Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Apr 5

“The body had been strung up in the library for several hours before the first of the unfortunate stumbled upon it.”

#1stLinePit #WIP #YA #T #SFF

2 16 50

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Apr 5

“Three women hung from a tree, their lifeless bodies swaying in the early gray morning. No one was there to mourn them.
Save for one.”

#1stLinePit #Q #YA #HF

3 28

Reposted by Rebecca Leigh

Gwend💫lyn Vines @gwenvines.writes.fyi · Apr 5

PROLOGUE: The shovel was old enough to be an heirloom, the hands gripping it trembling enough to be a child’s.

Jim hadn’t been a child in a very long time.

A forge exhaled into his left ear, eddies of heat forming words.

*Be of use.*

And then—

—nothing.
#1stlinepit #Q #A #F #SF

Digital painting of a blond man wearing a tank top and a toolbelt from behind, his hand on his hip. In the bottom right is the text SEE IN ME THE WOLF by Gwendolyn Vines. In the upper left is the text "Adult STEM Postgrad Academic Fantasy, 107k words". In a green box in the upper right titled FIRST LINE is the text "To be Techniker was to be masochistic. Technikers worshiped at the altar of exhaustion, taking sick pride in toiling over a workbench or anvil until their bodies failed them. Glory lay in suffering for their craft, in creating small miracles powered as much by their own blood and sweat as the aether that underwove existence."

Pitch card for SEE IN ME THE WOLF by Gwendolyn Vines. Background top image is an anatomical diagram of a torso with left arm outstretched, bottom image is of dark nested ferns. Atop the image is a digital painting of a man with curly dark hair and medium skin tone, wearing dark green clothing and a gold hoop earring in his right ear, looking away from the camera. His hand rests atop a text box reading "When Institute graduate student Jim invents a device that could revolutionize medicine, his intoxicating suitemate Bash warns him it could be weaponized—and stops at nothing to prove his point. Are Jim's degree & the lives he could save worth staining his conscience?"

In the text box is the author's name and "Adult dark academic fantasy, 107k words." Below the textbox are cover images of the Netflix show Arcane (with Viktor's face), BLOOD OVER BRIGHT HAVEN by M.L. Wang, THE TWO DOCTORS GORSKI by Isaac Fellman, DON'T LET THE FOREST IN, by C. G. Drews, and RIPE by Sarah Rose Etter.

7 40 100

Reposted by Rebecca Leigh

Emma Al-munshi @emmaalmunshi.bsky.social · Apr 5

"Heat beats me down to a sweaty pulp, the sun ablaze and unforgiving like it’s trying to set the world on fire."

- To Ruin the Sky ⚡️

#1stLinePit #q #RF #NA #UF #OwnVoices

10 43 100

Reposted by Rebecca Leigh

Ann Glimmer @annglimmer.bsky.social · Apr 5

Nine years of fragile truce between our clans—and my boneheaded mistake could tear it all apart.

⚔️Age-old clan feud
🧪Unique magic & world
🐉Scandinavian fairytale creatures
❤️‍🔥Steamy forbidden love
🛡️"Who did this?"
🗡️"Touch him & die"

#1stLinePit #Romantasy #NA #AgentsGuide

An agent’s guide to: TRUE HATE’S KISS

A jarl’s daughter must trick her enemy into kissing her to break a deadly curse on her family.

109,000 words
New Adult Romantasy
By Ann Glimmer

Blurb:
When a man from the enemy clan murders Älva’s father, she swears revenge. But then her family is cursed to die. The only way to break the curse?
A TRUE HATE’S KISS
The man she hates the most must kiss her of his own free will.
But the more she learns about her enemy, the more she questions who the true villain really is—and forbidden desire threatens to ruin everything.

Comp Titles:
- A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
- Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Tropes:
Scandinavian Iron Age (almost Viking Age)
Pretending to woo him while betraying him
Feuding clans = enemies-to-lovers + forbidden love
Knife to throat
Complicated family dynamics
Magical swords and potions
Fairytale creatures based on Scandinavian folklore

Feedback from Beta Readers:
- "Couldn't stop reading all afternoon."
- "Your writing style is really strong, and you have a strong voice."
- "Their conversations being more tangible things rather than just flirtatious really open up the relationship."
- "This is one of thee the best books I've read since Addie LaRue."
- "It was a good slow burn romance and I liked that the male main character wasn't toxic or mean."
- "I loved how twisty the story became and found it a breath of fresh air in the genre."

18 63 150

Reposted by Rebecca Leigh

char 𖤓 @charyoung.bsky.social · Apr 5

🎸 daisy jones x knives out 🗡️

“it begins with a murmur drifting upon the wind.”

seven suspects. one the killer of renowned rock star sam corvi. but who? only they can tell you

#1stLinePit #A #LF #M (almost) #Q

a moodboard detailing nine images related to my book ALL THE DEVILS aka devilswip. in order from right to left they are: london notably the landmark big ben, a band performing on stage, a sheet of music, a record store, the silhouette of a rockstar, some musical instruments scattered on a bed, two men running, a pile of evidence and finally a hand holding a cigarette

the first pages of ALL THE DEVILS:

prelude
21st august 2016

it begins with a murmur drifting upon the wind.
at first, it’s small—unnoticeable, but soon that murmur, that slick sliver of sound that could one day change the world reaches humankind and becomes a hurricane—an untamed clamour among the silence. it ripples. it taunts. It waltzes upon the breeze like the destructive force it is and, in the end, is unstoppable. It cannot be contained. It’s there forever, a permanent echo in a vacuum, a scratch on a record, a soundbite of time. today, the murmur begins its devastating dance outside a block of flats overlooking the river thames. a white flurry of forlorn forensics leave the building with disbelief carved onto their weary faces. an unsettling stillness suffuses the space as the murmur passes from person to person.
it’s him, rumbles the murmur. it’s sam corvi. he’s dead.

11 82 150

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Apr 5

“The world is not kind to wanderers, Alexandria thought as she lay in her tomb.”

#1stLinePit #Q #YA #HF

3 14 45

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Apr 1

A reaper. A lost soul. A (very well aimed) punch to the face. Who knew that these these things could end up starting a war?

#chaospit #YA #Q

2 12

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 25

Art and music! I love to draw and play my violin.

a person is holding a small pink violin in their hand

ALT: a person is holding a small pink violin in their hand

media.tenor.com

4

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 17

NINTH HOUSE X THE SECRET HISTORY

When five students find their names written in blood at the scene of a brutal murder, they must work together to find out who is responsible for the crime before the shadows of the university swallow them whole.

#YA #W #LuckyPit #PopUpPit

1 6 13

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 17

👀👀✨

1

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 17

🤭🤭🤭

1

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 17

She wants answers. He wants her heart.

A DOWRY OF BLOOD X PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

✨Big Five Editor Interest & 14+ Requests✨
🎶 POTO retelling
🥀 Vampires and witches
🕰️Star-crossed lovers
🫀Love triangle
🕯️Deadly Secrets
🩸And monsters who are out for blood

#YA #Q #LuckyPit #PopUpPit

2 11 16

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 17

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA X DRACULA

A mysterious letter. A series of unfortunate accidents. And an enchanting voice deep in the walls of the opera house that won’t leave Circe alone.

If Circe wants to save herself—and all of Paris—then she must sing for her life.

#YA #Q #PopUpPit #LuckyPit

1 7 16

Reposted by Rebecca Leigh

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 17

DIVINE RIVALS X LOVELY WAR

🎞️ dual POV
🕰️ historical fantasy
🕯️he falls first AND harder
🎻 found family
🧳 unread letters / poetry
🪖 “I would become human for you x I would become a monster for you”

#YA #W #PopUpPit #LuckyPit #agentguide

1 19 33

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 17

DIVINE RIVALS X LOVELY WAR

🎞️ dual POV
🕰️ historical fantasy
🕯️he falls first AND harder
🎻 found family
🧳 unread letters / poetry
🪖 “I would become human for you x I would become a monster for you”

#YA #W #PopUpPit #LuckyPit #agentguide

1 19 33

Reposted by Rebecca Leigh

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 17

DIVINE RIVALS X LOVELY WAR

When one of Death’s Reapers is caught harboring a wayward soul, they are both banished to the mortal realm and separated. Only now it’s 1918, and they must claw their way across war-torn lands to find each other again.

#YA #W #LuckyPit #PopUpPit

1 11 13

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 17

DIVINE RIVALS X LOVELY WAR

When one of Death’s Reapers is caught harboring a wayward soul, they are both banished to the mortal realm and separated. Only now it’s 1918, and they must claw their way across war-torn lands to find each other again.

#YA #W #LuckyPit #PopUpPit

1 11 13

Rebecca Leigh @rebleighauthor.bsky.social · Mar 13

submitting my divine rivals x lovely war historical fantasy to #RevPit

two men in suits and ties are standing next to each other in a room .

ALT: two men in suits and ties are standing next to each other in a room .

media.tenor.com

1 7

Reposted by Rebecca Leigh

datcravat クラバット🍷 @datcravat.bsky.social · Mar 12

all I want to do rn is DRAW but I have to do stupid stinky OTHER THINGS

50 160 1.6K