Melissa Bergum

This is good to know (and horrible 😭). Why would someone do this???

😩 today was a hard day in queryland, trying to decide if it's a sign this project should be tucked away....

THE HUNGER GAMES X THE FIFTH WAVE

After a missile explodes near San Francisco, ending a half century of global peace, 16-year-old Zuriah Laguerre and her 7-year-old twin siblings begin a dangerous journey to safety and discover an enemy not of this world. #Questpit #Q #YA #SF #S

The main characters of Aaron’s Queer YA Fantasy that’s currently Vague 👀 and based on the Central African folklore of the Underworld of Kalunga

HUNGER GAMES x COBAB x POWERLESS

Inspired by Central Africa's Underworld of Kalunga

A boy with dangerous magic must compete in a deadly competition to save his mom’s soul from the Underworld, but his growing love for the Prince threatens to destroy the kingdom

#Questpit #Vague

☀️Sol's Plan for the Week:
🐺 Visit best friend at the harbor
🧚🏽 Practice flying
📖 Have a chilling history lesson
👑 Welcome father home before bed
🌑 Unwanted guest kidnap my parents
🧑‍🤝‍🧑Find out I have a missing twin brother
🏰 Save the queendom
#QuestPit #MG #F #HF #LGBT #Q

🥰 back at you beautiful! You crushed it with your moodboard and your story is so darned fab!

😭 thank you dearie!

Thanks muchly Kristen!

So huggable!

Thanks Kristen :D

Thank you, Sher!!!!!

Moodboard of 7 images including an open pocket watch held in a hand, two faceless girls in an embrace and wearing old-fashioned dresses, an Indonesian mythological figure with fangs and large eyes, an Indonesian dagger, hands clasping potion bottles, a body of water flowing, a dagger being held by a faceless figure in an old-fashioned dress

Sailor Moon x The Untamed but sapphic x Indonesian mythology

A messy time-bending magical girl makes a pact with a queen of monsters to save her cursed family, but she must literally steal the heart of her true love to do so

🫀🗡️✨

#questpit #YA #F #Q

An agent's guide to THESE WISHLESS SOULS, YA fantasy

Moodboard + Tropes: ancestral guilt, north african monsters, flesh-eating frost, sentient lake, deadly vows, meddling gods, "her life before yours", "rebel & losing herself; obey & losing everyone else"

Pitch: When a flesh-eating frost starts killing her family one by one, 17yo Chemsa must bring her "chosen one" sister back to life to stop it—before the frost claims her next.

First lines: Chapter One: It's my mother who found it first. I deserve a lashing for referring to my aunt as *it*, but this is considering what little the curse has left of Tata Fatima.

introducing the agent’s guide to:

⤜ THESE WISHLESS SOULS ⤛

🌙 North African myths
🌊 a sentient lake
💀 soul-starved ghouls
❄️ a flesh-eating frost
⚔️ a little heresy

#YA #F #Q #questpit
#agentsguide #amquerying

Picture of birds flying under a gold moon, "three moons," a blue moon over the sea, a man with a snake tattoo up his arm, a hand with four bird tattoos, "two triads," a foggy cliff, "one island," an abandoned ship, "all fate," a faceless statue, a temple

One island. Two triads. Three moons.
The war is ending, but the storms are shifting more than tides. A mind-reading spy will do anything to prove her worth—even kill the one man whose gaze doesn’t reveal his thoughts. But the closer she gets to killing him, the harder it gets. #Q #FR #A #Questpit

A collage of four images, starting from top left and moving clockwise: a collection of scrolls and leather bound journals, a painting of a person tenderly kissing the night sky by Eva Gamayun, colorful moss and fungi on a tree branch, and an illustration of a dark shining castle.

UPROOTED x STAR DAUGHTER

The night sky trapped as a mortal is on a mission to rescue their brother and sisters, the forgotten sun, moon, and stars. Their only hope? A curmudgeonly grad student who just wants to finish her thesis.

🌳 Ancient Botany
💗 Slow Burn HEA
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+

#QuestPit #Q #A #F

A red and black moodboard of images including a woman looking menacingly over a glass, a double-exposure image of masked faces, a group of friends sitting and singing on the floor, a person with painted nails holding their head in their hands, a person with short hair looking down, a woman applying lipstick in a mirror, two people kissing, a menacing backlit woman

DEADNAME

With their attempts at coming out repeatedly thwarted and the attempts on their life getting more and more serious, Andy realizes they’re being stalked by their pre-transition doppelganger—and she won’t stop until she’s taken the life they thought they’d left behind

#QuestPit #AG #YA

A pitch card for YA fantasy The Pirate, The Princess, and John by @saraduranauthor, marked “Now Querying” with a gold star noting “5 full requests and counting.” The book is a standalone, complete at 82,000 words.

I’m excited to share this #pitchcard for THE PIRATE, THE PRINCESS, and JOHN, the YA fantasy novel I #amquerying, feat:

🏴‍☠️ LGBTQIA+ rep
👑 non-western setting
🌸 anti-colonial lens
🏴‍☠️ girls w/ swords
👑 besties-to-lovers
🌸 friendship > everything

#QuestPit #YA #F #LGBT #Q

Nice Kristen!

AGENT’S GUIDE BOARD: Picture: paint brush, paint set (paint colors shown: blue, black, white, red, green), blue and red paint on paper some of which is splattered across the paper Text: Agent's Guide To: "Calamity" Jane By Melissa Bergum

Picture: Cloudy sky, clouds are darker like storm may be coming, and the sky is a darker blue Text: Pitch: Lonely Jane’s emotions hijack the weather. Corwin’s an anxious new kid. Both could use a friend. When Jane’s shady landlord threatens eviction because of her, she has to control her emotions, but how can she when she’s majorly crushing on Corwin?!

Pictures: Background is a partially sunny sky with some clouds; three book covers and one show poster starting from top left: Keep it Together, Keiko Carter; Komi Can't Communicate Vol. 1, Honey Lemon Soda, Free Period Text: (Starting from top left) First Crush Vibes; Crazy Friendship Goals; Shy Girl Finds Her Voice; Zany MG Voice

Picture: Background picture is an open rainbow umbrella Text: Story Influences: The idea for Jane came from telling a story with my daughter. Corwin is based in part on my own experiences with anxiety and from my time as a social worker with kids. I infused my love of anime and manga into this story.

Hello agents and editors! Here's my #AgentsGuide for my Contemporary MG w/ Spec elements!

This story has:
🥺Huggable cinnamon roll MCs
💕Adorable first crush vibes
🌎Real-world setting w/ speculative elements
😱Anxiety rep
🏠Housing insecurity
👪Supportive families
🐈Cats!

#QuestPit #MG #Con #S #Q

Thank you Kathryn!! ❤️

Thank you so much! ^_^

SUMMER OF BRAVE x EMMY IN THE KEY OF CODE
+Cousin rivalry
+Math joy
+Anxiety rep

For 14yo Juanita, math team is home—so when the school board shuts hers down, she’s determined to save it before states & her chance to become Maine’s first female math champion

#Q #MG #CON #QuestPit

A refreshed introduction to WHISPERS OF THE SEA, a YA Fantasy that will embark soon on its query journey. Featuring: Native Hawaiian Rep Cultural Identity Setting as a Character

The second slide showcases the pitch: WHISPERS OF THE SEA follows the story of a teenage girl who embarks on a journey to rescue her uncle after he was mysteriously captured by a group of uniformed men sailing under the royal flags of a faraway kingdom. Keahi must voyage across the seas to this distant isle where she’ll team up with a boy to track her uncle’s whereabouts. But in order to understand the dangers that lurk ahead, she’ll be forced to uncover a lifetime worth of secrets—and she must do so before it’s too late.

The third slide indicates that WHISPERS OF THE SEA might appeal to fans of: Disney’s Moana, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, and Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle. The book includes the following tropes/themes: found family, self-discovery within cultural identity, Hawaiian-inspired mythology, and adventure.

The final slide includes a snippet from the book that reads: “Keahi’s legs were immobilized as her body tried to make the decision her mind could not. The feeling was strange for she had dreamt countless of times about leaving the island, only to seize the opportunity and awaken to find that she had been sold a nightmare instead.”

MOANA x SHADOW AND BONE

A refreshed introduction to WHISPERS OF THE SEA, a YA Fantasy that will embark soon on its query journey.

Featuring:
🌊 Native Hawaiian Rep
🌊 Cultural Identity
🌊 Setting as a Character

#QuestPit #YA #F #W #OwnVoices #AgentsGuide

Amina al-Sirafi x Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea

When a flesh-eating curse starts killing her family one by one, an exiled huntress must bring her ‘Chosen One’ sister back to life to stop it—before the curse claims her next.

#YA #F #Q #questpit

Text: An agent’s guide to When the Magpie Flies by M H Wottenmoss. Background of mountains, trees, and a giant mushroom. A magpie flies in the sky.

Pitch: Magpie of Lornwhen, hobbyist scholar and incurable troublemaker, dreams of becoming a Conduit. As the realm’s only defense against monstrous spirits, Conduits are beloved and privileged—and it’s Magpie’s best chance to escape the undertow of poverty. When a spirit chooses her for the honor, marking her with a cold, entrancing touch, her dream is suddenly within reach. To fully ascend as a Conduit, Magpie, alongside the other newly-chosen, must embark on a journey into the heart of the spiritwoods. The only thing holding her back is her best friend, Calladonna. There are rumors about how Conduits are changed by the mysterious journey, and Calla can’t shake the feeling that if Magpie leaves, she won’t come back. Determined to reassure her, Magpie convinces Calla to come along in secret, hidden from the other Conduits. For the first time, Magpie’s future is bright and shining—until one of the other Conduits turns up dead, and it seems like Calla may be to blame.

Comps: A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft: clueless lesbians, murder and betrayal, journey of ascension. Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher: found family, humor and darkness, perilous quest. Also featuring undiscovered magic, monstrous spirits, chaotic academia, ill-advised rituals, haunted forest, queer & autistic ensemble cast, giant mushrooms, original music

Opening lines: The world went dark just after she jumped off the roof. In one moment she could see the clocktower before her, the ledge beneath its defunct face familiar and inviting, and in the next there was nothing. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, necessarily, but damn if that wasn't inconvenient timing.

#agentguide for WHEN THE MAGPIE FLIES (81k queer fantasy)

When troublemaker and hobbyist scholar Magpie is chosen by the spirits, she breaks an ancient tradition rather than leave her best friend behind—and brings the wrath of spirits and humans alike down upon the realm.

#questpit #Q #F

WHEN THE MOON HATCHED x NEVER KEEP

🌊a blood pact
🖤banter on top of banter
🌊a torturous slow burn between a bounty hunter pirate and an assassin prince
🖤a deadly heist including dragons & vampires
🌊break the mark or 🔪 each other

#QuestPit #OS #AG #A #NA #RF #F

9x9 Picture Grid: Painted rock depicting red sailboat with white sail, shark fin poking out of water; tween girl with rainbow hair wearing a light green shirt with paints behind her; a partially sunny sky; a black cat walking down an alley; gray lockers with a note with the word “love” cut out of them; two hands holding by the pinky, each with bracelets on them; a stormy sky with lightning striking over a cityscape; a tween boy standing underneath a sign that reads “game over” holding trigger fingers wearing a dark blue shirt over a red and white striped shirt; a picture of the front of an arcade with sign lit up in neon blue Picture credit: Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash

12yo Jane’s emotions hijack the weather and threaten not only her new friendship, but her family’s home as well. 12yo Corwin’s new in town and in need of a fresh start as he tries to escape his anxiety—he simply needs to make tons of friends to prove he’s coping.

#QuestPit #MG #Con #S #Q

Love this so much, Belinda!!!

A portrait shaped moodboard with silver boarders and ten pictures with "The Mirror's Glare" written in the middle. Pictures: A man looking at the edge of his reflection in a hand mirror. A quill writing on paper. A boy holding a book with his other hand resting on a globe. A couple's silhouette preparing to kiss. Some old books. A sandstone school building with grass in front. A fantasy-esque door surrounded by bookshelves. The torso of a girl in an old fashioned blue dress holding a rose. A broken Mirror. A loose collection of bright coloured gems.

DIVINE RIVALS x SERPENT&DOVE

Magically sabotage a classmate’s exam…he had it coming

Pretend to be his friend to cover your tracks…if I have to

Discover you accidentally split reality in two…oops

Fall in love with the boy your lying to…wait, what?
#Q #RF #questpit #YA #F

I've had the honor of reading this book, folks, and it's amazing!