Becoming a Fantasy Editor While Writing My Debut Novel

Hello, and welcome. If you have found your way here, I like to believe it was by some quiet thread of fate. A story leading you to another story.

I am twenty-five years old, born and raised in the north of England, where grey skies and long evenings taught me how to daydream. Now I live in London, a city that hums and hurries, carrying with me a lifelong love of books and a heart balanced delicately between fear and hope. This blog is my place to pause. A soft landing. A record of choosing stories over safety and wonder over what is expected.

Books have always been my compass. Fantasy especially felt like a promise whispered between pages. Worlds where magic breathes beneath the surface, where love is fierce and fated, where ordinary people become extraordinary simply by daring to try. While others grew out of fairy tales, I grew deeper into them. Somewhere along the way, reading was no longer enough. I wanted to be closer to the making of stories. I wanted to help shape them, tend to them, and send them gently into the world.

For years, I worked as an editor in the finance industry. A practical path. A sensible choice. My days were filled with figures and forecasts, margins and meetings. Editing was there, steady and reliable, sharpening my eye and strengthening my skill. For that, I am grateful. But the work never lit me up. It never lingered in my thoughts or followed me home. It paid my bills, but it starved my imagination.

That quiet dissatisfaction grew slowly, like ivy creeping up a wall. Easy to ignore at first. Impossible to ignore forever.

Last month, I stepped away from it all. I left my job in finance to pursue what I have always wanted, even when it felt out of reach. I want to be a fiction editor. I want to work with science fiction, fantasy, and romantasy. Stories full of sweeping worlds, sharp emotions, and characters who feel achingly real. Stories that shimmer with possibility.

It was a frightening choice. One made with shaking hands and a racing heart. There is uncertainty ahead, and I feel it keenly. But there is also excitement, bright and undeniable. For the first time in a long while, my life feels aligned, as though I have turned toward the current instead of fighting it.

Alongside this change, I am writing a book of my own.

The idea came to me years ago, a small spark I carried quietly while life grew loud around it. Back then, there was never enough time, never enough space to let it bloom. The story waited patiently, tucked away like a pressed flower between pages. Now, with intention and courage, I have returned to it. The manuscript is almost finished, and saying that still feels like a spell I am afraid to break.

Writing a fantasy novel has been a lesson in devotion. There are days when the words arrive like a gift, effortless and alive. There are others when doubt settles in, heavy and uninvited. Still, I return to the page. Again and again. Because creating stories feels like breathing. Because this is where I am most myself.

This blog is where all of that comes together.

It is a place to share my journey into publishing. The searching, the setbacks, the small triumphs that feel monumental when you are building something from scratch. It is a place to talk about books, especially fantasy books that comfort, challenge, and change me. And it is a place to write honestly about creating a story of my own, with all the hope and hesitation that comes with it.

Think of this space as a quiet room lit by lamplight. A place to sit with stories, sip something warm, and linger a little longer than planned. Whether you are a reader searching for your next beloved book, a writer finding your way through uncertainty, or simply someone who loves stories deeply, I hope you find something here that stays with you.

This is only the beginning. I do not know exactly where the path will lead, but I am walking it with intention and an open heart. Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading. And thank you for believing, as I do, in the quiet magic of stories.