After an unforeseen turn of events, I am back in the query trenches! ARTWALKER is a speculative romance with folk horror elements. Agents! If you’d like to see this in your query box, please reach out! I would love to find this project with editor interest & award a new home! #amquerying

@charmstrong.bsky.social and I are tackling a fun topic this week on our Substacks.... THE STATE OF TRAD PUB. There's receipts & cited sources about the deals & trends I'm noticing as an author. Maybe a new avenue I'm considering.... Mine publishes tomorrow morning! <3 #writingcommunity

That one time I wrote a really unserious book that started as a complete joke to pitch to my agent, and then everyone loved it and said it was my best yet and I had a whole identity crisis..... You can read it #writingcommunity : open.substack.com/pub/kellylbe...

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Hey look, people think I'm funny! I love pitch events for the community and support they build. Thanks for encouraing my weird humor for at least one more book 💖 #editors if you're looking for a truly LAUGH OUT LOUD, unhinged romcom, talk to @charmstrong.bsky.social

Thank you SO SO SO SO much for all the support of my silly little bonnie and clyde romcom yesterday for #questpit! I love this book and these characters so much, and it's so encouraging to see others love it, too. Next step, it heads to @charmstrong.bsky.social , and then to the desks of #editors!

WARNING: FALLING IN LOVE WILL RESULT IN DEATH 🌊a deadly heist including dragons and vampires and sea witches, oh my! 🗡break the mark or kill each other 🖤if everyone is a traitor, where is the line drawn? ⚔a torturous slow burn #QuestPit #OS #AG #A #NA #RF #F

#litagents, I’m currently querying two novels: 🫀 95k gothic horror (left pitch) 🌊 112k upmarket historical (right pitch) If you love dark, twisty, genre-blending novels in the vein of Emilia Hart and Bridget Collins, let’s talk. 👀 #questpit #A #HF #Q

Dead Like Me x Breakup From Hell When Chess (16) becomes Wisconsin's newest reaper, she must learn to control her power before the veil between the living & the dead tears, taking her town down with it. #QuestPit #YA #P #F 🙃Dyslexic MC 🐶Pet ghost dog with boundary issues 💗Enemies to love interests

👧She's just a girl ((who robbed a bank)) 👦He's just a boy ((afraid of germs & getting in trouble)) ♥️How can I make it anymore obvious? ((they tag-team a hare-brained escape and get away with a loot & love story that should be [maybe is] criminal)) #questpit #editors @charmstrong.bsky.social

“But the image that will stick like a burr in his mind, which will appear to him in quiet moments for the rest of his life, is of long tendrils of red hair swaying like the tentacles of a Pacific octopus in the chill water of the hold.” #OS #AG #A #MY #T #H #QuestPit

THAT TIME I GOT DRUNK AND SAVED A DEMON x FIVE BROKEN BLADES A sticky-fingered tavern girl scoops up abandoned plans to steal jewels. With a couple of pals and a lil gumption, she could be free to travel the world. How hard could a heist really be? Boys do it. #QuestPit #A #F

A manic pixie dream girl (also Dolly Parton wannabe) walks into a bank & robs it...except her straight-laced ex-boyfriend is the bank teller. Oopsie! She kidnaps him & forces him along her hare-brained escape. What could go wrong? (a pet possum) #questpit #editors talk 2 @charmstrong.bsky.social

#authorsandwriters What comes after signing with an agent? That murky in-between signing and going on sub? I spill the deets: open.substack.com/pub/kellylbe...

Step 1: rob a bank Step 2: oh sh*t, the teller is my ex. Step 3: kidnap him & pretend it’s foreplay Step 4: run STEAL IT WITH A KISS is THE PARADISE PROBLEM x FINLEY DONOVAN IS KILLING IT in a delicious, second chance romcom. #editors talk to @charmstrong.bsky.social #booksky

Spot the difference---I'll give you a hint. One has: 🥵slutty forearms & slutty glasses 🚓Only 1 getaway car 🐭pet 'possum 🔥"Ruin me, then. Ruin my life, Stella, I'm begging you." 🌶️ ✨reunions✨ in the rain on the hood of a car after a cop chase #UnhingedPit #R #OS #editors

A Dolly Parton wannabe walks into a bank and robs & kidnaps her ex-boyfriend...wait, what's the punchline again? 🤑only one getaway car 💋 themed "escape" playlists 🤑She brought her pet 'POSSUM? 💋We're gonna die... FLORIDA!!! x PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE 💋 #UnhingedPit #R #OS #editors

The therapist is in. Rules of engagement: Don't let her know you're a supernatural creature. Don't get murdered by the sneaky shadow creature. And don't piss off the guard dog detective #unhingedpit #a #f #wip

Apparently, I have a reputation 😂💀 (The grandma and possum are safe. In this book) #booksky

My agent @charmstrong.bsky.social: I pitched your book to an editor today. Your work in progress. Me: oh? Her: yeah. I couldn’t remember the title you told me, so I just told her it was unhinged and had a pet possum. She was into it. #booksky #romancewriters

A little bit of ✨news✨ I'm a finalist in the Maggie Awards! NOT READY TO MAKE NICE is the book of my heart, & I'm so stoked to see her get some love from industry professionals & stand next to other incredible books ❤️ #writingcommunity #booksky @charmstrong.bsky.social

Stuck in the dog days of summer where you maybe get an hour to smash some words out? Yeah, me too. READ: open.substack.com/pub/kellylbe...

I polled my writer friends and collected their advice they wish they knew when they started writing. The answers may surprise you (hint: it's not learn how to spell better). #writingcommunity #fictionwriters&authors open.substack.com/pub/kellylbe...

When Mel gets called home, she’s prepared to deal with her grandmother’s attitude & meddling—including her jabs about Mel’s disappearance 10 years ago. What she doesn’t expect is a reunion with the people responsible for the betrayal that chased her away Some things not even Gran’s meddling can fix.

Not to brag, but I just hit 25k on this baby filled with: 🏍️Biker gang bar mischief 💃Swing dancing with a grandpa at a Strawberry Festival in Arkansas 🐭Pet possum shenanigans 🤑impulsively robbing a bank and kidnapping her straight-laced, nerdy ex-boyfriend #booksky #romancewriters

A cursed kingdom, a lost princess, and a prince with a secret – trusting each other may be the key to survival – but whose?   ❤️‍🔥Planned Duology ❤️‍🔥Dual POV and Hidden Identities of HEARTLESS HUNTER ❤️‍🔥Cursed Kingdom of SLEEPING BEAUTY ❤️‍🔥Feuding Kingdoms A RIVER ENCHANTED #RF #PN #NA #WIPPIT #R

In 1900s Latvia, Stasi mixes blood with paint to create reality-shaping art, but when she enters a prestigious art competition and discovers wealthy elites are killing female artists, she risks her forbidden sapphic love and life to stop them. #WIPPIT #HF #H #R #LGBT

Spot the difference in these photos. Spoiler, you can't ✌️ #booksky #writingcommunity #romancewriters

Teaming up with @charmstrong.bsky.social to discuss some publishing topics and advice. This week: WHAT THE HECK IS A COMP TITLE? open.substack.com/pub/kellylbe...

Weds June 4th I'm doing a FREE AMA with @jeannevb.bsky.social and Symposium! Register here! symposium.pipelineartists.com/event/one-on...

work hard and earn money the right way? ❌ Impulsively rob a bank, kidnap your stick-in-the-mud ex-boyfriend & force him on your hare-brained escape to Mexico? ✅ Trope map for my new romcom, STEAL IT WITH A KISS #writingcommunity #editors

👩🏻‍⚖️ a law student w/ OCD, about to lose her scholarship 💪🏻 the hot CrossFit coach who rejected her 🏋🏻‍♀️unwittingly on the same team for a competition 🪴 a failing plant shop ✨ 1st in a potential series of interconnected standalones #questpit #A #R #litagents #agentsguide

Thing's Grandma's meddling can't fix: 🍳 over-cooked biscuits 💔 a broken heart ⚡ a power outage in their isolated town 👀 the mysterious betrayal that chased Mel from her hell-hole hometown 10 years ago #questpit #os #ag #WF #R

ARCANE x BLOOD OVER BRIGHT HAVEN x RIPE All Jim owns when he arrives at the Institute is a battered briefcase & pair of decaying boots. Little does he know that before classes end, he'll pack that blood-drenched briefcase to flee a nightmare of his own making. #questpit #Q #A #F

I got to read the opening pages of this and it's SO GOOD and SO FUN

🌊A small boy finds a body floating in the fish hold of his father’s boat. 🌊A writer packs up her missing lighthouse keeper father’s things. 🌊A private investigator searches for the missing and the drowned. 🌊A horror rises from the deep. #questpit #onsub #editors #m #h #a #os

If you love: 🐉accessible magic 🐉friends to enemies to lovers 🐉palace intrigue 🐉feminine rage 🐉Viking vibes 🐉one dragon this is for you! #questpit #W #romantasy

In Cardonia destiny is dealt w/the pull of a card from the Deck of Fates. When Elara draws the Joker—a card that shouldn't exist—she must unlock her powers or lose her head but her only hope lies w/the Prince whose charm hides a rebellion to shatter the kingdom #Questpit #Q #A #F

#ND & emotionally volatile Nora only wants to survive college, but when her foster sister is kidnapped by a ruthless Fae queen, Nora faces a realm where her emotions can be used against her & the brooding Fae prince who would keep her there. #questpit #Q #A #RF

The whimsy in this is addicting. I gobble it up, and I've already professed my love for the Big Foot that guards the gate.

Presenting to the #questpit & #writingcommunity crew… Reasons to love To Ruin the Sky ⚡️ Kingdom of the Wicked x Crescent City ♥︎Led by a sassy, 'shadow mommy' FMC 🫶🏼Fresh take on Romantasy 🪞#MiddleEasternRep 🚨Fills that Xaden-shaped hole in your life #agentsguide #RF #Q #NA #writersky

A Dolly Parton Wannabe walks into a bank and robs & kidnaps her ex-boyfriend...wait, what's the punchline again? 🤑only one getaway car 💋 themed "road trip" playlists 🤑she brought her pet POSSUM? 💋We're gonna die... #questpit #OS soon #AG #R

If @charmstrong.bsky.social and I were to do a combo agent/author side substack again, what would you want answers about? Previously, we talked about author/agent communication from each side. Do you want to know what happens when you go on sub? How we brainstorm new manuscripts? #writingcommunity

Oh look! A new little checkmark. 13k for this chaotic mess. Account-a-billa-buddy. #booksky #writingcommunity #authorsandwriters

Accountability. when a trailer park beauty queen impulsively robs a bank to pay for her grandmother’s debts, she doesn’t expect the teller to be her straight-laced ex. Determined to stay incognito, she kidnaps him & forces him along her hair-brained escape. #writingcommunity

Made brownies this morning for an EVENT tonight. measured out my vanilla to add to my egg/sugar mix. Half a teaspoon. Dumped it in. Dear reader, it was not vanilla. It was GREEN FOOD COLORING. 😀

Hey, K, how's the writing and researching for your WIP about a disaster of a woman who robs a bank and her straight-laced ex-boyfriend she drags along the way? Me: 🤠 great! Today's research:

Bringing this trend over here: If my characters Mel and Logan from NOT READY TO MAKE NICE were in another life #writingcommunity #booksky #editors