The Adventure of Writing: A Look into Holly Searcy’s Author Journey
By Annalynn Mueller, senior English Major
March 17, 2025
Pictured above: Holly Searcy
Holly Searcy graduated in 2009 from Southern Oregon University with a degree in English and Creative Writing. She originally pursued her English degree, wanting to go into editing, but found that English classes “reignited [her] passion for writing stories.” She has emeritus professor Bill Gholson to thank for that “fortunate change in [her] trajectory.” During college, Holly felt compelled to create a career in editing.
Being an English major “reignited my passion for writing and stories” and “boosted my vocabulary and affinity for wordsmithing.”
– Holly Searcy
Near the end of her undergraduate journey, Holly learned about Blackstone Audio (now Blackstone Publishing). She was intrigued by the audiobook publishing world and got an internship there the summer after graduation, thanks to emeritus Professor Ed Battistella.
Holly enjoyed her internship so much “that [she] kept showing up even after [her] intern hours were completed.” Her persistence paid off. Soon after the internship, Blackstone offered Holly a position in the copy department, where she helped grow a full team to work on book descriptions and website copy.
After seven years at Blackstone, Holly took a job at Pacific Retirement Services as an in-house marketing agent. She advanced from marketing agent to senior copywriter and creative director in her four years there. However, Holly’s passion was never in copywriting, and she was thrilled when someone from Blackstone reached out, letting her know that they were looking for manuscript readers: “I jumped on the opportunity to freelance for their reading submissions. I’m still doing that for them now, which means I get to read and write books for a living.”
As a manuscript reader, Holly is “looking for all those little details, the things that make the book work or not work, the areas that can be improved, the character motivations and development.” During college, Holly had “a particular dislike for dissecting books” because she liked to read for entertainment. Now, she separates herself into two readers: one for work, one for fun.
Pictured Above: Holly Searcy showing off her first novel at Blackstone.
Holly started writing her novel The Shiver Tree during the COVID-19 lockdown. The Shiver Tree is inspired by a six-year Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) campaign that Holly played in. The Shiver Tree is directly inspired by Holly’s campaign, telling the story of her character. After finishing this novel in 2021, Holly had her “I-want-to-do-this-forever moment.”
“I wanted to be a part of bringing the best stories to readers. Once I found the story I wanted to tell, that was it. I just want to keep doing it.”
– Holly Searcy
According to Holly, the journey to getting published was “long and crazy, but oh-so worth it.” Because she worked at Blackstone and had contacts in publishing, she was easily directed to several literary agents. Before submitting to these agents, Holly got feedback from beta readers and did many rounds of edits. The Shiver Tree stuck out to one of the agents because, like Holly, she too was an avid D&D player. This partnership seemed like an excellent fit. Holly’s agent submitted The Shiver Tree to multiple publishers. When Blackstone said they wanted to publish it, Holly “accepted the offer and never looked back.” To her, “getting to publish through a company full of people I already knew and liked was perfect.”
Holly views her writing as “less of a process and more an adventure.” While she acknowledges that outlining can be sound advice, she feels it drains her creativity “like a leaky barrel” and boxes her in. She describes her process as organic: “I know where the characters need to end up (usually), and I let them get there in their own way.” Her favorite thing about writing is “developing characters that have distinct enough personalities to guide their own journey.”
Holly loves writing fantasy because she gets to make up all the rules, and “the freedom for creativity is boundless.” She often likes to read books as an escape, “something to get lost in and revel in.” Holly hopes to offer “fictional friends” to people to “put smiles on their faces.”
“I love bringing stories to people that have the potential to add a little joy to their day.”
– Holly Searcy
When she feels stuck, Holly works to engage with content that inspires her: “a podcast, another book, or even a video game.” Recently, she went on a research trip to the UK after getting stuck on her current book. After listening to a podcast about British folklore while on a train to Scotland, she had “that beautiful ‘aha’ moment that got the story moving in [her] head again.”
Holly encourages aspiring authors to find what they are passionate about and stick to it. Even if the first draft might not be the version they hope to share with the world, it is essential to have a starting point. She firmly believes in the old adage “Write what you know.”
“Find the story you are truly passionate about telling and stick with it. If you write the stories you’d love to read, other people will almost certainly want to read them as well.”
– Holly Searcy
Currently, Holly is writing her third book, a contemporary fantasy that she is “having an absolute blast with.” Starting off, she does not have a plan, “just a general premise,” and finds “new pieces of the adventure that fall into place” every time she sits down to write. She is excited to continue to engage with this story and share it with readers.
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Interested in being featured on the English Program blog? Or know someone who is interested? Contact English Program blogger Annalynn Mueller at muellera1@sou.edu .
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