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Lucy Hounsom: Author

author, podcaster, mistress of strange

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03/01/17

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Meet the Author

Author, SFF podcaster, book merchant Read More…

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silvanhistorian

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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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20k words on the WiP! Yesterday, mum asked me what it was called and I had to admit "alchemy book.docx" 😂 Titles are definitely the last thing I do. They're so difficult to get right even when you have a whole novel spread before you
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Fellow writers - titles first or last? Any love out there for the working title?
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#wip #fantasy #booktitles #alchemy #workinprogress #bookstagram #aesthetic #bookaesthetic #alchemist #illustration #art #inspiration #pinterest #writing #fantasy

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Flood waters begone! Managed to make it to San Marco today. As you can see, it's still a little wet there, but it was lovely to see the sun. We did *a lot* of walking. A good thing too because we also ate *a lot* of 🍕 Can highly recommend Venice Free Walking Tour - our guide Federico was extremely knowledgeable and funny and it was a great way to spend a few hours
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#venice #Venezia #AcquaAlta #walkingtour #sanmarco #stmarkssquare #holiday #reflections #gondola #sightseeing #palazzoducale #waterfront

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"Bella Venezia" - to quote the Italian tourists wearing bin bags 😅 Had an incredible day experiencing acqua alta, an exceptionally high tide that turns the city into a kind of Atlantis. The Venetians are remarkable people to weather this with such good humour despite the heavy toll it must take on their livelihoods. And Venice is still beautiful no matter the rain or tide. We have a duty to protect this unique place which has seen so much history
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#venice #venezia #italy #AcquaAlta #tide #hightide #canalegrande #holiday

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I had forgotten face ceiling in the Academia. Hall of Faces, anyone? 🖼 Also featuring a great deal of wtf Christianity. Religion is extremely weird. 🖼 Saw some incredible Bellinis and Boschs. The talent that goes into creating a deliberately foreshortened painting (i.e. for a church roof) is mind blowing. 🖼 Those two girls remind me of @lauramadeleineauthor & I! 🖼
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#academia #venezia #art #giovannibellini #hieronymusbosch #religiousart #gallery #sightseeing #paintings #italianrenaissance

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The Secret Chapter is the latest in the Invisible Library series by @genevievecogman. I've been following these books for a while now and they are always something to look forward to at the end of every year. .
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Since I know there's a lot of you out there who enjoy them too, who is your fav character? And which side would you fight on - order or chaos? 😉
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#bookstagram #igreads #theinvisiblelibrary #thesecretchapter #genevievecogman #toruk #panmacmillan #fantasy #fae #dragons #bibliophile #library #booklove #femalewriters #bookworm #fiction #ilovereading #bookish #readersofinstagram #bookphotography #alwaysreading

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🌑 Elegant in black and gold 🌕
Three of these are on my TBR pile. Particularly excited to get to Crownbreaker as I've loved the Spellslinger series so far
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Are these on anyone else's TBR?
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#bookpost #bookstack #bookstagram #newbooks #bookphotography #alwaysreading #igreads #bookworm #booklove #writing #fction #fantasy #sebastiendecastell #erinmorgenstern #thestarlesssea #crownbreaker #neilgaiman #thenightjar

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My new read is Always North by Vicki Jarrett. Also I rather like this photo I took. Thanks murky parental bedroom light. I've been a fan of @unsung.books ever since I read Metronome by Oliver Langmead and then The Beauty by Aliya Whitely. They publish high concept work that's really accessible
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Q: What's your fav high concept read?
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#bookstagram #bookart #unsungstories #igreads #alwaysnorth #vickijarrett #bookphotography #alwaysreading #booklove #femalewriters #coverlove #epicreads #bookcommunity #publishing #bibliophile #ilovereading #bookish #beautifulbooks #scifi #climatechange #timetravel #fiction

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🐚 Happy book birthday to Deeplight by the one and only Frances Hardinge. In addition to being a lovely person, Frances' voice is so completely unique among writers. It's always a joy to open one of her books and I can't wait to encounter all the colourful weirdness that I just know waits in this one. Thank you @bellapagan for my copy! 🐚
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Have you read any Frances Hardinge? I am a huge fan of A Face Like Glass. Never read anything else like it 😯
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#franceshardinge #deeplight #bookstagram #newbook #panmacmillan #igreads #books #reader #booklove #femalewriters #bookworm #beautifulbooks #readersofinstagram #bookphotography #alwaysreading #bookish #bookcommunity #bookpost #coverlove #epicreads #hardback #ocean #publicationday

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Ok I had a bit of fun with this one. But does Gideon the Ninth not have the coolest cover? @drvictoriajames says this ought to be my next read and I'm enjoying it so far! But then I've always had a soft spot for necromancy...🧟‍♀️ p.s. my sister's severed hand came in really useful for this pic 😅
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#gideontheninth #tamsynmuir #tor #lesbiansinspace #necromancy #fantasy #sff #halloween #bookstagram #igreads #booklove #femalewriters #bookworm #beautifulbooks #coverlove #epicreads #hardback #books #bibliophile #ilovereading #bookish #bookcommunity #bookpost #bookphotography

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Meg made a beautiful bookstagram of our award 😍

#Repost @breaking_the_glass_slipper
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WE WON A BRITISH FANTASY AWARD 🥇
Two days later and it still hasn’t really sunk in. We were up against some incredible podcasts and audiobooks this year and it was an honour just to be nominated.
We were so sure we wouldn’t win that we hadn’t prepared any kind of speech... which is why @m_leigh_g thanked Prince 🤟 in her very much ad libbed non-speech. 😂

We are so proud to be (hopefully) improving representation of diversity in genre fiction. This is an ongoing discussion that needs to happen and we want to thank everyone who has joined us on the journey so far.
Thank you to everyone who has listened to and recommended the podcast, with a special shoutout to our Patreon supporters
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#fantasycon #fantasycon2019 #britishfantasysociety #britishfantasyaward #podcast #bookstagram #fantasybooks #award #btgs #breakingtheglassslipper #bookworm #igreads #books

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Still reeling from the fact that, as of yesterday, we host an award winning podcast 🥰 So much ❤to my co presenters Megan and Charlotte and a huge thank you to everyone who listens to and supports BtGS, we couldn't have done it without you 😘
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#fantasycon2019 #breakingtheglassslipper #btgs #britishfantasyaward #britishfantasysociety #audioaward #awardwinning #omg #podcast #feminism #intersectionalfeminism #womensvoices #listen #thankyou #bookstagram #igreads #genre #sff #sciencefiction #fantasy #horror #specfic

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