Father, SFF Novelist, English teacher, Gay man 🏳️‍🌈 Website: mjohnstonbooks.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3mo4encsvzk2yShannon, one of my classmates at Viable Paradise 2017, is a great writer, and you should check this out! [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Jun 2026 18:29 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mo4encsvzk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3mltdiic5cc2pJust wrote and sent the most fraught email of my professional writing career. It’s not a career-breaking thing or anything. Just made me nervous. I’m always nervous when asking for things, and this is a big one. We’ll see what the publisher says.14 May 2026 17:24 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mltdiic5cc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3mlrwm3l2cc2bMy coolest ancestor—not a direct-line, but who cares—was Richard Bilby. Richard was one of three people sentenced to death in England after robbing some silver candlesticks from a church. Then his sentence was commuted to Transport to the American colonies. When he got to the colonies, he ran.14 May 2026 04:00 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlrwm3l2cc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3mlmjaygkrk2sA short thread: I was working on my "spaceship heist in enemy territory" novel, and I hit a point where I thought "What even is this story? This plot falls apart at the halfway point!" So I set it aside so I could think on it. It's not yet as ready as I thought it was. 1/512 May 2026 00:18 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlmjaygkrk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3mjv7o27a4k2cHad a great time today on a SF writing panel with @andreagstewart.bsky.social, @jasondenzel.com and @authormdneu.bsky.social, moderated by Michele Drier. In fact, that was the most fun I’ve ever had on a panel, and for once I didn’t leave it feeling stupid! Glad to have met all three of you!20 Apr 2026 00:30 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjv7o27a4k2chttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3mihlobw6is25I suspect part of this is pure BS, and part is driven by the BS “AI detector” sites. I put some text I wrote in 1997 through one and it flagged it as “25% AI-written.” Nope. Unless mom and died lied about where I came from. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Apr 2026 21:02 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mihlobw6is25https://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3mieq6bnf5k26Excellent thread. [contains quote post or other embedded content]31 Mar 2026 17:45 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mieq6bnf5k26https://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3mhyynrkels2tI pretty much lost my primary game group in the divorce. I’m considering starting an online game set in a Marvel universe that is a blend of MCU and Comics continuity, set in the wider galaxy after the Snap as a band of people come together to try to help hold the galaxy together.27 Mar 2026 01:45 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhyynrkels2thttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3mh57vvqvec2fWell deserved. IMHO Sinners is one of, if not THE most important film of 2025. [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Mar 2026 00:40 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh57vvqvec2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3mdbd76vgxc2iThe r/NewAuthors community on Reddit saddens and frustrates me. So many people there have not a clue about the industry and just refuse to listen.25 Jan 2026 18:09 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdbd76vgxc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3m65jxav4422nI really detest celebrity impersonator accounts. No, Bluesky, Salma Hayek is not following me, nor is she liking my posts. It’s absurd that anyone can just impersonate someone that famous with no controls to prevent it.21 Nov 2025 14:53 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3m65jxav4422nhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3m4lldaconc2dI'm coming to a healthier place re: the divorce. I move out in a week. I'm over the tears for now. STBXW and I had a conversation this morning that was helpful. Neither of us regret the last 22 years; we had a good marriage for a long time, and even when it went bad, it wasn't awful. 1/401 Nov 2025 18:05 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4lldaconc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3m426pnd3ms2yImagine thinking you had your life figured out. And then realizing how very wrong you were. Divorce isn’t morally wrong. But it is painful and there’s no way to lessen that pain except to survive it. Some day this will be just a part of my story. But right now it’s overwhelming.25 Oct 2025 20:04 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3m426pnd3ms2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3m2hq5o3fo222The most fun part of being published, by far, is hearing from readers who love my stuff. It happens rarely so far (thems the breaks when you’re still early-career), but one fan message can keep my heart afloat for weeks.05 Oct 2025 18:30 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2hq5o3fo222https://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lyssrebgys23Going through some Major Life Stuff right now. Can’t really say more at this time. But it’s keeping me from writing or doing other hobbies for the time being. But I’m still here, and I’ll be here when the storm has passed. And then I’ll finish this iteration of This Damn Book.14 Sep 2025 17:26 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyssrebgys23https://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lv2dwe6hnk2yTell the truth.28 Jul 2025 19:41 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lv2dwe6hnk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lv2ama3tr22jThis secondary character in my latest project just became an old Peter O'Toole in my mind's eye. That voice, those eyes... ah, Magister Wyngarde, there you are!28 Jul 2025 18:41 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lv2ama3tr22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lusybny7fs2b26602 words. 1/5th of the projected word count. Maybe it's time to send it to the publisher for their "right of first refusal" look. Hmm. Well, perhaps a couple of cleanup passes first.25 Jul 2025 21:23 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lusybny7fs2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lu6hocg3g224I'm not sure how, but I just finished a session where I wrote 5,532 new words for The Wardens of Andari, a Science Fantasy novel: High Fantasy tropes with a Science Fiction backstory.17 Jul 2025 17:33 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lu6hocg3g224https://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lqyexsoopk2sTaking my Maggie girl to the vet for the last time. We had hoped for a dignified death at home, but she is in too much pain. I have many good pictures of this cat over the last 16 years, but this one will always be one of my favorites.07 Jun 2025 03:13 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqyexsoopk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lqumhskvg225Has Trump slapped tariffs on Wakanda yet? It’s gonna happen.05 Jun 2025 15:17 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqumhskvg225https://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lpagbggdis2zWell, okay then. 1344 new words, and most of them are actually pretty good. Still don’t have a solid title for this book, but I have 3 chapters, and that’s not nothing.15 May 2025 21:07 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpagbggdis2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lkwcqtqnos2qI used one of my own novels in a lesson on how to cite sources. That's not the interesting bit; that was just weird. The interesting bit is that the page I randomly opened it to had a typo nobody caught until now. When my next novel comes out I need to be a better proofreader. So does the pro.21 Mar 2025 22:57 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkwcqtqnos2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lkvttc4uqc2qNothing like finding out one’s novels were illegally used to train a LLM/“AI”21 Mar 2025 18:30 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkvttc4uqc2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnstonmr.bsky.social/post/3lk5b5dc6b226A hearty THANK YOU to Mr. William Keating, @keating.house.gov of the House of Representatives, for standing up for decency today. We need more like him in the House and Senate. Democrats need to stop pandering to the President and his cronies and SPEAK TRUTH.11 Mar 2025 23:52 +0000at://did:plc:mtfjhe2hdrb3yscfmrsilqfs/app.bsky.feed.post/3lk5b5dc6b226