Queen of Grimdark

I had a wonderful time talking about A Sword of Gold and Ruin and all kinds of things with @noorajahangir.bsky.social , who is one of the most insightful SFF interviewers around.

YouTube video by Noor A Jahangir Essence of Grimdark #grimdark

@annasmithspark.bsky.social shares her thoughts on Grimdark
youtube.com/shorts/JaNZm...

@bethkesh.bsky.social is this something to do with you?

When you've got 130 words to write to reach your day's writing target, and it's going well and you're really enjoying it .... but somehow if someone offered to take all your teeth out without anesthetic you'd eagerly agree if it meant you could stop writing for the day.

I had wonderful time talking to @alisonbaker01.bsky.social about children's fantasy literature, magic and loss this morning. A really interesting conversation. And now I want to reread all the books we discussed.

I absolutelyived her books as a child but couldn't remember her name. I fear I will now have to buy them all.

The Apple and The Pearl by Rym Kechacha — Runalong The Shelves I would like to thank Titan for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review Publisher – Titan Published – out now Price – £9.99 paperback £7.99 ebook As dawn br...

I was very impressed by The Apple And The Pearl by Rym Kechacha www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2026/2/...

And Malinin gets the role for his spectacular throwing it all away at the last.

(Yes I am watching on catch up.)

Men's figure skating... why have I only discovered this now? Several hours of men auditioning to be Marith. I could watch this sport forever.

Image shows SFF authors Mark Lawrence, Anna Smith Spark and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Wrong answers only.

A very happy bookday to @rymkechacha.bsky.social whose beautiful, hauntlng novel
about ballet, love and magic is published today by @titanbooks.bsky.social

The winner is Elizabeth Tenny-Domansky. Thank you so much to everyone who entered and wished me a happy birthday.

Snowdrops in bloom in the gardens of Anglesey Abbey this morning. Perfect inspiration for my current work in progress.

www.blackgate.com/2026/01/29/d...

'If Lewis Caroll’s Alice lived within Little House on the Prairie, infected by Silent Hill, you would experience A Sword of Bronze and Ashes!'
A SWORD OF BRONZE AND ASHES has a lovely profile in Black Gate.
Link in comments below.

For those in the Bishop's Stortford area, I'm running a three-session creative writing course at Belle's Place (the lovey new shop in The Dells opposite Cafe Thyme) in February to March. Obviously I write fantasy, but it's for anyone who's interested in starting to write in any genre.

Flame Tree Myth and Fiction Podcast Lnk.Bio · link in bio Flame Tree Myth and Fiction Podcast Lnk.Bio · link in bio - Profile and social media links for Flame Tree Myth and Fiction Podcast

lnk.bio/flametreepod...

I discuss ... actually I can't even remember, all kinds of things and probably ramble horribly, on the latest Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast, recorded at World Fantasy Convention 2025. Link in the first comment below.

I have official reached my 'difficult to categorise' era!

A superb 'I have no idea whether they liked it or hated it' review from Locus Magazine.

#booksky #books #fantasybooks #mythology #folkhorror #folklore

'This is what I love about Anna Smith Spark’s work - her ability to develop and explore themes in a rich fantasy setting [...] That and her prose, which can be richly descriptive and as delicate as a watercolour, but also bone-jarringly powerful.'

Concatenation on A SWORD OF GOLD AND RUIN
#booksky

www.concatenation.org/frev/smith-s...

A SWORD OF GOLD AND RUIN by Anna Smith Spark (BOOK REVIEW) | Fantasy-Hive TO Munro returns to the world of Anna Smith Spark's folkloric fantasy A Sword of Bronze and Ashes in its sequel A SWORD OF GOLD AND RUIN

'a nexus of literary fiction, mythic storytelling, and a journey for redemption [...] weirdness of Norse folklore full of feasting halls, disguises, impossible combats and magically deceptive appearances'
A wonderful review of A SWORD OF GOLD AND RUIN
#booksky 📖🔥🔥🔥
fantasy-hive.co.uk/2026/01/a-sw...

Interestingly, I see grimdark as often intensely lyrical - Bakker, Erikson, Moorcock - and link the genre back to poetic literature such as the Iliad, the Eddas and the Ulster Cycle in its aesthetic. My love for the genre reflects my love for the language and themes of such works.

Oh, thank you! It's my least grimdark work (the sequel is darker and sadder), written as a counterpoint to my intensely grimdark Empires of Dust series and the semi-sequel A Woman of the Sword which also features a warrior mother and children in amu much more grimdark setting.

My dad writes modernist poetry, but I'm not sure exactly what he's working on at the moment. I'm writing a folk horror high fantasy series set in a world saturated with folk magic, so Cunning Folk will be extremely helpful.

I very much enjoyed writing my short story in this - a very different take on my current series The Making of This World Ruined.

One year all the adult men in my family exchanged copies of the latest Ian M Banks.

Oh goodness, hello @magicnotwitches.bsky.social! Yes, I bought my dad your book as research for his poetry WIP, and he bought me your book as research for my novel WIP. My mum, who is neither a poet nor a novelist but does manage the household budget, may have had some thoughts.

Some are very familiar! I bought my dad Cunning Folk for Christmas, I already own Lost Realms, and what the photo cleverly conceals is a second copy of Echolands.

Yes!