Queer Quarterly Indie Pride book sale today (June 2nd) through June 4th! Almost 200 books for $0.99 USD (or your equivalent). www.mnbennet.com/pride-promo Get my 1884 m/m novella, Four Walls and a Heart! (It's under the Fantasy section.)

One of the things I find hardest in writing books set in the 1920s (or, well, this one is 1919): "Does this character say 'weekend' or not?" (It has class and other background implications.)

I spent the morning at the Celtic Art Across the Ages exhibit at the Harvard Art Museum (there until August 2nd). It's fantastic, and had a number of things that I found intriguing and was delighted to get to see in person. Public Patreon post with photos & links. www.patreon.com/posts/celtic...

🐱📚🌈📚💙📚🪐📚🌶 (eeeeeee!) Mary Robinette Kowal posted a My Favorite Bit about Chai and Charmcraft! maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-f... (I'm still playing the repost game if anyone would like more food and history trivia in the thread below.)

Looking for some free LGBTQ fantasy to fill up your reading list? Check out these great books! books.bookfunnel.com/faromay2026/...

Today's cat is very confused by why I am in the living room so much more. (Confusion not visible in the photo) My main keyboard decided that the control key either wouldn't work or would stick. Neither of these works for other typing. New one en route. I'm on the old laptop in the living room.

Today in writing (rereading the book in editing to figure out where I need to do structural fixes). Character walks into a room. Me: Wait, I can't get away with 'dark wood' here. This is Claudio, he can tell what the wood is at least three ways without exerting himself. [research ensues]

Do you need some cosy fantasy reading? (I do. I always do.) Today (May 8th) is the Cozy the Day Away sale. 100+ books on sale, great options for filtering by other genre aspects and representation, and multiple formats on offer. cozyfantasysale.promisepress.org

Apparently it's May. I am unconvinced. However! May has seen two excellent free essays over the last two years: 2024: @celialake.bsky.social on "The Underlying Foundation of Magic" 2025: @percypropa.bsky.social on two characters within the Warhammer 40K novels. www.speculativeinsight.com/essays

Minneapolis celebrates spring with a parade of giant handmade socialist puppets and a festival where people row the sun across the lake. This year's Mayday festival was today, and I'm going to try to share some photos and videos (many taken by others) to try to explain it for my non-local friends.

A Big day for Birthdays! 3rd May 1415 - the birth of Cecily Neville, wife to Richard duke of York, mother to Edward IV, Richard III and Margaret duchess of Burgundy, and a powerhouse in her own right. 3rd May 1446 - the birth of the aforementioned Margaret duchess of Burgundy.

Comment in the authorial Discord about how Unknown Depths leans a bit more into the fantasy elements than some of my books. @kiyanicoll.bsky.social : "In Albion, many things have a foundation in folklore and sometimes the folklore is RIGHT THERE making TROUBLE."

Do you need a little selkie magic and people righting some wrongs in the world? Unknown Depths is out today! celialake.com/book/unknown... Something's wrong in the waters around Orkney in 1949. When Thom asks for help, he gets Rowena, who brings unexpected skills to solving the problem.

Coming Friday! (Lynn is not kidding about the number of kittens.)

Me to @kiyanicoll.bsky.social, working on edits for an extra that's related to Unknown Depths (link at the end of the book and my newsletter when Unknown Depths is out on Friday!) The extras are 2 scenes, about 16k words. "I have reduced the number of overall shrugs from 13 to 7 in the document."

I love the two table top games I'm in, but I could not DM at this stage in my life. I already have far too many people I'm keeping track of in my head. (One of my games has been running for 6 years, and is delightfully 'yes, and?' storytelling, the other is low-key and a fun evening.)

Today in author research: YouTube, what made you think I wanted to go from a reconstructed 1860s polka mazurka to "A Lonely Goatherd" from the Sound of Music? (Writing a small ball in 1863, and trying to figure out how energetically two people are dancing. As you do.)

My next series is spending a lot of time in and around the main library in the magical capital of Albion. I spent a lot of this afternoon mapping it out and figuring out what the staffing numbers are. I somehow seem to have more than sufficient shelving. This is how we know this is a fantasy.

Mike was absolutely stunningly brilliant, and yes, you should read anything of his. This thread had two of his sonnets, and there are many many others wonderful bits and pieces. nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/... has links to (12!) collections of various things he did on Making Light over time.

An excellent morning! The world is on fire, but also it is spring, and there are lambs and kids in the world. I went out to Drumlin Farm (working farm and wildlife sanctuary) for my walk this morning. This is Stella. She's a Holstein-Hereford cross, and she'll be a year old on (US) Mother's Day.

I am always here for bits of Newton history, this is a fantastic thread.

This is a fantastic summary of the Avignon Papacy, and also hilariously put in places.

Because @celialake.bsky.social did a thread about her books and what she writes and why, I decided to do something of the same, and then today happened and I'm only just getting around to it. I don't just edit, I write things. The published ones are short stories.

Today's a grey day here. It's a good day to talk about a thing I love. I write books about romance, about things getting better after challenging times, about getting through tricky bits in good company. Making the world better together. What do I love about writing? Exploring and learning.

Today's research while writing has involved: - Looking at lace options suitable for being venerable in 1863 (went with Flemish) - What candies someone might carry around in a twist of paper in their bag (honey candy) - Idly discovering that Necco Wafers date to 1847

Me, 1/3 of the way through the robot vacuum running: Why don't I do this more often, the floor looks and feels so good? Me, retrieving the robot from where it's got stuck under the bathroom sink for the 4th time in 60 minutes: Oh, right.

I have reached the stage of mentally grading the AI marketing spam email that are the bane of many author email boxes these days. The third one today (so far) is actually quite well designed, compared to its competition. Still obviously AI slop, of course, but it's at least making an effort.

I am idly bemused by the current weather reports (I'm near Boston, we are now at blizzard warnings for Sunday through Tuesday). While I am about to edit a novel that includes problem weather elsewhere, and with other causes. (Among other challenges.)

Me to myself: When you name a character Galahad, you should not be surprised when he has a possibly excessive commitment to his personal causes and a nuanced sense of theology. (As I contemplate which version of the Bible he's quoting. I have gone with the Vulgate.)

Today's void, sleeping the sleep of the virtuous excellent cat. (I woke up at 6am this morning, 2 hours before I wanted to be up. 5 minutes later, there was a firm softly vibrating weight on my shoulder, and I went back to sleep.)

I'm contributing to The Books They Can't Burn, a FaRo Society auction against book banning! Bid on books, art, and chances to talk to authors (including me!) Auction runs until February 25th, 2026 www.32auctions.com/faro2026

Today was eye appointment day (and picture day for my optic nerve!) I maybe find this more exciting than most people apparently do? My eyes are fine, mildly different prescription. Today's post-dilation activities, A+ worked well: - Cleaning out the fridge - Cleaning out my mechanical keyboard

Skye's newsletter is fantastic, always great reads getting highlighted. (And I have two queer romance books releasing later this year...)

Today in delightful small victories: I have succeeded in putting on my @lionesselise.bsky.social necklace "They Knew Her As The Sun" on as a triple strand. Go dexterity! (It is the very first piece of Elise's I ever got, back in early 2002. It is absolutely not the last.) Amber, cobalt glass.

With reports of a clear sky today, we feel it is time to show Edward IV’s rose noble with a sun in splendour in the centre. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I'm going to be at #Boskone this weekend! In related news, I am largely done with the packing I can do tonight, and contemplating whether I bring the smaller shoulder bag (will not fit knitting inside, knitting clips on) or the bigger one. (Going to finish packing in the morning and decide.)

Out today! Distilling Sunlight is a late-in-life romance in 1928 in the magical community of Britain involving an alchemist, a beer brewer, and several puzzles. Among them how to be a good parent and how to move from having a good life to a better one. celialake.com/book/d...

Calling Wuthering Heights a love story is like calling The Bacchae a play about wine tasting.

Looking for an escape into a magical read? Today, February 2nd, check out the 250+ fantasy romance books for sale for 99 cents! Check out some of the gaslamp books here, including my Enchanted Net. farosociety.com/book...

This fascinating thread reframed both a chunk of my life and is giving me chewy thoughts about some of my writing (especially the difficult people. Garin, but not just Garin.)

Get you a cat who, when you are having a day of modest annoyances, shows up on your lap purring her heart out. (Photo is not of cat in the current moment. My knee is badly lit, my skirt is black, and there is going to be no contrast in the picture if I try.)

I wrote an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle about Minnesota and you can read it here. www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outl...

I have reached the stage in the Pact research where when you say "Battle of Wakefield" in my vicinity, I not only go "December 30th 1460, death of Richard of York and Edmund of Rutland", but also, "Is it reasonably called a battle?" (Benchmarks are handy!)

We published two great conversations last year - this one, and between @celialake.bsky.social and @freyamarske.bsky.social. You might notice there's a fifth Friday (we've moved to Fridays) coming up this month, too...

What are five things in your upcoming release (Distilling Sunlight, Feb 6th) - Alchemy meets beer brewing - Making the best of things after bad times (including the Great War) - Turning 40 - Grief and what it makes unknowable - Good company going forward celialake.com/book/distill...

I needed to hear this. Maybe you do too?

A fascinating and gloriously geeky thread about language and time.

BODIES OF MAGIC, out Sept 2026: Grey's Anatomy meets A Deadly Education, a mystery set during the final exam week of a magical medical school. (Or: five queer nerds solve a murder and have some feelings.) Cover design by Jamie Stafford-Hill. Preorder US: bit.ly/BoM-US Preorder UK: bit.ly/BoM-UK

Very much looking forward to this!

Women of Xal II has 48 hours left on Kickstarter. Black lead writer/composer, POC characters, sapphic possibilities up the wazoo, visual novel. I really hope we pull out a miracle and fund it. (Maybe #BlackSkyGamers would be interested? Please excuse my tag.) www.kickstarter.com/projects/pro...