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Bethan James

@thebethanjames

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Writer ✍️, Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿, Twin 👭
Marketer for an online library 📚
Lit agent: Harry Illingworth 📖
X & TikTok: thebethanjames📲

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Spreading the love for some of my fave urban fantasy reads! ❤️📚

They feature an inventive mix of mythology, supernatural beings, and crime-solving, all colliding with the everyday hustle of gritty cityscapes. (Something I’m working on weaving into my own Welsh-inspired WIP).

Have you read any of these too? 👻🔮

✨The Library of the Dead by @tendaihuchu - I rooted hard for ghosttalker Ropa, as she attempts to solve a murder in a spooky, alt-history Edinburgh using her Zimbabwean magic. Excited for the new book coming up. Brilliantly sinister, and also reflects on class systems within the occult world.

✨ Rivers of London by @baaronovitch - my first dip into the genre years ago, and what an iconic series! Real world policing meets a host of off-beat creations, including the city’s personified river spirts, as police officer Peter Grant hunts a supernatural criminals with his mentor Inspector Nightingale. Madcap, funny, and gripping.

✨ The Girl with a Thousand Faces by @sunyidean : so much depth to this atmospheric Hong-Kong set story. It features Mercy Chan, who’s lost her memories, and her ghost-cat companion, alongside other folklore, while exploring themes like inherited family trauma and the many ways we can be haunted. Beautifully written.

✨The Last Smile in Sunder City by @longlukearnold - Last, but certainly not least! I discovered this series quite recently, and devoured them all one go. I was blown away by how original the concept is. Think a Pratchett-esque world but where all the magic has vanished, with a hard-boiled detective-ish spin (and a dose of wit). I’ve recommend this to a ton of people. “Man for hire” Fetch Phillips is vividly drawn, charming, messy, and complicated… I can’t wait for his next journey!

Anything else you’d recommend? 👀

#bookstagram #urbanfantasy #bookworm taken in Wales, UK by @thebethanjames

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4 months ago

😍❤️Seeing red…. Here are a few of my fave books I’ve read in May so far! ❤️😍

📚The Ending Writes Itself by @evelynclarkewrites (Aka @veschwab and @catclarkewriter ) - a murder mystery unfolds as six struggling authors compete for a life-changing book deal on a remote Scottish island, with dose of publishing industry satire thrown in.

📚Murder at the Orient Hotel by @alessandra_ranelli - a spicy twist on the Golden Age whodunnit, set in a real life Viennese love hotel.

📚The Bone Door by @franceswhiteauthor - a fantasy novel where a boy Hop wakes in an ancient labyrinth, and must team up with his new companions to escape through a series of realms and trials.

Published in the U.K. by @hqstories , @baskervillejmp and @michaeljbooks

What books have kept you gripped this month? Feel free to drop me a comment! 👇 taken in Wales, UK by @thebethanjames

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5 months ago

Happy St David’s Day / Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

This national day of Wales has huge cultural significance here, so I decided to share two of my favourite books on Welsh myth in tribute 🐉:

📚Enchanted Wales: Myth and Magic in Welsh storytelling
📚The Celtic Myths: A Guide to Ancient Gods and Legends.

Both are by the Cardiff University professor Miranda Aldhouse-Green and published by @uniwalespress @calonbooks . They’ve been great inspiration for my work-in-progress speculative crime novel. ✍️

How familiar are you with Welsh myths? Any faves? Let me know in the comments!
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#HappyStDavidsDay #Wales #Cymru #amreading #bookstagram taken in Wales, UK by @thebethanjames

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7 months ago

Here’s a book for #spookyseason - anyone else read Plant Lady? 🪏🪴

I bought this novel from @thehauntedbookshop_bristol and read it one sitting on a train trip. It’s part horror, part crime, part mediation on female rage from South Korean author Minyoung Kang.

I loved the parallels between the florist’s tender, meticulous care of her plants, and the careful way she “prunes” the men who’ve wronged her female customers (while evading a suspicious detective).

Beautiful decriptions of flowers contrast with brutal murders and characters traumatic backstories. It’s also bleakly comic at times.

A must-read if you’re looking for something dark, deadly and an outlet for society’s injustices. 🖤🌹

Published by @doubledayukbooks and translated by Shanna Tan.

#halloweenreads #crimefiction #bookstagram #bookworm taken in Wales, UK by @thebethanjames

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5 days ago

💡✍️Where does your inspiration come from?

The Welsh word “Awen” is often loosely translated as “inspiration”, but the meaning is deeper than that. It can also refer to the divine muse of creative inspiration, and has a semi-mystical power.

In tribute, here are three books I recommend to help writers (and other creatives) get inspired, spark ideas, and connect with their ✨Awen✨:

🔮The Alchemy by @bookwormvaught6 - a guide to gentle productivity for writers. It offers practical help for navigating the creative path and habits, especially for those who face challenges ranging from chronic illness to caring responsibilities.

🔮Big Magic by @elizabeth_gilbert_writer - something of a manifesto from this bestselling author about how to live creatively beyond fear. She shares wisdom on #inspiration and how to embark on your creative dreams.

🔮Magic Maker by Pam Grossman (@phantasmaphile) - a fascinating look at the enchanted path to creativity. Pam explores how famous writers and artists from history have taken a magical approach to their work, and shares insights on how you can use it to enhance your own practice. (Including spell casting and divination).

What’s inspiring you at the moment? 💡

#Inspiration #creativeLife #bookstagram #writingadvice WritingCommunity by @thebethanjames

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2 months ago

And that’s a wrap on a fun and inspiring 3-week writing sabbatical! 📝 It was amazing to have so much focused time to get creative, including:

🔮Iridescence conference for SFF writers — plus a mini DHH literary agency catch-up with Anna Stephens & Jenni Coutts, and a British Fantasy Society members meet up.

📝 A writing retreat at the stunning @gladstoneslibrary , the UK’s only residential library, where I worked on novel edits.

📚A group sleepover at the @poetry_pharmacy_ bookshop, with an all-nighter of writing workshops, feasting, and arty nocturnal magic. You MUST visit one of their 3 enchanting shops.

Excited for whatever my next chapter/ adventure will be…
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#bookstagram #WritingCommunity #amwriting #poetry by @thebethanjames

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6 months ago

📚Last week, I went on a writing retreat to the stunning @gladstoneslibrary in North Wales - the UK’s only residential library.

(Yes, you really do stay in a historic site amid a collection of 150,000+ books!).

I was busy editing my speculative crime novel, and also got stuck into this gem by @mdbell79 from @soho_press :

“Refuse to be done: how to write and rewrite a novel in three drafts” 📝

👉Check out my reel for some of Matt’s top editing tips!
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#amwriting #AmEditing #writingretreats #bookstagram #WritingCommunity nonfiction taken in Gladstone's Library by @thebethanjames

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7 months ago

🎃Happy Halloween!🎃

Can you guess the books from their special edition spredges!? Watch to reveal these eerie page turners… 👻📚

#halloween #bookstagram #amreading #bookworm #fantasybooks #horrorbooks #sff #booklover #bookrec #spredges #bookcover #booktok taken in Wales, UK by @thebethanjames

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a year ago

Back from a phenomenal time in #Japan exploring the @setouchi_triennale art islands festival with @mfjames88! 🎨🍜🌊☀️

So many amazing memories full of rich culture, delicious food, lovely people, glorious weather and more.

Was such a “bucket list” item to visit #Naoshima island and see the work of one of my fave artists, #YayoiKusama (including her iconic coastal pumpkins).

A few other highlights were the once-in-a-generation #OsakaExpo, relaxing over matcha at the teahouse in Ritsurin (the largest garden in Japan), and eating fresh sashimi sitting on tatami mats after exploring the artworks on Ogijima island.

We also walked through the rice terraces and olive groves of Shodoshima - unwinding with hot spring “onsen” in the evenings.

A total dream and I’m already planning a return trip! ❤️🇯🇵

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#setouchitriennale #setouchigram #artphoto #sculpture #takamatsu #ritsuringarden #pumpkin #osaka #japanesefood #japantravelphoto #ogijima #shodoshima #foodlover #foodpics #travelgram #holidayinspo #travelling taken in Japan by @thebethanjames

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a year ago

Missing @harrogatefestivals #TheakstonsCrime Writing Festival already! 🔍❤️📚

Highlights included:

🔍 Main stage special guests Attica Locke, Val McDermid, and Mick Herron (LOVE Slow Horses)
🔍 A fabulous DHH author lunch at the Ivy, & murder mystery dinner party with our table hosted by AJ West
🔍 Stellar panels, such as lawyers turned writers defending fictional villains
🔍 A speculative crime line-up including fave of mine, @baaronovitch
🔍Meeting fellow crime fic lovers!
🔍 Tons of free proofs, samplers and prizes

(Also squeezed in a trip to York, home to the incredible “Criminally Good Books” shop ✨📖).

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#booklover #bookworm #crimefiction #thrillers #crimenovels #bookstagram #amreading #amwriting #bookfestival #literaryfestival taken in Harrogate, North Yorkshire by @thebethanjames

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a year ago

Here’s my reveal of what’s inside the goody bag I picked up yesterday for @theakstonbrewery’s Crime Writing Festival @harrogatefestivals 👀📚

🔍SPOILER: Expect tons of fabulous free book proofs and samplers within…
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#theakstonscrime #bookfestival #crimefiction #amreading #booklover #bookworm #bookstagram #bookhaul #unboxing #SilentBones taken in Harrogate, North Yorkshire by @thebethanjames

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a year ago

Thank you @thedreamingretreat in the lush forests of mid Wales for an enchanting weekend of…✨

🌱Connecting with nature
🧘‍♀️meditating
🎨 crafting
🥙feasting
🔥storytelling
🎧silent discos at dawn
💗connecting with others
🔮magical vibes and more

A truly memorable retreat full of inspiration (or as we say in Welsh “Awen”) and self discovery. 🙏

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#meditation #storytelling #nature #outdoors #forestbathing🌲🌲🌲 #crafting #retreats #wellbeing #travelgram #selfdiscovery #selfcare taken in The Dreaming Retreat by @thebethanjames

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a year ago