L.J. Spencer

I write and I read to you. Former American now living in the Republic of Ireland. http://ljspencer.ie

[ljspencerauthor]

Dear Beta Readers who ask me for work:

I get it. You want work. You might even be good at what you do.

But be aware that, at least for me, telling me that you could make my writing better when I’m releasing a finished work pokes at my Rejection Sensitivity stuff. I have several levels of editing that I use, and I generally don’t use beta readers because of my own reasons.

I’m mostly pointing this out because when you folks are “cold calling” via an author's posts of what they think of as primarily finished work saying you can make it better, you may be poking at emotional landmines for the author.

[thatbowserguy]

I feel like people here would appreciate the fact that a curse that was put on a Irish County's Gaelic Football Team over 70 years ago was proven true today

So they say back in 1951, County Mayo had won the All Ireland Football, and the team were naturally in high spirits on the bus coming home, and they passed by a funeral

After being asked to be more respectful and all, nobody listened because the excitement was just that high, so the priest placed a curse on them, saying Mayo will never win another All Ireland Final so long as the team members were still alive (although I've heard in other stories it was some eldery woman who cursed them)

So like, they probably thought it was a load of nonsense and continued celebrating, but after that, the years kept coming and Mayo didn't get into a final for years, and when they did they lost, and people were like, "oh shit, maybe the Mayo tram has been cursed"

So anyway one by one over time, the members of the team passed away, the last one passing away in 2023

And finally, the curse being broken, Mayo managed to win the All Ireland Football Final today, July 26th 2026, after a 75 year wait

That cursed was fucking real man that shit just doesn't happen by coincidence, I'm not even from Mayo and I believe in the curse

[ljspencerauthor]

Never underestimate priests and/or old ladies and curses, especially in a land known for magic.

[enfouled]

The derry girls would’ve killed pennywise with hammers I’ll tell you that much

[ljspencerauthor]

two words: peat bogs

[nicnacsnonsense]

I hate when people ask me how long it took me to crochet something I’ve made. Frankly, that’s none of my business. I put the yarn on the hook and worked on it whenever the spirit happened to take me to and then one day it was done. How long that process took is between the yarn and god; I want no part of it.

[ljspencerauthor]

accurate.

[bluepeets]

https://twitter.com/coff33detective/status/1271463582312673281

“make yourselves impossible to ignore. 10,000 signatures on twitter is a lot but 10 unique personal emails is enough to derail an entire council session.”

[ljspencerauthor]

Getting involved in your local government does a lot. And if you want to see the politicians you WANT to vote for in the future, then either get involved yourself or help out the local folks you like.

National level politicians don't just suddenly appear-- they first are your town council members, water board people, mayors, judges, state senators and reps... vote for and support your local folks... get inolved at the local level...

[dduane]

Leaving aside the virtues of the material itself, this is a very handsome trailer.

[ljspencerauthor]

[ljspencerauthor]

Nemetona Chapters 41-44 | Original Human Narrated Space Opera | Tales From Flat Space Season 7

#hfy #spaceopera #serial #scifi In this episode of Tales from Flat Space, I read chapters 41 through 44 of the 5th book in the Survey series entitled “Nemetona.” The audio was recorded on July 21, 2026 live on my Twitch stream. My novels can contain mature content. Listener discretion is advised. If you’d like to hear me read live, join me on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/ljspencerauthor Check the About section for the current reading schedule. To learn more about me and my work, got to http://ljspencer.ie. #scifistories #scifinarration #scifiaudiostory #audiobook #audiobookseries #novel

[ljspencerauthor]

I'm having one of those days where I'm replaying the scene in TNG in my head where Picard tells Wesley that he can do everything right and still lose.

Because my writing feels like that sometimes. I've done all the things the nebulous "they" tell you to do: I've done shorts on tiktok. I've had X and BlueSky and Instagram and Facebook accounts. I've had my ebooks everywhere. I've paid for advertising. I've got a lot of finished books.

But, honestly, my brain couldn't handle a lot of that. I've backed off and am now mostly narrating my own books and stories via podcast and YouTube. I took my books off of Amazon because, frankly, if you're not selling on Amazon, they tank your books anyway. I do have an option for ebooks coming, but that's not ready yet.

I've done all the right things, then I've backed off and done the things I could, and yet... nothing. I know it's a big pond and I'm just a tiny indie fish. I know my books won't be for everyone.

I'm still writing. I still want to write. I narrate my work and I'll keep writing about my queer and trans and neurodivergent characters, but some days...

some days are harder than others when you think no one wants to read your stuff....

(Cranky Old GenXer note: No, beta reader folks, this is NOT me asking for beta readers to read my stuff, this is me venting to the void, ok? If you ask me for work on this post I will block you.)

[datsderbunnyblog]

This comment was left on a post about making the most of the Libby app. "Excessive use of generous lending policies" is the most absurd phrase I've ever seen anyone use to discuss libraries.

[catboycommunist]

evergreen

[midnightinjapan]

This tag deserves a spotlight

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Everyone go make excessive use of your local library's generous lending policies to borrow my books and read them for free. Thank you libraries.

[unamccormack]

Yes, please, particularly in the UK and Ireland where I get remunerated through the Public Lending Right scheme, set up by activist lesbian socialists to make sure writers earn money when their texts are borrowed from libraries.

[ljspencerauthor]

I will defend public libraries until the day I die and tell everyone to use them because libraries are awesome...

however, I wish it was easier for indie authors to get their books into libraries. For the most part, if you aren't trad published, your books won't see a library at all. :(

[almyranpine]

really good tiktok

Transcript:

Girl, just do it fat. Don’t wait until you’ve lost enough weight. You’re worthy of taking up the space that you fill. Live your life now. Don’t wait for some future version of yourself that you think will be more deserving. You have every right to pursue your passions and dreams just as you are today. Your worth isn’t tied to a number on a scale or the size of your clothes; it is inherent in who you are. You’re allowed to be seen, heard, and celebrated in whatever body you inhabit right now. Don’t let anyone or anything convince you for too long. So go out. Do it fat! Wear the clothes you love, pursue the opportunities that excite you, and live unapologetically. There’s no reason to put off living the life that you want, waiting for a moment that you’re not even sure will come. You deserve to be happy and fulfilled just as you are, and the world needs you exactly as you are today. Everything good that has ever happened to you, happened in this body. Girl, just do it fat.

[sardonyxlestrange]

I finally got the photos for the shoot I did a while back :)

[ljspencerauthor]

I always love when this lovely comes on my feed... their style is incredible!

[nkp1981]

Sylvester McCoy in Glasgow, Scotland, July 2026

[transformativeworks]

Why AO3 Doesn't Have an Official App

#AO3 has no official app. All AO3 apps are from third parties – please be cautious about sharing your data with them. For information about why we don't have an app, and tips to make your AO3 experience more app-like, check out our latest news post: https://otw-news.org/yckzuv3v

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[ljspencerauthor]

Oh, wow, I had no idea that they allow for audio! I may have to do recordings on my fanfic!

[historicity-was-already-taken]

(Yoinked this from LinkedIn, genuinely interested in seeing how responses align with demographics) (so far it’s those of us over 35 being indignant but I wanna see how those fully plays out) (it’s cultural and technological history/memory, bruh)

18

[bellisima-writes]

I am an old bitch - 20/20.

[katbelleinthedark]

Literally all 20 and I still do some of these.

[unamccormack]

This is just trolling anyone over the age of 50. Of course I've done all of these. Accessed the internet by dial-up indeed.

[ljspencerauthor]

Yeah, what @unamccormack said... I've done all of that, too...

I kinda miss the cassette thing, but really, I'm rather glad for technology (especially maps/GPS!!!)

[actuallysara]

block people. avoid tags. mute words. follow like-minded people. do not engage with hate. curate your own experience in all the ways you can. that's the only way to survive fandoms my friends.

[cryoverkiltmilk]

You are your own zookeeper. Manage your enclosure.

[endykelopaedia]

PLEASE dont forget the incredibly racialised aspect of transmisogynistic murders and violence i am begging yall to not forget the incredibly racialised aspect of transmisogynistic muders and violence. the trans women being murdered are most often black women! they are often sex workers! the murder problem exists at an intersection of yes transphobia and misogyny, but also racism and classism! transmisogynoir is a violent killer! PLEASE im begging yall to not forget the racialised nature of transmisogynistic murders and violence!!!

[endykelopaedia]

in addition, black people, obviously, are the most likely to face police violence and false imprisonment. sex workers even more so. black women in general are a historically degendered class. black people are more likely to be impoverished. black people are more likely to be discriminated against in so many aspects of life. black people are the first to get hurt and black people are the last to get listened to. remember to fight for black trans women when you are fighting for trans women.