Suzannah Rowntree
@suzannahrowntree.bsky.social
Historical fantasy author | Books make the best time machines | Christian, tea drinker, siege fancier | https://suzannahrowntree.site
Pinned
Stressed out by your battle scene? HOW TO WRITE A FANTASY BATTLE is out in the world - and since a few reviewers who pride themselves on the depth of their military knowledge have complained that the book is too short and basic, you know it'll be absolutely perfect for YOU 😇
books2read.com/u/bO7Q5J
books2read.com/u/bO7Q5J
The thing is, even tho Heathcliff's race is ambiguous in the BOOK, it's vital to the STORY that he's othered and distrusted for it, which in a 21stC adaptation is best evoked by casting a POC. (Since he's described as resembling a lascar, I would say a Desi actor for choice).
February 8, 2026 at 9:46 AM
The thing is, even tho Heathcliff's race is ambiguous in the BOOK, it's vital to the STORY that he's othered and distrusted for it, which in a 21stC adaptation is best evoked by casting a POC. (Since he's described as resembling a lascar, I would say a Desi actor for choice).
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
dante really out here sayin "yeah homer & his mates say i'm one of the blokes; just one of the greats :) so yeah now ya know :) don't forget"
don't worry if you forget, tho; this is abt the 3rd time he's aggrandised and immortalised himself in the cantos and it deffo won't be the last
good for him
don't worry if you forget, tho; this is abt the 3rd time he's aggrandised and immortalised himself in the cantos and it deffo won't be the last
good for him
February 7, 2026 at 12:39 AM
dante really out here sayin "yeah homer & his mates say i'm one of the blokes; just one of the greats :) so yeah now ya know :) don't forget"
don't worry if you forget, tho; this is abt the 3rd time he's aggrandised and immortalised himself in the cantos and it deffo won't be the last
good for him
don't worry if you forget, tho; this is abt the 3rd time he's aggrandised and immortalised himself in the cantos and it deffo won't be the last
good for him
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
"Horseshoe Theory" is the theory that horses need shoes. It's controversial because most animals don't wear shoes.
February 7, 2026 at 4:05 AM
"Horseshoe Theory" is the theory that horses need shoes. It's controversial because most animals don't wear shoes.
Dante's PARADISO update:
Dante: at last I have found my dear lady and guide, her eyes aflame with holiest love
Beatrice: *roasts him for 6 cantos straight and counting*
Dante: at last I have found my dear lady and guide, her eyes aflame with holiest love
Beatrice: *roasts him for 6 cantos straight and counting*
February 5, 2026 at 11:23 PM
Dante's PARADISO update:
Dante: at last I have found my dear lady and guide, her eyes aflame with holiest love
Beatrice: *roasts him for 6 cantos straight and counting*
Dante: at last I have found my dear lady and guide, her eyes aflame with holiest love
Beatrice: *roasts him for 6 cantos straight and counting*
"today's readers are tomorrow's leaders" no thank you I have no ambitions in that direction, my life goal is to remain a reader
February 4, 2026 at 9:14 PM
"today's readers are tomorrow's leaders" no thank you I have no ambitions in that direction, my life goal is to remain a reader
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
So I finally read AUTOCRACY, INC by @anneapplebaum.bsky.social and it might be the most important book I read in 2026. A brief study of the new tactics being adopted by dictators, autocracies, and illiberal democracies to subvert democracy in the 21st century, and the start of a plan to stop them.
February 4, 2026 at 10:06 AM
So I finally read AUTOCRACY, INC by @anneapplebaum.bsky.social and it might be the most important book I read in 2026. A brief study of the new tactics being adopted by dictators, autocracies, and illiberal democracies to subvert democracy in the 21st century, and the start of a plan to stop them.
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
GOOD NEWS
Bookshop.org is teaming up with Draft2Digital to allow self-publishers to sell ebooks on the Bookshop platform www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Bookshop.org Teams with Draft2Digital
The online bookselling platform has partnered with the self-publishing company to allow self-published authors to sell e-books on its site.
www.publishersweekly.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:43 PM
GOOD NEWS
So I finally read AUTOCRACY, INC by @anneapplebaum.bsky.social and it might be the most important book I read in 2026. A brief study of the new tactics being adopted by dictators, autocracies, and illiberal democracies to subvert democracy in the 21st century, and the start of a plan to stop them.
February 4, 2026 at 10:06 AM
So I finally read AUTOCRACY, INC by @anneapplebaum.bsky.social and it might be the most important book I read in 2026. A brief study of the new tactics being adopted by dictators, autocracies, and illiberal democracies to subvert democracy in the 21st century, and the start of a plan to stop them.
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
Relatedly: Christopher Tolkien one of the most underrated contributors to modern fantasy? Almost impossible to imagine anyone else could have done what he did, to very little appreciation mostly
Rereading some History of Middle Earth stuff for fun and struck as ever by how incredibly annoying Tolkien must have been for an editor
February 3, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Relatedly: Christopher Tolkien one of the most underrated contributors to modern fantasy? Almost impossible to imagine anyone else could have done what he did, to very little appreciation mostly
Just realised that I ALREADY WROTE THIS
In the MISS SHARP'S MONSTERS books
No wonder it sounded like a banger of an idea
In the MISS SHARP'S MONSTERS books
No wonder it sounded like a banger of an idea
got really excited for a moment this morning bc i thought OH!!! what if lady knight x princess, but,,, PLATONIC
And then I realised Edmund Spenser already did it
in fifteen eighty whenever 🤦🏼♀️
And then I realised Edmund Spenser already did it
in fifteen eighty whenever 🤦🏼♀️
February 3, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Just realised that I ALREADY WROTE THIS
In the MISS SHARP'S MONSTERS books
No wonder it sounded like a banger of an idea
In the MISS SHARP'S MONSTERS books
No wonder it sounded like a banger of an idea
Just remembered that I kind of already did this with the platonic lady bodyguard/princess relationship in the MISS SHARP'S MONSTERS books
got really excited for a moment this morning bc i thought OH!!! what if lady knight x princess, but,,, PLATONIC
And then I realised Edmund Spenser already did it
in fifteen eighty whenever 🤦🏼♀️
And then I realised Edmund Spenser already did it
in fifteen eighty whenever 🤦🏼♀️
February 3, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Just remembered that I kind of already did this with the platonic lady bodyguard/princess relationship in the MISS SHARP'S MONSTERS books
got really excited for a moment this morning bc i thought OH!!! what if lady knight x princess, but,,, PLATONIC
And then I realised Edmund Spenser already did it
in fifteen eighty whenever 🤦🏼♀️
And then I realised Edmund Spenser already did it
in fifteen eighty whenever 🤦🏼♀️
February 3, 2026 at 9:24 PM
got really excited for a moment this morning bc i thought OH!!! what if lady knight x princess, but,,, PLATONIC
And then I realised Edmund Spenser already did it
in fifteen eighty whenever 🤦🏼♀️
And then I realised Edmund Spenser already did it
in fifteen eighty whenever 🤦🏼♀️
No Dead Bats, Spiders Found Behind Bookshelf, Local Woman Says
TERRIFYING: Local Woman Shifts, Cleans Behind Bookshelf For First Time In Twenty One Years
January 31, 2026 at 1:34 AM
No Dead Bats, Spiders Found Behind Bookshelf, Local Woman Says
TERRIFYING: Local Woman Shifts, Cleans Behind Bookshelf For First Time In Twenty One Years
January 31, 2026 at 1:32 AM
TERRIFYING: Local Woman Shifts, Cleans Behind Bookshelf For First Time In Twenty One Years
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
Housekeeping note: if any of you are sending me messages recently, I can't access them right now because as an Australian I am still grumpy about having to verify my age with Bluesky.
December 19, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Housekeeping note: if any of you are sending me messages recently, I can't access them right now because as an Australian I am still grumpy about having to verify my age with Bluesky.
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
Oh yes one of tumblr's best kept secrets
Have found tumblr user probablyday's #woosterposting series. In shock
January 29, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Oh yes one of tumblr's best kept secrets
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
I’ve found how I want to be buried.
This enigmatic mummy from western China was swathed in cheese
Bronze Age herders were buried with lumps of cheese starter, ancient DNA shows
www.science.org
January 28, 2026 at 10:16 PM
I’ve found how I want to be buried.
Our home is still safe, thanks to lighter winds than feared and truly titanic efforts by firefighters, which prevented the fires spreading as predicted.
We are still not allowed to go home but hoping to get permission to do so today or tomorrow.
We are still not allowed to go home but hoping to get permission to do so today or tomorrow.
In personal news, the beautiful home my parents built is being threatened by bushfires and we've been evacuated since Saturday. Today or tomorrow we could lose it forever. If you're the praying type, please pray for our home & neighbours.
January 28, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Our home is still safe, thanks to lighter winds than feared and truly titanic efforts by firefighters, which prevented the fires spreading as predicted.
We are still not allowed to go home but hoping to get permission to do so today or tomorrow.
We are still not allowed to go home but hoping to get permission to do so today or tomorrow.
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
ALT TEXT: street art of a white man with brown hair, beard, and glasses wearing blue scrubs and a stethoscope (presumably Alex Pretti, the nurse executed by ICE in Minneapolis), bends down to help the symbolic personification of Justice, who has fallen down. The art is signed by “Topsy”
January 27, 2026 at 6:05 PM
ALT TEXT: street art of a white man with brown hair, beard, and glasses wearing blue scrubs and a stethoscope (presumably Alex Pretti, the nurse executed by ICE in Minneapolis), bends down to help the symbolic personification of Justice, who has fallen down. The art is signed by “Topsy”
Let's also take a moment to appreciate the fact that, the proliferation of footage aside, people apparently find it easier to trust the innocence of a man (allegedly) carrying a gun...than a woman driving a car
Anyway it's really interesting that when a woman was murdered and MAGA was arguing that she was at fault for driving a car while gay, calling for accountability was something only radicals did, and now all that is changing now that a man has been shot.
January 26, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Let's also take a moment to appreciate the fact that, the proliferation of footage aside, people apparently find it easier to trust the innocence of a man (allegedly) carrying a gun...than a woman driving a car
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
He was bound to drop that scarf in some time zone or other.
January 26, 2026 at 2:53 PM
He was bound to drop that scarf in some time zone or other.
In personal news, the beautiful home my parents built is being threatened by bushfires and we've been evacuated since Saturday. Today or tomorrow we could lose it forever. If you're the praying type, please pray for our home & neighbours.
January 26, 2026 at 8:37 PM
In personal news, the beautiful home my parents built is being threatened by bushfires and we've been evacuated since Saturday. Today or tomorrow we could lose it forever. If you're the praying type, please pray for our home & neighbours.
Anyway it's really interesting that when a woman was murdered and MAGA was arguing that she was at fault for driving a car while gay, calling for accountability was something only radicals did, and now all that is changing now that a man has been shot.
January 26, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Anyway it's really interesting that when a woman was murdered and MAGA was arguing that she was at fault for driving a car while gay, calling for accountability was something only radicals did, and now all that is changing now that a man has been shot.
Reposted by Suzannah Rowntree
Being a journalist is sick: I just contacted a pre-eminent jaguar conservationist in Argentine with a question that has been weighing on me for ages and he wrote back right away with an informed answer.
January 25, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Being a journalist is sick: I just contacted a pre-eminent jaguar conservationist in Argentine with a question that has been weighing on me for ages and he wrote back right away with an informed answer.