Val Nolan

@vallescurarule

Co-author of Spec Fic for Newbies 1, 2, 3; author of Neil Jordan: Works for the Page; Sturgeon/BSFA/BFA finalist; Locus Rec List; articles in Irish Uni Review, symplokē, Science Fiction Studies, Irish Studies Review, JGNC; fiction in many venues... He/Him

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Val Nolan@vallescurarule· 17d

<Excitedly pitches Christopher Nolan a movie based on a writing guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror> 😂 "Chris, it's a story *about* stories...!" linktr.ee/specficforne...

Screenshot of a photo and headline from (I think?) the Philadelphia Inquirer. Caption reads: "A Penn professor thought she’d sell 1,000 copies of her ‘Odyssey’ translation. She sold more than a million this year alone, thanks to Christopher Nolan". Photo if of Professor(and Odyssey translator) Emily Wilson sitting at a desk surrounded by papers, books, computer, and various other academic accoutrements.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· 18d

The Odyssey, dir. Christopher Nolan, 2026.

Promotional image of actor Dwayne Johnson in character from the live action version of the film Moana (2026).

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· 19d

For All Mankind (2019-present).

Still from the 1953 cartoon 'Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century' showing the characters of Marvin the Martian (left) and Duck Dodgers (right) on the surface of the alien world Planet X. They are holding the flags of Mars and Earth respectably as each seeks to claim the planet.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· 19d

You know, sometimes I miss seeing ships everyday!

A cruise ship on the still waters of Galway Bay under a blue sky, with the soft grey hills of The Burren in the background.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· 21d

Witches, monsters, mysterious islands, and mythological fantasy, you say?! 😀 If you fancy writing your own Odyssey, check out the Locus-recommended and BSFA/BFA nominated Spec Fic for Newbies writing guide series! Find TOCs and purchasing options here: linktr.ee/specficforne...

A still from the 2006 film The Odyssey featuring (Hollywood's version of) three Greek soldiers standing on barren ground in front of some tents and a bright blue sky. They are decked out in armour and swords. Their heads have been replaced here with the covers of the three books in the Spec Fic for Newbies writing guide series by Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· 22d

Oppenheimer (2023, dir. Christopher Nolan).

Screenshot from the Stargate: Atlantis episode 'Trinity' showing the character of Dr. Rodney McKay seated (center) in front of a computer displaying the result of a high energy physics test (the result reads "Stable"). To the left, the character Dr. Radek Zelenka (wearing a lab coat). A third scientists is standing in the background.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· 22d

I genuinely thought I was the only person who ever watched Last Resort 😂

The amazing and much-missed actor Andre Braugher as Captain Chaplin on the TV show Last Resort. He is wearing the uniform of a US navy captain and is putting on sunglasses inside a submarine. There is some red light coming from the right hand side of the picture. The beginnings of a smile are visible on his face.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· 27d

Interzone #305 has dropped! 🌟 Check out this *amazing* TOC and find the issue here: interzone.press/iz-305/

Table of contents for Interzone 305 which reads as follows:

In this fantastic 71,000-word issue, in order of appearance:

*Aliya Whiteley’s Climbing Stories (looking for meaning in three flash fictions);
*Nick Lowe’s Mutant Popcorn, with reviews of dozens of new films;
*New stories by Josh Pearce (‘The Spider at the Heart of It’), E.G. Condé (‘Scelerat’), Ben Tufnell (‘Unhomely’), Mame Bougouma Diene (‘A Perfectly Good Train: A Supermamadou Story’), Rachael Cupp (‘Cops and Robbers #2: Negative Space’), Corey Jae White (‘Nowhere Town’), and Rebecca Zahabi (‘Philoctetes’);
*Una McCormack’s latest Dancing in the Library column (this one looks at Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore);
*Kelly Jennings on new books by Cameron Reed, Naomi Kritzer, Ann Leckie, Martha Wells, Laurie Frankel, and Elizabeth Bear;
*Paul Kincaid on Christopher Priest and Nina Allan’s The Illuminated Man;
*Nick Mamatas on novels by Ben Tufnell, Missouri Williams, and Brad Kelly;
*Paul McAuley on Jeff Noon’s Moon Over Brendle;
*Val Nolan on Waterblack by Alex Pheby and Kalivas&excl; Or, Another Tempest by Nick Mamatas;
*‘L is for Lessons’ by Alexander Glass, the latest letter in his A to Z of Roger Zelazny;
*and finally, Val Nolan looks at some Star Trek tie-in fiction (and at the function of tie-in fiction, generally) in the new Folded Spaces (now with an index and bibliography).

Cover art of Interzone magazine issue #305. Image is based on a detail from James Barry’s engraving Philoctetes in the Island of Lemnos, part of the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (used under CC0 1.0 Universal). Image is largely tinted red with white text.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· 28d

Went to the *actual* data centre this morning 😀

Me (in the standard load out of ballcap, glasses, beard, backpack, and green jumper) standing outside a local library building (also shown as Leabharlann on the sign, which is the Irish for library). Sky overhead is blue. Libraries are amazing. Please support them.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jul 13

Today is going to be another furnace of a day, so I took my bike ride at 6.30 in order to evade the worst of the Sun. Really glad I did. There was a lovely cool breeze and I saw many Greenway cats going about their business 😀

Photo of a Greenway extending into the distance early in the morning. To the left, a field of grass. To the right, a high hedge. Blue sky overhead. The shadow of the photographer sitting on a bicycle extends down the path in the center of the picture.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jul 12

Morning, Womble! This weekend I am sheltering from our local star by reading about the potential fate of its more distant relatives! Proper sense of wonder stuff in White Holes by Carlo Rovelli.

Cover of the book White Holes written by Carlo Rovelli. Cover shows a portion of a large bright white circle surrounded by multicoloured dots. Additional text reads "The international bestseller" and "Brilliant... Beautiful". Book is lying on a dark blue sofa cushion and is pictured at an angle.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jul 10

This is also true of Humanities journals and those of us who publish in them.

Screenshot from Twitter, I guess? I saw it on Facebook.

Anyway, its a social media response to a question by one Louie who asks "What's something that seems obvious within your profession, but the general public seems to misunderstand?"

The answer comes from one Dr. Holly Witterman and reads: "That $35 that scientific journals charge you to read a paper goes 100% to the publisher, 0% to the authors. If you just email us to ask for our papers, we are allowed to send them to you for free, and we will be genuinely delighted to do so".

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jul 9

Fossilized dragon hearts uncovered during this morning's excavations and representing the three primary subspecies of dragon found historically in the Atlantic Archipelago.

Three rocks which each look vaguely like hearts. A large one is one the left and two smaller ones in the center and on the right. They are lying on a brush-finished concrete pathway. The first two are shades of brown (from earth), the third is closer to grey.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jul 9

Went out and did a little work in the garden this morning before it gets too hot/before settling into writing. There is, it must be said, something very satisfying about digging a (reasonably) well defined trench 😂

A straight trench dug through dry earth. Trench is about the width of a space and (though this is hard to tell in the phot) about 3/4 of a spade deep. Trench is surrounded by dry grass and the lowest beam of a fence is just about visible at the top of the photo.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jul 6

Spent a big chunk of today reading a book on a shaded bench in the demesne. Time well spent 😀

A copy of Countess by Suzan Palumbo sitting on a timber bench alongside a path through parkland. Book cover shows a female figure standing in front of a planet. The colours are all shades of purple. The bench is painted green, though the paint has pealed in places.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jul 6

Visited the ruins of Muckross Abbey (really a friary) in Killarney yesterday. It was rendered uninhabitable by Cromwell's troops in the 1650s, but the walls remain spectacularly preserved. Well worth a look if you're in the area.

Exterior view of the ruins of Muckross Abbey. Building is limestone and is roofless, though otherwise well-preserved. It is set in a well-tended graveyard.

Interior view of the ruins of Muckross Abbey. Building is limestone and is roofless, though otherwise well-preserved. A spectacular window (without glass, stained or otherwise) dominate this view. In the foreground are tombs. Trees are visible outside the ruins.

Interior view of the central tower of the ruins of Muckross Abbey, looking straight up from the ground. Building is limestone and the tower itself has been re-roofed in modern times to keep bats out (it is the only roofed part of the ruins). no interior floors have been restored.

Central courtyard of the ruined Muckross Abbey with the cloister and the spectacular hundreds-of-years-old yew tree.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jul 6

Strong paradise energy from Killarney over the weekend 😀

A beautiful blue lake in summertime. The shoreline is heavily eroded limestone in the foreground and, on either side, is overgrown with green bushes and trees. In the background are striking forested hills.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jul 5

This is the beginning of a Folk Horror story...

A WARNING sign on a blue background with a red stripe and white text. A symbol struck through in red shows that you are not allowed pick mushrooms.

Text reads: "The removal of any materials including plants, animals, mushrooms, or wood from Killarney National Park is *strictly prohibited*".

Sign is placed on a patch of green ferns and grass.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jul 2

Gonna tell the next generation that this was For All Mankind...

Screenshot from the Fast and Furious film F9 showing car in orbit of Earth, disengaging from its booster rockets.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 29

Despite the rain attempting an encircling maneuver, I managed to sneak in my bike ride to and from the viaduct this afternoon 😀

Screenshot of rainfall radar. Much rain covers County Limerick, Ireland, except for a circle in the center of the map with a pin indicating current location.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 29

"Wait, it's Monday *again*...?!"

A black cat with a faintly startled expression on its face looks up at the camera from a tiled floor. Cat is in a sitting position with its tail, from our perspective, curling over its head.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 26

I've got you...

A black cat lying in a cardboard box on a timber floor. A small pile of books are visible in the bottom right corner.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 26

Also, I was challenged by this guardian spirit but, ultimately, was deemed worthy to pass 😂

An animal of the bovine kind stands in the middle of a tarmacadam greenway through woodland. The animal is blocking the way and giving serious side-eye.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 26

The uncanny abides in the deep Greenway...

A goat lying down in a partially eaten field. This animal has very striking horns that evoke, of all things, a handlebar mustache. The goat is looking directly at the camera.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 24

Definitely getting hot out there again now, but earlier this morning it was overcast and even a little misty! Lovely for cycling!

A tarmacadam greenway recedes into the distance beneath trees in full green leaf on either side and an overcast grey sky above.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 23

Meme made from a screenshot from the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Shows the Elf character of Elrond close up on the right and, out of focus in the background, the wizard Gandalf in the background on the left.

Text is a slight modification of Elrond's dialogue in the scene.

Top text reads: "I was there, Gandalf, I was there ten years ago".

Bottom text reads: "I was there the day the strength of men failed
and Britain voted to leave the EU".

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 21

If you see this, post a vampire that isn’t Dracula...

Photo of Sam Altman, a vampire who sucks the life out of writers, artists, and creatives. He is standing in front of of a stylized anus and the company name OpenAI.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 21

Morning, Womble. Currently reading Adam Kotsko's Late Star Trek, a really engaging study of the franchise from Enterprise, through the novelverse, the Abrams films, Discovery, Picard, and beyond. Some fantastic observations in here. Recommended.

Cover of the book Late Star Trek: The Final Frontier in yhe Franchise Era by Adam Kotsko. Cover is gold coloured with a Starfleet delta in the centre.

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 18

The “Boo urns” meme (a scene from The Simpsons where Mr. Burns has just made a speech and is getting booed. He asks his assistant Smithers if they're booing him and Smithers replies "No, sir. They're saying boo -urns. Boo-urns”).

The text in this case has been rewritten as follows..

Top text: “Smithers, are they booing me?”

Bottom text: “No, sir. They're saying "Ouroboros! Ouroboros!"

Val Nolan@vallescurarule· Jun 16

Re-reading these for something I'm writing and, yeah, they remain absolutely *blistering* work!