With #ValentinesDay fast approaching Tis the season for love! ❤️ From regency romance to Scifi Shenanigans, demonically attractive bosses, to creepily alluring housekeepers, there's a #RomaticRead for everyone to fall in love with at Solaris! Hop downthread to see whose included in our selection!

The work day is done and I have some reading time before I have to make dinner. But on a cloudy, wet, cold, day like this one - I just want to go back to bed. So: reading in bed it is! I hope you had/are having a great Wednesday!

Good books deserve sunshine, you know? I’m reading The Unbroken by @clclark.bsky.social What are you all reading at the moment? #readingforpleasure #queerbooks #books

I’m still not over how foggy it was in Chester a few days ago. Calling it atmospheric doesn’t quite cover it!

Book shop shoutout! I and @elizachanwrites.bsky.social went to @paperandword.bsky.social today to sign some of our books (and of course to buy some books too). It is such a lovely shop with wonderful staff AND it’s totally dedicated to fantasy! Don’t sleep on this gem, folks.

There’s time for the post lunch coffee and a little reading before the lunch hour is over, right? Have a lovely Thursday!

I’ve been fighting a fever during the last few days but today I was fever-free and we celebrated that with a walk in the woods! Those who know me have heard me babble on about how much I love evergreens, and so know how happy I was to see one of them as soon as we started walking. Happy new year!

Today I’m not reading on a train but at the airport. Off to Sweden I go! I hope you all have a lovely holiday season!

Everyone I know has been saying he sets off their warning bells for years and…. here is the confirmation.

When in York, I had to pop into The Portal Bookshop and sign some copies of Snowblooded! Queer bookshops are so important and so dear to me, so it was an absolute privilege. Oh and Snowblooded was even in the display window!

Yesterday I had an “office party” with some of the best colleagues and friends imaginable. Thanks @elizachanwrites.bsky.social , @franceswrites.bsky.social , and @sarahbrooks.bsky.social for touring York with me. (Mainly through drinking mulled wine and having a publishing chat in a pub!)

"I can't afford to support my favorite author right now, I—" Reviews. Reviews are free AND they are a gift to authors that can keep on giving (i.e., exposure, marketing, algo boosts, etc.) Please, give the gift of reviews to your authors this holiday season. It really can make a difference!

This Thursday was the Saturnalia celebration here in Chester as the Winter Watch parade marched though the city to be met by the romans ready to battle the forces of the dark! This is such a magical and wonderful tradition that is very dear to my heart! #saturnalia

Today’s Chester mood is, well, this is the entrance to the Christmas market. So I guess the mood is physically chilly but emotionally warm and welcoming!

Female workers at the Rose Bridge Colliery, Wigan, UK, 1860s

An image a day for December 2025 no 6. Wintry spiraea. Spiraea is sometimes known as meadowsweet, which in Mrs Burke's 1867 Language of Flowers dictionary meant 'uselessness'.

Today Chester’s mood is crisp and sunny Xmas vibes!

The Sapphic Book Advent Calendar is officially underway and the first door is ready to be opened! Starting today and running through December 25, you can open a new door daily and enjoy free ebook downloads, enter giveaways to win sapphic books, or pick up discounted titles. Then, for the big finale

Evergreen

Chester’s current mood is… festive. (The pubs are already dressed for the holidays! So cosy!)

Sometimes something stops you in your tracks while you’re doing something mundane. Like when I found this little moth(?) on the window at my gym as I was rushing between the machines. It sat there and occasionally… (cont in threaded post)

Cyclist turns down trans exclusionary honour for woman cyclists (and you can feel the BBC’s teeth grinding about it). "If they don't want to ride with all women, then it's not the kind of ride I want to be part of".

Bluesky- please help me pick my next author photo! 1,2,3 or 4? (Yes I know they’re quite similar. That’s why I can’t pick!)

This is your daily reminder to, as my bottle says, stay HRDRATED.

Today’s Chester mood: gorgeous sunset over the river.

Here’s two things I’m eking out to make them last longer because I love them. The Tainted Cup is such a good read and those dates do ACTUALLY taste like proper Scandinavian salty liquorice (but without the added sugar.)

We've just turned the clocks back in the UK to try & embrace some brighter mornings as the year draws to a close. So, how about a selection of Solaris Books with historical and historically inspired settings ft. @natania.bsky.social @maryrobinettekowal.com @emmanewman.bsky.social & more!?

Last night was such a great night discussing publishing at the cosy @urmstonbooks.bsky.social ! Thanks to @alethearlyons.bsky.social @keithwdickinson.bsky.social , @aknighton.bsky.social and @northodoxpress.bsky.social and of course all the readers/writers who came to listen and ask questions!

Do you want to come hear about (and possibly talk about) the varied ways to publish an SFF book according to some seasoned authors and publishers? Then join us this October! @aknighton.bsky.social @keithwdickinson.bsky.social @alethearlyons.bsky.social

So guess who’s been reading on the train again? This time it was The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett and I am already in love with it. Fantasy mystery is exactly my cup of tea!

Got a question about publishing you've always wanted answered? Well now's your chance! #AuthorTalk #WritingCommunity #Manchester @aknighton.bsky.social ky.social @emmasternerradley.bsky.social @britfantasysoc.bsky.social @alethearlyons.bsky.social @urmstonbooks.bsky.social

Yeah, so the apple festival at Erddig in North Wales is beyond amazing!

Are those…? Yes! They are three newly signed copies of Snowblooded in Liverpool’s Waterstones that should on be back on the shelves now. If you’re in the vicinity, pop by and snap them up!

Did you know that if you preorder RAGWORT, @samkhorton.bsky.social 's much-anticipated sequel to his deliciously dark fantasy GORSE, you can get an exclusive pack of missing scenes from book 1? Preorder now - geni.us/ragwort - then provide your proof of purchase here: geni.us/RAGWORTPre

RIP Jane Goodall. May we all live so well. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c9...

Chester is going with grey again today. It never goes out of style!

Today is the last day to get your ticket at early bird prices!

How about a giveaway? I have two copies of my cosy neurodivergent adventure Magic, Maps, and Mischief to send to two people! All you need to do is follow me and Repost this. Simple! I'll do the draw on Wednesday October 1st - good luck 🤞😁

In @emmasternerradley.bsky.social 's swashbuckling fantasy adventure we meet Petrichor and Valour: reluctant murder siblings with "wit as sharp as an assassin's knife” according to @stgibson.bsky.social ! Buy now in a handy paperback: geni.us/snowblooded

Finally reading Working Guys and what a hard but rewarding read it is. I highly recommend it! Thanks to @mxjackparker.bsky.social and all the authors for this gem of an anthology.

I found this old picture of some of the chapters in Greengage Shelf. I often forgot that I wrote a cosy mystery/comedy! But the Greengage series was a lot of fun to write. If the fantasy genre keeps being a cruel mistress, maybe one day I should go back to that?

One thing never changes: I can always reread this book (and call it work).

In @emmasternerradley.bsky.social 's swashbuckling fantasy adventure we meet Petrichor and Valour: reluctant murder siblings with "wit as sharp as an assassin's knife” according to @stgibson.bsky.social ! Buy now in a handy paperback: geni.us/snowblooded

Do you want to come hear about (and possibly talk about) the varied ways to publish an SFF book according to some seasoned authors and publishers? Then join us this October! @aknighton.bsky.social @keithwdickinson.bsky.social @alethearlyons.bsky.social

THE WATER OUTLAWS by @slhuang.com LADY EVE'S LAST CON by @rebeccafraimow.bsky.social SNOWBLOODED by @emmasternerradley.bsky.social A SECOND CHANCE FOR YESTERDAY @aramsinn.bsky.social @rachelcleves.bsky.social METAL FROM HEAVEN by @sapphomancer.bsky.social REDSIGHT by @meredithmooring.bsky.social 3/3

This month’s book club book is really wonderful, albeit a hard read at times. Sometimes books have to hurt a little to change you, though.

In @emmasternerradley.bsky.social 's swashbuckling fantasy adventure we meet Petrichor and Valour: reluctant murder siblings with "wit as sharp as an assassin's knife” according to @stgibson.bsky.social ! Buy now in a handy paperback: geni.us/snowblooded

Tw: pet death Today the most sociable, clever, and friendly cat I’ve ever met had to say goodnight. It’s been fifteen amazing years and I’ll miss Bruce more than I can even put into words. Do me a favour and hug your pets really close tonight.

There are just few things more beautiful than old, lovingly bound books imho.

Chester was in a green mood today. Best enjoy it before all the leaves change colour!