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dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
@dreadunderarm.bsky.social
300 followers 75 following 87 posts
Syrian author | Historophile | Al Azhar Writing Prize winner | @PushcartPrize & #bestofthenet nominee | @QuillersSWANA mentee | #amquerying

https://hussainaayoub.carrd.co
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dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying @dreadunderarm.bsky.social · 10d
Here's CLINGING TO THE STONES, inspired by Syrian history & mythology:

🌟A broken philosopher-warrior seeking a legendary spear.
🌟An imperial mother must extract her son from an impregnable fortress.
🌟Their paths are about to collide.

#QuestPit #Q #A #F #agentsguide
Clinging to the Stones Adult fantasy heist by Hussain A. Ayoub 109K Words Multi-POV The river of fate drags everyone forward. Only the desperate dare to cling to the stones. The heist: Acyrnar Acyrnar has fragile bones, a dying father, and only half the will to hunt his rogue master. But here he is anyway, because living hurts. When he learns his master’s mission might hold the only cure for the rot killing his father, Acyrnar turns coat and joins him. Simple enough. Except he must first kidnap the Empress of the Crimson Empire, brand himself an outlaw forever, and make enemies of some of the most powerful and vindictive people alive. The Counter-heist: Melam Across the sea, Empress Melam fights to protect her son from a succession ritual that will slaughter all but one heir to the throne. Scarred by personal loss and a world rigged against her, Melam does what any desperate mother would do—she turns to the criminal underworld to break her son out of the impregnable Cage. She doesn't need a savior; she needs a distraction. Their colliding paths are set to ignite a war, unravel loyalties, and decide the fate of nations. Comparative titles: The Age of Madness series. The Lies of Locke Lamora. Andor. Grave Empire. “You are marked by the stars.” Mother used to repeat that grim prophecy, her voice a warm feather tickling his cheek, her words an icy blade piercing his soul. “Like the Surabrenna, three daughters bind you: one will pass without you, one will weep for you, one will burn with you.” Clinging to the Stones A fantasy inspired by Syrian history & mythology.
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
sophiamweaves.bsky.social
I spot a familiar name on the cover 👀👀👀👀
apexmag.bsky.social Apex Magazine and Book Company @apexmag.bsky.social · 8d
🦷📢⚡ COVER REVEAL ⚡📢🦷

We're thrilled to unveil the table of contents and cover of Apex Magazine Issue 152, featuring the iconic "Sunset Hunting" by Trevor Henderson @slimyswampghost.bsky.social! The first Apex article of the year drops tomorrow; don't miss it!
APEX MAGAZINE Issue 152. Strange. Surreal. Shocking. Beautiful. Original Fiction by: Jordan Kurella Maria Haskins P.L. McMillan Angela Liu Ashlee Lhamon Avery Parks Ayida Shonibar Classic Fiction by: A.P. Thayer Kat Sedia Nonfiction by: Sophia-Maria Nicolopoulos Storm Humbert Editor-in-Chief: Lesley Conner Cover art by: Trevor Henderson Cover design by: Justin Stewart
February 2, 2026 at 6:51 PM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
CLINGING TO THE STONES explores:

💫Humans vs. Structures.
💫The weight of history & legacy.
💫Can we reshape our dying world without compromising our morality?
💫When faith is a weapon, who is truly saved?

#QuestPit #Q #A #F #agentsguide #SFF #amquerying #booktwt
A story forged in beloved fantasy traditions Heist, morally grey protagonists, court intrigue, found family, fallen order, secret histories
January 31, 2026 at 8:00 PM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Meet the characters of CLINGING TO THE STONES:

🎭3 primary POVs.
🧐3 more lurking behind.
🧵A tapestry where every thread matters.

#QuestPit #Q #A #F #agentsguide #SFF #amquerying #booktwt
A Tapestry of Traitors, Mothers, and Zealots Acyrnar Hamilkarth: the Reluctant Traitor. Beonlod Thousand-Acres-In-Blood: The Uncompromising Zealot Tula-Melam of Karalia: The Rebel Mother. Esra the Siren: The Streetwise Survivor. Archpivot Izahmin: The Architect of Faith. Lord Ronsler Knad: The Unwitting Diplomat. Thalbrecht Fon Reon: The Scholar Chronicler.
January 31, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
authorrjwebb.bsky.social
HAZELTHORN X THE SPIRIT BARES ITS TEETH
Journals of a Familiar
Hawthorne has never left the cathedral. Raised in silence and prepared for a future he doesn't understand, everything changes when he meets Violet, a witch with wild dreams of escape.
#questpit #W #YA #H #LGBT
January 31, 2026 at 6:20 AM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
emmaalmunshi.bsky.social
A KINGDOM TO DROWN ME

Will the weight of an underwater kingdom come crashing down on Mona Al'Maii?

🦅 Forced Proximity
✨ Middle-Eastern folklore & unique magic system
⚔️ Quest
♥️ Yearning & spice
⚖️ Magical politics/Corruption & Greed
🪞 Exploration of ‘otherness’
💫 23 fulls

#Questpit #Q #RF
January 31, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
milliesun.bsky.social
A cunning prankster plots against her lord husband and ends up saving the empire in a fantasy romcom version of A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS X HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS
😈 unlikeable heroine
⚔️ enemies-to-power couple
💑 marriage of convenience
🔥 slow-burn & low spice
#questpit #Q #A #RF #agentsguide
Agents guide for Lady Han's Manual for Matrimonial Mayhem, 91K adult fantasy romcom, revised through SmoochPit 2025 mentorship Pitch - She planned to be the terror in his life. He planned to ignore her. Neither planned on saving a crumbling empire from a tyrant—or falling in love. Twenty-year-old Wen Anling would sooner commit murder than give up her home and freedom. But with no way out of her arranged marriage to Han Shiyan, the wealthy Lord of Qinglan, she devises a plan: let him be the one to beg for divorce… once she transforms herself into the nastiest wife possible. Shiyan only married Anling to honour his mother’s dying wish. Had he known his new wife would send his simple life straight to mayhem, he would have thrown honour out the nearest window. He struggles to see any good beneath Anling’s heavily powdered face, overly red lips, and shrill screams, but when she continues to get under his skin, he cannot help but grow intrigued—especially after catching his first glimpses of the real Anling beneath her prickly exterior. While Anling wrestles with her desire to escape the prison of marriage and he Comps The Darkness Within Us - cunning, unlikeble heroine, enemies-to-lovers, drives him up the wall but he can't help falling A Song to Drown Rivers - Chiense history-inspired setting, political intrigue & schemes How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days - romantic comedy, slow burn, lots of banter Extract & Tropes - Multicultural w/ POC leads - Marriage of convenience - Enemies to power couple - Slow burn w/ a dose of spice The not so meet cute... Shiyan’s eyes widened for a heartbeat before he forced composure back onto his features. Her face was powdered with a thick layer of white, as if she had simply dunked it into a bowl of flour. Her bright red lip-paint smudged at the edges and… Heavens forbid women dab their cheeks with uneven blobs of pink. Even the most senile and stern of his guests held their hands to their stomachs, straining to hold back fits of laughter. He would have gladly joined them, too, if he wasn’t the one with the honour of marrying this… this… buffoon. He swallowed and recited the wise sayings of his forefathers: one should not judge a book by its cover; a woman’s beauty runs deeper than appearances; virtues are lasting while beauty is fleeting. Oh, to hell with wise sayings. An eyesore was an eyesore no matter how virtuous it might be.
January 31, 2026 at 5:03 AM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
emiliayoung.bsky.social
#Editors THE THINGS WE RUN FOR ( #OnSubmission 2026!)

Emma Bridge ran to find a safe home, but the town she picked is anything but. When she gets wrapped up in a cold case that threatens her siblings, who can she turn to while keeping her secrets safe?

#QuestPit #YA #MY #R
#AG #OS #OWN #LGBT
Editor’s Guide To: The Things We Run For YA Drama Mystery with Romance 94k Words Represented by Amanda Wooden at SBR Media 4/13/1996 Run. What a powerful instinct. Emma Bridge had wanted nothing more than to be with her two siblings in a home that felt safe, but those wishes never came true. With nothing left to lose, Emma runs away from the spotlight of the Hills to a small town across the country, but this new home is anything but the safety she’d been after. The weight of the world has fallen on her shoulders, and she can’t carry it alone. But with her old name in every police station and her new name on every tongue in town, she’s not sure who she can trust to help carry the burden. What we know: -Runaway in Hiding -Fake Identity (turned real identity) -Mental Health Rep -Genderfluid and Pan Rep -Found Family -90s Small-Town Nostalgia At the bottom, the name Emma Bridge is crossed out and replaced with Peyton Freys 6/23/1996 “The Hills have Eyes” There’s a collage of pictures. Picture one is of two people, one sitting on the counter with the other in front of them. Picture two is go a small-town street with snowy homes to either side. Picture three shows a row of high school desks. Picture four shows a box of police evidence. Picture five shows a group of kids sitting behind an abandoned building. Picture six shows someone flipping off a police car. Picture seven shows a paper with the words “Child Custody Hearing” printed on it. The last picture shows a boy sitting at a school desk, writing something into a notebook. In the bottom right, it says Going on submission in 2026
January 31, 2026 at 5:00 AM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
jenniferluce.bsky.social
Hi #Questpit! Nearly done w/ SmoochPit revisions, here's GUMIHO, my Korean folklore-inspired adult fantasy blended w/ horror & romance!

✨️ Selected for the 2025 Smoochpit Mentorship Program
✨️ Big 5 Editor Interest
✨️ Won 3rd in the horror category of the 2025 PNWA Writing Contest

#A #F #H #R
An Agent Guide to GUMIHO 86,000 word adult folklore fantasy blended with horror and romance By Jennifer Luce The pitch: Cursed with a vengeful gumiho, Mina has spent centuries feeding it souls to become a god—and now she needs just one more, but when she falls for her final target, she must choose: face her demons and sever the curse before the gumiho consumes her from the inside out, or achieve godhood and lose herself to become something truly monstrous. For fans of... SUCH SHARP TEETH by Rachel Harrison - physical transformation & emotional vulnerability THE FOX WIFE by Yangsze Choo - East Asian Folklore MY DEMON - Redemption through connection THE GLORY - Morally gray anti-hero First Lines Bright droplets of red bloomed against the crisp, white snow. A trail, unbeknownst to my victim, that would lead to his demise.
January 31, 2026 at 5:08 AM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
thecrumpet.bsky.social
WORKHORSE x THE RACHEL INCIDENT

SURFACE TENSION: She came for a degree, not an affair. But as Jenny researches literary heroines who trade freedom for security, she starts living her thesis, all beneath the eye of a professor who prefers the only revisions to her story be his. #U #W #A #questpit
A collage of photos: John Singer Sargent’s “Portrait of Madame X,” a painting of a young woman in a sleeveless black dress; a classroom with a dark green chalkboard illuminated by the sun, with several wooden desks; library books on a shelf held behind iron bars; a man and woman embracing, both in rather woolly sweaters; a picture taken over the shoulder of a woman who is holding a polaroid picture of another woman; several drooping, dying flowers against a dark background; 7 or 8 old books, lying on floorboards, and with their pages opened as if the books had been dropped; a pink and white flip phone with a heart charm on its closed cover, next to a bottle of pink nail polish and a pink lipgloss; a black and white photo of a young woman in ¾ profile with her eyes mostly closed—over this the title of the WIP “Surface Tension” is superimposed.
January 31, 2026 at 9:10 AM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
bvbodegom.bsky.social
CABIN IN THE WOODS × JOHN DIES AT THE END

When their detective friend is murdered at their annual gaming retreat, 5 dads must rely on years of #TTRPG experience—and puns—to solve the crime before they're all killed off like NPCs in a badly written supernatural campaign.

#QuestPit #A #H #MY #Q
The image, made with free non-AI stock pictures, shows a horror-comedy novel cover titled "DAD BODIES." The top of the cover reads "THE GAME JUST TOOK A DAD TURN" with "DAD" in a different color. The background features a haunted house with multiple towers and illuminated windows against a dark backdrop. At the center is a 20-sided die (D20) used in tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, with visible numbers including 1, 7, 13, and 19. The die is surrounded by red blood splatter effects. At the bottom of the cover are six men with expressions of terror and shock. One man is wearing a white shirt over his head. These men are the dads referenced in the title.
January 31, 2026 at 8:21 AM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Here's CLINGING TO THE STONES, inspired by Syrian history & mythology:

🌟A broken philosopher-warrior seeking a legendary spear.
🌟An imperial mother must extract her son from an impregnable fortress.
🌟Their paths are about to collide.

#QuestPit #Q #A #F #agentsguide
Clinging to the Stones Adult fantasy heist by Hussain A. Ayoub 109K Words Multi-POV The river of fate drags everyone forward. Only the desperate dare to cling to the stones. The heist: Acyrnar Acyrnar has fragile bones, a dying father, and only half the will to hunt his rogue master. But here he is anyway, because living hurts. When he learns his master’s mission might hold the only cure for the rot killing his father, Acyrnar turns coat and joins him. Simple enough. Except he must first kidnap the Empress of the Crimson Empire, brand himself an outlaw forever, and make enemies of some of the most powerful and vindictive people alive. The Counter-heist: Melam Across the sea, Empress Melam fights to protect her son from a succession ritual that will slaughter all but one heir to the throne. Scarred by personal loss and a world rigged against her, Melam does what any desperate mother would do—she turns to the criminal underworld to break her son out of the impregnable Cage. She doesn't need a savior; she needs a distraction. Their colliding paths are set to ignite a war, unravel loyalties, and decide the fate of nations. Comparative titles: The Age of Madness series. The Lies of Locke Lamora. Andor. Grave Empire. “You are marked by the stars.” Mother used to repeat that grim prophecy, her voice a warm feather tickling his cheek, her words an icy blade piercing his soul. “Like the Surabrenna, three daughters bind you: one will pass without you, one will weep for you, one will burn with you.” Clinging to the Stones A fantasy inspired by Syrian history & mythology.
January 31, 2026 at 9:23 AM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
meljrey.bsky.social
DIVINE RIVALS/STRANGER THINGS
When plants take over the world & an eminent botanist ends up dead, a reporter persuades a rival plant hunter to seek the truth. But as they become entangled, & the victims pile up, they’ll need sharp secateurs to avoid being next.
#QuestPit #W #YA #NA #SFF
A mood board collage: Top row: a wooden doorway flanked by two trees; carnivorous plants; a moss covered tree trunk growing next to some classical architectural columns. Middle row: an axe resting in a tree stump; a narrow London street; a greenhouse with some overgrown cacti. Bottom row: Harry Richardson in Poldark wearing a blacksmith apron; a manor house covered in ivy; a young woman in a library wearing a beret and glasses staring thoughtfully into through a window.
January 31, 2026 at 5:00 AM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
meljrey.bsky.social
In times of darkness, what do we do? We write.
#WritingCommunity

melaniereynard.substack.com/p/finding-th...
Finding the spark in dark times "Why it's important to keep reading, writing and creating even when the world is going to sh*t" MELANIEREYNARD.SUBSTACK.COM
January 25, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
mahmudelsayed.bsky.social
That's right, REPUBLIC OF MEMORY is also a secret hardboiled detective novel (thanks to the ahem joys of multi-pov). Now ain't that a kick in the head?

crimereads.com/10-speculati...
10 Speculative Mysteries and Thrillers to Check Out in 2026
Interesting times lead to fascinating fiction, especially in the speculative realm, where each future-set plot point feels like a logical extension of our current woes, especially regarding the imm…
crimereads.com
January 24, 2026 at 3:17 PM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Well earned @madeehahwrites.bsky.social!
lunapress.bsky.social Luna Press Publishing @lunapress.bsky.social · 19d
Congratulations to our authors and artists on their @bsfa.bsky.social longlist 2026! @jennicoutts.bsky.social @lyndseycroal.bsky.social @madeehahwrites.bsky.social @deborahldavitt.com Ivano Sassanelli, Jay Johnstone, Payton McCarty-Simas! @publishingscotland.bsky.social 🤩 And to all the nominees!
January 23, 2026 at 9:05 AM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
In a short time, this will be a long time ago.
January 8, 2026 at 11:47 PM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Another difficult day.
Writing-wise: managed 37 words. Better than nothing.
Pushing on.
December 26, 2025 at 6:28 PM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
“Shades of grief
Dance on coastal flesh
Contoured eclipse
A colour we call morning.”

#poem from CLINGING TO THE STONES.
December 26, 2025 at 11:52 AM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Sad news. Inner Worlds has been one the first place I'd go to when I'm looking for brilliant stories.

Solidarity with Sarah. Thank you for making me a part of this amazing journey.
December 19, 2025 at 1:03 PM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
There are too many stories to tell.
Too little time.
December 13, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
jelenawrites.bsky.social
2025 Awards Eligibility!
I published just one story this year, The Midwife in the Palace of the Forest King in @bcsmagazine.bsky.social
but it's a very good story IMO
Dark fantasy+ Slavic folklore
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-...
December 5, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
markaz-review.bsky.social
📚 [EVENT RECAP]

Highlights from last week’s event in Montpellier: Sholeh Wolpé reading from “The Invisible Sun” and Jordan Elgrably presenting “The Best of The Markaz Review: 2020–2025.”

✨ Digital edition of “The Best of The Markaz Review” : https://bit.ly/the-best-of-the-markaz-review-2020-2025
December 4, 2025 at 2:02 PM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Book 2 is under way. Writing slow but sure.

#booktwt #WritingCommunity #amquerying
December 3, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Reposted by Hussain A. Ayoub - is Querying
yasmeenfahmy.bsky.social
Voted for @innerworlds.bsky.social for @chillsubs.bsky.social best lit mags of 2025 awards ♥️ Sarah runs an impressive operation and alone! (from what I can tell)

Vote here:
www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...
November 27, 2025 at 5:37 PM
dreadunderarm.bsky.social
Wrapping up my year-end recap:

Best fantasy novel: The Wingspan of Treason by
@inknest.bsky.social

Best short story: Our Last Evening in a Moon-Struck City by
@madeehahwrites.bsky.social

Best dark fantasy: The Way of Unity by
@skbalstrup.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 11:31 PM