rachel russell 🌿

an #agentsguide to WE FEED THE RIVER, my MaXXXine meets Midsommar adult Midwest folk horror—hitting inboxes soon!

featuring:
🍂 a bluegrass festival
🍂 cults
🍂 female rage
🍂 a dash of romance
🍂 & a speculative twist ending

#questpit #agentguide

thank you!

The Starless Sea x The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue x Piranesi

There’s not much to him when I first see him, barely a hint of magic and not a jot of menace. My wrist is caught as I seek to invade a vicar’s coat. Pivoting on my heels, wide-eyed, I look up.

PRINCE OF CUPS

#1stLinePit #A #F #Q

#Editors

“There is no sleep to be had in winter. The sea wind howls too loud, buffeting the fishing boat and the small boy curled up inside.”

#1stLinePit #Gothic #A #M #H

🗡️ FMAB x SIX OF CROWS

“Evren Layvey often wondered what it would cost to create God.”

An alchemist and a thief must work together to stop a rogue magician and his manifestations, while a foreigner has news that could bring war to the nation.

#1stLinePit #WIP #A #F #LGBTQ

A cool-toned moodboard featuring images of a snowy mountain range, skulls, a room decorated for Christmas, an old key, snarling masks, a Victorian house, pine tree branches, and a discarded teddy bear. The words "don't open the door" are in all caps in the center of the moodboard.

It might have been the eggnog, but Betty swore she saw something outside.

#1stLinePit #ya #c #q #h #cme

A moodboard for my WIP. Elaine of Astolat looking at Sir Lancelot's shield, a cluster of skulls, a woman in a forest, a segment of the Round Table which shows Sir Lancelot's name, a narrowboat in a lake, bloody hands, a lily, the silhouette of a woman with a sword, and an engraving of Lavaine and Torre mourning Elaine as she lies dead in her boat.

The Lily Maid awakens on a funeral barge under a blood-streaked sky, petals blooming from between her lips.

#1stLinePit #Q #F #H

THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING x SPEAR

🖤 Camelot but it's a cult
🖤 Sapphic
🖤 Fantasy with a twist of flower-fuelled horror
🖤 Complete at 96k words

SCI-FI BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Roan’s wrist buzzed with an notification.

“Do you, Camilla, take Jonquil to be your lawful wedded wife?”

She pointedly ignored it, focused only on her mom and her partner of 12 years.

🏺Grumpy archaeologist
🤖Trapped billionaire
☀️The dying sun

#1stLinePit #A #SF #R #WIP

“Noxalia Whitlock, known as the
most beautiful lady in all of Omous, loved the taste of blood in her mouth almost as much as she loved a good fuck. Half of Ferhn had gathered to watch her tear apart the poor farm boy, Helyx, who was attempting to get back to his feet.” #1stLinePit

comp titles for pitched book (comp titles include Gideon the Ninth, The Jasmine Throne, The Bone Shard Daughter, and The Surviving Sky) (comparisons include lgbtq+, bio-magic, revolution, and explorations of power)

mood board for pitched book (images include dripping blood, old pipes, a decrepit stairway, a forest glowing with magenta mist, and pale, ornate halls)

pitch for "The Tower's Blood" (pitch describes the book as a queer, biopunk, adult science fantasy of found family, spies, eldritch horror, and class warfare)

"There are places where the skin of the world is thin. Where the atmosphere grows teeth: space can unfurl, convulse, or split like a frost-cracked tree; ghosts gather like mold. Visiting a place like that isn’t something you do unless you’re desperate or have a death wish."
#1stLinePit #F #A #Q soon

Moodboard for the character named Fayrian Phlorik, known as the pickpocket prince, and champion of the revolutionaries. Pictures show a hooded man in a red cloak gazing intently at a magical crystal. Other pictures include a painting of a 1800's battle involving canons. A quote on the moodboard reads as follows: "But where was his place on the tower of society? Between the crown that ought to be his and a death sentence for a murder he didn't commit, he was looking at the entire height of that tower and there was no place for him except for six feet under."

#1stLinePit #TP #A #F
THE REVENANT OF SUROLIFIA 🗡️ Summer '26

Faye’s nightly routine was simple. Replenish his empty pocket, buy a hearty breakfast, then unburden a few of Azena’s apartments of unnecessary clutter. It was a routine he had repeated for five years. He did not expect to be caught.

SUPERNATURAL × NINTH HOUSE

The sharp metallic tang of bloodshed filled the air, assaulting Valerie’s nose and setting her senses on edge.

#1stlinepit #A #F #Q #CMe

A collage featuring three photos: one of three girls taking a selfie in prom dresses, one of five girls with tan skin laid out shoulder to shoulder, one with two girls smiling for the camera while a third flips the camera off. There's a stack of books, stamps, flowers, and miscellaneous scrapbooking motifs around the pictures. At the top right corner 'intolerable' is spelled out with different fonts per letter.

"The only thing boys are good for is distracting ambitious young women from achieving their goals."

#1stLinePit #WIP #YA #Con

Agent’s Guide for AT NIGHT, WE HIDE

PITCH FIRST LINE: It was so much easier to steal when I worked alone. A SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD SCAVENGER WITH A DANGEROUS SECRET MUST FIND THE MOLE BEFORE SHE BECOMES VICTIM THEIR NEXT VICTIM AND THE ENTIRE RESISTANCE EFFORT IS COMPROMISED.

WHAT TO EXPECT • MORALLY-DODGY STEM FEMALE MC WHO CAUSES ALMOST ALL THE PROBLEMS • THERE'S SOMETHING OUT THERE, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT • DYSTOPIAN MURDER MYSTERY • SLOW BURN ROMANCE •FOUND FAMILY • EVERYONE HAS SECRETS • CLOSE QUARTERS • UNEXPECTED VILLAIN • UNPUTDOWNABLE TWISTS • PLANNED TRILOGY

Comps

It was so much easier to steal when l worked alone.

#1stLinePit
#YA #D #SF #T
#AgentsGuide

Images of the Sonoran desert with Saguaros and chollas in the foreground and mountains in the background.

Images of the book covers of two books and the movie poster for Encanto.

"The air in the kitchen grows humid, clinging to my skin as a breeze stirs my hair."

#1stlinepit #Q #MG #F

#amquerying #amwriting #Blueskywrites #writingcommunity

Shuffle collage for the vibes of this fantasy romance WIP: a castle, a cabin, an elf man with long white hair, a cowgirl, a unicorn and faeries

Red Dead Redemption X Beauty and the Beast X Hades and Persephone

A King In the Garden

“The man was back. Standing just at the edge of her garden, staring at the little cabin.

Like she always did, Mari ignored him.”

#1stlinepit #f #a #wip

thank you so much!!

Beneath These Treacherous Waves: Míra, a siren princess, has her memories of her beloved Skadi forcibly erased when she is offered in marriage to a human king in exchange for military aid in a relentless war. Unwilling to accept their fate, Skadi strikes a desperate bargain with an ancient deity: if Míra falls in love with her again, her memories will return. But if she confesses her love to another first, Skadi will become the god’s thrall forever.

A moodboard: picture of a mermaid underwater, a snowy castle, a prince, an ice lagoon, a black-haired and a ginger woman kissing, a ship, a ship's captain, coastline with basalt columns and the stormy sea, octopus tentacles

The Little Mermaid X Malice X A Taste of Gold and Iron

"Malik was late, and for the first time in his life, Ren found himself hoping the mission would fail. Suffering King Henning’s wrath—and ending up on the gallows—would’ve been a better fate than having a mer as his queen."
#1stLinePit #A #F #Q

When the men in her father’s court dismiss her during a meeting about HER ENGAGEMENT, Soledad isn’t too happy…
‘I’m five seconds away from climbing onto this table and ripping this man’s hair off of his stupid head.’

Case in point⇡
THE NORTH STAR QUEEN

#A #F #WIP #1stLinePit

A moodboard with seven images. The top three images are a picture of a Norwegian flag, a picture of a TV with the Netflix logo displayed on the screen, and a picture of two white girls with brown hair, the older of whom is giving the younger one a piggyback ride. The lower four images are a photo of a girl with brown skin and black hair wearing a red prom dress, a photo of two girls kissing, a photo of a hand holding a pride flag, and a photo taken from behind of a white girl with brown hair wearing a graduation gown and holding a graduation cap up in the air.

THE GIRLS WILL BE OKAY

Unplug the phone. That’s the first step in our family’s lefse recipe, written in Mom’s round handwriting on an index card we keep in a box with all our other family recipes. #1stLinePit #Q #YA #CON

“The body had been strung up in the library for several hours before the first of the unfortunate stumbled upon it.”

#1stLinePit #WIP #YA #T #SFF

Moodboard Dark washed-out Images with Neo-victorian Steampunk vibes Central text: “This world, my dear, is the slaughterhouse of noble ideals” Top-Left to Bottom-Right: Bust of a corset-wearing woman, Magical ancient door with a steampunk gear mechanism, An airship, Dungeon cell, Gold pocket watch, Ornate robes, Steampunk gears, Steam locomotive, Metal mask embellished with gears.

🗡️"Quill chose an auspicious summer night to assassinate Empress vun Unthece. The assassin hung above a burly palace sentry, her grip straining on the cold marble ledge. Guards never bothered to look up."🥷

Six Of Crows X Throne of Glass
#1stLinePit #Q #YA #F #T
#WritingCommunity

"The desert was full of things ancient and unchanging and had always been a dangerous place."
#1stLinePit #F #Q #A #Writesky #Writingcommunity

AN ABSTRACT BLACK AND ORANGE BACKGROUND WITH WHITE TEXT THAT READS: [THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE X HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE], Granny is on her deathbed. Her final wish: a faded blue box. Brenda must venture into Granny’s basement to get it, where the creature of her darkest nightmares awaits. Battling possessed dolls & screaming portraits, she must find the courage to ultimately fight for her soul., UNDER THE STAIRS, A SHORT STORY BY HEATHER CARTER

AN ABSTRACT BLACK AND ORANGE BACKGROUND WITH WHITE TEXT THAT READS: "Darkness should not growl. It shouldn’t rasp or seethe. Just the absence of light—that’s all it is. All it’s supposed to be. But the darkness in Granny’s basement is a different kind of darkness. It’s thick, like a black tar that envelopes you the moment the lights flip off—coating your skin and eyes, stealing away all that’s reassuring and safe and good. Worst of all? It remembers you." UNDER THE STAIRS, A SHORT STORY BY HEATHER CARTER

A nine grid moodboard featuring black and white ghostly images, basement stairs, a decrepit house, and a clawed hand.

"Darkness should not growl. It shouldn’t rasp or seethe. Just the absence of light—that’s all it is. All it’s supposed to be. But the darkness in Granny’s basement is a different kind of darkness."
#1stLinePit #A #H #SS #Agented

mood board

pitch

⚔ BLOODGUARDxTHE SERPENT AND THE WINGS OF NIGHT ⚔

"A deep, guttural cry rips from my chest and claws its way out of my throat. A scream so raw and unrestrained, it blazes hot in my lungs. The forest will soak up my pain."

#1stLinePit #Q #YA #F

ITHACA X CIRCE

“Diotima’s mother wrote her destiny while she had still cooked inside her womb.”

#1stLinePit #OS #HF #A #editorsguide

African mask on black background with the words "Agents guide to Loyalties and Lies" and "Fantasy set in Africa 86,000 words"

Black background with Pitch and Comps containing Covers of The Poppy War, Children of blood and bone, and An Ember in the Ashes

A mood board with fire, a foggy forest, soldiers, warriors, a shaman and an African mast with words describing elements of the story: magical realism, dystopian elements, reference to Kenyan colonial history, Folklore reimaginings, consequence of choice and multiple African cultures.

#1stlinepit
THE POPPY WAR X CHILDREN OF BLOOD & BONE
Kill all or kill none, if you live one, they’ll be your fall. That was the motto. In the Eastern Protectorate, failure was fatal.
Want an African perspective on colonialism? See #agentsguide below
#C #Q #F #SPF #A #writingcommunity #Africansff

Reads: HEIDI'S HOUSE OF RESCUED FAMILIARS Agent Guide: Toad hoarders, teleporting cat colonies, and exotic reptile conventions are just a Tuesday in Heidi's House of Rescued Familiars, but when Heidi vows to save a familiar from the richest wizard in Louisiana, they are in for a rescue unlike any other. Bullet Points read: - 95, 000 words - Urban Fantasy meets Southern Gothic - Winner of WTMP 2024 Mentorship There is an animal skull design on the bottom.

Reads "The Three POVs" with Mangar: - The rescue groundskeeper. - Excels in force magic. - Has a tarantula familiar, Eve. - Lives in an RV. - Ex-apprentice to the richest wizard in Louisiana. Heidi: - Ex-Familiar whose master died. - Rescue founder. - Asexual and autistic. - Is like an animal encyclopedia. - Is scared of birds. Piper: - The rescue social media coordinator. - Excels in summoning magic. - Transgender. - Has fallen out of love with magic.

Moodboard that says "The Vibes." The images include: - Rural fields with a dirt road and single tree. - A window looking out to a barn. - A hand sticking into the mouth of a black wolf. - A esoteric book of herbs. - A young woman holding a coyote. - An old RV.

At 3 A.M. on a summer night in rural Louisiana, a witch died. When her final breaths left her lips, her farmhouse sighed as magic left its weary walls. The bedroom ceiling creaked. Her bathtub cracked. Dark damask wallpaper peeled. Her summons left.

#C #Q #UF #A #1stLinePit

THE IMMORTAL’S ASSISTANT

Supernatural X Ninth House

“Ten minutes. It took ten minutes to get to her dad’s office—seven if she ran.”

#1stLinePit #Q #A #F #P #agentguide #litagents #querying