Ruth Frances Long, also known as R.F. Long and Jessica Thorne, (20 April 1971) is an Irish author who writes in the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

and

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

genres. Her novel, ''The Stone's Heart'' by Jessica Thorne, was nominated for the

Romantic Novelists' Association The Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) is the professional body representing authors of romantic fiction in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1960 by Denise Robins (first president), Barbara Cartland (first vice-president), Vivian Stua ...

Fantasy Romantic Novel award. The latest series is ''The Feral Gods'' as Ruth Frances Long, which begins with ''The Book of Gold'' from Hodderscape. This novel was on the 2024 Locus Recommended reading list. The sequel, ''The Lore of Silver'' comes out in November 20th, 2025.

Biography

Ruth Long is a

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

-born writer of fantasy novels,

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

s and

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

, 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. She currently lives in

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

. 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. Her first novel as Ruth Frances Long was ''The Treachery of Beautiful Things'' in 2012, a 10th anniversary edition was released in 2022. She then released The Dubh Linn trilogy beginning with ''A Crack in Everything'', which was published each year beginning in 2014. Long signed with digital publisher

Bookouture Bookouture is a British digital publishing company. It was founded in 2012 by Oliver Rhodes, a former marketing controller for Harlequin/Mills & Boon. Bookouture is notable for growing its e-book sales dramatically, and for having several of its ...

for the publication of fantasy novels, beginning with The Queen's Wing series written under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Jessica Thorne.''The Stone's Heart'' was nominated for the

Romantic Fantasy novel of the year.

Awards

* 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 The European Science Fiction Society (ESFS) is an international organisation of professionals and fans who are committed to promoting science fiction in Europe and European science fiction worldwide. The organisation was founded at the first Euro ...

(ESFS), announced at the 37th Annual European Science Fiction Convention (Eurocon 2015) in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Bibliography

R.F. Long

Short stories

*''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

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

Novels

*''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

*''The Treachery of Beautiful Things'' (2012)

The Dubh Linn series

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

The Feral Gods series

*''The Book of Gold'' (Hodderscape), (2024) *''The Lore of Silver'' (Hodderscape), (2025)

Jessica Thorne

*''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) ;The Lost Queen Series * ''A Touch of Shadows'' (September 2024) * ''A Kiss of Flame'' (September 2024) * ''A Crown of Darkness'' (October 2024)

References

External links

*
Top 10 Romance Fiction for Youth 2013O'Brien Press Ltd.Agent's Official Site
*
Writing.ie Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Ruth Frances 21st-century Irish novelists Irish fantasy writers Irish women novelists 1971 births Living people Women science fiction and fantasy writers 21st-century Irish women writers Irish romantic fiction writers Women romantic fiction writers Irish writers of young adult literature Women writers of young adult literature Writers from County Dublin Writers from County Wicklow Alumni of the University of Aberdeen People educated at Rathdown School