🎄 Day 21 of our #Shropshire advent calendar features a snowy scene at Harley, with Wenlock Edge seen in the distance. Harley is one of the so-called Thankful Villages, which saw all its men return home safely from the First World War.☃️

Back in the 12th century, French sculptor Gislebertus carved this angel as (s)he appears to the three Magi as they dream, waking one with the delicate touch of a finger, and pointing her other forefinger toward the Bethlehem star (Cathedral of St Lazare, Autun)

Door 21 of Shedvent: the Winter King, in his crown of green oak and mistletoe and red holly berries; here to welcome you to his hall. He hands you a bottle the size of your thumb, closed with an acorn stopper. "Here, on the heels of the longest night, is a gift of light: use it well. And shine..."

In celebration of the winter solstice, it's the perfect night to make soup in a cauldron over an open fire with your local forest witch.

Wild Spirits Wild horses in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I was lucky with weather conditions - it just started to snow when I was around the area. #horses #wildlifehotography #horsephotography #bosnia #bosniaandherzegovina

This week’s Guest Recipe from the #CookbookCorner archive is the Christmas Stollen, Dresden Style from German Baking: Cakes, Tarts, Traybakes and Breads from the Black Forest and Beyond by Jürgen Krauss – and his German Christmas Cookbook is on CookbookCorner now, too www.nigella.com/recipes/gues...

We love a secret doorway. 📷The secret door in the Library at Osterley, London by John Hammond

this is so infuriating. translation is a skilled craft. translators are usually freelancers and they deserve strong worker protections. and romance authors deserve to have their stories translated with care and respect. readers deserve to enjoy quality prose. #romancelandia

Nature’s own sculpture garden — Winter at Plitvice Lakes national park.

Forgive the self-promo! My cozy holiday novella, which I scribbled when the world was too dark to focus on my fantasy series, is out today. So unlike anything I've written in the last decade, but just what I needed now. www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXJDB1Y1 #JAFF #PrideandPrejudice #JaneAusten

As Christmas draws near, why not dive into the rich folk traditions that make this time of year so special? In my article, I explore the customs and charm of celebrating a true Shropshire Christmas! nearlyknowledgeablehistory.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-ve... #Shropshire #Christmas #Folklore

The Christmas markets have opened! I stopped by one of ours in Heidelberg today, and I know we will go back multiple times over the next month. It's a really special time of year to living in Germany. From the big cities to the smallest towns, everywhere is decorated and super cute. #photography

Nutcrackers. Some of my favourite birds. I just love when I hear them when hiking in the mountains. These photos were taken in Bulgaria, during my winter workshop in this beautiful country.

Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Medieval Mediterranean (Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition 110) Thanks! Looks like a great collection. #medievalsky

Extremely chuffed to see this review of my book. All thanks to Qurrat-ul-Ain Liaqat, @jprstudies.bsky.social and @hannahoorenman.bsky.social ❤️ #bookreview #AcademicSky #booksky #romancelandia #romance #fanstudies #fandom

Door 10 of #Shedvent; You enter; the inn is warm and bright, with chairs around a merry hearth, and the scent of smoke and spices…

Day 9 of #Shedvent: As you drive through the forest, you see an inn at the edge of the treeline: brick-built, with mullioned windows, and with smoke drifting from the chimneys…

Loch Ard Forest, Couligarten #Scotland #Kinlochard #Trossachs damianshields.photoshelter.com/p/2026-calendar

This Jacobean travelling library was commissioned for a gentleman to carry his own collection of miniature vellum-bound books inside a wooden case ~ contents are listed on the inside cover (1617). Possibly, the first of its kind (University of Leeds) www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Incoming Storm, Elgol, Isle of Skye #Scotland #Elgol #IsleofSkye damianshields.photoshelter.com/p/2026-calendar

Born #OTD in 1898: C. S. Lewis, creator of Narnia! This hand-drawn map is his own sketch, later redrafted by Pauline Baynes for Prince Caspian. Spot Aslan’s How, Cair Paravel and Lantern Waste on the map. 🦁 Shelfmark: MS. Eng. lett. c. 220/1, fol. 160

Happy weekend! It is a grey and gloomy day so here we are sending some illumination (in a suitably Dickensian way) to brighten up your Saturday. 😎

Every exit is an entry somewhere else. Tom Stoppard The key to my books. Thank you for the inspiration, Tom. www.bbc.com/news/article...

'we write the best history when the specificity, the novelty, the awe-fulness, of what our sources render up bowls us over with its complexity & its significance. Our research is better when we move only cautiously to understanding...' CWB 'Wonder' AHR 1997. Thanks to @hagenilda.bsky.social

Ben Lomond, The Trossachs. #Sharemondays2025 #Scotland #Photography

A wonderful visit to the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh recently to see the Lewis chess pieces also included a visit to the museum shop where there was a range of products inspired by the iconic chess pieces. #medievalsky

It's American Thanksgiving this week, so let's give thanks to another crop of Unusual Historicals! We have 13 titles making their debut this month and you can read all about 'em over at the blog wendythesuperlibrarian.blogspot.com/2025/11/givi... #RomBkBlog #Romancelandia

And this morning the Shed is a Montgolfier, rising through the gilded clouds…

I have been going through a romance drought lately - everything I pick up is too cute, or not cute enough, or just so meh that I can't keep reading - but I did discover the mysteries of Michael Gilbert, who seems in a very profound way to think, "okay, how can I gut-punch the reader today?"

I’ve felt a little disheartened on this platform lately. How are we finding it collectively for photography? Here’s a previously unshared photograph of a beautiful woodland trail, where warm light leads the way into the autumnal colours. #woodland #photography

I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.

Textiles play a vibrant role in the churches of Ethiopia and Eritrea, and Ethiopic literature often refers to the varied uses. Dr. Jeremy R. Brown, cataloger of Ethiopic manuscripts at HMML, shares some examples: hmml.org/stories/series-textiles-veiling-the-holy-textiles-in-ethiopic-manuscripts

Thank you Franz-Stefan Gady for your very generous review of my book: "The Crusader States and Their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099–1187" Published in "War, Conflict and the Military" (2025). Link to review: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @hoanssolo.bsky.social

A gorgeous fall afternoon in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington. The sun broke through the clouds only briefly to provide this nice sliver of light.

Lost in Translation: What the West Misunderstands About Byzantium www.medievalists.net/2025/08/what... #Byzantium

We’re excited to officially announce The James Patterson + Bookshop.org Prize 🏆 This award aims to uplift new literary voices, connect with booksellers, and support independent bookstores. Check out this feature in @peoplemag.bsky.social to learn more:

#SaveTheDate An anonymous world chronicle originally composed in 713 CE, likely by a Syriac monk from Apamea, has remained almost unknown until now. In his Gotha Manuscript Talk, Adrian Pirtea speaks about the rediscovery of the only surviving copy! Wednesday, 26 November 2025, 6:15 CET

Autumn at the Bavarian Alps The landscape on my doorstep is transforming into a fairytale during autumn. Photography can preserve these fleeting foggy moments forever. Germany #landscapephotography #landschaftsfotografie #autumn #fall

Agatha Christie invites you to a Netflix mystery… Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials debuts 15 January on Netflix, starring Mia McKenna-Bruce, Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman.

Digitization & cataloging is complete for the manuscript collection of the #Armenian Catholicossate of Great House of Cilicia in Anṭilyās, #Lebanon. These 239 books form a comprehensive record of Armenian intellectual, artistic, & liturgical life from the 9th–19th centuries: https://bit.ly/4hSzPrA

The Nevis Range from Bunarkaig #Scotland #Bunarkaig #LochLochy damianshields.photoshelter.com/p/2026-calendar

New video: Tolkien Reading Order & Checklist 🤓 youtu.be/m1GOYIodbiU

Seals singing in a sea cave #Orkney 🦭🎧

Okay, I've fleshed out this initial timeline w/ bibliographical citations & a few more pertinent details on how & when our current knowledge about the 12thC medic Trota of Salerno was recovered. You can find it here: doi.org/10.17613/emm... #histmed #MedievalSky

This! I want Kinsale-level shenanigans. Chase-style character work. Joanna Bourne or GTFO.

An Autumn wander among the venerable oaks of Cadzow #Scotland #Cadzow #Chaterherault #Hamilton damianshields.photoshelter.com/p/2026-calendar

Look for RJL’s 2026 list of new and upcoming releases from Japan later this week. In the meantime, enjoy a sneak peek of what’s already available for pre-order!

Gorgeous publication day bouquet from my editor and the lovely team at @headlinebooks - thank you so much! RIPPLES THROUGH TIME is out today – a #dualtime #romance featuring #Vikings, #buriedtreasure and #ghosts from the past! geni.us/ripplestime

Fall colors in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington

I am so ready to read some romance novels that take Big Risks. Give me stakes. Real imperfections. Trust me to not need your characters to be exemplary, highly-therapized individuals. I’d like a theme or two, but I am not a baby bird, and I can chew on it myself