37 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
Hey Florida friends, guess who’s coming to Orlando to sign books on January 25—
Flier for “YA-palooza” book signing event at Plaza Venezia Barnes & Noble in Orlando, Florida, on January 25, 2025, from 3-5pm, featuring 9 authors and their book covers: Alexandra Monir’s Realm of Wonders, Nadine Jolie Courtney’s All-American Muslim Girl, Jennifer Iacopelli’s Finding Her Edge, E. K. Johnston’s Star Wars: Crimson Climb, Margaret Owen’s Little Thieves, Ashley Poston’s Marvel/Hawkeye: Bishop Takes King, Tara Sim’s We Shall Be Monsters, Sara Waxelbaum & Brianna R. Shrum’s Margo Zimmerman Gets The Girl, and Rebecca Kim Wells’ Briar Girls.
January 7, 2025 at 8:50 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
“You will be visited by three spirits.”

the three spirits:
Left to right: Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. The three are standing in the dense forest of Endor. The still is from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
December 24, 2024 at 8:00 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
hey friends, I know it’s getting hard out there for queer kids and queer books, so if you (or someone you know) would like a signed + personalized copy of MARGO ZIMMERMAN GETS THE GIRL, shoot me a DM and we’ll get it to you.
Illustrated book cover: two white teen girls in front of a teal brick wall; the one on the left has short dark hair and is in jeans, tennis shoes, green ball cap, headphones hooked around her neck, hands in jacket pockets; her right foot is propped against the wall behind her and she is looking at the other girl. The other girl looks like she is walking past, her eyes turned toward the first girl. She has long red hair, freckles, and is taller. She’s wearing a white tank top, a blue-green mini skirt, and blue ballet flats. To her right, the title of the book is written in yellow to look like graffiti: Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl. Beneath the title, in a smaller font: “the most delightfully snarky romance I’ve read all year”—Ashley Poston, New York Times bestselling author. Below that, the authors are listed: Brianna R. Shrum, Sara Waxelbaum.
December 17, 2024 at 2:58 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
Twenty books (or book series) that have influenced you or left a lasting impact. One a day, with no context, or justification.

Day 2: Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

#booksky
#bookchallenges
A woman rides the back of a gold dragon against a green sky; there are mountains in the background and a fiery orange sun. At the top of the image is the title, Dragonflight; beneath, the author’s name, Anne McCaffrey, and “Volume 1 of the Dragonriders of Pern.”
December 16, 2024 at 12:59 PM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
Twenty books (or book series) that have influenced you or left a lasting impact. One a day, with no context, explanation, or justification.
#booksky #bookchallenge

1/20
Cover: WHALEFALL by Daniel Kraus. A huge, heavily scarred sperm whale rises toward the surface, its mouth open. In its path, a scuba diver floats seemingly suspended in a pool of light. Above the diver, text: “New York Times Bestselling Author Daniel Kraus.” Just below, to the left of the diver, a quote from author Gillian Flynn: “Astoundingly great.” At the bottom of the cover, where the body of the whale fades into darkness, the title: WHALEFALL. Below that, the publisher: MTV Entertainment Books.
December 13, 2024 at 3:03 AM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
Show me the ship that altered your brain chemistry (no I’m never shutting up about it)
Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi as Stede Bonnet and Ed Teach from Our Flag Means Death kissing on the beach, s1e9
December 9, 2024 at 1:54 AM
woodsandwaxelbaum.bsky.social
Post 4 characters that describe your personality!
Daria Morgandorfer (Daria) Ed Teach in his sad bathtub (Our Flag Means Death) David Rose saying, “I’m trying very hard not to connect with people right now.” (Schitt’s Creek) Annie Edison in the library study room, arms crossed, smiling (Community)
December 4, 2024 at 12:19 AM