Katie ♥️💜💙

@katiebruce

She/Her. Bi/Omni. Yorkshire lass. Reader of books. Writer of books. Lover of happy metal

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Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· 24d

Went to see the glorious Thespians: Greece The Musical (but not that one) yesterday! It's the latest from Mischief Comedy and it's amazing!! Great songs, lovely story, absolutely hilarious, queer rep, dad jokes galore, a cut out that looked exactly like Alex Winter in a toga 😆 loved it!!

The poster for Thespians, showing a large Greek urn showing a man blowing a trumpet at an emotional woman and a naked man falling over between them, with the words
"Thespians
Greece the musical
(But not that one)
Book & lyrics Jonathan Sayer
Music & lyrics Ed Zanders"

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jul 13

I forgot to say! You're now on the table in the new SFF releases bit at Leeds Waterstones!

A table of books including All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan and The Lore of Silver by Ruth Frances Long

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jul 11

Huge thank you to everyone who came to Storytelling: Order Out of Chaos! Chaos was definitely the theme of the night from distracting doggos, Thomas D. Lee not understanding people saying their characters misbehave until he met Merlin & Sarah Rees Brennan revealing she longs for the Misery cage!

A photo of Sarah Rees Brennan holding All Hail Chaos, Ruth Frances Long holding The Lore of Silver, Thomas D Lee holding The Knight Watch and RJ Barker holding Mortedant's Peril

A table full of books: Long Live Evil and All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan. Mortedant's Peril, Heart of the Wyrdwood, Gods of the Wyrdwood and Warlords of Wyrdwood by RJ Barker. The Lore of Silver and The Book of Gold by Ruth Frances Long. The Knight Watch and Perilous Times by Thomas D Lee

A photo of Katie Bruce, Sarah Rees Brennan, Ruth Frances Long, Thomas D Lee and RJ Barker on a small stage.

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jul 11

Lovely meet up with the local BFS crew today and a delightful little book haul!!

A hand holding up 3 books:
Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle
The Feywild Job by C L Polk
Sisters of the Lizard by Jackson Ford

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jul 10

They're so pretty. Also The Midnight Bargain is absolutely incredible!!

A bookshelf showing the following books:
The Midnight Bargain by C L Polk
Witchmark by C L Polk
Stormsong by C L Polk
Soulstar by C L Polk
Even Though I Knew The End by C L Polk
Millionaire's Day by Kit Power

Witchmark has a blue cover, stormsong has a purple cover, soulstar has a pink cover

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jul 10

A few examples - important to think about what will be in front of it/blocking it. Don't put important stuff on the bottom if it'll be hidden by a table

A table at an event with a purple table cloth saying "AK Faulkner Ravensword Press", lots of AK Faulkner's bookd, two standing banners behind the table, one about the Inheritance, M/M romantasy series with information about the series and illustrations of the two main characters, the other about the Charlie Hart F/F spy thriller series with information about the series and illustrations of the two main characters,

A table at an event with a blue table cloth with roses and a raven and the words "INHERITANCE, AK Faulkner", lots of AK Faulkner's books, a large standing banner behind the table with character art of the two main characters, one with fire, one with green vines

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jul 5

There was a recent CQC/Ofsted review of SEND services in Leeds The report is damning in almost every section, but especially with regards to ND diagnosis

An excerpt from the report:
Inspection Outcome
There are widespread and/or systemic faults leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), which the local partnership must address immediately.
A monitoring inspection will be carried out within approximately 18 months. The next full reinspection will be within approximately 3 years.
As a result of this inspection, His Majesty's Chief Inspector requires the local area partnership to prepare and submit a priority action plan (are SEND) to address the identified areas for priority action.

An excerpt from the report:
However, a signification group of children and young people are experiencing unacceptable waiting times for neurodevelopment (ND) assessments and diagnoses. There is not enough partnership oversight in place of those who are waiting a long time.

An excerpt from the report:
Some children and young people experiencing a delay in the initial assessment of their needs. Many of these children and young people do not get the support that they need while they wait, such as those facing unacceptable long waits for a ND assessment

An excerpt from the report:
Leeds city council and west Yorkshire ICB - the local area partnership must urgently assure itself that:
- all children and young people who are waiting for an ND assessment are receiving the continued communication and sort that they need while they wait.
- an effective plan and process is in place to monitor children and young people who are experiencing long waiting times for health services such a ND assessments to minimise adverse impact on their health and wellbeing

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jul 4

Henson dog voiced by Sean Astin! And perhaps most important of all: the Spoon Of Unusual Power!!

A large wooden spoon with SOUP printed on it and a label saying Spoon Of Unusual Power, a fluffy white bunny toy and a scroll

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jul 4

I swear 95% black clothes 🤦‍♀️

A white cat sat on a Mickey mouse blanket and red cushion

A white cat laid on a sofa, squashed between the cushion and my leg

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jul 1

I got pretty close to having tea with him at the Labyrinth convention! He's adorable Also behold my goblinfly and baby troll!!

Large versions of the worm (William the worm)and his Mrs (Lindy the worm) from Labyrinth on a table

A goblinfly (Froud-style goblin with a helmet and wings) and a baby troll (green, wrapped up in linen, with green curly hair and a tail) in a nest. Both on a bookshelf

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 29

50 - The Knight Watch by Thomas D Lee This book is amazing!! Queer knights of the round table killing nazis, what more do you need? It's also got Isolde absolutely fed up with Tristan's nonsense, a nod or two to the Sword in the Stone and Agravain being a whole other level of aggravating!

The cover of The Knight Watch by Thomas D Lee, featuring a dragon wrapped around a tree, with knights, a castle, tanks, search lights and a plane

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 29

49 - The Deep and the Drowned by Ian Green This book is so good! I want to both shake some sense into Killian and also stop him running directly into trouble at every opportunity! Immaculate found family vibes, glorious swashbuckling & folk who make being morally grey into an art form!

The cover of The Deep and the Drowned by Ian Green, featuring a huge turquoise sea serpent writhing up out of the sea, a ship being tossed about on the waves, and red seaweed below

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 29

48 - Mortedant's Peril by RJ Barker This was fun. Irody is a complete arse and does not in any way deserve the companions he has thrust upon him whilst trying to avoid being executed for murder. But it's very entertaining watching him trying to deal with it all!

The cover of Mortedant's Peril by RJ Barker, featuring a large flame with birds flying around it and buildings either side

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 27

We have a fucking giant dalek looming over the city! And it has literally killed someone!

A photo of Bridgewater Place - tall building with one vertical side and one sloped side that looks like a dalek

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 25

This is the type we have, very small, opens outward, set higher up from the floor than the exhaust pipe is long. It's far too small for the fabric fitting without significant alterations and even then it'll be a bodge job with a bad seal We are literally not built for this!

A uPVC window, showing a rectangular fixed bottom window and a smaller rectangular window on top that opens

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 25

This was the extra, significantly lower quality fabric fitting that also came with it. Again, very few houses in the UK have that type of window. And that fabric is 3m long

An instruction manual showing a window fitting for a long window that opens by tilting inward

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 25

To demonstrate, this is the window fitting for the exhaust pipe that came with our unit. Very few houses in the UK have that type of window

An instruction manual showing a window fitting for an air con exhaust pipe for a vertical window that slides sideways

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 23

RJ Barker is an award-winning author of fantasy fiction, writing assassins, ships made of bones & skyscraper-sized forests! Mortedant's Peril, follows Irody, who can read the dead's final thought & is very good at it. Until he's arrested for murder & given 3 days to clear his name or be executed

The cover of Mortedant's Peril by RJ Barke, featuring a large flame with birds flying around it and buildings either side

A picture of RJ Barker wearing a black jacket in a very dim room

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 23

Sarah Rees Brennan is a best-selling, award-winning author, born & raised in Ireland. All Hail Chaos continues Rae's story - a fantasy reader thrust into her favourite fictional world & made (enthusiastically) to play the villain She tried to fix the Emperor, she just made him worse.

The cover of All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan, featuring a man in a crown lounging on a throne, holding a sword with a snake wrapped around it's hilt and multiple snakes coming out of the top of the throne and blood spilling beneath it

A photo of Sarah Rees Brennan wearing a blue dress with white polka dots against a pink background

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 23

Ruth Frances Long is an award-winning author whose writing often strays into weird and wonderful liminal places. The Lore of Silver is a thrilling magical heist fantasy: Lyta, a thief blessed by a trickster god, tries her best to stay out of trouble. Until her brother asks her to find stolen relics

The cover of The Lore of Silver, featuring red elaborate windows, a white horse, an old gaslamp, and a sword wrapped in a red ribbon

A photo of Ruth Frances Long wearing a black top with gold starfish

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 23

Dr. Thomas D. Lee is a bestselling author of fantastical historical fiction The Knight Watch follows Arthur & the knights of the round table, roused to protect Britain in its time of need -this time it's WW2 & Isolde, fed up with her tragic reputation, gets the old band back together to fight nazis!

A photo of Thomas D Lee wearing a blue shirt and long black jacket, in front of a green field and brick wall

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 23

With only a couple of weeks until the storytelling panel, it's time to get to know our lovely authors and their personal brand of chaos! @thomasdlee.bsky.social @rflong.bsky.social @sarahreesbrennan.bsky.social @rjbarker.bsky.social

Shown is a blue background with cartoon books flying around. Photos: RJ Barker and the cover of Mortedant’s Peril (top right); Ruth Frances Long and the cover of The Lore of Silver (bottom right), Sarah Rees Brennan and the cover of All Hail Chaos (top left); Thomas D Lee and the cover of The Knight Watch (bottom left).

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 22

👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

The cover of The Way Up Is Death by Dan Hanks, featuring a tower in the sky with red, yellow and blue starry skies and people at the base of the tower

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 22

Here we go again

A post from raeekayassaie saying "there will be excess deaths because of this heatwave. Don't act normal in extreme weather. It doesn't matter if others are acting business as usual. Most of our governments haven't prepared us. We're on our own. Make whatever decisions you have access to to protect your and loves ones and your community's health rather than assume you will stay healthy. Spread the word. We are for each other"
My text on top saying "bear in mind that in Australia, a country built for this kind of heat, 38° is the point at which they shut schools!! (Thanks to lozthewriter for that fact)"

A picture of a white cat looking fed up with the words "a lot of meds (SSRIs, HRT, ADHD meds) need keeping below 25° - check your meds, get them in a tupperware box in the fridge. Meds can also make you heat intolerant - reduce your expectations of what you can do!"

A picture of a white cat looking grumpy and the words "call in sick if your work is not adequately prepared - especially if you have a disability/chronic illness/medication induced heat intolerance. Check if your council provide "cool spaces " - Leeds has libraries and other places you can go to cool down"

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 20

Can Calliope please have a word with Bowie. Bowie is catting incorrectly. She seems to think by sharing her body heat with me it'll cool her down...

A white cat, laid down between a sofa cushion and my leg

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 19

Such a delightful floofy goof

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 18

Reading this entirely changed the way I viewed losing my 16 year career in finance. I didn't fail, I became disabled after a very successful more than a decade in a field I enjoyed, including becoming a fully qualified chartered accountant.

A post from brightwanderer saying:
I think a lot about how we as a culture have turned "forever" into the only acceptable definition of success.
Like... If you open a coffee shop and run it for a while and it makes you happy but then stuff gets too expensive and stressful and you want to do something else so you close it, it's a "failed" business. If you write a book or two, then decide you don't actually want to keep doing that, you're a "failed" writer. If you marry someone, and that marriage is good for a while and then stops working and you get divorced, it's a "failed" marriage.
The only acceptable "win condition" is "you keep doing a thing forever". A friendship that lasts for a few years but then its time is done and you move on is considered less valuable or not a "real" friendship. A hobby that you do for a while and then are done with is a "phase" - or, alternatively, a "pity" that you don't do that thing anymore. A fandom is "dying" because people have had a lot of fun with it but are now moving on to other things.
I just think that something can be good, and also end, and that thing was still good. And it's okay to be sad that it ended too. But the idea that anything that ends is automatically less than this hypothetical eternal state of success ..I don't think that's doing us any good at all.

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 13

47 The Shape of Monsters by CL Hellisen Creepy, tense, heart-breaking, full to the brim with monsters of every definition! It shines a light on the monstrosity present in humanity and sinks its claws deep into your skin. Delicious!

The cover of The Shape of Monsters by CL Hellisen featuring a red background, a blue deer filled with stars with red strands hung from its antlers

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 13

46 The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White Sapphic vampires, Van Helsing's daughter doing a significantly better job of everything than he ever did, everyone is queer!!! I love this so much!!!

The cover of The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White, featuring a red fox curled across the cover, roses and a fountain pen dripping ink

Katie ♥️💜💙@katiebruce· Jun 12

Hey @sarahreesbrennan.bsky.social