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kellyesparza.bsky.social
Kelly Esparza
@kellyesparza.bsky.social
3.9K followers 1.3K following 1.2K posts
Mystery writer for adults & teens | A SPOONIE's GUIDE TO SELF-ACCEPTANCE (poetry chapbook) @bottlecappress | freelance editor | 💜🥄 | EIC: @flarelitmag.bsky.social 🔥| layout: Anahita Karthik | she/her

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Kelly Esparza @kellyesparza.bsky.social · 8d
GLASS ONION x NOT QUITE DEAD YET

When Abby is killed at a party, Fate connects her soul w/ Wyatt, the only guest who can see her as a ghost. They must both solve her murder, but if they can't by midnight, Wyatt will die too & Abby will never pass on to the afterlife.

#questpit #Q #A #MY #PR #S #F
snowy mountains background: An Agent's Guide to...Nearly Dead Already by Kelly Esparza, adult speculative/paranormal murder mystery complete at 72,000 words, previously agented, this book was a semi-finalist for the 2026 Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards, Querying! snowy mountain background: Pitch: When Abby Martinez is killed at a party, fate intertwines her soul with Wyatt, the only guest who can see and talk to her ghostly form. They must both solve her murder, but if they can't by midnight, Wyatt will die too and Abby will never pass on to the afterlife. snowy mountains background: What Does My Book Have? disability rep, mental health rep, strong Latinx female protagonist, found family, romance, ghosts snowy mountains background: Comps: Glass Onion movie poster and Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (book cover)
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
manuscriptwishlist.bsky.social
Hello Writing Community! We are delighted to announce our Second Official Bluesky *** #MSWL Day *** February 26, 2026. 🎉🎉🎉

Agents + editors can post what they ✨wish✨ they had in their inboxes; writers can find their next best fit for querying.

Learn more: manuscriptwishlist.com/2025/01/the-...
The Next Official #MSWL Day: February 26, 2026 – The Official Manuscript Wish List Website
manuscriptwishlist.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
flarelitmag.bsky.social
Gotta love that #disabledrep! If you're looking for a picture book for kids that has disabled rep, we highly recommend pre-ordering @jlockettauthor1.bsky.social's new picture book!
kellyesparza.bsky.social Kelly Esparza @kellyesparza.bsky.social · 3d
This year, I decided to start doing book reviews on my socials. First up, @jlockettauthor1.bsky.social! I received an ARC of Jake’s picture book, MY LIFE AS AN ASTHMANAUT, that will be published by @freespiritbooks.bsky.social soon! Read the comments for the ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review!
cover of Jake Lockett's picture book for the Disability Books for Kids series. My Life as an Asthmanaut by Jake Lockett and illustrated by Adriana Predoi. Two little boys are featured on the cover, one dressed as a superhero and the other as an astronaut.
February 5, 2026 at 4:16 AM
kellyesparza.bsky.social
This year, I decided to start doing book reviews on my socials. First up, @jlockettauthor1.bsky.social! I received an ARC of Jake’s picture book, MY LIFE AS AN ASTHMANAUT, that will be published by @freespiritbooks.bsky.social soon! Read the comments for the ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review!
cover of Jake Lockett's picture book for the Disability Books for Kids series. My Life as an Asthmanaut by Jake Lockett and illustrated by Adriana Predoi. Two little boys are featured on the cover, one dressed as a superhero and the other as an astronaut.
February 5, 2026 at 4:09 AM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
sallysultzman.bsky.social
YOU GUYS I just got a really super great email from @kellyesparza.bsky.social and @flarelitmag.bsky.social!!!
February 4, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
kellyesparza.bsky.social
NOT QUITE DEAD YET x GLASS ONION but with ghosts

At her estranged sister's party, Abby Martinez doesn’t expect to get stabbed in the back, literally. Now she must solve her own murder before any of the other guests die and to pass on to the afterlife.

#questpit #A #MY #PR #S #F #Latinx #Q
mood board for the adult paranormal/speculative murder mystery I am querying: what's pictured--snowy woods, woods, ghost, snowy cabin, blood, tree branches, footprints in snow, full moon with eerie sky
January 31, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
kellyesparza.bsky.social
GLASS ONION x NOT QUITE DEAD YET

When Abby is killed at a party, Fate connects her soul w/ Wyatt, the only guest who can see her as a ghost. They must both solve her murder, but if they can't by midnight, Wyatt will die too & Abby will never pass on to the afterlife.

#questpit #Q #A #MY #PR #S #F
snowy mountains background: An Agent's Guide to...Nearly Dead Already by Kelly Esparza, adult speculative/paranormal murder mystery complete at 72,000 words, previously agented, this book was a semi-finalist for the 2026 Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards, Querying! snowy mountain background: Pitch: When Abby Martinez is killed at a party, fate intertwines her soul with Wyatt, the only guest who can see and talk to her ghostly form. They must both solve her murder, but if they can't by midnight, Wyatt will die too and Abby will never pass on to the afterlife. snowy mountains background: What Does My Book Have? disability rep, mental health rep, strong Latinx female protagonist, found family, romance, ghosts snowy mountains background: Comps: Glass Onion movie poster and Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (book cover)
January 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM
kellyesparza.bsky.social
NOT QUITE DEAD YET x GLASS ONION but with ghosts

At her estranged sister's party, Abby Martinez doesn’t expect to get stabbed in the back, literally. Now she must solve her own murder before any of the other guests die and to pass on to the afterlife.

#questpit #A #MY #PR #S #F #Latinx #Q
mood board for the adult paranormal/speculative murder mystery I am querying: what's pictured--snowy woods, woods, ghost, snowy cabin, blood, tree branches, footprints in snow, full moon with eerie sky
January 31, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
jendupuis.bsky.social
Firefly Lane x Liane Moriarty
Disabled GenX Ellie reconnects with her college crush, but her friends suspect him in the unsolved disappearance of one of their group on graduation day. Ellie must risk her safety to learn the truth about her missing friend.
#QuestPit #Q #A #WF
Moodboard clockwise from top left: silhouette of woman sitting on bed in darkened room; Sony Walkman with orange sponge headphones; hands clinking wineglasses over table; hands on top of each other in circle; cassette tape with the tape in a heart shape; scattered Polaroid pictures; woman lying head on man’s lap in field
January 31, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
jendupuis.bsky.social
Why Ellie is nostalgic for ‘90s college:
👩‍❤️‍👩BFF Brooke not missing
😘Crush Eric shyly smiled in computer lab
🎶Happiness = mixtape + Walkman
Today:
🤑Broke
☠️Divorced
💔Brooke missing
Now Eric is back & not shy! But hiding truth about Brooke…?👀
#QuestPit #Q #A #WF
January 31, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
chelseascottbks.bsky.social
TRAIN FROM PLATFORM 2 X WE USED TO LIVE HERE X TELL-TALE HEART

Hamlet, flipped on its head
Dual POV (sibs Ophelia & Laertes)
A private train to a will reading
2 snowed-in murders & a haunting
F/F enemies to lovers to—

❄️Querying soon❄️

#questpit #agentsguide #A #T #H #W
Moodboard for ALL ABOARD: a shadowed knife, a train with headlights on in the snow, a screaming, indistinct face, a skull in a palm, mist-capped mountains Features: forced proximity, unreliable narration, f/f enemies to lovers, power and influence, survival, identity and paranoia. Pitch: When Sam Hambrook, heir to the Hambrook potato chip fortune, is found poisoned and stabbed aboard his family's snowed-in train, his ex-fiancee, Poppy, scrambles to solve the crime despite interference from her brother, Lars—whose desperation to cover up that he stabbed Sam is merging with a haunting only he can see. Snippet for ALL ABOARD: The lamp flickers and a strange energy thrums through the train. Panic claws at my insides. I sense it before I see it: a hooded figure gliding through the closed gangway door. It leeches the forest green from the wallpaper and the gleam from the mahogany hardwoods as it drifts toward me, leaving a drab gray in its wake, and why oh why is no one else so much as flinching? Why is Poppy still asking investigative questions over Sam’s dead body? I’m the only one who can see it. The only one it can terrorize. Comp books: "We Used to Live Here," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Train from Platform 2," "Hamlet"
January 31, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
mlynmarrbooks.bsky.social
Ravensgrove Academy is trying to rid the school of witches. So when star student Gwen is caught doing magic by the principal's rebellious son, she's sure she'll be expelled. Instead, he offers her a deal—pretend to date him, and he won’t tell anyone she's a witch

#questpit #YA
Mood board with shite lined squares: 1. crystals in a pink ceramic dish 2. tall white taper candles lit in the dark 3. the stacks of a library with hanging lightbulbs 4. a lit candle on a desk beside a journal 5. the silhouette of a boy and girl facing each other in a pinkish sunset 6. a pair of brown boots walking through orange fall leaves 7. a wooden bridge through the woods with autumn leaves 8. A cup of coffee, laptop, pen, an papers on a desk 9. twinkle lights
January 31, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
cjsubko.bsky.social
ERIC LAROCCA xGIRL INTERRUPTED

Ash doesn't believe in curses--not really--but when she recklessly casts one, people who have hurt her start ending up dead. If she can't find the countercurse, it will strike down everyone she loves--she may never recover from her depression

#QuestPit #Q #A #H #LGBT
four polaroids. one shows a white woman reading tarot. one shows a white woman with blond hair with candles. one shows several notebooks filled with writing. one showed someone in a black hoodie that says "gloomy"
January 31, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
cjsubko.bsky.social
ERIC LAROCCA x GIRL INTERRUPTED

Ash doesn't *really* believe in curses, but when she recklessly casts one, people who have hurt her start ending up dead. If she can't find the counter-curse, it will strike down everyone she loves--& she may never recover from her depression.

#QuestPit #Q #A #H #MH
a sheet of notebook paper with the words cj subko adult horror and "and the dark will know my name." scribbles in red. three polaroids with pictures: a woman screaming, a woman crying, and something carrying a knife
January 31, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
jamoy.bsky.social
Soon to Query!

KPOP DEMON HUNTERS X SLAY

By day, Mia & her friends are a viral pop group. By night, they're vigilantes who fight virus monsters in a metaverse.

⚡️Mixed Race/Chinese Rep
🐶TALKING CORGI
🔥Magical Cyber Girls
❤️Hot (rival?) Boy Band
💥Cyber Boss Battles

#questpit #ya #f #sf #q
9 photo collage. Top left, a screen with a pink malware sign with a warning sign. Top center: a close up of a girl with pink hair singing to a mic. Top left: A close up to a microphone against a purple and blue backdrop. Middle left: Image of a city and a night sky with lights beaming down. Center middle: a silhouette of 5 Girls against a purple backdrop. Center right: Zoom out of a concert. Bottom left: a purple phone and a cube bouncing off the screen while a hand grabs the phone. Bottom center: A concert crowd cheering at a stage. Bottom right: A digital blue and yellow lock.
January 31, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
jamoy.bsky.social
SAILOR MOON x HANNAH MONTANA x TRON

By day, Mia & her friends are a hot pop group. By night they're vigilantes who fight virus monsters in a metaverse.

⚡️Mixed race & Chinese rep
🐶TALKING CORGI
🔥Magical Cyber Girls
🗺️Diaspora themes
💞Rivals to lovers

#questpit #ya #f #sf #poc #q
6 photo collage. Top left is an image of a city with lights beaming from the sky. Top center is a close up of a girl with pink hair singing into a microphone. Top right is a close up of a screen with a warning sign and the word malware underneath in pink font. Bottom left is a hand grabbing a phone with a pink tint and a blue cube bouncing off the screen. Center is a 5 girl silhouette with a purple backdrop. Bottom right is a crowd in front of a music stage with a blue hue over the stage.
January 31, 2026 at 5:04 AM
kellyesparza.bsky.social
GLASS ONION x NOT QUITE DEAD YET

When Abby is killed at a party, Fate connects her soul w/ Wyatt, the only guest who can see her as a ghost. They must both solve her murder, but if they can't by midnight, Wyatt will die too & Abby will never pass on to the afterlife.

#questpit #Q #A #MY #PR #S #F
snowy mountains background: An Agent's Guide to...Nearly Dead Already by Kelly Esparza, adult speculative/paranormal murder mystery complete at 72,000 words, previously agented, this book was a semi-finalist for the 2026 Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards, Querying! snowy mountain background: Pitch: When Abby Martinez is killed at a party, fate intertwines her soul with Wyatt, the only guest who can see and talk to her ghostly form. They must both solve her murder, but if they can't by midnight, Wyatt will die too and Abby will never pass on to the afterlife. snowy mountains background: What Does My Book Have? disability rep, mental health rep, strong Latinx female protagonist, found family, romance, ghosts snowy mountains background: Comps: Glass Onion movie poster and Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (book cover)
January 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM
kellyesparza.bsky.social
Will be participating in #questpit on Twitter & Bluesky tomorrow but not creating a list this time due to my health not being great & being busy, BUT I will try to swing by & boost whoever I see! The community is everything w/ pitch events🩵 #amquerying
a woman sits in a lotus position surrounded by candles with the words manifesting intensifies written below her
Alt: a woman sits in a lotus position surrounded by candles with the words manifesting intensifies written below her
media.tenor.com
January 31, 2026 at 5:46 AM
kellyesparza.bsky.social
Excited to announce that I have a prose piece about my frustrations with lupus and seeking the medical help one needs called "Push and Pull" getting published with @inkinthirds.bsky.social in spring 2026 for their tenth anniversary issue! 1 a.m. rants for the win!😆
a little girl wearing sunglasses and a blue dress is dancing with the caption happy dance .
Alt: a little girl wearing sunglasses and a blue dress is dancing with the caption happy dance.
media.tenor.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:12 AM
kellyesparza.bsky.social
you know you're querying when you start having dreams about getting offers of rep again😂
#amquerying
a woman stands in front of a crowd with the words this is what dreams are made of
Alt: a woman stands in front of a crowd with the words this is what dreams are made of
media.tenor.com
January 25, 2026 at 8:25 PM
kellyesparza.bsky.social
Yesterday, my poetry chapbook about living with my #chronicillness published by #BottlecapPress was stocked at small bookstore #OldHauntsBookshop in Granite Bay, CA! Ahhh so cool to see! 💜💜 buy my book here: kelly-esparza-merch-and-books.square.site/s/shop
Yours truly holding a purple book with spoon and flame with the words A Spoonie’s Guide to Self-Acceptance, Kelly Esparza Book shelf with my poetry chapbook, purple cover, with flame on a spoon: A Spoonie’s Guide to Self-Acceptance, Kelly Esparza, and on the poetry shelf for local featured authors
January 18, 2026 at 11:14 PM
kellyesparza.bsky.social
Wow! A weekend of good news!
-a partial request yesterday
-a full request today
-an accepted piece today by @genrepunkmag.bsky.social that will appear in July!

Helloooo, January! #amquerying #amwriting
kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter in a room .
Alt: kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter in a room
media.tenor.com
January 18, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
flarelitmag.bsky.social
We just published our first newsletter! Check it out and subscribe for FREE!
#litmags #chronicillnesses #disabilities #mentalhealth
Welcome to FLARE's Newsletter!
Read what I want to see from YOU!
open.substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:02 AM
kellyesparza.bsky.social
Me: I can't wait to query my next book! Let's gooooo! 🤩

*I was previously agented, two YA novels died in the trenches despite having editor interest from bigger publishers, and I'm back with my first adult book😂

🤣 Me just a few days in to my main #amquerying era for my new book:
a man in a red shirt is kneeling in front of a truck that says 100 % done on the ground
Alt: a man in a red shirt is kneeling in front of a truck that says 100 % done on the ground
media.tenor.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:43 AM
kellyesparza.bsky.social
*semi-finalist for Tucson Festival of Books Awards
My #A #M #PN #F #Q includes:
💪 strong #OV female MC
❤️ mental health & grief rep
💔 relationship issues
♿ #DIS rep
👻 new take on the afterlife
🔪 Abby gets murdered & has to solve her own murder as a 👻 to pass on to the afterlife & save other guests
mood board for the adult speculative murder mystery I'm querying: woods, tree branches, snowy woods, knife with blood puddle underneath, ghost, ghostly hands
January 13, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Kelly Esparza
authorajs.bsky.social
✨ONE DARK WINDOW x KATABASIS✨

Lola Knight is cursed with a violent dark magic. When it kills her best friend, she must attend Le Fay academy to seek control before it kills again-or consumes her. But the monstrous mystery waiting for her could consume her entire world.

#bluepit📖 #A #F #LGBT #Q #OV
A shadowy school building, stars in the sky, and the text: an agents guide to the bells of le fay, adult dark academia fantasy, A. J. Sable The silhouette of a woman holding a ball of light in front of trees. The text reads: pitch, Lola Knight didn’t mean to murder her best friend. When her violent and volatile magic spirals out of control, instead of punishment, she’s enrolled in an elite magical academy to seek control before it kills again. But there she finds herself at the centre of a monstrous mystery; one that could rip the human world, and the witching world, apart. A spell book lying open amongst candles and a mirror. The text reads: tropes, sapphic enemies to lovers, female rage, elite magical university, secret society, body horror, underworld realm. The shadow of a woman standing before a giant misty creature. The text reads: with the cathedral-like academy behind her, the gothic towers soaring above the treetops, it felt like she was in a fairy-tale. But if that were true, she was no princess. She was the monster they had to defeat.
January 13, 2026 at 11:13 AM