Pitch for The Refinement: Mercury by Rachel E. Tell, complete 90k word upper YA dark fantasy. "When the insecurities of a powerful but anxious girl make her the prime target for an exploitative cult, she must learn to accept herself before she's consumed." Along with a small tagline for the book, "Till the well runs dry."
Mood board for The Refinement: Mercury by Rachel E. Tell. Includes a picture of Rhodes College, a mushroom circle, bats in a purple night sky, a well hung with lanterns, books and tea, silhouettes of a couple dancing, a silhouette of a girl being pupeteered, and a hand holding a crown. In the corners are gold images of mushrooms and a bee.
Excerpt from The Refinement: Mercury by Rachel E. Tell:
The figure dropped to the ground on all fours, its wings falling to either side, limp and useless. And it screamed. It was like the distant roar that sounded while the energies fought inside of [Redacted name], but this was unleashed, enraged, and very much here. The figure’s face was like [Redacted name]'s but twisted into a mask of fury and hatred, mouth too wide, limbs now distorted, too thin, too long. And there were patches of blackened, charred skin, rimmed in red that slowly expanded.
Like a fallen angel, a demon summoned from the depths of hell, it started crawling, four limbs moving quick, insect-like, leaving scorch marks on the floor. It rushed straight for [Redacted name], dragging its dead wings behind it.
Comps and Themes for The Refinement: Mercury by Rachel E. Tell. Comps listed are A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, The Honeys by Ryan La Sala, HBO's The Vow NXIVM documentary, the anime Mob Psycho 100, and Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson. Themes listed are:
dark academia
psychological horror
cult indoctrination (love bombing, unfreezing / changing / refreezing)
grief and healing
neurodivergent rep
found family
perfectionist cinnamon roll
slow burn grumpy mentor → lovers
morally gray allies
an egregious amount of Jungian theory
Didn't realize #MupPit was on here too, hi!
The Refinement: Mercury
A Study in Drowning x Ninth House x HBO's The Vow
🕯️ Upper YA dark academia
🐝 Cult indoctrination
🩸 Gilded cages & ritualized ego-death
🎭 Neurodivergence & masking to survive
🚩 Suburban horror w/grooming red flags
#Q #YA #DF #Psy