Lyndsay Ely: We All Deserve a Little Escapism
In this interview, author Lyndsay Ely discusses going darker in her new fantasy novel, The Lost Reliquary.
Lyndsay Ely is an author of science fiction and fantasy across YA and adult categories. Her debut, Gunslinger Girl, was a YA genre-bent dystopian Western. She has also published an Overwatch tie-in novel, Deadlock Rebels, is a contributor to Overwatch 2: Heroes Ascendant: An Overwatch Story Collection, and is currently working on an upcoming interactive adventure novel for Five Nights at Freddy’s: Escape the Pizzaplex. She currently resides in Boston. Follow her on X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.
In this interview, Lyndsay discusses going darker in her new fantasy novel, The Lost Reliquary, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Lyndsay Ely
Literary agent: Laura Zats (Headwater Literary Management)
Book title: The Lost Reliquary
Publisher: Saga Press
Release date: October 21, 2025
Genre/category: Fantasy
Previous titles: Gunslinger Girl (Jimmy Patterson, 2018), Deadlock Rebels: An Overwatch Story (AFK/Scholastic, 2021), Overwatch 2: Heroes Ascendant: An Overwatch Story Collection (contributor, Blizzard Entertainment, 2024), Five Nights at Freddy’s: Escape the Pizzaplex (AFK/Scholastic, 2025),
Elevator pitch: A divinely blessed warrior bound to the last living goddess plots deicide to win her freedom.
What prompted you to write this book?
Strangely, this was mostly a reason to switch up perspectives; I’d never written a full book before in first person. I’d also been toeing the line between YA and adult books for a while; this story was a chance to write a little denser and a little darker. I also have to admit there were (and still are) many happenings in the world that had me thinking a lot about why people believe what they believe and how far they’ll go to push those beliefs. That certainly played a part.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
A few years, at least, as most books do. If I did enough digging, I’d probably be able to come up with a more detailed timeline, but I try to have enough projects going on that I’m not overly focused on what’s happening with, say, the one on submission with editors, whose future is mostly out of your hands. There really wasn’t much of a change in the core idea of this story as I wrote it, though. A few significant rewrites (especially of certain sections) but overall Point A and Point Z were what I had in mind when I began.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I don’t know if this would be a surprise, but it’s always a little shocking how you can wait and wait and wait and then suddenly, everything starts happening, unexpectedly, and all at once. And then you’re back to waiting. But that’s publishing!
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
This is my first multi-book story, and though I’d written and revised it a bunch, I hadn’t given a ton of thought to the sequel, outside of a few key beats. Then, when there was some interest in it, I had to scramble a little to connect those dots into the actual second half of the story. While that timeline was a bit of a surprise, what wasn’t was never really knowing how much thought and energy to put into a project before it’s sold.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Hopefully, an enjoyable adventure story that will allow readers take a little break from real life. The world has been really heavy lately—getting heavier every day—and sometimes it’s nice to dive into worlds that are different from our own. We all deserve a little escapism now and then.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Finish the thing. Nothing happens unless you finish the thing.
