Question for #fantasybooks readers/writers: Should magic be regulated?

In my world there’s a civic agency called MASHA that's basically magical OSHA.

Now #amwriting Book 2, I’m introducing characters who think magic should be completely free.

Do you think you'd be Team MASHA or Team Free Magic?

“Centaurs never existed; there could never be
a double nature in a single body…
composed of incongruous parts
with a disparity in faculties.
The stupidest person ought to be convinced of that.”
— Lucretius

I write about a #centaur trying to reconcile his dual natures, because aren't we all?

My world has centaurs, fauns, naiads, and dryads. I skipped elves and dwarves, but I did create my own fantasy peoples (all descended from dragons). Dragons are gods, not beasts or pets.

Do you prefer traditional fantasy archetypes, or original?

Ambrose Bierce defined a centaur in his satirical "The Devil’s Dictionary" as: CENTAUR, n. One of a race of persons who lived before the division of labor had been carried to such a pitch of differentiation, and who followed the primitive economic maxim, "Every man his own horse."

#CentaurSunday

Greek philosopher Empedocles (c. 494–434 BCE) imagined evolution as random body parts combining to form composite creatures, including centaurs.

Driven by Love & Strife, only the functional survived.

I think about that, because I write about a high-functioning centaur with a job in magical safety.

Plus, I've seen people get hit by bird poo... and the aftermath of parades. Putting the two together seems like a bad idea.

What kind of public transportation do you want in your fantasy world?

I write gaslamp fantasy, so I’m thinking...
- Horse-drawn boats pulled along a network or canals or
- Carts gliding along enchanted (or magnetic?) rail tracks

What are we riding to work?
#worldbuilding #fantasyworlds

This local Wolfdog joined an Olympic ski event and triggered the finish-line camera. This is Nazgul. He snuck into a cross-country skiing sprint this morning and raced the homestretch with some competitors before being escorted home. 14/10 someone get him a medal

If the Olympics came to the fantasy world you're writing or reading, what would the events be?

For my MASHA (magical OSHA) Olympics, I'm thinking...
- Test tubes & tongs race (like an egg & spoon race)
- Alchemical spill response relay
- Speed form filing (points for time and accuracy)

Happy Lunar New Year! 🌙

I hope the Year of the Horse is a good year for my book about a centaur who's a magical safety inspector.

If you enjoy:
• Supernatural & magical creatures
• Traditional mystery solving
• Magical bureaucracy
• No romance, just found family

Welcome to my herd. 🐎

FREE BOOKS! Today is the last day to enter to win one of ten advance copies of my next novel, THE AMATEUR! Secret affairs, predatory men, the class divide in America — and, suddenly, a teen girl on trial. Enter to win on Goodreads OR click the link right here: tinyurl.com/4pzyjdy5

"Man is a centaur, a tangle of flesh and mind, divine inspiration and dust." - Primo Levi

The Angry Unicorn is a fantasy tavern name I came up with as a teenager.
Now, it’s a location in my Simarron Mysteries books. It was just waiting for the right project. 🦄
#indieauthor #fantasybooks

"And after that he tends to the horse part of himself by grazing for an hour or so and finishing up with a hot mash, some oats, and a bag of sugar. That's why it's such a serious thing to ask a Centaur to stay for the weeekend. A very serious thing indeed.” - C.S. Lewis, "The Silver Chair"
2/2

I love this quote from C.S. Lewis about #centaurs

“A Centaur has a man-stomach and a horse-stomach. And of course both want breakfast. So first of all he has porridge and pavenders and kidneys and bacon and omlette and cold ham and toast and marmalade and coffee and beer."
1/2

Is winter storm Fern affecting you? Are you staying cozy and warm or do you like to play in the snow?
I'm reminded of this watercolor piece I painted in 2006!
#yearofthehorse #horseart #myart #friendshipismagic

2026 is the Year of the Horse. Fitting, because I wrote a book with a centaur hero and I’m looking for my herd: readers who love detailed world building, magical mysteries, and found families. 💜🐴📚

I miss my sugars.

2026 is the Year of the Horse. I'll be posting some of my horse art, trying to find my herd. 🐴💖
#yearofthehorse #horseart #myart

I like to read books about US history of the late 1800's - early 1900's. A lot of the same shit, different century. I use it as influence in my fictional world building, too.

A digital illustration of a purple chibi hyena centaur with a bow and arrow following the tracks of a mysterious animal through a snowy forest. Soft light emanates from behind the trees casting long shadows. The mysterious creature passes unnoticed in the background, giving the huntress an amused glance. Prompt art for the CupidCats ARPG.

The huntress and the hunted.. #arpg

I've sold two books this year so far!
#indieauthor

If you enjoy reading magical hazard reports disguised as #cozymysteries, "The Vanishing Castle" is required reading.

Stay magically safe out there.

- Simarron, #centaur and MASHA safety inspector

2/2

This #indieauthor is writing a sequel and I'm looking for my readers in 2026:
🐴 Feels #centaurs deserve main character energy
🕵 Wants to solve a #mystery in a #fantasy setting
🏰 Fan of rich and unique #worldbuilding
💜 Can't get enough #FoundFamily

Is that you? Let’s make 2026 weird and whimsical!

I see a big problem where many people think AI is unbiased, when actually it contains the biases of those who programmed it. People think machines can't have errors, but they do.

Fast forward a few decades, and what do I finally finish writing? A fantasy novel with a centaur main character. Some dreams just evolve with you. 🐴📚

#indieauthor

FINALLY, the summer before I started middle school, I got to go to Girl Scouts horse camp and earn my badges in horsemanship and horse care. It was a dream come true.

Growing up, I was a huge horse girl but, unfortunately for me, my family lived in the city. Every summer I begged to go to horse camp. Instead, my mom tried to encourage other interests, like the time she sent me to electricity camp. (My transistor radio never worked.)

I wanted the feeling of an alien world, so I created a second-world fantasy with no humans. I was always obsessed with horses and centaurs. And I gave my centaur a murder mystery to solve.

They also wrote - and I don't think anything can top this:
"Science Fiction writer C. J. Cherryh has the talent to truly immerse the reader in an alien persepctive and Marlena Cannon has that same talent in the Fantasy genre."

If you buy my book, get ready to live your next 255 pages as a #centaur.