Tessera

Pines Callahan

@pinesforstories.bsky.social

Progressive Florida Hobbit. Levels in history, healthcare, and horticulture. Published via @frombeyondpress, @wildinkpub, @wordfirepress. Repped by Josh Foreman at Fineprint Literary Management.

452 Posts1845 Follower 1683 Folgt

Pines Callahan @pinesforstories.bsky.social · 5d ago

Jean Clawed enjoying one of his favorite (and least violent) treats.

Pines Callahan @pinesforstories.bsky.social · last wk.

My dad meets the coolest people at work.

Pines Callahan @pinesforstories.bsky.social · last wk.

This wasn't the right week to come back to this platform.

Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 2w ago

Dolly Parton's family asked that, in lieu of flowers, fans make a donation to the singer's Imagination Library. Here's what the charity does ⬇️ www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

Turning Pages: Inside Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Core team of 15 staff and thousands of volunteers and partners help the country-music philanthropist deliver books to kids around the world.

rollingstone.com

Pines Callahan @pinesforstories.bsky.social · 2w ago

I will always love you, Dolly.

Pines Callahan @pinesforstories.bsky.social · 2w ago

Pines Callahan @pinesforstories.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Convincing you to read my novel with the first sentence:

Phoebe and the Space Dragon: Looking down on Earth from space was allegedly a life changing experience, but Remy was busy gripping her armrest and praying for delivery from a sudden violent death.

Chase Grayson is Agented🌙@adropofmagick.bsky.social · 10mo ago

ONE DARK WINDOW X KATABASIS Alyss attends Nocturne Collegiate for one reason—revenge. With the (reluctant) help of her ex, her ex bff, & a devious half-vampire, she'll use memory magic to uncover the truth behind the murder that destroyed her life.🌙🦇⚔️ #QuestPit #OS #AG #F #R

A MEMORY OF MOONKISSED MALICE

Fantasy Dark Academia

Feminine Rage

Vampires

Corrupted Moon Magic

Villain Era Protag

Queendoms

Enemies to Lovers

Found Family

THE PITCH

18-year-old Alyss Veylas wishes to attend Nocturne Collegiate for one reason—revenge. Five long years after her sister was murdered by the school's guardian, she finally gets that chance. Armed with a Moon Fragment granting memory magic and the aid of her ex and his new girlfriend, Alyss must confront the woman who took away the person she loved most.

CHAPTER ONE

The rain made it easier to rob his grave.

My shovel carved through the sodden earth, the water contorting into murky veins around its edge. Desperation drove each labored thrust, the burning ache in my muscles but an afterthought to the prize that lied in wait. Even the Valera Forest held its breath; the fog thick enough to smother the night's whispers. All was silent save for the spilling of soil under the deluge that drenched us.

Us.

As I lifted my gaze to the boy standing across from me, I found that word had lost all semblance of warmth.

FOR FANS OF...

The lush, gothic prose of...

A fantasy academia setting similar to...

A supernatural mystery like...

Dierdre Cieran @dmcieran.bsky.social · 10mo ago

ENCANTO VIBES IN A POST-MODERN SETTING UNDER THE BRIGHT SUN is about a girl who must uncover the secret of a stranger's arrival to recover lost magic before everyone falls to an endless sleep from magic withdrawal. #QuestPit #Q #MG #F #S

Scarlet Mitchell ⚒️ The Gerzean Blade out NOW!😍@scarletvmitchell.bsky.social · 10mo ago

The only place depressed goth-girl, Helena, feels at home on the cheery campus is the dark, haunted chapel. When the stones come alive to warn her of a demon invasion, she becomes entangled in a cosmic war. And falls for a gargoyle.❤️ Don't Let the Forest In x City of Bones #QuestPit #Q #YA #F

Moodboard for Rooted in Stone, sapphic gargoyle urban fantasy. Tagline”Somewhere away from this world, indistinct, infinite, and unknowable… What was beyond that veil?”
10 very dark, moody, grayish images around the edge include the hazy spires of Notre Dame with birds lying across, the Milky Way, a crow coming in the land, a gargoyle peeking over a ledge, a shadow crouching in a corner with piercing eyes, a young woman with black hair over her eye, a crow in front of a grave, a graveyard statue of an angel, and the interior of a church with a stained glass window. In the center of all this, is a bright painting of a natual landscape done in vivid sunset colors.

Caroline is always writing @carolinekwriting.bsky.social · 10mo ago

SINNERS x INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE 🩸Vampire marriage bonds 🖤Dark secrets ❤️Femmine rage 🖕🏾Black/African rage ❤️ Ancestral Magic 🩸Narrative that spans 200 years 🖤Forgotten memories ❤️Ride or die love #QuestPit #W #A #F #R

Caroline is always writing@carolinekwriting.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Not querying yet (finishing final revisions) but testing out my agents guide! SINNERS x IWAV Angeline wakes up with a taste for blood and 200 years of missing memories. As visions reveal flashes of her past, she must uncover the truth before danger crosses her doorway. #QuestPit #W #A #F

Soph @soph-pl.bsky.social · 10mo ago

In edgy yet mellow post-Cold War Berlin, an ambitious summer student begins a passionate, no-strings fling with her German host, a single dad grappling with his future. When love intrudes, they face an impossible choice: give up career & duty… or each other. #QuestPit #Q #A #R

One summer to learn German
To fall for Berlin
To fall in love

Only One Summer in Berlin

Heartfelt & High Heat | ‘90s retro | Destination romance

Background image: A couple embracing (Design by Freepik, freepik.com) overlaid with a picture of the Berlin TV tower (Photo by Robert | Visual Diary | Berlin on Unsplash)

Snippet:
He straightens. I’m disappointed that this strange seduction is over, but he holds out his hand. I take it, confused. In one fluid motion, like a dance step, he twirls me into the dressing room and pins me against the shelves, hands gripping the edges on either side of my head.
“We’re out of sight,” he murmurs. He kisses me again, crowding me until his chest presses against mine, his thigh between my legs, then pulls back slightly. “Now, will you let me take off your pants?”
“Yes,” I breathe.

Background image: Brandenburg Gate (photo by Tim Hufner on Unsplash)

Before Sunrise movie poster; Every Summer After (Carley Fortune) book cover; Heartless (Elsie Silver) book cover; Kilt Trip (Alexandra Kiley) book cover.
Keywords: slow burn; friends to lovers; heartfelt; multicultural; '90s retro; spicy chemistry; single dad; banter; forced proximity; destination romance

Background image: A couple embracing (Design by Freepik, freepik.com) overlaid with a picture of the Berlin TV tower (Photo by Robert | Visual Diary | Berlin on Unsplash)

Reader quotes:
“A really great read, heartwarming, sexy and evocative”
“They have such great spark!”
“So hard to put this down”
“Propulsive and compelling”
“Perfect mix of sensuality and humor”
“I was on the edge of my seat”
“THROWBACK! Loved those”
“Makes me want to visit”

Background image: Brandenburg Gate (photo by Tim Hufner on Unsplash)

Jenn Lee Frances @jennleefrances.bsky.social · 10mo ago

For Fans of the Lyrical & Creeping Angst of DON'T LET THE FOREST IN 🖤AWARD for Best Submission SCBWI MayFest 2025 🖤WINNER Write Hive Mentorship 2025 🖤3 Big 5 Editor Requests 🖤Simone is Haunted & Hexed in THE TRUTH OF FEAR #Spec Upper #YA Crossover #NA Feminist Horror + Romance #S #H #R #QuestPit

Jessica DeLand - Author (is getting published! 😱)@delandjessica.bsky.social · 10mo ago

WAKE embodies "Free" from KPOP DEMON HUNTERS w/: ~A FMC tormented by her past that's ruining her mental health ~A LI working for the villain w/ his own troubled past ~a supportive slow burn romance built on understanding inner pain Coming Spring 2027 #QuestPit #P #YA #F #MY #R

Victoria Jayne (they/them)@victoriajayneoh.bsky.social · 10mo ago

THE HONEY WITCH X LATE BLOOMER A disabled witch hires a butch werewolf grocer to work in her failing apothecary. But when she and the grocer fall in love, a ghost torments the shop! The witch must solve the haunting to save the town and her new hot gf. #questpit #A #FR #Q

The romance
Tropes
Alarra Thorne
Robin Hart

The comps
The honey witch
Late bloomer
The very secret society of irregular witches
Legends and lattes

Bee 🐝 has a BOOK DEAL!@beemorris.bsky.social · 10mo ago

SIXTH SENSE x MAID #QuestPit #Q #PR 👻 Alice sees ghosts 🏡 Rani cleans houses Together they start a business cleaning haunted houses & banishing spirits. But spectral scrubbing soon turns into a serial killer investigation, and the ghosts from Alice’s past won’t give her the day off...

Heather Carter @hlcarterauthor.bsky.social · 10mo ago

CRIMSON PEAK X PHANTASMA Alloson & John have lost their memory and must survive in a terrifying haunted house that comes to life nightly with a 200 y/o ball. A sinister prophecy will part them forever unless they solve the mystery of Radfield Hall. #QuestPit #A #AG #H #R #OS SOON

B. van Bodegom 📃is AGENTED @bvbodegom.bsky.social · 10mo ago

BLACK MIRROR × SEVERANCE × THE GOOD PLACE Having a happy death is a luxury service for the rich and Wren is the rising top salesman—until a cynical coworker and a depressed billionaire force him to rethink it all in a world where even your last smile has a price tag. #QuestPit #A #S #SF #W

Made from non-AI free stock images.

This image is a book cover design for a novel titled "Happy Death Inc." by B. Van Bodegom. The cover is divided into three distinct horizontal sections:

1. Top Section: Features a cartoonish blue sky with white clouds and a bright sun. At the top, a tagline reads:
"How much would you pay to die with a smile?"
The word "HAPPY" appears in large, playful, hand-drawn-style font, partially overlapping the sky background.

2. Middle Section: A photograph of a deceased man in a suit, lying in a casket. He has an exaggerated smile on his face, almost unnaturally wide and clean, suggesting artificial enhancement or post-mortem alteration. Overlaid on this image is the word "DEATH" in the same large font as the previous word.

3. Bottom Section: A cartoon city skyline in pastel tones, similar in style to the top sky background. The word "INC." is overlaid prominently in the same large font. At the very bottom: A novel by B. van Bodegom

Heather Carter @hlcarterauthor.bsky.social · 10mo ago

CRIMSON PEAK X PHANTASMA Trapped in a ghostly limbo with no memory, John & Alloson must solve the mystery of Radfield Hall before a murderous prophecy claims their souls, parting them forever. -Possession -200-y/o nightly ball -Spice -Demonic lion #QuestPit #A #AG #H #R #OS SOON

a dark staircase background. White text that reads: AN EDITOR'S GUIDE TO ECHOES OF RADFIELD HALL BY HEATHER CARTER. ON SUBMISSION SOON. AGENTS KATRINA LEMAIRE AND MARISA CORVISIERO OF CORVISIERO LITERARY AGENCY

a background with stairs and a peeling blue wall with images of four book and movie covers (The Mirror by Nora Roberts, The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall, Crimson Peak, and Phantasma by Kaylie Smith). White text that reads: ECHOES OF RADFIELD HALL. Trapped in a ghostly limbo with no memories, Alloson and John must escape a haunted house that comes to life nightly with two-hundred-year-old ball. As their love grows, the time loop deteriorates and the house rages. They must solve the mystery of Radfield Hall before violent entities, possession, and a murderous prophecy claim their souls for darkness & part them forever. 98,000 words. Dual POV. Adult Gothic Romance. On Submission Soon. Agents: Katrina Lemaire & Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

a dark staircase background with two columns of white text with a scrolling vertical divider between them. Column one: THEMES. ADULT GOTHIC ROMANCE, AMNESIA, GHOSTS, NIGHTLY 19TH CENTURY BALL, TIME TRAVEL/LOOP, HORROR AND ROMANCE, POSSESSION, CURSED BOOK WRITTEN IN BLOOD, SPICE. COMPS: CRIMSON PEAK (GUILLERMO DEL TORO FILM), PHANTASMA (KAYLIE SMITH), THE MIRROR (NORA ROBERTS), THE SPIRIT COLLECTION OF THORNE HALL (J. ANN. THOMAS)

A DARK STAIRCASE BACKGROUND WITH WHITE TEXT:
OPENING LINES:
I drifted on a strange sea between worlds. If I once knew light, it had long abandoned me to a dark, feral nightmare. I ran through the shadowy plane, screaming until I collapsed, succumbing to the burn in my limbs. The hazy edges and echoing rumbles filtered through what should’ve been a harsh line between the living and the realm of the dead.

Shida Ketzer (follows back all fiction writers)@wisteraverse.bsky.social · 10mo ago

🗡️Murdered in cold blood & resurrected through forbidden powers, Quill becomes a formidable assassin. As her latest mission sparks a higher power’s wrath, Quill must avenge the death of her people and her own murder. Failure will cost more than just her life.🪶 #QuestPit #F #P

Killer Quill
by
Shida Ketzer

This world, my dear, is the slaughterhouse of noble ideals.

Back cover blurb:
Murdered in cold blood and resurrected through forbidden powers, Quill becomes her world’s legendary assassin. She can never part with her eponymous quill. The mythical quill keeps her alive, heals her wounds, and enables her to transform colors into animate objects doing her bidding. In exchange, the quill feeds on her victims’ souls. When her latest mission sparks the higher power’s wrath, Quill must avenge the death of her people and her own murder. Failure will cost more than just her life.

A Wisteraverse novella.

Soph @soph-pl.bsky.social · 10mo ago

A disciplined French student falls for leafy, laid-back post-Cold War Berlin—and for her reluctant host, an ex-athlete reeling from a wrecked career and a failed marriage. The devastating catch? She can’t stay. #QuestPit #Q #A #R

Snippet:
I think that’s when the thaw begins.
Not when he pulls me aside and tilts his head down. I briefly think we’ve never kissed in public.
And not when he gently presses his lips to mine, giving me the choice to leave it at that. Because in that moment, I burst into flames.
It all comes rushing back, like a punch to the heart that leaves me breathless. All the love and longing I feel for this man.

Background image: Berlin Victory Column (photo by Robert | Visual Diary | Berlin on Unsplash)

Reader quotes:
“Great story with a beautifully crafted relationship”
“I found myself rooting for them from the beginning”
“Perfect blend of emotional and sexy”
“Lots of humor”
“The reveal was great”
“Felt like I was there”
“I liked how the history was interwoven”
"A wonderful job of creating ... characters that I care very much about and am sure other readers will, too! ... Can’t wait to see this published …"

Background image: Berlin Victory Column (photo by Robert | Visual Diary | Berlin on Unsplash)

Ann Glimmer @annglimmer.bsky.social · 10mo ago

TRUE HATE'S KISS She must trick her enemy into kissing her to break a deadly curse on her family 🐉Viking Vibes & Scandinavian Folklore ⚔️Age-Old Clan Feud ❤️‍🔥Enemies-To-Forbidden-Lovers 🔥Delicious Banter & Yearning 🌶️Hot & Spicy #Questpit #NA #Romantasy #Agented #Editorsguide

Ann Littler @annlittler.bsky.social · 10mo ago

A sneak peek at my new WIP for #QuestPit Rapunzel X Eastern European Folklore #TowerWIP #W #YA #H #R

1) Scottish Highlands
2) Two teens silhouetted
3) A dead body
4) Teens hiking in mist
5) A crumbling Scottish castle
6) A figure with a scythe

Guendalina Cilli @guendalina.bsky.social · 10mo ago

ALADDIN X THE CO-OP Determined to win the woman of his dreams, a single father must find a compromise between her desire to preserve the 1920s villa of her childhood and the plans to gut it into a hotel to save his business from bankruptcy #questpit #Q #A #R

Catherine Winters @catherinewinters.com · 10mo ago

F/NB WAYFARERS x MURDERBOT x SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN Everything fell apart when the human came aboard. Instead of nice meals and quiet cargo runs, Tai's stuck with bickering crewmates, sinister criminals, explosions, and worse, a human who wants to be friends. #QuestPit #SF #A #Q #R #LGBT

Mood board/Agent's guide for my novel CARGO - a queer SF/heist/romance - 113,000 words

"Did you hear? There's a human on board."
A graphic of the wall of a spaceship with sticky notes and polaroid photos taped up. There are twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling.
alien ship's cook (fussy, anxious) + terrifying monster (ordinary human)

PITCH:
Tai’s terrified of humans. Everyone is. Violent pack hunters, humans are notorious for their strength, sharp teeth, and carnivorous appetites. But the ship’s cook is safe among the multispecies crew of the cargo hauler Coreward Baker: everyone knows the warrior species rarely leave their own space. Then Captain Raz hires Clarke, a human horticulturist.
Even after Tai overcomes their fear, they can’t stand Clarke. She’s bossy. Annoying. Useless in the galley, bad in a space suit. She might as well be cargo. Worse, she’s intent on befriending Tai—and why can’t they stop thinking about her, anyway?
That’s when things go wrong. As Tai starts to realize their feelings for Clarke, they’re horrified to learn that nobody on their crew of dropouts and runaways is quite who they seem, least of all Clarke. And it’s no coincidence. Raz reveals they’ve each been handpicked for a heist he’s spent years planning—and no one’s allowed to say no.

PRIORITIES:
make dinner
remain cozy
haul cargo
go for drinks
pull off one last score
try not to fall in love

FIRST PAGE:

“Did you hear? There’s a Human on board.”
I choked on my noodles and turned to stare at the diners at the next table. Like most of the restaurant’s patrons, the pair had hidden their profiles, a halfhearted attempt at anonymity.
“Gross,” the speaker’s crewmate said, oblivious to my alarm. “I hope it leaves soon.”
“Don’t let it hear you say that,” the first worker laughed. She made a show of looking for Humans, her eyes darting from table to table.
It. I frowned. I knew the workers’ language distinguished between people and things, and ‘it’ was an unkind choice of words at best.
The second worker shuddered. “I don’t know why we let them come here.”
The first laughed. “Are you going to stop them?”

COMPS:
Murderbot by Martha Wells
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wisewell
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

TROPES:
Non-binary narrator masking anxiety with sarcasm
lying to themselves
non-human perspective (afraid of humans)
neurodivergent main characters
metaphorically disabled protagonist
slow-burn friends-to-lovers and enemies to lovers in the same relationship
disabilitynorm and queernorm setting
found family
loveable pet/terrifying monster

Soph @soph-pl.bsky.social · 10mo ago

✈️ Boarding now! Destination: Berlin A housing mix-up... and the host she shouldn't fall for. 👨‍👦Single dad & forced proximity 🔥Friends-to-lovers slow burn 🌇 ‘90s Berlin as character 🌶️Sex-positive spice 💬 Warm & witty 🛑 Love, career & the cost of duty #QuestPit #Q #A #R

Snippet:
“Wait, are you telling me that in German, the word for f—ing is… what’s a literal translation… ‘birding’?”
“I guess.”
“Ugh, I'll never see the eagle on the German flag the same way again.”
I choke on my beer, spraying the coffee table. As I cough and snort, she slyly pulls a tissue from her pocket and wipes the table.
“The eagle’s on the coat of arms, not the flag,” I say weakly, “and we have another word for f—ing, but please don’t use it. It’s really vulgar.”
Keywords: Heartfelt; Spicy; Retro; Destination; Romance
Before Sunrise movie poster; Every Summer After (Carley Fortune) book cover; Heartless (Elsie Silver) book cover; Kilt Trip (Alexandra Kiley) book cover

Background images: Brandenburg Gate (Photo by Florian Wehde on Unsplash); a couple kissing (Design by Freepik; freepik.com); Berlin TV tower (Photo by Hannu Hollström on Unsplash)

Pines Callahan @pinesforstories.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Wayfarers x Farscape Peace between alien races could shatter unless a neurodivergent, space-phobic marine biologist, the sexy, secretive ex she’s “over”, and their tween daughter can guide a pregnant space dragon to her nursery world before she loses her clutch. #QuestPit #AG #SF

Phoebe and the Space Dragon, 92k Adult Sci-fi

Pitch: In space, no one can hear you scream...at your ex.
There's no room for argument when a pregnant, endangered creature demands you help her reach her nursery world---even if you're forced to fly with your ed. For anxious marine biologist Remy, the only thing scarier than space would be falling back in love with the man who shattered her heart.

Tropes and comps: forced proximity, second chance love, co-parenting, middle-aged MC and LI, painful secrets.

Looking down on Earth from space was allegedly a life changing event, but Remy was busy gripping her armrest and praying for delivery from a sudden, violent death. Why bother looking towards home? Any second now, she’d be plummeting back. Maybe orbiting trash would crash into them. Or the shuttle could lose power and drift into the void until they all died of hypoxia. All. That was the worst part: if she died, her only child died, too. Not that the daughter in question seemed to appreciate the gravity of the situation. Phoebe was all wide eyes and smiles as the budget shuttle rocketed them towards their almost certain demise.

"Dad?"
He glanced around at the silver-collared crew, all carefully not paying attention to the interaction, as usual—except for Solkar, who winked. "Captain Bellamy when we’re on the bridge, Phoebe,” he whispered.
She scowled at him. "It's Navigator Walker, then."
The corner of his mouth quirked like she’d said something funny instead of grown-up and serious. "You're right, we need to keep this as professional as possible, Navigator Walker."
"Or we could act like we’re still a family," she muttered, half-hoping her voice didn’t carry across the Hasma’s pool. “At least one of us still wishes we were.”
He looked a little hurt. It didn’t make her feel any better, but she didn’t apologize. If she was hurting, so could he. And it wasn’t like he ever apologized.
"I am your family, Navigator Walker. A bit of time and distance doesn’t change that."

Pines Callahan @pinesforstories.bsky.social · 10mo ago

I'm officially ✨️vague✨️