Halfway through the year (and almost through the kitchen) — Ella J. Smyth Newsletter, July 1 2026
Halfway through the year (and almost through the kitchen) A kitchen, a manuscript, and the Holly King walks in. View in browser Hey there, My husband and I are fitting an IKEA kitchen. We are so close to being done that I can almost hear the dishwasher running. Units are leveled, the work surface […]
Pop quiz, gorgeous — Ella J. Smyth Newsletter, June 16 2026
Pop quiz, gorgeous A quiz, a giveaway, and YES that is who Honi looks like in my head. Plus dark reads from fellow PNR authors. View in browser Hey there, Writing Update Spirit Warrior is in edits. The draft is done, and now I’m back to polishing each sentence, making sure it says what […]
Your e-reader called. It’s hungry.
Hey there, Quick one from me today. A bunch of us dark romance and PNR authors got together for a one-day deals event, and I wanted to make sure you saw it before it’s gone. Deals & New Releases For one day only, a group of authors (yours truly included) are bringing you ebook deals, […]
You asked, I answered
Hey friend, It’s the middle of May and Ireland has apparently not received the memo. My kitchen garden is out there cowering under another wave of showers, and I’ve got the heating on like it’s February. I’ve abandoned my usual black tea for peppermint and green tea with ginger, which feels like a seasonal betrayal, […]
This playlist has been open since 2017
This playlist has been open since 2017 A hundred songs and the emotional crutch of writing to music The playlist started the week I drafted the first chapter of Spirit Hunger. I needed something that sounded like running through a forest at night, and Spotify handed me Faux Tales’ “Atlas,” which was close enough. I […]
Spirit Elfen is live 😍
Hey there, If you’ve been following the saga of our 1860s house renovation, here’s the latest: the new kitchen is plastered and ready for painting. Sounds great, right? I’d forgotten how physically hard it is to paint a large room. I can just about reach the top of our 14-foot walls with an extension pole, […]
Why a 14th-century manuscript and a 180-foot hole inspired Spirit Elfen
Why a 14th-century manuscript and a 180-foot hole inspired Spirit Elfen What I found in a Heidelberg library and on a hill near the castle The Codex Manesse is a 700-year-old book of love songs with strange creatures painted across its pages. And the Heidenloch is a pit on a hill outside Heidelberg, Germany, 180 […]
I’m about to walk through the set of my own book
I’m about to walk through the set of my own book Back in the city where Spirit Elfen lives Spirit Elfen is set in Heidelberg. I’ve been proofreading it for months. This week I’m flying back to Germany to see my mom, and Heidelberg keeps living in two places at once: on the page, where […]
Ella’s dark shelf: 3 books that kept me up past midnight
Hey there, I’m back from Germany. It was a whirlwind of a trip, in on Monday and out on Friday, and most of it was either driving or sitting with my mom. Almost no writing happened, and that wasn’t really the point of going. She’s doing well, but she didn’t want to go outside, which […]
Five questions for Honi (he answered four) 🖤
Hey there, I’m in Germany this week to visit my mom. After the stretch of cold, wet weather we’ve been having in Ireland, a few days of spring sunshine and warm temperatures are going to feel like a reward. My mom can’t walk anymore, so the best version of this trip is me getting her […]