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Amy Oates

@oatesam.bsky.social

940 followers 1.3K following 170 posts

Writer. Qualified to beat a certain Scottish King and the Witch-King of Angmar. Work in Aothen Magazine, 7th-Circle Pyrite, AZE Journal, The Fantastic Other, and Ekklesia Magazine. https://amyoates.writersresidence.com

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Amy Oates @oatesam.bsky.social · Apr 5

The Fork in the Road:
"I've lost Bette’s scent.
I close my eyes to focus and adapt. My nose itches as it flattens, tan fur growing over the skin and scratching my browbone. It’s dark and the street’s quiet; no one will see the change. "
#1stLinePit #WIP #A #F #UF #writingcommunity

Moodboard for The Fork in the Road novel in progress, featuring the Appalachian mountains with birds flying over them on one side, and an open book, cozy blanked, and cup of hot cocoa with a spoon in it on the other. In the middle are graphics of a black feather and white magnolia flowers. The title appears on the left side, followed by the pitch: "Someone's kidnapping supernatural beings. Diane Brooks, human and owner of 'The Fork in the Road,' a magical coffee shop and bar, may be the only one who can save them.

Trope Map for The Fork in the Road, a novel in progress. Three images are stacked left to right - a coffee shop counter, a woman with a dark background in red light, and a burning forest. The title "Tropes" sits over the middle image, followed by a list of bullet point tropes: Multi-POV, Women's Rights & Women's Wrongs, Supernatural Kitchen Sink, Mostly queer cast, Mythology in present day, Sentient bar & coffee shop, Enemies to ???

A first page snippet from "The Fork in the Road," a novel in progress. Feathers are lined on the left side of the image, leading to a blue feather at the bottom. A blue text box sits in the middle, featuring text from the first page:
I've lost Bette’s scent.
I close my eyes to focus and adapt. My nose itches as it flattens, tan fur growing over the skin and scratching my browbone. It’s dark and the street’s quiet; no one will see the change. The smell of the city sharpens. Damp earth, muddy grass, and crowded bodies linger in the air. But I still can’t smell her. I twitch my nose and restore it to human form.
The storm that flooded the Appalachian foothills, causing mud slides and chasing me to her mother’s house didn’t cover Bette’s scent. That only happened recently.
Her kidnappers are sidhe, the type to steal a child for their own amusement. The rowan berries smashed on the lawn and the tang of lake reeds proved that. They led her through rivers and on trains to disguise their route, but Bette left clues, marking trees, posts, or whatever else she could find with a spot of blood. She must have bitten at a nail or the corner of her mouth to manage it.
That made it easier to follow their trail, despite being weeks behind. Until I reached Chicago.

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Reposted by Amy Oates

Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 9d

15 million Americans are going to lose their health care.

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Reposted by Amy Oates

Joel @sentantiq.bsky.social · 12d

"How does it change our reading of the Iliad to imagine that we could be thinking about Iphigenia?"

sententiaeantiquae.com/2025/10/28/p...

Prophet of Evils

Reading Iphigenia Into and Out of the Iliad At the beginning of the Iliad, Agamemnon refusers to honor the ransom request of Chryses for his daughter Chryseis and this prompts the “rage of Apollo” …

sententiaeantiquae.com

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Reposted by Amy Oates

james gemmill @jameshgemmill.bsky.social · 13d

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE x COME CLOSER x WE USED TO LIVE HERE

In 1991, a journalist is lured to an isolated rural town and must untangle a tragic mystery involving haunted teen girls, buried secrets, and a demonic possession passed from mother to daughter. #roundtablementor #UN #A #H #M

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Reposted by Amy Oates

Meagan Cleveland @meaganc.bsky.social · 13d

Based on Welsh Mythology, outcast Rhiannon finds love with Pwyll. Only problem is they’re on opposite sides of a war. To save their son, she must journey to the Otherworld, pass the trials of its lord, and confront the truth about her identity.
#ROUNDTABLEMENTOR #A #F #UN

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Reposted by Amy Oates

Cee Jordan @cjorwrites.bsky.social · 13d

🗡️🩸Scheming magicless FMC with a mind like a knife
👀🌊Charismatic sea-raider MMC with a quick tongue and dark wit
⚔️💍Enemies to lovers + marriage of convenience to fool mutual foes
🔥🌅Mysterious magic that comes with a price
🇮🇪📚 Based on myth of how Ireland got its name
#Roundtablementor #A #F #R #UN

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Reposted by Amy Oates

cindy 💕 心詒 @cindycwrites.bsky.social · 13d

EMPIRE OF SAND X THE YOUNG ELITES

Enzhe was always told being born with magic meant he was born for greatness. He never imagined that greatness meant helping a grieving girl destroy magic by killing the gods, all to save his little sister.

#roundtablementor #YA #F #UN

moodboard of 9 photos, from left to right, top to bottom: a girl gazing down, a tea set, a boy glancing upwards, a bowl of tangyuan, a mooncake, a red lantern, a temple pagoda, incense burning in a bowl, and another girl staring downwards

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Reposted by Amy Oates

L. Amariti @lamaritiwrites.bsky.social · 13d

LOVELESS x SIMONVERSE: Aroace Izzy has more on her plate than cake

💜Childhood best friend drama
💚Creating community
💜Navigating family relationships with her sister, college bound cousin, and traditional Nonna
💚Creating her place in the world (ft. FASHION)

#roundtablementor #YA #Con #UN

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Reposted by Amy Oates

Taylor ✨querying a horror rom 👽♥️🎲✨ @taylorkowens.bsky.social · 13d

She hides her true desires to survive.
He hides his alien form behind human skin.
Beneath Vegas lights, their union burns through the lies,
forcing them to choose whether to keep hiding or be seen for everything they are.
#roundtablementor #A #H #R #UN

1 4 10

Reposted by Amy Oates

Shaya Lin Susan @shayalinsusan.bsky.social · 13d

Max thinks the tradwife cult her sister joins is weird but harmless…till the bake-offs turn into human sacrifices.

🏠Tradwife influencers
👹Hungry ancient evil
🪓Sacrifice disobedient women
🏳️‍🌈Sapphic Horrormance
🎂Baking battle
🎃Halloween gone wrong

#roundtablementor #YA #H #UN

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Reposted by Amy Oates

elif ⚡ @rydeen1997.bsky.social · 13d

When a nymph disappears into the local pond with no intention to leave, her daughter must risk her art school dreams to save her—from both the owner who wants to dry the pond and the town that wants them gone for good.

Meet NYMPH'S POND💙

#roundtablementor #A #F #L

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Reposted by Amy Oates

FT Zahra @ftzahra.bsky.social · 13d

My last #roundtablementor pitch is dedicated to my wonderful mentors @vishaka.bsky.social & Olivia Sun for their help & guidance this year. I could not have shaped Safa's story without them & I'm so grateful for their time and effort! 🥹🤍

Looking forward to diving back into the query trenches again!

Moodboard with four images depicting a tumbling clock, a stack of old books, an interlocking of hands, and a snowy cabin. Atop this is a snippet from the manuscript being pitched.

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Reposted by Amy Oates

Kayley is stressfully revising @lowvisionliterary.bsky.social · 13d

👻 A war between ghosts and reapers
👻 A newly dead woman caught in the middle
👻 An antagonist who thinks she’s the hero
👻 Her golden retriever BFF
👻 Scythe combat
👻 Spooky winter aesthetic
👻 Bi-curious panic
👻 Hint of bad ghost jokes to cope
#roundtablementor #A #F

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Amy Oates @oatesam.bsky.social · 13d

Thank you!! I’ve got some edits to those first lines now, but they’re still really similar style-wise

Reposted by Amy Oates

Crissie (C.T. Wood) @crissthecreative.bsky.social · 13d

A Greek God Got Me Pregnant is for now adult Percy Jackson fans who are starting to wonder more about Sally Jackson and the other mortal parents’ stories.

Larkin definitely does after she discovers she's pregnant with the actual Greek god Apollo's child.

#roundtablementor #A #R #F #Con #UN

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Reposted by Amy Oates

L. Amariti @lamaritiwrites.bsky.social · Oct 8

Introducing SOMETHING GOLDEN, in which aroace Izzy carves space in the world for herself and embraces her identity, ft

🌈queer coming of age
🌈the importance of creating community
🌈SHAKESPEARE x COUTURE FASHION
🌈a dramatic, loveable Italian-American family

#DVpit #YA #CON #LGBT #ASPEC #AROACE #OWN

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Amy Oates @oatesam.bsky.social · 13d

Vampires and court politics sounds 100% my jam!

Reposted by Amy Oates

tash 🍂✨☕️ @natashagracebooks.bsky.social · 13d

CASTLEVANIA x THE CRIMSON MOTH ✨🗡️🖤

An indebted courtesan assassin - armed with outlawed blood magic - must kill the vampire tyrant king who murdered her mother, while resisting a forbidden romance with the commander sworn to protect him at all costs.

#NA #F #roundtablementor

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Reposted by Amy Oates

Kayley is stressfully revising @lowvisionliterary.bsky.social · 13d

Desperate for a second chance at the afterlife, a rebel spirit and her army use a stolen scythe to wage war against Death's reapers. But as her enemies continue to ignore their plight, she wrestles with how much further she's willing to go for victory. #roundtablementor #A #F

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Reposted by Amy Oates

Sonja J Kaye @sonjajkaye.bsky.social · 13d

Natalie’s guide to surviving boarding school:

🔪don’t let your murderous side show

🔪seriously, do NOT kill anyone even if you want to

🔪practice the Good Girl smile for Yale

🔪DON’T fall for the new girl

🔪Fail and go to jail? Hell, no.

#roundtablementor #YA #T #UN

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Reposted by Amy Oates

Perla Zul @perlazul.bsky.social · 13d

The Sound of Marigolds is a character driven story about regret, forgiveness, and breaking the cycle of violence and hatred.

🌼Sapphic Villain Non-Human MC
🌼Obsessive Love
🌼Inspired by Aztec Mythology
🌼Old Gods and Magical Creatures

#roundtablementor #F #NA #UN

2 7 14

Reposted by Amy Oates

Chelsea H. | Writer @chelseahwrites.bsky.social · 13d

THE SERPENT & THE WINGS OF NIGHT x CRESCENT CITY
🔥 Snarky, monster-hunter FMC
🦇 Frankenstein-inspired love interest
🔪 Deadly competition in monster-run city
🧨 Feminine rage & daddy issues
✨Hellhounds, witches, angels, and more!
#RoundTableMentor #A #F #UN

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Reposted by Amy Oates

hanna @hhoshino-writes.bsky.social · 13d

SUITS x THE HATING GAME

When forced to team up with her former law school nemesis, ambitious public attorney Camila Gonzalez must decide if it’s worth risking both her career and her heart when undeniable chemistry sparks between her and the hotshot corporate sellout

#roundtablementor #A #R

8 6 24

Reposted by Amy Oates

FT Zahra @ftzahra.bsky.social · 13d

A town with missing memories.
A snowstorm that never happened.
A dark figure playing a fatal game behind the scenes.

And a dead girl walking with the answers. The only problem? She doesn't remember them & she has 30 days to figure it out before she dies again.

#roundtablementor #ya #f #un

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Reposted by Amy Oates

rachael @rachaelallysa.bsky.social · 13d

BIANCA TORRE IS AFRIAD OF EVERYTHING X LAMAR GILES

I spy with my little eye…

a girl who needs cash fast,
a missing town sweetheart,
a hefty reward,
a swamp monster,
and a whole lotta honey

#roundtablementor #YA #M #UN

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Reposted by Amy Oates

L. Amariti @lamaritiwrites.bsky.social · 13d

LOVELESS x SIMONVERSE: Aroace freshman Izzy learns high school isn’t such a piece of cake, or garlic bread.

Featuring
🌈queer coming of age
🌈the importance of creating community
🌈SHAKESPEARE x COUTURE FASHION
🌈a dramatic, loveable Italian-American family

#roundtablementor #YA #Con #UN

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