Fantasy writer, recording artist and storyteller Amaris Emersleben finds inspiration in the vast, mysterious depths of the ocean in her gripping new novel “SHADOWS OF CERULEAN”. Raised in Switzerland and later based in London, Amaris creates narratives about underwater realms, tapping into a genuine life-long fascination with the deep blue abyss. A multi-talented true creative, Amaris Emersleben brings universal themes of selflessness, heroism, ethics and social responsibility to light in this epic and suspenseful story certain to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Before turning to fiction, Amaris built a career in music as a recording artist, songwriter, and playlist manager for a major record label. She released six albums, earning over 100,000 streams on Spotify with her latest record, Love and Oceans, which was inspired by the oceans. Her work has been featured in YourEDM, EARMILK, and Hype Magazine, among others. Through her writing and live readings, she advocates for marine preservation and the stories that connect humanity to the oceans.

“SHADOWS OF CERULEAN” follows a thief who infiltrates a submerged city to save her dying home.

“This story began with a late-night drawing of a submerged city on my iPad, and from there evolved into this book. Shadows of Cerulean is about belonging, deception, and finding love where you’d least expect it. I hope that readers will fall in love with the oceans and appreciate their beauty and how they inspire us.” – Amaris Emersleben

The power of human connection and relationship grapple with a city on the verge of total collapse while facing the untamed elements and deep-sea monstrosities in this harrowing tale. “SHADOWS OF CERULEAN” will be released February 25, published by BellingsBooks, with the digital version published by the author directly.

Buy “SHADOWS OF CERULEAN” here.
Visit Amaris Emersleben’s author page at Good Reads.

“SHADOWS OF CERULEAN” Synopsis:

Bead, a 1-year-old thief, survives in the city’s abandoned deep-sea district. Severed from the rest of Cerulean after the only Connection broke, the citizens of the Deep Sea have been relying on looting to survive for as long as Bead can remember. At the same time, all wealth, technology, and maintenance are now a privilege only enjoyed by those residing in the wealthy districts of Downtown. The Plans – the blueprints that maintain the City of Cerulean – are somewhere in Downtown, and Downtown no longer shares them with the deep districts.

After an unknown force nearly destroys her district, Bead ends up inside the submersible of her enemy – Song, a high-ranking citizen from Downtown. Bead comes up with a plan: Pretending to be a researcher, she deceives Song and infiltrates Downtown with one goal: Stealing the Plans that keep the city alive and taking them to the deep districts – and save her dying home.

But the longer Bead stays in Downtown, the more fissures she discovers in the glossy surface of Cerulean. As she spends more time with Song, and it becomes harder for her to view him as an enemy, Bead suddenly discovers where the Plans are hidden. Torn between her growing feelings for Song and her responsibility to her people, Bead faces a decision: Deceive and ultimately lose Song – or fail the people in her collapsing district.

Determined, Bead steals the vessel holding the Plans, but Song finally discovers her deceit. Bead learns that the Plans she stole were fake – that the real Plans have been lost to Downtown, and fell into the bottom of the Deep Sea years ago when a Deep-sea monster assaulted the city.

When Song takes her away in his submersible to cast her out of Downtown, an ancient terror emerges from the depths and attacks them – the same Deep-sea monster that nearly destroyed Bead’s district. After their submersible falls into the Deep Sea, Song offers Bead the only diving suit on board, telling her to save herself. Bead decides to dive into the depths, leaving Song behind in the collapsing submersible, determined to save him and retrieve the Plans from the Deep Sea.

After defeating the ancient Deep-sea monster, Bead saves Song and returns with him and the Plans to Downtown. Cerulean becomes one connected city again, and her home is saved. Bead returns to her district, but she and Song can finally be together, and their city will be connected again.

Book links:

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/246884779-shadows-of-cerulean
Books2read preorder/buy link: https://books2read.com/u/mljAzZ
BookSirens ARC signup: https://booksirens.com/book/O30PLGZ/NWD1KYV
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silvermaranth
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18153603.Amaris_Emersleben
Website: https://awemersleben.com/
Spotify::https://open.spotify.com/artist/6oqjlwI9NonKlLldVEObEf
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@silvermaranth
Email: connect@awemersleben.com

Get to Know Amaris Emersleben

Amaris Emersleben is a bilingual writer and recording artist whose storytelling is deeply inspired by the oceans and their submerged worlds. Raised in Switzerland and later based in London, she creates narratives about underwater realms. Her fantasy short novel “Shadows of Cerulean” will be published in early 2026.

Raised in Switzerland with family from Switzerland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, she grew up speaking English, German, and Dutch. Amaris received her formal training at drama school and at the Stage & Musical School in Frankfurt, Germany. Inspired by working with electronic music for her dance studies, she released her first EDM-inspired album in 2014.

Before turning to fiction, Amaris built a career in music as a recording artist and songwriter and worked as a playlist manager for Sony Music. She released six albums, with her 2020 album Dream World and her most recent record, Love and Oceans, each earning over 100,000 streams on Spotify. In 2019, she wrote and starred in the short film Supernova, playing the character of Dr Moone. Her work has been featured in YourEDM, EARMILK, and Hype Magazine, among others.

In 2021, her fantasy book Lagoona: A Journey through the Reef was published, followed by the insomnia-inspired short story Nightmares. 

Through her writing and live readings, she continues to advocate for marine preservation and the stories that connect humanity to the oceans.

Book Info:

AMARIS EMERSLEBEN
WRITER, RECORDING ARTIST, STORYTELLER
SHADOWS OF CERULEAN
Publisher: BellingsBooks. (eBook edition published by Amaris Emersleben)
ISBN: 9798232092252 (eBook)
Word count: 31’000
Genre & themes: Fantasy, Adventure, futuristic, oceans, romance
Publication date: 25.02.2026
Cover illustration: Amaris Emersleben
Other: This book has been verified by the publisher as a human-written work, with no Generative AI used.