Meet Rosaline Amlett

We were lucky to catch up with Rosaline Amlett recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rosaline, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

If I dig deep enough down I’d say the root of my resilience feeds on fear. I am more afraid of being conquered by my fear than I am of failure. I remember at a young age, around three, being terrified by the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney. Once we got off I realized I was okay and I turned to my mother and begged her to take me to get back on it. I think that was the seed of the fear. From that I hardened myself against worrying about failure, and my entire life that has propelled me to try everything that I wanted and to keep going. I would fall out of trees and knock the wind out of myself, but always got back up because I loved climbing them too much to carry that worry. I think that set me up well for High School, I didn’t get into the art school I wanted to for writing but I kept writing (it certainly helped that my English teacher called them in front of me and told them they made a mistake) but had I not failed to get into that school, I may not have spent my senior year abroad in Slovakia. I was the first student in my small school to go abroad, and of all years my senior year! They clutched their pearls gasping at the idea I was missing my senior prom. I learned so much about myself in that year. I took all of that into the Marine Corps where you face a lot of your fears. I remember one time my team and I were getting ready to rappel down a cliff for training, and I was crying in line because I was so nervous. I have a fear of falling when I feel unsecured, and nothing felt secure about going down a cliff with a heavy pack strapped to me and harness around my hips from a rope I tied myself. My team thought it was hilarious, finally something scared me. But I did it, and I didn’t even puke. As an adult writer coming off my first failed query I wear it as a badge of honor, and have taken what I learned to apply to the next attempt to get an agent. I have adopted the “if not this one, the next one.” attitude, because what other option do I have? To quit? How terrifying does that sound?

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

In 2021 I cannonballed into the independent writing world. I had no idea what I was doing, but I had the overwhelming urge to put my work out there again. I had spent my teenage years writing on DeviantArt and fan fiction on Quizilla. I had continued to write sparsely in my twenties but at thirty after getting to the semi-finals of a first chapter contest I couldn’t keep it in anymore. After a decade off I jumped back in. The risk was rewarding.

I launched my pen name “Rosaline Woodrow” (the last name a nod to the FanFictions of my youth which were mostly Oliver Wood second chance romances) with a romcom serial titled “So It Goes” that quickly became a KindleVella favorite. Then I tried my hand at a historical romance with a regency inspired story, “Dearest Georgiana” that made it to the top 70 of the thousands of stories on the platform. My next serial was a “readers choice” I pitched a few ideas and they voted on a Hades and Persephone retelling , while it did well it wasn’t as big of a heavy hitter and I ended up publishing the story under the title “Finding Persephone” in print and Ebook to try my hand at self-publishing, it is my best seller.

Finding Persephone was an exposure to the darker side of my voice, and that may be why my serial audience wasn’t as enthusiastic about it as the others, but I had a taste of letting that side of me out and so I decided to take another dive. I released on serial a New Adult Paranormal romance “The Psych and The Guard”, I had big dreams for the world. And while it did make its way to being a top favorite, I think the stark contrast from Adult romcoms to drug addiction and death at college ages ended up not sticking. I wrapped up that story and took a chance querying Dearest Georgiana, after 80 rejections I self-published it and I am very proud of the novel that story became.

The best part of all of that rejection was one of the final ones I received (some agents don’t even send them, they have a timeline that if they don’t respond it is a “no”). The agent loved the story and my voice, but it didn’t fit into his wheelhouse of what he knows how to sell. His words were lining up with some of the early reviews for Dearest Georgiana we’re lining up to say “you’re in the wrong genre.” And I took some time off to realize that it was true, the romcoms weren’t what I wanted to write, it just happened to be what I was good at, and while I never say I’m not going to write them anymore, I am giving the darker side of me a chance to shine. If you go by, “writing what you know” then it is very clear that my life has put me on the right path to write Fantasy. I am stepping back from Indie Publishing and have am going to put my all into getting and agent and take my stories beyond what I could do on my own. I am taking the mentality “if not this one, then the next one.” I will find my agent.

Since I was no longer actively writing under my pen name I stepped back from my social media without much announcement. Honestly it was a relief at the time, I was having a hard time connecting with my target audience at the time. But after stepping away something incredible happened… people started reaching out to me wondering where I had gone and missing my “content”. There were times people referred to me as a “writing influencer” and I think the words lead to my downfall and pulling away from socials. But then, the people emailing me weren’t even my readers. They were people enjoyed my lifestyle of “your friendly reclusive cottage witch” because I was sharing the daily details of my homesteading, and how I juggled being a stay-at-home-mother of three young kids, maintained a marriage, and was able to write three novels in a year. People who didn’t even write were enjoying my words that motivated them in their own lives to make subtle changes or to take the leaps they were afraid of.

To a fiction writer the idea that people liked me for me, perhaps more than my work was terrifying. But there was something fulfilling in knowing that people loved my photography and it encouraged them to stop an appreciate the small details in life. And even more heart swelling was the emails about how much vulnerability was appreciated. I always aimed to be honest about my life and the process of publishing, sharing the ugly bits and moment in-between. My husband told me to lean into it and be a content creator, and I decided I would. Then panic set in and I stopped (I also tanked my iron at the same time so looking back they may have been part of it.) But I doubled down on the idea that I am a fiction author, even though everyone was telling me they loved my non-fiction. It almost felt as if I had failed in some way.

I didn’t want to keep jumping into things without thinking anymore because that would lead to me ultimately burning it down. So while my husband’s schedule changed suddenly, I took the opportunity to step back for a year and make a plan. I learned that I couldn’t just dismiss the writer in me and niche down on either side of content. When I reached out to a few of those who liked my content, they said that was why they liked me, because I wasn’t one thing. I had to figure out how I could reach out and share my world with the world that didn’t make it seem like I was monetizing my life and I have slowly been testing the waters under a new handle @livingcozywithrosie. It’s been in soft launch for the past few months but come July I plan to fully return to my “Rosaline Woodrow” glory but as “Rosaline Amlett.”

Perhaps coming back as myself under my own name I can feel more stable. Knowing I am not letting go of my writing dream and am sharing it again has put wind in my sails. I could never give that up and purely make content, but giving people a little bit of my boldness when they need it by sharing my story? I can do that. Even if it makes me cringe.

Living Cozy With Rosie will reach beyond Instagram and have a blog teaching as much as I can about how to live a more cozy and happy life. I am starting with a series called “one less convenience” which will explain how I didn’t start my lifestyle and homesteading overnight, but you cultivate the life you want one change at a time. I want to help people reconnect with their daily lives, teach them that they don’t need my romantic life they can romanticize their own. Though I get it, we can’t all have chickens, ducks, and bees so I don’t mind lending them that part when I can. But life isn’t always pretty dresses and teacups over here in Rosie’s world, what I learned they come to me for more than anything else is my ability to motivate them with tough love and stoicism.

Social Media can be a daunting place, but we are in control of what we consume and what we produce, and it turns out I had unintentionally created a cozy corner in the world.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The greatest asset to becoming a great writer, is to become a great liver. The best thing I have done for myself was that I did it all. I went to live in a foreign country at 17 on my own. I studied languages in the military where I got to sleep in snow coffins for 12 days on the side of the mountain. So many experiences that are now in my mental library to access for those fine details that bring a story to life.

Failure is a success and should be celebrated. My favorite thing about the writing community is our celebration of failure. We wear our rejections like badges of honor. I like to set rejection goals where I gift myself something ever X amount. Failure means you’re trying, and there is always opportunity in it. I am so grateful my last novel didn’t get picked up because it gave me a chance to try something else and find where I really belonged.

Where you start isn’t indicative of where you’re going, but not starting is a surefire way to make sure you never move. My favorite example of this is a dear friend (Amy Shane) who started out on social media body painting book covers and by being open to new ideas and taking chances she has recently landed in the vintage dress community. Take risk and opportunity and enjoy the journey of growing and becoming more.

No one owes you anything. For writers: Agents don’t owe you a rejection letter, nonetheless a personalized one. For those starting social media, no one is obligated to follow you or interact with your content. You cannot control other people or expect them to comply to your expectations. Knowing that and letting it go can help you handle the slow growth, the low views, the unanswered responses. All you have control of is yourself and moving forward.

And most importantly, believe you’re the exception but accept you’re the rule. Never stop believing in your magic and allow yourself to day dream of that viral video, that instant best seller… but accept that if it doesn’t happen overnight you are going to have to work for it like most of the “overnight successes” that are actually a multiple year journey.

Let your voice find you.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

I know it is meant to be an anti-war book that is dark and morbid, but it came to my teenage hands at a critical point in my life. I had a span of time where it felt like so many people were dying in my life that I was beginning to believe I may be Harry Potter.

Slaughterhouse-Five gave me a way to cope. “So it Goes.” What a horribly dark simplistic look at death. But the way the Tralfamadorian’s viewed life due to their ability to time travel has been a pillar in my life. The idea that the dead are only unwell in this moment but they are always alive in the past and we can visit them there (in our memories) and they live in future through us has given me comfort at many funerals. I even read that excerpt during my own Father’s eulogy ten years after the first time I read the book.

And you may have noticed my first serial was titled “So It Goes.” It was an homage to Vonnegut who was from Indiana, where I currently live and where the story takes place. Since the story follows a widow, I found the opportunity to keep Kurt Vonnegut alive by bringing his work into the story.

And looking back at this as an artist I think a secondary important lesson is, we can’t define how people interpret our work. We know what we INTEND to say when we create a piece, but people bring their own experiences and perceptions to their understanding. We can’t dictate what other people perceive. Sure you can explain your intent, but be open to see what others do. It is one of the most beautiful aspects of humanity.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @livingcozywithrosie
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingCozyWithRosie
• Other: https://substack.com/@rosalinewoodrow For updates specifically on my writing journey

  https://substack.com/search/livingcozywithrosie Living Cozy with Rosie Newsletter officially launches in July

Image Credits

Rosaline Amlett