Makenna Rae | Querying Author

Title of my book, TRIAL OF HEIRS The background is a red sky and a gothic-looking castle

My pitch: A discarded princess endures a deadly trial to claim her tyrant father’s throne—but as her power grows and her humanity slips away, she must face the truth: to destroy the monster who made her, she may have to become one herself. With betrayal lurking in every shadow, she is forced to walk a path where survival and monstrosity are inseparable—and the crown may demand more than her heart can bear. Photos of crying eyes and a woman walking into fire

Opening Lines: “I was a woman of import who was of no particular importance to anyone. A princess in the back of banquets, the daughter of a family who never sought her out, a person with no companions. Perhaps it was sad, but more than anything, it was dreadfully dull.”

Reviews and comps: “Wow! What a grim and utterly emotive tragedy! This story had me feeling everything and left me completely hollowed out by the end.” - Professional Beta Reader 1 “I have no words. This story is brilliant.” – Professional Beta Reader 2 “When I finished, I had to just sit in the dark for a while, staring at the ceiling, empty inside.” – Journalist Friend “First book to make me cry in a while.” - Fiancé “It’s so... violent!” – My Mom COMPS: Far Heir by Lucia Ashta, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart, & The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

TRIAL OF HEIRS
A princess endures a trial designed to break her. To claim the throne, she learns that survival demands cunning, cruelty, and surrendering to the darkness that accompanies power.

🗡️feral FMC
🖤descent into madness
🕯️ancient magic
#GhostPit #A #FA #Q

Title of my book, TRIAL OF HEIRS The background is a red sky and a gothic-looking castle

My pitch: A discarded princess endures a deadly trial to claim her tyrant father’s throne—but as her power grows and her humanity slips away, she must face the truth: to destroy the monster who made her, she may have to become one herself. With betrayal lurking in every shadow, she is forced to walk a path where survival and monstrosity are inseparable—and the crown may demand more than her heart can bear. Photos of crying eyes and woman walking into fire

Opening Lines: “I was a woman of import who was of no particular importance to anyone. A princess in the back of banquets, the daughter of a family who never sought her out, a person with no companions. Perhaps it was sad, but more than anything, it was dreadfully dull.”

Reviews and comps: “Wow! What a grim and utterly emotive tragedy! This story had me feeling everything and left me completely hollowed out by the end.” - Professional Beta Reader 1 “I have no words. This story is brilliant.” – Professional Beta Reader 2 “When I finished, I had to just sit in the dark for a while, staring at the ceiling, empty inside.” – Journalist Friend “First book to make me cry in a while.” - Fiancé “It’s so... violent!” – My Mom COMPS: Far Heir by Lucia Ashta, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart, & The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

Once a silent shadow in her father’s court, a princess is thrust into a trial designed to forge her into a ruler capable of cruelty tempered by intellect—and when ancient magic awakens in her veins, she can no longer tell whether her rise will save the kingdom or damn it.

#GhostPit #A #F #Q

A movie poster featuring two people kissing overlayed over the side of Teotihuacán's pyramid of the sun and foliage from a jungle in El Salvador. Text says: Enemies to Lovers Non-Western Mythology LGBTQIA+ romantasy Tethered enemies "A dual-POV adult romantasy steeped in Nahua (Pipil) belief, set against the lush tapestry of precolonial Central America." — Fans of Maiga Doocy's Sorcery and Small Magics Title: TO BECOME THE MOON Now Querying Adult, romantasy, 90,000 words

OwnVoices Nahua romantasy in precolonial 🇸🇻

Itotia’s a healer’s apprentice struggling to meet her mentor’s expectations. Metztli's a worship-hating deity. When Itotia binds them together, Metztli grapples with mortality & Itotia learns the gods aren’t as benevolent as she thought #GhostPit #RF #Q

Dark Matter x The Midnight Library: Phoebe thought things were bad, until she got trapped in a nightmare AND a suburban tract home. That she can't figure out which reality is worse might be her biggest flaw. #ghostpit #A #SPEC

FROM THE ASHES

👿Angry women doing bad things
💋Slow-burn soulmate type love
🐉Retelling myths & monsters
😵Genre-Bending ( #FA #DF w/ Elements of H & R)
🤬Gritty dialogue
🤷‍♀️Memory loss
🐶Found family
💪Strong female characters
🩸Gory battles
☮️Self-Acceptance

#PitDark #NA #A

Love angry women doing bad things ❤️❤️

Tropes in AHOW around a book saying a HARMONY OF WITCHES

Text excerpt from chapter two with daisies on it

WICKED X R&J X LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

An autistic, transfemme, plant-killing garden witch works with a rival music witch to care for an ancient flower. When a meltdown turns it sentient, she must regulate her emotions to turn it back & prevent a war.

#ghostpit #ya #f #q

What happens when you combine 13th century Turkey, Mongol warlords, an arrogant wrestler who thinks he’s the hero, a zealot corn farmer, and a deadpan archer? Oh, and seven headed giants and polyships too. Seven challenges to save their people.

WRATH OF THE DAWN x SIX OF CROWS

#ghostpit #YA #HF #R

👻 Missing people
👻 human experiments
👻 urban legends come to (after) life

Freelance ghost hunters get in too deep when the dead won’t RIP.

#ghostpit #a #q #h #uf #pn

IT'S OK TO TELL

Told to stay silent, a child finds their voice the only way they know how. An important story for child victims of trauma to show they are not alone, nor is there only one journey through.

#Ghostpit #PB #C #Q #OS

Told through a child's inner dialogue with complete inclusivity.

Image of foggy forest above an image of a bloody moose antler. Overlaying text reads: cryptid hunting, creepy Vermont forest vibes, dual pov and dual timeline, sapphic creature feature, and homoerotic high school friendship blows up but they reunite as adults (bisexual and lesbian best friends to lovers)

#GhostPit My adult horror novel is like if Dr. Frankenstein actually loved his creation and was desperate to prove its existence. #A #H #Q #LGBT

👻 ft. Halloween party with my in-denial-bisexual FMC experiencing sapphic sexual tension and drinking to escape it (which only makes it worse)

Cursed crystal ball and hourglass and ominous hand 2 musicians in magic atmosphere Anastasia vibes

#Q ANASTASIA x AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

#GhostPit #YA #F #RF #MM #H #POC #ND

🪄🩸The curse says only the “worthiest” magical heir will survive
🔒🔪 Locked room monarch murder mystery
✨🪦 Horror magic trials test each heir
❄️❤️Cold, aloof love interest who secretly shields
🫂♥️ Found family
🌪️☠️ killer twists

For Fans of Ann Liang, Dustin Thao, and Amanda Dewitt:

A CROSSROAD OF LILIES
YA Romance with a Speculative Twist

A retired teen actor and a studious scholarship student fall for each other while uncovering why they’re cursed by a magical mushroom disease.

#Ghostpit #YA #Q #R #Spec

DEAD & LONELY HEARTS: Jess is used to her stepbrother hating her boyfriends, but Eric seems perfect! Smart, charming, rich, sexy, a vampire... Hang on, what?!
#GhostPit #UW #WIP #R #A #UR #DR #RT #POC

Totally here for stories like this!!

Super interesting and I love the mood board!

Oo would love to read this when it gets published!!

Cool!! 🪶🪶

That’s so interesting!

Haha, sounds like so much fun!

Sounds like such a fun read!

So cool!

Neat!

So interesting!!

Always love a boss bitch villain! So fun!

Love it!!

Ooo so fun!

I love it!!

Title of my book, TRIAL OF HEIRS The background is a red sky and a gothic-looking castle

My pitch: A discarded princess endures a deadly trial to claim her tyrant father’s throne—but as her power grows and her humanity slips away, she must face the truth: to destroy the monster who made her, she may have to become one herself. With betrayal lurking in every shadow, she is forced to walk a path where survival and monstrosity are inseparable—and the crown may demand more than her heart can bear. Photos of crying eyes and woman walking into fire

Opening Lines: “I was a woman of import who was of no particular importance to anyone. A princess in the back of banquets, the daughter of a family who never sought her out, a person with no companions. Perhaps it was sad, but more than anything, it was dreadfully dull.”

Reviews and comps: “Wow! What a grim and utterly emotive tragedy! This story had me feeling everything and left me completely hollowed out by the end.” - Professional Beta Reader 1 “I have no words. This story is brilliant.” – Professional Beta Reader 2 “When I finished, I had to just sit in the dark for a while, staring at the ceiling, empty inside.” – Journalist Friend “First book to make me cry in a while.” - Fiancé “It’s so... violent!” – My Mom COMPS: Far Heir by Lucia Ashta, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart, & The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

Once a silent shadow in her father’s court, a princess is thrust into a trial designed to forge her into a ruler capable of cruelty tempered by intellect—and when ancient magic awakens in her veins, she can no longer tell whether her rise will save the kingdom or damn it.

#GhostPit #A #F #Q