chief-cook-and-librarian

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

If you liked Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries, try A Letter to the Luminous Deep

They both include:

scholarly characters studying magical worlds

stories told in epistolary form

romance between characters with lots of personality

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

“Robin thought about the string that Edwin used in his spells: how a particular cradle might have five or six or eight lines of the pattern joining one hand to another. Binding them close. Robin and Edwin had already shared a handful of secrets, and now they shared another, and this awareness of their common nature—in a way that had nothing whatsoever to do with magic—hung delicate and unspoken between them as they left the room.” - @fahye, A Marvellous Light

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

this is what peak romance looks like ok

(commission info // kofi support!)

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

"She had sacrificed her childhood to save her brothers; she loved her family above all else, and her spirits yearned to return home once more, to the wild forest and the land of mystic tales and ancient spirits whence he had taken her. That was the place of her heart, and if he loved her, he must let her go."

My latest commission: Sorcha from Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier 🌿

Artist: goldenmushroom_ (link to post)

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

That’s right, folks, we’re doing a preorder pin for Holy Terrors, and you get to pick the design! Voting is open here and on my instagram, and will close on January 27! (The longest Tumblr will let me run a poll is a week, but fear not, I'll sort something out.)

The winning pin will be announced February 3rd, so vote for your fave while the polls are still open!

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

Fury made Alanna gasp for breath. How could anyone get well in a menagerie? How could Jonathan breathe? This went against all the commonsense rules Maude had taught her for healing: clean air, quiet, absolute cleanliness, calm and reassuring voices. Didn't these people know anything?

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

A new Bonus Sketch-a-Wish voted on by my wonderful Patreons for 2024! Featuring Nathaniel and Elisabeth fending off demons, a harrowing scene from Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson!

This has been such a frequently requested scene for the longest time, too right, as it's such memorable moment where the guy falls in love at first fight.  Prints available in bio link!

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

We just had our first decent cold front in Florida this past week, and the cravings for my wintery read list sky rocketed. I still haven't found a genre I love more than a strong-headed MC going toe-to-toe with and 'conquering' a demon of legend. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik and the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden top this list for me. 

Here, Morozko and Vasya are finally catching each other at the peak of their own character arcs and very slow burn dance, while the world is burning around them.

Highly recommend the audiobook for Kathleen Gati's immersive narration! Prints of this available in my bio link!

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

Little Thieves

I LOVED this book by @what-eats-owls! The dynamic between these two was so fun! And the plot was great XD

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

On the darkest day of the year, I bring you a winter’s tale! This short story is set between Sorcery of Thorns and Mysteries of Thorn Manor, told from Silas’s perspective about a week after his return. It will be posted online in five installments, with a chapter per day leading up to Christmas.

I borrowed the idea of using AO3 as a platform from the magnificent @what-eats-owls, who paved the way with her collection of Little Thieves short stories, The Fallow Year. The Fallow Year is bookmarked on my AO3 page for anyone who hasn’t checked it out yet, which I highly recommend.

Please note, since I don’t want to disappoint anyone, this story is Silas-focused and doesn’t feature on-page appearances by Elisabeth and Nathaniel, though they’re often in his thoughts. I can’t wait for you to meet the glamorous dressmaker Lady Tremayne, who sprang to life in my imagination as I was writing Mysteries of Thorn Manor and hasn’t left me since.

An additional thank you to @glitterghost whose last minute AO3 invite allowed me to share this with you all in time for the holidays.

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

Inside Wizard Derk (Dark Lord of Derkholm, 1998, Diana Wynne Jones) there are two wolves. The autism wolf and the adhd wolf. He feeds them both. They are a breeding pair. He’s going to have so many wolves

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

another thing I like about east is that superstition and religion and other belief in stories or gods or trolls or other creatures feels like it is evaluated on a very individual basis. the mother believes in everything, crazy rare superstitions included. the father doesn't believe in much of anything, although he assumes some of those superstitions by osmosis over time. neddy loves stories and it's not very important whether he believes in them.

it's just more interesting to me than everyone in a society not believing in magic and the main character discovering it's real, or everybody believing in it and the main or a side character learning to believe in it as well or debunking it completely as a scheme. I like that there exist magic and mythical creatures, but that the author didn't feel the need to underline that one way or another, and it makes the supernatural event that really begins the story all the more exciting and arresting because there's no blueprint for how the encounter is supposed to work

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

New T Kingfisher book in August that's a Snow White retelling ahhhhh

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

Getting back into traditional art with some Sabriel fan art!

My favorite fall tradition is getting cozy while listening to Tim Curry’s audiobook recording of Sabriel and drawing 🥰

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

I enjoyed The Lost Story a lot.

Gave me In Other Lands nastolgia.

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

Second half of the illustrations!

Daystar and Shiara vs some wizards

The dragon in the caves

Daystar and Shiara meet all the dragons outside the castle

Daystar handing the sword to Kazul

Mendanbar!

Cimorene and Kazul

Illustrations from the 80s copy of Talking to Dragons!

Cimorene facing Antorell

Daystar fighting the wizard's river snake monster

Morwen! healing Daystar ft Shiara and cats

The Princess and her knight

Daystar vs the fire witch

Daystar kissing the stone Shiara