Millie Abecassis

2025 has been a crazy year so far. Great, but crazy considering the number of releases, deals, edits, and events happening. I keep telling myself I will slow down the pace in 2026, but knowing myself, it will probably be the same. I guess I’ll sleep when I’m dead, right?

#SmallPitch is stronger than ever

If you followed my #SmallPitch adventures, you know I launched this online pitch event in 2024. The first edition took place on Twitter and was a one-woman show, but since then the team of one has become a team of three and my co-hosts and I moved the event to our own online platform, away from social media.

We just wrapped up the third edition of the event (the second on our new platform) and I couldn’t be more proud of what we have achieved. The event is now a staple of the pitching scene and both writers and publishers love the format. We’ve had nine success stories and more coming. I hope the event keeps growing and attracting more indie publishers and writers over the years!

Connecting with more authors

Another goal I had this year was to connect with more authors, in particular with local authors in the SF Bay Area. Last year I joined the Writer’s Meet-Up at Books Inc. Mountain View, also called the Book Inkers (I found and suggested the name and am quite proud of it!), and am still an active member and excited to go every month. I also joined a couple of Discord servers for local writers and met amazing folks that I’m now happy to meet with regularly.

Another way to connect with more people is attending conventions, and I attended a couple for the first time this year: the Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley, and BayCon/WesterCon in Santa Clara. I had a blast and have already purchased my tickets for next year’s BayCon/WesterCon. I also pre-registered for World Fantasy 2026, which will take place in Oakland, and plan to attend WorldCon 2026 in LA. Remember when I said I wanted to slow down the pace in 2026? It was a lie.

Deals, edits, and releases

The number of releases I have this year is ridiculously good. I am, of course, elated to see my manuscripts turn into real books that people can read, but I’m also a liiittle tired. It’s A LOT. But hey, I’m still alive and well, I’m still meeting my deadlines (often in advance), so there’s no reason to complain. Here’s a little recap of the releases and deals that happened this year.

• My debut novella Daughters of the Blue Moon released on February 25 at Anuci Press and was well received by readers and reviewers. I hosted a launch event in March at Beyond Text, a local indie book store, and did a couple of public readings. I have an interview scheduled soon to talk about this novella, so more to come!
• My second novella Bright City, Shattered released on June 30 at Polymath Press. This story is a little more “niche” than my debut, but the people who read it loved it. I will be at my local Barnes & Noble in August to sell copies of the book and hope this story finds new readers over time!
• With the help of my amazing agent, I sold my debut novel A Legacy of Blood and Bone in May to Brick & Bloom, the new digital-first imprint of Row House Publishing, and it’s already coming this year, on October 21. Yes, it’s a fast release, but guess what, we’re already done with edits, we’ve collected four amazing blurbs already, and now the book is being formatted and we’re working on marketing and launch. My publisher is also working with Spotify on the audiobook, so I should hear more from them on that topic very soon.
• With the help of my really amazing agent, we already found a new home for my short novel The Color of Time in Shiraki Press, a new indie publisher specialized in short-form adult fiction with a hopepunk vibe, which is a perfect description of what The Color of Time is. After meeting with Brianne and Josh, the owners of the press, and hearing their ideas for developmental edits, I knew Shiraki Press was the right publisher for this book. They get it. Their ideas are brilliant and will strengthen the narrative without tearing it apart. I was also impressed by their level of professionalism for a new indie press, which isn’t common. We will start working on edits in the fall, for a Spring 2026 release. Stay tuned!
• In March, I sold my novella The Seventh Sister to Anuci Press for a winter 2026 release. It was initially planned for January, but with A Legacy of Blood and Bone releasing in October 2025, we pushed the release to later in the season, moving it to March 2026. The book is currently with the editor, my goal being to be done with edits by the end of September, before I have to delve in edits for The Color of Time. So far so good!
• I will spare you the details of my shorter work, but I’ve sold short pieces like Moon Dust (coming September 15 at Baynam Books Press), and two others coming later this year.

I’m still writing

With all these edits and releases, my time dedicated to writing new stories has naturally shrunk. I still found the time to write two new stories this year.

• The Hunger of Paradise, a 12,000-word horror novelette set in Britanny, France. I’ve sent it to a few places accepting this length. Unfortunately, novelettes are the hardest length to sell, as there are very few markets accepting them. If I can’t sell it, I plan on writing a couple more horror stories in the same vein and see if I can sell it as a short collection.
• Dark City, Rising, a 30,000-word sequel to Bright City, Shattered. The manuscript is with Polymath Press, the publisher of the first book. Fingers crossed they want to publish it too!

My next projects are novel-length manuscripts:

• A Promise of Flesh and Skin, a sequel to A Legacy of Blood and Bone. I haven’t started drafting it, but if the first book does well and Row House is interested in a sequel, I plan on writing it in early 2026 (or sooner?).
• The Library of the Dead, a new science fantasy inspired by Le Guin’s The Tombs of Atuan and N.K. Jemisin’s The Killing Moon. I’m excited to work with my agent on this one in 2026.

I still plan on writing more novellas. I don’t have specific plans for one now, but knowing myself, I will come up with a new idea at the most random time and will write a novella instead of working on my next novel. Oops.

And reading and playing video games

Among the chaos of so many releases, I still find the time to read. According to Goodreads, I’ve already read 40 books this year. Some of my favorite reads so far are Casual by Koji A. Dae, Redundancies and Potentials by Dominique Dickey, Nous by Christelle Dabos, Restaurant Kid by Rachel Phan, and The Floating Castle by L.N. Holmes.

As for video games, the only game I’ve been playing this year is Monster Hunter Wilds, which is phenomenal, especially as a bow player. I plan on playing Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 and Pokémon Legends Z-A. I didn’t play Expedition 33, but my spouse did and I watched him play a bit and read more about the game and its story. It seems amazing and has so much in common with A Legacy of Blood and Bone! I wish there were more hours in the day.

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading.

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