AGE CATEGORIES: Adult and New Adult (Crossover YA for the right project, or if you’re looking to age up a project)

GENRES: Dystopian Romance, Cozy Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy/Romantasy, sci-fi romance, horrormance, action, romantic thriller, paranormal romcom— basically if it's queer, speculative, and has kissing, I’m IN.

WHO I AM AS A MENTOR:

I’m a commercial-leaning author and a big fan of books that can be described as “high-octane” or “a romp,” as well as stories whose comps make me sit up and be like “how does THAT work?” If you have a genre-mash book that you’re trying to figure out how to pitch, finding the jaw-dropping hook within is my favorite activity. Thanks to both my background in television and my personal challenge where I come up with a pitch/write a query letter for a new book idea every month, I’m confident we can make your story shine.

When it comes to the manuscript itself, one of my biggest strengths is doing plot surgery. Starting in middle school, I used to fill out save the cat beat sheets in a notebook anytime I was watching movies with my friends or family (that sounds even nerdier than I expected). I have a ton of plotting/beat sheet/revision resources and would love to help put all the bones of a story in place. 

I also love character arc and relationship revisions. It’s so fun to pick apart what makes two characters good for each other and figure out all the ways we can make them super uncomfortable so they can grow into the best versions of themselves. I have character sheets and exercises that I can suggest. Also, if this is something you’re interested in, I can pull tarot and read your characters’ birth charts to use for inspiration and clarity!

Worldbuilding is probably my weakest point. I often joke that I’d like to set all my books in a black box theater. Alas, I am an SFF writer, so I will do it, but if you’re looking for help with the mechanics of a complicated world, I’m probably not going to be the mentor for you.

WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR:

I will consider any and all queer stories, but I’m prioritizing sapphic stories, especially by BIPOC authors. I have a rant locked and loaded about sapphic representation and the way our stories are treated across many industries, but I’ll spare you from it right now. As a lesbian in an interracial relationship, I want to uplift stories that reflect what our community actually looks like. (Note: I’m a late in life lesbian who dated men until almost 30, and I will go to war for the bi baddies. Also, it should go without saying, but I’m going to say it. My definition of sapphic includes bi and trans women, and nb characters if they include themselves in that category.)

ELEMENTS & TROPES I LOVE (ACROSS GENRES):

• Adventures and/or books that can be described as a “romp”

• Mean Mommies

• girl gangs — a sports team, a crew of outlaws, a music group, some other thing I have no idea existed?

• Only one ? (it’s not a bed, it’s something else) — a book whose concept does this SO brilliantly is HEADSPACE by Jill Tew

• Complex mother-daughter relationships (or complex non-relationships! I love mommy issues of all sorts. Bonus points if it has an eldest daughter or the vibes of Kill Me by Hayley Williams)

• Road trips

• Eccentric badasses (a la Sharako Lohar from House of the Dragon)

• spies and assassins

• Second-chance romances, childhood sweethearts, childhood friends that have always pined for each other, friends/enemies/rivals-to-lovers, grumpy x sunshine, marriage of convenience, fake dating, battle couple

• childhood friends to rivals to enemies to lovers? (Basically whatever Catradora has)

• No matter what the romance trope is, GIVE ME ALL THE PINING

• horse girls

• Found families/team-as-family, especially when the majority are queer

• Toxic Yuri

• Corruption arcs

• Villain love interests

• I’m not the chosen one, but I guess I’ll do it anyway

• lady serial killers (especially if it’s “You’re killing people? No, I’m killing BOYS”)

• female rage

• dating reality shows (especially if it’s genre mashed with something else. I’m yearning for what The Selection made me feel back in the day)

• something to make me feel like the end of season 1 of The Great when (redacted) says “Your fate was always Russia, and my fate was always you”

• My kingdom for a sexy adult sapphic fantasy Indiana Jones

I’M NOT THE BEST FIT FOR:

• straight men as main characters/love interests (my favorite phrase is “why would a man be here?” And I fear that holds true in fiction)

• cops/military (though would consider books that critique these systems like Coldwire by Chloe Gong)

• court intrigue and complicated second world politics

• strong Christianity that’s not exploring religious trauma or deconstruction

• anything too deeply historical (though I love SFF based on historical eras or events, I’m a vibes girlie and not a historical facts girlie)

• Animal protagonists

• racing or car books (I love them and will be your biggest fan, it’s just too close to something I’m actively revising)

SOME FAVORITES:

Books: The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. Maclean, Dead & Breakfast by Rosiee Thor and Kat Hillis, Lethal Kiss by Taylor Grothe, Bromantasy by Máire Roche, Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto, Plastic, Prism, Void by Violet Allen, Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell, No Body, No Crime by Tess Sharpe, Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn, A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva, I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell by Mackenzie Reed, Coldwire by Chloe Gong, Death Card by Jasmine Smith, The Devil She Knows by Alexandria Bellefleur, Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid, Unfinished Business by Clare Osongco, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta, Pretty much anything by Marie Lu, An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson, A Thousand Monstrous Forms by Saratoga Schaefer, Half City by Kate Golden.

Movies/TV: Yellowjackets, Killing Eve, Birds Of Prey: And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn, Fast and Furious, Severance, Kpop Demon Hunters, Parks & Rec, The Holiday, The Gentlemen (tv show with Theo James), Umbrella Academy, Bad Sisters, Arcane, Shrek, Charlie’s Angels, National Treasure, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Living for the Dead, She’s the Man, Whiplash, Money Heist.

Musicals/Music: Heathers, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Maybe Happy Ending, Hadestown, Warriors. Hayley Williams, The Last Dinner Party, Paris Paloma, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Megan Thee Stallion, Stray Kids, Olivia Rodrigo, flowerovlove, clipping., Florence and the Machine, and Maddie Zahn.