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Lucy Hounsom: Author

author, podcaster, mistress of strange

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2020

Fantasycon: 25-27th September, London

Meet the Author

Author, SFF podcaster, book merchant Read More…

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silvanhistorian

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Author Life Month Day #14: Treat myself you say? Well if you insist. I will be spending Friday night with Hua Cheng facing down the gods in this utterly gorgeous manhua of Heaven Official's Blessing, illustrated by STARember. Please check out their work, it is stunning
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#authorlifemonth2020 #authorlife #bookstagram #heavenofficialsblessing #huacheng #manhua #moxiangtongxiu #tianguancifu #illustration #art

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Author Life Month Day #12: Other Fav Media. So here are a handful of my recent favourite anime/donghua ranked in order of squee------
1. Mo Dao Zu Shi. I think I've consumed this in every medium possible: the novel, the donghua, the manhua and the live action adaptation called The Untamed. Hell, just pick your favourite and go for it because this story is complex, compelling, features boy love and a flute playing necromancer. I mean it's made for me. S3 of the donghua is out this year!
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2. Dororo. Ever grateful to @leila__yasmine for reccing this because it was last year's obsession. A boy given to the demons as a baby by his own father sets out to recover everything they took from him. Helped by the spirited kid Dororo who teaches him about the world. This story deals with some juicy moral questions like should one suffer for the good of many. It's a remake of the 60s original and is just amazing.
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3. The Promised Neverland. A group of children discover that their comfortable foster home is actually a farm for growing demon food- namely them. Time to start a rebellion but how when you're only 11 and the enemy is everywhere? I cried a lot. S2 out this year!
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4. Attack on Titan. This gargantuan (pun intended) series is dark as fuck. Eren and his friends discover some brutal truths about their world and vow to take revenge on the people who lied to them. There are just so many well drawn characters and once the plot gets going, it steamrollers over the lot of them. S4 out this year!
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Shout out to Fruits Basket and Given as I love them and both have new seasons this year. I am also reading the novel of Heaven Official's Blessing in preparation for the donghua out this year too 😊
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#authorlifemonth2020 #authorlife #bookstagram #favanime #anime #modaozushi #theuntamed #dororo #thepromisedneverland #attackontitan #donghua #manhua #liveaction #heavenofficialsblessing #moxiangtongxiu #animenerd

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Author Life Month Day #8: WiP. @lauramadeleineauthor bought me this alchemy book for Christmas to help me write my grand Venetian adventure. At 30K words, some things have become apparent-
⚕ I love subterranean settings (see previous trilogy)
⚕ my obsession with necromancy, faceless shadowy beings and BL animes is showing
⚕ Italian folklore is full of fascinating creatures
⚕ My acting background is coming in handy .
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This is part Neverwhere, part Good Omens, part Fullmetal Alchemist, part Jungian journey of the self and all ME! Hope I get to share it with you 😉
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P.s. that Dark Matter from @darkmatterrum was also a Christmas gift and I'm looking forward to cracking it open
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#bookstagram #authorlifemonth2020 #authorlife #wip #fantasy #neilgaiman #fullmetalalchemist #boylove #venezia #alchemy #workinprogress #writing #transmutation #theself #jung

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Author Life: Day #7: Swag/stationery. I couldn't post this yesterday as the light wasn't good enough. Here are my writing journals from around 2004 onwards. These are the Paperblanks Book of Kells series with gorgeous creamy paper that's a joy to write on. If you haven't seen the actual Book of Kells, look it up because it's an astonishing work of ancient calligraphy. I love fancy pens and used to use the quill all the time - as a teenager I was the self-styled Girl of Crimson Ink 😅
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Any recommendations for other great notebooks out there?
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#authorlifemonth2020 #authorlife #bookstagram #stationery #swag #journals #notebooks #writing #fantasy #bookofkells #paperblanks #paper #writingpaper #ink #fountainpens #quills #pens #stationeryaddict #stationerylove

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Author Life Month Day #5: Shelfie. I rearranged my bedroom bookshelves fairly recently (just check the feed)! This is the elegantly named random hardback shelf. I tried at least to colour them. The sword is from the combat workshop I did at Nine Worlds convention some years ago with Miltos Yerolemou, who plays Syrio Forel in Game of Thrones. What do we say to the God of Death?
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#authorlifemonth2020 #authorlife #bookstagram #shelfie #gameofthrones #syrioforel #miltosyerolemou #godofdeath #swords #dancingmaster

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I'm here with another SISTERSONG post! In the last, I mentioned the ballad that inspired the novel where one sister drowns the other out of jealousy. There are a dozen or so variations of The Twa Sisters in the Child Ballads, a collection of folk songs compiled by James Child in 1860. A couple of them introduce a third sister in the opening verse, but she subsequently disappears from the story
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I've always found this mysterious. It got me thinking about the reasons people are erased from history, those who did not fit neatly into the popular societal narrative, but existed nonetheless, just as today, where they still face discrimination and intolerance. I restored the missing child, Keyne, so that my reimagining of Twa Sisters could be narrated by all three of the king's children
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Realising that someone like Keyne - assigned female but identifies male - could and maybe did exist in the margins of this tale made me want to tell his story alongside his sisters'; how he escaped the strict gendered confines of the ballad, as well as the attitudes of his own time. I really hope you enjoy meeting him next year .
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#Sistersong #bookstagram #igreads #twosisters #childballads #folktales #siblings #historical #transgender #transpeopleinhistory #genderidentity #ballads #retelling #upcoming #newbook #panmacmillan #fantasy #historicalfantasy #writing

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Author Life Day #4: My biggest fan is Pushkin, my silken shadow. She has helped* me write all four of my books and is a very good and beautiful girl 🐈
*sat on the laptop .
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#authorlifemonth2020 #authorlife #bookstagram #blackcatlove #blackcatappreciation #writing #bestgirl #catsofinstgram

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Author Life Day #3: Writing Fuel. I'd like to be edgy and say gin, but I do my writing in the mornings when I work best so the only answer is COFFEE. Brownest of the brown. Nectar of poets. Saviour of offices. Bane of bladders. One beverage to rule them all*
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*I actually prefer tea (for its variety)
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What's your preference?
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#authorlifemonth2020 #authorlife #bookstagram #coffeelove #writingroutine #writingfuel #morning #notwithoutcoffee #cafetiere

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Day #2 of Author Life Month: My Books 📚 Super old pic from the Worldmaker Storygram tour, but my author copies are currently buried and this is a pretty photo 😉 I started writing my debut trilogy when I was 17 in 2003, but I didn't work on it seriously until much later after I'd completed my MA in Creative Writing in 2010. This is classic fantasy with a feminist flavour and I wrote it especially to curl up with on winter nights when all you want to do is lose yourself in another world. Hell, enough time has passed since the edits that even I open them occasionally to escape for a bit 😅 My upcoming book, SISTERSONG, is more in the historical vein, so if early medieval pagan magic is your thing, definitely stick around 👍
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#authorlifemonth2020 #authorlife #bookstagram #igreads #worldmakertrilogy #starborn #fantasy #fantasybooks #bookphotography #storygram #lucyhounsom #toruk #epicfantasy #dragons #femalewriters #femalecharacters #winterreads

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Better late than never! All the cool kids are doing this meme by @missdahlelama so I thought why not? Ciao, I'm Lucy Hounsom. I have written four books, three of which are published by Tor as the WORLDMAKER Trilogy, a grand adventure of the epic fantasy kind with your dragons and your magic and your female characters as the heroes of their own stories👍That fourth book I mentioned is called SISTERSONG and comes out next year. More on the books in post #2 📚 I also co-host the British Fantasy Award winning podcast, Breaking the Glass Slipper! I live in Devon with two 🐈🐈 Instead of an unflattering Sunday morning selfie, here's me cosplaying Triss from The Witcher🧙‍♀️
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#authorlifemonth2020 #authorlife #bookstagram #lucyhounsom #thisisme #writing #fantasy #fantasybooks #worldmakertrilogy #starborn #BreakingtheGlassSlipper #btgs #thewitcher #triss #cosplay #devon #tor

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Not entirely sure how I managed to miss reading this book when it first came out, but now that a followup is due in March, I thought I'd better jump in! @lizdejagerwriter didn't you say it was one of your favourites?
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Q: what are your fav props for taking bookstagram pics with? I never actually wear this pocket watch but it looks so great in photos 😂
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#bookstagram #igreads #newbook #thewatchmakeroffiligreestreet #natashapulley #bloomsburybooks #magicalrealism #flatlay #booklove #bookphotography #alwaysreading #beautifulbooks #readersofinstagram

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Sistersong is out from Pan Macmillan in Spring 2021, so this year, every 6th post will give you a few more facts about the novel! I'll start with the 'song' part, which references the murder ballad that inspired it: The Twa Sisters, also called Bonny Swans, Binnorie, The Dreadful Wind & Rain, Bonnie Bows of London etc... Of course I wanted to write my own version of the song too (where the quote above is taken from). Despite its many names, the ballad tells the same basic story...
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...which is essentially about sibling rivalry. An older sister drowns her younger sibling because she wants her fiancee for her own. I've always thought there has to be more to the story, however. Was the older girl provoked? Was the younger really an innocent victim? And what about the object of their affections? Why does he (in some versions of the ballad) give gifts to BOTH sisters? That is surely inviting disaster...
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...Anyway I couldn't resist all these questions, which form the basis of every tale. I chose to tell mine through 3 protagonists - children of an ancient Devonian king - and I wanted to give both older and younger sisters the chance to give us *their* side of the story. As for the middle child...that's a post for next time 😊 Keep an eye on the Sistersong hashtag to collect them all!
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#Sistersong #bookstagram #igreads #twosisters #murderballad #earlymedieval #folktales #sisterhood #newbook #upcoming #panmacmillan #bookquotes #writing #fantasy #historicalfantasy #pagan #devon #loreenamckennitt #bonnyswans

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@redahaq gave me this gorgeous artwork on Starborn's launch day...almost 5 years ago 😯 I love it because it captures Naris' (and the wielders' dual natures perfectly). Plus the stars are all on the outside just as Kyndra is. Really is my book summed up in an image. I'll try and find a pic of the full one later.
#Repost @doodleybecca
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Underground city from way back in 2014
#doodles #drawing #blackwork #doodling #doodleybecca #blackandwhite #illustration #detail #illustrator #throwback #tbt #throwbacktuesday #architecture #design #commission #commissionedartwork #rotring #technicalpen #starborn #bookstagram

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I do love the Spellslinger series. It's full of larger than life characters. I have about ⅓ left and tbh I don't want to finish this book. Crownbreaker's one of the best so far, though I thought Soulbinder was great too. Plus the UK covers are so well conceived. The playing card aesthetic is perfect 🃏
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Anyone else love these books? I have all them in hardback except the first one which is a bit annoying but I'm not a HB purist 😂
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#bookstagram #igreads #coverlove #hardback #bookjacket #spellslinger #crownbreaker #sebastiendecastell #hotkey #booklove #readersofinstagram #alwaysreading

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For posterity. I know I documented the dismantling of the VORTEX 🌪 in my stories, but wanted to post something on my feed before the 'before' pictures got too far away. Therefore I give you...miscellaneous rainbow 🌈 which might not have a snappy name but I can see the floor! How long for, I hear you ask, how long for...?
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Genuine Q: how often do you rearrange your bookshelves? Because I won't be doing this again any time soon 😅
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#bookstagram #igreads #booklove #readersofinstagram #bookshelves #cleanup #bookcull #colourfulshelves #hardbacks #booksbycolour

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You know when you manage to acquire signed hardbacks of books one and three but two somehow gets missed? Yep, that. To my everlasting embarrassment, I haven't read Robin's latest series yet, though I adored the Fitz books as a teenager. Also it's a not so secret now dream of mine to have Jackie Morris illustrate my own books! I adore her romantic, flowing style and how nature always features strongly in her work 🌿
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#bookstagram #igreads #booklove #femalewriters #illustration #robinhobb #jackiemorris #foolsassassin #assassinsfate #harpervoyager #signedcopy #signedbytheauthor #bookphotography #alwaysreading #writing #coverlove #bookjacket

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The office calendar came with loads of cool feminist postcards (see my story) so I took some home. I'm lucky to have a lot of strong (in this instance there just isn't a better word) women in my life. My mum, my sister, my amazing @breaking_the_glass_slipper co-hosts, my friends, my fellow female authors, all those I've met through writing - I don't want to start tagging because there are too many of you)! But I'm grateful you're all here to share this new decade with me, whatever it may bring 💪 ♀️ ❤
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#bookstagram #igreads #femalewriters #feminism #sisterhood #gutsywomen #ahistoryofbritainin21women #newyear #strongertogether

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It's 2020! I can finally say my new book is coming out next year 😂 Keep an eye on my insta for some Sistersong every 6 posts or so. I really can't wait to talk about this one - from its roots in the famous Two Sisters ballad to its historical setting in ancient Devon and themes of gender and identity. Thanks for keeping me company on here and a happy new year wherever you all are in the world 🥂
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#Sistersong #bookstagram #igreads #newbook #toruk #panmacmillan #folktale #thetwosisters #bonnyswans #folkballad #reimagining #fantasy #historicalfantasy #genderidentity #sisterhood #happynewyear #happynewdecade

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Post Christmas update on The Vortex 🌪 It is looking more Escher-like by the day. I can no longer toss books on top for fear of collapse. Some are structural, but who knows which? Juvenile offshoots are springing up from the floor
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#toomanybooks #bookstagram #igreads #booklove #booksbooksbooks #bookshelves #erwhatshelves #escher #bookart #alwaysreading #pleasehelp

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I know I haven't posted much during December. I feel the holiday is a good opportunity to take a social media break. But since we're nearing the end of the year (as well as the decade) here's my 2019 Top Nine 😁
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1. Wistman's Woods with @redahaq - I tempted her out of London with some eerie nature. One of the most enchanting places in Devon. 2. Italy with @redahaq & @lauramadeleineauthor - I met with the mana that is burrata. 3. I sold a book v.close to my heart - Sistersong will be out early 2021. 4. Hanging with the amazing @ellen.kushner @dublin2019worldcon - lots of good conversation was had! 5. @lauramadeleineauthor launched An Echo of Scandal in Bristol - the venue was perfect & I'm v proud of Laura for organising such a great event on her own. 6. The ever wonderful @drvictoriajames invited me to the haunted Woodsford Castle 👻 & I got to read some of my spooky short story by candlelight in the even spookier undercroft. 7. To our utter astonishment @breaking_the_glass_slipper won Best Audio at the British Fantasy Awards - an amazing moment I wish I had been dressed nicely for 😅 8. Visiting Venice during the floods was a real experience and the first time I've seen the effects of climate change so close up. 9. The new #wip! My goal is to finish this by July and I am so enjoying writing my gay Venetian alchemy story!
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So yeah I'd say 2019 (with a few hiccups) has been a pretty fine end to the decade. Here's to the new one, friends 🥂
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#Venice #Venezia #Pisa #Italy #AcquaAlta #WistmansWood #Devon #booklaunch #bookstagram #WoodsfordCastle #hauntedhouse #Sistersong #AnEchoOfScandal #btgs #BreakingtheGlassSlipper #britishfantasyawards #worldcon #bestof2019 #bestnine2019

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