Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying @diamonddoyle.bsky.social · Jul 31

Over 3,000 writers participated in 88 groups in @nycmidnight.bsky.social flash fiction for the first round. Congrats to all who are headed to round two and bravo to everyone who shared their stories! #flashfiction #amwriting #writingcommunity

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NYC Midnight @nycmidnight.bsky.social · Jul 31

The 1st Round results for the Flash Fiction Challenge 2025 are up at nycmidnight.co/4l4Ezu2! Congratulations to the top 7 in each group for advancing to the 2nd Round, which kicks off this Friday, August 1st. Best of luck to them, and thanks to all who participated!

1st Round Results — nycmidnight

The 1st Round results from the Flash Fiction Challenge 2025.

nycmidnight.co

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Kelly Malacko @kellymalacko.bsky.social · Jul 21

Need a little more Canada? Check out these great, Canadian authors!
open.substack.com/pub/kellymal...

Read The North

Female Canadian Authors to Check Out

open.substack.com

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J.W. Gant @johnwgant.bsky.social · Jul 21

#WritingCommunity

Mia Tsai, rabble-rouser @itsamia.bsky.social · Jul 21

haiku for the writer in edits

wait, what do you mean
i have to reread my words
and make them better?

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Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying @diamonddoyle.bsky.social · Jul 19

This looks wonderful ✨ may your thoughts flow freely!

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Laura Zats @lzats.bsky.social · Jul 14

I have office hours TONIGHT at 6 CST! Come hang out and get all your book and publishing questions answered! Free and open to all!

PRINT RUN @printrunpodcast.bsky.social · Jun 25

New Office Hours Dates!

www.patreon.com/posts/upcomi...

Upcoming Office Hours | Laura Zats and Erik Hane

www.patreon.com

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Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying @diamonddoyle.bsky.social · Jul 14

I love that!!!!! 💎💎

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Kate McKean @katemckean.bsky.social · Jul 14

Friends! I'm doing some stuff out in the world and on line, so if you're free, come through!

TODAY on Substack I'll be LIVE with @jopiazza.bsky.social to talk about her EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU, a #tradwife thriller. It's SOOOOOO good! Find us on the substack app!

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Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying @diamonddoyle.bsky.social · Jul 14

Thank you!

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Zed Prospero @zprospero.bsky.social · Jul 13

bsky.app/profile/zpro...

Zed Prospero @zprospero.bsky.social · Jul 13

GRIM FANDANGO X THE MALTESE FALCON

Mick, hard-ossified detective, helps the dead find out how they died. When his latest client disappears leaving a body and a note behind her that he killed her in life, he must find her before she moves on to learn what kind of man he was.

#BluePit 📖 #W #A #PN #C

Muertos

A 3x3 image grid on a background of black roses.

Image 1: Silhouette of a man in a trench coat and fedora staring at a desolate waste.

Image 2: A skeleton with glowing blue eyes painted as a Dia De Los Muertos Calavera

Image 3: a headless armless statue of a warrior in mesoamerican dress

Image 4: an Aztec calendar carved in stone light with red and orange light

Image 5: A Dia De Los Muertos Calavera surrounded by multi-colored flowers

Image 6: A woman painted like a skeleton of Dia De Los Muertos with a floral spiked crown and holding several large orange flowers

Image 7: A man in a plague doctor gas mask is holding a device pouring smoke

Image 8: A cemetery lit with candles and graves covered with flowers

Image 9: A dark train platform lit by a handful of small windows

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Reposted by Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying

Jessica Junqua @jessicajunqua.bsky.social · Jul 13

THE LAST TO LET GO x HELL FOLLOWED WITH US

🤐 A quiet teen
⚡ Glitching cities
📡 Post-explosion tech takeover
🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Sibling loyalty
🧬 An inventor’s twisted obsession
👁 A voice in her head, not her own
🕳️ If she breaks, she won’t just be consumed—she’ll be weaponized.

#BluePit #BluePit📖 #YA #SP #Q #LGBT

A four picture collage.
Top Left: a girl in a brown jacket and gray hoodie. You don’t see her eyes, just the nose down.
Top Right: the words “Don’t Listen to the Static”
Bottom Left: a hand grasping onto television static.
Bottom Right: a girl wearing a headset, surrounded by computers in a blue room.

A four picture collage:
Top Left: a man sitting cross legged, looking up.
Top Right: three siblings holding each other tight.
Bottom Left: the words “The World’s Not Safe Anymore” carved into a white door.
Bottom Right: the quote: “If we don’t have each other, we don’t have anything.” By S.E. Hinton.

A four picture collage:
Top Left: a man wearing glasses writing math equations on a see through clear white board.
Top Right: the quote “we aren’t breaking you, we are fixing you.”
Bottom Left: a selection of surgical tools laid out in front of a gloved man.
Bottom Right: a needle piercing the skin of a person by a man wearing gloves.

A four picture collage:
Top Left: a girl in a hospital gown running down a hospital corridor
Top Right: the quote “your new life is going to cost you your old one.”
Bottom Left: a girl attached to wires along her spine is watching a series of science fiction looking computer projections
Bottom Right: a girl with her eyes closed, wires placed around her head, the image has a blue hue.

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Sophie Jane is querying ✨ @sophiejanebooks.bsky.social · Jul 13

Would you read a book about a poisonous girl, a haunted estate, and the man who loves her so much he forgets who he is?
Rappaccini’s Daughter meets Crimson Peak, with blood-fed roses and a slow descent into madness.

#bluepit📖 #Q #NA #H #R

A romantic and eerie mood board collage for A Poison So Divine. Elements include a vintage-style plaque that reads: “Not every monster wants to hurt you,” a woman in a white dress reaching upward, a close-up of fingers penetrating a flower, a Greco-Roman statue partially buried in grass, and a man in an open white shirt clutching a necklace. Overlaid text reads: “the things I would do to you” and “if I could only touch you.” The background is textured with vintage paper, florals, and alchemical bottles.

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Reposted by Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying

L.M. du Plessis 🇳🇦 🇺🇦📚💙 ‪✨Drafting New Project✨ @smoking-gnu.bsky.social · Jul 13

And for my final post for #Bluepit 📖 on this fine day, allow me to summarise my posts into one complete list of #Agentsguide for all to see:

1) Sundered Galaxy #W #A #SF
2) Fractured Binary #W #A #SF
3) Tides of Sourcery #W #A #F #SF
4) Cavern Clipper #W #A #SF

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wott is querying! @wottenmoss.bsky.social · Jul 13

A troublemaker chosen by the spirits breaks an ancient tradition to keep her best friend (not her crush, obviously) by her side, resulting in deadly–and possibly apocalyptic–consequences

#BluePit📖 #Q #F #LGBT #ND #TR #OV #agentguide #agentsguide

Text: an agent’s guide to WHEN THE MAGPIE FLIES by M. H. Wottenmoss. 75k queer fantasy, adult/upper YA, series potential
Light blue-gray black ground with a flock of birds

Pitch:
In a realm overgrown with wild spiritwoods, humanity’s only protection is the Conduits. Newly-chosen Conduit and incurable troublemaker Magpie of Lornwhen has everything she’s ever wanted at her fingertips. All she has to do is complete her journey of ascension through the spiritwoods, and then she’ll live the privileged life of one of humanity’s beloved defenders. She’ll never have to worry about struggling to survive again.

But Magpie has never been good at doing what she’s told, and when she breaks an ancient tradition, the spirits start killing off the fledgling Conduits—and it seems like it’s her fault. Besieged on all sides by threats from humans and spirits alike, Magpie is faced with an impossible choice: abandon her dreams, or risk losing her best friend forever.

But the wheels of fate have been set in motion, and it may be too late to save themselves—a ravenous darkness looms in the sky, and it's been waiting a long time for humankind’s defenses to waver.

Excerpt:
You couldn’t always see the Shadow in the sky; most of the time it was a tiny spot of darkness marring the daytime sky like an inverse star. It wasn’t something you could set your clock or your compass to, either. It changed size and shape and location with no clear pattern.

The hedgemages liked to try and divine some sort of meaning from it, which was a bit dumb in Mag’s opinion. The Shadow was what it was. Sometimes it was bigger. Sometimes it was smaller.

Sometimes it swallowed the entire sky.

Mag didn’t mind, really. It was usually a great excuse to take a nap. Unfortunately, sitting on a shallow ledge twelve stories high wasn't really a good place for that. It was only marginally worse than napping on top of the giant mushrooms in the spiritwoods, and Mag… would not admit to doing that anywhere Calla might overhear.

A line-drawing scene of forested mountains and giant colorful mushrooms, with a dark shadow in the sky and a bird flying toward it.

Featuring text:
-monstrous spirits
-mildly haunted forest
-giant mushrooms
-ill advised rituals
-slow burn sapphic romance
-autism rep
-introspective, hopeful, and fun
-a Shadow in the sky that occasionally swallows the sun
-original music composed by the author

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bryan-writes.bsky.social @bryan-writes.bsky.social · Jul 13

THREADS THAT BIND X DELICIOUS MONSTERS

Francine just wants her father back: impossible, until she finds a doll that can make her feel warm and loved whenever it is held. But it can also kill her if it is held too tight—and someone just stole it out of her purse.

#BluePit 📖 #Q #YA #T #Thriller #PN

A mood board showing 5 neon images and 4 black and white ones. The neon images show New Orleans at night, and the black and white images show unsettling photos, including a scared girl, a couple in love, and hands tied-up in yarn.

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Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying @diamonddoyle.bsky.social · Jul 13

This sounds great!

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Kelton Davis is querying! 🏹⚔️🌠 @keltondavis.bsky.social · Jul 13

GODKILLER X BONE SHARD DAUGHTER

A desperate heir. A disgraced warrior. A deadly assassin.

🏹 Strong FMC
🏹 Rich Worldbuilding
🏹 Hunt for Redemption
🏹 Cyclical Trauma
🏹 Found Family

#BluePit 📖 #A #Q #AmQuerying

Background: Mountain monastery surrounded by red trees
Title Card
Text: An Agent's Guide To: The Daughter and the Nameless Son by Kelton Davis | Adult Fantasy | 100k Words | Querying Now!

Background: Mountain monastery surrounded by red trees | Six images surrounding a quote (from clockwise): A sunset, a hammer striking hot metal, a red-haired archer, a grizzled old man, red arrow fletching, a red forest.
Text: "You might be too broken to help me yourself," she said, all pretense of courtesy gone, "but if you're a shadow of the man he said you were, you ought to still know something at least.
"Have you ever heard of an assassin who could change their shape?"

Background: Mountain monastery surrounded by red trees
Title: Comps
Images: Covers of GODKILLER by Hannah Kaner, THE JUSTICE OF KINGS by Richard Swan, and THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER by Andrew Stewart. Arrows connect similarities between comps.
Text:
From GODKILLER: Cross-Country Quest to Forbidden Land, Surrogate Parenthood (shared with THE JUSTICE OF KINGS)
From BONE SHARD DAUGHTER: Disgraced Heir, Strong FMC (shared with both others)

Background: Mountain monastery surrounded by red trees
Title: Pitch
Text: Niozene has never been good enough.

As daughter and crown heir to the Mother, a living goddess and ruler of her country, perfection is the only standard she’s ever known. Yet, despite her flawless scholar’s education and a polished career as a ranger, Niozene has failed to convince the Mother to look past her greatest flaw—she lacks the holy power to control the minds of others that ordains her family as living gods with divine right to rule.

When a shape-changing assassin nearly kills the Mother on Niozene’s watch, she is stripped of her titles and given an ultimatum: return with the assassin’s head, or face excommunication from both her homeland and the afterlife. Desperate, she accepts the task as a final chance to prove herself and show the Mother she deserves a place as her daughter.

Allowed only the help of Sonsan, a surly tracker and criminal also facing excommunication, Niozene dreads that she may have lost her chance at redemption before she has even left home. But when Sonsan reveals that he shares the same strange shape-changing power as the assassin, Niozene realizes his assignment to accompany her is more than coincidence. As they track the assassin deep into a forbidden land, confronting demons, ancient magic, and the ghosts that haunt their dreams and blood, they must uncover the truth behind their quest—and the buried history neither knew they shared—if they wish to live to see their promised redemption.

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Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying @diamonddoyle.bsky.social · Jul 13

Yours sounds right up my alley, too!

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Tara Lewis ✨ Querying ✨ @taralewiswrites.bsky.social · Jul 13

True Detective x Sharp Objects

A detective with blackouts
A killer sending messages

The deeper he digs,
the more the truth slips through his fingers

WHERE THE HOLLOW BREAKS — a dark psychological thriller about buried trauma, fractured memory, and monsters we try to outrun
#BluePit📖 #A #T #Q #ND

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Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying @diamonddoyle.bsky.social · Jul 13

Thank you!

Reposted by Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying

Sara Wilkinson @swilkinsonwrites.bsky.social · Jul 13

BEFORE I DO x MAD ABOUT YOU

Fiona is a daddy’s girl who loved hockey, but after his death she can’t even look at her skates. It will take a chance meeting with a painter and fellow hockey fan to help her revive her love of hockey and fully mourn her biggest fan’s death.

#Bluepit📖 #Bluepit #A #R #Q

Finding Fiona: An agent guide by Sara Wilkinson

The Pitch: Fiona Ivanov is a daddy’s girl who loved hockey. Loved playing, loved watching her pro dad play, loved watching their favorite team with him at her side. But after his death in a drunk driving accident, she pushes that love down and fills the void with an increasingly discordant relationship. A chance meeting with a fellow fan and painter, Paul, rekindles her love of the game and helps her reconnect with her late dad while she helps him embrace his artistic talent and reconnect with his living father.

The Particulars: Contemporary Romance: 84,000 words. Troupes: Impossible romance and Stranger-to-Friends-to-Lovers. Inspired by: Katy Perry's Not like the Movies. Comps: Before I Do, Mad About You, Something from Tiffany's.

The Passage: “Yes, you.” Fiona glanced up at Paul but avoided his eyes. “What the hell is your deal? You invite me home like a stray cat. Fill me with cocoa and memories. Then toss me out without warning and ignore me for days. Then show up at the bar and act like I’m not even there.” A ragged breath escaped her lips as her chest collapsed against her spine.
Paul knelt in front of her. His cheeks deflated as he slowly exhaled. “I’m attracted to you. More than I have any right to be. When Jonathon called, I realized this, us, was impossible. Pushing you away seemed like the best option. But then tonight, when you looked so upset, it…” Paul reached over and lifted her chin with his forefinger. “I’d rather have you in my life than not. Even if that means being stuck in the friend zone.”

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J.W. Gant @johnwgant.bsky.social · Jul 13

#BluePit #Q Satire/Crime 82K

A man has been unemployed so long that the bank will foreclose on the foster home he and his wife manage unless he works with his father, a retired thief with Alzheimer’s, and commits a heist: a portrait of the Prez and $1M cash.

AGENTS: Unlikely to grow my shortlist

Mood Board for
How I Stole From the President While Saving a Foster Home
Upper left is an aerial view of Mar-a-Lago, home to Trump.
Upper right is Jon Hamm as a burglar
Left is the foster home to be saved
Right is an image with the title floating in blue skies and puffy clouds
Bottom left is research for the burglary of Mar-a-Lago
Bottom right is an image of then 45th President Trump

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Gert Ramm 🦋 @rammwriter.bsky.social · Jul 13

Slow Horses x Life on Mars

When an intelligence agent is framed for the UK's role in a temporal disaster, he must clear his name and seal a lethal time rift - before a Russian spy from the future gets everyone killed.

#Q #A #T #SF #BluePit 📖 🦋
#litagents #agentguide #writesky #writers

Dark blue background with a circular, time-delay image of the night-time stars. They resemble a time tunnel, or vortex. Text reads:

An Agent's Guide to:
Out of Time
By Gert Ramm

Espionage/Time Travel/Thriller

Images from Pixabay

Dark blue background with a circular, time-delay image of the night-time stars. They resemble a time tunnel, or vortex. Text reads:

1972 is a rough year for intelligence officer Eddie Fletcher, and it’s only January.

First he discovers the Cold War is really about time travel, then he’s framed for the UK’s role in a temporal disaster.

Sealing a lethal time rift is the only way to clear his name - much easier said than done when he’s being hunted by the British government.

Then there's a Russian spy on a mission so vital he’s travelled from 1997 to complete it.

Pitch:

Slow Horses X Time Travel

Images from Pixabay

Dark blue background with a circular, time-delay image of the night-time stars. They resemble a time tunnel, or vortex. Text reads:

Comps:
Slough House Series (Mick Herron)
Wrong Place, Wrong Time (Gillian McAllister)
Four Minutes (Brian Andrews/Jeff Wilson)
Dark Matter (Blake Crouch)

TV Comps:
The Ipcress File
Day of the Jackal
Life on Mars
Callan

Images from Pixabay

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Dawn Berkoski @dawnberkoski.bsky.social · Jul 13

Raised by corporate vampires with little freedom or choice, Alex is used to Yakuza business rivals and back-alley deals. But nothing prepares him for Jason, a witty bartender who challenges everything he knows, and who harbors secrets as deadly as the vampires after him. 💙📚📖
#BluePit #PN #R #Q #A

Agent guide for I Am Chosen, an M/M paranormal romance by Dawn Berkoski. The picture is of a fiery orange and purple sunset over a highway. Photography by Dawn Berkoski

Several photos are shown on this mood-board for I Am Chosen, a paranormal romance by Dawn Berkoski. From the top left, a glass of aged scotch surrounded by butterscotch candies, a CEO standing in a high rise office, staring out a window, a giant hotel clock surrounded by Christmas decor, a photo of art depicting demons rising from hell, a sunset with black, billowy clouds hovering over an orange stripe, a dirty cement staircase near a darkened entrance, and the city of London as viewed from the river. Photography, except the man, by Dawn Berkoski

Photo of a vibrant sunset over a graveyard as seen from the window of a fast moving vehicle.

It reads:

PITCH: IN A WORLD CONTROLLED BY CORPORATE VAMPIRES, TWO MEN STRUGGLE FOR AUTONOMY. WILL A CHANCE MEETING LEAD THEM TO FREEDOM, OR A WEB OF SUBTERFUGE, WHERE EVERY THREAD BRINGS A MONSTER OFFERING DEATH OR PERMANTENT CONFINEMENT?

Photo by Dawn Berkoski

Book vibes are all about the feel of the writing, setting, and story.

The Blue Blood Series by Melissa de la Cruz Is used to represent the wealthy elite vampires living in New York, the fish out of water trope, dark secrets, and others.

The Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice is used to represent young vampires rebelling against old rules and customs. Travel and setting also play a role. A plot point was inspired by the novel.

Yakuza, Japan’s Criminal Underworld by David Kaplan and Alec Dubro, is used to represent some of the vampire rivals business practices. It plays a role in the series arch.

Photography at the bottom: A dark cement staircase and photo of the London Eye by Dawn Berkoski

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Diamond Doyle (she/ella/elle) is Querying @diamonddoyle.bsky.social · Jul 13

Ashley Rose is a floriculturist whose life changes when she inherits a madam’s diary from 1910—along with a serial killer’s blood in her veins.

VERITY meets KING OF ASHES in a thriller about inheritance, violence, & the cost of uncovering buried truths.

#Q #A #T #bluepit

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