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Heather Rose Jones

@heatherrosejones.bsky.social

1.6K followers 250 following 3.1K posts

Author of queer historic fantasy, amateur historian, Hugo finalist. I blog and podcast as The Lesbian Historic Motif Project, with resources and discussion about sapphic historical fiction. For more info, see my website alpennia.com

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · Aug 11

Skin-Singer: Tales of the Kaltaoven

A collection of semi-cozy shape-shifter stories, set in a low-tech secondary world, with a sapphic background romantic arc.

Originally appearing in the Sword and Sorceress anthology series they are completed with a brand new novelette.
books2read.com/u/bMMqp8

Available now at your favorite digital store!

Skinsinger: Tales of the Kaltaoven by Heather Rose Jones

books2read.com

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 15h

Exactly this. People I genuinely like and am friends with, but I can't cope with their posting volume, so I mute them periodically. But that's on me, not on them.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 15h

And after all that, I went back and reviewed my historic sources for the events of June 25 and realized the fishmarket setting has to be discarded entirely.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 22h

Most of this morning's writing session was taken up in determining exactly where the primary Marseille fish market was in 1815 and its relative position to the likely site of anti-Bonapartist riots and the Egyptian community on Cours Goffé. This is a very important detail for the current paragraph.

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 20h

I'm always quite specific that it borders on France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy and yet does not displace any existing geography. (Actually, I'm not entirely certain about sharing a border with Germany. I think I fudged that one.)

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 22h

This is backstory for a new character. The first chapter takes place in 1815, then we jump ten years later.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 22h

Wikimedia Commons has a nice collection of old maps. Marseille tourist info discusses the history of fish market locations. And the book that pretty much inspired this character (Arab France, by Ian Coller) has info on settlements of 19th c Egyptian immigrants to France.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 22h

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

I'm going to be a bit vulnerable on a couple of these:
Sushi
Gigi
Macarthur Park

Lynne Ann Morse @morselya.bsky.social · 2d

Introduce yourself with:

A food you will always eat;
A film you'll always want to see; and a song you will always stop to listen to.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

That is a serious tongue!

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

Uh-oh. I'm at that stage of tipsy where my brain is likely to spew entirely unfiltered thoughts onto the internet at large.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

In the final analysis, my enjoyment of a book depends far more on gorgeous writing than on genre, plot, characters, or even representation.

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 2d

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

I've been doing that too, though the flaw is that a lot of them arrive overnight and it's harder to unsubscribe when I'm reading mail on my phone before getting out of bed.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

I love LIz's book reports. The hazard is that they make me want to spend outrageous sums on acquiring books.

Liz Bourke @hawkwinglb.bsky.social · 1d

Just to remind you that I've written short blog posts on seven books so far this month, if you want to drop by and have a read: lizbourke.wordpress.com/news-and-upd...

κῆπος τῶν βιβλιοθηκῶν | a garden from the libraries

Liz Bourke: books, history, writing, and culture.

lizbourke.wordpress.com

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

I love the first serious rain of the autumn and the way is encourages me to cozy up in a recliner with a good book. Maybe it's self-serving, but my current "good book" is a re-read of my Alpennia series as run-up to working seriously on book 5. Is it self-indulgent to enjoy reading my own writing?

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

Yep. At some point I think I got rid of some of my cast iron, but I still love my griddle and the perfectly-seasoned small frying pan that I bought for my "hope chest" when I was in high school. And fortuantely, ceramic-clad cast iron works like a dream.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

I keep thinking I should brainstorm for more book-related merch, but then I think I should put my energy into writing more books. (Which I have just been working on right now.)

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

Until you install an induction stove and realize that half your pots and pans are now obsolete. (whimper)

But I kept all the reproduction ceramic medieval cookpots in case I ever do the thing again.

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

Although adding a delicate rose perfume to The Language of Roses is an interesting marketing idea...
(Just kidding, Catherine!)

Queen of Swords Press @qospress.bsky.social · 2d

#Booksky Our books are not artificially scented with mayo! Or anything else, apart from that new book scent we all love! You can buy them direct from us or at your local indue on Bookshop or at any of the usual outlets. Great queer reads, no weird scents. queenofswordspress.com/shop/

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 1d

Nice segue!

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 2d

New Lesbian Historic Motif Project blog that reminds us of the academic environment when queer history was first trying to find a place. Imagine being a (closeted) queer academic in 1970 and the colleague in the next office publishes things like this.

alpennia.com/blog/psychoa...

Psychoanalyzing Sappho's "Deviance" | Alpennia

It is not at all surprising that there is a vast academic industry of Sappho studies. In the past I’ve covered a number of excellent, detailed publications that speak directly to the historic and soci...

alpennia.com

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 2d

You know that meme that’s going around that includes “one song you never want to hear again?” Gee thanks for the ear-worm.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 2d

They certainly can, but since they tend to seek the highest point, they’re more likely to hit certain pressure points in my hips.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 2d

Ah, we have reached “the cats want to sleep on top of me” season. Alas for them, they unerringly land on pressure points, and what’s more I’m a restless sleeper. So they never keep position very long.

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 2d

I spotted four books I'd love to order from them, but I balk at spending more for shipping than I am for the books! I may need to figure out when I can next arrange for a mule.

Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 3d

You are getting some amazing photographs! (In general, but this one in particular.)

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Heather Rose Jones @heatherrosejones.bsky.social · 3d

New Lesbian Historic Motif Project blog -- drawing connections between the structure of one of Sappho's poems and Greek love-magic texts.

alpennia.com/blog/sapphos...

Sappho's Love Charm? | Alpennia

I found this a compelling analysis (though perhaps it was simply the goddess compelling me?)

alpennia.com