I've learned two irrevocable truths...
The Secret Library: Fall 2025. Writing, New Fantasy Releases, and More Book Recs.
Front Desk
I’ve learned two irrevocable truths this year: developmental edits are the most intensive, and everything takes longer than you think.
In other words, I’m still rewriting my book.
I used RevPit, a writing competition hosted by editors in which they guide you through a developmental edit, as a goal to finish my first draft. I’ve entered many of these types of writing contests in the past and although I hadn’t been picked before, I always gained valuable skills in creating my submission package. So this time around was no different: finish the draft, go through the motions of creating a submission package, and submit to editors with little hope for being chosen. All materials submitted are pieces I would need once I was ready to query, so the exercise in itself was helpful.
Again, in a plot twist I’ll never forget, my book was chosen as a winner for this contest. Truthfully, my first reaction was utter fear. I knew this book entailed an entire rewrite. I also knew that was not something I could accomplish in six weeks.
My editor, Jeni, quickly put my nerves at ease by saying she did not expect me to have the revision completed in the expedited time frame. Rather, she wanted to work with me to take all the story pieces apart, see where threads were missing, and then weave the story back together. We spent the time together breaking down my story into the smallest elements, finding the main story line as well as the sub plots, and building an outline.
As someone who shows up to the page and just writes, this was incredibly difficult for me, but I’m so thankful I learned this with an editor to teach me. After all that hard work, I started rewriting this book at the beginning of July. Bright-eyed and motivated to write the actual sentences, I wanted to finish my rewrite by the end of August. I’ve been itching to send this to agents, knowing I’ll have more revisions and edits in store, for months.
Friend, I’m 60k words into this rewrite, but it is not yet done.
Maybe you took on a project. Maybe you knew you had a lot of work ahead, but didn’t know quite how much that work would really be. Maybe you wanted to reach your target but the reality took much, much longer.
Just know that I’m there with you. The persistence and patience is frustrating. But that’s the part that is the doing. You’re doing the thing, even if you haven’t reached the end yet.
We’ll get there.
Nadine
From the Archives
Books I’ve read lately, that you should, too. Click on the image to go to each book’s GoodReads page.
A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan
“This stunning slow-burn romantasy follows a fated pair who uncover a world-changing secret and are thrust into a violent class war, navigating love, loss, and devastating betrayals.”
The Floating World by Axie Oh
“From Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in this romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens.”
Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross
“Set in the world of the gods first introduced in Divine Rivals, #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Ross delivers a sweeping, beautiful adult novel filled with tension, romance, and dark secrets.
True love is more divine than any ruthless god.”
New to the Stacks
Upcoming Fantasy Books Releasing Autumn 2025
Alchemised by SenLinYu September 23, 2025
“In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy ― and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past.”
This Raging Sea by De Elizabeth September 23, 2025
“18-year-old Briar Winters must untangle the horrifying eldritch secrets of her picture-perfect coastal town in order to save the boy she loves after he disappears from time itself in this YA dark fantasy for fans of Bly Manor.”
Hollow by Taylor Grothe September 30, 2025
“Don’t Let the Forest In meets The Whispering Dark in a queer YA cult horror following a recently diagnosed autistic teen who becomes enmeshed in a community of outcasts harboring sinister secrets.”
For No Mortal Creature by Keshe Chow October 7, 2025
“A teen girl with the power of resurrection must venture into the afterlife, but to survive the death realm, she’ll need the help of her two mortal enemies–both of whom she is inexplicably drawn to–in this romantic, gothic fantasy inspired by Wuthering Heights.”
The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri October 21, 2025
“From World Fantasy Award-winning author Tasha Suri comes The Isle in the Silver Sea, a heart-shattering romantasy of sapphic longing, medieval folklore and a love that spans the centuries.”
A Curious Kind of Magic by Mara Rutherford October 21, 2025
“Howl's Moving Castle meets Little Thieves in this cozy fantasy about the teenage owner of a (mostly fake) magical curiosity shop and a girl cursed to turn everything she touches into magic.”
Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews October 28, 2025
“CG Drews, acclaimed author of Don't Let the Forest In, returns with another deeply unsettling and yet hauntingly beautiful tale of murder and botanical body horror, perfect for fans of Andrew Joseph White and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.”
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow October 30, 2025
“From the New York Times bestselling author of Starling House, Alix E. Harrow, comes a moving and genre-defying adventure through time – as a reluctant lady knight and a not-so-heroic-historian will fight through time and space to rewrite their tragic fates… and finally reveal the truths hidden beneath the greatest legend ever told.”
Fallen City by Adrienne Young November 4, 2025
“In the great walled city of Isara, political turmoil ignites a rebellion one hundred years in the making. But when a legionnaire falls in love with a Magistrate's daughter, their love will threaten the fate of the city and the will of the gods.”
The Sacred Space Between by Kalie Reid November 4, 2025
“An enchanting enemies-to-lovers fantasy about an exiled saint and the devout iconographer sent to paint him, for fans of Divine Rivals and A Study in Drowning.”
Dawn of the Firebird by Sarah Mughal Rana December 9, 2025
“For fans of The Poppy War, She Who Became the Sun and The Will of the Many, a breathtaking fantasy novel about the daughter of an overthrown emperor from an exciting new voice.”
Study Room
Writing resources for my fellow writers.
Coming this October, the RevPit editors are hosting 10Queries—an event where editors give feedback on the query and first five pages for 100+ authors.
You don’t need a completed manuscript to enter, just a query and first five pages.
The best way to stay updated on this event is on the Revise & Resub substack and BlueSky.
From my Personal Collection
A little visual representation of my current project, MYTH, MUSE, MAGICIAN. Graphics by my very talented friend, Nav, who saved me when I cried in Canva.
Wishing you crisp afternoons cool enough for a sweater, crunchy leaves beneath your boots, and good books to keep you company long into the dark.
I’m a real person. If you’d like to talk about books and/or writing, reply to this email or leave a comment below.
Nadine