It is far too late in 2026 to call this an end-of-year 2025 summary (which I totally intended to bring to you), so instead let’s just call this post a “catch-up session”, so to speak.
Last year probably my busiest year ever in terms of both writing and art–and SURPRISE!! in music too!
That’s right, I finally did something with music. But more on that in a minute. Since this is not only a recap of 2025, it’s also an update on 2026 as well as a projection for what’s up next. So let’s start at the beginning and follow the narrative.
2025, TOO MUCH TO EXPLAIN SO I’LL SUMMARIZE
In 2025, I published my first novel in over 10 years,, Thief, Witch, & Liar. Because of the book’s release, I decided to take myself seriously and dedicate more time to both my online presence as an author and artist, and also my in-person efforts by attending various book events and meeting my readers. It was an excellent decision, and it turned out to be so rewarding and enjoyable that I intend to keep up those efforts. You can read about my experiences at one of the bigger conferences, (Realm Makers) here.
Throwing myself headlong into that author and artist mindset really got my creative motor running as well, so my rate of production also increased. After leveling up a bit in my illustration capabilities, I decided to revamp how I classify and price commissions, which will hopefully make my services even more affordable than before, while also improving the general quality of the art I can produce. If you’ve never visited my commission page, you can see its most current version here.
I picked up one large commission at the Realm Maker’s conference for author Mara Weiss. Her book isn’t ready for publication yet, so I can’t show you the cool character art she ordered, but it was absolutely a pleasure to do, and I look forward to the day she’s ready to release so I can share our collaboration!
Mostly, my artistic endeavors went to illustrating my own stories, most notably Hosts of Heaven, the serial novelette I released over the Christmas season in 2025!
Producing Hosts of Heaven was a dream come true. I always incorporate a few faith-elements into my work, but this was the first explicitly Christian literature I’ve publicly produced, and it was freeing. Hopefully it was an encouragement to those who read it. Furthermore, I’ve always wanted to do a serialized story, and the experience turned out to be everything I’ve always hoped it would be. I mean to do more of these in the future, so watch for announcements on upcoming stories.
I also had a short story published in Clean Fiction Magazine, a quarterly publication dedicated to highlighting and reviewing clean works of fiction, literary and otherwise. My story, The Light That Promises Warmth, was a 1,500-word coastal gothic, detailing the eerie experiences of Briddie, a young lighthouse keeper who is haunted by a group of mysterious but beautiful ghostly lights that appear to her when she is alone. I’m very proud of this story; the atmosphere was heavily based on my travels in Northern Ireland, and the romance (spoiler alert, there’s romance) was an absolute pleasure to write.
If you’d like to read that story, I recommend picking up the 2025 Winter Edition of Clean Fiction Magazine for yourself. You can get it through Amazon, or through their website which I linked above. Eventually, I’ll release that story here as well, but that’s a way down the road for now.
I’ve decided I want to start releasing free short stories here on this site more often, so keep an eye out for that. I’ll be sure to send out a post when I release a new one. 😉
Speaking of things I want to do with this site, that brings us to the announcement I teased at in the opening–MUSIC!!
MUSIC
I’ve always had a page on Glorious Stories dedicated to my music, which has up until now merely stated “music coming soon”. I have now officially uploaded a single composition of mine titled Within Sight of Sea.
People who met me at the conferences last year were very curious about my music. I don’t have an album recorded and ready to go yet, but I am working with a studio to record and develop my compositions, and this piece is one that we have ready. It’s going to be a long time yet before I officially have an album to share, but for now you can get a taste of what I write by visiting my Music page and listening to the sample available there. You can also read about some of my musical influences and preferred styles.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Editing
Apart from the projects listed in my last On the Docket post (which are still ongoing), I’ve taken on two large editing commissions for other people’s books, as well as beta reading for my dear friend Sarah Pennington. I’m not what you’d call ‘open for business’ as a professional editor, but it’s something I do on the side for selected writers. Maybe one day I’ll add it to the official list of services I offer, but for now I keep it small. That being said, I’m very excited about these projects. Yesterday I finished Pennington’s project, and the others are underway. One of them is shooting for a 2026 release, and I’ll be helping with the production of that book as well, so you’ll likely hear more about it when the time is right.
In the midst of this, I am still editing Part I of my Rise of Ralienah saga. It’s going slower than I’d hoped, but in a good way. I’m very glad I chose to do this before blazing ahead with Part IV, and I think it will improve the overall quality of the series. I have to fight my impatience; I SO WANT TO FINISH these books and release them already… but I know I wont regret taking the time I need to finish them the way they deserve to be finished.
Art
I’m hoping to pick up as many commissions as I can for art this summer–I’ve really enjoyed the process of working with other authors to bring their visions to life. But until business picks up, I’m working on slowly replacing the covers of my free short stories one by one with updated covers.
I’ve really been having a fun time learning the art of cover design with Canva. I know that using Canva is one of those things that many professional graphic designers dismiss, but for me, the tool is eye-opening. It makes digital work make sense to me in a way that other editing programs haven’t, and so I’m eternally grateful to the people who make it possible. I used it to design the cover of Thief, Witch, & Liar as well as Fleeting Dreams, and it’s like a whole new art form I get to enjoy!
I’ve got a few more covers to go, but one by one I’ll get them done. In in the mean time, I am full to bursting with ideas of what I want to draw and paint, so I’m making more time for that in my day-to-day life, which has overall led to me feeling happier and more productive in general, so all is well in that regard.
Here’s some of what I’ve been up to lately…
Writing
Apart from my continual work on Rise of Ralienah, the next on my list of things to work on is the Wilbur Gilfy stories, a line of children’s books that I talked about in my On the Docket post. I completed illustrations for two more stories, so I’ll be writing and formatting a rough draft for print versions in the next month or so.
I had a really fun idea for a retelling of Cinderella in a space-fantasy setting, so I’m working on the plot for that as well. I’ve been dying to get into soft sci-fi/space fantasy, so this potentially short project would be the perfect way to test the waters.
IN CLOSING
2025 was a full and encouraging year, and this year is already shaping up to be the same. I’m grateful to God for affording me the internal peace, energy, and mental fortitude to do all of this, and for blessing me with a life that allows for it. I feel His pleasure when I write, when I draw, when I make music, and when I go out and interact with His creations, my fellow human beings. I pray that by continuing to write and produce my work that opportunities to minister will open, and as long as I have the freedom and ability to do so by His grace, I will.
Thanks for following along!
–Emmarayn
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Glorious Stories 
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