Seeking Long-Term CPs for LGBTQ YA/Adult Thriller and/or Fantasy Novel

[Ella Mitchell-Smith]

I'm working on two projects right now- both are YA/Adult, both heavily involve LGBTQ experiences, and both are in the early drafting stage. I'm looking for a critique partner for both or either.

The first is a ghost story about four friends finding their way through grief and loss--most of all the bitter and empty grief that comes from the threat of losing oneself--but only because those things are necessary to tell a story about being alive.

My other project is is a high fantasy love story, with a hard magic system and an ensemble of characters. It's a story about queer love salvaging itself from the wreck of old rivalry, and the nature of that queer love to subvert the boundaries of class and power.

My writing style focuses most on character work, and building complex and believable dynamics between characters. The second novel especially will also focus on fantasy worldbuilding, though not in a way that is ever disconnected from the experiences and dynamics of the characters.

I am still early in the first draft of the first novel, and though I'm still in the planning stage of the second, I would appreciate critique and feedback there as well. I do not yet have an agent.

The last novel I loved was Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, and the novel that epitomizes me as a reader is probably Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater.

[Kestrel Craig]

Hi Ella,

I'm also working on a queer adult fantasy series, the first book of which I have been querying without success. It's more of a low fantasy (the presence of magic is debatable) examining colonialism and oppression, with an investigation plot that turns into self-realization. Would you be interested in trading first chapters?

~ Kestrel

[Corey Jones]

Hi there!  

I am also working on a fantasy series that explores themes in international relations, LGBT, and Ecopunk.  My story, similarly, is not a hard magic system.  The magic exists solely to modernize the world and work in place of technology. 

I would love to work with either of you!  Thanks!

[Hilary Jones]

Hi Ella, 

If you're still looking for an additional critique partner I would absolutely be interested! Gideon is one of my all time favorite books and I'm very interested in the fact that of TRC you picked Blue Lily as the book that epitomizes you as a reader. I love the expansive themes you described in your snippets and would be interesting in exchanging pages for either project.

My current project is an adult, age-of-sail, fantasy adventure featuring a trans protagonist and a number of queer characters. It's about grappling with guilt and running from mistakes and finding, in that flight, a truer version of yourself, a version strong enough to turn back and face the past. I consider the project "magic lite:" magical monsters roam the seas and their preserved bones and flesh can be manipulated to utilize their inherent magic. I'm currently in early draft two, slogging through sentence-level editing and fixing some character motivations.

I'd love to hear from you if you're interested in swapping!

Hilary