Emily Forney

And to authors: if you queried me in the past and I wasn’t the right fit at the time, but your book has gone through changes or you’ve adjusted your materials, please feel free to send it again. I can’t promise anything, but I know queries and pages change as much as I do

Something dark. Something speculative. Something testing and scary and creepy and thoughtful and bloody and romantic and ambitious and terrifying and mesmerizing.

YA and Middle Grade Fiction

Light-hearted, action adventure, character driven, coming of age books that can tackle big themes and doesn’t shy away from important topics. Books with romance but are romances. Thoughtful stories about character over spectacle.

Children’s Lit

Book with series potential that follow a play pattern, i.e. a format to follow with the story and remain invested: shipping wars, districts/factions/houses, mysteries, patterns that serve as a through line for the book, a calling card

Stories that follow the villain. Stories that convert the hero from good to bad. Stories that alter our belief systems of right and wrong. The villain gets the girl. The big bad is well and truly not moral. Fighting your oppressors. Enacting revenge. Not taking the high road.

Adult Fantasy

Villains being truly and genuinely villainous, romance at the forefront but politics at the core, family dynasties, high stakes adventure, historical dramas, highly aesthetic spaces, thoughtfully done ensemble casts with series potential. Give me more Fourth Wing

YA and NA crossover fantasy

Stories with big hooks, escapist realities, political intrigue, messy characters making the wrong decisions, gamification, rage, and atmospheric environments

Adult Book Club fiction

I want to capture what Greta Gerwig does on screen, but in book form. Stories about young women reclaiming their stories, confronting their family legacies, and exploring their identities. Coming of age stories past adolescence.

💕Adult Romance💕

I love books that straddle the line between women’s fiction and romance. Books with a lot of heart and deep connections between characters. Summer nights. Escapist environments. Friend groups. Big emotions and high concept. Interconnected standalones. Angst.

🤍Adult Romance🤍
Contemporary college stories
Interconnected standalone series
Heartbreaking stories about young women finding their identities
Deals gone wrong
Marriage of convenience
✨Romantasy✨
Campy genre fiction
Fated mates
#mswl

Incredibly lush and deeply atmospheric books. I'm especially looking for writers who can take these big plots and craft well developed character arcs that don't sacrifice world building for quickened pacing.
#mswl

Dark speculative work. Thrillers. Academies. Murder mysteries. Occult studies. Haunted museums. Gothic mansions. An atmosphere to fall in love with opulent richness of the dark.
#mswl

Kids stories where young people fall back in love with their histories and ancestors through exploring and adventure and reclaiming their heritage in an action packed setting. Think the plot for Outerbanks for marginalized kids
#mswl

Love stories across all genres that feel timeless, all consuming, LIs who worship their partner, “he falls first,” burn the world down for you, making questionable choices for love
#mswl

In both YA and Adult, I want these two buffoons. A political backdrop with extensive world building and incredible conflicts anchored by the hatred and love of two people who are somehow functioning when they should probably be dead
#mswl

💌I’m officially open to queries💌

And it’s my favorite day of the year! So let’s talk about things I love, tropes to love, love that turns to hate, lovers who were enemies, and love that hurts.
Here’s my #mswl for books I want to help people find and love and sob over 💗💗💗💗

Also, 18/34 romance books I’ve read this year have been self-published. So if you’re an indie or self-pubbed author looking to break into traditional publishing with a new project, I’d love to hear from you!

I’m really interested in book series that are interconnected standalones based on a same friend group, college, team, or industry

Songs I wish I could just bottle up their essence in romance scenes:

“Shivers” Ed Sheeran
“You Broke Me First” Tate McRae
“Still Falling For You” Ellie Golding
“Forever” Mumford and Sons
“Until I Found You” Stephen Sanchez
“Take Me to Church” Milck

Movies I’d love to capture the vibe of (and yes i know CRA is a book):