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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

GLAZED & CONFUSED, 78,000-word contemporary rom-com For readers who love: 🖤 The Passion Project by London Sperry 🖤 Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams 🖤 Hello Stranger by Katherine Center …and anyone who still rewatches Jessica Day & Nick Miller’s first kiss. 🫶🏻 #QuestPit #Q #A #R

Promotional graphic for the adult contemporary romance GLAZED & CONFUSED. Against a backdrop of handmade pottery displayed on wooden shelves, illustrated versions of Milo Hawthorne and Briar Maxton face one another. The text reads: “Dumped minutes before a couples pottery class, Milo does the only logical thing: shows up alone. Unfortunately for Briar, the overworked studio owner who swore off dating, their chemistry burns hotter than a kiln.” The title GLAZED & CONFUSED appears prominently at the top with “A 78,000-word Adult Rom-Com.”

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

GLAZED & CONFUSED, 78,000-word contemporary rom-com When Milo gets dumped minutes before a couples pottery class, he does the only logical thing: shows up alone. Unfortunately for Briar, the overworked studio owner who swore off dating, their chemistry burns hotter than a kiln. #questpit #q #a #r

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Mood board for GLAZED & CONFUSED, a 78,000-word adult romantic comedy. A warm, earthy collage features hands shaping clay on a pottery wheel, shelves filled with handmade pottery, a woman smiling while throwing clay, downtown Fort Wayne at sunset, a couple ice skating together, a curly-haired young man, a hand glazing a ceramic mug, and a couple embracing with clay-covered hands. Center text reads, “A Mood Board for GLAZED & CONFUSED.” The overall aesthetic evokes cozy creativity, second chances, playful romance, and small-town Midwest charm.

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

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Mike Mizov @mikemizov.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

HE SAVED THE KINGDOM ONCE. MAYBE HE SHOULDN’T HAVE. Disgraced Grand Inquisitor Wynsten is hired to find a missing ambassador. Instead, he uncovers forbidden magic and a conspiracy rooted in the blood ritual that made him a legend and ruined his life. #QuestPit #Q #A #DF #MY

INQUISITOR FOR HIRE

ADULT DARK FANTASY NOIR · 93,000 WORDS · MULTI-POV · STANDALONE

Once Rysia’s feared Grand Inquisitor, Wynsten now catches adulterers to make rent. When he is hired to find a missing ambassador before an uneasy peace collapses, the case leads him through forbidden magic, vanished daughters, and a conspiracy tied to the royal blood ritual that made him a legend, ruined his life, and fused the empire’s worst secrets to his chest.

A MISSING AMBASSADOR.
A DISGRACED LEGEND.
A KINGDOM ROTTING FROM WITHIN.

OPENING LINES

“The heretics had nowhere left to run. Wynsten had made sure of that.

Months of blood and smoke had led him beneath the Sovereign’s castle, into the old mines carved through the bedrock. A stronghold under the heart of the kingdom.

These apostates would face justice here or burn.”

Twenty years before he became an investigator for hire, Wynsten stopped a ritual fueled by Rysia’s own royal blood.

A FANTASY INVESTIGATION WITH TEETH

THREE TOUCHSTONES. ONE DECAYING EMPIRE.

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan - Institutional rot and compromised justice

The Tainted Cup - a secondary-world mystery engine

Chinatown - slow-burn corruption and a poisoned victory

INSIDE THE CASE

A dark-fantasy noir for readers who want the mystery and the damage.

A post-conquest secondary world inspired by the Crusader states

Fallen hero / disgraced legend

Missing ambassador

Forbidden magic

Secrets beneath the city

Corruption at the highest level

Reluctant found family

Power no one understands

Morally gray choices

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

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Chantal Danieli — is querying MSU! 🕯️ @chantaldanieli.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

JANE EYRE x THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 🕯️forbidden gothic romance 🕯️slow burn 🕯️yearning à la anthony bridgerton 🕯️black swan-esque awakening 🕯️2000's setting 🕯️devouring obsession but make it consensual 🕯️secret lake meetings — coming to agent inboxes September 2026 🍂 #questpit #W #A #NA #R

My Sweet Unbecoming
A forbidden gothic romance
Coming to agent inboxes September 2026

Comps & Pitch
The Phantom of the Opera
Jane Eyre
Bridgerton — The Viscount Who Loved Me

When a scandal exiles her to Lucerne, disgraced Olivia Rooney falls for the one man she’s forbidden to love—Théodore Chair-Beaumont, the brooding aristocrat sworn to matrimony with another.
But beneath his restraint lies a wound that mirrors her own. And falling for him could not only repeat the tragedy that broke him before. It could ruin her reputation, once and for all.

Tropes
Forbidden Romance
High Society Match Making
European Setting
Slow Burn
Love VS Duty
Black Swan-esque Awakening
Masquerade Ball
2000’s Setting
Obsessive yearning
Secret Lake Meetings

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K.M. Carlson @wanderingbutton.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

#Q #A #F #Questpit ASHMARKED: Feminine rage, social commentary, dangerous power... "They made obedience feel holy and used it as permission." Querying now!

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Gabriel Morgan is querying @gabrielmorgan00.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT X PENNY DREADFUL When a mysterious being heralds the apocalypse, there are only two witnesses: Rowan and Darshil, bitter exes who must brave London’s occult underbelly and save the world from eternal darkness, all while grappling with their unresolved feelings. #questpit #Q #RF

Gothic Gaslamp Romantasy
Adult standalone
109,500 words

Pitch:
After their one-night stand ends in hurt, hedonistic occultist Rowan and repressed poet Darshil never want to see each other again. That plan is ruined when a being from beyond the grave heralds the apocalypse, and they are the only two witnesses.
Forced together, Rowan and Darshil plunge into London's occult underbelly in search of answers to the apocalypse. But as the Veil between life and death slowly thins, and old passions reignite, Rowan realises the truth lies in memories he swore to forget, and that the past is a shallow grave, easily unearthed.
Comps:
The Magpie Lord: gaslamp world, occult magic, big spooky house
A Marvellous Light: opposites attract, magical bonds
The Gentleman and his Vowsmith: second chance, steamy romance
The Resurrectionist: historical setting, self discovery
Penny Dreadful: Victorian gothic, seduced by darkness

Black cat x golden retriever
Yearning
Bisexual awakening
Second chance romance
Forced proximity
Only one bed
Opposites attract
Gothic decadence
Big spooky house
Exploration of grief
Horror as a metaphor
Dreams-based magic
The occult
Alternate London setting
Art shows a thin white person with short black hair, blue eyes, and an unimpressed expression, and a plus-sized South Asian man with chin-length curly black hair, brown eyes, short facial hair, and a soft smile.

It was a poet’s job to seek out beauty, to be mesmerised by it. Darshil wanted to transform Rowan into swirls of ink, to fit his hands into the slight dips where Rowan’s waist met his hips and write him a thousand times over.

The only thing more fascinating than death was the tormented living it left behind.
It helped to hate him. It was less painful than loving him.
The dead thing woke to the acrid stench of its own rot.
Rowan matched him tenderness for tenderness, giving everything he could and knowing that for once, his everything was enough.
Perhaps closing his eyes stopped it meaning anything. Darshil knew he should do the same. This was shame beyond anything else, a secret to take to the unloving grave.
He kept his eyes open anyway. With Rowan beneath him, as beautiful as the dawn, he couldn’t bear to look away.

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Gert Ramm 🦋 @rammwriter.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

The UK government frames an intelligence agent for a temporal disaster, putting him in the crosshairs of ruthless state assassins. To save his skin he must seal a lethal time rift, before a Russian spy from the future uses its secrets to start a war that will destroy everything. #QuestPit #Q #A #SF

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PJ (he/him) is querying... @pjwrites.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

THE EVERWINTER KING Desperate to find his missing sun god, a former holy king returns home to compete in trials meant to bring his god back and stop the onslaught of an endless winter. 🏳️‍🌈 Queer norm world ☀️ Light-based magic 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans love interest 👑 Hidden royalty #QuestPit #Q #A #F #LGBT

Title page for an agent's guide to THE EVERWINTER KING. The title is placed over a moodboard featuring a Mediterranean inspired setting and royalty imagery. In addition to the title the page reads "Adult Fantasy Standalone. Queer normative world. MM romance subplot. 99,000 words."

THE EVERWINTER KING's pitch.

PITCH
A former holy king does the one thing he swore he’d never do in search of his missing god. He goes home.

Malachi was born with God’s voice in his head. When God vanishes in the midst of a decade-long winter, Mal breaks the oath he made to himself and returns to the home he abandoned—the city where he was raised to be king. There, he’s marked to compete in trials meant to select God’s new emissary. His replacement.

After succeeding in the first trial, Mal demands entry to the royal temple, where he learns the skies are empty. God has stopped speaking to his priests and Mal alike. With no other avenue for answers, Mal must win the competition for God’s favor and assume the throne he never wanted, or risk losing his oldest friend for good and damning the world to a worsening everwinter.

An excerpt from THE EVERWINTER KING. Next to the excerpt is character art of the main character. He has light bright skin, dark brown hair, facial hair, and a simple jerkin over white shirt. His eye is glowing like the sun.

EXCERPT STARTS BELOW

“My head hurts,” Malachi mumbled into his drink.

“They say King Ridaris’ eye glowed like this.”

Did they? Malachi shuffled through his memories for any mention of that from his mothers, or the history books, and found nothing.

“I think it means God knows who you are.” Sen lowered her voice, eyes shifting toward the surrounding priests. Kinder to pretend she did it out of concern for his headache. “You need to be careful.”

“Aye.”

“It hasn’t stopped glowing. Everyone else’s did.”

He raised a hand to cover his eye, pausing to marvel at the light pouring over his fingers and palm. It spilled into every crack, crevice, and scar his hand had to offer, like liquid pooled against his skin. Malachi closed his fist around the cold light and pressed it to his face. “Hurts.”

“Close your eyes,” Samara offered. “Rest. We’ll handle it from here.”

For once, he did just that.

A page listing comp titles.

Comp titles for THE EVERWINTER KING include: "The Raven Scholar" by Antonia Hodgson, "The Raven Tower" by Ann Leckie, "WITCH KING" by Martha Wells, and "The Red Winter" by Cameron Sullivan.

Similarities include: godly shenanigans, political trials, queer-norm worlds, queer male leads, messy homecomings, and a second chance subplot.

Bonus comp! Dragon Age 2.

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Blythe Gilpin @blythewrytes.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

BEAUTY & THE BEAST x STAR TREK Roan, part of the last team of archaeologists sent to Earth, stumbles into an ancient bunker haunted by the synthetic mind of a trillionaire. She’s the only one who can fix his tech, but can she save him before Earth is swallowed by the Sun? #QuestPit #A #SF #R #Q

A pair of hands, one warm and one grayscale, reach towards each other over a NASA image of the Sun. Text at the top reads “She brought me back to life…and I don’t want to die.” Text at the bottom reads “BEAST OF EDEN”

An image of the Sun, with a wilting rose, a black and white robot, and an espresso in a glass mug in the corners. In front of it reads the text “LOGLINE” and more text below it reads, “In this adult 99k sci-fi “Beauty & The Beast” retelling, an archaeologist excavating long-abandoned Earth can only save one before the Sun explodes: her research or a repentant synthetic copy of the man who doomed the planet.”

An image of the Sun, with old records for a record played in the top left corner. The words “OPENING LINES” are in the right corner and text above the Sun reads, “Roan’s wrist buzzed with a notification. She pointedly ignored it.
She fidgeted against the wall of what would eventually be her first curated exhibit,
“Captured Sound: A Pre-Culture War Celebration of Musical Ingenuity.” Her family milled around the space, taking in the sad, mostly empty podiums.
Her moms insisted on a preview tour before it opened to the public, if it did at all. Roan
gripped her elbows, wishing she’d done more to stall, wishing she had more here to impress them. But what could she do when they wanted a private showing, especially when they made the trip all the way out to her station?

An image of the Sun. In front of it is the word “COMPS” and the covers or movie posters for “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,” “Moss’d in Space,” “Volatile Memory,” “In the Lives of Puppets,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and “Beauty & The Beast.”

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Emmaline Evans-Querying Author & Illustator @talesfromknotwood.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

🍼QuestPit Submission CURSE THESE SKINNY WITCHES 75k Cozy Fantasy x New Motherhood x Wellness Satire Think WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING, but it’s about two postpartum witches counting curses instead of kicks. 🌿 Plant Magic ✨Fantasy Ozempic 📚Witch HOA from hell #questpit #A #F #S #CozyFantasy

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Adelaide Cabernet (is Querying✨️) @addiecabwrites.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

MATE X TENTACLES & TRIATHLONS After Noah, a hard of hearing thief, moves in with siren Jasper, their accidental, corrupted mating bond must be severed before it kills them. 🧜‍♂️ Siren x The Surfer Immune to His Song 🌊 Fantasy Set in San Diego 🏄‍♂️ Standalone w/ Series Potential #QuestPit #Q #A #PR

A man on a surfboard turns away from the camera to look at a siren who is perched on rocks. Text reads: “The Deaf Man’s Guide to Seducing A Siren” and “An adult paranormal romance complete at 72k words”

The siren is back with a text block that reads: Determined to stay in affluent Sunset Cliffs, hard of hearing surfer Noah strikes a sugar agreement with standoffish siren Jasper,

The surfer returns with a text block that reads: “Tropes:billionaire/thief, Fast heat, slow burn, grumpy/sunshine, Reformed playboy, monster fucking, Touch him and die, He wears his sweater

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

When Milo gets dumped minutes before a couples pottery class, he does the only logical thing: shows up alone. Unfortunately for Briar, the overworked studio owner who swore off dating, their chemistry is hotter than a kiln. #questpit #q #a #r #agentguide

Dark, moody graphic featuring hands shaping clay on a pottery wheel. White text reads: “An Agent’s Guide to Glazed & Confused, a 78,000-word adult rom-com.” At the bottom: “sometimes love is messy.”

Dark pottery wheel background with white text titled “The Pitch: fresh from the kiln.” Text overlays the image with the following pitch:

When Milo Hawthorne gets dumped via text—mere minutes before a couples pottery class—he does the only logical thing: shows up solo. But with his heart in shards and Valentine’s Day looming, every glittery red heart and smug little cupid is a reminder of everything he doesn’t have.

Briar Maxton is the overworked owner of the pottery studio cheekily named “The Local Bakery.” She’s poured everything into her business, and dating is the last thing on her to-do list. But since Milo paid for two spots in class and only brought one broken heart, Briar offers a set of private bonus lessons to offset the cost.

When Milo unexpectedly becomes the roommate of Briar’s cantankerous Papaw Melvin, their worlds collide outside the studio too. Milo shows Briar there’s life beyond work, while Briar reminds Milo he’s worth more than the relationship he lost.

But as Briar’s business grows faster than she can manage, her inability to step back threatens the studio she sacrificed everything to build. And when that same studio becomes an ever-growing third wheel, they may lose their chance at something real.

Dark pottery wheel background titled “The Comps: dipped in glaze.” Displays book covers for Passion Project, Practice Makes Perfect, and Hello Stranger, with descriptors beneath each. Lower section references Jessica Day and Nick Miller’s first kiss with an image of a kissing couple.

Dark pottery wheel background titled “The Tropes: what’s on the wheel.” White floral pottery illustration surrounds a list including emotional healing, forced proximity, he falls first, found family, grumpy grandpa, cinnamon roll MMC, work-obsessed FMC, opposites attract, Midwest setting, and pottery studio.

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

GLAZED & CONFUSEED When Milo gets dumped minutes before a couples pottery class, he does the only logical thing: shows up alone. Unfortunately for Briar, the overworked studio owner who swore off dating, their chemistry is hotter than a kiln. #questpit #q #a #r

Collage mood board titled “A Mood Board for Glazed & Confused, a 78,000-word adult rom-com.” Includes images of a clay-covered kiss, pottery shelves, a smiling woman making pottery, Fort Wayne skyline at sunset, an ice-skating couple, a curly-haired man, glazing pottery by hand, and hands shaping clay on a wheel. Warm brown, cream, and romantic neutral tones throughout.

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Madeline ✨ is querying @madeline02.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Another #agentsguide for MY FORSAKEN DIVINE✨ To rid herself of a forsaken god’s possession, Hartlen must find the murderer attacking her classmates–but when extremists blame her & her divine, she must stitch trust w the god to avoid death and catch the real culprit. #amquerying

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

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PosterPit @posterpitevent.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

MOST INNOVATIVE DESIGN 1st Place: @emilyshete.bsky.social 2nd Place: @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social 3rd Place: @kaylaherrera.bsky.social

EMILY SHETE
MOST INNOVATIVE
DESIGN
9ST PLACE!

AISLIN SPURGEON
MOST INNOVATIVE
DESIGN
2ND PLACE!

KAYLA HERRERA
MOST INNOVATIVE
DESIGN
ZRD PLACE!

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

My #PosterPit entry is in the #PosterPitAwards for Most Innovative Design! The category’s STACKED, but I’d love your vote! I used a logo-based approach inspired by retro cinema with bold contrast, silhouettes, & gothic aspects to reflect the tone/setting of the book. take.supersurvey.com/Q0HWAZ6CN

A bold, graphic movie-style poster in red and black featuring silhouetted figures of a monstrous creature and a couple running across a skyline beneath an ornate gothic arch. Large red text reads “BENEATH THE HORIZON,” with the tagline “A town she can’t escape. A curse she can’t break. And magic that will get her killed.” Additional text highlights themes including inescapable town, forced proximity, found family, and forbidden magic.

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PosterPit @posterpitevent.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

The voting for the #PosterPit #PosterPitAwards is now OPEN! Check out the survey and vote for your favorites: take.supersurvey.com/Q0HWAZ6CN

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

BENEATH THE HORIZON | 76k Rhoa Bethan moves to Glumberg for a fresh start—only to find a cursed town where no one can leave & monsters rise at night. To fight for freedom, she turns to forbidden magic. But in Glumberg, magic means execution—and failure means she’ll never escape. #posterpit #q #f #ya

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

GLAZED&CONFUSED-78k Dumped minutes before a couples pottery class, Milo shows up solo. Briar, the studio owner, doesn’t date. But with chemistry as hot as a kiln, their lessons spin into more. And when the studio gets in the way, it threatens to crack them under the pressure. #posterpit #q #r #a

A romantic movie-style poster showing a couple covered in clay, their hands framing each other’s faces as they lean in close. The title “GLAZED & CONFUSED” appears in large white text with the tagline “sometimes love is messy.”

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

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Kyla Whitelock is querying ✨ @kylawhitelock.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

MOLDED BY MALICE (95k) In a city where innovation thrives on cruelty, human Industrialists experiment on animal hybrids to create the ultimate weapon ⚔😈 In the forests, druids command the elements—but their silence may destroy the balance and creatures they swore to protect 🍃🦊 #posterpit #F #A #Q

Left: City with smokestacks, polluting the air
Right: Green forest with tall trees
Border: Red, green, and blue crystals with a golden trim
Middle: Large purple crystal melting on the center

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Cassie Wallin Author @cassiewallinwrites.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

THE UNMAKING 95k 🧠💔💉👻 Nova feels too much, and that could get her mind wiped clean. She’s a state memory technician who erases the most emotionally volatile memories, until her grief unleashes a phantom who remembers everything she's erased. And he won’t let her forget. #PosterPit #Q #A #SPF #SF

The unmaking poster for poster put orange city background blue woman man and glitching man now querying. She erased memories til memory remembered her.

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Author Aislin Spurgeon @aislinspurgeon.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

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