✍️ Behind-the-Scenes of My Novel Writing Process
Step one: book a one-way flight to some insanely cool nature.
It may not look like it, but in the above photo I was hard at work on my novel!
You remeber me writing about how Madeira, Portugal was an absolutely magical experience from my travel guide.
But it also served as key inspiration for my debut romantasy novel The Ash Trials which just came out a month ago.
Today I’m sharing with you a behind-the-scenes look on how I wrote my novel, including some of my sources of inspiration and how travel played a role in building my fantasy world for the book.
Also — I’m not sure if you know, but I recently-ish started offering Founding Memberships with special perks. Normally, an annual paid subscription is $80, but a $150 founding membership gets you…
Everything a paid membership gets: access to the writing job board, subscriber chat, and all of the archives
Plus: a complimentary 1-hour consultation on your writing goals. This hour can be used any way you’d like. I can review your freelancing website or portfolio and we can talk about it, or I can give you advice on how to grow your Substack, self-publish your book, or grow your freelancing.
In addition, you’ll also pay it forward and cover an annual paid subscription for a writer in need.
You can upgrade your membership at any time by going to my Substack page.
Or, if you’re a writer in need, you can apply for a funded annual subscription through the scholarship form here.
It’s been great to keep on building this community and resources here for you. More exciting news coming soon!
In today’s newsletter, you’ll read about:
✨ The behind-the-scenes journey of writing The Ash Trials and why I love the romantasy genre
✍️ Writing jobs you may have missed last week
📚 My new favorite nontoxic face cream
✍️ Missed This Past Week’s Writing Jobs?
Did you miss it? Here are the writing jobs on this past week’s job board:
$500 for a 250-word poem for my new Substack column
$100 to beta-read a romance book
A fashion freelance copywriting job starting at $60-$100/hour
If you missed the last issue of my writing job board, check it out at the link below:
📖 Bookish News & Links
…to give you more conversation starters with your writer friends!
🍴 How do literary magazines work? Check out this great conversation hosted by Evelyn Skye as part of her Substack and podcast.
📚 The Festival of Books is coming to LA at the end of April! I went to this every year while I was studying screenwriting at USC and it’s tons of fun. Highly recommend going if you’re going to be in SoCal!
🙌 AWP is happening next week, and I know a lot of you are going. It’s a book fair and a conference that I’ve been recommended to go to. I haven’t been, but wanted to put it on your radar!
🫖 Sunday Tea: Writing Romantasy: How I Wrote My Novel The Ash Trials
I’m writing to you from RomantasyCon. Here, romantic fantasy authors sign books for crowds of loyal readers carting huge plastic rolling boxes filled to the brim with books and other bookish merch. On the second level, the romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice has set up shop. Guarding their wares is a cardboard cut-out of Edward Cullen, who is sporting a tie-dye Ripped Bodice bucket hat.
The vibes are good: everyone is friendly, kind, and anxious to chat about their latest “god-tier” reads. I’m quickly swept up into conversation about Fourth Wing, ACOTAR, and what I’m wearing to the masquerade ball on Saturday night.
Romantasy has taken over, and visiting the convention on the eve of finishing my debut romantasy novel — The Ash Trials — feels like a surreal and affirming experience.
But let’s rewind and start from the beginning, shall we?
Why I Decided to Write Romantasy Novels
In February of 2024, I picked up A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas before my flight to South Korea, the first stop on my whirlwind journey to circumnavigate the globe as a seasoned digital nomad. I didn’t know it when I boarded that flight, but my life was about to change.
Reading A Court of Thorns and Roses — or ACOTAR as it’s better known — felt very different than a lot of the masculine thrillers I had been reading in the years prior. ACOTAR was decidedly feminine: it follows a young huntress who kills what she thinks is a wolf, but is actually a shapeshifting faerie, and she’s whisked away to the faerie lands to face punishment for her crime. From there, the story explores what it means to love someone romantically, the cost of that love, and what we’ll do for those we care about.
Read the full post on my blog below:
💫 Amy’s Favorites
Not sponsored. Just my faves.
I have a pretty minimal skincare routine, but my latest swap was for this clean beauty calendula night cream. It’s EWG verified (meaning it has good, clean nontoxic ingredients!) and it’s fairly inexpensive as far as face creams go. It’s very luxurious and pillowy without feeling artificial. It feels like I’m putting plants directly on my face, which to me is the highest bar of skincare.
📚 Author Corner: Thanks for Sharing The Ash Trials
Once more, I’m so floored and grateful to be reading your kind reviews on Amazon and Goodreads — and to see you recommend The Ash Trials out in the world! As an indie author, every recommendation really helps the book find its audience.
Here’s a round-up of this week’s shares and recommendations!
Thank you so much to Evelyn Skye for featuring my new book The Ash Trials in your publication Creative, Inspired, Happy!
Thank you Marissa for your very kind recommendation and great breakdown on the book! It’s so cool to be included in one of these round-up videos.
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Thank you CherryReads for sharing one of my favorite tropes in the book :)
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And thanks to everyone who has been reading, leaving reviews, and emailing me such kind thoughts about the book. I can’t wait to share more stories with you soon!
Enjoyed today’s post? Please give it a “heart” ❤️ and share or restack it.
Sending creativity and good writing vibes your way,
-Amy