Ella Crean - Querying Author

For anybody attending the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton next week, this year I'll be the 'Roving Reporter' for the British Fantasy Society. If you want to do a short interview for the BFS socials, let me know! Or feel free to find me while we're there 😄 @britfantasysoc.bsky.social

I'm pretty sure I know which of the #RevPit #10Queries posts is about The Trail of Blood Red Stars... It's been so much fun reading through all of the feedback, and I've learned a lot! Looking forward to hearing from the editor who read the query letter / opening pages. Thank you for your thoughts!

kermit the frog is dancing in front of a red curtain on a stage . ALT: kermit the frog is dancing in front of a red curtain on a stage .

Excited to look for my #RevPit #10Queries feedback!

I'm about to enter #RevPit #10Queries

Enter now for a chance to win free feedback on your query and first 5 pages 😄

Fingers crossed!

“Fantasy writer Ella Crean joins us to talk about writing as a process of proximity, resistance, and repair. From fanfiction to formal training, from Skyrim’s narrative gaps to the fractured lyricism of immersive prose, her work explores what happens when stories break - and why that’s where the magic begins. In this conversation, we explore fantasy’s shifting shape. When a story’s rhythm stumbles, when world-building overreaches, and how inspiration often arrives through the cracks. Head over to The Empty Set at #linkinbio to read more about fantastical immersion, the editorial rhythm of breath and break, and why a good story haunts you long after the last page.”

This week I had my first (ever!) author interview!

It was a joy to discuss Fantasy with Phasmid Press and unpack how I approach my own writing (as well as my complicated relationship with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 🐉)

Read here: tinyurl.com/2s4b97kw

#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #AuthorInterview

The Trail of Blood Red Stars: today's querying updates. A young woman is possessed by a demon that hides in her shadow. When her only friend is kidnapped by gladiator traders, she begins a quest to save him - by striking a bargain with the demon that has possessed her. For fans of One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig and The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent. Agents queried today: 2. Outstanding queries: 10. Adult fantasy novel. 104,000 words.

I've kindly been given an agent referral for The Trail of Blood Red Stars! I'm not sure what influence a referral has upon querying, but it's exciting either way 💌

#amquerying #querying #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WriterSky

THE TRAIL OF BLOOD RED STARS Today’s Querying Updates! A young woman is possessed by a demon that hides in her shadow. When her only friend is kidnapped by gladiator traders, she begins a quest to save him - by striking a bargain with the demon that has possessed her. For fans of One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig and The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent. Agents queried today: 2. Outstanding queries: 9. Adult fantasy. 104,000 words.

During EasterCon, I was (kindly!) ordered to query the agents of my comp titles, so I made sure to do that today!

This brings the total number of outstanding queries to 9 - who knows what'll happen? 💌

#amquerying #querying #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WriterSky

Monstrous Regiment (Signed 1st edition) Auction item 'Monstrous Regiment (Signed 1st edition)' hosted online at 32auctions.

Happy Terry Pratchett Day! We're so grateful to @rhi.bsky.social and @terryandrob.bsky.social for digging up a signed first edition of Monstrous Regiment for the Genre Creators for Trans Rights charity auction. It's up to £6005! Which means we've raised over £13k! www.32auctions.com/organization...

Yesterday ended with 3241 words written and the chapter I started before EasterCon finally finished! Through the power of more tea, hopefully I can pull off a similar writing sprint today 🍵

#amwriting #writesky #writersky

2230 words later, and we're getting... Somewhere?! I'm having a lot of fun with this project, at the very least! We'll see about finishing that chapter today though 🤔

Today I'm working on the first draft of my next book - I'm never entirely sure of what's going on in opening chapters, but it's nothing a cup of tea can't fix!

I'm hoping to finish this chapter before the end of the day, so we shall see what happens...

A movie poster about a book titled The Trail of Blood Red Stars. A silhouetted woman with a quiver of arrows over her shoulder stands before an inferno. The text reads: queer-normative worldbuilding, mother-daughter relationships, childhood friends to doomed lovers to... The Exorcist meets Gladiator. The author's MA Novel Writing Dissertation (First-Class Honours). An adult fantasy novel by Ella Crean. One Dark Window x The Serpent and the Wings of Night. 104,000 words. Book one of a proposed trilogy. Querying now!

I didn't take part in #PosterPit because I was at EasterCon, but here's my poster for THE TRAIL OF BLOOD RED STARS:

When her only friend is kidnapped by gladiator traders, Nuada begins a quest to save him - by striking a bargain with the demon that has possessed her...

#PosterPitQ #F #A #NA

IT'S REAL!?

Genre Creators for Trans Rights in the UK and SA Silent auction 'Genre Creators for Trans Rights in the UK and SA' hosted online at 32auctions.

So in the midst of the chaos and joy of Eastercon, @ngjeannette.bsky.social and I have set up a charity auction: Genre Creators for Trans rights in the UK and South Africa as a small personal response to what's happening in the world. You can bid on cool things here www.32auctions.com/genrefortrans

I had a wonderful, wonderful time at my first EasterCon! My sincere thanks to everybody involved in organising the event - I can't wait for next year! 💌

Thank you so much Marjorie!! I do too ❤️

That's so exciting! Best of luck! ❤️

A week had passed since Nuada's exorcism.

Her fingertips were black with rot. She rubbed them against her restraints, staring at the roof of the hut. With her arms bound above her head, her body had stiffened and numbed, but dull pain pulsed through her hands.

#1stLinePit #Q #Querying #A #F

What could go wrong?!

Thank you! The Exorcist and Gladiator are my favourite of the chaotic comps 😆

A meme of a man reacting to text on a clipboard. The text reads: My only friend gets kidnapped by gladiator traders. I bargain with a demon for the power to save him. After seven years I find him in an ancient gladiator tournament. He hates me. I enter the tournament and attack him in front of thousands.

Nuada has abandonment issues at the best of times, so she might've not handled this particularly well...

#ChaosPit #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Fantasy #Querying

A fake newspaper article pitching the novel 'The Trail of Blood Red Stars'. It reads: Breaking news. Unknown gladiator stuns crowds. A human gladiator has earned the praise of the Goddess of the Stellar Eclipse after fighting alongside demigods in the opening round of the Festival of Violets. Who is the mystery woman? The Lord of Saltcairn stunned crowds when he offered the newcomer an alliance. Rumours wonder if these warriors have met before...

Breaking news from the world of THE TRAIL OF BLOOD RED STARS - an unknown gladiator has stunned crowds during the Festival of Violets! Reporters approached her for comment, but she disappeared into thin air - literally...

#ChaosPit #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Fantasy #Querying

The cover of the film 'The Exorcist' - a man stands silhouetted beneath a pale street lamp.

The cover of the film 'Gladiator' - a man holding a sword stands solemnly before an arena.

THE EXORCIST X GLADIATOR
A young woman is possessed by a demon that hides in her shadow. When her only friend is kidnapped by gladiator traders, she begins a quest to save him - by striking a bargain with the demon that has possessed her...
#ChaosPit #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Fantasy #Querying

Please do! I was inspired by a few writers on here myself - the more the merrier! 😄

Hi! Thank you, and best of luck with the querying! I love the sound of this - the drama of their relationship and changing lives, and a heist as well?! 😍

An agent's guide to The Trail of Blood Red Stars: an adult fantasy novel by Ella Crean.

The Trail of Blood Red Stars: The pitch: A young woman, Nuada, is possessed by a demon that hides in her shadow. As her exorcism fails, her only comfort is her friend Setanta. The two have a sacred bond that allows them to share magic, but despite Nuada’s efforts to resist the demon, she knows it’s a matter of time before it kills Setanta too. When her exorcist betrays her, Nuada is left for dead and Setanta sold to gladiator traders. Desperate, Nuada begins a quest to save Setanta - by striking a bargain with the demon that has possessed her.

The traditional comps: The shadowy, eldritch companion and political conspiracies of ONE DARK WINDOW. The life-or-death tournament and complicated romance of THE SERPENT AND THE WINGS OF NIGHT. For fans of The Exorcist - what if the exorcist was corrupt? For fans of Gladiator - what if demigod gladiators battled ancient monsters in the arena?

The details: Adult Fantasy novel. 104,000 words. Book One in a proposed trilogy. The opening of the novel was my MA Novel Writing Dissertation. Themes, tropes and traits: Queer-normative world building. Loved ones can share magic. A complicated romance. Mother-daughter relationships. Religious corruption. Political conspiracies.

My #AgentGuide to THE TRAIL OF BLOOD RED STARS:
🎭 A young woman possessed by a demon
💔 A quest to save a stolen friend
⚔️ An ancient gladiatorial tournament
📚 Adult fantasy (with a romance subplot!)

If you're an agent who would like to hear more, do like this post! I'd love to query you 💌 #WriteSky

The Mummy AND Indiana Jones?! 😍

NEZUKO ❤️ exercise becomes exorcise VERY quickly in this case!

The image is a GIF. A woman with pale skin and brown hair sits on a white horse. She wears a red undershirt and leather armour. She glances, seemingly irritated, at somebody beside her.

I (23F) got possessed by a demon. My exorcist was a creep, so I ran away before he could exorcise me. He then tried to kill me and sold my ONLY FRIEND (23M) to gladiator traders. I need to save my friend - so I struck a bargain with the demon for help... AITA? #UnhingedPit #Fantasy #WriteSky #Q #F

I had SO MUCH fun with the comps !!! I wish they were suitable for a query letter