Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 10h

Anyway, not my circus, not my monkeys, I don’t even go here, etc.

Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 10h

I don’t know if studying the humanities makes you a more empathetic or kind person, but it at least pushes you to actually engage with culture/society/history beyond the service of your individual wanting. (i.e. “How will studying this degree earn me money and success?”)

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 10h

I don’t regret studying English for one minute. Aside from Mandarin, it was by far the most intellectually taxing component of my education.

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 10h

I don’t really know where to start with this, except to say that higher education should not be solely intended to produce better employees, but more competent thinkers and problem solvers.

Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 12h

Calling English a 'rip-off degree' is one of the most blatant exhibitions of personal barbarism I've ever seen. You've demonstrated nothing but the poverty of your own mind.

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 1d

The box is all pastel colours and “🌸gentle, soothing care🌸” and I am like ?????????

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 1d

Reddit, weighing in with advice for first-time users of this device.

Reddit user helpfully suggesting: “A bottle of whiskey and a wooden stick or a piece of robe to put between your teeth.” (Probably meant “rope”)

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 1d

Previously, I had thought myself tough and resilient. I have been divested of this delusion.

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 1d

I tried an epilator for the first time, and hahahahahaha, shiiiiiiitttttt.

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 1d

You know what? Have a landscape too.

Big sky with wispy clouds over flatlands. In the distance, mountains.

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 2d

Have a flower.

A single yellow flower growing close to the red, rock-strewn ground.

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Reposted by Kerstin Hall

sunyi @handle.invalid · 2d

Happy Mid Autumn Festival! 🥮 I’m thrilled to share the cover of #TheGirlWithAThousandFaces, coming 5 May 2026 from @torbooks.bsky.social! ⭐⁣The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a Chinese-Gothic tale set in a historical Hong Kong.

Cover art by Lindsey Carr, Cover design by Shreya Gupta

A ghostly Chinese woman with dead white eyes stares out from a stylised black and green ocean, her face surrounded by billowing gold foam

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW NOVEL FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE BOOK EATERS

A haunting dark urban fantasy set in a historical Hong Kong, where ancient myths and local legends combine in a story of ghosts, grief and women who will not forgive.

Mercy Chan is a triad exorcist with a mysterious past. After washing up on the shores of Hong Kong with no memory during World War II, she found a home in Kowloon Walled City, an infamous, ghost-infested slum full of lost and traumatised civilians. Since the war ended, Mercy has rebuilt her life and found work as a ghost-talker for the local triad, dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt this place.

But the past she can’t remember won’t let her go. An unusually powerful ghost lurks in Kowloon’s waterways, drowning innocents and threatening the district. Unnervingly, it claims to know Mercy—and her forgotten childhood.

As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with this malignant spirit, she begins to realise that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making.

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Reposted by Kerstin Hall

Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 3d

Wanna see a man get squelched?

Solaris Books @solarisbooks.bsky.social · 3d

Heads up UK Readers! Ahead of us bringing @kerstinhall.bsky.social 's ASUNDER to the UK in January 2025, did you know that you can dip into the first two chapters over at Reactor?

First Chapter bit.ly/4pR7rtu
Second Chapter bit.ly/4pR7rcY

Preorder: geni.us/asunder

Read the First Chapter From Kerstin Hall's Asunder - Reactor

Sabriel meets Witch King in Kerstin Hall's new standalone fantasy.

bit.ly

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Reposted by Kerstin Hall

P H Lee 🪬 @p-h-lee.bsky.social · 3d

ngl the early squelching really sold me on asunder.

Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 3d

Wanna see a man get squelched?

Solaris Books @solarisbooks.bsky.social · 3d

Heads up UK Readers! Ahead of us bringing @kerstinhall.bsky.social 's ASUNDER to the UK in January 2025, did you know that you can dip into the first two chapters over at Reactor?

First Chapter bit.ly/4pR7rtu
Second Chapter bit.ly/4pR7rcY

Preorder: geni.us/asunder

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 3d

Feels like I could workshop this further.

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 3d

“Want to see a woman doom herself with the best of intentions?”

“Want to see a dishevelled man being surprisingly chill about his own mortal peril?” (Not the squelched one, different man, significant upgrade.)

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 3d

I’ll come up with a stronger pitch later.

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 3d

Wanna see a man get squelched?

Solaris Books @solarisbooks.bsky.social · 3d

Heads up UK Readers! Ahead of us bringing @kerstinhall.bsky.social 's ASUNDER to the UK in January 2025, did you know that you can dip into the first two chapters over at Reactor?

First Chapter bit.ly/4pR7rtu
Second Chapter bit.ly/4pR7rcY

Preorder: geni.us/asunder

Read the First Chapter From Kerstin Hall's Asunder - Reactor

Sabriel meets Witch King in Kerstin Hall's new standalone fantasy.

bit.ly

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 4d

Boots!

kat (she/they) @katkale.bsky.social · 4d

Had this realization about three of my favorite fantasy novels I've read this year: Asunder by @kerstinhall.bsky.social, The Last Hour Between Worlds by @melissacaruso.bsky.social and The Witch Roads by @kateelliottsff.bsky.social. All of them also have queer characters :) #booksky

A venn diagram featuring three fantasy novels. In one circle is the cover of "Asunder" by Kerstin Hall, in the second circle is the cover of "The Witch Roads" by Kate Elliott, and in the last circle is the cover of "The Last Hour Between Worlds" by Melissa Caruso. Where the circles of Asunder and The Witch Roads overlaps is text reading, "Terrifying eldritch beings and blood magic." Where the circles of Asunder and The Last Hour Between Worlds overlaps is text reading "Charming and incorporeal love interests." Where the circles of The Witch Roads and the Last Hour Between Worlds overlaps is text reading, "MC travels perilously for a living." Where the circles of all three books overlaps is text reading "Appreciation for a good pair of boots." End description.

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Reposted by Kerstin Hall

kat (she/they) @katkale.bsky.social · 4d

Had this realization about three of my favorite fantasy novels I've read this year: Asunder by @kerstinhall.bsky.social, The Last Hour Between Worlds by @melissacaruso.bsky.social and The Witch Roads by @kateelliottsff.bsky.social. All of them also have queer characters :) #booksky

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Reposted by Kerstin Hall

Kate Dollarhyde @katedollarhyde.bsky.social · 5d

my excellent agent @dongwon.bsky.social is open for submissions! if you've got an epic fantasy or horror novel looking for a thoughtful, determined advocate with a keen editorial eye, you couldn't find a better agent for it

DongWon Song @dongwon.bsky.social · 6d

Hello! I'm open to unsolicited submissions for the first time in ages...

Looking for: Adult Epic Fantasy and Horror only

Guidelines are here: www.dongwonsong.com/submission-g...

Submission Guidelines — DongWon Song

www.dongwonsong.com

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 6d

I think we can achieve a bipartisan state of exasperation. 😌

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 6d

I was feeling dejected, so I sent my sister my incomplete manuscript.

She finished the whole thing in one evening. Which, on the one hand: encouraging! on the other…fucking pace YOURSELF, that took me a year and a fucking half to write, what do you MEAN you‘re already done? Chew your food!!

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Reposted by Kerstin Hall

Hiron Ennes (Works of Vermin out 10/14/25) @hironennes.bsky.social · 7d

Starred review on Bookpage for THE WORKS OF VERMIN:

"A mystery that only improves upon rereading... Equal parts disturbing and moving, The Works of Vermin takes both Ennes’ world building and craft to the next level."

www.bookpage.com/reviews/the-...

Book review of The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes

Equal parts disturbing and moving, The Works of Vermin explores a fantasy city infested by magical pests—including an enormous, poisonous centipede.

www.bookpage.com

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Reposted by Kerstin Hall

Reactor Magazine @reactorsff.bsky.social · 8d

None of this would be happening if I had an enormous cursed sword

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 8d

Something lovely to look forward to in May.

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