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Helena is querying and drafting

@nethermagic.bsky.social

Writer | YA & NA Fantasy | Hispanic | Watch me stare at a blank page until my books write themselves

15 Posts29 Follower 9 Folgt

Helena is querying and drafting @nethermagic.bsky.social · last yr.

"The library rumbles in the aftermath of an explosion; it’s the third one this week. I know better than to worry about another student struggling to learn that the incantation leuk may set something alight instead of producing a light." —Bleeding Stars #RF #A #Q #1stLinePit

Angelique Russell - 💫@angie-r03.bsky.social · last yr.

#1stLinePit Never trust a golden tongue. #YA #F #Q

An agent's guide to a curse of blood and darkness. 66K Young adult fantasy

Pitch: The seelie court calls her their spy. The unseelie call her their weapon. Alethea walks a knife's edge between both. But power is never given, it's taken. If she wants to claim it she'll have to decide whether she wants to become a queen or a monster.
Comparative titles:
The cruel prince
The shadows between us
These hollow vows
Ruthless vows

Tropes:
friends to enemies
Enemies to lovers
Myth becomes reality
Anti-hero heroine
'burn it all down'
Thief to warrior

Note: book includes diverse characters and bi-representation

A piece from the novel:

“Time to step out of the cage,” he replied. Her brows furrowed. “You remind me of a little bird,” Silas continued, his tone shifting slightly, as though the words had a deeper meaning than he was letting on.
“A little bird?” Alethea scoffed, her chin tilting up in defiance. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
He shifted on his feet, his voice lower than before, “Yes. The cage is open, and yet you still don’t fly.”
Alethea’s lips parted, the words cutting into her like a sharp blade. “Birds with clipped wings fall. They don’t fly,” she retorted, her voice tinged with bitterness.
Silas’s lips curved into a sly smile, his eyes gleaming with something dark and knowing. “Oh, you’ll fly… trust me.”

Ann Glimmer @annglimmer.bsky.social · last yr.

Nine years of fragile truce between our clans—and my boneheaded mistake could tear it all apart. ⚔️Age-old clan feud 🧪Unique magic & world 🐉Scandinavian fairytale creatures ❤️‍🔥Steamy forbidden love 🛡️"Who did this?" 🗡️"Touch him & die" #1stLinePit #Romantasy #NA #AgentsGuide

An agent’s guide to: TRUE HATE’S KISS

A jarl’s daughter must trick her enemy into kissing her to break a deadly curse on her family.

109,000 words
New Adult Romantasy
By Ann Glimmer

Blurb:
When a man from the enemy clan murders Älva’s father, she swears revenge. But then her family is cursed to die. The only way to break the curse?
A TRUE HATE’S KISS
The man she hates the most must kiss her of his own free will.
But the more she learns about her enemy, the more she questions who the true villain really is—and forbidden desire threatens to ruin everything.

Comp Titles:
- A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
- Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Tropes:
Scandinavian Iron Age (almost Viking Age)
Pretending to woo him while betraying him
Feuding clans = enemies-to-lovers + forbidden love
Knife to throat
Complicated family dynamics
Magical swords and potions
Fairytale creatures based on Scandinavian folklore

Feedback from Beta Readers:
- "Couldn't stop reading all afternoon."
- "Your writing style is really strong, and you have a strong voice."
- "Their conversations being more tangible things rather than just flirtatious really open up the relationship."
- "This is one of thee the best books I've read since Addie LaRue."
- "It was a good slow burn romance and I liked that the male main character wasn't toxic or mean."
- "I loved how twisty the story became and found it a breath of fresh air in the genre."

SonnyZappa @sonnyzappa.bsky.social · last yr.

"I’m never making it to seventeen. That’s the thought that keeps drilling into my head as I sit in the Afterlife Terminal, squeezed between two Peace Corps." #1stLinePit #WIP #YA #SF

Pitch: Danake
Blessed be the Rich, for Heaven has been privatized.
Sixteen-year-old Ollie's fate was sealed the moment he died too broke to afford Heaven. Now, freshly dead and stuck in Hell, he's determined to rewrite it. When he discovers that he possesses reality bending abilities, he allies himself with a silver-tongued revolutionary to start a war and bring down Heaven.

Angie is ✨querying✨@angie3tomatoes.bsky.social · last yr.

Mexican Gothic x Belladonna X ODW “Inadequacy is a quiet thing. A shadow curling beneath the ribs, a whisper woven into the fabric of a life. Tayah Wellworth wore it well, had worn it for so long it felt like a second skin.” #amquerying soon #1stlinepit #rf #a #na #c

Helena is querying and drafting @nethermagic.bsky.social · last yr.

"Carob syrup, sweetened with figs, clean mallow—not to eat but to infuse in steam—and a roasted orange before bed. In the cramped space of my humble hut, I prepared all three ingredients for my last client of the day." —Fates Wrought in Mist #F #NA #Q #1stLinePit

Helena is querying and drafting @nethermagic.bsky.social · last yr.

New querying pain unlocked: getting a pitch like from an agent that has already passed on your query package 🥲

Anna Mazzola @annamazz.bsky.social · last yr.

It's come to my attention that some people believe you can't buy a new book until you've read the books you already have. Let me assure you, as both a lawyer and a writer, that this idea is legally and morally WRONG and BAD. Buy more books.

Helena is querying and drafting @nethermagic.bsky.social · last yr.

Two agent likes during #PopUpPit! Thank you everyone for all your support. Due to timezone differences I couldn't be around for more than 5 hours but I got to see and repost so many incredible books 🫶

Michelle Sanchez @sanchezmm.bsky.social · last yr.

#LuckyPit #PopUpPit I'm an unlucky girl trapped in Grandfather's cliffhouse, caretaker of his magic box with 3 human hearts I must feed blood. They die? I die. Handsome Duke Lugo offers a blood bargain, but he's hungry to expose the secrets of Casa del Demonio...and me. #PopUpPitE #YA #Gothic #H

Rachel McNair @rachelmcnair.bsky.social · last yr.

Between Two Kingdoms x When Life Gives You Pears Diagnosed with a rare cancer at 27, Rachel faces more than just health complications on her journey to become cancer free. ✝️crisis of faith 🏢discrimination 👩‍🦯becoming disabled 🔍finding a new purpose ❤️‍🔥 love 💪7x survivor #LuckyPit #PopUpPit #Q #M

Kim Wolters @kimwolters-author.bsky.social · last yr.

THE SHADOW OF LIGHT YA paranormal fantasy standalone at 98K words 💫 Found family 💫 Friends-to-lovers slowburn romance (w/ complications and yearning) 💫 Grump x Sunshine 💫 International setting 💫 FMC can manipulate soundwaves 💫 Upbeat with serious themes #PopUpPitA #LuckyPit #F #YA

Alison 林 Roden @rodenwrites.bsky.social · last yr.

SIX OF CROWS X ARCANE How to fight a Chaos storm caused by the overuse of magic? Sanjiin’s fists won’t help. Neither will Rayna’s Chaos. But together, Prof. Tinley believes science can be the glue to bind enemies and magical forces to save the last Haven city from itself. #A #F #LuckyPit #PopUpPit

Sadie Hartmann (Mother Horror)@sadiehartmann.bsky.social · last yr.

You know I hate to do this (just kidding it's my favorite) but I have made a list of upcoming and anticipated Folk Horror books for myself, that I am not sharing with you. Go feral! Full list in the alt ✔️ @manylittlewords.bsky.social @shortwavebooks.bsky.social @timlebbon.bsky.social

Upcoming & anticipated FOLK HORROR titles! 🌾🔥🍂
.
🌾The Wilding by Ian McDonald
🌾MERE by Danielle Giles
🌾Meet Me at the Surface by Jodie Matthews
🌾Secret Lives of the Dead Tim Lebbon
🌾Little Horn by Gemma Files the cover looks folky! @shortwavebooks
🌾Greater Sins/Gabrielle Griffiths
🌾ITCH by Gemma Amor
🌾Playing Wolf Zuzana Říhová translated by Alex Zucher
🌾The Red Knot-Monique Asher
🌾When Devils Sing/Xan Kaur
🌾And the Trees Stare Back/Gigi Griffis
🌾Hallows Hill by Olivia Isaac-Henry

Courtney Reece @courtneywrites.bsky.social · last yr.

NONE OF THIS IS TRUE x WHAT LIES BENEATH When Sophie is brutally dumped, she can’t help but wonder: Is she possessed or just pissed? 🥀1950s flashbacks 🌊a coastal town with secrets 🔪female rage & revenge 🌊second-chance love 🥀a twist that will 👀 #PopUpPitE #LuckyPit

Demri Redmon @demri18.bsky.social · last yr.

WHAT THE RIVER KNOWS x THE MUMMY x INDIANA JONES When Elaine accidentally uses an ancient artifact that brings an Egyptian king to life, they disrupt the balance between life & death & enter into a war between Egyptian gods. #LuckyPit #PopUpPitA #YA

Helena is querying and drafting @nethermagic.bsky.social · last yr.

In BLEEDING STARS (Adult Romantasy) Adara is a scholarly mage who must survive the deadly trials of the Culling, navigate a perilous romance with her fiercest rival, and unravel the dark secrets of the King's Cadre to secure her family's future. #PopUpPit #PopUpPitA #LuckyPit

Helena is querying and drafting @nethermagic.bsky.social · last yr.

A NA standalone fantasy novel for all the yearners. Gothic, whimsical, haunted, and romantic. FATES WROUGHT IN MIST follows a witch in a manor in 16th-century northern Spain struggling to break a deadly curse that haunts the man she's falling for. #LuckyPit #PopUpPitA #PopUpPit

Helena is querying and drafting @nethermagic.bsky.social · last yr.

BLEEDING STARS is an 84k words adult romantasy with 📖dark academia 🖤rivals to lovers 😶‍🌫️unreliable narrator ⚖️the reality of class disparity ☠️deadly trials 🩸murder mystery ✨magic system based on Proto-Indo-European #PopUpPit #PopUpPitA #LuckyPit

Chantel is ON SUBMISSION ✨@cpearsonwrites.bsky.social · last yr.

A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS X WHEN THE MOON HATCHED "Tell me, child, what do you know of the gods?" NA Fantasy retelling of SEA folklore ⚔️ Badass FMC ⚔️ Rich World Building ⚔️ Found Family ⚔️ Forbidden Love ⚔️ An Unforgettable Relic Quest ⚔️ So. Much. Yearning. #RF #LuckyPit #PopUpPit #A #NA #R #F

Helena is querying and drafting @nethermagic.bsky.social · last yr.

CRIMSON PEAK X THE FAMILIAR A man cursed for life. A witch doomed to die. FATES WROUGHT IN MIST is a NA standalone fantasy novel deeply rooted in Spanish folklore. It blends gothic elements with classic fantasy romance in a haunted mountain manor. #LuckyPit #PopUpPitA #PopUpPit

Taylor Renee @taylorrenee.bsky.social · last yr.

Would you choose immortality? Of course you would. But let me tell you: It’s a lie. A cruel, promise. Because the hunger you live with—No, the hunger that you are—is worse. House of Valentine - 98k words a gothic fantasy w/ a b-plot romance. #PopUpPit #PopUpPitA #Q #F #G #R #booksky #LuckyPit

'House of Valentine' by Taylor Renee. The background features a vintage, textured design with faded text, overlaid with watercolor illustrations of a skull roses, daisies, and pine trees. The title 'HOUSE OF VALENTINE' is prominently displayed in large, elegant white letters. Below the title, the text reads: 'TAYLOR RENEE | 98,000 | ITSTAYLORRENEE1@GMAIL.COM' and 'AGENT & EDITOR GUIDE' in smaller white font. The overall aesthetic is moody and romantic, with a gothic fantasy vibe.

The background features a vintage, textured design with faded text, adorned with watercolor illustrations of roses and pine branches. The word 'EXCERPT' is displayed at the top in large, elegant white letters. Below, the text reads: 'TAYLOR RENEE | 98,000 | ITSTAYLORRENEE1@GMAIL.COM' followed by a poetic passage: 'If you could live for centuries—through famine and plague, through wars that razed cities and left ash in their wake, that not even a bomb crashing through your home could destroy you—would you choose immortality? Wouldn't you dream of such a gift? To remain as you were as the world crumbles around you, and rebuilds itself, endlessly? Of course you would. That’s the allure, isn’t it? The whispered fantasy of endless time, of infinite existence. But let me tell you: it’s a lie. A cruel promise. Because after enough centuries, you begin to wish for the plague to ravage your body, to tear through your flesh and wring you dry of life. You begin to long for the bomb to shatter you, burn away your skin until you’re nothing but bone and ash. You’d pray for the famine to hollow you out, for hunger to gnaw at your insides so violently that you might finally collapse under the weight of mortality. Because the hunger you live with—No, the hunger that you are—is worse.' The bottom is decorated with a border of watercolor roses in shades of red and purple.

The background features a vintage, textured design with faded text, embellished with watercolor illustrations of roses and pine branches. The word 'BLURB' is displayed at the top in large, elegant white letters. Below, the text reads: 'TAYLOR RENEE | 98,000 | ITSTAYLORRENEE1@GMAIL.COM' followed by the blurb: 'When anthropology student Hazel Adler travels to a remote Swiss village for her thesis, she expects folklore and forgotten traditions—not a hidden world of vampires, deadly politics, and a centennial festival that’s more nightmare than celebration. She was never meant to survive it. Her only lifeline? Soren Valentine—a vampire with a past as blood-soaked as his fangs. As the lines between myth and reality blur, Hazel must fight to survive in more ways than one. Trusting Soren may be her only chance—but the monster who saved her life hides dangerous secrets of his own. Survival means risking everything. House of Valentine is a gothic fantasy filled with sharp fangs, fragile alliances, and a slow-burn b-plot romance that will leave you breathless.' The bottom is decorated with a border of watercolor roses in shades of red and purple.

'House of Valentine' by Taylor Renee, focusing on tropes, themes, and comps. The background features a vintage, textured design with faded text, adorned with watercolor illustrations of roses and pine branches. The text 'TROPES & THEMES & COMPS' is displayed at the top in large, elegant white letters. Below, the text reads: 'TAYLOR RENEE | 98,000 | ITSTAYLORRENEE1@GMAIL.COM' followed by a list of tropes and themes: 'ROMEO & JULIET, BEAUTY & THE BEAST, ALLIES TO LOVERS, MORALLY GRAY CHARACTERS, VAMPIRE SOCIETY, SLOW BURN.' The image includes three book cover comps: 'Interview with the Vampire' by Anne Rice, 'The Beautiful' by Renée Ahdieh, and 'A Discovery of Witches' by Deborah Harkness, each framed with a pink border. The bottom is decorated with a border of watercolor roses in shades of red and purple.

Kala is ✨️querying✨️ & ✍️🏽something 💫new💫@kpbooksnstuff.bsky.social · last yr.

My #agentsguide to CARELESS WHISPERS, a romantic suspense set on a Greek island. REBECCA x RIVIERA x THE PERFECT COUPLE The woman knew secrets; now she's dead. Everyone has a motive... Secrets, Slow❤️‍🔥, Unrequited love, Betrayal, Murder Longlisted for Joffe Books Prize 2024 #LuckyPit 🍀 #PopUpPitA

Page 1 - An Agent's Guide to Careless Whispers, Romantic Suspense, and piece of dialogue: '...our very own Greek tragedy,' says Troy. 'It has it all. Sex, money, adultery. Even - if you believe the rumours - murder.'
Photo alongside it is a of a woman's pressing finger to her lips signifying secrecy.

Page 2 - The Pitch with a blurred photo of a drowned woman alongside it.

'She's always tried to do the 'right thing'. But when a death becomes a suspected murder, a PR exec must decide how far she'll go to protect the people she loves who all have a motive. Especially the dead woman's husband, the man she's in love with.'

Page 3 - Snippet with a photo of a man alongside it.
An unpleasant smile warps his face. He steps closer and leans forward as if they're conspirators. His voice is low and soft, the words a sneer. 'I'm guessing you've not been fighting him off.'
It's hard to breathe. He's too close, his breath on her skin smoky with whisky and cigarettes. She fights the urge to thrust him away. 'No,' she says in a hard voice. 'But then he's not you.'
His head snaps back. The dull flush in his cheeks is evident even in the gloom. 'And you,' he says nastily, 'are not Rianna.'
She gives a humourless laugh. 'From what I gather, that's not a bad thing.'
'He better not hear you say that. He loved her, you know.'

Page 4 has Tropes & Themes - du Maurier's Rebecca vibes; Found family; Loss; Slow burn romance; Obsession; Unrequited love; Secrets; Betrayal; Murder

And The Comps – Nanny Wanted by Lizzy Barber, End of Story by AJ Finn, The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and the Sky Atlantic series Riviera

Mike Mizov @mikemizov.bsky.social · last yr.

After returning to her family’s crumbling estate and finding the gardener dead, a reluctant heiress partners with his son to break a generational curse before it claims her too. 🕯 Gaslight, Gatekeep, Ghosts 🔥 If the House Doesn’t Kill You, Love Might #LuckyPit #PopUpPitA #PopUpPit #H #A #Gothic

Nineteen-year-old Lottie Bradbury is called home to her crumbling family estate with an ultimatum: marry or let the Bradbury name die. But in a post-war world where old traditions are crumbling and women are claiming new independence, Lottie refuses to be controlled.

Her introduction is disrupted when the gardener is found dead, his skull shattered on the manor steps. His son, Arthur, warns Lottie that the house is hungry, that it killed his father—just as it did her mother a decade ago. And it’s not finished.

Determined to seize control of her own fate, Lottie digs into the manor’s past, only to realize the house has other plans. Strange footsteps at night. Whispers slithering through the halls. Shadows shifting where none should be. Arthur insists the manor is alive, feeding on the sins of her ancestors, that her family is cursed. But he’s not the only one keeping secrets, and the deeper she digs, the harder it is to know who to trust.

THE LAST HEIR OF BRADBURY MANOR is a slow-burn gothic horror set in 1919, blending the creeping dread of The Hacienda with the sentient menace of Starling House. A tale of inheritance, obsession, and a house that refuses to let go. The manuscript is complete at 96,000 words.

Comps for The Last Heir of Bradbury Manor:

Starling House: Dark inheritance, Family secrets, Sentient house

The Hacienda: Unresolved grief, Psychological unraveling, Supernatural dread

Crimson Peak: Decaying grandeur, Gothic vibes

A mood board for The Last Heir of Bradbury Manor with...

A decaying, messed up sitting room
A spooky staincase with a girl walking
A girl climbing out of a well
A book on fire
A cozy Edwardian dinner party
A spooky gothic dinner party

Text that reads: breaking the curse means losing him forever. Embracing it may damn her soul

Tropes for The Last Heir of Bradbury Manor

🖤 Manor With a Mind
📖 Cryptic Diary
💀 Generational Blood Curse
🕯 Gaslight, Gatekeep, Ghosts
🏚 Slow-burn
🖋 Arranged? Meetcute? Ghostly Trauma Bonding?
🔥 If the House Doesn’t Kill You, Love Might
🕰 1919 but Make It Haunted
⚰ Who Needs a Dowry When You Have a Death Curse?

Kristen Renee @kristenrenee.bsky.social · last yr.

Practical Magic x The Honey Witch Two sisters develop the ability to sense love and are able to determine a person’s true love… for everyone except themselves #PopUpPitA #LuckyPit #F #R #A

Gwend💫lyn Vines @gwenvines.academics.blue · last yr.

ARCANE x DON'T LET THE FOREST IN 🧑‍🎓A cut-throat postgrad academia w/ ⚛️engineer magic 🤌obsessive yearning 🚨unreliable narrator 📻corrupted magic tech 🩺medical ethics & consent 🩻body horror 🏆dangerous magic duels 🛠️blacksmith biceps 🌿strange plants 👤& the strange man who ❤️s 'em #PopUpPitA #LuckyPit #A #F

Pitch card for SEE IN ME THE WOLF by Gwendolyn Vines. Background top image is an anatomical diagram of a torso with left arm outstretched, bottom image is of dark nested ferns. Atop the image is a digital painting of a man with curly dark hair and medium skin tone, wearing dark green clothing and a gold hoop earring in his right ear, looking away from the camera. His hand rests atop a text box reading "When Institute graduate student Jim invents a device that could revolutionize medicine, his intoxicating suitemate Bash warns him it could be weaponized—and stops at nothing to prove his point. Are Jim's degree & the lives he could save worth staining his conscience?"

Also in the text box is the author's name and "Adult dark academic fantasy, 107k words." Below the textbox are cover images of the Netflix show Arcane (with Viktor's face), BLOOD OVER BRIGHT HAVEN by M.L. Wang, THE TWO DOCTORS GORSKI by Isaac Fellman, DON'T LET THE FOREST IN, by C. G. Drews, and RIPE by Sarah Rose Etter.

austin (🛤️ is querying 🛤️)@austinsgrace.bsky.social · last yr.

(re)introducing HOW TO COME HOME: ⛓️ PEAKY BLINDERS x CAT SEBASTIAN 🏳️‍🌈 upmarket queer historical romance 🛤️ an ex-con w/a head for numbers 🎼 a former musical prodigy dealing w/disability 📚 small-town troubles & big-city ghosts #LuckyPit #PopUpPit #PopUpPitA

Pitch card for HOW TO COME HOME, pitched as PEAKY BLINDERS X WE COULD BE SO GOOD.
Ten years ago, Nathan Gilliard stole $100,000 from his family’s safe and turned informant on his family’s Prohibition contraband empire, damning his brothers to life in prison in exchange for a ten-year sentence of his own. Stepping out as a free man in 1937, he’s set on spending his life alone and penitent, never forgetting what he did to his family—or why.
Taking a job in a small-town general store is the perfect stopgap, even if Nathan uses a false name to hide his identity...and even if his new boss, handsome, bespectacled single father Lawrence Freburg, is as earnest and kindhearted as Nathan’s upbringing and time in prison weren’t.
Pitch text is set against an image of a cornfield and full moon at dusk, with gold decorative borders in the top left and bottom right corners

Trope/theme map for HOW TO COME HOME, with a digital painting of Nathan and Lawrence at the center. Lawrence, sitting to the left, is a white blond man playing piano and smiling, with glasses hanging from his neck. Nathan, right, is a dark-haired white man watching him play.

Tropes/themes read:
Upmarket historical romance
107,000 words
Dual POV with flashbacks
Running from the past, returning to the past
Crime family/criminal brothers
Unconventional family structures
Queerness & homemaking
Disability =/= disabling

Helen Pratt @helenapratt.bsky.social · last yr.

KINGDOM AWAKENING ✨️Adult romantasy exploring themes of love, betrayal, & sacrifice ✨️The rich emotional contour of Jennifer L. Armentrout's FROM BLOOD AND ASH meets the toe-curling tension of Ali Hazelwood’s BRIDE ✨️Standalone with series potential complete at 112k #LuckyPit #PopUpPit #PopUpPitA