🕯️✨Taylor Leigh✨🕯️ (is querying)

a portrait of marie antoinette's face scribbled out with the title "Our Bodies Are Made of Sugar" and the subtitle "Let them be cake" on top

pitch + images of babel and the familiar

several snippets of the book here

an agent's guide to OUR BODIES ARE MADE OF SUGAR, my dystopian fantasy for fans of BABEL and THE HUNGER GAMES! 🍰

i #amquerying, so if you'd like to see this project, let me know (if i am not already in your inbox ;) ) #writingcommmunity

medical illustrations of a skull and a spine in the top left corner; a bronze statue of Lady Justice in the top right corner; a picture of a red brick house and a tree mid-autumn with red and orange leaves hanging on its branches in the bottom left corner; and a close-up of michaelangelo’s david in the bottom right corner.

WE HARVEST THE CARNAGE
a fantasy horror about a college freshman who joins a club of pre-meds to harvest the organs of the elite with body magic
🫀dark academia x body horror x STEM
🫀south asian rep x bi4bi
🫀vengeance, moral ambiguity, & guts galore
#questpit #W #A #F #H

Top Left - Angel in mist with wings spreading over praying worshippers Top Middle - a skyline of a city in ruin Top Right - A woman with black hair whose neck is held by a shadowy mist Middle Left - a white drone against greenery, looking like a butterfly Middle - a woman with a painted face a black gothic veil and crown, holding a bouquet of yellow flowers Middle right - an abandoned ferris wheel Bottom left - woman pressing a knife to someone's chin Bottom middle - a broken sarcophagus Bottom right - bloodied fists

TAMSYN MUIR x HUNGER GAMES x BACHELORETTE

Pretending to be a man, Dorian enters a deadly tournament to kill the priestess whose magic is draining the planet & pursue her interests: swords & women. But in the labyrinth, the cameras aren't the only thing she must evade.

#A #SF #F #LGBT #W #QuestPit

😭 tysm I appreciate you so much

Book Title: Alice & The Afterlife. 75,000 words, paranormal mystery, new adult. A background of a graveyard with a cute image of a cartoon ghost.

Background of the seaside. Pitch reads: Alice can see ghosts. She’d really rather not. After a public breakdown (and two-year stint in a “wellness” facility) Alice Windsor moves to the coast for some peace and quiet. Spoiler alert: she doesn’t get it. Enter Rani – a stubborn cleaner who offers Alice a job cleaning houses, exercising ghosts and solving her twin brother’s murder. But when rumours of a serial killer start swirling, and a vicious ghost from the past resurfaces, Alice must embrace her abilities or risk becoming a ghost herself...

Comp titles. Images include covers of popular media including: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, The Cemetery Boys, The Sixth Sense, Ghostbusters, Sunshine Cleaning and Maid

Themes page. Themes include: serial killer myster, haunted house hijinks, queer & trans rep, autistic heroine, found family, "i see dead people" (but make it funny), and "my dead roommate doesn't pay rent." There is also a quote from the first line of the book that reads: "There is a dead man sitting at my kitchen table."

Introducing ✨ALICE & THE AFTERLIFE✨
#QuestPit #AgentsGuide #Q

Reluctant medium Alice accidentally lands a job cleaning haunted houses & chasing down a serial killer...

🌊 ghosts by the coast
🏡 dead roommate
👻 possessions & poltergeists
🐈 psychic cat lady
🧠 autistic FMC
🏳️‍🌈 queer & trans rep

Oooh what a mystery!

Over an olive-green background, there are three images. In the upper left corner is an image of a blue football helmet sitting on a football field at night. In the lower right is an image of coniferous trees cloaked in fog. In the center is a snippet from my book which reads: "The very moment her mom drives away, I blurt, “She’s gone. You can come out.” Willow worms her way out from under the counter, looks me in the eye, and then starts running out without saying anything. “Wait!” I exclaim. She pauses, watching me warily, as I fumble for something to say. Something smart, firm, and reasonable that can get me answers about what's thing is happening right now. About whether she’s safe. Or whether she’s dangerous. Instead, I ask, “Maple bar?” She grabs one from the display case and bolts out the door, and the donut shop is quiet again. Like nothing ever happened, except for some dirt on the tile and a trash can out of place."

SUPERNATURAL x FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

After a starved+beaten girl runs through the donut shop where he's working alone, Grayson has to convince his teammates she's in danger & hiding in the woods

The only problem? She's a famous influencer & her accounts are posting as usual

#QuestPit #YA #W #MY #PR

Black and white background of desert sand dunes with white script "The City of Dragon Glass by Taylor Leigh Agent Guide"

Background of black and white desert sand dunes The Pitch Nefeli's gift of sensing magical relics has made her a world-class thief, but tapping into her power comes with a cost: her vision. With every use of her magic, her degenerative eye disorder worsens. A few more heists and Nefeli fears she'll be left with vague shadows in the dark—something she's avoiding at all costs. What use is a thief who can't see what she's trying to steal? But when her sister Sadiya's fragile health crumbles, Nefeli must choose: her sight or her sister. Against Sadiya's wishes, Nefeli agrees to a dangerous job posing as a noble at a political summit. If Nefeli can hunt down a long-hidden relic for a secretive influential family, she'll earn enough for her sister's treatment. The catch? The summit is crawling with dragons, scheming politicians, powerful magic users…and worst of all, Kadir, a former fling who knows Nefeli's not who she claims to be. Nefeli only has a fortnight to find the missing relic before access to the palace closes for another century. If she's going to succeed, she must rely on Kadir's help, despite the risk of him blowing her cover at any moment. And with her vision tunneling in, completing the job will force Nefeli to confront her biggest fear: without her sight, who is she? The City of Dragon Glass by Taylor Leigh

Background of black and white desert sand dunes The Snippet "I'm scared," she whispered. "I'm scared of the day I open my eyes and there's nothing left to see. It doesn't matter that there are aids or that so many people thrive without sight. I know that one day, my memories of what things look like will fade—and they will. Even now, I forget constellations that I used to be able to see. Like those constellations, all other images will fade into the darkness until I don't remember the details of a sunset, or the flash of Sadiya's smile. I will be trapped inside my head, smothered by the knowledge of just how much I've forgotten." The City of Dragon Glass by Taylor Leigh

Black and white background of desert sand dunes The Comps Two lines of photos, top includes the covers of A Dance of Lies, Godkiller, and One Dark Window Botton line includes The Stardust Thief and The Foxglove King The City of Dragon Glass by Taylor Leigh

Locke Lamora X ODW

To save her sick sister, visually-impaired thief Nefeli agrees to a treasure hunt for a lost relic. As her sight declines with each use of magic, she must outwit dragons, powerful magic, and—worst of all—politicians before her world goes dark for good.

#questpit #Q #A #F

This pitch deck is perfection!!

Cover slide for an agent's guide to the high fantasy novel, "Call of the Elder." It has the tagline, "She must answer his call or face a fate worse than death. The background is a glacial lake at night with star borders in white.

Pitch for Call of the Elder. The background is a glacial lake at night with star borders in white. The Pitch Reads: Fifteen years after violent raids stole her people’s magic, Eila lives a lie. Hiding her forbidden magic, she does everything she can to keep her disabled father warm and fed. The tattoo on her back marks her as dangerous–the ones on her wrists hide her as safe. When, one night, a dragon elder summons her, Eila has no choice but to travel across hostile lands to find him. On the way, she is joined by a king’s soldier from her hometown and a bounty hunter from the east, both of whom want to help her, though their motives are their own. The three of them must work together to get Eila to the vast mountains, find the elder, and deliver an omen to all of the world before the call of the elder breaks her.

For Fans Of: with five book covers: The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin, A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft, Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, The Jasmine Thrown by Tasha Suri, and An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. Underneath is a list of book features: Epic fantasy stories, dragons, female power, slow burn romance, compelling characters, jewish stories, intricate world building, inherent queerness, and religious critique. Between each feature is a little golden dragon. The background is a glacial lake at night with star borders in white.

First Line: "Based in the light of a cracked oil lamp, Eila struggled to breathe." The background is a glacial lake at night with star borders in white. There is a mood board in the center with varying pictures depicting elements of the story, such a dragons, romance, a pistol, prayer, fire, and a woman in a dress. In the center is the phrase: But the gods heard them, the gods pitied them, the gods intervened. On each side is a list of story attributes: Multi POV, Adult Second World Fantasy, First in a Series, Political in Nature on one side; 1800's Aesthetic, Non-Western Cultures, Has made every beta yell at me, Queer MC and LI on the other.

An Agent's Guide to CALL OF THE ELDER.

🐉 Jewish Fantasy
🐉 Agent interest
🐉🐉 DRAGONS 🐉🐉

When a dragon elder summons Eila, the last priestess of her people, she must travel across hostile lands to find him before insanity sets in and she fails her family.

#QuestPit #A #Q #F #agentsguide

Would literally die for Peanut.

Agent pitch guide title slide: LEARNING FOR YOU, Adult Contemporary Romance

Pitch blurb: Due to impending budget cuts, high school teacher Jules Clark's dream job is already in jeopardy before it's even started. With each department set to get rid of one new hire, Jules must compete with the annoying(ly handsome) former lawyer, Adrian Pierce, to keep her place. Where she finds herself in over her head, he seems to breeze through it all. He also pops up everywhere, from heated encounters in the copy room to a tension-filled work karaoke league, culminating in an assignment to collaborate on a joint teaching unit. As they spend more time together, Jules finds she and Adrian have a lot in common...including a simmering attraction that becomes impossible to ignore. With one job and two of them, Jules worries their growing chemistry can only lead to resentment. Though she lets Adrian in, old fears of not being good enough consume her as the deadline looms closer. If she lets selt-doubt take over, Jules could lose everything-not only her career, but also the love that's right in front of her.

Tropes and Vibes: Golden retriever love interest Workplace rivals to lovers Karaoke league shenanigans Complicated family dynamics Forced proximity/collaboration Strong female friendship With the academic setting and workplace rivalry seen in YOU BETWEEN THE LINES, ONE ON ONE, and THE MAKEUP TEST

Hazy yellow moodboard with images of teaching, karaoke, books, and rumpled bedsheets 😏

Now #amquerying: LEARNING FOR YOU, the teaching/karaoke romance of my heart 💜

YOU BETWEEN THE LINES x KATHERINE CENTER

When budget cuts threaten her district, new teacher Jules must compete with her annoying(ly handsome) rival to keep her dream job—and avoid falling for him.

#QuestPit #A #R

Your premises are always chef's freaking kiss. Fantastic.

I’m not planning on doing questpit this go around! Though I might be here to support people :)

a woman is laying on a bed with a man standing next to her and asking what year is it . ALT: a woman is laying on a bed with a man standing next to her and asking what year is it .

Oh. My god. I forgot it was January. I thought they were moving a month not a day.

Hey friend, the pitch event moved as a result of the general strike

Note: I’m not agented but my first novel ended up with 13 requests and my new one is at 4 fulls in 15 days. I can’t guarantee results, but I’d like to think I’m okay at this.

Want to participate in the Publishing for Minnesota auction but items ballooned out of your budget? If you donate to any of the listed charities and send me a screenshot of your receipt, I will gladly give your a query or synopsis a critique. No minimums as I know everyone’s financial status differs

Black graphic with text "ICE out of Minneapolis NOW"

ICE and CBP agents are out of control and put everyone in danger.

We're calling for ICE agents to withdraw from Minneapolis, and for Congress to rein in ICE’s abuses in our communities.

WDW has issued a public apology and removed the course from their future curriculum. I am not 100% convinced by it, but it's something.

That makes complete sense (the instructor remains the same), I just hate it 😭 thank you for all that you do, Victoria.

Hopefully the greater community will declare what we will and will not support in our creative spaces, both with our words and with our money. I'm not paying near $300 to be fed pro-AI slop.

This section of the conference has been quietly replaced on their schedule but without acknowledgement or comment from the organizers. I remain concerned that WDW will continue to include pro-gen-AI content within their workshops given their silence.

This section of the conference has been quietly replaced on their schedule but without acknowledgement or comment from the organizers. I remain concerned that WDW will continue to include pro-gen-AI content within their workshops given their silence.

It appears they have taken it down and replaced it without commenting on its prior inclusion. I'm unsure if pro-AI content will still be included in this or future events given their silence. Acquaintances of mine have attended in the past & experienced one of the organizers being very pro-AI.

Apparently Writing Day Workshops now has genAI-related programming for “writing with ChatGPT” and I have to say, I’m NOT impressed. GenAI has no place in creative spaces or education. I’d been thinking of attending a workshop but not if that’s on the lineup! 🙅‍♀️

@victoriastrauss.com I'm not sure if this is something up your alley or not but figured I would tag you regardless. A lot of agents participate in the pitching portion of these events.

Heads up #writers and #literaryagents, Writing Day Workshops is now actively promoting the use of AI in their programming.

I'm over on Threads more @ authortaylorleigh if you want to follow my daily shenanigans 🤣 (If you mention that you followed me from here I'll like...give you a cookie or something?)