I am obsessed with friendships! Understanding the depth & importance of platonic relationships, friendship breakups, what kinds of relationships get prioritized & why, making meaningful connections as an adult.

Fiction or nonfiction, I wanna see! #MSWL

🌟Isolated settings such as islands, carnivals, and boarding schools and novels with a survival component
🌟Characters growing up in unconventional or nontraditional settings
🌟Revenge stories with unreliable narrators
🌟Strong sibling relationships and misfit friends

🌟Evergreen themes: body positivity, self-love, coming-of-age, girls supporting girls, friendship and friendship breakups, sex positivity
🌟Ghosts, creepy crawlies, witches, and things that go bump in the night

Two specific #MSWL items that will be on my list when I reopen to queries:
1, survivors of family "reunification" programs (like Building Family Bridges), fictionalized or NF accounts
2, fiction that explores the unique friendships between gay men and lesbians

4. books about the dynamics of friendship groups—I’d love something YA or MG with the feel of NOW & THEN, but more diverse (Celia Pérez’ STRANGE BIRDS does this really well, eg)

Here is another for my #queryingauthor friends. #MSWL

#grumpysunshine #roommatestolovers

#NewGirl vibes!

In middle grade, I’m always hungry for action, adventure, magic, and humor. It can be fantasy or contemporary, or a little bit of both. Give me your fresh takes on magical school settings or just fun friendship stories filled with hijinks. #MSWL

Happy #MSWL Day! I’d love to see…

Generally fic that gets a little weird and makes me feel things (see Lisa Taddeo’s ANIMAL, Jessamine Chan’s THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS)

A YA crossover witchy or obsessive girlhood friendship

An unusual & chaotic contemp workplace romance

MG: stories highlighting the beauty of kids going through difficult things and complicated family dynamics; experiences of first love and crushes esp of queer kids discovering themselves; misfits finding connection, friendship, and the stirrings of desire.

MG:
- contemporary, slice-of-life stories with an abundance of middle school drama
- light fantasy adventures and folktales
- sister stories, friendship breakups, first crushes

Speaking of toxic, I raced through SUCCESSION and love how it confronts our obsession with wealth while exploring the rot it creates within family/friends/relationships (8/12)

G+F is such a joyous triumph of celebrating female friendships, untraditional families, older protagonists, and life after love (6/12)

Friendship and family dynamics endlessly fascinate me, from the juicy drama of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES to the more wholesome GRACE AND FRANKIE (5/12)

#amwriting & #amquerying writers, I'm looking for contemporary cosy crime in an unconventional setting, a character-driven WW2 story with female espionage (think Heather Morris), and a Lucy Foley-esque locked room psychological thriller that revolves around toxic friendship #mswl

In any YA genre:
-LGBTQIA+ representation
-neurodiversity
-racial or cultural diversity
-male lead characters who subvert toxic masculinity
-found families and diverse ensemble casts
-strong friendships / platonic love stories
-protagonists as changemakers and activists
#mswl

I also love stories featuring relationships—the good, the bad, and everything in between: friendship and found family, “friend break-up”, complicated family dynamics. And I adore romance (especially LGBTQIA+!), but prefer it as a subplot.

Specifics I'd love to see:

-Light, humorous fantasy without end-of-the-world stakes

-Enemies-to-lovers

-Stories with band geeks, artists-any kind front and center

-Friend break-ups

-A platonic male/female friendship that is the core of the story and is never romantic

PB – Stories with environmental tie-ins (I’m especially drawn to stories about protecting oceans and the animals that live there). I also am a fan of unlikely friendship stories, especially with two very different animals—I really enjoy the ones that are true stories especially!

Things I DO love/DO want to see: unconventional magic systems, astronomy, page-turning thrillers, queer love, passionate characters w/ uncommon hobbies, enemies-to-lovers, friendship breakups, teen sleuths, stories not set in the US, body positivity, zombies

#MSWL

I would also love to see more Upmarket and Commercial/Women’s fiction (think compulsive book club fiction). I know this can be a broad category, but I am particularly drawn to books that play with power structures, friendship dynamics and odd familial structures. #MSWL