song and sugar and fire

Fahye // Australian // also writes books

[fahye]

PSA re: getting in contact

a heads up! yes, my askbox is still closed while I slowly try to work through a backlog of messages. I'll reopen it once the numbers are down to a manageable number again.

in the meantime I've noticed some people are using the DM system as a replacement askbox, so I've just switched that over to mutuals-only for the meantime as well.

there is a contact form on my website if you need to get in contact with me, but for now I'm still working out the balance of fannish/professional on this tumblr that allows me to keep enjoying the space without feeling like I'm either permanently in 'ask the author and get an immediate reply' mode, or like I'm disappointing people because I'm not reacting with the same speed and casual friendliness that is usual in fannish spaces like tumblr.

so at the moment I don't have the bandwidth for individual replies (& when it comes to headcanons or backstories, the answer is almost always going to be: whatever makes you happy! be free! write fanfic!) while the inbox is still groaning under several months' worth of unanswered asks. watch this space!

[ourlittlesister2015]

[moookar]

[carys-the-ninth]

The problem with commercial F/M romance is that it's written by the most heterosexual women alive and reading it you feel yourself slowly suffocating from the Gender of it all like a fish in a eutrophying lake. And what we actually need as a culture is F/M written by insane bisexuals violently allergic to heteronormativity

[moniquill]

The problem is the insane bisexuals are not interested in commercializing. They write for free and publish their works on AO3.

[torpublishinggroup]

Celebrate Pride with Tor Publishing Group!

The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes

Guy Moulène has a simple goal: keep his sister out of debt. As an exterminator, that means hunting the uncanny creatures that crawl up from the river and attempt to infest the walls of the city. His latest quarry is different: a centipede the size of a dragon with a deadly venom and a ravenous taste for artwork. As it digests Tiliard from the sewers to the opera houses, its toxin reshapes the future of the city. No sane person would hunt it, if they had the choice.

Guy doesn’t have a choice.

Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske (@fahye)

To graduate the Academie of the Grand Duchy of Sieuxerr, every mage with a healer’s gift must endure a five-day trial. The exam groups are chosen at random, and all must pass together or fail together. What the exam should not include is the dead body of a classmate, a brilliant scholar who would’ve been first in their class, appearing in the exam hall on the first day of the trial. 

Five scholars. Five secrets. Five days to solve a murder and pass the most important exam of their lives, and maybe uncover a secret large enough to change the world. (Or: five queer nerds solve a murder and have some feelings.)

Out September 15, 2026!

[rageprufrock]

Do you have any tips on getting better at writing? I’m always amazed on how real your stories feel, both in atmosphere setting and realism (within reason) and also in how you write feelings in a way that feels like getting punched in the gut lmao

This is the best advice anybody can give you, but it's not fun and it's shitty to execute: the only way to get better at writing is to write a lot.

I'm not going to say that there aren't people who have a better intuitive capability at writing than others, but no matter how much innate talent someone may have, nothing will ever take the place of the journeyman grind of writing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pages. From the first story I ever wrote to the last one I churned out, the difference is immense -- and while yes, I've grown in experience, vocabulary, literary reference and maturity, the only way I was able to deploy those new tools and refinements was by continuously throwing myself bloody against the brick wall of writing yet another story.

The best way to be a good writer is to be a bad writer for a very long time, in essence, and to be able to grit your teeth through that process. That last part, the endurance sport of it, that's the thing a lot of people can't do; even once you're a quote-unquote good writer, writing doesn't get much easier, because you hold yourself to a higher standard, and chipping blood out of the rock of your frontal lobe so your story can have a climax is the same agonizing process it's ever been -- regardless of how you avoid thesaurus abuse these days.

Re: the realism and atmosphere, I regret to send you to Elon Musk's twitter, but I wrote a long thread about my process there years ago, which now I'm thinking I should probably transcribe into Tumblr at some point.

Good luck! Happy (or not) writing!

[fightingdragonswithwho]

There is nowhere in the world I'd rather be than right here with each and every one of you. We might come back next season, but things will never be the same as they are right now in this moment. All of us, right here, are the original Rockford Peaches.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (2022-)

[ariaste]

i need everyone to let me lay my head in their lap while they pet my hair and make soothing noises and tell me i'm doing such a good and brave job marketing this book. fuckin sisyphean indignity of hurling it at instagram over and over and getting basically no traction whwkwhfwlfwhjsklgfwhjkl

[ariaste]

meanwhile my BELOVED FELLOW TUMBLRINI are being so INCREDIBLY kind and generous with the signal boosting and the general interest and encouragement, i am so grateful

[ariaste]

#wait wait wait wait wait hold the fuck up#i was like ‘omg ariaste?? like ariaste from ao3?? like ariaste author of some of my favorite mdzs fics ever????’#‘they have a tumblr?! (how did this not occur to me before lol)’#and then ‘omg ariaste has a BOOK i must read it immediately’#then i go to their tumblr and am SLAPPED IN THE FACE by the fact that ariaste and alexandra rowland are the same person#like. ‘yield under great persuasian’ alexandra rowland.#you’re telling me tam beckett and attempting the impossible au!jiang cheng are written by the same person???? mind. blown.#*becket#this is like when i found out naomi novik was astolat all over again#sorry op you probably have this happen to you all the time it’s just my little mind is struggling to absorb this into rn lol (via @jcbmcdrmtt) it has only happened to me a handful of times (i am not nearly as famous and cool as @astolat) but it IS delightful fun to harmlessly jumpscare people in this way, i must admit.

extra funny in this case because i believe my AO3 username was listed in the bio at the back of Yield Under Great Persuasion lmaooooo

anyway hi hello yes it is me. a gremlin making questionable choices about doing a kickstarter and now i have played myself with having to do all this promo

[ariaste]

#to my deep shame for like 15 seconds I thought that the Fantasy Romans post was a colloquial misspelling of “Fantasy Romance”#And then I was like oh thank god like ROME ROMANS (via @peri-hellion) No no wait this is hilarious this is so good, this is a brilliant joke and you should not be ashamed of it. "Local romantasy author Alexandra Rowland has written a new romantasy novel" and then the camera pans to me and i'm standing there vibrating with excitement, my hands full of Ancient Roman Trivia And All The Best Bits of HOT GOSS AND EVEN HOTTER TAKES From Classical Antiquity, and the interviewer is like "uhhhhhh i thought this was.... a romance???? novel???? romantasy? romance fantsy?" and i'm like "oh. no. no it's very much not a romance novel this is a ROMANS novel it's about the romans, Roman Fantasy, haha yes can i tell you about the romans???? nevermind i've actually already locked all the doors and windows ANYWAY SO THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE ROMANS DIDN'T ACTUALLY HAVE A GENDER BINARY AND YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND DEEPLY AND *WITH SPECIFICITY* WHAT A 'VIR' IS--" and the interview is crying and shaking while i just hand them trivia tchotchke after trivia tchotchke and unload my pockets into their arms

[ariaste]

The Fantasy Romans book, at last

So excited to reveal the cover to my new book today, The Wisdom of Emperors! You can check it out on Kickstarter, along with the full summary!

Inspired by the story of the Ancient Roman emperor Hadrian and his lover Antinous, The Wisdom of Emperors is a second-world adult fantasy novel written in the style of a fictional academic text. It documents the translation and study of a world-changing artifact discovered in an archaeological dig: a manuscript which provides the clues to finally unravel the mysteries surrounding one of the most famous emperors of the ancient world. 

The Kickstarter campaign is for the deluxe collector's edition, but you'll be able to preorder the standard hardback/paperback, PLUS the early-access ebook, available to backers well before general publication to everyone else. And there's going to be some really, REALLY cool merch as well (genuine papyrus bookmarks, designed and blockprinted by my own hands!)

Anyway, the Kickstarter goes live on May 5th at 4:00pm EST, so if you are the sort of person who reads news articles about major new archaeological discoveries and gets SUPER MAD that they don't tell you absolutely everything about why it's important and what it changes about what we thought we knew..... this one's for you, babe. ;)

[ariaste]

Also I was told by a publishing industry insider that this book probably wouldn't sell because publishers are explicitly saying that they don't want "challenging" books, they want books that (and i QUOTE) "aren't necessarily making readers think"

So if that pisses you the FUCK off, sauce me a signal boost.

[chimaerakitten]

A while ago one of those posts went by that was like “the leads of the previous show you watched are now in the show you are currently watching. how do they handle it?” and I was like ok the heated rivalry boys in black sails would just. Die. They’d just die. RIP.

But the more I think about it the more I think the opposite is where the comedy is.

Like:

[eggplantsalad]

he had it coming!

Niina Petrokina (EST) performs to Cell Block Tango at the 2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Exhibition Gala (featuring Ilia Malinin, Junhwan Cha, and Tim Dieck)

[alas-pucha]

Being into figure skating is such a masochistic interest that they had to create an aftercare called Gala Exhibition

[heartcellar]

MOST WANTED MAN ☆ HOLLANOV

[heymacy]

via Just Jared, December 21, 2025

[fahye]

BODIES OF MAGIC

At the Academie of the Grand Duchy of Sieuxerr, every mage with the healer’s gift has five years to master their power and to prepare for the infamous Grand Exam—a five-day trial whose results will determine their entire future.

The list of exam rules includes: • You will perform five practical cases. • Your exam group is chosen at random. • You pass together, or fail together.

It does not include: • On the first day, your exam group will find a classmate’s dead body in the exam hall.

And as they will soon discover, this particular group all have something to hide… and all have a connection with the dead girl, a brilliant scholar who would have been first in their class. Five scholars. Five secrets. Five days in which to solve a murder, pass the most important exam of their lives, and uncover a secret larger than all of their own combined. One with the potential to change the world.

Are you ready?

Let’s begin.

---

that's right, folks: it's the next book! coming in september this year, on both sides of the pond.

this one took me decades to brew, months to plan, and a hellish couple of years to write. it's been the bane of my existence and I am THRILLED that it's going to be out in the world soon so I can make it everyone else's problem.

it's half dark academia and half a murder mystery. it has five narrators and they're all having the worst week of their life, and I love them & their terrible decisions so much.

and now, most importantly: is it gay?

yes. yes it is. (m/m and f/nb romances)

---

PREORDER US

PREORDER UK

[everina-maxwell-updates]

Cover is UP! The stunning art is by @eliotbaum.

Call Me Traitor is the story of a living weapon fighting her way towards personhood and the awful lesbian she's doing it with. I keep calling it 'the sapphic Winter Soldier wizards' book despite being told we can't put that in the blurb.

STORY:

En is a weapon. Battle spells are carved into her skin, she’s trained to work through pain, and she’s magically compelled with loyalty to the archmagi. When she's sent on a mission to retrieve a group of infamous traitors from exile in a land of unpredictable and deadly magic, she's forced to team up with a common soldier to have any chance of success, or survival.

Tamol is a disaster. En isn’t fooled by the soldier’s silver tongue and good looks. Tamol is flighty, cowardly and the worst soldier En has ever met. But she’s also brilliant at magic and kinder than En has any right to expect. When she saves En’s life, it takes everything En has not to start falling for her. That is, until En discovers Tamol is one of the very traitors she seeks.

The empire never forgets. Years ago, the exiled traitors were just normal students with a vision for a better kingdom. They put their lives on the line fighting for it and lost. So they were exiled to the Far Peninsula to die. But now, the empire discovers the traitors may yet live, and they’ve unearthed something in the wilderness that the archmagi will pay any price to get.

But the might of an unforgiving empire isn’t the greatest force in all the land. Something monstrous is living in the Far Peninsula that does not discriminate between soldiers, traitors, and kings.

Out October! Preorders (every one of them highly treasured for obscure publishing industry reasons) are up here!

[avoliot]

So this is the book I have spent the last few years on! I think it's the best thing I've written. I am both nervous and hugely excited. Reblogs massively appreciated if that is your thing, and if you are inclined to preorder, they do help me out a lot with my publisher, but I completely understand that not everyone is in a position to. All interest treasured and appreciated!

(Also: HOW gorgeous is this art! I am unspeakably in love with it! How it captures these two idiots so accurately, and the incredible dawn clouds and the mountain and the sea. I pushed for Eliot Baum for the cover ever since he was among the initial artist suggestions because of the gorgeous way he does characters, and this both showed me that was the right choice and also completely blew me away. Highly recommend the follow: @eliotbaum. I am also a big fan of the title design, which is by Jess Kiley!)

[hubris-of-downfall]

Diamond Blend Wine - Sword Crossed

@fahye

I genuinely cannot express my disappointment on how small this fandom is, therefore- I will contribute. This was a wonderful book that I had yet to forget about after finishing reading. I long for more content surrounding it.

I would love to read so much about this world and these people. I need more wool talk and I desperately need more of this man. I swear he was spoken about so much to the point where when he finally appeared I had to put down the book to calm myself down. Truly, I had found myself in a situation akin to watching Avengers - End Game and seeing Captain America appear on screen holding Thor's Hammer.