William "My Gray" Shunn

@shunn.net

569 Followers 553 Following

Writer • Puzzlemaker • Hugo/Nebula Nominee • Author of THE ACCIDENTAL TERRORIST • That Manuscript Format Guy • @sbsolver.com • @tylogr.am • NYC • He/him/Bill • https://lnk.bio/shunn

Close-up photo of a black plastic name tag affixed to the breast pocket of a charcoal suit. In white letters mimicking the look of a Mormon missionary tag, the name tag reads: ELDER HEISENBERG The Accidental Terrorist Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary A caption above the name tag reads: I AM THE ONE WHO KNOCKS. (But only to tell you about this terrific book I hope you’ll read.) Below the tag, in small letters: A Memoir by William Shunn #accidentalterrorist www.accidentalterrorist.com
New York Times crossword puzzle result: “You finished a Saturday puzzle in 8:47.”
NYTimes crossword app screenshot: Congratulations! You finished a Saturday puzzle in 8:03. 432 day streak. 13:05 faster than your average.
On a city street, a bright red fire hydrant sprays water directly onto the back doors of a Mister Softee ice cream truck.
Two young people work on a half completed YOUR VOTE MATTERS mural on a tan brick wall. A small Dominican flag hangs from a painting scaffold near them.
Notebook, pen, cafe au lait in mug, and flowers in small vase on wooden table in cafe.
Manhattan skyline seen from uptown, with World Trade Center spotlights piercing the night sky.
Chuck Mangione in an aqua sweater and felt fedora playing flugelhorn in concert in the 1970s.
Email screenshot Subject: Your Masterpiece Deserves a Bigger Stage - Let's Share The Accidental Terrorist With Thousands of Eager Readers Dear William, Let me begin with deep appreciation for what you've accomplished in The Accidental Terrorist. Rarely does a memoir strike such a delicate balance—humor with heartbreak, rebellion with reverence, insight with irresistible storytelling. Your book doesn't just reveal an unforgettable personal journey—it lifts the veil on institutional faith, identity, and the complex roads to freedom with a narrative so compelling it demands to be read and discussed. This is why l'm reaching out. I partner with over 1,000 highly engaged book clubs—both in-person and online—that seek out stories just like yours: daring, honest, and…
A tortoise-shell Dutch rabbit lounges on a wooden floor against an in-wall radiator. He is not a literary agent, despite certain ambitions in that realm.
Looking through an apartment window onto a balcony where, among several other plants, a cactus with long floppy sawtoothed leaves in a white pot on a wooden stand is displaying a dozen or more large pink flowers. Also visible is part of an outdoor lounger with an orange cushion, while past the railing is a south-facing view of green lawn and a cityscape that is uptown Manhattan.
A detail from the instruction booklet for a fancy floor lamp. Of the remote control, we are told, “12Keys IR remote is portable and magnetic. Put on the pole and it could be sucked on it tightly.”
Cartoon arms of different colors hold a sign reading 100 DAYS OF PROTEST
Drawing of hands off different colors together holding a sign that reads, "100 DAYS OF PROTEST," against a red background with a white cartoon starburst. Other test: LIVE ON ZOON, TUESDAY APRIL 29 2025, 6PM PST
A view south along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, near 34th Street, with streets filled with protesters as far as the eye can see, holding signs like FIRE DOGE and marching peacefully downtown.
Hardcover copy of The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition, sitting on a wood surface next to a stack of cork coasters featuring the red six-pointed Chicago star.
Screenshot from Substack Notes: A.R. Moxon The Reframe Hello, l'm a disruptor, very smart, here to create efficiency. I'm just going to drill holes in the bottom of this boat to see which parts of the hull are mission-critical.
Promotional photo with the cast of The Poseidon Adventure, Gene Hackman at the center.
Looking south across Manhattan as dusk falls
A cockatiel sits on a perch looking down on New York City from a high apartment window. Photo taken from behind and a little below the cockatiel.
A gray Tesla Cybertruck parked inside a small parking lot. A sign on the open chain-link gate says “NYPD PROPERTY, NO TRESPASSING”
Stats screen from NYTimes crossword app, showing 5,000 puzzles solved, 100% solved, 100-day streak, longest streak 1,013 days.
NY Times screenshot: Senate Confirms Kennedy, a Prominent Vaccine Skeptic, as Health Secretary The vote capped a remarkable rise for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was confirmed by a Republican Senate in a chamber where his father and uncles once served as Democrats.
Screen shot of Robert Reich post: Let me emphasize: Elon Musk has not been confirmed by Congress. His "department" was never actually enacted. No one other than Trump has given him any authority. Democrats and any Republicans with a spine need to step in and stop this madness. Call your rep now (202) 224-3121
A dark gray tile bathroom floor mostly flooded with water from under the sink.
A small Dutch rabbit with crazy, spiky brown fur.
Screenshot of crossword puzzle app with clue “Hugo-winning sci-fi author Bacigalupi.”
Freddy Krueger with finger-knives ready
A smug bearded man stands on a Harlem street holding up a “Halloween Voter 2024” sticker.
Screenshot of New Yorker column by Jelani Cobb. Highlighted: “Stephen Miller, Trump's erstwhile immigration czar, recently advised young men that proudly displaying their MAGA sympathies is the best way to impress women.”
A human-sized mango walks through the crowd at an apparent movie premiere. AI-generated.
On a widescreen TV, three young white men sit at the defense table in a courtroom with an older Black man.
A devastatingly handsome older gentleman at a podium labeled OAKRIDGE COUNTRY CLUB. Damn.
A hunched figure seen through a sheer orange curtain outside a ninth-floor window, looking like a refugee from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
A city view out a ninth-story window, with a pair of legs atop a lift platform visible outside the top of the window. Christ, that’s unnerving.
Movie poster for “Bob Roberts,” showing a naked Tim Robbins wrapped in an American flag with a guitar leaning against the flagpole. Tag line: “Vote first. Ask questions later.”
shunn789 9h Isn't it strange how violent rhetoric tends to result in violence. [nephew] 2h • Author @shunn789 Considering the media called him 'Hitler' for 7 years straight, it seems inevitable that such extreme and continuous vilification might provoke extreme reactions. [nephew] 2h Author this attempt just makes him look more like the victim than ever, and will only turn more people to him as they watch it all unfold. His adversaries keep putting cards in his deck.
iPhone screenshot of hiking workout details. Hiking Open Goal 11:37 AM-1:35 PM New York Workout Details Workout Time 1:57:46 Active Calories 711CAL Elevation Gain 528FT Avg. Heart Rate 133BPM Distance 4.95MI Total Calories 935CAL Avg. Pace 23'47"/MI
Quote from Hitchhiker’s Guide: Vogon poetry is of course, the third worst in the universe. The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria. During a recitation by their poet master Grunthos the Flatulent of his poem "Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in My Armpit One Midsummer Morning" four of his audience died of internal haemorrhaging and the president of the Mid-Galactic Arts Nobbling Council survived by gnawing one of his own legs off. Grunthos was reported to have been "disappointed" by the poem's reception, and was about to embark on a reading of his 12-book epic entitled "My Favourite Bathtime Gurgles" when his own major intestine, in a desperate attempt to save humanity, leapt straight up through his neck and throttled his brain. The very worst poetry of all perished along with its creator, Paul Neil Milne Johnstone of Redbridge, in the destruction of the planet Earth. Vogon poetry is mild by comparison.
A baldy white beardo wearing sunglasses that are way too cool for him.
Tall trees and vegetation line a paved hillside path leading to a polygonal stone overlook.
Photograph of a male cockatiel standing on a shelf in a cage littered with seeds and straw detritus. A poster for the movie HARVEY hangs on a wall beyond the cage, a sign that the human tenants are pretentious yahoos.
Drawing of a single road snaking into a dense forest. Caption: “A road hasn’t diverged in a yellow wood, but we are extremely worried about this road we are on, so should we try to hack through the forest in some other direction? God, this is stressful!”
A cockatiel sits in its cage with its head tucked back and eyes closed, as if to shut out the chaotic explosion of distracting toys nearby.
The front of a deli having its grand opening. Sign reads: “LDS: Lenox Deli & Salad”
Text: Amy Coney Barrett put it in her dissenting opinion, the majority granted emergency relief “in a fact-intensive and highly technical case without fully engaging with both the relevant law and the voluminous record.” That failure led to the bleakly hilarious specter of Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, confusing nitrogen oxide — the pollutant the EPA was regulating — with nitrous oxide, aka the stuff you get at the dentist. Nonetheless, Gorsuch and his fellow conservatives are convinced they can understand environmental laws and regulations better than the EPA.
A green-tinged photo of a 30-ish man with glasses, a blond goatee, frosted hair, sideburns, and a black leather jacket, leaning against the wall in the back hallway of a bar probably really needing to pee and trying not to look annoyed by the person taking the picture. Mostly succeeding. It's probably late, and everyone is tired.
A dark gray bird stands on a branch in a wooded area. Looking very regal, bird!
A medium-sized white rabbit with gray ears and black markings around its eyes, sits up on its hind legs cleaning its muddy paws, as seen through the mesh side of a pet carrier.
A small Hotot rabbit sits on the back of a couch sniffing the ear of a white-bearded man.
A tortoise-shell Dutch rabbit stares out the transparent front window of his carrier. A reflection on the plastic makes clear the carrier is in a car, probably en route to some hellish chamber of torment.
Striped wall with large blue frame, and various paper templates hanging inside the frame.