Tessera

S.L. Murray

@authorslm.bsky.social

I am a 31-year-old English teacher with a passion for cautionary tales of propaganda, morally complex romance, and characters who challenge systems built on lies. #amquerying 📝✏️📚

23 Posts41 Follower 52 Folgt

S.L. Murray @authorslm.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Just finished my 8th draft. Started 7 chapters later than my last draft, and gutted the ending to make it more fast paced. Somehow ended up adding 1100 words 😭😮‍💨. Feeling sooo frustrated #writingcommunity #authorproblems

Andrii Frolov @artandriifrolov.bsky.social · 3mo ago

"Lemon Tea" - my oil painting

S.L. Murray @authorslm.bsky.social · 3mo ago

This New Adult Gothic Fantasy Romance includes: 🌱 Dual POV’s 🖤 Ruthless, ‘The Bachelor’-esque competition 💛Slow-Burn romance 🌱 Deadly bargains 🖤 Morally complex romance 💛elemental Fae magic 🌱 Fallen Angels and Nephilim “There will never be a day I do not belong to you” #Q #questpit #A #FR

Haleigh Wenger @haleighwenger.bsky.social · 3mo ago

THE PARENT TRAP X THE UNHONEYMOONERS Co-parents of a graduating senior take her on one final trip all together, only to have her leave them stranded in Europe with no way forward but to hitchhike their way through, only one bed guaranteed! #R #C #A #QuestPit #Q

S.L. Murray @authorslm.bsky.social · 3mo ago

What the reader can enjoy at face value vs what will sit with them. THE LAST AMERIE is Romantasy meets the ‘Bachelor’. A rebel outcast is thrust into a deadly competition for the dead Queen’s crown, unknowingly as the last remnant of a bloodline the King has sworn to destroy #questpit #Q #A #F #FR

Christine Witcher | Author @authorcwitcher.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🎉The pitch that got me 3 agent offers: When a brutal breakup and a grief- and margarita-fueled spell leave Mac living with a magical boyfriend she built from scratch, she must unravel the enchantment before it destroys her newfound home—and any chance at real love. #QuestPit Almost #AG #A #PN #R

Amy Dehaas @amywrites.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A true-crime producer returns home to film a series on an unsolved serial killer case. When a new body turns up and threats hit her doorstep, she uncovers secrets linking the murders to her own past. What began as a docuseries is now a fight to survive her own story. #Questpit #Q #A #T #MY

Collage of six images. Image, one scattered police files and crime scene photos, image two, a White House with a red roof beside a lake with pine trees behind it, a Ouija board and tarot cards, and an overgrown cemetery with old headstones, crime scene tape. Text overlay reads: “She built a career unearthing other people’s secrets. Her own wouldn’t stay buried.”

brittney is querying🔮✨@brittneyjoan.bsky.social · 3mo ago

THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE x CHARMED 🔮 When a tarot reader loses sight of her purpose, she’s taken on a Fool’s Journey by her spirit guides to challenge her selfish ways and finally see the otherworldly connection with her (very platonic) best friend💜 #QuestPit #A #R #PR #S #W

Purple/pink ombre zodiac background with gold at the top. Small golden page break, with the book title in ombre yellow/orange DEATH TO THE LOVERS AND THE FOOL over top of clouds in the middle. Text under the title: 79k Speculative Romcom by Brittney Joan, Agent's Guide. Two deep plum tarot cards in the bottom left, one with a sun and one with an eye.

Purple/pink ombre zodiac background with gold along the sides. THE PITCH at the top of the page in ombre yellow/orange text. Golden page break. One-paragraph pitch in a sans-serif font: Jade Lockwood is the Midwest’s most in-demand tarot reader, with a months-long waitlist and a reputation for channeling both the cards and the dead. She’s built a thriving business at Lunar Locke, but she’s also emotionally checked out, allergic to commitment, and quietly in love with her best friend, Elliot. When she blows off an unscheduled, desperate client for margaritas, a woman shows up the next day and refuses to leave until Jade reads for her—only to reveal herself as Jade’s spirit guide. Her ultimatum: complete a series of increasingly personal tasks to realign with her purpose or lose her gift.

As the lessons force Jade to confront the feelings she’s avoided for years, she’s faced with an impossible choice—her connection to the spirit realm or the person she loves.

Purple/pink ombre zodiac background with gold along the sides. THE VIBES at the top of the page in ombre yellow/orange text. Two polaroid images of the TV shows “Charmed” and “Sabrina the Teenaged Witch” as comparative media at the top. Golden page break. Four crystal balls in the middle with star circles pointing to a specific comparative book title with the image. The first, Friends to Lovers, pointing to “This Spells Love” by Kate Robb. The second, Meddling Spirit Guides, pointing to “The Love of My Afterlife” by Kirsty Greenwood. The third, Raw Look at Grief, pointing to “The Seven Year Slip” by Ashley Poston. The fourth, Plus-Size FMC, pointing to “Zom Rom Com” by Olivia Dade.

Purple/pink ombre zodiac background with gold along the sides and bottom. THE OPENING PAGE at the top of the page in ombre yellow/orange text. Two deep plum tarot cards in the top corners, one with a sun and one with an eye. Golden page break. Then, the following text in Times New Roman inside of a white-colored, rounded-corner box: Death is staring at me.
Rather, the Death card is staring at me. It’s the third time this reading it’s come up for my regular, Macie. She’s been on a journey of rebirth for a while and is at the precipice.
I arrange the cards, taking in Death, The Tower, Eight of Pentacles in reverse. When I shift the spread, the navy celestial tablecloth snags on my nail, toppling over the labradorite curvy goddess carving. Biting my cheek, I flip another card. Five of Swords. Shit.
“What? What’s wrong? Why are you making that face? That’s never a good face,” Macie rambles. Her round, hazel eyes are filled with what I’ve come to know as anticipatory terror.
Poor thing is an anxious wreck. I’m trying to guide her, not send her into a doom spiral about her life. “You know these cards aren't omens or premonitions. They’re pillars of guidance, leading you along your path. This card…” I sigh, cracking my knuckles, rings scraping against my dry skin. I have got to restock my lotion. Eleven minutes left on the timer and twenty to my last client. Maybe I’ll stop by Sephora before dinner.
“Jade?”
Oh, right. The reading. I shake my head. “The Death card—”
“Death? Please, no. Anything but Death.”
“The Death card,” I repeat, “means your cycle is ready to renew. Paired with The Tower? Well, it’s time. Your spirit guides aren’t waiting for you to feel ready—they’re pushing you over the edge. This is rock bottom. Know that what’s on the other side is a brighter version of you.” [sample continues]

Gracie M. Lee || Writer @gracemawrtina.bsky.social · 3mo ago

When a shared injury reluctantly brings a champion figure skater and NHL-bound hockey player together, they must decide if their love for the ice outweighs their resentment for each other. Welcome to SIX MINUTES 🏒⛸️❤️‍🔥 #QuestPit #R #A #Q

An Agents Guide To SIX MINUTES (photo of figure skater and hockey puck).

The Pitch: When a shared injury reluctantly brings a champion figure skater and NHL-bound hockey player together, they must decide if their love for the ice outweighs their resentment for each other.

The Comp Titles: Revolve, The Favorites, and Off Campus (2026). Tropes include: Dual POV, deal trope, rivals-to-lovers, found family, forced proximity, and “take off that jersey.”

The Blurb: Parker Knight and Barret Keats share two things—their love for the ice and an injury that’s jeopardized both of their futures. Determined to compete in her senior year before leaving her grueling coach and hometown forever, Parker strikes up a deal that could make or break both their careers: he helps her get back on the ice, and she pulls strings to give him one last shot at the NHL. Consumed by the idea of making it pro, Barret finds himself not only fixated on HOCKEY, but the girl that holds his future in her hands. As the season begins, Parker must decide if her passion for the ice, and her feelings for Barret, outweighs her need to leave it all behind.

S.L. Murray @authorslm.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Agent’s guide to THE LAST AMERIE (140k) adult fantasy romance. Romantasy meets ‘The Bachelor’: After witnessing the Queen’s execution to soul eating monsters, a rebel outcast is thrown into a deadly competition to win her crown—or share her fate. #Questpit #Q #A #FR

Hook, pitch, romance, novel, debut, author, fantasy

S.L. Murray @authorslm.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Does anyone have examples of a synopsis that I could look at that got agented? Even if it’s just a basic outline? I’m just not sure how to structure it. #authors #queryingauthors #debutnovel #writers

S.L. Murray @authorslm.bsky.social · 3mo ago

#amquerying THE LAST AMERIE (140k words) . The Plated Prisoner x The Bachelor. After witnessing the Queen being executed by soul-eating monsters, a rebel outcast is thrown into a ruthless competition to compete for her crown and marry the King who ordered the death, or share the dead Queen’s fate

S.L. Murray @authorslm.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Anyone participating in #questpit 4/29? I made an account to participate, and can’t wait to grow/belong to a community on here! Lmk so I can follow and support!