As the year draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the absolute roller coaster that 2025 has been from starting the year off in the dark depths of the query trenches, and wondering if I’ll ever escape the sludge of rejection, to signing my first book deal for my novel. I end the year with my book on pre sale on the Waterstones website – and available online elsewhere – I couldn’t be in a more different place than when I started the year. From signing my book deal to tackling edits, I’ve learnt so much about the publishing process. When I think back to this time year, I was feeling rather deflated that my book was receiving rejection from literary agents and I even received a rejection a few days before Christmas Day, which did place a dampener on the whole festivities of the month, however, one year later I can officially say my action packed young adult fantasy, CORNELIA FAIRFIELD AND THE DARKENED HEART is publishing on the 19 May 2026!
During the period of receiving my first proof, handing back my edits and waiting for my second proof to arrive, I wrote the first draft of two other fantasy books that I am so happy to refine in the new year. One is a young adult fantasy set with fairy tale vibes and the other is the sequel to my upcoming release Cornelia Fairfield and the Darkened Heart. Both are stories that remind me why I love about writing, plotting and figuring out plot twists. When I embarked on writing my first book I was very sceptical as to whether I would be able to actually finish the first draft, and then when I finished these two other drafts, I couldn’t believe I had three books – albeit I still need to do a lot of editing and refinement, but the bones of the story is there and I am absolutely thrilled to have something physical to work on again in the new year. As much as I enjoy editing and fine tweaking my work, there is something to freeing about writing and seeing where the story will take me without the barriers of editing. Even the process of suggesting ideas for my book cover and receiving professional edits, has been a real learning curve and it has really helped me understand my craft and what goes into publishing a book that is much more than the story. The next step will be marketing and finding creative ways to showcase the adventure and plot twists of my book, and I hope to find readers who are just as excited about the story and characters as much as I am.
Aside from writing, I have immersed myself in the arts with musicals and comedy theatre shows, with my favourite being The Lightning Thief : The Percy Jackson Musical and even live music, with an absolute highlight seeing the ethereal Lana Del Rey, a singer who I have waited years to see live. I also had the opportunity to visit Barcelona for a whistle stop tour of the beautiful city and visit the stunning Montserrat while I was there. 2025 has also been an exciting year for books and I have fallen back in love with fantasy from enemies to lovers, to books with dragons and celestial Stars, this has been an excellent year for finding new favourite authors and revisiting worlds in highly anticipated sequels. As ever, my taste in books have remained the same with a soft spot for fantasy and I even dipped my toe into the swoon realms of Romantasy with a special mention to the Graphic Audio adaptation of The Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros! There is something so immersive about the Graphic Audio that I can’t quite put my finger on, I don’t know whether it is the incredible voice acting of Khaya Fraites and Gabriel Michael as Violet and Xaden or the sense of friendship and unity of the Iron Squad, or simply the fact that the story is so gripping that I’ve been able to listen to the books on repeat. And when I say repeat, I mean it – every time the cliffhanger of Onyx Storm is like a punch in the gut and those plot twists and foreshadowing throughout the series always calls for a re-read.
2025 has been a year with a mix of emotions from the uncertainty of the query trenches to the anxiety of submitting to my publisher and revising the manuscript (cutting out 36,000 words) before they were able to sign the contract – which I must say was a challenge in itself – and the excitement of signing my very first book deal to working on edits and now finishing the year with my book available to pre-order online! This just goes to show that a lot can change in a year and to never give up on your dreams because you may be closer to them than you think. 2026 will see the publication of my debut novel, it is also the start of many changes and I really hope to embrace this journey with all the bumps and highs as much as possible. It would mean the world to me if readers fell in love with Cornelia Fairfield as much as I have! Happy New Year and I cannot wait to see what 2026 brings.
CORNELIA FAIRFIELD AND THE DARKENED HEART is publishing on 26 May 2026 – available to pre-order from WATERSTONES, AMAZON, FOYLES, HATCHARDS.
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Amy is a writer and reviewer and her action-packed debut novel, CORNELIA FAIRFIELD AND THE DARKENED HEART is publishing on 26 May 2026 – available to pre-order from WATERSTONES, AMAZON, FOYLES, HATCHARDS. For more content read Amy’s book reviews, short stories and updates on Amy’s writing journey posts.
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