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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer

@kitwhitfield.bsky.social

2.8K followers 1.3K following 3.2K posts

Novelist ‘as tart, dark and juicy as a summer pudding’. World Fantasy Award finalist. She/her. Timeline cleanse queen. The Gyrford series: tinyurl.com/nvvetupj Horror reviews: https://tinyurl.com/5cyf7x5v Agent: Sophie Hicks.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · Nov 22

Art by my husband illustrating one of the creatures of my IN THE HEART OF HIDDEN THINGS. (tinyurl.com/nvvetupj)

The brambles had been talking to themselves for a while, but it’s only when someone uprooted one that they started to get really stroppy…

Pen sketch. Spindly bundle of spikes with a blackberry for a head rears up like a mantis. Text caption: ‘Scratchity GOWAY!’

Pen sketch. Skeletal bramble bushes all over spikes hunch like spiders.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 22h

It’s okay, we avenged the insult. WITH OUR TEETH.

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 1d

Halloween horrors! Lunch today: spagh-rat-ti.

Green plate heaped with spaghetti topped with tomato sauce. Three ‘rats’ (molded veggie meatballs) sit atop, their noses buried in a little mound of grated cheese.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 2d

That’s interesting, I hadn’t heard that one!

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 2d

What does it mean in that context? *opens notebook*

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 2d

Hm. I'd forgotten 'hawk', but how do you 'mouse'?

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 2d

Of course! xx

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 2d

Badger I get, but isn't it 'squirrel away'? Or am I unfamiliar with a beautiful new use? xx

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 2d

I was delighted to discover the old proverb 'Don't call the badger a bishop.' Comes from badger-baiting, and basically means 'Just because someone's having a terrible time doesn't mean they're a good person.'

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 2d

Brilliant!

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 2d

How many words are there where the animal stands in for an entire action?

WOLF: to eat quickly
HOG: to grab and keep more than your share

...I can't think of more. We have animal-plus-preposition, like 'rabbit on', but single-word metaphorical verbs? I love them and propose we create more.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 3d

Many of em? That’s a worry. That road wants fencing with iron palings, I fear. Once the People hold a place they don’t let it go.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 3d

Mind you, you might need to bring it in. A chatty beast's harmless enough most of the time, but if it says anything worrying we'd best check the iron of its shoes.

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 3d

Aye, not if you want to land within a mile of where you leaped.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 3d

I wouldn't step within its bounds if I were you. Turn your pockets inside out and walk round it.

#AskAFairySmith

Artist: James Brunt

A forest path with birch saplings either side, the ground thick with brown leaf litter. In the middle, its edges buried under the litter, is an outdoor artwork: concentric circles of bright autumn leaves.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 4d

#booksky #bookqw word: STRONG.

Fairy-smith John meets Toby, a boy considered by his neighbours to be 'touched' because of a fey encounter.

In other news, I come from a neurodiverse family.

Buy here: tinyurl.com/nvvetupj

John drew forward again. He was listening hard now, trying to feel the air. There was something around Toby, a – what was it? A fluster, a tumbling disorder. The boy was fast and strong, there was no question about it, but it was as if the normal pull of the earth didn’t operate on him. Something was blowing him about, gusting him this way and that faster than a common man could follow.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 5d

Are you writing a business book?

Or, more likely if you follow me, have you been approached by someone who wants to write a business book and you haven't the time to help them?

This is just out. It's by a dear friend, and it's great. Check it!

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/191790103...

HOW TO WRITE YOUR BEST BUSINESS BOOK

Buy HOW TO WRITE YOUR BEST BUSINESS BOOK by Russell Johnson, Dr Nicola, Russell, Peter (ISBN: 9781917901031) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 5d

Very easy if you've got the mold! No skill involved. ;-)

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 5d

The funniest part of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES is that Sherlock Holmes is hired by a race scientist whose 'special hobby' is measuring skulls and who writes papers called 'Some Freaks of Atavism' and 'Do We Progress?'...

And the plot turns on a family resemblance he failed to spot.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 5d

Yeah, living in London I get a bit off-balance in white-only places. They feel strange: where’s everybody else?

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 5d

Yes, scraps of light mozzarella briefly microwaved in a silicone mold and then chilled.

Couple of skulls of my tiniest enemies in there too, but mostly mozzarella. The enemies are just for the crunch.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 5d

Spooky salad! By mysterious fate I ended up having 13 skulls per bowl. Coincidence…?

White bowl with a salad of tomato, lettuce and cucumber, with mozzarella pieces molded in skull shapes.

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Reposted by Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer

Stephen G. Rae @stephengrae.bsky.social · 6d

In Cumbrian dialects, 'broc' is badger

Badger is held in high esteem and 'brocan' means wise man. In lore, badgers protect against witchcraft and other evils

more in: Folklore of the Lake District
bardofcumberland.com/folklore/

#NationalBadgerDay #folklore
art: Lily Seika Jones

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 6d

Foxies!

Photo by Minoru Taketazu from his book Kita-Kitsune (Hokkaido Fox), 1974.

Grainy photo in black and white, its roughness accentuating the mist that hangs over the dewy field we see. In the field, three young fox kits leap and play amidst the stalks.

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 7d

‘Psypo’, noun. Portmanteau of ‘psychological’ and ‘typo’. When you know the concept, but as you reach for the word you miss and hit the word next to it.

Eg: ‘You know the anagram IDK?’

‘Do you mean acronym?’

‘Isn’t that what I said?’

‘Nope. Psypo.’

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Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer @kitwhitfield.bsky.social · 7d

Looking for a cool project to support? @julietemckenna.bsky.social’s work is always a delight, and so, personally, is she. Hop on over!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/191...

Update 2: Juliet McKenna on Welsh folklore · They Are Still Here (Maen Nhw Yma O Hyd)

As promised, here is the first of our updates about Welsh history and legend. This one is from Juliet McKenna.I was drawn to the Welsh myths underpinning The Green Man’s Gift for several reasons. Firs...

www.kickstarter.com

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