Cortney Radocaj

you can always search my name here with #mswl, check out my submission page on my website (cortneyradocaj.com/submissions), or watch belcastro's recent mswl video (youtube.com/watch?v=V_0Oym…) to see what i'm currently searching for!

when i tell you i am dying for an atmospheric gritty horror set in the appalachian hills I AM LITERALLY DYING I WANT IT #MSWL

youtu.be/_QzcrflqDCg

#MSWL mc gets increasingly pissed off and figures out how to communicate with ghost not to get rid of it but to tell it to shut the fuck up

only to have said ghost scream "JESUS CHRIST FINALLY I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TALK TO YOU FOR WEEKS"

and then they have angry friend adventures

OH MY GOD I totally forgot—

CATRA. GIMME ALL YOUR CATRA-ESQUE CHARACTERS.

Angry, broken, distrustful characters who are Soft for that One Person. Who make TERRIBLE decisions bc ANGRY AND HURT but are good people deep down!!

Neurodivergent rep (particularly PTSD but seriously I want it all ALL THE MENTAL HEALTH REP

Dark bois with hearts of gold always (i.e. Rhys, Damon, Spike, etc)

Queer contemporary—delve into hard topics but also make me smile!! Like contempts lighter in tone than other genres

YA thrillers (NOT ADULT DO NOT SEND ME ADULT THRILLERS)

Loss of faith—more so in role models and institutions/communities than religion

Villainous spirals!! Gimme all the MCs enthralled by darkness

Poison magic. Just... creeping, quiet, sneaking poison magic

Always hope, no matter how dark the story or journey is. I don’t do well with bitter, cynical endings—there HAS to be a light for the MC to reach for, in some capacity

Snark, banter, puns and stupid jokes. I am a sucker for dumb jokes I can’t help it they make me giggle

Gideon-Harrow dynamic (HAS to be queer in some way) y’all these two *chefs kiss*

Queer ensemble casts!!!

Horror that delves deep into human psyche and is particularly horrifying for the MC (slashers are not my fav; book horror has GOT to get under my skin to work for me)

Witches and haunted, creepy woods

Native/indigenous mythology retellings! I would LOVE to see mythologies from tribes in my own area in particular (PNW born and raised!)

BIPOC authors/stories! Especially for SFF!!

Trans/non-binary MCs and LIs!!