Amelie West is an author and fiction editor from Toronto, Canada, who crafts dark, atmospheric gothic mysteries featuring strong, complex heroines. She draws inspiration from authors like Simone St. James, Deanna Raybourn, and Ava Reid. When she isn’t lost in her latest manuscript, Amelie can be found wandering old bookstores or enjoying the company of her two loyal companions—a French bulldog and a pug mix.
NL: The Last Daughter of Usher Isle releases November 17th. What was the timeline of conceiving the idea to publication?
AW: I started outlining the book in 2023, but the plot changed a lot over the following years as I became more familiar with the kinds of stories I actually enjoy writing. I didn’t truly start drafting until earlier this year, and then I finally finished the manuscript in 2026 in preparation for the Kickstarter, which launched in July. The regular edition will officially publish on November 17, 2026, so from the initial idea in 2023 to publication in 2026, it’s been roughly three years.
NL: Can you speak to your pre-publication experience for this book? For example, did you have years of slogging through submissions to agents for the traditional publishing route, or did you decide from the beginning that you wanted to self publish?
AW: I’ve known from the beginning that I wanted to self-publish! I really enjoy having full control of my creative projects, and of my author career, so I knew self-publishing was the path I wanted to take.
NL: What was your publishing journey like for Usher vs your previous books? How did the Kickstarter come about and what gave you the idea to use that platform for the hardcover?
AW: The Last Daughter of Usher Isle is my sixth publication, so the publishing process was pretty straightforward for me outside of deciding to try Kickstarter. I had always wanted to try launching a special edition campaign, but as a Canadian, I put it off for a long time because it felt like financially it wouldn’t be feasible (due to increased tariffs and shipping costs). But this is the first standalone novel I’ve published, so it seemed like if I wanted to try Kickstarter, this would be a great book to try it with.
NL: What service did you use to produce the hard cover edition of Usher for the Kickstarter, and what has that experience been like so far?
AW: I am using Sese printing services! I haven’t received the books yet, but they’re in the printing process and so far things have been fairly smooth.
NL: Your cover art for Usher is gorgeous! How did that design and art come about?
AW: Thank you! For all of my cover designs, I use Miblart. I wanted something that felt historical and gothic that would give a good idea for the type of story inside. I sent over some examples of covers I really liked with that vibe–This Vicious Hunger by Francesca May, Not Good for Maidens by Tori Bovalino, and The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi. And they took it from there.
NL: What drew you to the subject matter of Usher? Were there certain historical facts that wouldn’t leave you alone, or was it just a certain idea or feeling that ignited your creativity to tell this story?
AW: What I liked about The Fall of the House of Usher was that there was so much room for interpretation. You could definitely view the story as supernatural, but there’s also opportunity to imagine different reasons behind the events that play out. I thought it would be fun to take the story and say “what if the explanation behind these events was actually X instead of Y?”
NL: What was your research process like for Usher? Did you take any interesting research “field trips”?
AW: Unfortunately, I’m living up to the “broke author” stereotype, so I didn’t have the funds to do any sort of research trip! I would love to one day. My research process ended up being anything I could find online to make the story feel realistic—mainly articles and podcast episodes.
NL: What is your “day job” and how does it inform your writing, if at all, and/or how do you stay disciplined to balance writing with said “day job”?
AW: I am a freelance editor! So I definitely have the “time” to write, it’s really more about just balancing editing stories with writing my own and continuing to read for fun without getting burned out.
NL: You have many titles under your belt – how did your first book come about and how was the reception?
AW: My first book was An Insidious Inheritance which I published in January 2025. That story really came about because I had been reading Simone St. James’ backlist of paranormal historical books that felt a little bit like historical mysteries yet also had ghosts and a romantic subplot. I really struggled to find anything that felt like those books, so I decided to write it myself! And it’s hard to say how it was received, but I think pretty good—I have readers who enjoy the series and are excited for the next release.
NL: You seem to be really good at “playing the social media game” and marketing as a whole on social media. Your Instagram is sitting at 11k followers, which is considerable for a self-published author. Can you speak to how you developed your social media presence and about how long it took to gain the audience you have now?
AW: I started my social media about 6 months before I published my first book because I knew I would need some sort of presence to get people to find out my books even existed. I posted regularly and always tried to consider the kinds of things my readers would be interested in seeing online (rather than only thinking about what I wanted to share), and from there it took me almost two years to get to 1,200 followers. In June of 2026, for some reason one of my posts got more traction than it normally did, and the more I posted that kind of content afterwards (gothic book TBRs), the more I have continued to grow.
NL: And now for a fun question…If a director were to make a film of Usher, who would you pick? Would you want to adapt the story into a screenplay yourself? Or would you not want to be involved at all?
AW: I have to be honest (because I know so many authors dream of their book becoming a movie), but I am not a movie person at all! I don’t have any favorite actors or directors. I kind of just like books as a fiction medium! Of course, it would be cool to be that financially stable (since I know movies make a lot of money), but I would probably just let them do their thing.
NL: What already published book do you wish you’d written?
AW: I love The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson so much! When I finished it, I thought it was very clear “what happened” and why, and then I went to reviews and saw that so many people disagreed with me. It was cool to see how one story could be interpreted in many different ways by different people.
NL: Do you have any events or upcoming publications you’d like to promote (that you can talk about)? Or, what are you working on next (if you are at liberty to say)? Or, would you like to shout out an organization or cause people should know about?
AW: I have a few publications coming up next year, but the one that is confirmed is the fourth Clara Dawson book, A Fatal Farewell, coming in February!
Thank you!
The Last Daughter of Usher Isle comes out November 17th. Find out more about Amelie’s work here and follow her Instagram here.
