Author | Lightnews

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Apr 5

After a week of sleeping, another of waiting for tears to fall, a third spent surviving on pastries, pizza, and pasta, and a final week binging Sex and the City and Insecure, I’ve officially had enough of rotting on the couch in grief.

#1stLinePit #WIP #A #Con #R #Com #WF #CMe

a man is crying while laying on a couch with his eyes closed .

ALT: a man is crying while laying on a couch with his eyes closed .

media.tenor.com

2 18

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Apr 5

“If the doctor had warned me that clothes would disappear from my closet beginning in my daughter’s teenage years, I would've told him my fingers were crossed for a boy.”

BEFORE I LET GO X SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE = INTIMATE FRIENDS

#1stLinePit #A #Q #WF #CON #R #COM #CMe

2 23

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Mar 3

There are a handful of songs that really capture the vibe...but the title song, "Intimate Friends" by Eddie Kendricks is really the entire moment, inspiration, and heart of the book #RomComMarch

1 2

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 26

A writer I really admire told me my novel put her in the mind of throwbacks like Terry McMillan. BRB going to weep.

a blonde woman wearing black gloves smiles for the camera

ALT: a blonde woman wearing black gloves smiles for the camera

media.tenor.com

Reposted by Lauren

ʜᴀᴄᴋᴀʀʏ ʙɪɴx @chaclo.blacksky.app · Feb 25

Everything is gonna work out.

28 46 180

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 14

Thank you!

J. K. Lambo @jklambo.bsky.social · Feb 14

ooo, this sounds like a good book! 😍

Reposted by Lauren

J. K. Lambo @jklambo.bsky.social · Feb 14

ooo, this sounds like a good book! 😍

1 1

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 12

After their divorce, Teresa became her ex-husband Jared's caregiver all for the love of their daughter. Now that she's ready to date, he decides to play matchmaker & help her find lasting love--but she wonders if he’s leaning on smoke and mirrors to hide his true motives. #questpit #A #R #WF #CR

3 15

Reposted by Lauren

Christine is agented @thechristinewrites.bsky.social · Feb 12

And dreams do come true!!

1

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 12

I can’t wait to add this to my library!!

Christine is agented @thechristinewrites.bsky.social · Feb 12

This is your agent’s guide to Love, Witches, and Wahala: where ancient magic collides with modern romance, curses are harder to break than hearts, and sometimes love spells turn into a full-blown magical disaster. 🍷✨ #RomanticFantasy #agentsguide #questpit #onsubsoon

1 1

Reposted by Lauren

Christine is agented @thechristinewrites.bsky.social · Feb 12

This is your agent’s guide to Love, Witches, and Wahala: where ancient magic collides with modern romance, curses are harder to break than hearts, and sometimes love spells turn into a full-blown magical disaster. 🍷✨ #RomanticFantasy #agentsguide #questpit #onsubsoon

13 28

Reposted by Lauren

amarie is ✨ON SUB✨ @amariewrites.bsky.social · Feb 12

MEET MY MCs!
When Amara struggles to find a contractor to renovate her plus-size boutique, she enlists the help of her ex-childhood best friend (& first love), Theo, who she hasn’t spoken to in 8 years💐

#questpit #r #agented

6 13

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 12

Writing the book was easy (enough), editing was (painfully) easy, but querying? I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE FELT LIKE THIS.

a woman is crying while wearing a sweater that says i voted today on it .

ALT: a woman is crying while wearing a sweater that says i voted today on it .

media.tenor.com

5

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 12

And suddenly...I'm obsessed with Marcellina Akpojotor

tru @thetrudz.photo · Feb 11

“10 Black-Owned Galleries Shaping the Future of Contemporary Art” www.prazzleinc.com/editorial/ce...

Artwork caption from article: “Weekend with Grandma, Fabric, charcoal on paper and acrylic on canvas, 96 x 76 inches, 2022 by Marcellina Akpojotor (Image courtesy of Rele Gallery)”

A colorful piece that shows a grandmother and two small children from the back, close together in front of a wire balcony or fence.

Artwork caption from article: “Abe Ogunlende, In the Mean Time, 12 x 12 inches, Acrylic on Canvas, 2023. (Image courtesy of the gallery)”

Pastels (background and clothing) juxtaposed to skin painted in black acrylic.

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 12

An ADULT ROMANCE FINALIST with @wordisdiversity.bsky.social, the reviews were a hit:

✨ "The author is an excellent storyteller- immediately taking us into the world, mindset and memories of our protagonist."
📚 "I believe this book is a good candidate for publication."
🖊️ "Great style and tone!"

1 1 2

Reposted by Lauren

Christine is agented @thechristinewrites.bsky.social · Feb 12

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS!!! Read it, and it's a book we all should have on our shelves.

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 12

BEFORE I LET GO x SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE

When ready to give up on dating, one woman meets the man of her dreams through an unlikely matchmaker—her ex-husband, who clings tight to a gut-wrenching secret that’s bound to devastate the most intimate relationships in his life.

#questpit #Q #A #R

1 1 2

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 12

🥲 a girl can dream!

1 1

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 12

🫶🏾 Friends to lovers
❤️ after divorce, she becomes his caregiver
🥹 when she starts dating, he becomes her matchmaker
👪 co-parenting a moody teenager
👯 friends who are like sisters
😍 a broodingly handsome landscaper

INTIMATE FRIENDS is a poignant journey second chances & letting go #questpit #q #r

three women are standing next to each other in a room with insecure hbo written on the bottom of the screen

ALT: three women are standing next to each other in a room with insecure hbo written on the bottom of the screen

media.tenor.com

1 7 18

Reposted by Lauren

maggie @maggiesbooks.bsky.social · Feb 12

HAPPY PLACE + EVERY SUMMER AFTER = NONE OF THIS WAS REAL

If you love someone, let them go and if they come back for your sister's wedding, then nothing can possibly go wrong.

She broke his heart years ago. She wants him back. He doesn’t trust her. But should she even trust him?

#questpit #q #r

An Agent’s Guide to
None of This Was Real
Adult Contemporary Romance

The Pitch

If you love someone, let them go and if they come back for your sister's wedding, then nothing can possibly go wrong.

Jasper’s life in NYC is falling apart. She might get fired and she’s not over her last relationship. She arrives at her family’s lake house in the Quebec Laurentians for her sister’s wedding week only to find her favorite ex is also invited. She broke his heart years ago. She wants him back. He doesn’t trust her. But should she even trust him?

Comps:
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Seven Summers by Paige Toon

What to expect
Canadian Setting
Two timelines
Family Drama
2010s Nostalgia
Flawed characters

2 27 61

Reposted by Lauren

𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓼 ⚢ @iamdess.bsky.social · Feb 11

No response is a response. & it’s a powerful one. remember that baby ❤️

38 100

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 12

I loveeee this! Seems like the most perfect fall read!

1 1

Reposted by Lauren

VP is editing portal romantasy 💫 @vpwrites87.bsky.social · Feb 12

Interstellar x Atlantis

Sparks fly between a genius astrophysicist and her gruff benefactor as they attempt to unlock the secrets of a desolate planet before the lethal organism which destroyed it is unleashed throughout the entire galaxy.

#questpit #SF #R #A #W

Mood board with space and sea vibes. Lots of purples and blues and vast expanses. There’s a jellyfish billowing its tendrils in one of the mood board tiles. The middle tile has a quote: “What do you know of the lost planet Arentis?” Followed by the description “Adult Sci-Fi Romance” and the social media handle @vpwrites78

1 20 33

Reposted by Lauren

gabby is now ✨elle reed✨ @gabbywrites.bsky.social · Feb 12

THE SUMMER OF BROKEN RULES X HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS AND UNFAIRLY CUTE

☀️close-knit coastal town and weekly beach bonfires
☀️slow burn between ex-best friends
☀️secret beach hideaway
☀️end of the summer festival
☀️she may (or may not be) his muse 🤭

#questpit #Q #YA #R

3 23 48

Reposted by Lauren

J. K. Lambo @jklambo.bsky.social · Feb 12

🧁 She's a jaded pastry chef
🍰 He's a charismatic baker
❤️‍🔥 When their rivalry reaches an all-time high and sugar-coated lies turn to bitter truths, will they be able to achieve their desires w/o getting burned or will all they’ve worked for end up in flames?

#questpit #R #NA #W

Project Sugar and Spice moodboard

Top row: black girl with afro wearing shirt and chef's apron holding a basket of bread; black couple spending time together; black guy with dreadlocks and beard wearing glasses

Middle row: sheets of thin pastry beside rolling pin sprinkled with flour; "are you flirting or starting a fight?" quote; choux pastry filled with homemade pastry cream sprinkled with powdered sugar

Bottom row: Bowl of Nigerian puff puff drizzled with melted chocolate; baking ingredients like butter, sugar, eggs, and flour on black surface; cannelés de Bordeaux on wooden board

7 22 47

Lauren @thelaurenline.bsky.social · Feb 12

BEFORE I LET GO x SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE

When ready to give up on dating, one woman meets the man of her dreams through an unlikely matchmaker—her ex-husband, who clings tight to a gut-wrenching secret that’s bound to devastate the most intimate relationships in his life.

#questpit #Q #A #R

2 6 14