Authortubers, WIPs, and "Sadie Rowe" available for preorder SOON!- Jan. 27th, 2026
Hello, fellow readers!
Since the events of the last newsletter, I’m so glad that I returned to Buttondown. I ‘ve noticed a lot more of you reading, which is great, and also an indication that my newsletters are actually making it to your inboxes! 🎉
I’ve also been dipping my toes into watching authortubers (a.k.a. Youtubers that are also authors) more often. ✍️ I used to watch lots of these in the past when I first started dipping my toes into being an self-published author, like Sarra Cannon (Heart Breathings), M. Kirin, and Jessica Moreci. Since I’m experimenting with posting on Youtube more recently, I’ve also started “researching” how other authors do it by watching other authortubers like amelia is writing and brielle writes. I’m not saying that I’ll be posting writing vlogs too soon, but I do want to find some way to be more active on that space. If you have suggestions for what you’d like to see from me, let me know!
What Am I Writing Lately?✍️
Faerie Hall (working title, not confirmed)
Status: 5% drafted?
Next steps: Put on indefinite hiatus and then re-draft/re-plot as necessary later. In the meantime, work on another existing WIP.
You might be looking at this and wondering, “Claris, WHY did you start a new project? Don’t you have tons of other WIPs that you should finish?”
Yes, I do have other WIPs to finish. I will get to those. But I also really enjoy working on new projects, too, so I’m trying to find the balance between both right now.
I started writing this WIP back in early January after getting some inspiration from rewatching Raven (CBBC fantasy gameshow that I discovered last year), listening to an audio drama called Last Dance (more about that later on in this newsletter), and even a bit of Beauty And The Beast. There will be no main romance in this book despite the latter inspiration, however, so please don’t go looking for one.
However, I’ve decided to put this one on hiatus nearly as soon as I’ve started it…because the WIP’s plot direction was getting far too dark for my liking. I really like the concept I have for it in my head, and the inspirations for it are fun, but for some reason I really just couldn’t get into it because of how dreary the plot got.
With that in mind, I will resume writing/revising one of my other ongoing WIPs in the very near future. More updates on that in the next newsletter!
I’ve also been preparing my debut fantasy kidlit chapter book Sadie Rowe And The Missing Necklace for preorder in February!
The book will be officially published on February 23rd, 2026. I’m incredibly excited to share Sadie and Pearl’s story with all of you, especially to the young readers that this book is for.
Preorders will be available starting February 2nd, 2026!
Learn more about Sadie Rowe and the Missing Necklace!
Other writing-related activities I did recently include:
Putting together the Harlow Mystery series omnibus edition! This will contain all three books in the Harlow Mystery series!
2027 will be the fifth anniversary/book birthday of Winner Takes All (Book 1) being published. I’m eager to have the omnibus ready by June 2027 at latest (or much sooner) to celebrate!
Been posting the occasional Short on my Youtube Channel! I do want to experiment more with short Reels/Shorts this year for my social content, so you’ll probably see more of these in the future.
Preparing some author interviews.
What Am I Reading Lately?
I am once again reading way more nonfiction than anything else. One of the standout books I read was Originals by Adam Grant. The author does a great job investigating what it means to come up with new, original ideas. One of the pints the author argues is that being more prolific with how much you create is more likely to lead to finding that “viral” hit or creating that “number one” bestseller. As someone who drafts MANY books, this is good to know! 😆
However, I also have been pushing myself to read more fiction in general. It’s a nice break from all the “learning” that my mind does when reading nonfiction for sure.
Other books I read include:
Phantom Of The Opera by Gaston Leroux (it’s the same book that the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber is based on!)
Unmasking AI by Dr. Joy Buolamwini
Spy X Family, Vols. 10 and 11 by Tatsuya Endo
There's a Monster in the Woods by Fae Quin
I also started listening to a dark fantasy audio drama called Last Dance. 🎧 I highly recommend reading the transcript while listening to the episodes because there is so much going on in each episode, but I really enjoy it so far. The entire cast of characters incredibly engaging. 😆 Warning, though: There are a lot of deaths, and some seemingly major characters will die when you least expect it. The team behind it also had a successful Kickstarter to create its second series!
My favourite characters so far are Caelin Angali and Trevor, though I’m also fond of Jericho Raeke. I’m also interested in learning more about Baron Catavignus Lazare since he’s been hyped up a lot in early episodes. His first speaking scene is in Episode 12 (James Mackenzie, who played the Raven in the CBBC fantasy gameshow Raven, is the voice behind his character) and I hope to hear more of him in Episode 13. Check out Last Dance and follow their socials for more updates here.
