CL Hellisen
@clhellisen.bsky.social
Stories in F&SF, Strange Horizons, Apex, Tor, Shimmer, BCS.
Repped by Caro Clarke
The Shape of Monsters out now https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Shape-of-Monsters-Audiobook/B0FGDJ5X1M
https://clhellisenlanding.carrd.co/
They/them, Scotland
Repped by Caro Clarke
The Shape of Monsters out now https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Shape-of-Monsters-Audiobook/B0FGDJ5X1M
https://clhellisenlanding.carrd.co/
They/them, Scotland
Pinned
CL Hellisen
@clhellisen.bsky.social
· Jul 7
Godskin
Sometimes among the fish and crabs, we trawl squid and octopus, or little sharks, all added to the pots. Sometimes it’s a fish person, a thing we cut free and do not talk of, pretend we never saw. …
strangehorizons.com
If you'd like to read my World Fantasy Award shortlisted story Godskin, then amble on over to @strangehorizons.bsky.social ...
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...
Oh I adored this book - it felt like the heir to the world of Poppy Z Brite southern gothic horror vibes.
Go grab it you haven't read it yet
Go grab it you haven't read it yet
I just noticed that Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo is 2.99 on both kobo and kindle. It's one of my most favorite books. It's a Southern gothic featuring a haunting, the horrors of academia, the asshole stage of grief, the asshole stage of "wait, am I gay?" And cars.
November 27, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Oh I adored this book - it felt like the heir to the world of Poppy Z Brite southern gothic horror vibes.
Go grab it you haven't read it yet
Go grab it you haven't read it yet
Reposted by CL Hellisen
When our son was 10 he would ask questions about whatever narrative we were consuming together and it took one talk like "those questions you're always asking are called the story and if you're patient you'll find that they get answered eventually" and a lot of the internet needs that refresher.
"WHY'S SHE DOING THAT?? WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT, I'M BORED" well the cool thing about following a narrative is that eventually if you keep watching or reading or listening, magical bits of information are doled out
November 27, 2025 at 5:50 AM
When our son was 10 he would ask questions about whatever narrative we were consuming together and it took one talk like "those questions you're always asking are called the story and if you're patient you'll find that they get answered eventually" and a lot of the internet needs that refresher.
Reposted by CL Hellisen
I love this poem,
November 26, 2025 at 8:02 PM
I love this poem,
Go read - E.M. Faulds is one of my favourite modern SFFnal short story writers, with a wonderful sense of character and one cynical and one hopeful eye on humanity
If you missed our E.M. Faulds' excellent ecofiction tale 'Love, Scotland' in 2024's Gallus, here's your chance. 'Love, Scotland' features in ECO24: The Year's Best Speculative Ecofiction (Apex Book Company / Violet Lichen), out now in all good bookshops.
@bethkesh.bsky.social
@apexmag.bsky.social
@bethkesh.bsky.social
@apexmag.bsky.social
ECO24: The Year's Best Speculative Ecofiction
"A triumph. 23 stellar tales offering creative and varied takes on the book's themes. Every entry is equal parts thought-provoking, insightful, and impactful." —Publishers Weekly Starred Review A must...
www.apexbookcompany.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Go read - E.M. Faulds is one of my favourite modern SFFnal short story writers, with a wonderful sense of character and one cynical and one hopeful eye on humanity
Reposted by CL Hellisen
One week left to back The Chosen One Con crowdfund! And there's also ONE add-on left to name a character/business/potion and become part of the book!
I may need help naming Max's trans masc ex-boyfriend who will definitely appear in the sequel, just saying 👀
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/t...
I may need help naming Max's trans masc ex-boyfriend who will definitely appear in the sequel, just saying 👀
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/t...
The Chosen One Con
The Chosen One Con is the first book in the Lost in the Aether duology—a queer gaslamp fantasy of industrial magic in a world of designer enchantments and celebrity-branded potions from the author of ...
www.backerkit.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:24 PM
One week left to back The Chosen One Con crowdfund! And there's also ONE add-on left to name a character/business/potion and become part of the book!
I may need help naming Max's trans masc ex-boyfriend who will definitely appear in the sequel, just saying 👀
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/t...
I may need help naming Max's trans masc ex-boyfriend who will definitely appear in the sequel, just saying 👀
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/t...
I always joke that Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell was a musical for men who fear to admit that they enjoy musicals
Chess is straight coded. Musicals are gay coded. What's a fan of the Chess musical to do?
November 26, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I always joke that Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell was a musical for men who fear to admit that they enjoy musicals
Reposted by CL Hellisen
A grotesquerie of a gothic house novel, rooted in the physical and intellectual repulsiveness of humanity.
I enjoyed it, with the caveat that it is intentionally repetitive, and TW for sexual assault and disordered eating.
Reading it felt like being trapped in a starve binge purge cycle.
I enjoyed it, with the caveat that it is intentionally repetitive, and TW for sexual assault and disordered eating.
Reading it felt like being trapped in a starve binge purge cycle.
November 8, 2025 at 12:37 PM
A grotesquerie of a gothic house novel, rooted in the physical and intellectual repulsiveness of humanity.
I enjoyed it, with the caveat that it is intentionally repetitive, and TW for sexual assault and disordered eating.
Reading it felt like being trapped in a starve binge purge cycle.
I enjoyed it, with the caveat that it is intentionally repetitive, and TW for sexual assault and disordered eating.
Reading it felt like being trapped in a starve binge purge cycle.
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Ah thanks! I love reading the series every year, and so glad to be a part of it for next year!! And yes, hopefully weird moths galore - @clhellisen.bsky.social did this amazing art commission for it, to give a wee sneak peek...
November 26, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Ah thanks! I love reading the series every year, and so glad to be a part of it for next year!! And yes, hopefully weird moths galore - @clhellisen.bsky.social did this amazing art commission for it, to give a wee sneak peek...
Break up your doomscrolling with whimsy
The emergence of Edith in attendance of a botanical breakthrough:
November 26, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Break up your doomscrolling with whimsy
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Looking gorgeous this morning, Edinburgh.
November 26, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Looking gorgeous this morning, Edinburgh.
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Always lovely to come home with a stack of the novels I have acquired for @solarisbooks.bsky.social, especially gathering a few weeks' worth. Desperately proud of these novels by @rainewilson.bsky.social @sapphomancer.bsky.social @artofelaineho.bsky.social and @ldcolter.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Always lovely to come home with a stack of the novels I have acquired for @solarisbooks.bsky.social, especially gathering a few weeks' worth. Desperately proud of these novels by @rainewilson.bsky.social @sapphomancer.bsky.social @artofelaineho.bsky.social and @ldcolter.com
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Also while I'm at it, if you'd potentially be interested in Reviewing/ARC copies for In This City, Where it Rains (and future Luna releases including @aknighton.bsky.social's new novella, also launching Feb 3rd!) you can sign up via the form here! 👇 www.lunapresspublishing.com/reviewersand...
Excellent bookmail today, my author copies for In This City, Where it Rains arrived from @lunapress.bsky.social !! My gothic horror love letter to Edinburgh, ft. ghosts, a cursed city, a gothic house, rituals, family secrets, & weird moths is out Feb 3rd!! Pre-order now! 🏴🖤✨️ linktr.ee/lyndseycroal
November 26, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Also while I'm at it, if you'd potentially be interested in Reviewing/ARC copies for In This City, Where it Rains (and future Luna releases including @aknighton.bsky.social's new novella, also launching Feb 3rd!) you can sign up via the form here! 👇 www.lunapresspublishing.com/reviewersand...
Reposted by CL Hellisen
idiot guy: i'm like the wolf i'm stalking my prey alone through the forest and being raw as fuck even if i'm in a group i'm the alpha
actual wolf: i love my friends so much!!! i love to romp and kiss my bros and work together as a family <3 awooo etc etc have you seen the puppies oh my god come see
actual wolf: i love my friends so much!!! i love to romp and kiss my bros and work together as a family <3 awooo etc etc have you seen the puppies oh my god come see
November 26, 2025 at 2:17 AM
idiot guy: i'm like the wolf i'm stalking my prey alone through the forest and being raw as fuck even if i'm in a group i'm the alpha
actual wolf: i love my friends so much!!! i love to romp and kiss my bros and work together as a family <3 awooo etc etc have you seen the puppies oh my god come see
actual wolf: i love my friends so much!!! i love to romp and kiss my bros and work together as a family <3 awooo etc etc have you seen the puppies oh my god come see
I don't go looking for reviews of my work (that way lies trauma), but the lovely @rainewilson.bsky.social spotted this and shared it with me:
skiffyandfanty.com/uncategorize...
skiffyandfanty.com/uncategorize...
The Skiffy and Fanty Show: Book Review: CL Hellisen’s The Shape of Monsters
Hellisen’s work is shot through with mordant, often wry humor, especially from Aleks. This does leaven and lighten the mood and tone at points and primes the reader for the next dark twist and turn…
skiffyandfanty.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:41 AM
I don't go looking for reviews of my work (that way lies trauma), but the lovely @rainewilson.bsky.social spotted this and shared it with me:
skiffyandfanty.com/uncategorize...
skiffyandfanty.com/uncategorize...
Reposted by CL Hellisen
I want to laugh; I want to cry
So pretty, so silly, so joyful, so wasteful, so much
Why can't anything be simple?
[Edinburgh castle, Scotland]
So pretty, so silly, so joyful, so wasteful, so much
Why can't anything be simple?
[Edinburgh castle, Scotland]
November 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
I want to laugh; I want to cry
So pretty, so silly, so joyful, so wasteful, so much
Why can't anything be simple?
[Edinburgh castle, Scotland]
So pretty, so silly, so joyful, so wasteful, so much
Why can't anything be simple?
[Edinburgh castle, Scotland]
Reposted by CL Hellisen
I used to be a lead bookseller at one of the biggest bookshops in the UK. We had a reputation for being able to "break" books, i.e. build hype for books we got behind and make them start selling.
That often involved handselling just 9 or 10 copies over a couple of days.
That often involved handselling just 9 or 10 copies over a couple of days.
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.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 26, 2025 at 12:06 AM
I used to be a lead bookseller at one of the biggest bookshops in the UK. We had a reputation for being able to "break" books, i.e. build hype for books we got behind and make them start selling.
That often involved handselling just 9 or 10 copies over a couple of days.
That often involved handselling just 9 or 10 copies over a couple of days.
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Do you know how much of the cover price goes to a trad published writer? About 10-15%.
The various types of indie pub get a higher percentage (but have to do more work with virtually zero publicity budget).
How many publishers have been put out of business by piracy? Not a lot. Writers, tho'...
The various types of indie pub get a higher percentage (but have to do more work with virtually zero publicity budget).
How many publishers have been put out of business by piracy? Not a lot. Writers, tho'...
November 25, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Do you know how much of the cover price goes to a trad published writer? About 10-15%.
The various types of indie pub get a higher percentage (but have to do more work with virtually zero publicity budget).
How many publishers have been put out of business by piracy? Not a lot. Writers, tho'...
The various types of indie pub get a higher percentage (but have to do more work with virtually zero publicity budget).
How many publishers have been put out of business by piracy? Not a lot. Writers, tho'...
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Northodox have a sale on now for all of their books, including my fantasy murder mystery The Executioner's Blade. Go grab a copy before it goes out of print in January!
www.northodox.co.uk/product-page...
www.northodox.co.uk/product-page...
November 25, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Northodox have a sale on now for all of their books, including my fantasy murder mystery The Executioner's Blade. Go grab a copy before it goes out of print in January!
www.northodox.co.uk/product-page...
www.northodox.co.uk/product-page...
Reposted by CL Hellisen
I'll wade in, I guess. Please do read the alt text.
November 25, 2025 at 1:52 PM
I'll wade in, I guess. Please do read the alt text.
Reposted by CL Hellisen
Only two of my published books have POVs of men and I've never seen a complaint about any of those characters, whereas all of my many women protagonists and POV characters have gotten some kind of hate except one.
And she is not human; she is a bird person 🫠 so I guess that's the other way.
And she is not human; she is a bird person 🫠 so I guess that's the other way.
November 25, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Only two of my published books have POVs of men and I've never seen a complaint about any of those characters, whereas all of my many women protagonists and POV characters have gotten some kind of hate except one.
And she is not human; she is a bird person 🫠 so I guess that's the other way.
And she is not human; she is a bird person 🫠 so I guess that's the other way.
I wrote a character traumatised by their upbringing and their betrayal at the hands of their only living family.
Then they found someobe who made them feel human and safe, and lost them.
In their grief, they went to hell for this person.
So many readers hate this character.
Guess their gender.
Then they found someobe who made them feel human and safe, and lost them.
In their grief, they went to hell for this person.
So many readers hate this character.
Guess their gender.
November 25, 2025 at 6:31 PM
I wrote a character traumatised by their upbringing and their betrayal at the hands of their only living family.
Then they found someobe who made them feel human and safe, and lost them.
In their grief, they went to hell for this person.
So many readers hate this character.
Guess their gender.
Then they found someobe who made them feel human and safe, and lost them.
In their grief, they went to hell for this person.
So many readers hate this character.
Guess their gender.
Anyway, uh, my book is also called The Shape of Monsters, but it's book 1 and came out in 2025.
Book 2, A Million Points of Light, will be out in February 2026.
Despite this image, it is not YA ;)
Book 2, A Million Points of Light, will be out in February 2026.
Despite this image, it is not YA ;)
November 25, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Anyway, uh, my book is also called The Shape of Monsters, but it's book 1 and came out in 2025.
Book 2, A Million Points of Light, will be out in February 2026.
Despite this image, it is not YA ;)
Book 2, A Million Points of Light, will be out in February 2026.
Despite this image, it is not YA ;)
I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry, but hey, it looks interesting
THE SHAPE OF MONSTERS, Book 2 of THE MOON HERESIES TRILOGY, has a cover!
And it is perfect. No notes. Coming June 2026
Design by Stephanie Hess
Illustration by
@eleonorpiteira.bsky.social
And it is perfect. No notes. Coming June 2026
Design by Stephanie Hess
Illustration by
@eleonorpiteira.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry, but hey, it looks interesting
Reposted by CL Hellisen
I loved this one – and reviewed it here. One of the highlights of my audiobook year. Well worth adding to your library if you're on Audible!
November 25, 2025 at 8:46 AM
I loved this one – and reviewed it here. One of the highlights of my audiobook year. Well worth adding to your library if you're on Audible!
Reposted by CL Hellisen
One more event! Join me tonight in Edinburgh, where I’ll be chatting with Rafael Torrubia and @cymerafestival.co.uk’s Ann Landmann
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening...
An Evening with Shona Kinsella & Rafael Torrubia - Edinburgh West End
Join Shona Kinsella & Rafael Torrubia as they chat to Ann Landmann on their haunting, fantastical tales deeply rooted in Scottish folklore.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 8:13 AM
One more event! Join me tonight in Edinburgh, where I’ll be chatting with Rafael Torrubia and @cymerafestival.co.uk’s Ann Landmann
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening...