FRANCESCA TYER

I was eight years old when I decided I wanted to become an author. I was already a keen poet and was also experimenting with short stories and plays. In part, my passion for writing was fuelled by my enthusiasm for reading. Like many children, I had discovered the magic of escaping into worlds that were not my own: Hundred Acre Wood, Narnia, Hogwarts, and many other imaginary realms.

The desire be a writer went deeper than my love of reading, however. From a young age, I was gripped by an inexplicable urge to write. The ‘urge’ was not dissimilar to the ‘agony of an untold story’ described by Maya Angelou. It was like I was possessed, constantly distracted by ideas and only truly satisfied when I was writing. Nearly every waking moment, at school and at home, was spent dreaming of one day becoming an author.

That dream came true when, shortly after graduating from Royal Holloway, University of London with a Bachelor’s in English Literature, my debut novel The Firestone was accepted for publication. I first came up with the story aged fifteen but rewrote it many times before its eventual publication. The journey was not plain sailing – I had my fair share of rejections first, but never in those fourteen years of fostering my author dream did I give up hope.

Becoming an author sparked a desire to work with other writers. I started my career as a freelance editor, content writer and tutor before establishing the Untold Stories Academy in 2023.