Come write fantasy with me this summer!

Lucy Holland on writing fantasy | Author interview We caught up with bestselling fantasy author Lucy Holland to discuss what first sparked her love for the fantasy genre, how she incorporates magic into her worldbuilding, the inspiration behind her…

'Build in limitations because magic can be plot-breaking' 🔮

We caught up with bestselling fantasy author Lucy Holland @silvanhistorian.bsky.social to discuss what first sparked her love for the fantasy genre, how she incorporates magic into her worldbuilding and our Writing Fantasy course.

Not long left to apply for Writing Fantasy! ⚔️

Learn from @silvanhistorian.bsky.social and attend a masterclass with author of bestseller #TheLastStarbornSeer @venetiaconstantine.bsky.social & Editorial Director at Aria, Aubrie Artiano.

Apply by 20 Apr: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...

Running my fantasy course again this May and there's still time to apply!

Lucy Holland on writing fantasy | Author interview We caught up with bestselling fantasy author Lucy Holland to discuss what first sparked her love for the fantasy genre, how she incorporates magic into her worldbuilding, the inspiration behind her…

'Journeying alongside my characters is how I come to understand them' ✍️

We caught up with fantasy author Lucy Holland @silvanhistorian.bsky.social to discuss what sparked her love for the fantasy genre and how she blends magic into her worldbuilding.

Writing Fantasy | Zoom Course Write epic fantasy fiction with dedicated online teaching and feedback from British Fantasy Award-winner and bestselling author, Lucy Holland.

There's still time to apply for our Writing Fantasy course ⚔️

Join us for nine weeks of Zoom teaching, workshops and tutorials led by British Fantasy Award-winner and bestselling author, Lucy Holland @silvanhistorian.bsky.social!

Apply by 20 Apr:

Haha I was just saying to someone else that I began researching this at the end of 2022 so the fact it's only next year fills me with immense joy

What's it about? Poetry, pining, grief and glory. A love that survives after death. Inspired by Britain's earliest literature, history and myth, THE LAST VERSE OF THE HARP LORD is the story of legendary bard, Aneirin. In pursuit of poetic fame, he must survive the rigorous training of the bardic school, bloody battlefields where warriors win death or glory, and the machinations of powers both mortal and immortal. Ultimately he must decide what price he is willing to pay to break the curse that binds the man he loves. Set in late 6th century Britain, this is my ode to the poetry, music and mystery of medieval Wales. It's the Tale of Taliesin, Y Gododdin, Tam Lin. The Mabinogi. It's 100% a Lucy Holland book doing what I love best: melding history, myth and queerness into one epic tapestry of story. It will make you cry. "Men went to Catraeth..."

Extract from The Last Verse of the Harp Lord by Lucy Holland reads: The nobles were holding their breath, rapt and relishing the sight of us standing eye to eye, our harps unsheathed like blades. Taliesin said, ‘I was at Rheged’s side and witnessed the great king put flight to Fflamddwyn and his sons. I watched the blood of the Angles run red to the sea. I heard Owein’s defiance, fearless as his father. I will sing of it. For am I not Taliesin, bard to Uryen, golden spear of the north?’

Yesterday I handed in structural edits on my 2027 book THE LAST VERSE OF THE HARP LORD and thought you deserved a little look at it.

It's very Welsh, very gay and I cannot wait to share it with you!

5 parts. 39 chapters. 146K words.

I have not, do not, and will not use AI.

Those who use AI are not writers (artists, etc) they're thieves, cheats, and plagiarists.

They have no more written a book than someone who's got in an Uber has run a marathon.

Beggars belief that it needs to be said but yes for the record I have never and will never use AI for *anything*. I live for the magic, the poetry, of writing. It is my lifeblood, my livelihood and my meaning.

I can't even conceive of outsourcing the joy of crafting prose to a machine.

Couldn't have said it better 👏

This yes. They've ruined us and our planet. If only people would stop using their tech! They only listen to money.

Some editors 'uploading confidential manuscripts to ChatGPT to read quickly' agent claims

Publishing has truly lost its way. After the years of work authors put into their MS, to feed it lazily into the unregulated maw of a LLM is disgraceful and insulting.

Publish less and better.

www.thebookseller.com/news/some-ed...

Hey folks -- Signal Boost time for this week's #TheFullLid. If you have a human-made creative project to promote, leave the details in a reply. Include the title and a link please, so folks can find it. For pre-launch crowdfunders let us know about 2 weeks in advance.

or, all of bluesky could block @attie.ai right now lol

I am still fighting the unjust disablement of my Instagram account @silvanhistorian. In the meantime I have created another to keep in touch with everyone still on the gram (most of trad publishing it seems).

If you are there too, you can find me at my new username: lucyhollandauthor.

The magic of Naming. The theme of restoring equilibrium to a world that patriarchy has torn from its natural cycle of birth and death...

Last year I had a chance to discuss some thoughts on Earthsea's magic in Writing the Magic edited by @dancoxon.bsky.social.

"Tribute to Ursula" by Jackie Duckworth.

I picked up this beautiful hand printed linocut at World Fantasy last year & have finally had it framed! Le Guin has long been one of my formative writing inspirations & I feel Jackie's art conveys some of the Taoist philosophy underpinning Earthsea.

Yay!

Thank you ☺️

Number of AI chatbots ignoring human instructions increasing, study says Exclusive: Research finds sharp rise in models evading safeguards and destroying emails without permission

I do not think it is hyperbolic to say that AI is an extinction level threat. This is how we'll go. The greed and hubris of a few.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Huntress took me 3 years to get right and has fallen very much under the radar so this is such a lovely message to receive. I'm thrilled you've been enjoying it.

And you can pick it up for just 99p on kindle until March 31st 🥰 www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B097...

I'm running my Writing Fantasy course starting in May this year. Come join me?

☺️

Love this book. Go buy it!

Thank you! ❤️

This is a train wreck of a story. Who is surprised that genAI is the bigot's best friend?

School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books - Index on Censorship A school librarian faced a disciplinary hearing and scores of books were removed from her school library after she stocked Laura Bates’ Men Who Hate Women

This story is worse than I thought it would be. An utter abuse from the headteacher and the Local Authority, black and LGBTQ+ books targeted, and a librarian's career ruined. Pure bigotry.

My Wild Hunt book, SONG OF THE HUNTRESS, is two years old today! Just one more year until I have a new novel for you all...

To celebrate, it's just 99p over on kindle www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B097...