Sue Archer 🍁

@suearcher.bsky.social

933 Followers 589 Following

Canadian fantasy writer, sometime editor, and #StetWalk enthusiast. Trying to read all the things before my TBR topples. She/her. Books2read.com/FortunesShadow #AmReading Cascade by Rachel A. Rosen

A battered black matchbook with white and neon pink text saying "Take advantage of Holiday Inns' exclusive Holidex System for fast, free, advance reservations by computer."
Cover of Fortune's Shadow by Sue Archer. It features a young dark-haired woman playing a guitar with purple mist swirling around her, while a mysterious red-haired woman hovers behind her against the starry night above a darkened street.
A cluster of bright red tulips. Their leaves are bright green and the tulips are glistening with moisture after the rain. Gorgeous thin dark swirls in the petals, too.
A fox says "Mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and more! Check out our all-Canadian online fiction festival!" Fictionfest.ca June 21 to July 4
List of 4 books from a Kobo cart: The Whisperer in White by Y.R. Liu, City of Stars and Shadows by Will J Fawley, The Redemption of Jarek by Dylan Madeley, and Stealing from Wizards by R.A. Consell
A blue square image with a photograph of a chickadee in the foreground. A cartoon-style talk bubble has the bird saying: "The world needs more Canadian books!"
Poster of four fantasy authors, Sue Archer, J.F. Garrard, Y.R. Liu, and David Jon Fuller, announcing author readings at Canada Fiction Fest on June 27th at 1:30 p.m. EDT, hosted by N.P. Thompson.
Poster for Canada Fiction Fest Fantasy Author Readings on June 27th at 1:30 p.m. EDT featuring Sue Archer, J.F. Garrard, Y.R. Liu, and David Jon Fuller
There are two shadowed houses in the foreground, and in between the sky is orange and pink blending to purple above. The light is bouncing off of the clouds which are strewn evenly across the sky like a quilted mattress. Beautiful.
The text under "Dedication" says "To all our critical inner voices - please take the day off. Actually, take the whole damn year." From the book Love Lessons by Sarina Bowen
A black square image with contrasting red and white text. In the bottom right hand corner is the maple leaf and open book logo for Fiction Fest. Stacked text in the top right reads: “This. Is. BIG. June 21-July 4. FictionFest.ca” Below that is a 3-item bulleted list describing the Fiction Fest events that says: “1. book showcase with all the fiction sub-genres and a range of target ages; 2. author gallery you can filter by province; 3. register for FREE author readings and discussion panels.” In the top right corner, above the logo, white text reads: “Join authors from all across the country in celebrating CanLit with an online book fair!”
A fortune cookie paper saying "Expand your horizons and read a new book" sits on top of The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee. The cover features a swordswoman in a bright red cape stalking forward in a snowstorm towards a cityscape. She looks badass.
A poster of the DS9 station saying "Everything's coming up Quark"
A poster of the DS9 station with the episode title "Everything's coming up Quark"
A solitary white daffodil with a yellow centre surrounded by an empty garden bed with grasses at the edge.
A tree covered in white blossoms stretches towards the fluffy white clouds. It gleams against the bright blue sky.
A cluster of over a dozen tulips with varying mix levels of pink and white. Bright and jaunty!
A woman leaning against a brick wall wearing a purple T shirt that says "I closed my book to be here"
The above-ground subway train track spirals gradually into the distance along the yellow line. Across the track is a station platform. A brightly lit train sits on the track in the distance. The sky is a light pink at the horizon, fading into purple blue with a few back-lit purple clouds. It's going to be a lovely weather day.
A box with four rounded brigadeiro from Mary's Brigadeiro in Toronto. One looks like a sculpted pink raspberry and another has a perfectly placed coffee bean. The third has chocolate sprinkles and the fourth is covered in crumbs nom nom nom.
A copy of Jessie Mihalik's Silver & Blood. The cover features a sexy dark-haired man in a dark doublet, open at the chest, with his arm protectively around a woman in a grey gown who has a circlet of white flowers in her hair and her hand around a sheathed dagger. In the background are red roses and a spooky castle. The vibes, I tell you!
I'm holding A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong, featuring a woman in a tailored pale blouse and wide dark skirt. She is facing away from us, holding the edges of her skirt and staring at a manor house in the distance while white spooky light swirls in front of her.
The "Your 2026 Word" GIF from Merriam-Webster has landed on sultry.
Deluxe paperback of A Hunt Bound in Blood by Krista Walsh, with a black cover featuring a silver crown and roses, and black sprayed edges with white feathers and red drops.
The stage of the musical "& Juliet". It features a big neon sign with the name of the play, unlit because the show hasn't started yet but still glittering, a jukebox off to the side, and the word "London" on a screen in the background.
Acrylic painting of a Christmas tree that is rose and pink with a gleaming snowflake shaped star on top. It is surrounded by other trees in a snowy night-time landscape.
Strange Planet cartoon by Nathan Pyle. The first alien starts talking to another alien working on a laptop and looking mildly stressed. The laptop alien has a cup of coffee sitting next to them, and by the final panel they are drinking it. "Why are you in distress?" "I am creating a fictional narrative." "How is it progressing?" "Minimally. But I just reviewed my progress and despise it." "Oh. Is this substandard or routine?" "Yes."
A stained glass panel featuring a mermaid by Tiffany. The mermaid is braced against the waves, looking calm. Sparkles of blue, orange and pink from reflected Christmas tree lights are interspersed with the green and blue palette of the panel.
The city of Montreal at night seen from a plane window above. Patches of yellow lights in grids are seeded with the orange of streetlights on crisscrossed winding roads over water. There are also smatterings of blue and white clusters.
View of a night time Montreal street from a hotel window above. A giant Leonard Cohen mural is on one side of a tall building, he is dressed in a sharp suit and fedora. Holiday lights are brightening up the storefront windows below him.
An amateurish acrylic painting of sunshine over a meadow that is full of blobby dobs of colorful wildflower petals. There are trees on either side with a few green leaves. It's not Monet by any means, but it's cheerful and it's mine!
A painting by Franklin Carmichael on a white art gallery wall. It features a cluster of bare trees with very short cut branches, which is quite stark against the pale sky. The overall effect however is peaceful as behind the trees is a lake with shining waters, an effect achieved by dapples of white paint. There are rounded hills behind the water in tones of orange, brown, and green, the colours of autumn. Very typical of the overall Group of Seven art style.
View of the lake from the shore of the town of South River. There is a bright blue sky above with puffy white clouds.
A closeup of a maple tree with bright red leaves shining in the sun.
A paper copy of The Drowned Man's Daughter by C.J. Lavigne sits on a table next to a light blue bowl full of water-smoothed rocks from a beach. The rocks are various mixed colours - white, yellow, pale green, pink, black. The cover of the book features two bright green eyes peering out from dark blue cresting waters. They feel alive, like they are staring right into you.
DVD set of the British TV series Robin of Sherwood, Set 2, featuring Jason Connery's face (the actor playing Robin Hood).
In a theatre costumes and props warehouse sits Audrey Two from Little Shop of Horrors. (In Stratford, Ontario.) It is adult person-sized so that the operator can move from within. Not something you want to run into in a dark alley after a total eclipse of the sun!
A symmetrical, vibrant, round purple-pink flower with several layers of pointed oval-shaped petals is facing me head on. It contrasts strongly with the green lawn below it and the green leaves above it. A smaller one is peeping below it in the background.
From a position of safety across the road, I witness all the inflatable ghost and goblins on a house's front lawn. There are over thirty of them, including a stack of three purple bats, a Gorilla, a green alien, a green witch, many white ghosts, and scariest of all, Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
A dark purple sticker that says "Keep punk and hope on." Yes.
Picture of a bookmark with Sienna Tristen's kickstarter for The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming orchestrated audiobook. It is sitting on my piano keyboard.
Picture of Augur Volume 6, featuring a giant golden space telescope that gleams because of the metallic cover. So gorgeous!
Featuring two books from the speakers: The Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault, which features the silhouette of a long-haired figure with a cape perched on a roof, the wind blowing. The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed, which features a black and white bird with silver eyes and green roots growing out of its body.
Picture of the panelists from my perspective as someone sitting on the floor to the side. Felt like we were going to camp together, or a slumber party. Lydia M. Hawke is speaking, Christy Climenhage has her chin tilted up and is looking like she is contemplating inspiring things, and Lynn Hutchinson Lee is looking down with a secretive smile. They are all clearly up to something. Watch out.
A picture of a CanCon metal mug with black plastic lid sitting on a white table. This mug was everywhere. I salute you, fellow caffeine lovers.
Picture of a Kindle displaying the cover of Tea and the Transcendent: A Novel in Stories, by Genevieve Clovis, which features a cup of tea surrounded by stars with the tea's steam transforming into elaborate scrollwork above.
A picture of Speculative Shorts: Stories that fell out of my brain by Cait Gordon. It has a lovely sky-blue cover with three shorts hanging from a line: one covered in scales, one with a pattern of playing cards, and one that shows a starry spacescape. Placed next to the top and bottom of the book are green neon glow bracelets from the CanCon Glow Party - in alignment across from each other. Scattered on and around the book are a sticker that says Make Space Accessible featuring a rocketship, a button featuring the three shorts hanging from a line that are on the book cover and the quote "Keep asking: What if?" and a purple keychain that says "unlock your imagination."
A collection of CanCon books and chapbooks sitting on a green, blue, and purple quilt: Hunting a Sea-Glass Heart by Carolyn Charron, Wormwood by D.H. Nevins, an RPG called Definitely Not Doppelgangers, Shift role-playing game basic rules, Seed Beetle poems by Mahaila Smith, Speculative Shorts: Stories that fell out of my brain by Cait Gordon, Cascade by Rachel A. Rosen, Year's Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction Volume 3 edited by Stephen Kotowych, Part Time Girl by Adriaan Brae, How the Rain Came to Faerie After All by Kate Heartfield, Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault, The Stars and the Seeds by Kay Hawkins, Your Blood and Bones by J. Patricia Anderson, Augur Volume 6, and Pale Grey Dot by Don Miasek.
My hand is holding open the CanCon 2025 program showing the many many panels, book launches and events from just Friday and part of Saturday. Too many to describe here. There is an asterisk next to Crone Lit: The Time Has Come because I wasn't going to miss that one!
A copy of Part Time Girl by Adriaan Brae. The cover features a spray-painted wall including the phrases "no place for hate" and "Trans rights now!"
A copy of Year's Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction Volume 3, edited by Stephen Kotowych. Yes, you heard me. There is more than enough Canadian talent to fill three volumes. Stephen also included honourable mentions this time because there were so many great stories submitted.
A CanCon name badge featuring a castle with a heart, a cheerful pink and purple butterfly, and a button that says "Proud TBR Pile Owner" which is totally me. A ribbon underneath tells everyone I'm a first time attendee. Many people who saw that started friendly conversations to welcome me, which was awesome.
A paper fortune that reads, "Now is a good time to explore."
A fortune cookie paper says that now is a good time to finish up old tasks. I know, I know...
I think it's a closeup of my fingers on selfie mode? Three bright pink wavy shapes that look like petals, with bright light shining through in the top right between the waves. Very abstract art ha.
A bright blue sky, soon to be at sunset. A contrail streams across, with two small white clouds above it (if you peer closely) that look like stars. A big white cloud higher up above a tall tree on the right has wisps around it, like fog.
Picture of a CD of Phil Collins' No Jacket Required album, sitting on my jean-clad leg. The album cover features Phil's face with his earnest eyes staring into your soul.
View from a shore covered in rocks, some of them with a greenish tinge. The lake (Lake Ontario) is a darker blue with slight waves, and the sky is a brighter blue that is lighter where the sky meets the water. So peaceful.
Dark red maple leaf is sitting on a worn black metal slatted bench.
I am holding in my palm a rounded alien with seemingly one eyeball and light green tentacles waving from it on all sides. It is disguised as a newly ripened chestnut, which is very clever, but I am not fooled.