Frances Hardinge

@franceshardinge.bsky.social

Writer of downright odd children's/YA books. Hobbies include travelling, dressing in period costume and scuba diving. Addicted to volcanoes and trying new things.

@annamazz.bsky.socialReposted by @franceshardinge.bsky.social

Remember! Ghosts are not just for October. They are for Christmas, the anniversaries of unavenged murders, and really any time you least expect them.

@franceshardinge.bsky.social

Last weekend, had a fantastic time at the Neev Literature Festival. (Photos taken before the arrival of the happy, buzzy, book-enthused crowds.) Wonderful to meet the young readers, the organisers and all the other delegates!

Photo of a wide hall with a glass roof, where a handful of people are shown walking away, with decorative tote bags over their shoulders. From the glass ceiling hang hand-made gold stars, red and blue planets made of painted balloons, and white fluffy clouds with strings of clear beads dangling from them to look like rain. Flanking this hanging display are swoops of gauzy purple fabric, and at the far end of the hall is a line of purple and white bunting.A photo of Neev Academy's main building taken from a high window opposite. The building is modern and multi-tiered, mostly white with a brown upper roof. Immediately in front of it is a curved, paved space along the edge of which grow intermittent trees of different sizes. The foreground area is covered in grass.Photo of a long, brown wooden desk which has been converted into a 'mystery corner'. The letters of MYSTERYiece of paper marked 'Cybersecurity challenges', the text of which is nearly all obscured by black censorship boxes, the only words remaining being 'Threat intelligence', 'murder', 'information released' and 'regards'. Propped on the desk is a card with 'Top Secr have each been printed large on individual papers and pasted on the desk's backboard in order, but mystery-themed elements have been added to each letter. The half-hidden M has been tipped with red at the top. A blue magnifying glass has been added to the Y. A trail of little footprints cross the S. Images and clues linked by string surround the T. Chains entangle the E. There is a scarlet jigsaw piece near the half-visible Y.Partially obscuring the M, a board hangs down, covered in scraps of paper. Some scraps have scribbled notes, such as 'Dead?' or 'murder weapon?' and others have hand-drawn images, including a gun, a bloodied knife, a simple mugshot, a crude map with a snaking road and two mysterious red marks, and a red fingerprint. There is also a pet' in red capitals. To the left of the photo, on the white wall above the desk is a hand-made paper analog clock with red numbers and the time given as half past eleven. The red words 'Running Out of Time' are arranged in an arc surrounding the upper half of the clock. Black paper question marks dangle from the ceiling above the desk. To the right of the clock a poster is attached the wall, with 'WANTED' written at the top in black capitals, and 'BY POLICE' immediately below in smaller, fainter capitals.There is a green chair to the right, mostly tucked under the desk.A photo of two bookshelves at right angles that almost meet in a corner. Both are covered with brightly coloured children's books for a range of ages. Blue signs at the top of each bookshelf say 'Speaker Books'.
@franceshardinge.bsky.social

These may be ugly and weird-looking, but for the first time ever I have edible peaches on my tree! (They're less green than they appear in the photo.) There are more still on the tree, plus others that have been claimed by gravity and wildlife.

Seen from above, a plastic tupperware box on a wooden table contains five greenish, pitted, speckled peaches.
@franceshardinge.bsky.social

Just returned from a week in New York, to coincide with the publication of TRAITORS' NEST in the US! Many thanks to Abrams Books for taking such good care of me, and the wonderful @booksofwonder.bsky.social for hosting the launch! It's been many years since I visited this lovely bookshop...

Indoor view of Books of Wonder bookshop after closing with no people visible. View from the back of the shop looking all the way to the distant front entrance, past shelves filled with brightly coloured children's books, card displays of picture book characters and comfortable-looking seats.Indoor view of Books of Wonder bookshop after closing with no people visible. View between two long shelves filled with brightly coloured books. Short stepladders are visible against the right shelf. Behind the left shelf rise square columns covered with brightly coloured posters.Indoor view of Books of Wonder bookshop after closing with no people visible. Photo shoes three upright bookcases filled with brightly coloured children's books side by side. Over the middle case is a poster in a gold-coloured frame advertising 'Still Life' by Alex London and Paul O Zelinsky.Close up of two shelves of vintage children's books, mostly with leather bindings. A dark blue copy of Hans Christian's Fairy Tales is turned with the front facing out, as is a red-covered edition of George Cruikshank's Fairy Tales. A sticker says that the latter is inscribed by the author.
@edmondsscanner.bsky.socialReposted by @franceshardinge.bsky.social

Don't hide your light from the world. Use it to draw unwary travellers to your lair in the catacombs beneath a crumbling castle, where you can devour them slowly over the next thousand years.

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