Ilana Kelley

A Guide to Night Bird An adult romantic fantasy novel

The Pitch Ava can become invisible and walk through walls but can’t escape her warded cage. Destined to follow in her dead mother’s footsteps as a courtesan and spy for House Heartwood, she’s trained to get close to—and betray—those in the highest levels of society. But alone at night in her room, she listens to the steam engine’s whistle, plays her cello to the night birds, and dreams of escaping her prison. Until one stormy evening, a boy, Zev, breaks through her window and gives her a taste of life beyond the bars. Their chance meeting sparks a two-year secret friendship, until her eighteenth birthday, when her seduction training is set to begin. Instead, she wakes up to a grisly scene—a bloody trail, dead guardians, and broken wards. Given what she knows of Zev’s powerful abilities, she assumes her freedom came at his hand. She waits for his return, which never comes. Eight years later, Ava has reinvented herself as Night Bird, a vigilante for wronged women. She’s assisted by a misfit crew in her vengeful quest while untangling the mysteries around her mother’s death. But tipping the scales of justice draws the notice of House Heartwood and New Oster’s power elite, including one of the most feared men in the city, who turns out to be the boy who set her free. Reigniting long-buried feelings, she learns that there’s more to their past and his role in her escape than she ever realized. When she takes on her biggest target—the last man to see her mother alive and an agent of House Heartwood—Zev may be the only person keeping her from following in her mother’s footsteps.

For Fans of: - dual timeline - slow burn romance - found family - female rage & poison - knife to the throat - escape from oppressors - past catching up - isolated FMC - industrialized urban setting Books: - Serpent & Dove - Six of Crows - Book of Azrael - Lost Apothecary - Belladonna - Rhapsodice

Chapter One Only the night birds provided company in my caged existence. They were my link to the outside world, a fragile tether to life beyond my warded room. The name I’d given myself—Ava—was an homage to the beautiful creatures that kept me sane. They’d swoop and dive, triumphant in their freedom—something I’d never known and never would. When streetlamps glowed in the satiny darkness, and the night birds’ trills pierced the quiet, I pulled out my cello. I reveled in evenings like that, with thunderheads rolling, lightning rattling the bars, and mounting clouds blanketing the sky. It had been a hard day. My temple throbbed from the unforgiving slap when I couldn’t master a new dagger technique. After repeated failure, I’d become the practice dummy. I ignored the guilty blade decorated with my blood lying on the dresser. At least the jagged cut and bandage weren’t on my bow arm. I hated myself when I couldn’t get my lessons right. And even more when I did. The chaotic rage of the storm swallowed my music and roiling emotions. Pounding rain and the steam engine’s whistle hid the shouts and booted feet on the street below. Submerged in my own tempest, I missed any warning.

To celebrate 8🎉 MS requests, an updated #AgentGuide for NIGHT BIRD, an adult romantic fantasy ft:

🕰️ dual timeline
✨ invisibility & intangibility
🔪 FMC vigilante for women
☠️ poison & female rage
💔lost & found love
🫂 found family

❤️ or DM
#AgentsGuide #WritingCommunity #litagents #amquerying

THE BARGAINER x SERPENT & DOVE
THE LOST APOTHECARY x THE BOOK OF AZRAEL

For Fans of:
✨Dual timeline
✨Slow burn
✨Found family
✨Female rage & poison
✨Knife to the throat
✨Escape from oppressors
✨Past catching up
✨Industrialized world
✨Serval cat

#QuestPit #F #RF #A #Q

An Agent’s Guide for Night Bird An adult romantic fantasy novel

The Pitch Ava is destined for a life of seduction, espionage, and assassination. Born with the ability to become invisible, she is the secret weapon of one of the five great houses. But when a mysterious boy, Zev, crashes through her warded cage, she is freed. With her freedom, Ava transforms into Night Bird, a vigilante for wronged women. But tipping the scales of justice draws the notice of New Oster’s power elite, including one of the most feared men in the city, who turns out to be the boy who set her free. And when the house she left behind catches up, he may be the only one able to help her from following in her dead mother’s footsteps.

For Fans of: DUAL TIMELINE SLOW BURN ROMANCE FOUND FAMILY FEMALE RAGE & POISON KNIFE TO THE THROAT ESCAPE FROM OPPRESSORS PAST CATCHING UP INDUSTRIALIZED URBAN SETTING Images: Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner The Book of Azrael by Amber V. Nicole

A Snippet: The man in the ring seemed inhuman. Not like the Zev I’d known. “I’ve seen a serratys fight. Rumbled with a few myself,” Stone said, eyes flicking wildly to take in every detail. “They didn’t move like that. This fight was over before it began. He’s just providing good entertainment by not ending it right away, that’s all.” Despite his blood-slicked skin, Digger remained on his feet, weaving desperately to regain footing. His unfocused eyes were dazed. Zev finally stood still, letting the other man throw a punch, then sidestepped with a hard elbow to the head. That was the end of Digger, who crashed onto the ground like a collapsed building. Earsplitting cheers and stomping beat at my ears, and I wanted to clap my hands over them. Then the screams transformed from exuberance to fear as Zev sprouted horns on stage, body growing, muscles bulging—his serratys form taking over. His roar deafened the crowd, but my hands dropped as his chest tattoos came into focus. With his constant motion, I hadn’t gotten a good look during the fight. But now he was still, and I saw it. The tattoo entwined by so many others, almost hidden. It was a bird, wings raised as if viewed from the side and slightly underneath. A night bird. The exact ones I used to play my cello for on those lonely nights. Where Zev’s nickname had started. And that bird was now inked across his chest, directly over his heart.

THE BARGAINER x SERPENT & DOVE

NIGHT BIRD, an adult romantic fantasy ft:
🕰️ dual timeline
✨ invisibility & intangibility
🔪 FMC vigilante for wronged women
☠️ poison & female rage
🌃 newly industrialized world
🫂 found family

#QuestPit #A #F #RF #Q #AgentsGuide #AgentGuide

For the afternoon crowd, here’s #QuestPit pitch #2 for Night Bird 🐦‍⬛, an adult romantic fantasy ( #F #RF #A #Q):

For the afternoon crowd, here’s #QuestPit pitch #1 for Night Bird 🐦‍⬛, an adult romantic fantasy ( #F #RF #A #Q):

Let me know, if you remember!

Thank you!

Thank you!

When ink swallows the sun

Illegitimate child Ning Liyue must navigate the palace to chase clues about her long lost mothers foreign origins. When her quest collides with a failing chosen one trying to revive his tribe’s tattoo magic, they must uncover ugly truths and survive a budding rebellion to achieve their goals—and choose their loyalties in a crumbling empire

An excerpt

Themes and elements

An #agentsguide to my adult imperial-Asia epic fantasy with tattoo magic, WHEN INK SWALLOWS THE SUN, featuring:
🪭An eldritch craving familial love
🏹A failing chosen one
🪭A saboteur of her own rebellion
🏹An heir w/ perfect life until the facade rips
#questpit #agentguide #F #W

Practical Magic x Go Hex yourself #questpit HEARTS & HEXES Witchy Cozy RomCom #Q #F #PR

❤️ Mentor/Mentee
🧹 Witches are real
🥰 Overcoming grief/building trust
🌟heart wrenching secrets
🧙‍♀️ Granny knows
😍 slow burn
🤣 rom-com
🌶️ low heat
🏠 Sentient house
❤️ HE

a collage with a ballerina, a cathedral, a marble staircase, a champagne flute, a single red rose, a chandelier, a pile of skulls, a pedestrian bridge, and a group of ballerinas

Pitch: Adult Romantasy, 110 000 words As a chorus dancer in the Lutesse City Opera, classically trained soprano Seraphina Dallier does not sing in front of people. That is, until one fateful night, she slips up, and her heretically magical singing voice attracts the attention of a mysterious stranger…and the theocratic authorities. Accused of witchcraft and exiled from everything she has ever known, Seraphina must put her faith in that same stranger, seeking refuge with him in a seductive city of magic hidden beneath the city. But can she trust her heart? Or, will phantoms from her past come back to haunt her, threatening everything she has come to love?

For fans of... phantom of the opera retelling, 1920s era, forbidden magic, shadow daddy mmc, he falls first...hard, female rage, lgbtq+ characters, slow burn to spicy spice (with three chili peppers), only one bed, found family

Comp Titles: The Gilded Wolves - magical parisian setting, diverse cast of characters Serpent and Dove - magic vs. church, sloooooooow burn, The Vine Witch - secrets and betrayals, "a handsome stranger"

OF SONGS AND PHANTOMS is a darkly lush retelling of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, where the ingenue discovers her voice has forbidden magic, and the only way to save herself from being executed for witchcraft is to place her trust in a mysterious phantom. #Questpit #Q #A #RF

The film trailer for EAST END BOYS & WEST END GIRLS....

Enjoy.

#Questpit #A #AG #C #LGBT

A collage that says Ghost Story in the middle on crumpled black paper. It looks like someone cut the letters out of a magazine. Paper with miscellaneous words on it frame the image. To the left and right are tarot cards. On the left from top to bottom: Death Card, there is a skeleton on a white horse with ghostly hands reaching up; The Fool with an individual in orange and red strips walking with a bag, The Hanged Man with a man hanging by the foot from a tree. On the right: The Hermit but reversed has an old man with a big white beard and a blue outfit, he's holding a staff and a lantern with a star; Justice but reversed with a person holding a sword and touching their forehead to the flat of the blade; The Magician has a person with a beam of pink coming from their fingers causing cups, pentackles, wands, and swords to float

A shot of a busy scrapbook going from left to right. On the left there is a rheel of images starting at the top is someone's leg, they're wearing canvas shoes and hold a baseball bat; a woman with long hair with light shining through their somewhat blonde hair; A girl lies on a couch, her face is unseen; a girl waits alone at night at a bus stop with a red light on her; a girl climbs into an empty pool. Next to the images is a piece of paper taped to a crumpled black paper background. It says "Where'd you go Lana Dragan?" this is in red and has a circle drawn around it with two red lines, one pointing at the images of the girl and then another arrow pointed at an image of a man in a yellow raincoat on. This image has tape and it says name? in red. Above that is a piece of paper taped and says "THE Man in Yellow? From Lana Tapes??" Next to the two papers is a polaroid image of a telephone post with a missing sign. There is no image of someone. It says missing and pieces of paper ready to take. It's next to another taped paper that says "What Kind of monster was Lana hunting last?" in red with a line drawn towards taped paper that says: "Quick Facts: Looking for a Beta Reader for only Act 1/Part 1 Aprox. Word Count: 35,640 Genre: Fantasy, Horror Age: Young Adult" The other red arrow points to a page that says: "Pitch: Well, Denny sure messed up this time. He had one goal. One goal! And failed. Somehow, rather than finding his missing sister, he released a serial killer ghost with a penchant for drowning people. And if that wasn’t already a lot, the one person in town who can see ghosts would rather play the cello than save strangers. " A shot of a busy scrapbook going from left to right. On the left there is a rheel of images starting at the top is someone's leg, they're wearing canvas shoes and hold a baseball bat; a woman with long hair with light shining through their somewhat blonde hair; A girl lies on a couch, her face is unseen; a girl waits alone at night…

A scrap book with magazine cut out work that says "Comps" at the top then has the following series of image from top left to right. The book cover of Anna Dress in Blood by Kendare Blake in a polaroid. It's taped to old yellowing paper. The cover has a woman on it with black hair, she wears red; Dead Flip by Farah Farizan book cover with an arcade, the top letters are in red over a larger girl then several other individuals; This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab is ripped up with a violin and cursive letters over it; The Underwood Tapes by Amanda Dewitt book cover with a woman wrapped with casette tape and another person facing away without a face; The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnon book cover with the writing in blue there is then a faded blue scene that is all shadow. A series of characters lines the bottom: There is the Mystery Gang from Mystery Inc; Both of the Dead Boy Detectives; The Losers Club from It 2017 movie; Danny Phantom with his friends and sister; the three characters from Lockwood & Co; and a cello leaning against the border. Behind this is random sheet music.

A collage with magazine cut out letters that says Memes? with doodles around it over a hamster, stars, and a dog. Then the following memes from left to right. Ralph from The Simpsons sitting on a bus chuckling and saying "I'm in Danger" and above it says "Lesson Two: Ghosts, continued. If they can hurt us, we should be able to hurt them, but we can't; The dark time line meme from Community with one character above holding pizzas and it says "Sebastian: *seeing the future* then below is "Sebastian" watching the chaotic scene of "Denny starting fires" starting a fire that is labeled "Problems made worse by Denny" then in the kitchen someone "Guitar pining for Denny" watches the fire while "Dennny almost dying (again) is on the floor with gunshot wound; The Anakin and Padme meme with Anakin saying "So I burned the warehouse down." and Padme laughs saying "What? You solve all your problems with arson?" and Anakin stares and Padme says "Denny, do you solve all your problems with arson?"; the meme of the man looking back at woman who passes him as he holds hand of woman. The man is labeled "Guitar" while the jealous woman is labeled "Denny who needs Guitar's Ghost seeing skills to save lives" and the passing woman says "Guitar's cello"

DANNY PHANTOM x ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD

Well, Denny sure messed up this time. He accidentally released a serial killer ghost who drowns people.

To make things messier, he needs help from a medium who would rather let people die than help out strangers.

#QuestPit #W #YA #DF #F

Culinary Confessions moodboard Top row: black girl w/ curly hair in floral top and yellow jacket standing behind a flower field; silhouette of couple watching a starry sky; black guy wearing blue t-shirt and yellow beanie Middle row: Flaky apple dessert sprinkled with powdered sugar; "just you and me... and that up against the wall, in the backseat, under the stars, lost in the moment while the rest of the world fades away, kind of kissing" quote; homemade blueberry crumble Bottom row: anonymous person baking with flour and eggs; black couple baking together; silhouette of couple sharing a kiss

Cover of Culinary Confessions on iPad surrounded by different colored macarons and cup of tea

When Maddie agrees to let Justin help her with a customer's order, she has no idea of the whirlwind of emotions it will bring as she finds herself torn between following her dreams or her heart. 🧁 💘 Now available on Amazon!

amzn.to/3f6BzkE

#questpit #R #NA #A #P

💙 📚 👀

moody collage of 5 pictures: vertical HOTEL sign on the side of a building at night, an elevator floor dial with a golden arrow pointing between 6&7, a long liminal hallway with reddish lighting, a blurry picture of a silhouette in a lit doorway, moody flowers against a black background

1408 x MY 🫀 IS A CHAINSAW

🏨 A sentient hotel
👻 Follow the horror movie rules
💗 Platonic soulmates + Squid Game (s1) friendship arc 🔪
🪞 Mind games
👀 Soul collection
🩸 “I’ve never met a stain I couldn’t get out.”
💜 Ace rep
🖤 Chronic pain rep

#Questpit #W #A #H

Ocean moodboard

There’s something in the water 🌊

When an island whispers different versions of unwritten local legends & turning into a creature of the deep as a result of heartbreak makes you want to drown your ex- no one is safe

Especially not the ex boyfriends

#QuestPit #Q #A #R #S #SFF

Love this!!!

Coming this Fall

Uncover wicked magic, vengeful heroines, & darkness beneath the surface of enchanted worlds in an #anthology of crooked #fairytales

Be warned, this is✨Not Your Ever After✨

Read about each story & get the newsletter here notyoureverafter.carrd.co

💙📚 #QuestPit #W #A #F #SF #SFF 🧵

Absolutely thrilled to be represented by Travis Pennington and The Knight Agency!

Here's an editor's guide to my psychological suspense novel, THE GIRL WITH BLOOD ON HER DRESS.

#agented
#editorsguide
#writingcommunity

Thank you!

That would be so fun!

For the late morning crowd, here’s #QuestPit pitch #2 for Night Bird 🐦‍⬛, an adult romantic fantasy ( #F #RF #A ):

For the late morning crowd, here’s #QuestPit pitch #1 for Night Bird 🐦‍⬛, and adult romantic fantasy ( #F #RF #A ):

Thank you!

YOU’VE GOT MAIL x THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT

Annie Daly doesn’t think anyone cares about her poetry on Instagram. Until she gains a follower who reads every word. Is he the same man threatening her beloved library? 📚

#questpit #QuestPit #W #R #WIP #WritingCommunity #writing

Three-panel moodboard consisting of three pieces by Alphonse Mucha. Left: Emerald. A serpent snarls at the viewer from amidst green lilies. Center: The Moon. A woman wearing nothing but a navy blanket covered in stars stands against a backdrop consisting of the night sky and a crescent moon. She covers her smile with one hand. This image is noticeably lower in quality than its neighboring panels. Right: Salon des Cent. A woman conceals her mouth with a hand, her index finger curled down. She's glaring intensely at the viewer. A golden filigree lines the bottom and frames the sides, partially covering the left and right panels.

Barely a week into his first adventure with his mage best friend(/crush), luckless Mick finds himself stuck in the body of a dragon with a god in his head. Now he and mage Eleanor must navigate what it means to be the dragons' chosen—before his existence triggers a divine war.
#QuestPit #W #NA #RF

Agent's guide title page: An agent's guide to Before the Shadows Fall. A 98K sapphic adult fantasy with gothic elements. Background: dark green with trees, a pale woman with black hair and a strapless dress holding a rose

Pitch: All unwilling princess Evelyn wants is an escape. Caged in a palace, she grieves the loss of her twin brother, struggles to control the shadow sorcery inside of her, and lately she’s been having nightmares—the same nightmares her brother had before he died. She sees a monster that demands she use her magic in its service. If Evelyn ever wants any peace, she must get the monster out of her head. Witch and healer Lydia sets out to investigate a dark presence that’s settled in the forest near her village. She discovers a connection between the monster that lurks in her forest and threatens her village and Princess Evelyn’s the shadow sorcery. To keep her people safe, Lydia needs Evelyn’s help.

Trope map. Same picture as previously. For fans of: Malice, One Dark Window, The Crimson Crown, Harrow the 9th. Mentioned tropes: childhood friends to lovers, recovery after trauma, twin who may or may not be dead, a fucked up deer (and other monsters), shadow magic, nature based healing magic, goth gf x cottagecore gf

Excerpt: The falling sun cast long shadows. They danced to Evelyn and covered her. Evelyn let out a sob, or perhaps something closer to a scream. The raw emotion punched Lydia in the gut, but Evelyn needed support. Lydia couldn’t leave her to deal with this alone. “Evelyn, I am so sorry. I know how hard this must be for you, and it’s okay to feel whatever you must be feeling.” Evelyn growled, the shadows around her grew. “Lydia, I need you to step away.” “I won’t leave you—” “Stay away!” Evelyn screamed and as she did a wave of shadows burst out. It stopped just before crashing into Lydia, and floated back where it belonged. Evelyn glanced up, tears glistering in her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

ONE DARK WINDOW x MALICE

Shadow sorceress Evelyn has been having nightmares of a monster seeking to use her powers. Together with witch Lydia she must find out what the monster wants from her, before she loses herself to it.

#questpit #A #F #Q #LGBT

The Reluctant Mentor: Cozy Comedic Fantasy by Alexis Veenendaal

This Wizard’s had enough of “Chosen Ones”—but if he wants to retire, he’s going to have to deal with one more. Unfortunately, Athragast’s chosen hero refuses the job, so he has to look toward alternative means. He finds a pickpocketing busboy named Jon who ought to do the trick. Armed with his magical staff, a cigar-eating rodent companion, and the annoyingly optimistic Jon, Athragast must force his last quest back on the “hero’s journey” track before the academy finds out about his unconventional methods.

ON SUB! #questpit
The Reluctant Mentor: A Cozy, Comedic Adult Fantasy about a wizard who mentors "chosen ones" and is ready to retire off the magical grid--after one last trope-twisting quest with a gaggle of misfits.

LEGENDS & LATTES x DREADFUL x ORCONOMICS
#OS #AG #A #F #CZ

Community Troy pizza meme. Tory holding pizza reads "Savique trying to find his family" Bottom fires read "blood feud", "endless drought", "ancient puzzles", and "cultists"

Invincible that's the neat part you don't meme. Mark Grayson as Vaten asks When do I get to go home again. Nolan Grayson as Zejela says, that's the neat part, you don't.

ARCANE X THE BLADE ITSELF

Three people ripped apart by fate. Each step they take drives them further apart and plunges the world into chaos. Can they find each other before they perish or will evil forces use them to break the world forever? 🗡️🩸🌲
SHADOW OF THE ELDERS

#QuestPit #P #A #F #DF

Moodboard for a cozy, witchy story including a warmly lit library, a greenhouse bursting with plants, coffee and herbs, a fresh baked cinnamon roll, ivy climbing a brick wall, green marijuana leaves, a sparkling clear crystal, and a woman's hand performing a spell above a worn spellbook

Four witches open a cozy bakery, but the detective next door would do anything to expose them for who they really are.

If he succeeds they could be burned at the stake or worse...he could ruin their love lives!

#QuestPit #Q #A #F #magicrealism #cozy #witch #romance #RF