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Lillith Sterling | romantasy author

@lilliths.library

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author of The Afterlife Archives—OUT NOW!✨
PA: @diaryofanightlizard
find it on KU & amazon!⤵︎
📚🐦‍⬛🐉⚔️

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Forget judging a book by its cover. Sometimes all it takes is one sentence.

I’ve read a lot of amazing books so far this year, but these 7 had me at the first line. So, if you haven’t picked them up yet, I’m betting this just might convince you.

Which book had you hooked from the very first line?

#Bookstagram #BookRecommendations #RomantasyBooks #bookrecs #Bookquotes bookstagram book lover book recommendations opening lines first lines of books best book openings books that hook you first page book quotes memorable first lines fantasy books romantasy dark romance romance books fantasy romance bookish content books worth reading must read books book lovers reading community readers of instagram book recommendations book aesthetics indie authors book discovery book obsession TBR bookish community morally gray characters enemies to lovers fantasy reader romance reader bibliophile

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Turning something negative into something positive 💜✨

(Hopefully I tagged all of the indie authors!!! I tagged as many as I could think of but if I missed some of yall please forgive me 🙈)

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Happy Friday!! What would be your bookish bachelorette theme of choice? 📖✨

I wanted to finally post my little digital scrapbook of the amazing bookish bachelorette (night court edition) these ladies gave me!!! I truly am so so thankful. I get emotional thinking about what this account and community has brought into my life—the very best of people, girlhood, and immense joy.

And thank you to those who virtually appeared in the best montage of sweet messages ever!! 🥹🩵😭

@molls.bookshelf
@andie_archive
@rachelsreadingera_
@foliofables
@booked.by.alex
@diaryofanightlizard
@xoxo_miri_reads
@mrsriorson69

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👑 QUEST FOR THE CROWN — BRACKET UPDATE 👑

September has officially claimed its champion! The Washwoman at the River’s End by @meganshadeauthor has earned her place in the Quest for the Crown bracket 🌊👑

Nine months, nine winners and now we’re down to just three more champions left before the full 2026 bracket is complete and we crown the overall 2026 winner!

Who are you rooting for to take the crown?

#Bookstagram #QuestForTheCrown #BookBracket #BestBooks2026 #RomantasyBooks bookstagram book lover book bracket Quest for the Crown best books of 2026 favorite books romance books romantasy books fantasy romance dark romance book recommendations reading challenge monthly favorites indie authors ARC reader book community morally grey MMC enemies to lovers fantasy books spicy books reading wrap up book tournament

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hi besties, here’s some cozy recs for your fall tbr ❤️‍🔥
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#bookish #booksta #bookrecs #bookstagrammer #bookishcommunity

my fave indie books I’ve read over the last year! these are all thirsty af and you better be ready to drink.
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#indieauthorsofinstagram #indiebooks #supportindiewriters #bookishreview #bookblog

okay! fall is a vibe, so while not all of these are like FALL, they give me cozy vibes and that was the mission. 🤭❤️‍🔥 #romancebookstagram #cozyreads #cozybookstagram #bookreviewer #romancenovel

a lil darker, a lil more moody, you say? okay babe, try these. #spookyszn #spookybooks #darkromancereads #romancereader #bookworm

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Let’s celebrate our mediocre achievements bc we should take pride in the little things too 💅

My booksta anniversary was 2 days ago. That may not be important to most of the people in my life, but to me, it’s a marker of choosing something for myself for a whole year. I dove into romantasy while struggling with my mental and physical health postpartum with my second child. Those books woke up pieces of me that had been dormant for years. Pieces of me that longed to create, design, and puzzle.

This page brought me some of my closest friends. People I talk to every day. People who have been there for me during some of the scariest moments of my life and the difficult return after. People who traveled across the country to surprise me and love me and continue to do so from afar.

This page also launched me into the world of indie authors, content creation, and PA work. I cannot thank my authors enough for taking a chance on me as I continue to learn and for becoming my friends along the way. Every day I get to create for them is an honor.

So thank you for being here, for being kind, for making me laugh, for enjoying the little creations of a night lizard 🌘✨

If you’ve made it this far, I have lots of cool things coming: an Etsy shop for bookish merch, content packages for authors, a collab with another really cool creator with designs I’m SO excited about, and who knows what else 😘

If you need someone to celebrate the little things with you, I am here 🖤

(all background photos are my own except for slide 5 which is from canva)

#bookish | #booksta | #booktok | #bookstagram

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STAYING DEAD 🖤
by Lillith Sterling

The cover artwork was painted by me in oil on wood panel, commissioned for the book.

#bookcover #darkfantasyart #darkromantasy #bookstagrammer

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This book cover was commissioned by Lilith Sterling for Staying Dead and painted entirely in oil.

It started with Lilith’s ideas, which I turned into a sketch and then transferred onto the canvas. After that came many hours of photographing the painting, color correction, and retouching.

Oil paintings can be tricky to photograph because of the texture. The colors and highlights can look completely different depending on the lighting, so getting the final file ready for print takes a lot of work.

As a graphic artist, I loved being able to combine that experience with traditional oil painting and keep the artwork feeling real and traditional while still creating a clean, finished book cover.

I’m so grateful to Lilith for trusting me with this project and for choosing traditional art for her book.

So yes, please judge this book by its cover.
And hopefully, you’ll give it a chance. I promise it’ll be worth it.

#bookcoverart #bookstagrammer #bookcovers #bookish

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My reaction to books in memes 👀 do you agree with any of these?? ✍️

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5 book girlies go into the woods in Alabama…who comes out?? 😱🔪🩸

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Staying Dead by the talented Lilith Sterling 🖤

I’m so honored to see my cover art on the published book of such a talented new author.

This project took a lot of time and care, from developing the concept to bringing every little detail to life. And somehow, it took me just as long to finally share these photos with you 😅

Lilith, thank you so much for trusting me with your story. I’m incredibly grateful to have been part of this project, and I’ll be keeping this book on my shelf for a very long time.

And yes, I also had the pleasure of reading Staying Dead, and I genuinely loved it.

It has everything I enjoy in a fantasy romance: mystery, magic, secrets, tension, and characters you just want to keep reading about. I loved getting to know Arden and Bayne and discovering this world alongside them.

I’m trying very hard not to say anything that could spoil the story, but if you enjoy romantasy with a darker atmosphere, complicated characters, and plenty of things left to uncover, I really recommend giving this one a chance.

And Lilith... I’m going to need book two. Just saying. 🖤
Congratulations on your debut! I’m so happy I got to be part of it.

#bookcoverart #darkfantasy #oilpainting #bookstagrammer

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Here are the books that I could never rate 5 stars and why. I think it’s important to provide transparency in books so people know what they are getting into 🙂‍↕️

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