Celia Lake
@celialake.bsky.social
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/
I'm especially in awe of how she's managing a wide time range (starting in 1459, I'm currently in 1470, and we're obviously going to 1485), and an immense cast.
And the ways she builds tension, even though I know what's coming in terms of events.
(More comments to come when I'm done reading.)
And the ways she builds tension, even though I know what's coming in terms of events.
(More comments to come when I'm done reading.)
December 9, 2025 at 12:57 AM
I'm especially in awe of how she's managing a wide time range (starting in 1459, I'm currently in 1470, and we're obviously going to 1485), and an immense cast.
And the ways she builds tension, even though I know what's coming in terms of events.
(More comments to come when I'm done reading.)
And the ways she builds tension, even though I know what's coming in terms of events.
(More comments to come when I'm done reading.)
This is book 3 in my 'read some relevant historical fiction and fantasy about the Wars of the Roses project this month.
Sharon Kay Penman is brilliant. (And her introduction to the 2012 edition is fascinating on the authorial level.)
bsky.app/profile/celi... for context.
Sharon Kay Penman is brilliant. (And her introduction to the 2012 edition is fascinating on the authorial level.)
bsky.app/profile/celi... for context.
A brief explanatory thread about why at least some of my content is going to be All Wars of the Roses, All The Time for a bit.
(There will be other topics! I know me. But also I have an ambitious project I'm working towards.)
(There will be other topics! I know me. But also I have an ambitious project I'm working towards.)
December 9, 2025 at 12:57 AM
This is book 3 in my 'read some relevant historical fiction and fantasy about the Wars of the Roses project this month.
Sharon Kay Penman is brilliant. (And her introduction to the 2012 edition is fascinating on the authorial level.)
bsky.app/profile/celi... for context.
Sharon Kay Penman is brilliant. (And her introduction to the 2012 edition is fascinating on the authorial level.)
bsky.app/profile/celi... for context.
Medieval/Renaissance Studies and Music (double major, music focused on theory/composition.)
Master's in Library and Information Science.
I do actually use the skills from the Med/Ren degree a whole lot in both day job (research librarian) and writing - the interdisciplinary work was very relevant!
Master's in Library and Information Science.
I do actually use the skills from the Med/Ren degree a whole lot in both day job (research librarian) and writing - the interdisciplinary work was very relevant!
December 8, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Medieval/Renaissance Studies and Music (double major, music focused on theory/composition.)
Master's in Library and Information Science.
I do actually use the skills from the Med/Ren degree a whole lot in both day job (research librarian) and writing - the interdisciplinary work was very relevant!
Master's in Library and Information Science.
I do actually use the skills from the Med/Ren degree a whole lot in both day job (research librarian) and writing - the interdisciplinary work was very relevant!
Random 'how on earth can you hurt like that, I didn't do anything' aches. (The shoulder seizing, specifically, is a pretty common one for peri: muscles reacting to less hormones, I think.)
The weird one was 'spot behind the ball of my foot that felt like a bruise and wasn't'.
The weird one was 'spot behind the ball of my foot that felt like a bruise and wasn't'.
December 7, 2025 at 5:51 AM
Random 'how on earth can you hurt like that, I didn't do anything' aches. (The shoulder seizing, specifically, is a pretty common one for peri: muscles reacting to less hormones, I think.)
The weird one was 'spot behind the ball of my foot that felt like a bruise and wasn't'.
The weird one was 'spot behind the ball of my foot that felt like a bruise and wasn't'.
I'm a woman of a certain age (just turned 50) who has been online since just after the endless September and saw plenty of "here's where you live" stalking before I'd been online for 2 years (so, like, by 1996.)
Then I worked in education, acquired more disabilities, and well...
Then I worked in education, acquired more disabilities, and well...
December 7, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I'm a woman of a certain age (just turned 50) who has been online since just after the endless September and saw plenty of "here's where you live" stalking before I'd been online for 2 years (so, like, by 1996.)
Then I worked in education, acquired more disabilities, and well...
Then I worked in education, acquired more disabilities, and well...
This account? Pen name, as an author.
(What I say with my pen name on, about my life, is true! But it's not the whole truth, I avoid particularly identifying details, etc.)
Elsewhere online? Persistent pseudonym I've used for 20+ years and answer to vastly better than my legal name.
(What I say with my pen name on, about my life, is true! But it's not the whole truth, I avoid particularly identifying details, etc.)
Elsewhere online? Persistent pseudonym I've used for 20+ years and answer to vastly better than my legal name.
December 7, 2025 at 2:49 AM
This account? Pen name, as an author.
(What I say with my pen name on, about my life, is true! But it's not the whole truth, I avoid particularly identifying details, etc.)
Elsewhere online? Persistent pseudonym I've used for 20+ years and answer to vastly better than my legal name.
(What I say with my pen name on, about my life, is true! But it's not the whole truth, I avoid particularly identifying details, etc.)
Elsewhere online? Persistent pseudonym I've used for 20+ years and answer to vastly better than my legal name.
One of my key requirements when car shopping this time last year was 'does not require a step stool for me to clear the top'.
(It also had the little side railings that made pushing side to side tricky and meant I could never reliably see if I'd actually got all the ice.)
(It also had the little side railings that made pushing side to side tricky and meant I could never reliably see if I'd actually got all the ice.)
December 7, 2025 at 1:26 AM
One of my key requirements when car shopping this time last year was 'does not require a step stool for me to clear the top'.
(It also had the little side railings that made pushing side to side tricky and meant I could never reliably see if I'd actually got all the ice.)
(It also had the little side railings that made pushing side to side tricky and meant I could never reliably see if I'd actually got all the ice.)
It is an exceedingly excellent edit.
December 4, 2025 at 1:51 AM
It is an exceedingly excellent edit.
The little neck one is the only thing that gets at some neck tension for me.
(Exactly the wrong spot on the skull to put pressure on it, and I live by myself. The cat is alas unhelpful on this point. Points.)
But five minutes on the floor, adjusting the knobby bits every minute or two? Best.
(Exactly the wrong spot on the skull to put pressure on it, and I live by myself. The cat is alas unhelpful on this point. Points.)
But five minutes on the floor, adjusting the knobby bits every minute or two? Best.
December 3, 2025 at 4:15 AM
The little neck one is the only thing that gets at some neck tension for me.
(Exactly the wrong spot on the skull to put pressure on it, and I live by myself. The cat is alas unhelpful on this point. Points.)
But five minutes on the floor, adjusting the knobby bits every minute or two? Best.
(Exactly the wrong spot on the skull to put pressure on it, and I live by myself. The cat is alas unhelpful on this point. Points.)
But five minutes on the floor, adjusting the knobby bits every minute or two? Best.
And Griffin in Facets of the Bench is a most-of-the-time chair user, for folks looking for that. Occasionally ambulatory with crutches or canes. (MF romance in 1927)
celialake.com/book/facets-...
(Both of them also make appearances in other books as minor characters including Shoemaker's Wife.)
celialake.com/book/facets-...
(Both of them also make appearances in other books as minor characters including Shoemaker's Wife.)
December 3, 2025 at 4:10 AM
And Griffin in Facets of the Bench is a most-of-the-time chair user, for folks looking for that. Occasionally ambulatory with crutches or canes. (MF romance in 1927)
celialake.com/book/facets-...
(Both of them also make appearances in other books as minor characters including Shoemaker's Wife.)
celialake.com/book/facets-...
(Both of them also make appearances in other books as minor characters including Shoemaker's Wife.)
Historical fantasy romance here!
Golshan in Casting Nasturtiums (in the Winter's Charms collection - on sale in December!) is paraplegic due to a Great War injury. (MMF friends to lovers polyamorous romance in 1919.)
www.celialake.com/book/casting...
Golshan in Casting Nasturtiums (in the Winter's Charms collection - on sale in December!) is paraplegic due to a Great War injury. (MMF friends to lovers polyamorous romance in 1919.)
www.celialake.com/book/casting...
December 3, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Historical fantasy romance here!
Golshan in Casting Nasturtiums (in the Winter's Charms collection - on sale in December!) is paraplegic due to a Great War injury. (MMF friends to lovers polyamorous romance in 1919.)
www.celialake.com/book/casting...
Golshan in Casting Nasturtiums (in the Winter's Charms collection - on sale in December!) is paraplegic due to a Great War injury. (MMF friends to lovers polyamorous romance in 1919.)
www.celialake.com/book/casting...
My current main setup is a Mac Mini and a 32" monitor (needed more screen space than a iMac.)
I love it. I did bump the RAM to 32 GB on principle, but it's great for my needs. (Writing, formatting, having a zillion tabs open, some of them with large files, occasional non-demanding gaming.)
I love it. I did bump the RAM to 32 GB on principle, but it's great for my needs. (Writing, formatting, having a zillion tabs open, some of them with large files, occasional non-demanding gaming.)
December 2, 2025 at 7:44 PM
My current main setup is a Mac Mini and a 32" monitor (needed more screen space than a iMac.)
I love it. I did bump the RAM to 32 GB on principle, but it's great for my needs. (Writing, formatting, having a zillion tabs open, some of them with large files, occasional non-demanding gaming.)
I love it. I did bump the RAM to 32 GB on principle, but it's great for my needs. (Writing, formatting, having a zillion tabs open, some of them with large files, occasional non-demanding gaming.)
I had my first two weeks ago. Vaguely achy, definitely out of it, took two long naps over the next 2 days, but no worse symptoms other than a sore arm / redness. Hydration helps a lot!
(Anecdata from friends was that about half found the first one worse, and half the second.)
(Anecdata from friends was that about half found the first one worse, and half the second.)
December 2, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I had my first two weeks ago. Vaguely achy, definitely out of it, took two long naps over the next 2 days, but no worse symptoms other than a sore arm / redness. Hydration helps a lot!
(Anecdata from friends was that about half found the first one worse, and half the second.)
(Anecdata from friends was that about half found the first one worse, and half the second.)
December is me reading fiction partly to give my brain a break before the next big research push.
But also because 'figuring out how to write a different historical period than I've been doing' is a thing, and so is 'boy is this chaos, how do people describe the chaos in vaguely useful ways?'
But also because 'figuring out how to write a different historical period than I've been doing' is a thing, and so is 'boy is this chaos, how do people describe the chaos in vaguely useful ways?'
December 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
December is me reading fiction partly to give my brain a break before the next big research push.
But also because 'figuring out how to write a different historical period than I've been doing' is a thing, and so is 'boy is this chaos, how do people describe the chaos in vaguely useful ways?'
But also because 'figuring out how to write a different historical period than I've been doing' is a thing, and so is 'boy is this chaos, how do people describe the chaos in vaguely useful ways?'
Anyway, glad I reread! (There are bits that do feel dated, but not horrifically 'the suck fairy has ruined it' for me.)
Next up: the book that introduced me to Richard III and historical contraversy: Elizabeth Peters' The Murders of Richard III.
Next up: the book that introduced me to Richard III and historical contraversy: Elizabeth Peters' The Murders of Richard III.
December 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Anyway, glad I reread! (There are bits that do feel dated, but not horrifically 'the suck fairy has ruined it' for me.)
Next up: the book that introduced me to Richard III and historical contraversy: Elizabeth Peters' The Murders of Richard III.
Next up: the book that introduced me to Richard III and historical contraversy: Elizabeth Peters' The Murders of Richard III.
There's something tremendously endearing about how offended Grant is about a lot of what turns up. As he points out, it absolutely wouldn't stand up in court.
(And wow, can you see some people's motives for their actions from orbit. Some of this is absolutely not subtle, historical people.)
(And wow, can you see some people's motives for their actions from orbit. Some of this is absolutely not subtle, historical people.)
December 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
There's something tremendously endearing about how offended Grant is about a lot of what turns up. As he points out, it absolutely wouldn't stand up in court.
(And wow, can you see some people's motives for their actions from orbit. Some of this is absolutely not subtle, historical people.)
(And wow, can you see some people's motives for their actions from orbit. Some of this is absolutely not subtle, historical people.)
A lot of the book is about how history is condensed, and how that runs from 'leaving a lot out' to 'utterly inaccurate'.
Grant ends up with a research assistant, and most of the book is the two of them talking about what Carradine has found in the latest round of visits to the British Library.
Grant ends up with a research assistant, and most of the book is the two of them talking about what Carradine has found in the latest round of visits to the British Library.
December 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
A lot of the book is about how history is condensed, and how that runs from 'leaving a lot out' to 'utterly inaccurate'.
Grant ends up with a research assistant, and most of the book is the two of them talking about what Carradine has found in the latest round of visits to the British Library.
Grant ends up with a research assistant, and most of the book is the two of them talking about what Carradine has found in the latest round of visits to the British Library.
(What we know now about Richard's scoliosis is different than what Tey knew at the time!)
But there's also some evidence Richard's great-grandfather Edmund of Langley had significant arthritis. Yes, I am now very interested in the relevant history of the rest of that line of family...
But there's also some evidence Richard's great-grandfather Edmund of Langley had significant arthritis. Yes, I am now very interested in the relevant history of the rest of that line of family...
December 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
(What we know now about Richard's scoliosis is different than what Tey knew at the time!)
But there's also some evidence Richard's great-grandfather Edmund of Langley had significant arthritis. Yes, I am now very interested in the relevant history of the rest of that line of family...
But there's also some evidence Richard's great-grandfather Edmund of Langley had significant arthritis. Yes, I am now very interested in the relevant history of the rest of that line of family...
Historically interesting portraits. Where - you can see where this is going - he is particularly struck by Richard III.
One of the things that fascinated me on the re-read is the discussion of disability here: it's not a focus, but there's conversation about the signs of living with pain.
One of the things that fascinated me on the re-read is the discussion of disability here: it's not a focus, but there's conversation about the signs of living with pain.
December 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Historically interesting portraits. Where - you can see where this is going - he is particularly struck by Richard III.
One of the things that fascinated me on the re-read is the discussion of disability here: it's not a focus, but there's conversation about the signs of living with pain.
One of the things that fascinated me on the re-read is the discussion of disability here: it's not a focus, but there's conversation about the signs of living with pain.
Alan Grant (Scotland Yard detective inspector) is stuck in hospital after a bad injury. The book opens with him grumpily commenting on the books people have brought him as suitable reading for an invalid, in a range of genres.
Fortunately, a friend gets someone to hunt up a series of portraits.
Fortunately, a friend gets someone to hunt up a series of portraits.
December 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Alan Grant (Scotland Yard detective inspector) is stuck in hospital after a bad injury. The book opens with him grumpily commenting on the books people have brought him as suitable reading for an invalid, in a range of genres.
Fortunately, a friend gets someone to hunt up a series of portraits.
Fortunately, a friend gets someone to hunt up a series of portraits.