For as long as I can remember, stories have been part of who I am. I’ve always loved the mystery of not knowing what comes next, creating characters who seem to develop minds of their own, and watching an idea that started in my imagination slowly become a world on the page.

But life has a habit of taking us in unexpected directions.

I built a career, raised my daughter and got on with all the things that everyday life demanded. Writing remained with me, sometimes quietly in the background and sometimes refusing to leave me alone.

Then, at 58, something changed.

I decided it was time to stop treating writing as something I would get around to “one day.”

One day became today.

Books that had lived on my computer and in my imagination began becoming real books. Buried Secrets, The Intruder, Creatures, Otto and Jenny’s Adventure Down by the Lake, Wishes Do Come True and Café Cakes each have completely different personalities — which probably says something about the way my mind works! One minute I’m wandering through dark secrets and sinister mysteries, and the next I’m following children on an adventure or hoping a little cat finds her forever home.

And I love every bit of it.

Somewhere along the way, another idea began to grow.

Why stop at publishing my books?

That question became Cozyn House Publishing.

I wanted to create a home for my stories — somewhere mystery, suspense, adventure and children’s books could happily exist together. A place that didn't insist every story had to fit neatly into the same box.

There is still an enormous amount I want to do. There are more stories to write, more characters waiting impatiently for their turn, and plenty more for me to learn about publishing.

But this website marks something important.

I started.

Maybe that is the biggest lesson this journey has taught me so far: there isn't an age by which you're supposed to have achieved your dream. Sometimes the right time arrives much later than you expected.

And sometimes, starting later simply means you have more stories to tell.

Welcome to Cozyn House Publishing.

Amanda Cozyn ❤️

People sometimes ask me where I get the ideas for my stories.

I wish I could say I sit down at my desk with a perfectly organised plan, carefully map out every character and plot twist, and then calmly begin writing.

That would be a lie. 😂

My stories tend to arrive when they feel like it.

Sometimes an idea begins with a place. Sometimes it’s a single scene that appears in my head. Other times it’s a question: What if this happened? And before I know it, that one question has become characters, secrets, problems and an entire story that didn’t exist five minutes earlier.

My imagination also doesn't appear to understand the concept of choosing a genre.

One day I'm writing about buried secrets, danger and people who definitely should not be trusted. The next I'm following Otto and Jenny on an adventure by the lake. Then a little cat wants a forever home, or Alex and Bruno are dragging me into the strange world of Café Cakes.

Apparently, my brain has no intention of specialising. And I've decided to let it have its way.

That's one of the things I love most about writing.

There are no rules about where your imagination is allowed to take you.

I can walk into the darkness with Creatures, open a door I probably shouldn't in The Intruder, travel from Cape Town to Egypt with Buried Secrets, and then come back and write something gentle, funny or magical for children.

Very often, the characters surprise me too. I may create them, but once I start writing, they have an annoying habit of developing personalities of their own. They don't always behave the way I intended, and occasionally they take the story somewhere I hadn't planned at all.

Those moments are some of my favourites.

Because that's when writing stops feeling like I'm constructing a story and starts feeling like I'm discovering one.

I don't know where every future story will come from.

And I think that's exactly how I like it.

There are still plenty of strange ideas wandering around inside my head waiting for their turn.

You'll just have to wait and see which one escapes next.

Amanda Cozyn ✍️❤️