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David Z.M. Allison

@dzmallison.bsky.social

Picture book author. Heartfelt, humor, quiet and absurd manuscripts. SCBWI & 12x12 member. Working toward traditional publication one manuscript at a time. SCBWI AZ Desert Bloom Grand Prize 2026. #amquerying

39 Posts51 Follower121 Folgt
You, Me, and the Writing Journey Podcast@ymwjpodcast.bsky.social · 4w ago

It’s time for another ✨Encouragement from the Writing Community✨ episode!! And YOU are invited to be a guest. See more information below! 👇👇

Danielle Render Turmaud, PhD@drenderturmaud.bsky.social · 4w ago

Writing Community! ✨YOU’RE INVITED to be a guest on a special @ymwjpodcast.bsky.social episode!✨ Read below 👇 All you have to do is: 🔁 this post ✉️Comment below or DM your email (where I’ll send you instructions) ➡️Send a clip w/ encouragement for our community Deadline to send a clip: July 31st

Shelbey@shelbeyd.bsky.social · 2w ago

TEDDY BEARWOLF is Creepy Sheepy x Wolfie the Bunny The hook: What if werewolves didn’t have to be scary? When Teddy can't be scary like his pack, he defies their expectations by choosing friendliness over fear, leading to a discovery that changes the forest for the better. #QuestPit #PB #Q

Chevy Moore@chevymoore.bsky.social · 2w ago

PB | 589 words | Ages 4–8 When a young number transfers to a school filled with letters, he disguises himself as the letter E to fit in, only to learn that belonging begins with being himself. JUST BE 3 is a heartfelt, humorous picture book with series potential. #Questpit #PB #Q

White cover graphic for the picture book JUST BE 3. A smiling orange number 3 stands on Alphabet Alley with friendly letters A, D, and O nearby. The title reads “JUST BE 3.” The graphic also includes “Picture Book,” “589 words,” and the author’s name, Chevy Moore.White graphic featuring a one-sentence pitch for JUST BE 3: When a young number transfers to a school filled with letters, he disguises himself as the letter E to fit in before discovering that belonging begins with being himself. A small illustration shows 3 looking toward the letter E. Covers of The Day You Begin and Strictly No Elephants are shown as comparable titles.White graphic showing the number 3 sitting at a school desk with a backpack. A thought bubble shows the letter E, hinting that 3 wants to become a letter. The graphic includes a short blurb explaining that when 3 transfers to a school full of letters, he pretends to be the letter E to fit in before learning to accept himself.White graphic showing the number 3 walking toward a school along a colorful path. Large text reads, “I may look like the letter E, but I’m not. I’m 3.” The words “I’m 3.” are highlighted in orange to emphasize the story’s message of self-acceptance.
Shelbey@shelbeyd.bsky.social · 2w ago

THIS IS A SERIOUS WORD BOOK = The Book With No Pictures x A Chest Full of Words Professor Knowitall is a porcupine giving a grammar lesson. But his dry tone clashes with the book’s interrupting illustrator whose fun art only distracts. Can serious words and silly pictures coexist? #PB #QuestPit #Q

Shelbey@shelbeyd.bsky.social · 2w ago

LEONARD VS THE IMPOSSIBLE = Bathe the Cat x Robo-Sauce When boy genius Leonard runs out of excuses to avoid cleaning his room, he builds a robot to help. But when the robot goes rogue and wreaks havoc across town, Leonard must overcome the impossible to save the day. #QuestPit #PB #Q #Humor

The premise: Leonard is a boy genius whose biggest challenge is cleaning his room. The pitch: When boy genius Leonard’s cleaning robot goes rogue and wreaks havoc across town, he must overcome an impossible feat to save the day. Comparative titles: Robot-Rumpus, Robo-Sauce, Bathe the Cat, The Mess Monster, Wendel and the RobotsVibes: Chaos, Playfulness, Responsibility, Family Dynamics, Humor, Technology
Amy Dehaas@amywrites.bsky.social · 2w ago

TV producer Abby returns home to cover a cold serial killer case, dredging up the fire that killed her BFF & the truth she's outrun for years. When another woman is murdered & anonymous warnings begin, Abby must unravel the only version of the past she's been able to live with. #questpit #Q #A #T

T.L. Leicester@bytlleicester.bsky.social · 2w ago

And now, let’s tie all the #Questpit posts for THE BRASSWEIL PRINCIPLE into a thread. #W #A #F #M #gaslamp #fantasy #mystery bsky.app/profile/bytl...

T.L. Leicester@bytlleicester.bsky.social · 2w ago

Coming this fall: THE BRASSWEIL PRINCIPLE. ~90k word gaslamp fantasy with a central mystery. A master craftsman pulled into the orbit of the most powerful man in his city discovers a device he’s been sent to steal is the reason his father died. #QuestPit #W #WIP #fantasy #A #mystery

The main plot of THE BRASSWEIL PRINCIPLE.
Jan Campana@janycampana.bsky.social · 2w ago

Spaghetti for Breakfast? Lunch? Dessert? In MORE SPAGHETTI PLEASE, Dario, the world’s biggest pasta fan, faces his worst nightmare: no spaghetti! Determined to satisfy his craving, Dario stretches his imagination & cooks up a sweet surprise. Inspired by chef Dario Fontanella. #QuestPit #PB #Q

Ice Cream shaped like a plate of spaghetti by Fontanella Ice Cream Factory.
Tara@tarasobot.bsky.social · 2w ago

Aphelion Lost / SF / Murder on the Orient Express in space When the richest man in the world is murdered onboard his spaceship, rival pilots Dara and Perseus must set aside their differences to find the killer. Even worse, strange temporal effects begin to affect the ship. #questpit #q #a #sf #my

My book mood board (murder on orient express on a spaceship)
Mike Mizov@mikemizov.bsky.social · 2w ago

HE SAVED THE KINGDOM ONCE. MAYBE HE SHOULDN’T HAVE. Disgraced Grand Inquisitor Wynsten is hired to find a missing ambassador. Instead, he uncovers forbidden magic and a conspiracy rooted in the blood ritual that made him a legend and ruined his life. #QuestPit #Q #A #DF #MY

INQUISITOR FOR HIRE ADULT DARK FANTASY NOIR · 93,000 WORDS · MULTI-POV · STANDALONE Once Rysia’s feared Grand Inquisitor, Wynsten now catches adulterers to make rent. When he is hired to find a missing ambassador before an uneasy peace collapses, the case leads him through forbidden magic, vanished daughters, and a conspiracy tied to the royal blood ritual that made him a legend, ruined his life, and fused the empire’s worst secrets to his chest. A MISSING AMBASSADOR. A DISGRACED LEGEND. A KINGDOM ROTTING FROM WITHIN. OPENING LINES “The heretics had nowhere left to run. Wynsten had made sure of that. Months of blood and smoke had led him beneath the Sovereign’s castle, into the old mines carved through the bedrock. A stronghold under the heart of the kingdom. These apostates would face justice here or burn.” Twenty years before he became an investigator for hire, Wynsten stopped a ritual fueled by Rysia’s own royal blood. A FANTASY INVESTIGATION WITH TEETH THREE TOUCHSTONES. ONE DECAYING EMPIRE. The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan - Institutional rot and compromised justice The Tainted Cup - a secondary-world mystery engine Chinatown - slow-burn corruption and a poisoned victoryINSIDE THE CASE A dark-fantasy noir for readers who want the mystery and the damage. A post-conquest secondary world inspired by the Crusader states Fallen hero / disgraced legend Missing ambassador Forbidden magic Secrets beneath the city Corruption at the highest level Reluctant found family Power no one understands Morally gray choices
🌿✨beth✨🌿@elizanane.bsky.social · 2w ago

🩸QUEERPLATONIC BEAUTY & THE BEAST x JENNIFER’S BODY🩸 In a forested town, a doomed codependency festers between a heart-eating monster desperate to become human and its vengeful, obsessive hunter. 🥩surrealism + madness 🪱plant-body horror 🥀ONE MUST DIE Querying SOON! #questpit #a #df #f #q

This title slide features two orchids on a black background as its backdrop image. Above it, the text reads FEED ME YOUR ORGANIC HEART in yellow and red text. In white text, below the title, it also reads, 'adult psych-horror contemporary fantasy, 85,000 words' in white lettering. Image credit belongs to PinterestThe title of the slide reads, PITCH, in neon red lettering, on the same orchid background. The pitch text, in yellow and white letters, read: To become human, a genderfluid, eldritch monster in disguise must seek, charm, and devour the beating heart of one who truly loves them... but it gains the eyes of its vengeful, obsessive hunter instead. As bodies pile and madness takes hold, the two must either die in their struggle for survival or live the torment of finding themselves in the one they're destined to murder. Image credit belongs to PinterestThe title of the slide reads, COMPS, in neon red lettering. The covers of 5 novels are shown. The novels included are: The Fox and the Devil, The Tainted Cup, The Eyes Are the Best Part, The Summer Hikaru Died, and Vicious. Background image belongs to Pinterest.The title of this slide reads, TROPES, in neon red lettering. 10 tropes are listed on this slide in white and yellow lettering. The listed tropes read: surrealism + stalking + OBSESSION, nightmarish plant visions, descent into madness, genderfluid, ugly forest monster w/ beautiful guise, aro-ace vengeful hunter, doomed, all-consuming codependency, they're both 'monsters' that don't fit in, deadly game of cat & mouse, quiet, forested town setting, botanical body horror (allegory for twisted adoration). Image credit belongs to Pinterest
✨ Joy Shaw | Author ✨@joyshaw.bsky.social · 2w ago

What if trauma became coded runes on your skin? And an authoritarian regime hunted the marked, harvesting your grief to fuel its power? JESSICA JONES × ARCANE They call her SCARella. She’s the only one who gives a damn about post-Collapse Manhattan’s disappearing girls. 🧵 #QuestPit #A #SFF

Cyberpunk fantasy poster featuring the vigilante SCARell standing in a flooded tunnel, gripping a flaming machete. A glowing sigil appears on her chest and along her arm. Title reads SCARELLA: THE MACHETE MARAUDERESS with the tagline: “Some things don’t just break you. They remake you.”
Gus Ryer@gusryer.bsky.social · 2w ago

SPACE SWEEPERS 🤝 LOGAN LUCKY When an AI-piloted space hauler threatens her home station, aging & indebted traffic controller Dez decides to rob the hell out of it. She's got a plan & a motley crew. But, when things aboard aren’t as expected, all bets are off. #QuestPit #Q #SF #A #BookSky

A black hole spirals in the distance, a fiery trail of material getting sucked into it from across the image. Approaching is a circular, doughnut-like spaceship or station. The title LANE BREAKERS runs along the bottom, the second word highlighted in bright purple and appearing to fall off the edge. A red ALERT box connected to the ship says 'Now Querying', and the wormhole is labeled 'Taurine Strait'COMPS & META INFORMATION Along the bottom right, a black and white sketch of a old woman in a space pilot's outfit holds a glowing magenta martini glass. Smoke from her cigarette glows and wafts in pinks and blues. Genre: SF Heist Audience: Adult Wordcount: +-100,000 Themes and Tropes: Blue collar heist (Re)found family Grungy space life Sentient AIs Comps: Logan Lucky The Quantum Magician The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Cascade Failure The Suez Canal incident Space SweepersTHE HEIST: Desdemona Skene hates her job. She spends each day as a glorified crossing guard for traffic through her system’s wormhole. But, ever since she botched a flight of her own, it’s all she has. Dez’s friends have moved on, her ex is seeing someone new, and she’s in debt to the mob. At eighty-three years old, it’s not like she’s a candidate for promotion. But then Dez learns that the largest civilian ship ever designed by humanity will be passing through her friendly neighborhood wormhole. Piloted by an experimental AI, this cruise might prove computers are finally able to successfully navigate wormholes. Stock prices will blast into orbit, but it’ll spell unemployment for Dez and thousands of human pilots. Probably her home station too. If that ship’s taking her down, Dez is going to drag it along for the ride—and make a tidy profit along the way. She’ll need to gather a crew (if her old friends will still talk to her), shake the mob, and outwit megacorps and empires both. But if she pulls this off, she might just get to live out her dream of a quiet retirement.THE CREW Golden boxes house titles and descriptions of characters. The top one, Dez, is a magenta circle that looks sci-fi. Desdemona ‘Dez’ Skene Washed up and too poor for retirement, Dez has a drinking problem and a mob problem. She might have one last job left in her Hacker Finn's got a heart of gold, more backdoors than a hardware store, and would rather be playing video games The Faces Dez’s parents might be older than moon dust, but Hank and Gwen have been conning people for almost a century. They still haven’t lost their touch Sentient Adbot Marty, the uplifted, digital adbot who dreams of personhood. He also happens to live inside Finn's head Crack Pilot Vil is the fastest sled pilot on Midway Station, famous for crushing the illegal racing circuit. Also, he's Dez’ ex of thirty years The Muscle The best mechanic on the station, Caius brings some well-needed muscle. But, most annoyingly, he's Vil's new flame
Kasy Long@kasylongauthor.bsky.social · 2w ago

Would you read your mom’s diary? Faye’s mom tragically died 25 years ago. Just before her wedding, Faye discovers her mom’s diary and reads it…and can’t stop. What’s in the diary? 🤩 '90s vibes 🥰 Young love 📔 Diary entries with doodles! 🥺 Coming-of-age drama #QuestPit #YA #P #LF #HR #R

A collage of photos from the 1990s and text: “Something Borrowed, Something True,” and a description of the book. It features fun doodles with the ‘90s aesthetic.