Sonia Sulaiman @SoniaSulaiman@wandering.shop

Hello, fellow tooters! I'm a first reader at Strange Horizons, formerly of Augur, and Uncanny Magazine.

I write speculative fiction inspired by Palestinian folklore. Mostly short fic, but I'm working on a novella atm.

I'll be slowly rebuilding my archive of posts about Palestinian folklore here.

Come on by and say hi!

#introduction

I started a new sketchbook today. It's just for style studies. I'm pretty excited to get sketching again. I tried having an online/virtual sketchbook and it just isn't the same. I want my notes and pictures to be in one place, and portable.

I got a Moleskine, which, in my defense, the fad has seen brighter days.

Hundreds of followers in, up crop the accounts openly calling for genocide against Palestinians (one referencing the Bible in their profile and calling wiping us out a "mitzva."

I blocked them, but... Yeah... incredibly sus.

The profile and account seemed to really push the idea that they were a minor, and only on Twitter for fandom- in particular musicians. It was sus just *how* much this image was reinforced, like it was deliberate.

Digging into their followed account, there were a million celebrities, and then... dozens of "White and proud" ppl, fake gays and BIPOC propaganda accounts.

I think I had my first brush with Israel's troll farm on Twitter today. I can't be sure, but it's really sus.

I received a strange comment on a post I made which was a sort of art critique of a 40+ yr old Palestinian poster with some interesting elements and iconography.

On a hunch, I investigated the account and it just got more and more sus.

Anyway, prob a bot. Very strange experience, tho.

I took part in a pitch party on Twitter, and three agents showed interest in my book!

One has already replied to my query with, basically, "more." This is what they always say... Which is nice! But I struggle w/ long form writing due to my disability.

My current project, known as Bookio, is a chubby novella. I'll have to see about turning it into a novel proper.

On this Nakba Day, an offering: pick up copy of Palestine + 100 by Comma Press.

It's a collection of speculative fiction by Palestinians. The premise of the collection is simple: It's 100 years after the Nakba, the beginning of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

Believe it or not, Palestinians are having to sit here in the diaspora and listen to people say things like "no context as usual" and "we don't know what started it" about a video showing violence and desecration of Palestinian bodies- dead and alive.

This is how Twitter reported the police beating pallbearers with clubs.

A reading list I made of Palestinian speculative fiction and non-fiction (incl. essays, poetry, short and long form fiction) available in English:

https://soniasulaiman.com/readpalestinianspecfic-reading-list/

I have to fight the default brush to get the edges and shapes I want. The custom brush makes me think of oil painting- without all of the fancy textures, just the feeling of using a simple round brush.

I made my own Procreate brush! I think it's already making an improvement. What do you think?

mlm: the default brushes.
wlw: the new brush.

#creativetoots

I introduced a bunch of danmei readers to the baihe novella Night Flowers Shrinking from the Light of the Sun by Li Xing. They wanted something like MDZS but sapphic, and that's exactly what this is... It's a comedy, but its CP are Wangxian if they were lesbians.

A demoness saves the life of a stony-faced, upright young cultivator who insists on repaying the life debt. No one is happy about this arrangement. Billed as "idiots to lovers."

https://obstinaterixatrix.itch.io/nfsftlots

They're husbands! \o/

I guess I have a coping mechanism for panic attack days: I make tender Queer art.

In this case, fan art.

She just called me again-- and hung up on me a second time.

Amazing week.

A psw triggered a panic attack so I called the office and simply said what happened and that I didn't want her to come back again. I started changing mom tonight and the same psw calls-- the office did nothing about my report.

So I had to tell her myself, that she wasn't going to work with us anymore. She didn't take it well, and hung up on me.

Meanwhile mom is all confused and disturbed, not understanding what's happening. Urgh.

Another panic attack today. It really does seem like things go pear shaped around the same time. :/

Awful day, but I still made art out of pure spite (and mlm tenderness). I've been working on drawing, more than painting, since my lines need the practice.

Reference by Felix d'Eon.