I want to start by thanking everyone who has liked, commented on, or shared my recent Tea Leaves, Pages & Starlight posts on social media, and those who read Chapter One and left reviews.
Your support and enthusiasm mean the world to me—and it’s actually because of that support that I’m making this decision.
Earlier this week, while my husband was helping me edit and revise the latest chapter, he asked me a question that really stuck with me:
“Why are you giving this away for free? This is the best thing you’ve written. Why aren’t you querying it?”
So I took some time to sit with that.
There’s something about Tea Leaves, Pages & Starlight—and the Briardell world as a whole—that feels different from anything I’ve written before. I’ve loved every project I’ve worked on, but Briardell feels… special. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had writing, and at the same time it feels surprisingly natural and instinctive.
Over the past year, I’ve grown a lot as a writer, especially since learning that I’m AuDHD and giving myself permission to explore the kind of stories I truly want to tell. Through that process, I’ve realised something important: I genuinely believe the Briardell Chronicles could be the story that opens the door to the next stage of my writing career.
Because of that, I’ve made the decision to pause the serialization of Tea Leaves, Pages & Starlight while I explore other publishing opportunities for the Briardell series, including querying agents and editors.
I still believe strongly in the power of serialized storytelling, and in pursuing multiple publishing paths as a hybrid author—so there will be some serial-related news coming soon.
In the meantime, thank you again for all the love and encouragement you’ve shown me and the Briardell Chronicles. I’m incredibly excited about where this story might go next.
With love,
Clare