Lorraine Wilson
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rainewilson.bsky.social
Lorraine Wilson
@rainewilson.bsky.social
3.5K followers 940 following 2.1K posts
Author, biologist, cat herder | BFA & SoA winner, Kavya & Saltire Awards SL | THE SALT ORACLE coming 06/11/25 https://geni.us/saltorac | rep Julie Gourinchas | she/her

http://linktr.ee/raine_clouds
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rainewilson.bsky.social
THE SALT ORACLE has been out in the world for one whole week! So here's some nice things some even nicer people said about it!

And thank you to everyone who entered the preorder giveaway - I'm contacting winners today & am very grateful to you all x
@solarisbooks.bsky.social
A graphic using elements of the book cover, with this text "THERE IS NOBODY ELSE WRITING LIKE THIS, NOBODY CREATING SUCH RICH AND THOROUGHLY INNOVATIVE WORLDS THAT STILL FEEL SO EERILY CREDIBLE." — SAM K. HORTON, AUTHOR OF GORSE AND RAGWORT A graphic using elements of the book cover, with this text: "DARK ACADEMIA DONE RIGHT! BY TURNS HAUNTING AND HORRIFYING... ULTIMATELY HUMANE AND HOPEFUL. THIS IS A BOOK THAT DESERVES YOUR ATTENTION," - GARETH BROWN, BESTSELLING AUTHOR of THE BOOK OF DOORS Same graphic, this text "GRIPPING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING, AND GORGEOUSLY WRITTEN.* - SARAH BROOKS, AUTHOR OF THE CAUTIOUS TRAVELLER'S GUIDE TO THE WASTELANDS
November 13, 2025 at 2:28 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
Publishing is weird & full of hidden lows and visible highs, but can I just take this wee moment to be extremely un-British and say 'hey I did a thing'?

6 books
5 awards
14 (I think?) award listings

It's been rocky & the road ahead is uncertain but this here is not too shabby, is it?
Copies of all of my books, spines up - this is our undoing, the way the light bends, mother sea, the salt Oracle, we are all Ghosts in the forest, and the last to drown - with the paperback of Ghosts & a Salt Oracle flat on either end. Yes, I know they're in the wrong order, it looked funny the right way around! A photo of my wee award collection - two BFAs, the SoA ADCI prize certificate and two SCKAward rocks
November 7, 2025 at 5:48 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
✨It's Double Publication Day!✨

If you like science fantasy, folklore with a twist, digital ghosts, nature having opinions, and ghost cats/orcas living their best lives please do give these books a go?

geni.us/weallghostsPB
geni.us/saltorac

@solarisbooks.bsky.social
Photo of the paperback of We Are All Ghosts In The Forest and hardback of The Salt Oracle with a lamp, some flower stems & blue glass buoys
November 6, 2025 at 12:03 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
I have seen three separate 'the sun won't set later than 6pm here until Feb' posts and give a hollow laugh each time

Scotland entered The Big Dark a while ago 🌚
Weather app screenshot showing today's sunset time of 4:40pm. My serotonin is withering as we speak
October 27, 2025 at 4:15 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
And on the 19th Nov, I'm in Dundee celebrating both THE SALT ORACLE and the gorgeous THE NEEDFIRE with @mkhardywrites.com.

Would love to see you there!

www.tickettailor.com/events/na13/...
Graphic with both book covers, a grey blue background of painted hills & large moon, with the text: Dundee book launch. DARK FOLKORE & SCOTTISH GOTHIC FICTION Join authors MK Hardy and Lorraine Wilson for an evening of chat and refreshments! WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19 7 - 9PM STENECKI COFFEE
October 27, 2025 at 12:23 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
On the 6th Nov - DOUBLE LAUNCH DAY - I'm in St Andrews for a book signing. Please come say hi if you're in the area!

www.waterstones.com/events/celeb...
Same kind of graphic with the text: Book Signing Event Nov 6th at 1pm Waterstones St Andrews
October 27, 2025 at 12:23 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
🐙Upcoming events mini thread

This week I'm at @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social🥳

I opted out of the mass signing but will be merrily signing anything put in front of me at the @solarisbooks.bsky.social launch party so please come find me there! (Or at the bar, I am friendly)
Graphic with gold background, Ghosts and Salt Oracle book covers, and the text: Find me at World Fantasy Con Strong female leads who don't kick ass Fri 10am Dark Academia- the lure of evil institutions Sat lpm Solaris Books launch Sun 10am
October 27, 2025 at 12:23 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
AND FINALLY (no I didn't almost forget, wdym)... Day 5 of meet THE SALT ORACLE characters!

The eponymous 🔮Oracle🔮 herself

A deadly miracle child.

This girl in the tower is there for everyone else's safety...

Geni.us/saltorac
@solarisbooks.bsky.social
A graphic titled The Oracle, with a background of dark sky & lightning, the text reads: She is: A 16 yr old girl who channels digital ghosts of the sea. She wants: ... What can a girl who doesn't know herself know of wanting? She knows: How to drown. Her secret: Something from the deep has made her a terrible promise. Same graphic with a collage of images including: a chain emerging from waves, disintegrating lines of text reading 'I'm breaking apart', a glowing jellyfish, huge tentacles rising out of dark water, and a white on black drawing of a girl with her head on her knees, her hair wild and rising above her.
October 24, 2025 at 5:38 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
LOOK WHO HATCHED!

New books are in my very own paws & they're looking so damn pretty I can't!

(Please admire the teensy spine orca whomst I adore)

(Also have I shown you my spite dedication? I can't remember)

@solarisbooks.bsky.social @literaryfey.bsky.social
Freshly hatched copies of The Salt Oracle hardback and We Are All Ghosts In The Forest paperback on a green cloth, looking handsome Close up of the base of both book spines, showing a tiny leaping orca on The Salt Oracle The dedication page from The Salt Oracle, that reads: To Mr Short, My secondary school science teacher who told me, repeatedly, that girls weren't cut out for science. My PhD and I beg to differ.
October 24, 2025 at 2:18 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
Day 4 of meet THE SALT ORACLE characters!

Today, my fav fierce lady, one of the brightest minds on the Bellwether 🌩️Dr Célestine Dubois🌩️

Bold, brilliant, ambitious.
She travelled through the apocalypse to get here.
So will she help tear it down?

geni.us/saltorac
@solarisbooks.bsky.social
Graphic with the title Dr Celestine Dubois, over a dark background of contour & grid lines. The text reads: She is: The senior researcher - Weather forecasting. And Raphaël’s oldest friend. She wants: Auli’s job. She knows: The world is fucked so live for the moment. Her secret: Sleeping with a murderer would be gauche, no? Same title, with a collage of images including: a close up of a black woman's hands, long nails painted dark red, a blackboard covered in maths, a diagram of vintage weather forecasting equipment, a small glass bottle on a chain containing some leaves, a red beach flag in a strong wind, and the wheels and stark shadow of a wheelchair.
October 23, 2025 at 4:08 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
Day 3 of meet THE SALT ORACLE characters:

Today meet the Bellwether's Captain, 🗡️Raphaël Giroux🗡️

When you've lost everyone, no one is worth saving.

...and other lies we tell ourselves.

geni.us/saltorac
@solarisbooks.bsky.social
graphic with the title 'Raphael Giroux' and a background photo of a yacht beneath a moon on dark water. The text reads: He is: The Captain of the Bellwether’s security force. He wants: To do his job with minimal interference from bloody scientists. He knows: Caring for anyone is foolish on the Bellwether. His secret: Auli. Same title, with a collage of images including close up of an electric circuit board, a compass and map, waves on fire, a man in sexy pirate swishy coat, a view up a mast to the moon and crowsnest, and some old harpoons.
October 22, 2025 at 5:11 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
Reeeeeally helping there, cat. Thanks.
Photo of a tabby cat lying on my desk between me & my laptop, head resting on my wrist. Sabotaging my creative endeavours like a capitalist
October 22, 2025 at 2:54 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
Day 2 of meet THE SALT ORACLE characters, please say hello to my main character:

✨Dr Auli Fraser✨

A shy academic is no one's idea of a hero.
But she might not have a choice.

geni.us/saltorac
@solarisbooks.bsky.social
Graphic over a photo of a lamp on a wooden pier in foggy dusk. With the title Dr Auli Fraser and the text: She is: The senior researcher of the least important group in the Bellwether She wants: To belong, to believe her work makes the seas safer. She knows: Her mentor was murdered. Her secret: She's woefully unready to take on his job Same title and format, but a collage of photos of - a hand emerging from water, a woman writing in a notepad, a lighthouse tatto on a wrist, old bookshelves, and pages with anatomical and geometric diagrams.
October 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
SOMEONE (me) spent too much time on Canva, so I am running a MEET THE CHARACTERS posts series this week!

Starting with the setting of THE SALT ORACLE - The Bellwether.

College, fortress, haven, deathtrap.
Come to save the world, try not to die.

@solarisbooks.bsky.social
geni.us/saltorac
Tarot card style graphic titled The Bellwether, with the text: What: The New Baltic College of Oceanographic Research Where: Åland Islands, Baltic Sea Why: To study the Salt Oracle and rebuild lost maps, climate forecasts & fisheries models from her cantations. Who: A crew of scientists and boatmen guards. And a lot of deadly digital ghosts. ' All over a dark image of a lighthouse and tentacles. Tarot card graphic titled The Bellwether, with a mix of images of abandoned rusting sea platforms, the Aland islands, a steampunky pulley system and a library beneath a glass dome.
October 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
🌊20 days to go🌊

How about two very wise and brilliant authors persuade you to pre-order THE SALT ORACLE??
geni.us/saltorac
@solarisbooks.bsky.social
A graphic using parts of the cover design of The Salt Oracle (waves & orca fins, a background of a girl with fish bones and hooks in her hair) with the text 'the salt oracle is evocative, elegaic, and beautifully stylish. A gorgeous read.' from Aliya Whiteley, award winning author of three eight one. Same graphic with the text 'heart wrenching and hopeful The Salt Oracle interrogates our humanity, our compassion and our right to remain.' from AG Slatter, award winning author of The Crimson ROad
October 17, 2025 at 4:15 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
🐙 1 month till THE SALT ORACLE is out🐙

So here's a closer look at the fab oracle cards by @hibernalbeast.bsky.social. I am very in love with the digital ghost orca ngl, they *have some fun* in the book! 🫢

Check out the preorder giveaway below too 👇🏽
An oracle type card with a border that's partly octopuses, jellyfish and fish skeletons & the title 'judgement'. The image is of two flying ravens against a backdrop of sea and giant tentacles. Same card design, title 'The Oracle'. Image is of a white teenage girl in tatty clothes, with long pale hair rising around her, lightning filled eyes and her hands raised as if in distress. Behind is a railing and the distant sea Same card design, title 'vengeance'. Image is an orca surrounded by static and with patches of pixelation, swimming down, holding some burning wreckage in its mouth, with more in the background. Same again, title 'the choice'. Image shows main character 'Auli', a white woman with black hair standing in a fog filled library holding a clipboard in one hand and a raised storm lamp in the other. She's looks a bit anxious
October 9, 2025 at 7:01 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
toes
Photo of a sleeping black cat with upsidedown head and white toes (but, importantly, black toebeans) on a black blanket & brown sofa.
September 26, 2025 at 9:49 AM
rainewilson.bsky.social
🌊IT'S PRE ORDER GIVEAWAY TIME!!🌊
It's 6 weeks til THE SALT ORACLE is unleashed!

To celebrate, anyone who sends proof of a pre order will be in with a chance of winning 1 of 10 sets of these gorgeous oracle cards & a signed bookplate!

geni.us/saltorac
@solarisbooks.bsky.social
graphic with the book THE SALT ORACLE, & a heading saying '6 weeks to publication' against an oceanic backdrop taken from the book cover art (by Sam Gretton) Graphic with the same background as previous, a heading 'pre-order giveaway', a bookplate with in world 'ex libris' stamp, and 4 character art oracle cards designed by @hibernalbeast.bsky.social showing ravens + tentacles (Judgement), the oracle, an orca causing havoc (Vengeance) and the book's main character, Auli (The Choice).
September 25, 2025 at 12:20 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
So anyway, hey editors, fancy a strange, hopeful love-letter to storytelling set over 1 day on a houseboat in a future Himalayas?

It's 1001 NIGHTS x STATION 11 and has:
❤️‍🔥Solar punk-ish
❤️‍🔥A forest-fire winged girl (maybe)
❤️‍🔥Fierce sisters & found family
❤️‍🔥Braided, cyclic narratives
❤️‍🔥An underworld queen
a gold and sepia toned moodboard for A LAKE OF SMALL FIRES with images of two sisters looking urgent, wooden boats candlelight, a kite in front of a wildfire, hands cradling a burned book, and an array of spices in brass pots.
September 11, 2025 at 2:12 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
Me walking into the kitchen: ugh it smells like something died in here

Plant: YOU'RE WELCOME 🥳
Photo of a succulent whose name has dropped out of my well aerated brain. It is cheerfully displaying a newly opened fleshy green flower with dark spots. This flower may be stunning but don't be fooled - it smells horrendously foul. Run away.
September 5, 2025 at 10:49 AM
rainewilson.bsky.social
A louring sky but a soft day on the edge of the sea today
Photo of a calm, dark sea, a stretch of shadowy harbour wall, and a low, steely sky. Patches of silver in distant sky and water
September 3, 2025 at 5:13 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
91% void, 100% loaf
Photo of a black cat with white bib and a single white whisker, very loafed on the back of a sofa. The sag of the sofa may possibly indicate he is also a chonker, witnesses cannot possibly confirm
August 28, 2025 at 6:15 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
New box who dis?
A void katten lounging in a cardboard box filled with packing paper, looking sleepy or possibly evil, who can tell
August 26, 2025 at 10:19 AM
rainewilson.bsky.social
Oh! Accidentally made the perfect book purchase today.

Happy birthday, beautiful man.
Photo of a copy of James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk, sitting atop a copy of the Ursula Le Guin Earthsea graphic novel - both bought today & loved already
August 2, 2025 at 5:47 PM
rainewilson.bsky.social
I feel like I've posted a lot of 'look at my book' stuff today, but this one's a) a book sale, and b) time limited. So I'm breaking my 'stop it now' limit...

Wanna get 25 whole % off a bunch of awesome books, including THE SALT ORACLE? Of course you do! 👇
www.waterstones.com/book/the-sal...
promo graphic for The Salt Oracle in a Waterstones pre-order sale that has 25% off selected titles from today until the 31st July. Sale code is SUMMER25. Go get that book! And/or others too!
July 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM