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T. Thorn Coyle

screenshot of Sushi Scandal with a thumbs up, and review from Library Writers Project Selection: “A nice addition to the cozy mystery genre as well as a good read for those looking for stories set in queer utopias.”
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Little Victories

Hello friends, I write this from Portland, Oregon, which is under threat from the US Federal Government right now. This week, as the political landscape looks worse than ever, I’m choosing to celebrate small victories and cultivate pleasure. One: The first tiny victory I’d like to share is that, when I logged into my Libby Library app looking for ebooks to read, I found that a kind librarian had given my book Sushi Scandal a thumbs up and sweet recommendation! This lifted my heart and made me...

a determined looking cat, walking. Something is clipped to its tail.

Hello friends, I posted a picture of a cat on social media this morning with the caption “Sometimes we need to speak up.” It was a close up of the beautiful creature talking to me. Here it is: Close up photo of a meowing cat. But there’s a story behind that photo, one that relates to so many of us right now. The cat wasn’t just greeting me. The cat was asking me for help. Here's the story: On one of my walks, I spied this cat watching me. I stopped and greeted it when it was still a couple of...

Photo: a full dahlia flower in shades of cream and pale pink

Hello friends, It’s the time of the equinox, which means the sun appears to rise and set due east and due west. Also, day and night appear to exist in equal measure. It is a time of balance. A time to pause and reflect. Time. I keep repeating that word. As I approach my sixtieth revolution around the sun—yes, I was born just past the autumnal equinox—I feel the acceleration of time. But I also notice the steadiness of life itself. In youth, time stretches, yet life itself often feels...

photo: Crow feather arching from a wood utility pole.

Hello friends, Well, it was another stressful week here in the US and some other parts of the globe. When things feel overwhelming, what is important to me is to connect with what is in my physical environment. I make my bed in the morning. I wipe the kitchen counters. I set things in order. What else do I do? I make sure I go for a walk, even when I have a pile of work to do that feels endless. It is on these walks that, not only do I notice my environment, but I also catch sight of how...

Photo: Garage wall message: “Matter would not have become us if it doubted our ability to change”

Hello friends, On an old garage somewhere in Southeast Portland, someone hand lettered a large message. The bulk of it reads “Matter would not have become us if it doubted our ability to change…” Now, on one hand it reads as the start of a philosophical discussion I would’ve engaged in during my teens or early twenties. On the other hand, though? Well, it made me pause and snap a photo, didn’t it? Photo: Garage wall message: “Matter would not have become us if it doubted our ability to...

photo of a faded scrap of embroidery stapled to a utility pole. Reads "all of this is for love."

Hello friends, While walking out of an ice cream shop yesterday, I saw a faded scrap of fabric stapled to a utility pole. People had stuck their old wood ice cream spoons into holes in the pole around the fabric, creating a mini art and sculpture installation. I recognized the fabric, of course, as being an old piece from local artist Shanalee Hampton. I have several of her embroidery pieces hanging in our home, having been introduced to her work by outdoor installations just like this one....

Sidewalk apple tree with ripening fruit.

Hello friends, Years ago, writer Starhawk penned a novel in which city neighborhoods had fruit trees growing on the sidewalks, so anyone who was hungry could partake. It was a beautiful vision of a world we could live in, if we chose to. I now live in a city neighborhood with fruit trees growing on the sidewalk. Pear. Apple. Plum. Fig. Cherry. But, more often than not, the fruit falls and rots on the concrete in the sun. This happens unless the person who lives in the home near the tree...

People and cars reflected in glass panels on a convention center ceiling.

“I’m always writing about the same thing, which is the human condition.” — Terry Brooks, fantasy author, WorldCon 2025 Hello friends, I’m writing this from WorldCon—the World Science Fiction and Fantasy convention—in Seattle Washington. I’ve listened to some interesting panels and talks so far: on Indigenous futures, on Afrofuturism, on the unsung heroes of the space program and magical systems in fantasy, plus some indie publishing business panels. I’ve talked with writers and readers both,...

photo of a bunch of peeling stickers. One reads Don't Look Back! You Are Not Going That Way

Hello friends, On a walk the other day, I encountered a big metal sign covered in layers of peeling stickers. One read “Don’t look back! You are not going that way!” I snapped a photo and headed forward. But, as intended, the old sticker got me thinking. First, it reminded me of an old card I kept in my office for years. A Mary Engelbreit print, it wasn’t my usual style, but the message was clear. It was a person at a crossroads and the street sign read “Your life,” in one direction and “No...

a ripe blackberry on the vine

Hello friends, In a world that can feel harsh and unforgiving, it is important to ask what feels luscious. What have you planted that has ripened? Is it a relationship? A project? Community? Art? Family? Spiritual practice? Mutual Aid? A book? A song? A garden? Your own self worth? And what are you enjoying? In the northern hemisphere, this is a time of harvest. Too many hoard their harvests. It is up to us to share. The more we share, the more seeds are saved for next year. The more we...