A. P. Howell

SF/F/H writer. Stories online and in anthologies. Member of Codex. Pronouns: she/her.

Out now: CORNERS OF THE DEEP DARK.

Avatar: Selfie of me, a white woman with long brown hair, wearing a mask.
Header: Addison Smith. Corners of the Deep Dark cover detail.

Website: https://aphowell.com
Newsletter: https://sendfox.com/aphowell
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aphowell.com
Preorder my book: https://aphowell.com/books/corners-of-the-deep-dark/

Public Key

npub1ylq996fdnm7enkp8tpre5rljtlh048e6tnzlzvpj3x66hfph43psfctdxv

NIP-05 Address

aphowell_at_wandering.shop@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsz0szjaykealvemqn4s3u6ple9lmh6nua9e303xqegnddt5sm6cscpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsuzchts

Publishing to

relay.primal.net

Author Public Key

npub1ylq996fdnm7enkp8tpre5rljtlh048e6tnzlzvpj3x66hfph43psfctdxv

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Last Notes

2026-10-27 16:48:54 UTC

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Ugh. I hope no humans or animals in your household make it worse with affectionate antics.

2026-09-17 21:17:25 UTC

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What's the hex code?

2026-09-15 16:17:19 UTC

IT'S
BEEN
One week since my book came out
https://aphowell.com/books/corners-of-the-deep-dark/
https://stockroom.wandering.shop/media_attachments/files/117/275/949/022/632/852/original/0529a21f3d4ccc98.jpg

2026-09-08 04:30:37 UTC

It's not just September 8th somewhere, it's September 8th here. If you're in the mood for some space opera, consider giving my book a try.
Buy direct from https://crypticplumage.com or from your favorite retailer.
https://stockroom.wandering.shop/media_attachments/files/117/233/531/141/306/640/original/d9fdb9886f9be768.jpg

2026-08-20 17:30:21 UTC

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Popping back in, because some of the pro-glossary people raise good points.
I will say that I am anti-glossary (or ambivalent-glossary) because I mostly read SF/F/H and rarely non-spec fiction with a contemporary setting. So for me, figuring out the worldbuilding is a big part of the fun. Throw me into the deep end!
The decolonization aspect is a whole other positive layer from my perspective.

2026-08-12 17:45:39 UTC

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https://stockroom.wandering.shop/media_attachments/files/117/083/779/599/571/441/original/1f45060798df8dd1.jpg

2026-08-12 17:43:10 UTC

Refreshed the header banner with a detail from the cover for Corners of the Deep Dark. Full cover reveal coming soon! (With many thanks to Addison Smith.)

2026-06-26 14:46:35 UTC

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Your gut bacteria might disagree.

2026-04-20 10:36:09 UTC

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It's potentially a flying-under-the-radar sort of situation, but not reliable. (I did a little work on a now-defunct FOSS project where the idea was to aggregate links to individual stores, and the folks talking to payment processors determined that you do potentially risk being cut off on the basis of linked material.)

2026-02-27 11:11:10 UTC

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I love/fear the little green guy!

2026-02-03 13:32:02 UTC

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And note that I am firmly in the camp of "you are allowed to just not care for Pratchett and are under no obligation to read/listen/watch anything." It's not a harmful way to be wrong on the Internet. :)

2026-02-03 13:25:07 UTC

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The films scratch a particular BBC itch for me. (I grew up on classic Doctor Who, All Creatures, etc.) Stage-y, something (now) feeling a little off about the pacing, etc., but still kindling nostalgia (despite not actually being formative artifacts of my childhood).

2025-12-31 14:09:49 UTC

“Matches”
My short story "Matches" appears in the first issue of Ashton House Magazine. The print publication aims to include many genres of pulp. My near-future P.I. story aims to hit at least a couple of those genres and sits alongside some recognizable names from last century. "Matches" is my angry-at-the-adoption-industry story. Angry at plenty of other things, too, but for this one adoption was at the core.
http://aphowell.com/2025/12/31/matches/

2025-09-14 20:38:21 UTC

Kid #2 is doing English homework--prepositional phrases--and I have offered encouragement and pointers. However, my formal grammar knowledge is not actually that great (and stale; but at no point did I ever have to diagram a sentence) so I'm basically all vibes.

2025-08-03 22:07:12 UTC

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Yes, for the collective. No plans to spam. The social media posts currently being discussed are things like boosting creators' works, themed posts, and info on the project. There's a PR team that will probably function like social media managers.

2025-08-03 21:48:40 UTC

@npub1mnz…jcak Can I get a wandering.shop invite code? It's for a creative collective, Conjured Ink.

2025-08-02 01:15:04 UTC

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This might be relevant to some of your zine interests.

2025-08-02 01:04:45 UTC

Conjured.Ink
When itch.io had Issues with payment processors, a bunch of geeks decided to build something for indie creatives. That something is Conjured.Ink, the collective, and conjured.ink, the FOSS website. Imagine that I have said something very clever about the software Ichor (never mind the fact that my programming skills were only ever modest and are now extremely stale). But some actually clever coders are building some cool stuff.
http://aphowell.com/2025/08/01/conjured-ink/

2025-07-22 16:36:01 UTC

The African Translation Project
Cool fundraiser alert! The African Translation Project aims to provide translations of books written in non-colonial African languages. South African author, editor, and journalist Zukiswa Wanner will curate the collection. The overall goal is $15,000, which will fund three translations (one each in isiZulu, Shona, and Kiswahili). At $2,500, Sifiso Mzobe will begin translating a novel by Nakanjani G. Sibiya.
http://aphowell.com/2025/07/22/the-african-translation-project/

2025-07-11 16:15:57 UTC

Today I broke $100 in sales on Itch. Not bad for short story reprints. (Also...not great in absolute monetary terms, obviously.)

2025-05-26 19:48:04 UTC

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Maybe drones are something they'll add later (as a side effect of making Murderbot younger than in the books). But I'm afraid that--like Murderbot getting distracted by its shows instead of multi-tasking like a human can't--they'll double down on "Murdberbot is just like you" rather than "Murderbot is fundamentally not human but still a person and you can see yourself in it."

2025-05-25 20:26:01 UTC

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I think they've foreclosed on future interesting stuff by a) putting the governor hack before the murdering flashback and b) getting rid of the drones. The drones (and other cameras--which were at least nodded at) are such a nice character note for hacking your own accessibility. And they're an important part of the action sequences; I think things will be less fun without them.

2025-05-25 20:23:28 UTC

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I adore the books. I like the show (in part because it feels like everybody likes the material and I find adaptations interesting as documents).
I became more okay with Murderbot as a Nordic dude when they started announcing the rest of the cast. (Also, I didn't really have an image of Murderbot's face in my head. I actually find the helmet a bit distracting. I Am Mother nailed the book cover look.)

2025-04-02 20:24:46 UTC

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I will note that there are protestors out fairly consistently, but since the country is so spread out geographically we end up with scattered actions. (And domestic news is, shall we say, biased against giving them too much coverage.) So yeah, it's a little weird that online platforms matter, but it's not completely divorced from reality.

2025-03-31 15:23:19 UTC

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That's my plan, if I have to fly between now and whenever I renew my license. (My plan is also not to fly, so.)

2025-03-02 19:28:47 UTC

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I do not want more kids...but sometimes I do feel the bite of nostalgia when reminded of the stages I will never again parent.

2024-12-31 21:47:44 UTC

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Jupiter Ascending is the exact same movie as The Fifth Element (the director's inner 12 year old is given a budget).

2024-12-31 20:37:35 UTC

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I'll read both, but it's also nice when there's some meat criticism. Different intended purpose/audience, though, if it's done right.

2024-09-22 22:34:48 UTC

Did not do the writing date BUT for the very best of reasons: had a really fun, low-key outing with the kids, and then chatted with Kid #1 and played with the dogs for a while.

2024-09-05 23:11:22 UTC

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That Pikachu would survive maybe twenty seconds in our house.