Get Chapter 1 of my upcoming release!
- Julie Embleton
- Apr 21
- 4 min read
Release news and a keyholder exclusive!
Hello Key Holders!
It’s been a while since I’ve said hello. How are you? I hope everyone is keeping well.
As you know, I stepped away from the newsletter format last year and created the Readers Lounge as an exclusive space for us to hang out. As a reader, I was exhausted with inbox overwhelm, and as an author, struggling to find content that would keep readers engaged month to month with my newsletter. I also eased my way out of Instagram. My experience as a user shifted negatively, and with all the changes made to the algorithm, the fun of engagement got lost in the noise. I switched my attention to Pinterest and have been enjoying sharing lots of content there. Here’s the link if you’d like to browse.
So, here we are today, gathered in the lounge for a catch up. Hematite & Hemlock landed in September 2025, and if you’ve read it, you’ll know it ended with a tale still to tell. I’m delighted to share that tale has now been written, and will be released very soon!
The title is Out of the Dark. It's not a full novel, but a generous 45k word novella. The story focuses on Ava and Enzo’s recovery, and the challenges they face as they struggle to come back to self—and each other. Once I have the release date nailed down, and the cover is ready, I’ll share both with you.
I switched tactics for the novella, and for the first time ever, wrote from a first person POV, so you get to read the story from both Ava and Enzo’s perspective. I absolutely loved writing in this POV. I thought it would be a challenge as I’ve always written in third person, but within a few pages, I found myself slipping into the voice with ease.
Out of the Dark will be available for sale on my website, Amazon, Apple, B&N, and all the usual retailers. But because you’re my most important and beloved readers, you get first priority so will have access to the title before anyone else! I’ll send out a message once it’s live and give you the direct link for buying the novella before it goes out to the general public.
For now, I’d love to share the first chapter with you.
If you’ve read M&M and H&H, and would like to get your mitts on chapter 1 of Out of the Dark, send me a quick message to julie@julieembleton.com and I’ll forward you the PDF.
The usual Ts&Cs apply to this; please don’t share the work with anyone else, and do not share the chapter, cover, or title on social media before release day. Remember, if you haven’t read Hematite & Hemlock, stay away from Out of the Dark as it’ll spoil so much for you!
I’ve had lots of messages about book 3 of Oath & Legacy, including Renn and Kole, the two new characters introduced at the end of H&H. It seems Kole has already captured a few hearts and Renn many imaginations. Book 3 is underway, but I can confidently state it won’t be ready until 2027.
On a separate note, following a few emails asking my opinion on the subject (as I haven’t engaged with it online) I will share my thoughts on the debate raging in the writing world about AI.
Firstly, I do not use AI for my writing. I’ve been writing for sixteen years, and would never hand over my power to a soulless machine. It would go against everything I believe in as a writer to publish an AI book and pass it off as my work. That’s not me, and never will be.
If you’ve been reading my books for any length of time, you’ll recognise that I use many of the so-called ‘AI markers’ in my writing, including em-dashes and words like echo, potent, sacred, sharp, gentle and so on and so on *insert eye roll and loud sigh here. So do Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Sarah J Maas. Rebecca Yarros and millions of other real human writers.
Yes, I am vehemently against AI produced books, but readers have free will to purchase and consume whatever content they choose.
Readers also have free will when it comes to accusing authors of using AI—whether or not their accusation is accurate.
A stranger’s opinion online about punctuation or words pointing to ‘undeniable use of AI’ is not my business, so I haven’t engaged in this hate, my friends, because I don’t give a flying fuck if anyone ever does think my books are produced by AI. At the end of the day, I know every sentence was written by me, and that’s all that matters. This is why I’m staying away from the toxic debate and refusing to add to yet another avenue of engineered division destroying social media.
I don’t use AI for my writing. Simple as. And that’s all I have to say.
It’s a rare sunny day here in Ireland, and after that little rant, I think it’s time to get some air and maybe stick on the kettle. I’ll be in touch soon with a cover reveal and release date. Until then, if you’re keen to get chapter 1 of Out of the Dark, send me a message!
Love,
Julie xx
If you haven't yet tumbled into the world of Oath & Legacy,
here are the links to the books. All titles are available in PDF and Epub format.
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