Hello to Critique Partners / Long Term writing group in Contemporary Romance / Chicklit 💖

[Bailey Evers]

Hey everyone! 

I’m a newly agented contemporary romance writer in the middle of a rewrite with my agent for my debut novel, and I’m looking for like-minded folks who love books in the realm of Emily Henry, Ali Hazelwood, and Tessa Bailey.

This rewrite is pretty big, and a lot of the work I did with the MS that got me my agent is out the window. She’s a great agent, but she’s pretty hands-off when it comes to the nitty-gritty, and I’ve decided I would love to build one of those ‘writing groups’ I keep hearing about.

If you're curious about my story, here's the blurb:

After her little brother’s tragic death, twenty-three-year-old Charlie Miller cuts ties with her toxic family and moves to Italy, desperate for a fresh start. Determined never to return to the U.S., she sets her sights on a work-stay visa. When she lands a position as an au pair for the wealthy Montefiori family, she quickly realizes the job isn’t what she bargained for: the children are aloof, rebellious, and constantly testing her limits. On a probationary period, Charlie must tame the unruly Montefiori offspring by summer’s end if she wants to earn her visa and call Italy home.

The task becomes treacherous when her heart is drawn to Diego De Luca, the family’s handyman. Unable to resist his quiet charm and calloused touch, she plunges into a forbidden romance, knowing that the estate’s strict no-fraternization policy could lead to immediate dismissal if they’re caught. Meanwhile, twenty-five-year-old Lorenzo Montefiori, the children’s uncle and heir to the Montefiori empire, is determined to make her life miserable—constantly belittling her American ways and distracting her with his maddeningly good looks. Charlie resolutely decides she wants nothing to do with the trust-fund bastard. That is, until he goes out of his way to save her job, forcing her to see him in a newer, kinder light.

As the summer grows hotter and cicadas scream louder, Charlie grapples with the children’s deep-seated issues and her own self-doubt. Further complicating things, she unearths troubling secrets about both Lorenzo and Diego. Neither man is as he seems, and she’s left to wonder who she can truly trust. With the end-of-summer deadline drawing near, Charlie must confront the guilt over her brother’s death, her feelings for both Diego and Lorenzo, and her place within the Montefiori family—or risk losing her future, her visa, and her chance at love.

. . .   

I love LGBTQ stories and stories with BIPOC MCs. I also love contemporary stories with speculative elements (think Twilight or About Time), and I love anything with a female lean in general, even thrillers!

But if you can’t tell by the vibe of this letter, I’m not a High-End Literary Big-Brain writer, so I don’t think I’d be a good fit for anything along those lines. I’m also not a good fit for sci-fi, and I can’t do romantasy unless it’s like urban fantasy, i.e., 80% contemporary world, 20% fantasy. (I’m sorry.)

I’m not here to win. I’m here to have fun and make friends, and that could be YOU!!! Okay. That’s it. Hope to hear from you soon. 💖

[Amelie Elmquist]

Hey Bailey!!

I'd love to work with each other. This sounds right up my alley, curious about Diego and Lorenzo... 

I haven't read any of those authors you mentioned but they're in the same genre of authors I enjoy reading (for example, I've been reading all of Lynn Painter's books recently - love Marni Bates, and if I had to pick one book as a favorite, I'd say Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin Gough).

The novel I'm trying to get critique on is called Hello_Girl() (or "Hello Girl") - it's a YA queer rom-com/coming of age with some computer science themes (computer science isn't super heavy in it - no worries, but computer science was my major in college so this was my way of trying to get use of that degree since I'm in a very art-focused career now hahah).

I've done 4 revisions of my novel so far and am looking for some outside views! I was about to pay for a developmental editor on fiverr, but then I came across this YouTube video that promotes critique partners over editors (especially before entering the agent process). I've been looking through agents, but before I can totally muster confidence to query, I'd like a second pair of eyes on it! Ideally, someone who enjoys YA contemporary.

Let me know if you're interested or not! (No worries if not, I know it can be tricky to match up styles perfectly).

Take care,

Amelie

[Lily D'Anieri]

Hi Bailey!

The description of your work sounds right up my alley--I am a big EmHen fan, have read most of Ali Hazelwood's work, and use a Tessa Bailey book as one of my comps. Your story sounds very fun and very juicy, and I am already dying to know which man Charlie ends up with (supposing it's not both?). It feels like a the grown-up version of a book I loved as a teen: The Au Pairs by Melissa de la Cruz.

I am allllllmost ready to start querying my contemporary romance, Seeing Stars, about a fangirl who gets roped into a PR relationship with her least-favorite member of her favorite now-disbanded boyband. If you don't mind,. I'm just going to copy and paste the latest version of my query letter, because if I have to write out a summary from scratch again my brain might leak from my ears. Let me know if it sparks interest! I look forward to hearing from you. 

Best,

Lily

Seeing Stars:

Meet Addie. She once tweeted that she hoped a bead of Jacob Prizer’s sweat landed on her during one of his concerts. He has since broken up his band, so she’s not as big a fan anymore. She’s now a music journalist at a prominent magazine.

Meet Jacob. Yes, that Jacob. His post-boyband solo career is off to a rocky start, and his new manager has a few ideas for getting back in fans’ good graces, including bringing a date to a charity gala to boost his desirability. Before Jacob can consider his date options, he has an interview scheduled with a writer named Addie.

Yes, that Addie.

In an attempt to play it cool, Addie pretends she was never a fan. It works a little too well, because Jacob, impressed and attracted, asks her to be his gala date. Tempted by the public’s surprisingly positive response, Jacob wants to maintain the PR relationship through awards season. He offers Addie industry connections to strengthen her career outside of her magazine, but by playing the role, she puts her journalistic reputation at risk. And she’s still lying about being his fan.

Meanwhile, Jacob is struggling with his lack of agency. He doesn’t miss being in a boyband, but a solo career is a lonely endeavor, and he’s still under his label’s thumb. He doesn’t hate his fans, but his sense of self has been majorly disrupted, and he’s still trying to put himself back together.

As Addie and Jacob get to know each other, fact and fiction blur and real feelings start to develop. Between Addie’s lie, Jacob’s tumultuous career, and both reckoning with the lingering impacts of fandom culture, they’ll have to decide between who they really are and who they pretend to be.

[Brooke Emery]

Hey Bailey! Congrats on landing an agent! Your book sounds amazing. I'm also writing contemporary romance and am super familiar with the genre. A scorching hot summer romance in Italy? Say less. I'm so in.

I'm currently drafting a contemporary romance about a woman fresh from massive career failure who has returned to her ski resort hometown to hide from her mistakes. But when the resort gets acquired, she must step into her ambition once again, even as the annoyingly perceptive accountant she's been paired with discovers something darker and more dangerous brewing at the resort.

Would love to swap pages! Let me know. Thanks!

Brooke

[Andrea Sellinger]

Hi Bailey, 

Congrats! Your story sounds awesome. I'm writing YA speculative fiction with a hint of romance.  Would that be too far from your reading interests, because I'd totally be game to exchange a few chapters to feel it out.  I'm on the fourth draft of my WIP.  Working on refining character arc.  Here's the blurb:  

All Talia Vox wanted when she scaled the rusted signal tower was to get a great selfie and a few more followers on her social feed. She didn’t plan on drones trying to shoot her out of the sky or Avairus’s government branding her a terrorist. And in her worst nightmares, she never thought such a petty crime would cost her mother’s life.

Terrified to turn herself in and desperate to keep her and her brother safe, Talia goes on the run. But that’s a task easier said than done in a city that chips its citizens to track them, harvests their ambient energy, and records nearly every second of their lives. Her only hope is a neighbor's smuggler son, as attractive as he is untrustworthy. He’ll get her out of the city, but not where she’s expecting to go.

Delivered into the hands of the Cipher resistance, Talia learns Avairus is developing a new chip to harvest the electrical spark produced by thoughts. It’s a vast, sustainable power source that could change the lives of millions, but rob them of mental privacy. Her mother stole information that could stop this encroachment. Cipher needs Talia’s help finding it. But Avairus’s ruthless head of security is on her tail, and freedom for everyone may come at the cost of her own. 

Let me know. Thanks!

andrea