Lucy Holland: ‘Women have always written speculative fiction novels’
BY Emily Powter-Robinson
6th Aug 2024
Lucy Holland is the bestselling author of Sistersong, a finalist for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award and the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 2022. Her second historical fantasy novel Song of the Huntress was published earlier this year. Writing as Lucy Hounsom, she is the author of the Worldmaker Trilogy. Her first book Starborn was shortlisted in the 2016 Gemmell Awards for Best Fantasy Debut.
We’re delighted to be welcoming Lucy to our tutor team. She will lead our new nine-week Writing Fantasy course, with Zoom lessons, workshops and tutorials.
We caught up with Lucy to discuss what first sparked her love for the fantasy genre, how she incorporates magic into her worldbuilding, the inspiration behind her award-winning intersectional feminist podcast ‘Breaking the Glass Slipper’, and what she enjoys about teaching creative writing.
When did you first discover your love for the fantasy genre?
When my sister and I were small, my father read to us. The classics – Tolkien, Aldiss, Wells – and even if I couldn’t understand every word, the heavily archetypal nature of this genre seeped into me. As a troubled teen, I found comfort in the pages of favourite books. Garner, McKillip and Le Guin, the Dragonlance Chronicles – these are what kindled a lifelong love for the genre. It was during this time I realised I wanted to write. For me, fantasy and the act of writing are inseparable. I cannot imagine storytelling without elements of the epic, the fantastic. I will always live with one foot in the Otherworld.
Your latest novels Sistersong and Song of the Huntress are partially inspired by folk tales from ancient Britain. How do you approach the balance between researching history and mythology with your own unique imaginings and reinventions when creating a new fantasy world?
I search for the gaps between facts. This is the no.1 tip I give to writers interested in tackling historical fantasy. Integrating fantastical elements into historical or established settings is easier when you find insufficient evidence to explain away a certain event or situation. It’s vital that my magical elements feel organic, that the magic makes sense in context, and that its nature is part of the weave of the era. I always build upon what’s already there, such as the tension that existed between the pagan traditions of the tribal Britons and incoming Christianity.
Writing as Lucy Hounsom, you are also the author of the Worldmaker Trilogy which has a magic system where Wielders draw on the sun and moon for their power. Do you have any advice for writers working out the rules of their own magic systems?
Build in limitations because magic can be plot-breaking. With the magic system of Worldmaker, it was important for me to set some basic rules early on. Magic is not just about working miracles. Its presence or absence will shape your society – especially if it is a power reserved for a select few. It extends beyond the individual into things like social class, religion, economics, the history of your world. Saying that, I always allow myself to be surprised and give the magic system space to develop alongside the plot.
When you’re planning a new novel, do you start from a character, an imagined world, or something else entirely?
It is almost always character. You can build the most fabulous and intricate world, but without compelling people to interact with it – and each other – it will be no more than a wasteland. I am a discovery writer. Journeying alongside my characters is how I come to understand them – much as it’s necessary to spend quality time with people you want to get to know.
It’s safe to say that fantasy books, and particularly those in the romantasy subgenre, are really having their moment! This has largely been down to the influence of BookTok and cult online followings. Why do you think that books within the fantasy genre are particularly popular with the TikTok audience?
While I’ll argue with anyone who labels fantasy as a purely escapist genre, its archetypal nature does offer an easy path into the realm of once upon a time, the heart of story itself. The place we go when we imagine, when we ask, ‘what if?’ I believe it was Alan Garner who described fantasy as an intensification of reality. It certainly speaks in a universal language and offers an arena in which to explore real-world issues and concepts that might be less comfortably discussed outside a fantastical context. I think it is this universality that makes it a popular genre on BookTok.
Alongside writing, you also co-host the award-winning feminist podcast Breaking the Glass Slipper, which looks at women in genre fiction. How did you get into podcasting and what is your favourite part about it?
BtGS was born in the aftermath of a blog post by the author Juliet E. McKenna, lamenting the state of so-called ‘Best of’ lists that cited a token female author or – in dire cases – entirely lacked them. Women have always written speculative fiction novels. Mary Shelley could well be said to be one of the pioneers. My co-hosts and I were tired of the un-discoverability of women writers and the lack of marketing they received compared to male contemporaries. We wanted to redress the balance by discussing themes of gender in speculative fiction and by interviewing female authors. I had no podcasting experience when we began the show in 2016, or skills in audio editing, but I learned as I went along. Today, we try to champion marginalised creators – feminism is intersectional – and although we prepare questions in advance, my favourite part is always the tangents we encourage our guests to pursue. On more than one occasion, I’ve come away with ideas that influence my own creative work.
If you could recommend three books for a reader who is looking to get into the fantasy genre, what would they be?
Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip is a retelling of the Tam Lin ballad. The fantasy is lyrical and very gentle. It is one of my favourite books of all time. I would also recommend any of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. His energetic and unpretentious prose is immediately accessible, and his comedic style hides some astute and sympathetic observations about human nature. If you are unafraid of big books, give Samamtha Shannon’s Roots of Chaos series a go. As well as sweeping storytelling, these books have a wonderfully diverse cast of characters. Everyone deserves to see themselves and their identities reflected in the stories they read.
We’re so excited about your new Writing Fantasy course. What do you enjoy about teaching creative writing?
I take enormous joy in hearing the ideas people come up with in creative exercises. Every time I’ve run my historical fantasy workshop, I’ve been astonished at the imaginative power displayed in short 5-10 minute writing sessions. Teaching is never one-sided. It’s a conversation, a collaboration. I hope to learn from my students, just as they do from me. And I’m excited to help them develop their ideas into brilliant books that take the fantasy genre to new heights.
Work on epic fantasy fiction with dedicated online teaching and feedback from British Fantasy Award-winner and bestselling author, Lucy Holland.