Amy de la Force spent 20 years in the creative industry before pursuing her dream of being an author, reports Anna-Louise Adepegba
An Oakwood author has landed a three-book deal just nine months after leaving her career to pursue her dream of writing.
Amy de la Force spent 20 years in the creative industry before pursuing her dream of being an author.
Despite her success as a creative director, Amy had always known that writing was her passion. “I knew from my first creative writing class at university that writing was my purpose, but I buried that dream for a sensible job and a regular wage,” she explained.
After leaving the industry, Amy committed to writing full time, despite having no literary agent or publishing contract.
Within just nine months of making the change, Amy landed a literary agent and a three-book deal for her romantic fantasy trilogy, Fated for Hael, which has already seen much success.
The second book in the series, A Crown of Blood and Magick, will be released on Thursday, 17th September.
Her debut novel, A Kiss of Hammer and Flame, was released in July 2025. The book went on to become one of Penguin Random House’s ‘Most Anticipated Science Fiction and Fantasy Books’ of autumn that year, an Apple Books ‘Sizzling Summer Read’ and a Kobo Romance number one bestseller.
Amy’s book is now available in more than 40 countries.
In 2024, she was also shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, recognising talent in emerging writers.
Amy’s decision to finally start writing was fuelled by the death of her mum, which made her realise life was too short. After spending years building her career, the loss prompted Amy to question whether she wanted to continue putting her writing ambitions on hold.
She said: “My mum died, and I realised the time to take an actual chance on myself was now or never – I couldn’t spend the rest of my life wondering, ‘what if?’. That’s when everything finally fell into place.”
The trilogy follows an empress named Cahra, whose story Amy says starts where fantasy romances usually end, when “the heroine wins the crown and gets the guy”.
Rather than following a heroine fighting to win her crown, the second book explores what happens when Cahra has already achieved everything she thought she wanted.
“She’s forced between saving her kingdom and the man she’d sacrifice everything for.”
A Crown of Blood and Magick follows Cahra as she attempts to hold on to her position of power while navigating the challenges that come with being Empress.
The book features political intrigue, forbidden romance and magic, with the story placing Cahra in a difficult choice between her kingdom and the man she loves.
For Amy, the release marks another step in a journey that began with deciding to finally give herself the chance to pursue the career she had always wanted.
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