Celia Lake
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celialake.bsky.social
Celia Lake
@celialake.bsky.social
2.1K followers 990 following 650 posts
Author (cosy historical fantasy romance) : avid devourer of information : librarian by day : knitter : general geek in several directions. https://celialake.com and https://www.celialake.com/links/
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celialake.bsky.social
Want a little academia and magic in your life? Apt to be Suspicious is out today!

Full of Oxford in 1947-48, magic, cryptic crosswords, what to do when you grow up, cryptography, and a fair bit of Homer. Also, as you can see, a punt.

celialake.com/book/apt-to-...
Apt to be Suspicious by Celia Lake displayed on a tablet propped on a window overlooking an academic quad, with a stone building on the far side with narrow windows and a gabled roof. The cover is a deep wine-red-purple, with a silhouetted man and woman on a punt. He's got the pole in both hands while she looks up at him. Ivy frames the upper left corner, with a swirl of magical stars looping through the centre of the image.
November 7, 2025 at 2:02 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Today is the FaRo Book Blast! www.farosociety.com/bookblast for 300+ books at 99 cents!

You can browse by subgenre - find my Mistress of Birds in the gaslamp/historical section - or by creature!

Lots of spooky options for the season, lots of other great books as well.
An image with a lot of green and blue, reading 300 Fantasy romance and PNR books 99c only - www.farosociety.com/book blast. A white woman with a wreath of greenery and flowers around her head wearing a green dress with a peasant neckline sits on a rock by the ocean, reaching to touch a massive blossom floating on a lily pad.
October 30, 2025 at 11:27 AM
celialake.bsky.social
Weaving Hope is part of the B&N Nook Favorite Cozy Reads for Fall! It's on sale there for $2.99.

www.barnesandnoble.com/b/favorite-c...

1928 full of weaving and tapestries, a country estate with a few secrets, and a glorious garden. (Also, older protagonists if you're looking for those.)
Copy of Weaving Hope sitting on a blanket with a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. The cover is bright pink shading to purple, with a man and woman in 1920s dress silhouetted on the cover. She's holding a length of fabric and showing it to him, with flowers inset in the top right.
October 22, 2025 at 7:11 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Today is YOLO for Kobo - 300 curated romance books over on Kobo Plus, Kobo's subscription service. I'm featuring Harmonic Pleasure, full of 1920s London, a night club, a mysterious magical artefact, and more.

Category and trope lists: koboplusromancebinge.com

By cover: geni.us/YOLOWithKobo
Pen and ink ghosts in two columns around text reading "Join us for YOLO with Kobo : October 17th, 2025. Over 300 curated romance titles. https://www.koboplusromancebinge.com"
October 17, 2025 at 2:30 PM
celialake.bsky.social
HearthCon has a lot of great panels! Here's all the info.

sites.google.com/view/lazydra...

I'm on:

Gaslamp and Regency Cozy Fantasy (4pm PDT, 7pm EDT Saturday)

&

Seasonal Cozy Fantasy(9am PDT, 12pm EDT Sunday)
I'm speaking at HearthCon! An online conference for Cozy Fantasy lovers. Join us online at lazydragonbooks.com October 11th and 12th.
October 11, 2025 at 2:06 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Finally, in Elemental Truth, Thessaly and Vitus have a way to figure out what's going on, why there is a chain of deaths, and how they can build a life together that no one can tear apart. It comes down to friends, trusting the right people, and making choices.

payhip.com/b/09qX7 for the bundle!
Elemental Truth by Celia Lake displayed on a tablet resting on circles of tumbled stones of many different colours and a brown stone floor. The golden damask background and steampipes frame the man and woman in 1890 Victorian dress, now waltzing together. Lighting shoots down from the top right, and a ring is inset in the top left corner.
September 23, 2025 at 6:22 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Silent Circuit, book 2, means even more changes for Thessaly, though some of these hold promise.

It's full of trying to keep going when the world is penning you in, of navigating powerful family demands, and unknown magic.

(Also several funerals in different styles)
Silent Circuit by Celia Lake displayed on a tablet on a pale pink background. The green damask background picks up the green leaves and contrasts with the pale pink rose at top and bottom. The silhouetted man and woman in Victorian dress have moved closer to each other on the cover than in Enchanted Net, he holds a book and she is reaching out a hand toward it. Lightning shoots down from the top right, and a bee is inset in the top left corner.
September 23, 2025 at 6:22 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Last day of my birthday sale today! 50% off many things in my direct shop, all the details here. www.celialake.com/birthday-202...

Let me talk about the Mysterious Fields trilogy (on sale for $7.50 for the trilogy).

It's a trilogy with the HEA in Book 3. There are some Events first.
Enchanted Net by Celia Lake displayed on a tablet. The cover has a rich purple damask background, and the tablet sits on a white table with lavender and white flowers with purple centres that match. A man and woman in Victorian dress stand on the cover, silhouetted and looking slightly toward each other. She holds a glass of wine in one hand. Steam pipes frame them two figures, with a book inset in the top left corner and a streak of lightning coming down from the top right.
September 23, 2025 at 6:22 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Here's some seals to tide you over, though.
A sandbar just emerging from the water as the tide is going out, with six seals fully visible, mostly adults with one pup (probably a year old). They're dark grey/black in colour, shiny from the water, and the one in the centre left is lifting head and flippers out of the sand to regulate temperature. The water is clear, the sky is blue with a few clouds, and everyone on this sandbar is content with the world. (They are out of range of sharks and coyotes, the two main immediate predators.)
September 23, 2025 at 12:01 AM
celialake.bsky.social
Let's talk about Best Foot Forward, which @kiyanicoll.bsky.social described as "M/M aroace/bi-allo-(incidentally polyam) enemies-to-it’s-complicated there-was-only-one-bed espionage and WWI trauma-healing romp"

Part of my birthday sale, in the Carrying On bundle.

www.celialake.com/birthday-202...
Best Foot Forward by Celia Lake displayed on a phone with leaves from a book, a letter with a wax seal, and a key. The cover has two men in 1930s suits and hats in silhouette, displayed over a map and an astrological chart, one pointing upwards.
September 22, 2025 at 12:37 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Time to highlight another book! Carry On is in the Carrying On starter bundle on sale on Tuesday at www.celialake.com/birthday-202....

It's about healing and finding hope when you're alone. It's about being brave enough to take risks for change. And it's got a lot of knitting.
Carry On by Celia Lake on a white cloth, with pink flowers that pick up the cover and hands holding a cup of coffee. The cover has a woman in a Great War nurse's uniform and a man in a suit in silhouette on a cover shading from lavender to red-purple. A ball of yarn and knitting needles are inset in the top left corner.
September 21, 2025 at 2:54 PM
celialake.bsky.social
My birthday sale is ongoing! (Through Tuesday)
www.celialake.com/birthday-202...

I wanted to talk a little about Eclipse here (on sale everywhere this month + in the Solving Puzzles Together bundle.)

I love all my books (and my characters) but Eclipse is the book of my heart in so many ways.
Eclipse by Celia Lake displayed on a tablet resting on large, water-smoothed stones. The cover has a man and a woman in silhouette, both wearing academic gowns over a dress and suit. She is reaching up toward the upper left, where a telescope is inset, surrounded by a swirl of stars.
September 20, 2025 at 2:28 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Claiming the Tower is about two women in 1854 refusing to keep doing what isn't working and beginning to build something better together.

Full of:
- Choosing their battles
- Drinking chocolate
- Community dynamics
- A date at the Crystal Palace
- Finding support

celialake.com/book/claimin...
Claiming the Tower by Celia Lake standing by a cup of tea and pomegranates, with spices and a spoon. The cover has two women in silhouette in 1850s Victorian dresses, one holding a cup of drinking chocolate, the other reaching to touch the first woman's face. A castle with three towers and crenallations is at the bottom, also in silhouette.
September 19, 2025 at 12:38 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Birthday sale! I'm turning 50 this weekend. Sale on my direct store with 50% off!

- Bundles (complete series, plus two starter bundles of 3 books.)

- The audio book of Pastiche

- Pre-orders for Apt to be Suspicious (1947-1948 at Oxford)

All the details at www.celialake.com/birthday-202...
Eclipse by Celia lake on a tablet sitting on an open book with three roses nearby. The cover shows a man and woman in silhouette, wearing academic gowns over a 1920s dress and suit. She is reaching upwards toward the sky. A telescope is inset in the top left corner.
September 19, 2025 at 12:38 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Goblin Fruit is on sale this month ($2.99 USD or the equivalent where you get your ebooks).

An aristocratic investigator, a mysterious and dangerous magical drink, and a sister determined to keep her younger sister safe in 1924.

celialake.com/book/goblin-...
A copy of Goblin Fruit by Celia Lake resting on an open print book on grass, surrounded by leaves. The cover has a man and woman in 1920s clothes silhouetted on a red background shading to golden yellow, with a bottle of glowing golden liquid inset in the top right corner.
August 15, 2025 at 3:51 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Harmonic Pleasure is here!

- 1928 adventures around and under London
- A magical artefact
- Night club singer with family secrets
- Art expert with other skills

celialake.com/book/harmoni...
Harmonic Pleasure by Celia Lake displayed on a tablet with Big Ben and Westminster in the background. The cover has a man and woman in 1920s dress silhouetted on a blue background. She holds an amulet in her hand as they speak to each other. A golden torc is inset in the top right corner.
August 8, 2025 at 2:34 PM
celialake.bsky.social
In other delightful news, my nasturtium produced a flower! It's my first time trying to grow them.

(I've been meaning to since writing Casting Nasturtiums. www.celialake.com/book/casting...)

Two days ago, no visible bud. Bud yesterday. Now flower!
A bright orange nasturtium flower in a pot, surrounded by broad green leaves and vines.
August 2, 2025 at 5:43 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Here's yesterday's thread with the steps in process.

bsky.app/profile/celi...

And Astra approving the final result.
Black cat - Astra - on a long wood side table, looking at a three-tiered cooling rack full of croissants. There's a large window behind her, mostly covered with folds of linen curtain.
August 2, 2025 at 1:25 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Resulting croissants!

This morning I got up, pre-heated the oven, applied egg wash, and put them in. They're maybe a hair more dense than ideal, but will also hold up well to things being spread on them.
Rows of croissants just out of the oven on a three-tier cooling rack. The tops are brown, folds of dough can be seen, and there is an abundance of golden brown goodness.
August 2, 2025 at 1:25 PM
celialake.bsky.social
And here are some of them rolled!

I am not thrilled by the points on the croissants, but it's bread, it'll cope.

Now they sit at room temp for an hour, then go into the fridge overnight. Tomorrow morning, the baking!
Six croissants rolled up - some of the curves and points are better than others. They're sitting on an orange bordered silpat on a baking sheet.
August 2, 2025 at 1:01 AM
celialake.bsky.social
Last stage for tonight (with worse lighting, because it is now dark.)

Croissant about to be rolled.
A roughly triangular piece of dough, longest point up, with a slit in the middle of the bottom short side.
August 2, 2025 at 1:01 AM
celialake.bsky.social
Butter has been added to the middle, the dough folded over it, and then rolled out twice. Now it's in the fridge to stay cool for another 30 minutes, another round of rolling out, and then it sits for 4 hours.

(Part of my doing this is getting a sense for the pacing, I admit.)
A rectangle of creamy white dough siting on a silpat baking liner with some dusted flour around the edges.
August 1, 2025 at 7:40 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Now I have taken room-temp butter and shaped it into a rectangle. It's in the fridge for 30 minutes, then we do round 1 and 2 of rolling the dough and the butter together.

(I splurged for the better than usual butter here: this is the cultured butter from Brittany via Trader Joe's.)
A large rectangle of creamy white butter on a much used and marked up silicon baking sheet.
August 1, 2025 at 7:03 PM
celialake.bsky.social
Now the dough is flat! It now gets to rest for 4 hours in the fridge.

This is the sort of recipe that includes "make space for a baking sheet in your fridge" and "you want a measuring tape". The measurements will be very handy when we get to the Apply Butter For Lamination stage.
Croissant dough rolled flat into a rectangle on a much-loved and much-used baking sheet.
August 1, 2025 at 3:20 PM
celialake.bsky.social
And here is my cat Astra inquisitively peering at it. It's on a baking sheet about to go sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.

(The instructions are vehement about 'work with cold dough!')
A baking sheet with an orange silipat baking sheet with a lump of dough in the middle. It's sitting on a small table next to a window. A black cat - Astra - is leaning over to peer at the dough.
August 1, 2025 at 2:46 PM