some notes from
Sylvie Cathrall
(romantic fantasy author, etc)
The Sunken Archive cover illustrations by Raxenne Maniquiz
Website wallpaper is an antique frieze design by Maxwell & Co., circa 1905-1915
a few words of
Introduction
Author portrait by Inês Dinis, 2021
Hello! Thank you for reading my books and/or researching what I’m all about. I’m Sylvie (she/her) and I write romantic fantasy novels for adult readers (like me!) who may wish to reconnect with a sense of whimsy (whatever that means).I suspect that most visitors to this page are here because of my debut novel, A Letter to the Luminous Deep, which was published in 2024 (though I started writing it in 2018!).
The Sunken Archive duology concluded with the publication of A Letter from the Lonesome Shore, but my new “fairy museum romcom” series launched this year with The Art of Charming a Changeling! You can learn more about my various books (or sign up for my newsletter, which almost always discusses my various books) by clicking below...
Alternatively, you can keep scrolling for news and more practical information!I intend to make my website into something that feels halfway between a collection of forgotten documents in a rose-scented drawer and, like...the Geocities page I had when I was twelve.You see, I’ve long felt strange about the fact that I don’t/can’t use social media as an author. So this is my attempt at making a digital presence on my own terms, with a little bit of old-internet flair (and powered by my staunchly anti-AI spirit). I hope you enjoy having a look around!P.S. Please note that this website, as far as I know, does not collect analytics data; I have no desire to monitor how many people visit this page (I think it would just stress me out, honestly).
News
about upcoming books & so forth
The Art of Charming a Changeling cover art by Dawn Cooper
My newest novel, The Art of Charming a Changeling, is the first in a series of fantasy-romances set in a (vaguely) Regency-flavored world of magical museums. My unofficial pitch is “an autistic art conservator falls in love with the fairy who lives in the enchanted painting she’s been restoring; chaos and lots of cute coziness ensues”.It’s more romance-oriented (and much sillier) than The Sunken Archive, but if you liked my duology for its quirky characters, anachronistic tone, incredibly specific sense of humor, and celebration of neurodivergent people finding joy and connection together...then I hope you’ll like this, too.
The Art of Courting a Fairy Knight cover art by Dawn Cooper
Orbit will publish my fourth (!!!) book in April 2027!This second foray into the world of the Commonplace Palace Museum centers on chronically exhausted crossword nerd & fairy knight Aesti, who falls (immediately, to her irritation) for the anagram-adoring Miss Olivine Clement.
how to
Contact Me
for various purposes
Business Inquiries/Blurb Requests/Rights
Please reach out to my agent, Natasha Mihell, at The Rights Factory; these sorts of things are handled through my agency (and I am grateful!).
Events & Misc. Correspondence
Sometimes I do events! Sometimes, I promise! I am open to taking part in virtual events of various sizes and, on occasion, smaller in-person events in the UK. For reference, I live in North Wales, and my timezone is GMT/BST.If you’d like to invite me to participate in an event, please email contactsylviecathrall @ gmail.com.You can also use this address to send me a message for some other reason, though I’m not always able to respond to individual emails (especially because my inbox is overrun with nightmarish AI product pitches!).Still, please know that it means the world to me when I receive messages from real, human readers, and I do actively read every one (often several times over!) ♡
The Sunken Archive
I started writing this eccentric, entirely epistolary duology about unexpected friendship, pen-pal romance, and peculiar marine life in 2018, and I still can’t believe it was published in the first place. This section mostly exists so I can show off the gorgeous covers for both books, but you’ll also find descriptions and purchase links (including for signed copies!) below.For anyone who needs them, I’ve also compiled a list of content notes about this series, which you can access on a separate page by clicking the following button:
A Letter to the Luminous Deep (2024)
“A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other. Together, they uncover a mystery from the unknown depths, destined to transform the underwater world they both equally fear and love. But by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.’s home, and she and Henerey vanish.A year later, E.’s sister Sophy, and Henerey’s brother Vyerin, are left to solve the mystery of their siblings’ disappearances with the letters, sketches and field notes left behind. As they uncover the wondrous love their siblings shared, Sophy and Vyerin learn the key to their disappearance – and what it could mean for life as they know it.”
Where to buy (if you are so inclined):
A Letter from the Lonesome Shore (2025)
“Former correspondents E. and Henerey, accustomed to loving each other from afar, did not anticipate continuing their courtship in an enigmatic underwater city. When their journey through the Structure in E.’s garden strands them in a peculiar society preoccupied with the pleasures and perils of knowledge, E. and Henerey come to accept—and, more surprisingly still, embrace—the fact that they may never return home.A year and a half later, Sophy and Vyerin finally discover one of the elusive Entries that will help them seek their siblings. As the group’s efforts bring them closer to E. and Henerey, an ancient, cosmic threat also draws near…”
Where to buy (if you are so inclined):
some assorted
Content Notes
(may contain “spoilers”)
A Letter to the Luminous Deep
A Letter to the Luminous Deep is, first and foremost, a cozy book about love, letters, and luminous sea life.That said, there are some serious themes amidst the epistolary banter, including the presumptive death/disappearance of siblings, the past death of a parent, grief, descriptions of life with OCD (checking compulsions, reassurance-seeking, and alarming intrusive thoughts), the loss of a family home, emotional manipulation by an academic supervisor, the past loss of a side character’s partner, and internalised ableism.
A Letter from the Lonesome Shore
A Letter from the Lonesome Shore is also a cozy book about love, letters, and luminous sea life!But things get a bit dramatic at times as this duology draws to a close, and some major themes of note include separation from loved ones, panic attacks (described on-page), description of life with OCD (checking compulsions, reassurance-seeking, and alarming intrusive thoughts), the loss of a family home, grief, internalised ableism, emotional manipulation by an academic supervisor, a magically-induced loss of skill, and, um, the threat of apocalypse...
some assorted
Content Notes
(may contain “spoilers”)
The Art of Charming a Changeling
If you’ve read my other books, I think you’ll find that the stakes are way lower in this one!My recurring villain of ableism (both internalised and otherwise) does make appearances throughout, in various ways. At one point, the protagonist experiences an intense meltdown which is described, briefly, on-page. There’s also some discussion of her experience with dermatillomania. And, uh, in a Sylvie Cathrall first, a fade-to-black passionate encounter occurs in one (1) chapter towards the end of the book. It’s pretty gentle and described rather vaguely, but if that’s not your thing, feel free to skip it!
The Art of Courting a Fairy Knight
This is another VERY silly romance novel, but it is also, I hope, an uplifting story about navigating romance while living with PTSD (specifically, medical PTSD from a life-saving yet traumatic operation that happened years before the events of the book).The focus is not the traumatic event itself, but how it has affected this individual’s life and emotions (e.g. her sense of disconnection from her body after surgery, her struggles with dissociation, and the way that the most seemingly mundane things can trigger unbearable memories). The challenges of enjoying physical intimacy as someone with body-related PTSD are also explored (as this book, like the first one, also has a fade-to-black love scene towards the end).I guess I also have to mention that this character often responds to triggers or upsetting situations by turning herself into a sculpture (because this is, after all, a book about fairy art museums). Coincidentally, a mysterious art thief has threatened to steal this same sculpture from the museum: it’s all a very ridiculous misunderstanding and she’s never in any real danger, but the sculpture does get temporarily abducted before this misunderstanding is cleared up.Of course, the ultimate arc of this book is about two people finding comfort and safety together as they fall in love, and it’s the sort of cozy read that would have really meant a lot to me when I was in the early stages of my own recovery.
Pigments & Paramours
I loved writing The Sunken Archive, but creating an epistolary series set in an underwater world with Much Intrigue involved was a little exhausting! Because I adore light-hearted romance novels, I decided that I wanted to try writing some of my own...and, in doing so, (mis)apply the knowledge I once gained from completing an M.A. in art history.And the Pigments & Paramours series, starting with The Art of Charming a Changeling, was the result!For anyone who needs them, I’ve also compiled a list of content notes about this series, which you can access on a separate page by clicking the following button:
The Art of Charming a Changeling (2026)
“On her first day working in the prince's galleries, art conservator Florrie Hyverfell discovers that the most famous portrait in the collection is not only a fake—it’s also inhabited by Vern, a fairy trapped in the forged painting.Tracking down the stolen original is the only way for Florrie to save her job and for Vern to escape his canvas. Yet as they journey to a famed fairy museum to find the missing artwork, Florrie finds herself taking more than an art historical interest in the changeling painting’s charming inhabitant...”
Where to purchase (if you would like to):
The Art of Courting a Fairy Knight (2027)
“Lady Aestival Violet, a Fairy knight of the Gallery Order, has no time for romance: she’s far too busy solving puzzles and pacing the halls of the Commonplace Palace Museum. She certainly daren’t indulge herself by, say, courting the fetchingly clever Miss Olivine Clement, a museum visitor who shares her love of wordplay and heist novels...”
Where to purchase (if you would like to):
& coming soon
The Art of [To Be Revealed!!!!] (2028)
There will be one more book in this series...I’ve already written it, so I can tell you with authority that it’s the silliest one yet. We’ll follow one more couple around the Commonplace Palace Museum and also reunite with many returning characters as the series draws to a close. More to come next year!