My guest blogger today is Amanda Cirilli. She is a romance author who crafts emotionally rich stories centered on high-stakes relationships and the obstacles her characters must overcome to earn their Happily Ever After. She is the author of the romantasy novel The Starlight Princess, and she has recently released In Your Court, a contemporary sports romance. Find out about these and other exciting things Amanda is working on at amandacirilliauthor.com.

You have an idea for a book—a solid one. One you’ve cultivated and spent years shaping. Now, it’s written. You’ve worked through critique partners, beta readers, and edits, and you finally feel ready to query or take the leap into self-publishing.

And then, another idea arrives.

Different. Unexpected. In an entirely different genre than the last.

And suddenly, doubt follows.

You can’t switch genres. That’s a career no-no…right? Readers know you for your first book. You’re supposed to build consistency. A recognizable brand. Something that grows steadily over time.

Welcome to the traditional stigma of becoming an author.

When you think of your favorite writers, who comes to mind? Do they stay within the genre they’re known for? In many cases, yes.

But what happens when that path doesn’t fit you—or your identity as a writer?

Hi, I’m Amanda Cirilli. I’m a self-published author, a multi-genre writer, and what I’ve come to call a “mood writer.”

What does that mean?

It means I write the story that won’t leave me alone. Fantasy? Absolutely. Contemporary romance? Without hesitation. Children’s books? If the right idea finds me, I follow it.

And I do all of this under one name. No separation. No pen names. Just me.

While my writing journey began long ago, I’ve only recently stepped into publishing—navigating not just the craft of storytelling, but the challenge of defining who I am as an author.

Because branding, as it turns out, can be one of the most difficult parts of this process.

We’re often told to create something cohesive: an image, a tone, a recognizable presence that readers can immediately identify. Think of authors such as Brandon Sanderson or Emily Henry—both widely known for the genres they’ve built their careers within.

And yet, there’s a noticeable shift happening.

More authors are beginning to branch beyond the spaces they originally established, expanding their creativity and exploring new ground.

Take Holly Renee, who built her audience through romantasy and has since ventured into cowboy romance. Or Ali Hazelwood, whose early success in STEM-centered romance has expanded into sports and even paranormal romance.

These shifts don’t diminish their identity as authors—they deepen it.

They demonstrate that creativity isn’t meant to be confined, but expanded.

And it’s within that shift that I’ve found clarity in my own identity as a writer.

That’s where I plan to fit in—as a mood writer, as someone who moves between genres and follows the stories that resonate most.

I firmly believe there is space for all kinds of writers, and that we don’t have to confine ourselves to a traditional publishing mold when there are so many new, exciting, and diverse voices waiting to be heard.

If a story calls to you, follow it. Don’t be afraid to explore it, even if it leads you somewhere unexpected.

Over the past year, I’ve discovered an author identity that genuinely excites me—a brand that works for me, and a message that can carry across any genre I choose to write in.

As for my fellow writers who may still be feeling doubt, or trying to discover who they are and what they’re meant to write—my final thought for you is this:

Don’t stifle your voice because of industry stigma. Let your creativity roam, and trust where it leads you.

When I was about to have my first child, I learned super quickly that there’s a lot that nobody tells you. Sure, there’s the stuff that people know from movies and TV (all these cute ladies waddling around like they’re smuggling a basketball under their size-extra-extra-small shirts), but there are… symptoms. Stuff that happens before, during, after having a baby. Awful stuff. I’ll spare you the gory details. You can email me later if you really want to know. And if you know from experience: solidarity, friend.

Apart from all the Stuff No One Tells You About Until You Learn The Hard Way, there’s also the rotating list of questions from people: how far along are you? Is it a boy or a girl? Are you sure you aren’t carrying twins? (That last one may have been something that only I’ve heard.)

A lot of authors compare having a book release to having a baby. There’s some truth there. Something awesome and life-changing is coming into the world, and you had a lot to do with it! Thankfully, no one comments on my appearance when they ask me about my book, but they do often ask something along the lines of “How’s your book going?” or “When’s it coming out?”

It’s a fair question. I signed my contract with The Wild Rose Press in December, after all. And I finished the book! Don’t they just tidy things up, send it to print, and call it a day? How hard can it be?

What happens after “The End”

Publishing a book takes a surprising amount of work long after I type out the last few words of the manuscript. Before I even submitted it for consideration, I edited Stage Mouse myself—reading through all 93,000 words carefully to make sure that the story is the way I want it to look to any prospective publishers or editors.

My editor Eilidh at TWRP has been doing most of the heavy lifting on this part of the process. She and I have gone through the manuscript three more times, fine tuning things, cleaning up bits I didn’t notice on my own. A lot of it comes down to places where I’d revise a detail later in the story, but I didn’t edit the rest of the book to take that detail into consideration.

While this is going on, the cover art team at The Wild Rose Press have been working on my finalized cover art for when Stage Mouse is in print or on your e-reader. I’m waiting on the proofreader to complete their work, so I’m also hard at work building my author brand: content, engaging with other authors, and making connections with local places where I can do author events once the book is released. (Of course, they usually ask me “when’s your release date?” which, despite being a totally fair question, makes me twitch because I don’t know yet.)

What’s next

My proofreader is working on formatting my book for print. Within about a month, I’ll look at a digital version of my book as it will actually appear when you read it (this, I’ve come to learn, is known as the galley). I will look through the galley one more time really it’s the final time no takesie-backsies and give it my final OK. Then, it’s scheduled for a release date. If you’ve made it this far, you have at least earned this knowledge: it’ll probably be released by this summer.

With all those re-reads, re-re-reads, edits, revisions, and frantic bouts of imposter syndrome, you might be going, “Aren’t you sick of looking at your book by now?”

Yes. Yes, I am. But I still love her. And I can’t wait to share her with you.