Ruth Frances Long, also known as R.F. Long and Jessica Thorne, (20 April 1971) is an Irish author who writes in the fantasy and romance genres. Her novel, The Stone's Heart by Jessica Thorne, was nominated for the Romantic Novelists' Association Fantasy Romantic Novel award. Her latest series, The Hollow King, began with Mageborn, while she has also had several individual novels published.[1][2][3]

Ruth Frances Long
Born(1971-04-20)April 20, 1971
Dublin, Ireland
Pen name
  • R.F. Long
  • Ruth Frances Long
  • Jessica Thorne
OccupationWriter
NationalityIrish
Genreromance, fantasy, young adult, paranormal romance
Website
rflong.com

Biography edit

Ruth Long is a Dublin-born writer of fantasy novels, novellas and short stories, both for adults and young adults. She completed a M.A. in English Literature and also studied History of Religions and Celtic Civilisation. Long has always been interested in fantasy, romance and ancient mysteries. Along with writing, she is a librarian working initially in the County Dublin library system. Long is now head librarian for a private specialized library of rare and unusual books.[1] She currently lives in Wicklow.

Long originally wrote novels and novellas as R.F. Long. The Scroll Thief, Soul Fire, The Wolf's Sister, The Wolf's Mate & The Wolf's Destiny were republished in 2019.[4]

Her first novel as Ruth Frances Long was The Treachery of Beautiful Things in 2012, a 10th anniversary edition was released in 2022.[5] She then released The Dubh Linn trilogy beginning with A Crack in Everything, which was published each year beginning in 2014.[6][7][8]

Long signed with digital publisher Bookouture for the publication of fantasy novels, beginning with The Queen's Wing series written under the pen name Jessica Thorne.[9][10]The Stone's Heart was nominated for the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Fantasy novel of the year.[11] Thorne's duology The Hollow King began in February 2020 with Mageborn.[2] Long has since had several standalone novels published under this name.

As Jessica Thorne, Long wrote the Tomorrowland tie in novel[12] The Rise of Adscendo published June 2023.[13] Her newest fantasy series has been picked up by Bookouture and is due beginning in 2024.[14]

Awards edit

  • In 2015 Long won the Spirit of Dedication Award for 'Best Creator of Children's Science Fiction and Fantasy' for A Crack in Everything from the European Science Fiction Society (ESFS), announced at the 37th Annual European Science Fiction Convention (Eurocon 2015) in St. Petersburg, Russia.[8][15]

Bibliography edit

R.F. Long edit

Short stories edit

  • Elements appeared in Flashing Swords' Summer Special (2008)
  • Carrying Keptara in the Hadley Rille Books Anthology Ruins Metropolis (2008)
  • The Wrecker's Daughter in the Fall issue of Ocean Magazine (2008)

The Holtlands edit

  • The Wolf's Sister (2008)
  • The Wolf's Mate (2009)
  • The Wolf's Destiny (2011)

Novels edit

  • The Scroll Thief (2009)
  • Soul Fire (2010)
  • Songs of the Wolf: Tales of the Holtlands (2010) (collection of the novellas The Wolf's Sister and The Wolf's Mate)

Ruth Frances Long edit

  • The Treachery of Beautiful Things (2012)

The Dubh Linn series edit

  • A Crack in Everything (2014)
  • A Hollow in the Hills (2015)
  • A Darkness at the End (2016)

Jessica Thorne edit

  • The Lost Girls of Foxfield Hall (March 2021)
  • The Bookbinder's Daughter (September 2021)
  • The Water Witch (August 2022)
  • The Rise of Adscendo ' (June 2023)
The Queen's Wing
  • The Queen's Wing (November 2018)
  • The Stone's Heart (February 2019)
The Hollow King
  • Mageborn (February 2020)
  • Nightborn (May 2020)

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Official Website". Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Bookouture re-sign contracts with Kate Hewitt and Jessica Thorne". Bookouture. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  3. ^ "RNA". RNA. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  4. ^ Long, R.F. (2019). The Wolf's Sister: A Tale of the Holtlands, Book One. Tale of the Holtlands. Independently Published. ISBN 978-1-0907-0558-7. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  5. ^ Long, Ruth Frances. The Treachery of Beautiful Things: 10th anniversary edition.
  6. ^ "Going Dark |".
  7. ^ "What are you currently working on? — Ruth Frances Long Q&A". www.goodreads.com.
  8. ^ a b "Book Trade". Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Bookouture Signs Commercial Fantasy Novels from Author Jessica Thorne - Bookouture". Bookouture.com. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Jessica Thorne". Rflong.com. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Meet the Contenders for the Fantasy Romantic Novel Award 2020 – RNA". RNA.
  12. ^ "Tomorrowland". www.tomorrowland.com.
  13. ^ The Rise of Adscendo (1st ed.). Tomorrowland. ISBN 9789464752007.
  14. ^ Nash, Kim (27 July 2023). "Bookouture - Bookouture re-sign Dawson, Hokin, Kerr and Thorne". Bookouture.
  15. ^ "Writer awards". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 April 2015.

Further reading edit

Claire Hennessy (1 December 2016). "YA, romance, fantasy: RF Long's much maligned influences". Irish Times. Retrieved 1 December 2016.

External links edit