M.T. Swift 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
@mtswiftwrites.bsky.social
Writer of dark fiction with a side of history from Kansas. I particularly enjoy psychological/rural horror and revisionist westerns (sometimes together). My fiction explores inherited debts and poor choices even the soundest of minds make under duress.
"Historians have begun to discover the richness of the ordinary."
—Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed
www.goodreads.com/book/show/77...
#Reading #History #SalemWitchTrials
—Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed
www.goodreads.com/book/show/77...
#Reading #History #SalemWitchTrials
Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft
The stark immediacy of what happened in 1692 has obscur…
www.goodreads.com
September 24, 2026 at 1:20 PM
"Historians have begun to discover the richness of the ordinary."
—Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed
www.goodreads.com/book/show/77...
#Reading #History #SalemWitchTrials
—Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed
www.goodreads.com/book/show/77...
#Reading #History #SalemWitchTrials
"Every piece of historical writing has a theoretical basis on which evidence is selected, filtered, and understood. This is as true of scientific empiricism as it is of poststructuralism."
—Green & Troup, The Houses of History
www.goodreads.com/book/show/90...
#Reading #History
—Green & Troup, The Houses of History
www.goodreads.com/book/show/90...
#Reading #History
The Houses of History: A Critical Reader in Twentieth-C…
A comprehensive introduction to the twelve most influen…
www.goodreads.com
September 16, 2026 at 2:24 PM
"Every piece of historical writing has a theoretical basis on which evidence is selected, filtered, and understood. This is as true of scientific empiricism as it is of poststructuralism."
—Green & Troup, The Houses of History
www.goodreads.com/book/show/90...
#Reading #History
—Green & Troup, The Houses of History
www.goodreads.com/book/show/90...
#Reading #History
“Study the historian before you begin to study the facts.”
― E.H. Carr, What Is History?
www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...
#Reading #History
― E.H. Carr, What Is History?
www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...
#Reading #History
What Is History?
Distinguished historian seeks to reconcile the doctrine…
www.goodreads.com
September 9, 2026 at 3:03 PM
“Study the historian before you begin to study the facts.”
― E.H. Carr, What Is History?
www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...
#Reading #History
― E.H. Carr, What Is History?
www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...
#Reading #History
"A married woman in early New England was simultaneously a housewife, a deputy husband, a consort, a mother, a mistress, a neighbor, and a Christian. On a war-torn frontier she might also become a heroine."
—Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Good Wives
www.goodreads.com/book/show/78...
#Reading #History
—Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Good Wives
www.goodreads.com/book/show/78...
#Reading #History
Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in …
This enthralling work of scholarship strips away abstra…
www.goodreads.com
September 2, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"A married woman in early New England was simultaneously a housewife, a deputy husband, a consort, a mother, a mistress, a neighbor, and a Christian. On a war-torn frontier she might also become a heroine."
—Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Good Wives
www.goodreads.com/book/show/78...
#Reading #History
—Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Good Wives
www.goodreads.com/book/show/78...
#Reading #History
"A family is a little Church, and a little commonwealth... Or rather it is as a school wherein the first principles and grounds of government and subjection are learned: whereby men are fitted to greater matters."
—William Gouge from "A Little Commonwealth"
#Reading #History
—William Gouge from "A Little Commonwealth"
#Reading #History
August 26, 2026 at 2:23 PM
“To write is human, to edit is divine.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...
#Writing #Reading
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...
#Writing #Reading
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
"Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon t…
www.goodreads.com
July 24, 2026 at 12:12 AM
“To write is human, to edit is divine.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...
#Writing #Reading
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...
#Writing #Reading
“The humor of the west knows no bounds, respects no boundaries.”
―Stephen Graham Jones, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
www.goodreads.com/book/show/21...
#Reading #Westerns
―Stephen Graham Jones, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
www.goodreads.com/book/show/21...
#Reading #Westerns
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only …
www.goodreads.com
July 16, 2026 at 1:50 PM
“The humor of the west knows no bounds, respects no boundaries.”
―Stephen Graham Jones, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
www.goodreads.com/book/show/21...
#Reading #Westerns
―Stephen Graham Jones, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
www.goodreads.com/book/show/21...
#Reading #Westerns
It's taken the better part of a year to reach the halfway point in my debut novel's first draft. I find myself caught between my job exhausting my brainpower during the day and noticeable skill improvements, since the first chapter, wrecking any motivation for new chapters.
#AmWriting #Writing
#AmWriting #Writing
July 2, 2026 at 1:24 PM
It's taken the better part of a year to reach the halfway point in my debut novel's first draft. I find myself caught between my job exhausting my brainpower during the day and noticeable skill improvements, since the first chapter, wrecking any motivation for new chapters.
#AmWriting #Writing
#AmWriting #Writing
The Kansas Authors' Club's Annual Writing Retreat (OCT 2nd-5th) is open for registration! Reserve your spot now for an incredible time working on your prose and poetry alongside other Kansas Writers at Rock Springs Ranch!
www.kansasauthorsclub.org/octregistrat...
#KAC #AMWriting #WritingRetreat
www.kansasauthorsclub.org/octregistrat...
#KAC #AMWriting #WritingRetreat
Register for the 2026 Writing Convention
2026 Kansas Writing Convention Registration Save the Date October 2-4, 2026
www.kansasauthorsclub.org
June 25, 2026 at 7:16 PM
The Kansas Authors' Club's Annual Writing Retreat (OCT 2nd-5th) is open for registration! Reserve your spot now for an incredible time working on your prose and poetry alongside other Kansas Writers at Rock Springs Ranch!
www.kansasauthorsclub.org/octregistrat...
#KAC #AMWriting #WritingRetreat
www.kansasauthorsclub.org/octregistrat...
#KAC #AMWriting #WritingRetreat
“Home is a notion that only nations of the homeless fully appreciate and only the uprooted comprehend.”
― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#Reading #Writing #NewHome
― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#Reading #Writing #NewHome
Angle of Repose
Leather-bound limited edition.
www.goodreads.com
June 15, 2026 at 11:42 AM
“Home is a notion that only nations of the homeless fully appreciate and only the uprooted comprehend.”
― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#Reading #Writing #NewHome
― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#Reading #Writing #NewHome
I've survived the move! Even made progress on the novel!
Now for the fun part, the learning curve of fresh employment!
#Learning #AmWriting #FreshStart
Now for the fun part, the learning curve of fresh employment!
#Learning #AmWriting #FreshStart
June 8, 2026 at 11:20 AM
I've survived the move! Even made progress on the novel!
Now for the fun part, the learning curve of fresh employment!
#Learning #AmWriting #FreshStart
Now for the fun part, the learning curve of fresh employment!
#Learning #AmWriting #FreshStart
My new flash fiction reads you back.
"Author's Note" is live at Literary Garage. Psychological horror in 340 words.
literarygarage.com/authors-note
Photo by KDH Photography: www.facebook.com/KimberlyDHamm/
@litgarage01
#FlashFiction #amwriting #indiehorror
"Author's Note" is live at Literary Garage. Psychological horror in 340 words.
literarygarage.com/authors-note
Photo by KDH Photography: www.facebook.com/KimberlyDHamm/
@litgarage01
#FlashFiction #amwriting #indiehorror
Author's Note | Literary Garage
literarygarage.com
May 28, 2026 at 1:50 PM
My new flash fiction reads you back.
"Author's Note" is live at Literary Garage. Psychological horror in 340 words.
literarygarage.com/authors-note
Photo by KDH Photography: www.facebook.com/KimberlyDHamm/
@litgarage01
#FlashFiction #amwriting #indiehorror
"Author's Note" is live at Literary Garage. Psychological horror in 340 words.
literarygarage.com/authors-note
Photo by KDH Photography: www.facebook.com/KimberlyDHamm/
@litgarage01
#FlashFiction #amwriting #indiehorror
Reposted by M.T. Swift 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
Today's 2nd feature starts quietly.
Then the spacing changes.
The sentences fracture.
The story starts talking directly to you.
And suddenly you’re in it.
A sharp, unsettling little piece of metafiction horror from @mtswiftwrites.bsky.social
At the Garage:
literarygarage.com/authors-note
Then the spacing changes.
The sentences fracture.
The story starts talking directly to you.
And suddenly you’re in it.
A sharp, unsettling little piece of metafiction horror from @mtswiftwrites.bsky.social
At the Garage:
literarygarage.com/authors-note
Author's Note | Literary Garage
literarygarage.com
May 28, 2026 at 12:51 PM
Today's 2nd feature starts quietly.
Then the spacing changes.
The sentences fracture.
The story starts talking directly to you.
And suddenly you’re in it.
A sharp, unsettling little piece of metafiction horror from @mtswiftwrites.bsky.social
At the Garage:
literarygarage.com/authors-note
Then the spacing changes.
The sentences fracture.
The story starts talking directly to you.
And suddenly you’re in it.
A sharp, unsettling little piece of metafiction horror from @mtswiftwrites.bsky.social
At the Garage:
literarygarage.com/authors-note
"Medium Oil" is now up on my website.
It's a piece I read this month at the Annual Voices of Butler County Cafe Night. Based on a real event from Vol. P. Mooney's 1916 History of Butler County.
#KansasAuthors #LocalHistory #AmWriting
mtswiftwrites.com/2026/05/26/m...
It's a piece I read this month at the Annual Voices of Butler County Cafe Night. Based on a real event from Vol. P. Mooney's 1916 History of Butler County.
#KansasAuthors #LocalHistory #AmWriting
mtswiftwrites.com/2026/05/26/m...
Medium Oil
The following short piece “Medium Oil,” is based on a real event recorded in Vol. P. Mooney’s 1916 History of Butler County. During this event, in 1878, an El Dorado barber named John Donley organi…
mtswiftwrites.com
May 26, 2026 at 8:37 PM
"Medium Oil" is now up on my website.
It's a piece I read this month at the Annual Voices of Butler County Cafe Night. Based on a real event from Vol. P. Mooney's 1916 History of Butler County.
#KansasAuthors #LocalHistory #AmWriting
mtswiftwrites.com/2026/05/26/m...
It's a piece I read this month at the Annual Voices of Butler County Cafe Night. Based on a real event from Vol. P. Mooney's 1916 History of Butler County.
#KansasAuthors #LocalHistory #AmWriting
mtswiftwrites.com/2026/05/26/m...
For anyone who may have missed the Voices of Butler County last weekend, the director was kind enough to record the event's speakers and post it to her channel!
My piece: Medium Oil starts right at the 1-hour mark.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLSs...
#ButlerCounty #KansasOilMuseum #Reading
My piece: Medium Oil starts right at the 1-hour mark.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLSs...
#ButlerCounty #KansasOilMuseum #Reading
Voices of Butler County Poetry Cafe - May 2026
YouTube video by Butler County Historical Society
www.youtube.com
May 21, 2026 at 1:34 PM
For anyone who may have missed the Voices of Butler County last weekend, the director was kind enough to record the event's speakers and post it to her channel!
My piece: Medium Oil starts right at the 1-hour mark.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLSs...
#ButlerCounty #KansasOilMuseum #Reading
My piece: Medium Oil starts right at the 1-hour mark.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLSs...
#ButlerCounty #KansasOilMuseum #Reading
The three most stressful things you can do in life are move, start a new job, and get married.
We're going to attempt two of the three in the next couple weeks. Wish me luck.
#Motivation
We're going to attempt two of the three in the next couple weeks. Wish me luck.
#Motivation
May 21, 2026 at 1:25 PM
The three most stressful things you can do in life are move, start a new job, and get married.
We're going to attempt two of the three in the next couple weeks. Wish me luck.
#Motivation
We're going to attempt two of the three in the next couple weeks. Wish me luck.
#Motivation
May 20, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Had a wonderful time listening to the stories and sharing my own at Voices of Butler County Saturday evening.
For more events like this, check out the Kansas Oil Museum's Facebook page or website below:
www.facebook.com/kansasoilmus...
www.facebook.com/kansasoilmus...
For more events like this, check out the Kansas Oil Museum's Facebook page or website below:
www.facebook.com/kansasoilmus...
www.facebook.com/kansasoilmus...
May 18, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Had a wonderful time listening to the stories and sharing my own at Voices of Butler County Saturday evening.
For more events like this, check out the Kansas Oil Museum's Facebook page or website below:
www.facebook.com/kansasoilmus...
www.facebook.com/kansasoilmus...
For more events like this, check out the Kansas Oil Museum's Facebook page or website below:
www.facebook.com/kansasoilmus...
www.facebook.com/kansasoilmus...
Reminder that tomorrow night, I’ll be presenting one of my pieces at “Voices of Butler County” through the Kansas Oil Museum as one of eight selected performers!
For anyone interested in attending:
www.kansasoilmuseum.org/shop/p/voice...
#Writing #History #Community #AmWriting
For anyone interested in attending:
www.kansasoilmuseum.org/shop/p/voice...
#Writing #History #Community #AmWriting
Voices of Butler County - Non-Member Tickets — Kansas Oil Museum
Every community has stories waiting to be shared. Voices of Butler County, our upcoming café-style open mic night on May 16, invites writers, musicians, storytellers, and performers to step for...
www.kansasoilmuseum.org
May 15, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Reminder that tomorrow night, I’ll be presenting one of my pieces at “Voices of Butler County” through the Kansas Oil Museum as one of eight selected performers!
For anyone interested in attending:
www.kansasoilmuseum.org/shop/p/voice...
#Writing #History #Community #AmWriting
For anyone interested in attending:
www.kansasoilmuseum.org/shop/p/voice...
#Writing #History #Community #AmWriting
“The world is quite ruthless in selecting between the dream and the reality, even where we will not.”
―Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
www.goodreads.com/book/show/46...
―Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
www.goodreads.com/book/show/46...
All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, #1)
Teenager John Grady Cole, the last of a long line of Te…
www.goodreads.com
May 14, 2026 at 1:20 PM
“The world is quite ruthless in selecting between the dream and the reality, even where we will not.”
―Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
www.goodreads.com/book/show/46...
―Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
www.goodreads.com/book/show/46...
From time to time, writers run into sessions where a page, paragraph, sentence, or even just a single word is all they can muster.
Don't let it kill your momentum, progress is progress.
#Writing #AmWriting #CreativeProcess
Don't let it kill your momentum, progress is progress.
#Writing #AmWriting #CreativeProcess
May 13, 2026 at 2:13 PM
From time to time, writers run into sessions where a page, paragraph, sentence, or even just a single word is all they can muster.
Don't let it kill your momentum, progress is progress.
#Writing #AmWriting #CreativeProcess
Don't let it kill your momentum, progress is progress.
#Writing #AmWriting #CreativeProcess
Historical fiction changes the way one looks at ordinary things.
Every railroad spike, rusted sign, and weathered church pew has a story.
Walls would be the least of my concerns if inanimate objects could talk.
#Writing #HistoricalFiction #AmWriting
Every railroad spike, rusted sign, and weathered church pew has a story.
Walls would be the least of my concerns if inanimate objects could talk.
#Writing #HistoricalFiction #AmWriting
May 12, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Historical fiction changes the way one looks at ordinary things.
Every railroad spike, rusted sign, and weathered church pew has a story.
Walls would be the least of my concerns if inanimate objects could talk.
#Writing #HistoricalFiction #AmWriting
Every railroad spike, rusted sign, and weathered church pew has a story.
Walls would be the least of my concerns if inanimate objects could talk.
#Writing #HistoricalFiction #AmWriting
There's a time in most pansters' stories when they've set their project aside for a week or two, only to have the pieces fall into place later, and reveal a larger picture.
The mischievous laughter following these revelations is a sound protagonists should dread.
#Writing #AmWriting
The mischievous laughter following these revelations is a sound protagonists should dread.
#Writing #AmWriting
May 11, 2026 at 1:19 PM
There's a time in most pansters' stories when they've set their project aside for a week or two, only to have the pieces fall into place later, and reveal a larger picture.
The mischievous laughter following these revelations is a sound protagonists should dread.
#Writing #AmWriting
The mischievous laughter following these revelations is a sound protagonists should dread.
#Writing #AmWriting