It’s officially been 1 month since the publication of my debut pirate fantasy, Cornelia Fairfield and the Darkened Heart, and I wanted to reflect on how everything is shaping up one month on.
Publication day on 19 May came with not only relief that the book was actually out in the world but the crashing realisation that the easy part (which at the time I thought was the hard part) was behind me, and now onto the really hard work. And that was marketing! Since the book went live on preorder in December 2025, I decided to post online nearly everyday to try and gain as much momentum as possible before the big day. I actually can’t tell how successful that was without seeing any preorder numbers, but I was consistently charting well in the three niche categories on the Amazon best seller rankings and even made Amazon’s Hot New Releases for those niches groups. And one week after release Cornelia Fairfield even charted #8 in Teen & Young Adult Pirate Fiction, #16 in Teen & Young Adult Romance Fantasy, and #25 in Adventure Fiction About Pirates for Young Adults! As well as online retailers showing sold out stock within the first month.
I was very lucky to have an Instagram Book Tour from the 18 – 22 May where readers posted reviews of the book on social media, and I was so pleased to see readers unboxing their ARC packages that I spent months working on. I also received several “5 Star” reviews on Waterstones which is still such a shock to see my book available to buy from online retailers like Waterstones, and then to have reviews is beyond anything I could have imagined. As a debut author with a small online following and presence it can sometimes feel like a vacuum. One that feels like I’m the only person posting or talking about my book. But to see really positive reviews coming in from readers on sites like Waterstones and Goodreads, is not only a relief that my marketing is having some effect but such a nice feeling to know my book is finding it’s readers and Cornelia’s story is resonating. For Indie Bookshop Week in June I was invited to Of Books and Love in London to sign copies of my book – you can read more here. This was such a fun experience and I was even able to sign copies to be included in a ‘Blind Date with a Book’ in store.
While it’s still early days and momentum can be a slow burn, I’m beyond excited to see where this journey will take me next. I’ve already had many readers comment on how much they want a sequel and a prequel. Fear not readers, I’ve written and edited the sequel, and I might be biased, but I think it’s even better than the first book with the romance between Cornelia and Adrien heating up. There’s even one scene that made me a little emotional when writing (no spoilers, I promise). The swashbuckling / pirate vibes also take centre stage with new characters entering the fray and one character in particular causing havoc for our duo.
I’ve even started working on planning a prequel of what exactly happened that summer Cornelia met Adrien and they saved Claude from Oblivion. I’m very excited to start writing the prequel once I’ve finished writing the first draft of my fourth book! This first draft is feeling more like war and peace everyday as I keep writing and the end seems to evade me – 104,000 words in and still no end in sight. I do feel like I’ve started writing the sequel and will definitely have to make some cuts to make it all a little more manageable. But I’m enjoying writing about the rebel leader and the secret princess planning a rebellion to overthrow her bother.
To conclude, this last month has been a whirlwind of emotion from publication to book signing to 5 star reviews and I couldn’t be prouder of Cornelia and how well reader’s are responding to her character and story. Here’s to wherever destiny may take me!
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Amy is a writer and reviewer and her action-packed debut novel, CORNELIA FAIRFIELD AND THE DARKENED HEART is available in paperback from WATERSTONES and independent bookshops, and ebook (with an exclusive bonus chapter only on Kindle / Kindle Unlimited AMAZON).
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