Polenth Blake
@polenth
Fantasy and science fiction writer/artist with a tendency towards ecology and quietly strange things. Keeper of invertebrates and fish. Enjoys walking simulators and Second Life. Multiply marginalised. Website:
I wore a binder to help with sensory stress. There was also a quiet space, which I assume was the area through the door with the notice. This was about as liminal as you'd expect from my town. No word yet if everyone returned from the quiet space.
There is already a game that'll play the game for you: Everything. Though there it's a philosophy thing about nothing in the universe being more important than anything else, including the player. You wander around becoming everything and listening to Alan Watts.
Fantasy! The last two photos were a map of an imaginary place (Discworld) and a troll with a bridge. I printed out an internet troll, who is stalking a My Little Pony.
Worldcon! I had to find Hugo finalists (item and person) and a Seattle volunteer hiding under a table. Kidnapping volunteers is illegal, so I drew one and hid them under the kitchen table. This was accepted as good enough!
It's me! Someone wearing grunge is my cosplay for the con. These aren't my clothes and I don't play the guitar. Went for a 90s feel with the look and lighting. Someone (me again) with glitter on my face. It's edible glitter, but I liked how it didn't cover up skin texture. And me playing Monopoly!
Book interiors! Sometimes I didn't have the thing, but I did have a book about that. The hammering man refers to art sculptures, but I had a poem that matched the prompt. The volcano is from a Sim City manual. The glacier is one of my ecology books. And the monorail is an old park booklet.
Book covers! I didn't have some things around, but I did have a book with them on the cover. Jetplanes, a whole salmon, and murder! (We were not allowed to commit actual crimes to do the hunt.)
Out and about in Hastings! The batter is a bronze statue called "The Spirit of Cricket" and Bronze Rachel's relative is a winkle statue with a slot for collecting money (Rachel is a piggy bank statue in Seattle).
It's important to eat and drink! I don't drink coffee, so I stole someone else's to-go cup. I did eat the scone. The salad (something you toss) and the gin and tonic were taken at the supermarket. Another customer was eyeing me with the gin thing, like it was an odd thing to do. #Food
Seattle! Local residents might want to put down beverages before looking at these appreciations of Seattle culture. I was not in Seattle, so I had to get creative. Here is the gum wall, something mid-century modern, "the mountain is out" and the Space Needle (made from things).
Science fiction loves technology! "Microsoft anything" was my old student Office disk. Admire the very 2000s room with the colourful accent wall (those were all the rage for a bit... you were allowed colour, but only on one wall). Also my iPad, landline phone and television.
Starting easy with objects from around the house! The stone is a rose quartz candle holder. The glass art is a magnifier and letter knife. The toy money is from Monopoly. And the pipe is the mouth pipe on my bass recorder (most people did utility pipes).
WERECOCKROACH has an aroace agender lead, aliens and gentle vibes. Friendship focused. www.polenthblake.com/words/cockro... EVERYDAY ALIENS is a flash fiction collection about weird aliens. Often experimental. www.polenthblake.com/words/aliens... #PrideBookFair #QueerBookSky #BookSky #Pride
EVERYDAY ALIENS is a novella-length collection of flash fiction and poetry, exploring the everyday lives of aliens. Humanoid aliens fade into the background as the truly alien aliens take the stage to tell their own stories. #FlashFiction #Xenofiction #SFF www.polenthblake.com/words/aliens...
I've mostly cleared up, apart from the glitter, which will be with us until the end of time. Have a photograph of gingerbread unicorns!
I make my own cover art. My short story collection "Rainbow Lights" has a chalk pastel and charcoal squid. "Sunstruck" is a combo of hand drawn lines, photo textures and digital editing. books2read.com/ap/nA70Oy/Po...
A video of some very tiny fish! These are my danio fry from a few days back, with some bonus moss/algae action at the end. #FishKeeping #Aquarium
As we're describing our social media strategy through the medium of pictures, here is mine. (I made the fractal and took the cat photo.)
A picture of my writing desk! I took the picture fast enough to stop the tea getting cold, because I'm not a monster. Ask me anything about items on the desk! Learn my secrets!
It's apparently #MakeATerribleComicDay2024 so I have made a comic with one of my favourite things! 👁️
"Werecockroach" is a sci-fi / fantasy novella about an agender aroace person. Also aliens and werecockroaches! The photo shows the crayons used to draw the cover, the food is a toast sandwich, and I took the photo. #PrideBookFair #QueerAdultSFF #Pride #BSNM www.polenthblake.com/words/cockro...
Werecockroach is $0.99 until 22nd January 2024! Get it while it's cheap, but still just as full of cockroaches and aliens. Features an agender aroace lead. This is part of the Kraken and Friends queer book sale. Site: www.krakenfriends.claudiearseneault.com #AspecAuthors #BSNM #SFF #Insects
This is my majestic mind horse. Some time back, someone on Twitter wanted to see people's mind horses after learning that some people draw from their mind with no photo references. I really didn't use any photo references for this super realistic horse!
I wrote this novella about people who can turn into cockroaches and first contact with aliens! Nobody dies and it's actually rather gentle. The lead is aroace and non-binary. I drew the cover. http://www.polenthblake.com/words/cockroach.html