Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Sarah Helmrich

Claire Kidwell @kiddyjoy.bsky.social · 11d

EMILY WILDE x HOLLOW KNIGHT

Can a natural historian save the one she loves at the cost of her heart, or worse, her research?

🏳️‍🌈 Queer romance
🪲 Sentient beetles
🥃 Magical distilleries
😈 9ft tall demon marionettes
🌌 The night trapped as a mortal

#PreDV

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Juniper Woodbury ✨ is querying ✨ @juniperwoodbury.bsky.social · 17d

Glowing feedback from a critique partner regarding my MC, a feral-girl goddess trapped in a human body

✨ “she is quite unlikable (sorry)”
💕 “she’s so mean!”
🔪 “I was especially upset when she had Elias chop off his hand”
😇 “everyone is mean”

#UnhingedPit #A #F #R #Q

a man in chain mail is screaming with the words no mercy written below him

ALT: a man in chain mail is screaming with the words no mercy written below him

media.tenor.com

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Olivia DeSimone ✨is agented✨ @oliviadesimone.bsky.social · 17d

THE GUILDED AGE #UnhingedPit #W #Dystopian #AG

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Libby Lineweaver @libbylineweaver.bsky.social · 17d

"How was I supposed to know that the evil guy actually had an evil plan and wasn't just sending me on a quest to do evil things for shits and giggles?"
-Onesta, probably

#UnhingedPit #A #F #LGBT #Q

Evil politician that sent Onesta on an evil quest actually has an evil plan.

Onesta:
*Shocked Pikachu face* meme (screenshot from Pokemon anime zoomed in on Pikachu's face, where his mouth is open in surprise)

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Claire Kidwell @kiddyjoy.bsky.social · 17d

Listen, we’ve had our share of night-adjacent shadowy boys in romantasy. It’s time we got some queer rep! 🏳️‍🌈✨💕

(They’re the main love interest and literally the night sky trapped in a mortal form so 👀)

#UnhingedPit #A #Q #F #LGBT

Images of Pippin and Aragorn from Lord of the Rings in discussion with added text.
Pippin: “What about a night-coded love interest?”
Aragorn: “We already had it.”
Pippin: “We’ve had shadow daddies, yes. What about a shadow enby?”

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Izzy Grace (𝚒𝚜 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐) @izzygraceauthor.bsky.social · Aug 17

Best graphics: bsky.app/profile/juni...

Juniper Woodbury ✨ is querying ✨ @juniperwoodbury.bsky.social · Aug 16

A romantasy twist on ROMAN HOLIDAY + a dash of MIDSOMMAR

🫟 weird humor
🦎 weirder characters
🩸 light horror elements
🐡 fish-out-of-water hijinks
✨ lyrical prose
🏺 secondary world inspired by ancient Babylon

#PosterPit #Q #F #A

Movie poster depicts two classical paintings: "Dolce Far Niente" (1904) by John William Godward above and "David and Saul" (1885) by Julius Kronberg below, with text overlays. Top: woman with dark hair lies on her side on marble steps, wearing purple and red robes, pink flowers grow nearby. Bottom: a young man sits on a carpet holding a stringed instrument.
Large white text across middle reads "THE UNMAKING OF A MUSE." Three text boxes say: "A MUSE WHO CAN'T TELL SHE'S EMBARRASSING HERSELF IN FRONT OF MORTALS," "WHO ALWAYS ASSUMES SHE'S RIGHT, BUT ALMOST NEVER IS," and "WHO TAKES THE ONLY ONE WHO HELPS HER FOR GRANTED... UNTIL SHE REALIZES SHE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT HIM."

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Juniper Woodbury ✨ is querying ✨ @juniperwoodbury.bsky.social · Aug 16

A romantasy twist on ROMAN HOLIDAY + a dash of MIDSOMMAR

🫟 weird humor
🦎 weirder characters
🩸 light horror elements
🐡 fish-out-of-water hijinks
✨ lyrical prose
🏺 secondary world inspired by ancient Babylon

#PosterPit #Q #F #A

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Libby Lineweaver @libbylineweaver.bsky.social · Aug 6

CRIER'S WAR x THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE

Perenne's rigged elections and patriarchal religion have only led to hate.

Solterna's oligarchy has only led to oppression.

It's time for two lesbians from the enemy countries to get their hands dirty in geopolitics.

#QuestPit #Q #A #F #LGBT

Agent's guide to CURSED BLESSINGS
97,000 word Adult Fantasy

Pitch: When a woman with a powerful Blessing of persuasion finds herself at the mercy of a corrupt politician, she finds connection in the most unexpected place: a vengeful woman from the enemy country. As they find themselves caught up in the schemings of those who'd use their gifts for evil, they are the only ones who can prevent a centuries-old tension from finally boiling over.

For fans of: Crier's War by Nina Varela, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, The City of Dusk by Tara Sim, The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Tropes & Themes: sapphic fantasy, dual POV, gods-based magic system, enemies to lovers to "it's complicated," magical creatures, lots of cats

Next to the list of tropes is a panel of five pictures containing: two horseback riders on a beach, a dragon shadowed in mist, a black cat sitting on a tree branch, a cobblestone alley surrounded by ivy, a picture of redwoods looking up with the sun peaking through branches

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Libby Lineweaver @libbylineweaver.bsky.social · Aug 6

CRIER'S WAR x PRIORY OF THE 🍊 TREE

One is a reluctant foreign agent.

The other's a vengeful border guard.

Both of their lives are held in the palms of politicians and the Gods, as they stand at the crossroads of war and peace. Will they save their nations, or destroy them?

#QuestPit #Q #A #F

Over a background of clouds in black and white are nine squares. From top left to bottom right, they are as follows:
A statue of a woman holding a bow, standing atop a fountain, with trees behind her.
A room with three arches windows.
A foggy, rocky beach.
A close up of a flowering tree.
A white square with Cursed Blessings written in it.
A black dragon in the fog.
Two horseback riders on a beach.
A black cat sitting on an iron fence with bare branches behind it.
A picture of redwood trees, angled up to look at their tops.

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Juniper Woodbury ✨ is querying ✨ @juniperwoodbury.bsky.social · Aug 6

A twist on Roman Holiday with a touch of Midsommar set in a reimagined Babylon.

🧞‍♀️ Goddess trapped in a human body
🥐 Cinnamon roll boy who takes pity on her
🐠 Fish out of water story
🤺 Sisters getting revenge on each other
🍷 Creepy, mysterious cult
🏺 Ancient Babylon vibes
#questpit #Q #A #F #RF

A collage of figs, a mule on a dirt road, a goddess in a river, and sand, with the text "AGENT'S GUIDE, THE UNMAKING OF A MUSE, 109,000 words, Adult Romantasy"

A background of sand with an illustration of a mesopotamian goddess and a lion, with the text: "THE UNMAKING OF A MUSE, Roman Holiday x Midsommar in ancient Babylon. Lali, a spoiled muse, persuades an innocent butcher to help her take down a human cult that's blocking her muse magic and brainwashing her sister into giving up eternal life — but when Lali starts falling for the earth-born butcher, it’s the first sign she's been brainwashed."

Sand as a background with mesopotamian illustrations and text that says: "FIRST LINES, It’s tedious work, trying to inspire genius in mortals. It always has been. Even decades ago, long before this recent sun cycle, when they began to resist the muses’ influence."

A background of sand, with images of books overlayed - Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, Circe by Madeline Miller, Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, and A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher, with the text "Comp Titles" above them and cuneiform letters below.

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Libby Lineweaver @libbylineweaver.bsky.social · Jul 14

CRIER'S WAR x PRIORY

Two women stand at the crossroads of war and peace. Will they save their nations, or destroy them?

🤼dual POV
✨forbidden magic
🌈sapphic fantasy
❤️‍🩹enemies to lovers to "it's complicated"
🏛️political intrigue
🐉shadow dragons
😼magic cats

#BluePit #BluePit📖 #A #F #LGBT #Q

Artwork of a dragon with its wings and tail fading into shadow, looking at a tuxedo cat and a gray and white fluffy cat.

Agent guide to Cursed Blessings, 98,000 word adult fantasy. The background image is a sun setting over the ocean. In front are three text blurbs.

Pitch: When a woman with a powerful Blessing of persuasion finds herself at the mercy of a corrupt politician, she finds connection in the most unexpected place: a vengeful woman from the enemy country. As they find themselves caught up in the schemings of those who'd use their gifts for evil, they are the only ones who can prevent a centuries-old tension from finally boiling over.

Comps: Crier's War by Nina Varela, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, The City of Dusk by Tara Sim, The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Tropes & Themes: sapphic fantasy, dual POV, gods-based magic system, enemies to lovers to "it's complicated," Mediterranean landscape, magical creatures, lots of cats

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Reposted by Sarah Helmrich

Juniper Woodbury ✨ is querying ✨ @juniperwoodbury.bsky.social · May 23

Sapphic GOOD WILL HUNTING in a blood magic convent 🩸

✨ gatekept magic
🗡️ ritual sacrifice
🚫 forbidden romance
🪷 hallucinogenic lotus flowers
🌞 seasonal gravity
⏳ dual timeline & dual POV

#WIPPIT #F #RF #A #LGBT

a young man is writing on a blackboard with the letters nk on it

ALT: a young man is writing on a blackboard with the letters nk on it

media.tenor.com

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Juniper Woodbury ✨ is querying ✨ @juniperwoodbury.bsky.social · May 23

When a mistrustful maid at a blood magic convent accidentally harnesses the power the nuns have gatekept for centuries, the high priestess takes her under her wing. #WIPPIT #F #RF #A #LGBT

A collage of images featuring a silver goblet of red liquid with red-coated fingers above it, a jaguar looking at the camera, two nuns kissing, a cactus with a flower, red water, a smoke-filled room, religious women in purple hoods, leaves, and a witch writing in blood.

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Sarah Helmrich @sarahhelmrich.bsky.social · May 23

Love this mood board!!!

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Claire Kidwell @kiddyjoy.bsky.social · May 23

REYLO x A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC

A dark wizard creates a device to travel between worlds, only to send it off in secret so his superiors won’t abuse it.

Issue is, it lands in the hands of a bartender from the Ozarks who can’t control the power.

🚪Portals
❤️‍🔥Pining
🌘Cults
🍻Beer

#WIPPIT #SFF #A #LGBT

A collage of images, which include a foggy city at night lit up with teal lights from below, an illuminated manuscript with two birds, a shot of Rey and Kylo Ren looking at each other shadowed in black and white, a genteel gloved hand holding another, a stone door in a desert opening up to the night sky, an old rusted bridge in the forest, someone pouring beer from a tap, a gold an teal mosaic tower, and an artist depiction of a monk conferring with St. George.

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Sarah Helmrich @sarahhelmrich.bsky.social · May 21

Late night!!

Sarah Helmrich @sarahhelmrich.bsky.social · May 7

This is such a cool concept!!

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Liz J. Bradley🌠 @lizjbradley.bsky.social · May 7

Mars colonization is no longer a dream. 8 astronauts are its first permanent residents-and Reality TV stars.

On Earth, yearning to escape their working-poor existence, anonymous revolutionaries rope Desda into their plot. If they succeed, the Ares Mission will end in disaster.

#questpit #w #sf #a

A Retro television on the surface of Mars among the rocks. The static screen shows the words "8 Astronauts. 8 Months. 24 Hour Coverage." A shuttle streaks through the sky in the background.

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Ayn is querying @aynwrites.bsky.social · May 7

#YA fantasy that wrestles with the tension of desiring a divine purpose and the weight of being chosen.
🕯️childhood love as fated mate?
🐺 Norse inspired lore
🪽 archangel gods
🌲 evil forest with monsters
✨ celestial magic
🔪 assassin on the loose
💗 he falls first
#questpit #Q #F #agentsguide

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Rachel ~ Is Querying📚 @rdohertywrites.bsky.social · May 7

Hear me out:

🐺Little Red Riding Hood🐺 reimagined as a paranormal mafia romantasy❤️

💰 Billionaire
🐺 Wolf Shifter
💅 She's morally gray too
🚫 Forbidden
♥️ Second chance
😱 She doesn't recognize him
🌶 Spicy
🫶 Found family
✨️ MCs over 30
🗡 Feminine rage
🧁Cinnamon roll MMC

#questpit #w #a #pr #r #editing

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Kendall Stern @kendallstern.bsky.social · May 7

THE FATEPAINTER

Determined to win the approval of her immortal masters, a lesser goddess with the power to alter fate embarks on a mission to destroy a mortal prince’s court.

⚡️ Meddling gods
👑 Courtly intrigue
🗡️ Enemies-to-lovers
🖤 Tension and yearning
✨ Fairytale vibes

#questpit #Q #A #F #RF

A mood board that includes images and drawings of: snowy landscapes, a palace, masked figures dancing around a fire, a woman surrounded by stars, a moonlit lake, and a river of gold.

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Kathryn Reynolds 📚🎨 @cozykathryn.bsky.social · May 7

Cupcakes and Graveyards

Kiki’s Delivery Service x Casper

🧁 A cursed bakery with a looming royal feast
🧁 An outcast witch living in a graveyard
🧁 A world where helpful ghosts linger
🧁 Steam technology and magic coincide
🧁 Cozy goth sapphic fantasy tale

Coming Autumn 2025 💙📚🌈

#questpit #w #f #lgbt

A photo of a pair of light brown hands kneading dough. To the side is a pink rectangle framed with spider webs. Text reads Cupcakes and Graveyards.
“It has to be a curse,” Surae decided as she stared at the rotted strawberries on the counter.
“It isn't natural,” her grandmother’s ghost agreed. “When I went up to wake you, they were still fresh and unblemished.”
Coming Autumn 2025

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Tiff @tiff-d.bsky.social · May 7

Everything I Gave Her
VERITY x BIG LITTLE LIES
✂️ Messy, layered unreliable women
✂️ Domestic suspense with high emotional stakes
✂️ The navigation of love, grief & secrets
✂️ A twisty, compulsive read with book club potential
#questpit #questpitw #T #A #F #writingcommunity #writer #litagents

“She loved her best friend too much. Then she lost her. Now she’s losing herself all over again. But this time…the consequences are worse. Everything I Gave Her a moody, upmarket psychological thriller.” On black background.

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Joanna @annaojibs.bsky.social · May 7

love island x one to watch x first-time caller

💗friends-strangers-friends-lovers (it’s complicated! they know!)
🌴 second chance
💗shared bed (in a communal bedroom… 😬)
🌴 dramatic & fun cast of characters

#questpit #amquerying #litagents #Q #A #R

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