Elise Haroldson

My author journey…

The inspiration for my first manuscript hit me during a visit to our local museum with my three young sons in 2018. The exhibit featured mythological creatures, and we enjoyed learning about the history of everything from unicorns to mermaids to dragons. As a fantasy enthusiast, I’ve read fun, epic adventures that featured most of the mythological creatures in the exhibit—except one.

This visit left me curious to learn more. After researching the topic, I experimented with concepts and theories in my imagination. Then, inspiration hit me in the most unlikely of places—during a quiet moment while reading my Bible.

After that day, the idea for a young adult book wouldn’t leave me. I mulled it over for another year. Characters came to life. The perfect setting developed (a location that we visited often). Fast forwarding to January 2020, I finally sat down and wrote the story. I did not know what I was doing, but I typed chapter after chapter—melding together the styles of some of my favorite young adult books.

When I finished my rough draft four months later, I knew I had something unique and fun, but it needed a lot of work. I had never written a book before, so I had a lot to learn. I spent the next year digging into the craft of writing, sent the manuscript to a developmental editor, and edited my story, all while learning about the publishing industry.

In the spring of 2021, I entered the ACFW Genesis contest. I wasn’t a finalist, but the judges provided great feedback and suggestions, leading to another round of edits as I tightened my starting chapters. Then, in the fall of 2021, I discovered I was a finalist in the second contest I had ever entered. The ACFW Virginia Crown Award and the Royal Writers conference was the catalyst for my aspiring author journey. From that online conference, I met other authors, plugged into an ACFW critique group, joined Instagram, began blogging, and started networking with other aspiring and published authors.

Since then, this manuscript has gone on to be a finalist in three other contests: the Oregon Christian Writers Cascade Awards, ACFW First Impressions, and Realm Makers Aurora Awards. Then in 2025, this manuscript WON the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award.

Most of 2025 was spent querying and pitching to agents and acquisition editors. In the summer of 2025, I received four book proposal requests while at Realm Makers, and a fifth came shortly after. Those proposal requests led to four full manuscript requests. I finally felt like I was getting somewhere!

When I won the Genesis in early September, two small presses reached out to let me know they were bumping me up to the top of their lists. Then, in October, I received the opportunity for a revise and resubmit to WhiteCrown, an imprint of the White Fire Publishing Group.

The fact that this publisher had two editors read my entire manuscript and that both liked it enough to offer feedback gave me hope. So, I took the opportunity and dove back into my manuscript, applying their editorial notes and fleshing out my novel even more. Permitted to add 10,000 words and picturing my novel on a bookshelf next to the other amazing WhiteCrown titles elevated my creativity in new and exciting ways.

I resubmitted a few days before Christmas, and knew I had another period of waiting. Then, a second publisher started emailing me, expressing a strong interest. I sent them the freshly edited manuscript. January was full of a few communications from both publishers, and my heart was filled with hope that one of them would take a chance on my manuscript.

Then February went quiet. So quiet it was deafening. I admit, my heart filled with despair. I was so close, and I feared it would result in rejection. After lots of prayer, I was convicted by the Spirit that I was not trusting in God’s sovereign plan for my author journey. My mantra all along has been “If God wills it, God will make a way.” But I had wrenched the manuscript back from God, and was holding so tightly, trying to force something to happen. I needed to release it to God and trust in his plan and path.

Shortly after that decision, I felt led to turn my attention back to my other finished young adult fantasy manuscript. I decided to submit it to the Genesis contest just a few days before the March 1 deadline. Maybe Treeple was just meant to open doors, and my second manuscript is the story that the world needed right now. Both of these stories are near and dear to my heart, and I have more stories formulating in my mind. Each story is inspired by God’s Word. I didn’t know when my opportunity would come, but I submitted my life to God as a teller of His story, not mine.

Two weeks later, things picked up. My first contract offer came out of the blue from the second publisher. I let WhiteCrown know, and they quickly got to work reviewing my revised manuscript. When the acquisition editor let me know that Roseanna M. White had read my manuscript, loved it, and planned to make an offer, I was in awe. Only God could orchestrate something like that.

With two contracts in hand, I had a hard decision and lots of prayers poured forth. But the path was clear, and I signed with WhiteCrown on April 10th, 2026. Book #1 of The Treeple Chronicles will be released on May 11, 2027. I’m excited to work with this amazing team of editors and authors at WhiteCrown. Check them out at www.whitecrownpublishing/authors

Then, May rolled around. Remember how I submitted my second manuscript to the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest? Well, I had forgotten! So, I was caught off guard when I received the happy call from the contest organizers letting me know I was a semi-finalist in the Young Adult category! It is an honor to have my second manuscript recognized, as well. (I’m purposely not sharing the title of this manuscript, as the judging is “blind.” Stay tuned until the end of August when I can share more about this manuscript!) This will be my last hurrah in the pre-published writing contests. I am so thankful to the ACFW Genesis contest and the doors it opened for Treeple.

I invite you to join me on my author journey. I’m just getting started! Sign up for my newsletter to receive updates and clean teen book reviews. I’d love to stay connected. – elise