Finleigh James

A Quick Guide to Empire of the Golden Summer - A NA Romantic Fantasy - 81,000 words

The pitch: If Jin Xia wants to secure her place as her father - The Emperor's - her, she has to do one thing: defeat her brother in a race to conquer the four surrounding nations. While the men on her father's council assume she'll lose, Jin Xia has spent her entire life learning how to survive in the cut-throat environment of the imperial court. She knows how to use her clever mind and silver tongue to get what she wants. And besides...no one said she had to conquer in the traditional way.

Tropes: Why Choose Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Morally Grey Heroine, and Bloodline Secrests Themes: Feminism and Female Empowerment, Chinese Mythology, Politics and War

Comps: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao and Castles in their Bones by Laura Sebastian

IRON WIDOW X CASTLES IN THEIR BONES

🐉 Firstborn daughter of a draconic bloodline
💋 Why choose romance with enemies to lovers flavor
⚔️ A game of conquest to earn the throne
👀 A morally grey heroine
🏮 Inspired by the Chinese Myth of the Four Cardinal Beasts

#WSPitQ #NA #F #R

Moodboard for Hearts of Bark and Scale. Red desert stone background with images of a black snake, a stone prison wall, a twisty tree branch, an hourglass in desert sand, dried and cracked ground with a single flower blooming from it, holding hands in front, a man with long black hair hiding under a desert cloak, a woman with long free auburn hair. Pictures are dusted with seeds and blood splatters.

Hearts of Bark and Scale (fall 2025)

After being abandoned by magic poachers, dryad Kvisti & snake shifter/healer Iason must work together to escape their prison.

🌳 fiercely protective FMC
🐍 traumatized MMC
🔒 forced proximity
⚡ trauma bonding
🏜️ deadly desert
🔥 only one magic cloak

#WSPit #A #F #R

A book cover with an image of some fantasy towers in sepia and text that reads: "King of the Dying Sun, Radiant Imperium Book One, C.H. Stevens". Some arrows with text attached to them point to the cover. The text reads: queernormative world, roadtrip from hell, court intrigue, three jalapeño emojis, delicious food, magic & ghosts & monsters, hurt/comfort, trauma ft. bad coping

Some text that reads: Azul Mamani is a nobody. It doesn’t matter that he’s a great-grandson of the Megarchon, the tyrant ruling the entire world—until today. For the first time in centuries, there’s no successor who can wield the Imperium, a mysterious magical artifact that gives the Megarchon their terrifying power. Civil war looms in the horizon. Azul is hastily summoned to the capital, but why? He has no power and no allies—except maybe a dangerous man known as Vanth Umbra. He is the King of the Dying Sun, born to protect the living from the creatures of the Underworld. And like everybody else, he’s in the Megarchon’s service, not to be trusted. Especially not when he appoints himself as Azul's protector. Sex is the one bargaining chip Azul has, so it's a good thing Vanth wants him—and a very risky bet. However, with a necromancer trying to murder Azul, one of the Megarchon’s elite guards shadowing his every movement, and insurgents raising hell on his path, Vanth might be his only chance to survive.

👑 Dragged into a succession crisis you can't even win?

💀 Endangered by your awful rich relatives?

😈 Plot your revenge and end their dynasty!

🔪 Be gay, sic semper tyrannis!

First book in the series out in April 14th (hopefully)

#WSPit #WSPitP #A #LGBT #R #F #H #In

A moodboard for The Last Heir of Bradbury Manor. It shows a spooky staircase, a decayed living room, a girl climbing out of a well, a book on fire, a lovely Victorian garden party, and a gothic dinner. There is the phrase "Breaking the curse means losing him forever. Embracing it may damn her soul"

The comps for The Last Heir of Bradbury Manor The House at Watch Hill with its dark inheritance and family secrets The Hacienda with its unresolved grief, psychological unraveling, an supernatural dread Crimson Peak with its decaying grandeur, gothic vibes, and betrayed love

The pitch for The Last Heir of Bradbury Manor: This 96,000-word story set in 1919 blends the psychological unraveling and creeping dread of THE HACIENDA with the sentient, menacing estate of STARLING HOUSE. Perfect for readers who love haunted legacies, doomed romance, and houses that refuse to let go. A dying estate. A bankrupt legacy. A suitor offering salvation or a love that could destroy her. A mother’s death shrouded in mystery. A father she can’t trust. A blood curse feeding the manor’s hunger. Lottie Bradbury must face it all. Summoned home after a decade at boarding school, Lottie is given an ultimatum: marry the man her father has chosen or face ruin. But when the gardener is found dead on the manor steps, she is drawn into a web of long-buried secrets. His son, Arthur, insists the estate itself is to blame—and that her mother’s sudden death was no accident. Guided by her mother’s chilling diary, Lottie and Arthur uncover an ancient curse that doomed generations of Bradbury patriarchs to die after the birth of their heir. All except her father. The deeper they dig, the more the curse retaliates, twisting reality, conjuring the dead, and unraveling Lottie’s sanity. But Arthur has secrets of his own. The closer Lottie gets to him, the stronger the curse’s grip tightens. Because Arthur isn’t just tied to Bradbury Manor. He’s bound to it. Breaking the curse means losing him forever. Embracing it may damn her soul.

🖤 Manor With a Mind
📖 Cryptic Diary
💀 Generational Blood Curse
🕯 Gaslight, Gatekeep, Ghosts
🏚 Slow-burn
🖋 Arranged? Lovers? Ghostly Trauma Bonding?
🔥 If the House Doesn’t Kill You, Love Might
🕰 1919 but Make It Haunted
⚰ Who Needs a Dowry When You Have a Death Curse?

#WSPit #WSPitQ #A #H #P #Hi #M

Photo collage with blue, purple, and white as the primary colors. Top left image: bluish-purple frost on the window Top right image: blue-white snow covering train tracks Middle left image: white crown with diamonds Middle right image: pink sky through puffy clouds Bottom left image: red train contrasting against snowy forest In the bottom right are the words "Cure for the Queen"

WITCHERxSHADOW THRONE
Only Killian can save the kingdom, but someone wants him dead.
Rinnie wants to make it home to lay matters to rest, but someone wants her to stay missing forever.
They must race against the clock as pirates, assassins, and religious fanatics try to end them.
#WSPit #WSPitW #A

Mood board for 'The Last Sky', a sci-fi novel. Grid of nine images. Top row: 1) close-up on a man's hand holding a little girl's hand; 2) shock troopers moving through smoke with rifles drawn; 3) a girl's face in profile with glowing scientific and mathematical symbols superimposed over her head. Middle row: 4) An epic shot of a spaceship flying past a solar eclipse through clouds; 5) The book's title 'The Last Sky'; 6) A planet burning and crumbling apart. Bottom row: 7) A man's silhouette hunched over, holding a bottle of alcohol; 8) A silhouette image of a man playfully holding a little boy on his shoulders at sunset; 9) a close up of a man's face in profile, tears rolling over his cheeks as he appears to stare at the image of the boy in the sunset.

The Last Of Us x 1984 x Firefly

If Isaac had known saving that mute girl at auction would land him on a forced road trip with the family and crew he abandoned a decade ago, while half the galaxy seems to be shooting at him... ah, hell, he'd still have done it.

#WSPit #A #SF #Q #WSPitQ

A title card with the text "An Agent's Guide to THE WINDWALKER - Katie Collan - young adult urban fantasy 105,000 words" over a person with a red cloak standing in the middle of a grassy field.

Comparative titles with arrows pointing to relevant descriptions. Titles include: LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn, A DEADLY EDUCATION by Naomi Novik, Nickelodeon's animated series AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER. Captions: Legendborn: "mysterious death of a parent", "strong themes of prejudice" ATLA: "elemental hard magic system" ATLA, A Deadly Education: "diverse ensemble (would rather die than get along)" All three: "magic rooted in culture"

Pitch: "When fighters start disappearing from an underground tournament, a sixteen-year-old participant with wind powers must uncover the tournament's secrets before she loses a match and shares their fate."

A mood board featuring eight panels with a corresponding color palette in the center, as well as the caption, "Believe in the wind and you'll prevail." From left to right, top to bottom: fire burning down a building; ocean water; the sky above the clouds; a cracked, rocky ground; a red-haired girl in a red cloak with glowing white eyes, holding a dagger hilt with a transparent blade made of air; a skyline view of nighttime Manhattan; a NYC subway track; a boxing ring that depicts two people practicing punches beyond the ropes.

LEGENDBORN x AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

Either she fulfills her family's legacy, or she dies with it.

🤸‍♀️ Badass female protagonist
💧🪨🔥🌪️ Elemental magic system
🌆 Urban fantasy in NYC
🫂 Found Family
🗡️ Magic competition
🌈 Diverse ensemble cast

#YA #F #Jewish #Own #WSPit #WSPitQ

A WIP of the world map. But the countries will remain how they are. This is a war torn world, where humanity was pushed to the brink of extinction.

THE WITCHER X FRIEREN

Issylfr comes to realize the tragedy of a passing at her comrade’s funeral. The long life of an elf can be a cruel one, where friends grow old. Now she journeys on a mission to foster connection and reminisce on the lives of her now lost friends.

#WSPitW #WSPit #NA #F #H #R

Love the clouds on your map!

A closeup of a watercolor daisy with a pretty watercolor honeybee perched on its cheerful yellow center.

Daisy Mayfield’s star is on the rise when she gets a call that upends it all. Back in Virginia her grandfather is missing, her estranged mother has resurfaced, her beloved grandmother barely holds it together, and her first love is looking good again Family, ♥️ and the road not taken. #WSPitW #WF #A

Merry Christmas to all celebrating today. 🎄

A hand drawn ornament shows the Grinch peeking out of a window shade saying “Ew, people.”

A light blue ornament is covered in snowflakes and cursive writing that reads Happy Holidays.

An ornament shows a hand drawn gingerbread house with white scrolling details.

A round ornament has been colored to look like a soccer ball wrapped in colored fairy lights.

I love when I give my students a chance to show their creativity and they exceed my expectations. Our pink winter tree in the classroom is full of their visions for the winter holidays.

I found it very entertaining. A strong Stephanie Plum vibe.

Friendly reminder that if art is how we decorate space, then music is how we decorate time.
#booksky #music

A sand dune is covered in seagrass. The Atlantic shore is in the left of the image. An elegant brick mansion on the right.

An old fashioned deadrise style crab boat sits on a white crushed seashell beach.

A red seafood shanty sits on a beach.

An old time downtown street, complete with shop windows and an antique movie theater marquee.

I saw another novelist do this, so…my current novel’s aesthetic in four images:

Gorgeous!

It looks so cozy.

Thank you for your amazing starter packs. 😊

This is amazing! Congratulations!!🎉

Listening to a Christmas carol today…”Let your heart be light.”

Stopped me in my tracks.

“Let” not “May”. Connotation is everything.

Someone in a writers group: “How do you maintain your confidence as a writer?”

Basically everyone there: “lol you sweet summer child”

#writingcommunity

In a world where we are systematically taught to hate and envy, we should sit in gratitude for the people who have the courage to love: to love themselves, to love us, to love our joy, to love the human right to love. If you are one of those loving people, then I’m sitting in gratitude for you.

That sounds delicious! I love soup season.

We are now in the holding pattern between dinner and pie. #Thanksgiving

Family holiday traditions.

I often watch those and dream of that kind of freedom. It must be a lovely chaos.

It’s so beautiful!