Francesca Astraea's Blog, page 2
May 31, 2025
End of May Check In & Chatter
Hello and a very belated happy May!
I was vaguely planning to write this month about a few books I’ve read recently, but then it took me two months to finish one of the best non fiction books I’ve read for ages, The Enchanted Life, and I think it might take me two more months to articulate why it was great. I had a go in a review but I think I need to let my thoughts percolate a bit more. Or possibly a second Masters in philosophy of folklore is calling me. The Enchanted Life is about where w...
May 4, 2025
How the No. 1 Readers' Club Works
There's a lil freebie at the end hehe
April 14, 2025
No. 1 Readers’ Club 101 + blog refresh
Hello!
I’ve had a little refresh of this space, and my stories blog, to reduce visual clutter and – hopefully – make the spaces easier to navigate. I think in times like these the world needs fewer links to click, you know? Decision fatigue is real and if I keep watching seven-minute YouTube videos with three ad breaks, I might crack and unplug the wifi router.
Ironically I am here with a link for you to click (if you want to! No pressure! It’s not going to change your life either way!). I...
March 23, 2025
Read, If You Like ‘The Bone Season’ by Samantha Shannon
So far this year my fiction reading has entirely consisted of work that’s been out for yonks but I’ve never picked up before… and entirely of work that is a tiny bit bonkers. I’m having a fantastic time and I will inflict everything on you all bahahaa!!!
I don’t think I’ve ever done a Read, If You Like… for an as-yet-unfinished series, and I’ve definitely not done one for a series where the author’s reworked the originals.
Read The Bone Season (2013 to present) by Samantha Shannon, If You...March 3, 2025
Ebook Sale with Smashwords!
As part of Smashwords' Read an Ebook Week, you can get Rotting Trees at 50% off!
Check it out (along with lots of other fab titles):
https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/sh...
February 24, 2025
Interview with Sarah at the Reading Nook
https://readingnook84.wordpress.com/2...
February 19, 2025
Read, If You Like ‘Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’ by Susanna Clarke
The length of time it’s taken me to write this blog is almost equal to the length of time it took me to a) read the book and b) recover from my book hangover. I think book two of 2025 might be in my top three books of 2025 and it is only February. That said I am currently knee-deep in the Bone Season series and that might become my favourite new series of the year, so I guess my goal of reading more than I scroll is coming to fruition.
Read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke, 200...January 29, 2025
Author Interview: Belinda Campbell (Author of ‘Something Wicked’ and Critique Partner Extraordinaire)
Hello!
It feels like one million years since I last did an interview on here. It is entirely possible I’ve never done an interview here. One of my lovely critique partners, Belinda Campbell, released her debut novel Something Wicked last autumn and, in case you’ve missed the unhinged levels of excitement I’ve been projecting at every corner of the internet I can find, my next book Rotting Trees is out this Friday. To celebrate, we’re interviewing each other! Bel’s questions for me will be on ...
January 27, 2025
Happy Rotting Trees release week!
There's still time to enter to win a signed paperback, just sign up to my newsletter by Friday 31st: https://mailchi.mp/3aecf3edd2a9/mails...
Here are the retail links, including Books-on-Sea and Carpe Noctem Frome: https://francescaswords.com/rotting-t...
January 16, 2025
Small Business Shenanigans: Reopening My Stationery Shop (Part Two)
Happy new year! Here is part one of this series, which I was not planning to make a series but lo, relaunching a business is harder than launching one, because you’re more aware of everything you need to do the second time around! We left off just as I was preparing for my first craft event of the relaunch…
1st December
Finally get enough daylight to take some product photos. I am still quite rusty. At least I’m not using AI.
2nd December
My first craft event since February 2020, and...
