A question posed by @franceswrites.bsky.social during a long industry discussion. Can you think of a SFF book in the past 5 years which was a breakout success, WITHOUT being a) in a crate; b) from an established author; c) an indie success ported to trad? Cause we were struggling.

I just finished The Bone Door by @franceswrites.bsky.social. This book was beautiful. It was dark and heavy, especially with children as main characters. But there is a thread of love and hope and friendship throughout, carried by the protagonist - a bundle of sunshine repressing horrible secrets.

🚢👻 @mkhardywrites.com 's THE HAUNTING OF AVIS LOVELOCK sets sail soon! #📚💙 What did @kjcharleswriter.com @everinamaxwell.bsky.social @rainewilson.bsky.social @freyamarske.bsky.social @johannavanveen.bsky.social @susanjmorris.bsky.social @franceswrites.bsky.social & co. think? https://geni.us/avisl

The Bone Door by Frances White is a trauma fantasy that turns a memory labyrinth into emotional horror. It's about grief, healing, and learning to live with wounds that never close. @unstablebooks.bsky.social @franceswrites.bsky.social https://gnofhorror.com/the-bone-door-review-trauma-fantasy/

The Fantastical Horror Of Frances White’s The Bone Door - The Ginger Nuts Of Horror: Horror Book Reviews & Horror Movie Reviews

Frances White’s The Bone Door is a trauma fantasy of grief and healing. Our review explores its haunting emotional horror.

gnofhorror.com

The Bone Door by Frances White is a trauma fantasy that turns a memory labyrinth into emotional horror. It's about grief, healing, and learning to live with wounds that never close. @unstablebooks.bsky.social @franceswrites.bsky.social gnofhorror.com/the-bone-doo...

And finally, trapped and facing horrifying trials with THE BONE DOOR by @franceswrites.bsky.social and THE SEA HIDES ITS DEAD by @megbontra.bsky.social, chaired by @lynseymay.com at @cymerafestival.co.uk

And my final panel of the weekend is @franceswrites.bsky.social and Megan Bontrager in conversation with @lynseymay.com - an excellent ending to a superb festival.

The Bone Door is @franceswrites.bsky.social's newest novel; you can get a signed hardback copy of it AND her fantasy murder mystery Voyage of the Damned here: www.32auctions.com/organization...

Signed hardback copies from Frances White

Auction item 'Signed hardback copies from Frances White' hosted online at 32auctions.

32auctions.com

I have shiny new books coming (they're just not announced yet), but before they do, I'm going on an adventure to self-publishing land with my fantasy romance, A Sport of Wings. All the details - so far - are here: anna-stephens.com/2026/05/27/n...

New Horizons

There has been A LOT going on in the background over the last two years. The Dark Feather, book 3 of Songs of the Drowned, came out in March 2024 and the paperback in February 2025. I have, of cour…

anna-stephens.com

@franceswrites.bsky.social: "I wanted to make the book hopeful, & the best way of making that work is by putting it up against something really dark." And now The Bone Door is on my to-read list too, because this is an approach to stories I love.

Stayed up 2 hours past my bedtime to finish reading The Bone Door and spent like the last hour just ugly crying. @franceswrites.bsky.social I was utterly riveted by this book. It’s so beautiful and so human. Absolutely unique world you built, and oh these babies! I just wanted to hug them all.

Reading this right now and it’s so good and utterly compelling (I actually scored an ARC but had a deadline and couldn’t finish it before release so also have the fancy deluxe edition)

#NewSwag @goldsborobooks.bsky.social exclusive signed and numbered edition of 'The Bone Door', written by @franceswrites.bsky.social #BookSky

My copy came in! THE BONE DOOR by Frances White is GORGEOUS 😍 It is also a fantastic read. #thebonedoor @franceswrites.bsky.social #fantasybooks #horrorbook

The Bone Door by @franceswrites.bsky.social! I loved this book. A horror escape room with a lot of trauma and a whole lot of wholesomeness. The foreword of the book is: For those who have the strength to be kind, even when the world is not. My full review is here: www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Marie Brennan@swantower.bsky.social · 5mo ago

This is your periodic reminder that word of mouth moves more books than any formal advertising! I invite you to rec something you've recently enjoyed -- preference for the stuff that's *not* already extremely well-known and talked about everywhere.

A beautiful evening under the sunlit Edinburgh Castle listening to @franceswrites.bsky.social in conversation with @hanfrankan.bsky.social at Waterstones Edinburgh - check out THE BONE DOOR, out now!

🗝️🐇The Bone Door UK Tour 🐇🗝️ The first event for The Bone Door tour is in literally a week! So I’ve brought together all the times and places you can catch me over the next month or so! I will have tour exclusive swag with me (including The Bone Door tote bags) while stocks last.

🗝️🐇The Bone Door UK Tour 🐇🗝️ The first event for The Bone Door tour is in literally a week! So I’ve brought together all the times and places you can catch me over the next month or so! I will have tour exclusive swag with me (including The Bone Door tote bags) while stocks last.

I really loved @franceswrites.bsky.social's debut Voyage of the Damned, so I'm stoked for her upcoming The Bone Door: billed as a wild ride through humour, horror, magic and murder, as Hop wakes up with no memory in a mysterious labyrinth with a set of impossible tasks... Out in May! 💙📚🪐

Out next month, The Bone Door by Frances White is one of my favourite books of the year. It is, quite simply, a glorious thing and you should buy a copy. espressococo.com/2026/04/17/t... @michaeljbooks.bsky.social

The Bone Door by Frances White

When Hop awakens in an ancient labyrinth, he has no memory of his life, or how he got here. He does not recognise the mysterious girl trapped with him. And he certainly cannot identify the shadowy …

espressococo.com

My account on here appears to have been hacked. I have sorted it now but please ignore any DMs sent from my account!

I am SO excited to be appearing at Edge-Lit 2026! This is a full circle moment as I first attended Edge-Lit as a querying author at the very peak of my hopelessness of ever getting published. Now I’m returning many years later with two books published and a guest of honour. Truly so special!

Happy #TransDayofVisibility! These are a handful of the many trans books that have made my life better in recent years. In them, trans characters get to be all the things cis characters have ever gotten to be, and that's the world I want to live in. Mom hugs going to all who need them today.🌈📚💙

In light of a certain TERF-authored HBO series getting more press lately, here are better stories you can read: LGBTQ+ friendly books w/ magic, witches, fantasy, etc! I could go on and on with more slides honestly—I love this genre, and there are SO MANY fabulous books out there.🌈📚💙

This review is everything. Thank you so much!! ☺️

Ed Crocker@edcrockerbooks.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🦴🚪 New review! 🚪🦴 The Bone Door by @franceswrites.bsky.social "A contender for my favourite book of the year... this remarkably ambitious fantasy horror is an enema of the emotions that destroys and nourishes in equal measure."

💀 ✨ THE BONE DOOR UK TOUR ✨ 💀 I am SO excited to announce a line up of events to celebrate the release of The Bone Door in the U.K.! I really hope to see a bunch of you there. Meeting readers is my favourite thing ever and of course I will come with ALL THE FREEBIES.

Attention UK readers! The Bone Door, a horror fantasy escape room novel is now available on NetGalley UK! Go forth and request!! www.netgalley.co.uk/catalog/book...

The Bone Door by @franceswrites.bsky.social will be published in May by @michaeljbooks.bsky.social A story about ‘trauma, friendship & hope’ with a boy called Hop who finds himself in an ‘unsettling labyrinth where he must complete impossible tasks to survive.’ I’m looking forward to this!

Ahhh! It’s happening! My horror fantasy escape room novel, The Bone Door, is now available to request on NetGalley US! If you’ve ever said ‘boy, I wish I could just read something DIFFERENT, ya know?’ This may well be the book for you. 👀 www.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

Yesterday I had an “office party” with some of the best colleagues and friends imaginable. Thanks @elizachanwrites.bsky.social , @franceswrites.bsky.social , and @sarahbrooks.bsky.social for touring York with me. (Mainly through drinking mulled wine and having a publishing chat in a pub!)