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Nell

@nelsnote.bsky.social

170 followers 210 following 160 posts

Occasional wannabe writer and professional book hoarder. I also draw sometimes :) https://nelsnote.carrd.co/ Reading: Ulysses Editing: A literary(ish) adult contemporary w/psychological suspense

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Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

THE BASS ROCK x THE UNCONSOLED X ALL THE LOVERS IN THE NIGHT

Burned-out jazz pianist Clementine falls for a brilliant artist at a seaside inn—then those he paints begin to vanish.

🎹Art‑as‑magic
🌫️ Gothic melancholy
🩶 Envy‑to‑attraction slow burn
❔Psych suspense

#agentguide #questpit #A #LF #Q

An agent's guide to the inn at the edge of the sea - 64k upmarket with magical realism

The pitch: Burned‑out jazz pianist Clementine retreats to a seaside inn where a gifted painter rekindles her inspiration. But when the subjects of his portraits begin disappearing, she must learn whether the artist is to blame—or she could be next.
For fans of:
The quiet loneliness and romance of Mieko Kawakami’s ALL THE LOVERS IN THE NIGHT
The brooding, gothic atmosphere of Evie Wyld’s THE BASS ROCK
The dreamy surrealism of Kazuo Ishiguro’s THE UNCONSOLED

Tropes/Themes: Psychological Suspense
Speculative elements
Romance Subplot with Yearning
Magical paintings
Manipulation
Artistic creation and self-destruction
The Indomitable Human Spirit
Music
Moody and melancholic

Opening lines: The winter tide exhaled a slow melody against the sand. Clementine let its crested waves spill over her feet, foam gathering in deep snow drifts around her ankles.

There was a ghostly feel to the long stretch of water that lay before her, the distant horizon blending into a misty gray sky. As the tide pulled back, she was overtaken by the fleeting sensation of falling, as if the water might pull her with it. It had a good rhythm to it. A steady rhythm.

Time dripped slowly. With a distant sort of detachment, she noted that her toes were blue.

Water breathed, and Clementine drew a breath, shallow and cold. The taste of wood and salt lay in a heavy coat atop her tongue. She’d come here for quiet, yet the ocean thrashed and quaked in the cavity of her chest, filling its emptiness with a transparent and insurmountable longing.

It was a Thursday, and Thursdays were the worst night of the week. The night you got if you played well enough to fill the slot, but not popular enough for the weekend rush. Clementine had only ever been scheduled for Thursdays.

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Reposted by Nell

🚀 Hadiyah 🍉 @hadiyahsama.bsky.social · May 25

Hello all, setting down the #agentsguide of my YA Historical Novel (with a Speculative twist!) for consideration by #litagents and #editors!

AFFINITY is my #amquerying project. The 61,000 word novel explores the topics of found family, generational trauma, and racism in 1970s Britain.

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Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 21

Every time I start working on a new book I breathe a little sigh of relief that I still have new ideas and the desire to write stories hasn’t disappeared

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Kayla ✨📚 @kaylawhittle.bsky.social · May 7

STARLING HOUSE x WAYWARD CHILDREN

Historian Vivian meets Elodie, a memory keeper who can free the past from plants, to investigate a century-old disappearance. They find more than expected: a monstrous memory, and an inescapable connection.

#QuestPit #Q #A #F #LGBT

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Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

sounds so lush and beautiful

Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

wait i love this

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Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

So fun!

Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

Warcross comp!!

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M is queer-ying MG @notonlyicarus.bsky.social · May 7

EVOCATIONxJANE LAWRENCE
why do you need an angel?
according to the codex his teacher wrote, that’s the most important question to ask when summoning them. simon knows his answer: there’s someone he worships—the teacher he built a cult around—and he won’t stop until he has him.
#QuestPit #A #H #wip

red and black-themed moodboard. around the top border and right border: someone falling through red-tinged clouds; someone in white embracing a dark shadow with a halo behind them; someone standing at the top of some stairs, surrounded by giant red bulging eyes; a faded black and white photo style picture of a dark smudge shadow and the shape of someone hooking their head over the shadow’s shoulder, crying dark tears; red-toned painting of an angel with three eyes. The left space is occupied by a text image, gothic white on red, that reads ‘the problem with angels is sometimes they talk back’ over and over again. on top of that picture, picture of a painting of an eye with a large gold star growing in it.

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Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

oh, this premise hurts me in the best way

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Lucy is querying @lliuwrite.bsky.social · May 7

THE SONG OF ACHILLES x THE IRON GIANT in my 94k YA fantasy where a 17-yr old inventor’s apprentice must destroy a weapon of mass destruction with the face and body of a handsome young man, preferably before he falls in love with him.

❤️slow burn
🏳️‍🌈asexual MC
🌱ghibli vibes

#questpit #Q #YA #F

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Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

ghibli vibes AND iron giant comp?? this sounds incredible

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Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

sooo eragon coded

Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

Missing someone you never knew...take me back to my childhood

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leona has an agent✨🦋 @leonahwrites.bsky.social · May 7

ERAGON X THE LAST UNICORN

🌿bone magic & speaking with spirits
🕷️slavic myths in the woods
🪻band of misfits nearly dying a lot
🌞missing someone you never knew
🪻unique magic system
🕷️dragons, dead women, & forest men
🌿coming of age in a fantastical way

#questpit #AG #F #YA

a white background with a light green banner with white writing that reads “THE BONE COLLECTOR An editor’s guide to a lush, folklore YA fantasy by Leona H. Lach Repped by Arianna Siddiqui at Fineprint Literary”

light green background with white flowers and a spine in three of the corners, a group of 3 in a neutral tone color palette is in one of the corners.
from left to right:
Fawn is on the left. she is a black girl with long locs that are decorated in little gold pieces. Olena is in the middle. She’s a white girl with dark hair & a scarf around her hair. Arwyn is on the right. He has tanned skin, shaggy hair that falls to his shoulders, & hunting gear on.
Text is in the middle and reads: PITCH
Three magic users a rare Bone Breaker and two spy Animal Weavers- journey into the dark woods to find a potential cure for the sickness ravaging the Bone Breaker's home. Risking their lives against ancient beasts, the three adventure to the highest mountain to find the medicine they're searching for. In a clash of Slavic myths and dark consequential magic, this YA fantasy explores the strength of the natural world while highlighting the struggle to fit in as a young girl.

a light green background with white text that reads COMPS AND TROPES. book covers and their tropes are listed below. Eragon cover: 15 y/o MC swept into an unknown adventure. The Last Unicorn cover: a misfit, magic found family. Counterpart cover a royal pawn. Daughter of the Bone Forest cover: magic influenced by death. Where the Dark Stands Still cover: lush world inspired by slavic folklore. white flowers and a spine border the corners.

white text over a light green background: SNIPPET
But the entire world stops turning, letting Olena live in the few seconds before her end.
"A wish?" a chirping voice calls from somewhere inside Olena's skull. It bats around, banging on every corner of her brain, the flap of wings echoing in her ears. "A wish for you." The voice is almost too fast for Olena to comprehend, but she makes her wish.
Flight. Wings. The strength to save us, she pleads.
in three of the four corners is white flowers and a spine, in the bottom right is olena: a very pale 15 year old girl who looks incredibly tired. she has dark hair under a silk scarf that’s covered in art of lions and dragonflies. she’s wearing a dark blue cloak and dark dress and is fiddling with a bone.

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Ivy T. Woods @ivytwoods.bsky.social · May 7

Agent’s Guide to 🌲THE LAND OF UNDYING SUMMER🌲
This romantic fantasy has:
🐻‍❄️ A setting inspired by the Canadian subarctic
🌋Roots in animistic religion
⚡️A physics based magic system
👵🏽 Crotchety immortals
#QuestPit #W #Q this fall #A #F #R #RF #agentsguide

An Agent’s Guide to The Land of Undying Summer
By Ivy T. Woods
Adult romantic fantasy
99,000 words

On a background of a map is a potted plant and a pestle

On the left is a piece of paper containing a picture of mountains and a river.

Pitch

After a wandering mage’s equipment is stolen he is strong armed into helping a disillusioned death priestess identify why no more mages are being born and how to fix it. As the two grow reluctantly closer, they find that the enemy is not always where it seems.

With roots in animistic religion and a setting inspired by the Canadian sub-arctic, THE LAND OF UNDYING SUMMER is a stand-alone with series potential.

Comps

The Gilded Crown by Marianne Gordon
Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang

Vibes of with two arrows pointing at both book covers

Chapter One - The End of Darkness

Tilaani stepped through the Wolf’s Fangs, squinting into the bright light of early spring. The snow that clung to the mountain glittered in the bright afternoon sun.

“Shit.” She snatched her cloak from an icy stalagmite and darted into a slim crack in the cliff face. The frozen stone was still jagged from when the cliff had split and the edges tugged at her shirt as she sidled through, cloak still clutched in one hand.

Time warped within the cavern, stretching and compressing at random. Sometimes she would emerge to find that only a few minutes had passed outside. Today, the few hours she had spent being lectured by the spirits of the Ancients had become nearly an entire night and day in the land of the living. The dead delighted in wasting her time, especially when she had actual duties to perform.

Allak would be insufferable if she was late.

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Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

physics magic??? so cool

Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

absolutely no bodies!!

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zilla @zillawrites.bsky.social · May 7

Welcome to Hotel Adair!

We have a swanky bar, grand piano with constant classical melodies, and bodies.
BOUQUETS! (Not bodies)
Check in: 11am
Check out: Dawn (if you can follow every horror movie rule + defeat your demons).

🩸We look forward to your stay!🩸
#QuestPit #A #H #W

hazy black background with red blood splatters and red graphics that might look like a hotel. Text overlaid in red: MURDER NIGHT AT HOTEL ADAIR. HOSPITALITY [crossed out] HORROR AT ITS FINEST. Below that are three 5 star reviews. “OOOOO, I LOVE THIS. 10/10 WOULD STAY HERE FOR THE VIBES AND THEN GET MURDERED.” “OMG I DID NOT EXPECT THIS AT ALL!!!!!!” “YOU’RE KILLING ME! I NEED MORE!!! WHO KNEW KEYS COULD BE SO SCARY? IDK BUT I’M HOOKED.”

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Reposted by Nell

Ivy Lin | Querying Author @ivy-lin.bsky.social · May 7

When 16yo Lena Mei turns to an autistic polyglot to learn Mandarin, she doesn’t expect to fall for him—or uncover a painful connection between their families that could uproot their growing love.
#YA #R #QuestPit #W

A picture of Lena and Alistair walking underneath an umbrella together, wearing blue and grey school uniforms.
Romance tropes: Friends to Lovers, Forbidden Romance
Character tropes for Alistair: Rich, Mentor, Infodumper, Sunshine/Golden Retriever, Fake Confidence, Speaks more than ten languages
Character tropes for Lena: Poor, Mentee, Selectively mute, Grumpy/Black cat, No confidence, Barely speaks one language

Art by Joy Ling

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Reposted by Nell

S.M. Ossman @smossman.bsky.social · Feb 12

LAST AIRBENDER x MISTBORN
Stars adored humans so much, they crashed to join them. Ursa hates being a descendant, hunted by the monarchs—the “rightful” heirs. Their princess, born magicless, goes turncoat to teach Ursa how to blaze as a star in mortal skin.#YA #W #F #QuestPit

A moodboard for #Questpit featuring from left to right, top to bottom: gold scales, a girl sitting on a bench in black and white, friendship bracelets, factories emitting plumes of smoke, a statue of a prince, "friend" scrabble letters, gold rings, mountains, a comet, a star in the center with "beware the stars" written on it, a broken heart, a princess in a dress and crown, knights with a horse, knuckles covered in blood, and a watchtower. The moodboard is assembled to represent the aesthetics of the YA Fantasy, Starsent.

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Ivy Lin | Querying Author @ivy-lin.bsky.social · May 7

Selectively mute 16yo Lena Mei wants to read a Chinese poem to honour her late mother, but she can’t read it. A charming autistic polyglot offers to help—not only with her speech but also in discovering her own autism.
#YA #R #QuestPit #W

Quote from The Love In Your Words:
“If this year has taught me anything besides how deeply one can feel heartache and pain, it’s that time spent nurturing love can heal sorrow.”
Top row, left to right: the Liverpool Chinatown arch, floating red Chinese lanterns, the Royal Liver Building lit up in red in front of the night sky
Middle row, left to right: The Royal Albert Dock, the quote from The Love In Your Words, cranes on a shipping dock lit up at night
Bottom row, left to right: candles and flowers on gravestones at night, a couple standing underneath an umbrella on a rainy night, fairy lights shaped like stars and moons hanging from trees

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Dani & Ash are 🏴‍☠️ editing 🏴‍☠️ @d-and-a-authors.bsky.social · May 7

DARK WATER DAUGHTER X ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART

A fiery maid races to sea after her bff & a legendary map, but a passionate romance w/ the pirate captain opens her eyes to a world of danger & she must do anything to get the map before she loses her friend.

#questpit #Q #NA #RF

The first slide of an Agent's Guide for the novel A SIREN'S CALL. It has a sapphire blue background with bubbles, bordered once in black, then once in a very pale blue. In the centre there is a circle with around a quarter of sea at the bottom and the rest the sky. There are two blue seagrass, one on either side of the circle. Curved around the top of the circle it says the author's names, "Danielle Bradbury" and "Ashlea Screaton", and mirrored at the bottom it gives the name and genre as "New adult slowburn romantic fantasy". The title "THE SIREN'S CALL" is in the centre of the circle but sticks out either end, the letters on the blue are coloured pale blue and the ones over the circle are coloured black. Beneath the title in smaller letters is the word count, "90k words".

The second slide of an Agent's Guide for the novel A SIREN'S CALL. It has a sapphire blue background with bubbles, bordered once in black, then once in a very pale blue. At the top there is a black title, split off with a little blue shore bordered with white, reading "Pitch". The rest of the slide reads in white "Courting a Lord could've been Delphine's escape from her violent employer, but when her best friend is sent with pirates after a mythical map, she refuses to be left behind.

A budding romance with the Captain reveals he is tailed by a dark past which could sabotage the mission, but the pirates have claimed her friend as collateral. She must do anything to get the map-even using the Captain's secret against him-or lose her friend."

The fourth slide for the novel A SIREN'S CALL. It has a sapphire blue background with bubbles, bordered once in black, then once in a very pale blue. At the top there is a black title, split off with a little blue shore bordered with white, reading "Excerpt". The rest of the slide reads in white "Few things gave Delphine the same rush as finishing a book on stolen time.

The end of this faerytale had been evading her for days, interrupted repeatedly by chiming bells, banal instructions, or nipping in her ear to ‘get a move on!’. Each time accompanied by a lamenting sigh, the book’s scarred spine deforming further as she wedged it open with whatever she could find. Pots and pans weren’t preferable, but were the usual suspects.

It didn’t matter that she could recite the tale cover to cover with her eyes closed. She longed for the rhythm of the words to lull her into another land, another time, another life. An adventure, or a change in scenery from cold stone and colder steel.

Far away from chamber pots, snooty sneers and vile tempers."

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Melanie is querying @melanielocke.bsky.social · May 7

ONE DARK WINDOW x MALICE

A cottagecore witch love interest with healing magic who would be the perfect main character for a cozy fantasy but instead her girlfriend is a shadow sorceress haunted by a monster so now she has to go through the horrors

#questpit #A #F #Q #LGBT

Moodboard. Cottagecore. Top left: plus sized redhead woman. Top middle: a basket with a book and herbs. Top right: spellbook, herbs and candle. Middle left: stone circle. Middle right: mirror and strawberries. Bottom left: cottage w flowers. Bottom middle: path in forest Bottom right: tea w flowers

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Nell @nelsnote.bsky.social · May 7

oh, oh I love this...

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Melanie is querying @melanielocke.bsky.social · May 7

ARCANE x OUR INFINITE FATES

A dying mage and his partner seek to prevent magic from killing mages. Their efforts turn them both into soulless immortals.
Centuries later, two magic scientists seek to stop a blight, and they must find a way to kill these cursed gods.

#Questpit #F #W #A #LGBT

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