Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · Jun 5

I don't post on here all that much, but I seem to have a bunch of new followers, so HI! I'm Carlee! I write swoon-worthy romantasy and contemporary romance. I am on the path to publishing my debut novel, Of Songs and Phantoms, a romantasy retelling of The Phantom of the Opera!

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Tamara 🍁👻🎃🧟‍♀️🌽 @tamaratoday.bsky.social · May 7

🌊 THE BAD ONES X DREDGE 🌊

After an ancient curse is unleashed on their sleepy seaside town, six teens must find a way to break it.

This YA Fantasy Horror features:
👥Dual POV
📜A Deadly Deal
😈Ravenous Monsters
🤫Secrets With Severe Consequences
💔Exes to Allies to [redacted]

#QuestPit #Q #YA #F #H

Left to right. Top row: hands reaching out of the water. A doll head. Human hands with sharpened nails. Middle row: A lighthouse shining through fog. “Are you afraid?” An eerie figure standing beside a tree with a noose. Bottom row: Hands reaching towards each other in the water. A sea creature with glowing eyes and sharp teeth. Multiple hands reaching out of the forest brush.

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Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

I've had such a fun time reading all these amazing story ideas today. I can't wait to see them out in the real world. 😍

One more time for the evening people! OF SONGS AND PHANTOMS is a Romantasy retelling of the Phantom of the Opera, and my love letter to the performing arts.

#Questpit #Q #A #RF

Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

OF SONGS AND PHANTOMS is a darkly lush retelling of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, where the ingenue discovers her voice has forbidden magic, and the only way to save herself from being executed for witchcraft is to place her trust in a mysterious phantom. #Questpit #Q #A #RF

a collage with a ballerina, a cathedral, a marble staircase, a champagne flute, a single red rose, a chandelier, a pile of skulls, a pedestrian bridge, and a group of ballerinas

Pitch: Adult Romantasy, 110 000 words
As a chorus dancer in the Lutesse City Opera, classically trained soprano Seraphina Dallier does not sing in front of people. That is, until one fateful night, she slips up, and her heretically magical singing voice attracts the attention of a mysterious stranger…and the theocratic authorities.
Accused of witchcraft and exiled from everything she has ever known, Seraphina must put her faith in that same stranger, seeking refuge with him in a seductive city of magic hidden beneath the city. But can she trust her heart? Or, will phantoms from her past come back to haunt her, threatening everything she has come to love?

For fans of...
phantom of the opera retelling, 1920s era, forbidden magic, shadow daddy mmc, he falls first...hard, female rage, lgbtq+ characters, slow burn to spicy spice (with three chili peppers), only one bed, found family

Comp Titles:
The Gilded Wolves - magical parisian setting, diverse cast of characters
Serpent and Dove - magic vs. church, sloooooooow burn,
The Vine Witch - secrets and betrayals, "a handsome stranger"

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Kate Drexel is 🕯️querying🕯️ @katedrexel.bsky.social · May 7

YELLOWJACKETS x THE LAST HOUSEWIFE

The Flock wanted her to be demure and obedient. Hadley refused and left. They stole her back and stripped her identity—remaking her into something feral, masked, and unrecognizable.

Now she’s coming for them.

#QuestPit #Q #T #A

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Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

#justiceforEdwin

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Amber Baird @amberbairdpdx.bsky.social · May 7

Amanda thinks her dreams have come true when she's hired at Burrito Gods, a hip fast-casual joint, making a thriving wage, only to find that to climb the ranks she'll have to lose her soul.

⛪️ workplace cult
🌯 foodie satire
🩷sapphic w/trans LI

#questpit #a #w #lf #h

A burrito glowing over a sparkly golden background with the title To the Burrito Gods!

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Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

OMG THIS CONCEPT HAS ME LOLING!!!!!! (I think I worked here?)

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Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

I had the honour of being a CP for YIELD and I may be biased but I literally cannot wait for everyone to get to read this book! #Questpit

Catie Stroud ✨ @ladystroud.bsky.social · May 7

✨ dark NARNIA x MY LADY JANE ⚔️

A missing faerie. A forbidden elixir. A whole lot of missteps.

One reluctant princess’s quest to right her wrongs.

She craved freedom. What she found could cost her everything.

#QuestPit #Q #A #F #RF

1-paragraph pitch for YIELD, a 100k adult romantic fantasy debut novel.

Book comps for YIELD include Assistant to the Villain, Emily Wilde’s, One Dark Window, Nettle and Bone, the Cruel Prince. Media comps are My Lady Jane meets a dark, adult Narnia.

YIELD will appeal to fans of: queer characters, a golden retriever MMC (with teeth), one “horse,” cozy AND dark, women’s wrongs, romantic subplot (but still spicy), found family, knife to throat, slow burn(s), and reluctant allies to lovers.

A snippet from YIELD in which Thea, the main character and POV, threatens Brynn, her reluctant guide, with a knife to the throat.

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Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

I fell in love with an embarrassing number of characters in this book, and you will too!

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

ElectricDC @electricdc.bsky.social · May 7

NPC: The Bard of Aztaeron

⏰ Starts in 2008
🚪 Isekai world
☕️ Baristas become warriors
🐉 Dragons become worse dragons
🥰 Love at first sight
🎭 Grumpy/Sunshine
🎸 Warped Tour membaberries
😶 NPCs
⚔️ LitRPG lite (no math required)
👩 Subversively feminist
🐣 A lost baby
😰 Hubris!

#QuestPit #SFF #Q #R #NA

A cursed video game world. A murderous dragon. A princess in danger. Hey-ho, let's go

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Taylor Brooke 📚 @authortaylorbrooke.bsky.social · May 7

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS x THE LEGACIES

It’s been two years since Devan got away with killing a classmate. But someone knows the truth, and they want revenge. It’s either turn herself in, die, or outsmart her killer before the countdown ends — if the truth doesn't ruin her first.

#QuestPit #Q #YA #T

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Tyler is querying 👑🪲🌿 @tylerstasi.bsky.social · May 7

#QuestPit #W #F #agentguide #agentsguide

THE FAMILIAR x CRIMSON ROAD

introducing my whimsical steampunk gothic fantasy
🥀🕯️🫀🕷️🕰️ in which:

An impoverished enchantress subjects herself to the prince's service to keep her forbidden magic a secret.

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

B. van Bodegom 📃is querying & writing @bvbodegom.bsky.social · May 7

OFFICE SPACE × THANK YOU FOR SMOKING

2089, death is a luxury for the rich, and Wren is the rising top salesman—until a spiteful coworker and a depressed trillionaire force him to rethink his talents and what a “happy ending” means in a world with a price tag on your last smile.

#QuestPit #A #SF #W

The image shows a movie poster for "HAPPY DEATH INC." written and directed by B VAN BODEGOM. The poster features a person lying on what appears to be a pillow or white surface, dressed in a black suit with a white collar and dark tie. The person has a forced smile on their face. Overlaid on the image in large white handwritten-style text are the words "HAPPY DEATH INC." At the top of the poster is the tagline "How much would you pay to die with a smile?" At the bottom corners are award-style laurels with the descriptions "Darkly Funny" on the left and "Social Commentary" on the right. The overall tone of the poster suggests a dark comedy or satirical thriller about a business related to death services.

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Natalie is ✨ seeking new rep ✨ @natalielouise83.bsky.social · May 7

Sneaky repost for the evening crowd… 👀
#questpit

Natalie is ✨ seeking new rep ✨ @natalielouise83.bsky.social · May 7

Twenty-five years ago, men made history. But HER story will change everything…

🌊 Multi-POV
🌊 Feminine rage / ‘Good For Her’
🌊 Horror elements
🌊 Orcadian folklore
🌊 Atmospheric setting
🌊 Twisty plot
🌊 Editor interest

#questpit #Q #A #HF #agentsguide

Text: An agent’s guide to The Ballad of Agnes Day, a 112k upmarket historical novel. Image: Two vintage-style mermaids with their tails entwined and a blood spatter across one corner.

The pitch: When a storms wrecks his islands’s passenger steamer, sparing only a girl believed to be one of the monstrous Finfolk, a grieving musician must uncover who she really is before more of his people die. Moodboard: Evil-looking mermaids, a violin, poisonous mushrooms and passenger steamers on stormy seas, with a moody blue-green hue.

Comps: The Sirens by Emilia Hart, Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson as book covers

The snippet: ‘Are you seeing this?’ he cried. ‘Do you see them?’
Dazed, Morton peered around him. All he could see was the black oil spill of the water, its steady surge and release. ‘What do you mean?’ he called back, blood thundering in his ears.
Edward’s eyes grew glossy with tears. Then he began to jerk around like a petrified beast, causing the boat to lurch beneath them. ‘They’re everywhere,’ he said in terror and wonderment. ‘They’re coming for me.’

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Sunny @deeesssssiiii.bsky.social · May 7

Her quiet life shattered when an outlaw-her husband’s old friend-returns, bringing danger and an undesirable attraction. As their bond deepens into forbidden love, she finds herself torn between loyalty and desire. #questpit #W #YA #R

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Abigail F. Boneta @abibonetawrites.bsky.social · May 7

WHAT LIES IN THE WOODS × JACKAL

When Amélia receives a painting from her presumed murdered mother, a game they used to play when she was a child, she comes back home to play without knowing if the man who kidnapped them 10 years prior is behind it.
#questpit #A #W #T #MY #H

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Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

If you, like me, loved (hyperfixated on?) the Phantom of the Opera, but thought that maybe the FMC deserved to be the SUBJECT of the story...then I wrote this for you!
#Questpit #Q #A #RF

Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

OF SONGS AND PHANTOMS is a darkly lush retelling of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, where the ingenue discovers her voice has forbidden magic, and the only way to save herself from being executed for witchcraft is to place her trust in a mysterious phantom. #Questpit #Q #A #RF

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Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

Hi Sobi-Dee! I would be thrilled if you had a chance to look at my pitch! 😍 Thanks!

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

James A Lyons @jalwrites.bsky.social · May 7

Whilst honouring his estranged uncle's dying wish to reunite an iconic group of 1980's drag activists, a young gay man learns the dark truth about his adoptive mother. With her past about to impact his future, he must choose—his uncle’s legacy or the woman who raised him.

#questpit #Con #NA #AG

A fake DVD cover featuring a black and white image of a drag queen smoking. The title EAST END BOYS AND WEST END GIRLS is prominent at the bottom next to a 15 age rating sticker. Along the top are the names Harri Forrester, Wilma Dickfit, Princess Thigh-Ana, Westward Hoe, and Jack Montague.

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Yaira Pujols @yairap.bsky.social · May 7

When sheltered Catalina Wesley falls in love with the vampire haunting her dreams, she must decide whether to resist their eternal bond or confront her worst fear, and his greatest desire—death

#W #FR #PR #YA #Questpit

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

camila is querying 🗡️ @carosas.bsky.social · May 7

SHARP OBJECTS + A STUDY IN DROWNING + COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA

🌨️ grief & sisterhood
✨ forgotten magic
🪻 "memory is a punishment"
🔪 an academy w/ rotten sins
🌊 toxic friendships

#questpit #W #YA #F #OWN

A mood board with an text snippet. The text reads: 'I’m glad I’m the sick one. The one that hears things and sees fading silhouettes. I hope my sister is always happy and never suffers at the hands of her own thoughts like I do.' The mood board features 9 images. A snowy path with a blood trail. A foggy landscape of araucarias. An embordered cloth with the words: 'God loves you. But not enough to save you.' A collection of dark paintings. The front of a castle. A painting of two people kissing. A white silhouette looking as a ghost in the threshold. A painting of someone holding a book. And a hand, drowning in a body of water.

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Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

ooooh just got back from SF not too long ago, a romance there sounds perfect!

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Char ✨🇱🇹🐺🥀 @charwritesstories.bsky.social · May 7

POWERLESS X ONE DARK WINDOW

An updated #agentguide for my YA-crossover romantasy 🥀 that I #amquerying

🌊 gothic coastal setting
🦇 underground magical society
🥀 slow burn dual-pov pinning
🔮 memory snatchers
🩸 feminine rage core
🧠 mental health/ neuro 🌶️ rep

#QuestPit #YA #litagents

Sorros, a YA- crossover romantasy by C. Klimaitis. Pictured: a gothic medieval coastal setting with cliffs, a bat, caves, a rabbit, and a medieval woman

The pitch: Kasia’s magic lands her a one way ticket out of the noose and into the clutches of the elite. But when a handsome memory snatcher gives her the opportunity to help magical-individuals like her, she must choose just how much she is willing to risk to put his pet back in its rightful place.

For fans of Powerless (dual-pov pinning, down bad for her), One Dark Window (gothic medieval world, curse with consequences), Godkiller (political intrigue + queer cast), Dowry of Blood (feminine rage, revenge)

Opening lines: Kasia has always known that her secret could end in her death. The knowledge trailed her like a shadow that grew with each passing year. She peered into the reflection in the saltwater and could have sworn she saw a noose hanging right above her head, waiting. She wasn’t sure which one was worse, her secret, or the dread threatening to swallow her whole.

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Carlee Brae @carleebrae.bsky.social · May 7

you had me at unlimited cupcakes

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Reposted by Carlee Brae

Jennifer Helen @jhelenwrites.bsky.social · May 7

A STUDY IN DROWNING x A LANGUAGE OF DRAGONS

an enchanted dragon flame ravages two countries & rival dragon scholar & son of dragon slayers ally to find a cure. but an occult group wants the flame, too, forcing them to choose: save each other or burn.

#questpit #ya #f #w

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