As our new Up-and-Coming Bookstagrammer of the week, @fionasfairytales will take you on a journey through diverse genres and cozy aesthetics as she talks about life, cats, and most importantly… books! Join us as we ask Fiona about her Instagram page and some of her favorite parts of the bookish community.
Fiona of @fionasfairytales
Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | X
Let’s get into it!
Why did you start your Bookstagram?
I started my Bookstagram in early 2020, after moving home from college during the beginning of the pandemic. I had fallen back in love with reading and had recently discovered my passion for writing, so I sought out Bookstagram as a community and space with common interests. That year was incredibly lonely for so many people, but having a place to make online friends and gush about books was like a bright light in all the dark. Being an introvert and growing up a bookworm, I always hid my bookish side. But on Bookstagram, I finally didn’t feel out of place anymore!
Where are you from?
I’ve lived in a small town in the foothills of Southern California for the last five years, and it feels like my home now, bears and all. Though, I’ll never quite get used to the heat — I feel like a Californian husky. But I’ve moved around for most of my life, so long story short: born and raised in Minnesota until I was 9, relocated to Maryland, and then spent all four years of high school in Jordan, which I now consider my second home!
What do you want your Instagram to bring to the world?
I want my Bookstagram to be a cozy resting place for anyone who needs it, including me. As a Queer reader and writer, I try to highlight diverse books and authors, and I hope that LGBTQIA+ folks can find a little bit of a community on my page. In stormy times, you need a lighthouse to look to, and I know that, for me, even YouTubers and Bookstagrammers can be like little lightkeepers when I need them to be. It’s my hope that I can be that for other readers and writers!
What’s a fun fact about you?
I was a competitive indoor rock climber as a child and had dreams of making it to the Olympics. While I’ve since opted for the gentler pursuits of writing and publishing, I still rock climb and stay up to date with the World Cup Series and climbers (no, I’m totally not jealous of them, why would you even ask that?).
What are some of your favorite Bookstagrammers?
One of my book besties, @itslivdarling, has such a cozy Bookstagram! As a fellow Fantasy superfan, I love seeing all the books she reads and writes. I’m also a huge fan of @taylorslilbooks on both Instagram and YouTube! Some other favorites include @theartofgoldsorrow and @robinn.l.
What are your favorite books and authors?
At the moment, my top favorites are the Emily Wilde books by Heather Fawcett, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, and The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater — I’d recommend them to anyone! Beyond that, anything by Holly Black or Cassandra Clare; A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers; Legendborn by Tracy Deonn; and The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. On the romance side, I love Ana Huang and Hannah Grace’s books. And of course, classics like those by Tolkien! I can’t choose, and the list is always changing!
Who is your fictional crush?
I haven’t even watched House of the Dragon yet, but for Emma d’Arcy’s sake, I have to say Rhaenyra Targaryen. Guilty pleasure confession: I have a deeply twisted thing for Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha (I know, I know!) and I hate to admit it, but I’ve read a little too much fanfic about him. And I can’t go without mentioning my childhood crush and Queer awakening, Arwen Undómiel.
What’s on your TBR?
It’s longer than I can even put into words, but at the top of my TBR are: Starling House by Alix E. Harrow, the Beartown series by Fredrik Backman, and One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig. Some of my most anticipated upcoming releases are Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling, The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean, A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft, and Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma. And I also just checked out the Clementine graphic novels by Tillie Walden, Road to Ruin by Hana Lee, Gwen & Art Are Not In Love by Lex Croucher, and Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli from the library!
What’s your special approach to content?
The only ‘special’ approaches I can say I have are engaging as much as possible with followers and other Bookstagrammers, always being authentic to myself and my taste, and trying to mix my reader side and my author side for my content to appeal to both of those communities.
What’s your aesthetic/Instagram page theme?
I’ve tried and failed too many times to find a theme or aesthetic for my page, but I’d say I always land somewhere between bright and cozy.
How often do you post?
I don’t have any set schedule at the moment, but I’m aiming for three-four posts per week with a mix of photos and videos. I used to post every day or even twice a day, but I no longer have the time or energy for that, unfortunately!
What does your Bookstagram mean to you?
My Bookstagram is one of the only places I can feel totally and completely myself. It represents the last four to five years of my life and how much I’ve grown, as a person, writer, and reader. And I hope one day it will represent my author’s journey to publication! It is truly a little online book club for me, and it’s a huge outlet for me to find friends, build community, and express myself.
What’s your favorite bookstore?
My favorite bookstore is Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, California. They started in 1894 and are now my happy place! I visit multiple times a month, perusing every shelf on their two floors. They have amazing SFF and YA/Children’s sections, which are where I spend most of my time when I’m there. I also have the fondest memories of Wild Rumpus Books in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I spent so many hours of my childhood there, perusing their enchanted shelves full of books for young readers. Best of all, they have a little family of furry, feathered, and scaly creatures (their “Wild Things”) who live in the bookstore full-time!
Who would you have supply you with a lifetime of books?
I’d either raid the shelves of a Fantasy author like Samantha Shannon, or I’d commission the booksellers at Vroman’s to curate a lifelong TBR for me!
Which author would you want to take a selfie with?
This is a tough one! I already met (from a distance) one of my lifelong favorite authors, Cassandra Clare, last year, so I’ll go with Holly Black! She’s a huge inspiration to me as a writer, and her books have been such a comfort to me over the last few years. I’d love to meet her and take a selfie (plus, get my collection of her books signed!).
What’s your favorite book cover?
Oh, I have so many. The UK covers of the Emily Wilde trilogy and the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy have to be my top favorites. I’m also obsessed with the cover of These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low, which is on my TBR! And I have a soft spot for the newer paperback covers of all the books in Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings universe. I love how worn and shiny they look, and I am especially obsessed with how floppy they are IRL. Gotta love a floppy paperback!
What book have you claimed to have read that you didn’t?
I definitely stole my dad’s copy of War and Peace and pretended to have read it within a few days as a young kid. A total lie, but I admire Little Reader Me’s ambition!
When did you know you had made it as a Bookstagrammer?
I definitely don’t feel like I’ve made it as a Bookstagrammer, and I don’t think I ever will. I love how tight-knit my community feels, and I think that even if I had 100,000 followers, I’d still hope for it to feel like that. My only brush with celebrity was when one of my Reels got over 420,000 views, and boy, was I overwhelmed!
Do you have any advice for aspiring Bookstagrammers?
If you’ve been wanting to start a Bookstagram but are afraid, just do it! Try it! You can even be anonymous. But I promise you’ll find amazing friends and will never regret it. Find other Bookstagrammers you love and engage with them; see what you like about their content, and find your own unique way to build on that for your own page. Engage with your followers and other Bookstagrammers. And don’t be afraid to make your own niche in the Bookstagram space — people will find you and love you for it!
Make sure you check out Fiona’s bright and magical Bookstagram page for all the bookish content and latest recommendations that you need!
You can check out our article about our last featured Bookstagrammer here!
Check out some of our other Bookstagrammer’s favorite picks on our Bookstagrammer Picks bookshelf on Bookshop.org!
