Amy Coombe: It Started Out of Spite
In this interview, author Amy Coombe shares how reading a bad book inspired hers, how she went about her world-building, and more.
Amy Coombe grew up in California and lived in Chicago and New Haven before moving to the UK, where she puts her degrees in law and modern history to good use by doing something else entirely. She lives in London with her family and three cats. Stay for a Spell is her first novel.
In this interview, Amy shares how reading a bad book inspired hers, adding a lot of world-building while trying to avoid world-building, and more.
Name: Amy Coombe
Literary agent: Maddy Belton
Book title: Stay For A Spell
Publisher: US: Ace. UK: Harper Voyager
Release date: April 14, 2026
Genre/category: Cozy Fantasy
Elevator pitch for the book: A princess is cursed to remain in a run-down bookshop until she unlocks her heart’s desire.
(WD uses affiliate links)
What prompted you to write this book?
It started, like all great stories, out of spite: I read a bad book and decided to come up with an idea for a book I personally would love. And then I started to write it.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It went really quickly, and the idea never varied. I wrote the first draft in about six months, signed with an agent about two months later, and had a publication deal about two months after that. The published book is not too radically different from that first draft (but fewer typos, I hope).
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I had queried other projects previously with no luck whatsoever, so I went into the querying process for Spell with extremely low expectations. I was shocked that it got as much interest as it did, and as quickly, which I think goes to show the power of both a good idea and a good pitch. And luck.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I deliberately tried not to do much world-building because I didn’t want to bog the book down, but I also had the brilliant idea to make the world an archipelago with eight island kingdoms, and princes from seven of those kingdoms traipse through at one point or another. Which meant… a lot of world-building, in the end.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
One of my favorite reviews ever of a book was of The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet, where it was described as being like a warm hug. I very much hope readers feel the same about mine.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Absolutely write the book you want to read. Odds are, someone else out there wants that book too.
