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Lucy Hounsom: Author

Also writing as Lucy Holland

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05/07/15

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Author, SFF podcaster, book merchant Read More…

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🌺 Rhododendrons and camellias of Heligan 🌺

🌺 Rhododendrons and camellias of Heligan 🌺

I've wanted to visit these gardens for ages and I'm so glad we were finally able to make the trip – and in spring no less! According to the website, there are 350 ancient rhododendrons and 70 camellias, earliest dating to 1850. The blaze of colour is incredible. To think they were lost for so many years. Magical. Thinking of your book, @doc_tiff ;)

#thelostgardensofheligan #heligan #rhododendron #camellia #spring #inbloom #flowers #gardens #cornwall #visitcornwall #nature #bluesky #beautifultrees

Beautiful Crackington Haven. It was so peaceful he

Beautiful Crackington Haven. It was so peaceful here, staring out across the water.

✿

#researchtrip #cornwall #northcornwall #visitcornwall #nofilterneeded #crackingtonhaven #legends #spring #blueskies #sea #naturephotography #coastline #seaside #beach #southwestengland

𝕊𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚

𝕊𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕕

Sadly the Museum of Witchcraft wasn't yet open when we visited Boscastle last weekend, so have some shots of beautiful Cornish buildings including "The Otherworld." This village was probably made for me...

Has anyone been to the museum?

✥

#boscastle #cornwall #northcornwall #visitcornwall #westcountry #museumofwitchcraftandmagic #instagrammable #prettyvillage #bluesky #witchcraft #magic #pagan #bookstagram

The red proof is back in honour of Beltane! A fir

The red proof is back in honour of Beltane!

A fire festival celebrated by Celtic Pagans, it falls around 1st May. Ancient peoples lit a huge bonfire, the Tein-eigen, and extinguished their hearth fires so that they could be relit from the main one, bringing cleansing, renewal and fertility. To protect them from disease, cattle were driven through the smoke of the Tein-eigen out to summer pasture.

The Bel in Beltane comes from the name of a Celtic divinity: Bel or Belenos the sun god, the shining one. If he bestowed his favour, it would protect the community and ensure a good harvest.

In Sistersong, I turned the tradition of jumping the Tein-eigen into a fire dance able to call the slumbering magic out of the land :) Beginning to think I should put a Beltane scene in the new book too... anyway, welcome summer! Chase away this rain!

➳

#beltane #pagan #firefestival #celtic #celticgods #summer #mayday #Sistersong #bookstagram #igreads #twosisters #instareads #inspiration #oldways #fantasy #ancientbritain

Happy publication day to this beautiful book! Who

Happy publication day to this beautiful book! Who else has ARIADNE on their TBR?

What is it about? Well...

❝As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur - Minos's greatest shame and Ariadne's brother - demands blood every year.

When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods - drawing their attention can cost you everything.

In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne's decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover's ambition?❞

Sounds good, right? Although I'm predisposed to hate Theseus because he killed me so many times in Hades 😅

✿

#ariadne #jennifersaint #happypublicationday #greekmyth #retelling
#mythology #ancienttales #feminist #womensvoices #bookstagram #igreads #booklove #alwaysreading #newbook #instareads #historicalfiction #2021reads

'Another world. Another time. In the age of wonder

'Another world. Another time. In the age of wonder.'

🏰

#thedarkcrystal #tintagel #window #ancientruins #earlymedieval #ancientbritain #cornwall #kernow #arthurian #kingarthur #nature #bluesky #myth #legends #merlin #utherpendragon #oldcastle

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓾𝓭 𝓜𝓪𝓲𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓗𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓪𝓷

We speak of the king under the hill but what of the green lady who lies in the forest until she is called upon? Perhaps her sleeping is our waking and she guards us in her dreams.

This living sculpture at The Lost Gardens of Heligan was created by Sue and Pete Hill and changes with the seasons.

✿

#mudmaid #heligan #livingart #livingsculpture #forestart #woodland #greenlady #earthmother #magical #lostgardensofheligan #nature #naturalworld #dappledlight #naturephotography #spring #myth

These grassy walls are presumed to be remnants of

These grassy walls are presumed to be remnants of Tintagel's original 6th century structure... so naturally I posed Sistersong there. Tintagel was a major settlement in post-Roman Britain and seems to have declined with the Dumnonii - the powerful tribe that historically controlled the westcountry before it finally became part of Saxon Wessex.

Just so incredible to walk across land that felt the footfalls of people 1500 years ago. What a dramatic coastline too! Have you visited?

➳

#Sistersong #tintagel #dumnonia #ancientbritain #romanbritain #ancientruins #earlymedieval #kingarthur #legend #fantasy #historicalfantasy #bookstagram #2021reads #instareads #writingresearch

One of the most haunting and beautiful passages on

One of the most haunting and beautiful passages on magic ever written. Will reading from the Book of Gramarye in The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper.

Math ap Mathonwy appears in one of the branches of the Welsh Mabinogi. Famously, in times of peace, he must rest his feet in the lap of a virgin or he will die. And that's not even the weirdest thing in the Mabinogion.

✿

#thedarkisrising #susancooper #mabinogion #welshmyth #bookstagram #igreads #booklove #instareads #magic #fantasy #fantasybooks #bookquote #favouritebook

I am so delighted that Sistersong's audiobook narr

I am so delighted that Sistersong's audiobook narrator, Robyn Holdaway, decided to create a tune for this so it could be sung. I had no idea my Twa Sisters would be a proper song until I heard it. Such a lovely surprise. Maybe I can share a clip in the future.

If you haven't listened to the audiobook, it's really worth checking out as Robyn reads it beautifully ☺️

➳

#Sistersong #audiobook #audible #thetwosisters #bonnyswans #murderballad #folkballad #folksong #bookstagram #igreads #instareads #historicalfantasy #2021books #ancientbritain #celtic #anglosaxon #fantasy #historicalfantasy #historicalfiction #englishhistory

ℕ𝕖𝕨𝕤𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 This year

ℕ𝕖𝕨𝕤𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣

This year I'm going to try sending out more regular newsletters (monthly) and would love you to help me by telling me what you'd enjoy seeing there!

I've put together this special giveaway and, for the next week, everyone who signs up is in with a chance to win it. You get...

💙 A signed hardback of Sistersong with the lost prologue restored!

💙 Handcrafted soap made locally on Dartmoor in Devon

💙 A branded Sistersong tote bag with the cover and a quote from the book. There are only 3 of these in existence!

💙 A signed bookplate and a harp charm

All you have to do is go sign up to my newsletter using the link in my bio or on my website (if you signed up in the past week I will enter you, don't worry). Open internationally.

And don't forget to tell me what you'd be most interested in seeing. I've been sitting on a spoilerific chapter from Tristan's PoV which I promise to release into the subscriber wild very soon.

#Sistersong #bookstagram #instareads #igreads #newsletter #giveaway #epicloot #booklove #bookcommunity #fantasy #historicalfantasy #historicalfiction #2021books #authorsofinstagram

You can understand why nemetons were sacred spaces

You can understand why nemetons were sacred spaces to the ancient Celts when you stand in the middle of a silent sun-strewn woodland. That silence feels as if it could stretch unbroken to the beginning of the world.

✥

I am popping across the border to Cornwall next weekend, which is part take-Mum-away / part immersive research trip so expect some glorious Kernish landscapes to appear here...

#woodland #woodlandpath #woods #trees #sunthroughtrees #dumnonia #celts #nemetons #ancientbritain #druids #sacredgrove #silentforest #nature #naturephotography #devon #harpfordwoods

What a sight to see on my first day back at work:

What a sight to see on my first day back at work: another beautiful display of Sistersong! I am a lucky author bookseller. We sold 5!

The sun was shining and everyone who walked through the door seemed so happy to be there.

💙

#Sistersong #waterstones #waterstonesexeter #bookselling #bookshop #reopening #bookstagram #igreads #booklove #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #fantasy #bookdisplay #beautifulbooks #readersofinstagram

Making more of an effort to share books I recently

Making more of an effort to share books I recently enjoyed on my feed! So here is @gabrielahouston1's debut novel, The Second Bell. I liked it for:

🛎 mother/daughter central relationship
🛎 excellent cross examination of community
🛎 when the magic system is actually a metaphor (I took away a Jungian shadow self discussion from it)
🛎 evocative slavic folklore

I found it a delicately handled, compelling meditation on what it means to be part of a family. Very refreshing in the fantasy genre 😊

#thesecondbell #gabrielahouston #angryrobot #fantasy #bookstagram #igreads #booklove #instareads #alwaysreading #magic #booksbooksbooks #slavic #folklore #epicreads #bookcommunity

This is going to be a highlight of my week! They'r

This is going to be a highlight of my week! They're letting @drvictoriajames loose on the @waterstones IG account so we can kick back and chat all things Sistersong. But Vic writes fabulous books too so give them a 👀

Don't be strangers, come say hello on Wednesday 14th, 7.30pm BST 🥰

#Sistersong #bookstagram #instagramlive #livechat #waterstones #bookevent #instareads #booklove #bookcommunity #fantasy #historicalfantasy #2021books #alwaysreading #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram

Thrilled that work made me this gorgeous Sisterson

Thrilled that work made me this gorgeous Sistersong window complete with ribbon and golden butterflies 💛 Big thanks to @kate.j.miller who will probably kill me for posting this before she added more butterflies to it. I am back in the shop next week and cannot wait to see!

🦋

#Sistersong #waterstones #waterstonesexeter #bookselling #windowdisplay #bookstagram #igreads #booklove #instareads #alwaysreading #fantasy #historicalfantasy #historicalfiction #2021reads #booksbooksbooks #devon #exeter #panmacmillan

Get off the road! Some very A Shortcut to Mushroo

Get off the road!

Some very A Shortcut to Mushrooms paths scattered throughout Harpford Woods. I *love* that scene in the Fellowship film where the road itself seems to scream at the hobbits to run.

It was a little difficult to feel too creeped out with all the sun we had on Easter Sunday though.

☀️

#harpfordwoods #woodland #woodlandpath #blackrider #thefellowshipofthering #lotr #Tolkien #eastersunday #woodlandwalk #springsunshine #sunnyday

I hope everyone had a happy Easter Sunday. It was

I hope everyone had a happy Easter Sunday. It was my birthday yesterday so I definitely did! Easter is another of those Christian festivals based on an already established Pagan festival – Eostre.

If she existed at all (some argue that Bede invented her) Ostara, from which 'Eostre' is derived, was a Germanic goddess of the spring. I've been a bit underhanded sneaking her into my British pagan pratice, but assumed it likely they would have had an equivalent spring festival. It made sense to link it to a name readers would recognise.

Sistersong is actually structured around some major pagan festivals: Imbolc (Feb), Eostre, Beltane (May), Lammas (Aug), Samhain (Oct) & Yule (Dec). I was lucky enough to go to a real life Beltane festival a few years ago as research for the book and I'd love to do it again once large events are allowed to go ahead.

Have you been to any modern pagan festivals?

➳

#Sistersong #eostre #easter #ostara #goddess #pagangoddess #pagan #anglosaxon #ancientbritain #celtic #beltane #bede #bookstagram #igreads #instareads #inspiration #fantasy #historicalfantasy #historicalfiction #2021reads
#booklove #bookcommunity

This is WILD and an incredible early birthday pres

This is WILD and an incredible early birthday present! Thank you to everyone who preordered and bought Sistersong in its first week - it made the Waterstones bestseller chart at number 5 😭

I think I might open the prosecco early...

➳

#thetimes #waterstones #bestseller #bookstagram #Sistersong #publication #instareads #igbooks #historicalfiction #fantasy #fantasybooks #inthenewspaper #panmacmillan #hardbackfiction #proseccotime

My book is out tomorrow 😱 No art is created in

My book is out tomorrow 😱

No art is created in isolation, even during a pandemic. Unless you live in a cave, every day we're touched by other people, other stories.

And by the time your own story becomes a book you can hold in your hands...so many people have touched it, helped shape it and helped shape you. To all those people: thank you. I couldn't have done it without you.

➳

There's still time to get your orders for signed copies in - links in my bio! Big love to everyone who has bought the book already and shared photos of it with me, you're all marvellous. I hope lots of you will join me tomorrow evening at the online launch, details in the bio. In the meantime...bring on publication day!

#Sistersong #bookstagram #igreads #booklove #bookcommunity #instareads #acknowledgements #thankyou #readersofinstagram #writersofinstagram #fantasy #historicalfantasy #2021books #signedcopy #publicationday

I've picked up a few more followers recently – h

I've picked up a few more followers recently – hello! — and thought it might be fun to do a post that isn't just me going on about my book. Ok so I'm posing with it but that's only because it comes out on Thursday!

What do I do apart from writing books? Well, I live by the sea in East Devon about 14 miles from Exeter (where I have worked as a Waterstones bookseller for 11 years) and am slave to two cats.

When I'm not serving my fluffy masters, I play the piano and also video games like Skyrim, Dragon Age, Hades, Assassin's Creed etc. And a weird Dungeons & Dragons campaign every Wednesday night.

I have been learning Italian for three years and started Japanese as a lockdown project last year because languages are cool and I wish I could speak more of them. I am a huge anime nerd and also have a major obsession with Chinese historical fantasy dramas like The Untamed, which extends to giant rambling fan translated novels...

Something I'm very proud to be involved with is Breaking the Glass Slipper, an intersectional feminist sff podcast I co-host with friends Megan and Charlotte. It won a British Fantasy Award in 2019 and if you like geeky, serious but fun discussions, please do check it out!

What other quirky things can I tell you? I went to theatre school for 6 years, did a bunch of dance exams and was an extra in some big films (not as glamorous as it sounds 😅) My sister @lauramadeleineauthor is an author too but luckily leaves fantasy alone or I'd have to have her removed. I love yoga but have been very bad at keeping it up regularly during lockdown 😬

Alright my silken masters are calling and I must attend them, but let me know in the comments if you like the stuff I like so I can fangirl with you. Also books are great and telling stories is pretty good too and I'm very happy and lucky to be here. Happy Sunday!

✿

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