I did it! I had to completely leave out the B-plot, but I did it!

I mean, the second book happens in 1968, so... :\

Writing blurbs for querying is easy. Writing a complete synopsis on the other hand... ( O_O) #querytrenches #querying #writingcommunity

Advice for those in the #querytrenches. Make a folder containing: •Query letter •One-sentence pitch •Comparable titles •Author bio •1-2 pg synopsis (ie, WHOLE plot, not just the blurb) •Trigger warning list •Several word docs of varying length for manuscript samples: 5 pg, 10 pg, 30 pg, 1 ch & 3 chs

#WSPit #PN #H Noise Complaint (497 words): An angry spirit makes preparations to deal with the lousy garage band that has been disturbing his rest once and for all. Final Destination from Death's POV if he really hated loud music.

In an alternate version of our Cold War, where ghosts and psychic powers are an accepted part of reality, ex-army nurse Constance Watson and private detective Cherry Holmes must solve a string of murders in the curse-haunted city of New Avalon. #querying #booksky maryrosecorcoran.com/cherryholmes

In an alternate version of our Cold War, where ghosts and psychic powers are an accepted part of reality, ex-army nurse Constance Watson and private eye Cherry Holmes must solve a string of murders in the curse-haunted city of New Avalon. www.maryrosecorcoran.com/cherryholmes #WSPit #querying

Help me out, #booksky. I suddenly see pitch event pop up, like #WSPit. How does one find out the rules/parameters or the how-to of these things? How do we know when they will be coming up? How, when one comes across one in the wild, do we then find the details of how to participate?

It's always Library day :D

By topic, mostly. I have a separate book case for religion; Japanese books; cookbooks, crafts, & cleaning; true crime & mysteries; folklore; and general fiction. That last one's shelves are: horror & scifi; fanasy; Lewis Carol, PG Wodehouse, & poetry; and children's fiction & plays/theater.

Butterflies (paper) in the library 1

Can't believe it's the last week of February already! Anyway, apropos of nothing but vague Valentine vibes, here's a cute picture of my first book and some color-matched macarons. Link to where you can buy it in my bio/Linktree. #booksky 🪐📚 #fantasy

Lyndon B. Johnson and Queen Elizabeth II, at least in the location where the story happens.

This one feels a little ominous :\

Although there are psychic detectives, their evidence can only be used for probable cause in getting warrants, but cannot be used in court. This is, of course, due to the 1692 debacle with spectral evidence.

The advent of psychic detectives in the 1800 has caused a drop in deliberate hexing (as you are much more likely to get caught doing it), but out of an abundance of caution, most people still incinerate hair, fingernails, and the like rather than throwing them in the bin, so as not to get witched.

Comics as Visual, Spatial Storytelling: Today, I discuss why comics are just as good at storytelling as books and movies, as well as the ways they are unique. open.substack.com/pub/maryrose... #comics #comicsky #manga #mangasky #grphicnovels #storytelling

It finally happened. An extremely AI-star-struck old lady told me, "This could help you write your books!" Like... How? Why? I don't write to have produced a book. I write because I like coming up with the story and figuring out the characters. What does she think writing IS? #booktwt 📚 #writing

You know what? At this point, maybe we should clone the dinosaurs.

Look at how cute this is! As small as a coffee cup <3 I also bought myself a detective-themed book nook kit as a reward for when I eventually get an agent. Because, you know... priorities.

Went to the Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tucson this weekend and treated myself to a mini bookstore model kit for my birthday. A dangerous new obsession may have been unlocked! (o_o) theminitimemachine.org #miniature #hobbies #tucson

In my current book, the regular old police. In the Styx Trilogy, in Styx there is a Roly Police force made up of armored bugbears (think really, REALLY big pill bugs). In Catawampus, on the other hand, laws are rigorously enforced by the Five Halls of Bureaucracy, which govern with an iron fist.

In the Styx Trilogy, goblins can naturally use magic, and different races of goblins have different abilities (levitation, being able to summon objects, etc). Humans are only occasionally born with magic, in a very weak form the have to practice, but they have more variety of abilities than goblins.

The US and UK governments (but they don't always follow them *cough*MKUltra*cough*))

Librarian PSA: please do not dog-ear the pages of your library book.

Bookstores and libraries my friends. #booksky #books #readsomething 📚🤓

Souls are real and everyone believes in them (ghosts are pretty common, after all), though I suppose my world's atheists see them as a form of energy that persists after death rather than something metaphysical/spiritual, if that makes sense?

Yesterday I learned that Mary Roach's book "Fuzz" used to be titled "Animal, Vegetable, Criminal," which, IMHO, was an absolutely fire title. Why did they change it?

All right, bookworms, if you could make any book into a musical (on stage or screen), which would you choose and why? #booksky 📚

I’m sorry but people talking about talent as an unfair quality that needs to be Harrison Bergeroned away by AI have exactly the same energy as people saying it’s unfair that attractive people have more people attracted to them and the government should legislate their right to a hot wife

Today, I discuss why movies and plays are just as important as books, and are a unique form of storytelling. open.substack.com/pub/maryrose... #booksky #moviesky #books #movies #substack

Psychic abilities are a known and accepted phenomenon in my book (which takes place in an alternate 1960s). Few people have them, but they are not considered woo-woo or strange at all. In fact, after a near-death experience, on of my MCs awakens her own psychic powers and can now see people's auras!

the only literary race I’m running is trying to get all these damn books outta my head before the icy hand of Death takes me to that big kayaking spot in the sky

We love our library partners!

Library ALWAYS O___O

Reco-MONDAY-tion (is that anything?): Ouran High School Host Club is my favorite shojo manga, with heaps of comedy and just the right amount of romance. <3 #manga #booksky #anime #recommendation #romance

No nonphysical realms, but lots of nonphysical entities and concepts: ghosts, demons, curses (mostly in the form of radioactive miasma), psychic vibrations, death humors, auras, etc.

Had a patron at the library tell me, " Demons are coming for you," and "I'll see you in your dreams!", but then an (equally loopy) lady who was warning me about "satanists in Walmart" said, "God bless you" to me, so I think that probably cancels it out. #librarylife #librarian #library #libraries

The City Streets #Mapmaking Pack is a brand new printable for drawing story-first city maps. For #writers, #GMs, and #worldbuilders who want their cities to truly do something. Available now in my webstore: step-by-step-worldbuilding-shop.fourthwall.com/en-gbp/produ...

In my current book, the story is set in a single city that spans a cluster of islands collectively known as New Avalon.

Oooh! In Miscast Spells, there are some carnivorous mushrooms that have an anticoagulant in their bite so that what gets bit dies and they can absorb the nutrients. There are also cannibal mushrooms, but those are only dangerous if you're a mushroom. (You're not, are you?)

We have a "Wheelie Dan" and a "Trolley Parton", among other named book carts.

This is the law and the whole of the law.

Sigh. The reason that recent signed books are not very valuable is because in America, there are more people trying to make a profit on signatures than there are people who appreciate them. Someday, if you keep it in perfect condition, your newly signed book will be worth... the jacket price.

In Styx, everyone is a tea person. In my new book, Constance and Cherry can go either way (though Cherry demands that her tea has honey in it no matter what); Lestrade, on the other hand, is a coffee addict and "practically lives on the stuff."

Libraries are great.

Current mood: exhausted and wishing I could be as carefree as these kitties.

If I could have one modern book with a Catholic priest character who isn't a louse, that would be great 🙃 #booktwt #catholic

And it's fixed! It was an easy fix, too! Thank goodness!

Currently writing... Haha, just kidding. Currently banging my head against the wall because I mistyped my own email address when registering my domain and now I have to wait (hopefully?) for an email to come and tell be how to fix it. Life is pain :) #writing #writerslife