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Deborah

@deborahholmes.bsky.social
95 followers 101 following 255 posts

She/her, currently hiding under manuscripts trying to detangle her sub-plots and snarky one-liners. Éireannach thar lear.

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Reposted by Deborah
Les is writing @lesleyariel.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Bone Mask is now available! It’s about a woman escaping her patriarchal cult-like village and finding comfort in being “the scariest thing in the woods.”
Now on Kindle Unlimited and paperback. 

Eerie woman in the woods photo background. 
The Bone Mask by L.A. Hughes is a high-heat fantasy romance about a woman accused of being a witch, left bound on a mountaintop, and freed by the masked man she was taught to fear.

Tropes:
Snowed in!
One bed
“I promise not to touch you” 
Good luck with that.
He’s scary to everyone but her
There’s a cat and the worst horse in the world
He goes feral when she’s in danger 
My wife
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
TWO MORE DAYS I'M SO EXCITE
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
When you know it's September which means your friends book is going to be published soon
static.klipy.com
Spongebob Can't Wait - Eagerly Excited
ALT: Spongebob Can't Wait - Eagerly Excited
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
In the span of 1 week, with about half an hour to spare, I have written 70.000 words. Whether those words are quality or not, I have no intention of speculating on: all I need now is a good masseuse and a neck correction...
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I am so excited!!!!!!
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
In the last 2 days over a cumulative 21 hours I have written 24790 words. If anybody wants me, try looking up. This horse I'm on is MIGHTY high.
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
JSYK when you do skincare and have to take off your glasses, this is what writing looks like
an image of the 'Home' ribbon in Microsoft word, very blurry.
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
I am beta reading a revised draft that I read the first time and I want to grab the author my the shoulders and shake them. Stop. They are too cute. I ship it too hard.
static.klipy.com
Peter Pan's Shadow Dance
ALT: Peter Pan's Shadow Dance
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
The pros of ADHD: able to hyperfocus to get the book written The cons of ADHD: losing all interest in querying and just giving up on the entire concept of getting published 🤷‍♀️
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
me: i am a very serious writer who writes serious books the unhinged omegaverse in my WIPs folder: am i a joke to u
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Reposted by Deborah
Les is writing @lesleyariel.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Happy #smutpit everybody! My high-heat romantasy The Bone Mask is coming out this fall. Devon is accused of being a witch by her village and abandoned on the mountaintop, only to be found by the terrifying masked man who stalks the forest. And he’s a consent king!
Text over a foggy mountain meadow: 
"Your husband has forsaken you.
Your priest has scarred you.
Your village has abandoned you on the mountain to be judged by The Father.
But He did not come for you.
I did."
- The BearTropes for the Bone Mask
Hurt/ Comfort
Genre:
High-heat Romantasy
BOOK COVER
COMING SOON
Snowed in with strict rules about touching
He's scary to everyone but her.
Masked man witches
Black cat
Revenge plot
The worst horse in the world
Escaping a high control religious cult to find joy and love on the other side
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
What she said: can you do a copy edit for me? Spelling and grammar, punctuation, small bits that don't read right, et cetera What I heard: I am giving you a chance to be the most miserable, pedantic, insufferable English teacher in existence for the next 80.000 words. Go ham.
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Writing a book is like boiling pasta. Sending it to the trenches is throwing the spaghetti against the wall and hoping it sticks. Editing is adding the sauce. Publishing is plating up. I can turn anything into a food metaphor when I'm hungry.
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Reposted by Deborah
Revise & Resub @reviseresub.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
The Showcase is LIVE! Agents, feel free to peruse and request! Writers, show support! #RevPit #RevPitShowcase reviseresub.com/showcase
reviseresub.com
Showcase
Showcase
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Reposted by Deborah
Jude Austin - Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author @judasfm.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Just saw my MS on the #RevPit showcase! I'm still grinning about it! (Also, shoutout to whoever got that image, because it is beyond awesome!) reviseresub.com/showcase/jun... #amwriting #litagent #literaryagent #amquerying
reviseresub.com
Juno Walker and the Green Jewel
by Jude Austin (@judasfm.bsky.social) MG Fantasy
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Currently living in this weird place where I am so excited about my MS and want to talk about it to everybody and share it!!! But I never want to see the damned thing again. Not one word. I'm tired of looking at it.
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Turns out writing is hard, actually
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Just spent 10 minutes fighting with an excel sheet that refused to format a cell containing "31 June" as a date. Needless to say, the cell did not format this as a date, because the 31st of June does not exist. If anybody's looking for me, I'm the one in the corner with the DUNCE hat.
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Realising an agent you really liked is closed to your genre... "DRAT, and you would have loved it... too bad. Oh well. I still like you. Have a cupcake."
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Reposted by Deborah
Megan Metzger @meganmetzger.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
What writing a novel and querying feels like sometimes… 😂 #amquerying #writing #wip
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Just sent my first Query! If anybody is looking for me, I'm
static.klipy.com
Homer Simpson Retreats into a Bush
Alt: Homer Simpson Retreats into a Bush
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Things_That_Skyrocket_My_Blood_Pressure_So_High_My_POTS_Symptoms_Disappear.jpeg
The QueryTracker logo
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Reposted by Deborah
Kyra McKinzie Nelson @kyramnelson.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
they should make a publishing industry that doesn't crush your soul
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I am writing a lot of words in this WIP. If only they were actually saying something.
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
You want me.... to be patient?? Wait? What do you mean, reading my manuscript takes time? No I want to query tonight, have an agent by tomorrow, be on submission by Thursday and signed on Sunday. What is this patience you speak of. Is it a food?
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
The 9 stages of getting an editor's notes: Self-esteem Grief Anger You Are Just Stupid, Actually Acceptance Grief, Again Cup Of Tea Acceptance (For Real This Time) Let's Get Down To Business To Defeat The Editors (to the tune of I'll Make A Man Out of You) Rinse & repeat for each round of editing
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
This is what I look like when I con and manipulate somebody into betareading btw
static.klipy.com
Raccoon Hehehe Grin
Alt: Raccoon rubbing hands dastardly
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Reposted by Deborah
Panda 🖤🩶🤍💜 @celticxpanda.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
THE SWORD IN THE TREE project in development ‼️ Running away from a forced marriage, Branwen accidentally reveals herself to be the Hero King Reborn in a world that has long since moved on without one. 🏰 Historical Fantasy 🪶 Return of Magic 🔍 Court Intrigue 💋 Multiple Love Interests #WIPPit #F #NA
Project: The Sword in the Tree - Historical Fantasy in DevelopmentOur Heroine: Branwen, Hero King Reborn; character art by Scarchoutropes and themes: regency/victorian inspired setting; commoner knight vs duke of the north love interests; scheming and political strife; images include that of a bird cage, a wolf, gilded palace halls, and claude monet paintingsinspiration: return of the king, king arthur lore, korean web novels/manhwa
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Reposted by Deborah
Les is writing @lesleyariel.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Devon’s husband accuses her of being a witch and her village abandons her in the wilderness. She’s found by the masked man she was taught to fear. If you’d like a high-heat Beauty and the Beast type romantasy, follow me for book release updates. #WIPPit #R #A
coming soon
GREAT NEWS!
The masked man who stalks the forest on the mountain is a consent king!
THE BONE MASK is a high-heat romantasy.
Devon's village accuses her of being a witch and abandons her on the mountain to be judged by The Father.
But He doesn't come for her.
The Bear does.Tropes for the Bone Most
Hurt/ Comfort
Genre:
High-heat Romantasy
BOOK COVER
COMING SOON
Snowed in with strict rules about touching
He's scary to everyone but her.
Masked man 
witches
Black cat
Revenge plot
The worst horse in the world
Escaping a high-control religious cult to find joy and love on the other side
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Reposted by Deborah
PJ (he/him) is querying... @pjwrites.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
PROJECT CLOUDCORE After accidentally crashing into the floating city's arcane engine, a hotshot racer teams up with a disgraced skyship captain to harvest a new engine core from a rare cloud before their city falls from the sky. #WIPPit #A #F #SF #SFF #LGBT
PROJECT CLOUDCORE
Adult Sci-Fantasy Duology

The title is over a moodboard depicting colorful skies, clouds, and airships.PITCH

     All Devon ever wanted was to fly in the grand prix. But when a malfuction makes him crash into the arcane cloud core keeping the city afloat, Devon loses everything: the race, his celebrity status, and his home. Shunned by reputable skyship captains, Devon turns to his former boss, the once-proud, now drunk, Captain Hattie Bennett. His proposal is simple: she’ll lend him her crew to harvest a new cloud core and restore the city (and his reputation), and he’ll help her break into the sky pirate fortress where her wife was last seen alive—the same fortress he escaped as a child.VIBES

A moodboard showing images of colorful sky and clouds, airships of all sizes, floating cities, and assorted creatures flying through the sky.INSPIRATION

"Vibes" include "Treasure Planet," "Cowboy Bebop," "Castle in the Sky," "Star Wars," and Formula 1 racing.

Potential comps include "The Surviving Sky" by Kritika H. Kao, "Persephone Station" by Stina Leicht, and "The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi" by Shannon Chakraborty.
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Reposted by Deborah
Sara Duran ✨is AGENTED✨ @saraduran.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
⭐️ WIP ALERT ⭐️ I’m so excited to finally share THE DESERT KEEPS HER DEAD, my weird western fantasy heist WIP featuring: ☀️ a death-obsessed paleontologist ☀️ her bounty hunting ex best friend ☀️ a fossil worth stealing ☀️ a desert worth saving #WIPPit #A #F #LGBT
WIP guide to The Desert Keeps Her Dead, a weird western fantasy heist. 

Website: www.saraduranauthor.com.WIP: The Desert Keeps Her Dead. 

The pitch:

The Desert Keeps Her Dead is a weird western fantasy set in a desert frontier where water wells are created using the bones of extinct beasts.

When a death-obsessed paleontologist is pulled into a high-stakes theft by her estranged bounty hunter best friend, she joins a fractured crew, including a runaway teen aristocrat and a desert-drifting inventor, to steal the only intact specimen in the world.

As the heist’s pressure mounts, new loyalties surface and old betrayals take hold. What begins as a routine job becomes something far more dangerous: a choice between seizing the fossil’s power or destroying it for good, and with it, the fragile system keeping the desert alive.

Comp titles include The Water Outlaws, Red Rabbit, And Side by Side They Wander, and The Geomagician. 

Website: www.saraduranauthor.com.WIP: The Desert Keeps Her Dead. 

The team: Amelie, the expert: death-obsessed paleontologist, twinless twin, anxious girlie, Dehla’s ex-best friend. Dehla, the leader: bounty hunter, gunslinger, Amelie’s ex-best friend. Lu, the wildcard: runaway aristocrat, fifteen years old, baby enby, mission bargaining chip. Silas, the getaway car: desert-drifting inventor, former soldier, groveling MMC, Amelie’s love interest. Shae, the obstacle: rival bounty hunter after the same target, knife-to-throat baddie, Dehla’s ex-girlfriend. 

Website: www.saraduranauthor.com.WIP: The Desert Keeps Her Dead. 

The vibes: heist story inside a fantasy world, weird western vibes, gothic desert setting, paleontology, bone-based magic, evil oil companies, blood-drinking cultists, creepy desert creatures, dual-POV, adult friendships, M/F and F/F romance, morally gray ladies, sapphic and enby rep, anxiety rep, ecological lens, and setting as character. 

Website: www.saraduranauthor.com.
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Reposted by Deborah
Caroline is always writing @carolinekwriting.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
PRINCESS BRIDE x DND x ROBIN HOOD When a princess is kidnapped by a notorious thief, her brother gathers a team to rescue her, but they are derailed when their quest turns into a mission to free a cursed princess and save a kingdom from the wrath of a rogue king. #WIPPIT #F #LGBT #agentsguide
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Reposted by Deborah
Jesse Masters | Author @jessemasters.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
When Mildred Brooks gambles with her own life, she isn’t expecting to meet brooding agent, Ethan Callum. And she certainly isn’t expecting to fall in love with him. When Ethan uncovers the truth, will he be able to save her? Or was he always fated to be her White Rabbit? #wippit #A #S
Monotone images of the characters mentioned along with the title of the WIP: White Rabbit.
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
#WIPPIT #YA #SF Rowena has it all: the perfect body, riches, fame, hot boyfriend. Because she stole it. In a world where your proximity to beauty means proximity to human rights, stealing beauty constitutes a death sentence. If she is discovered. And Cole intends to do just that.
Collage with text from Sedated by Hozier
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Reposted by Deborah
Melociraptor @likeshine.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Been thinking about this Tweet a lot lately...
a tweet that says "oh poor baby do you need the robot to make you pictures?" and other insulting things to AI users
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
My inability to market my book for things like wippit is why I can't self publish. I no do the marketing! Brain say no marketing! Only write!
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
I think as a group, the writing community needs to stop calling it AI. It's not AI, that's a marketing term. It's a Large Language Model that algorithmically mimics human patterns. Not AI, has never been AI, will never be AI, doesn't deserve to be called AI. It's an LLM.
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Insert dreamy sigh... here
Black text on white. "A moment of silence passes. 'You will unhand my bride and give her to me.' - 'She is my daughter, sire, until you are married.' - 'I will take the Queen or I will take the hand. Choose wisely, your grace.'"
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Taking time away from my manuscript after making sweeping changes and I know I shouldn't look at it for at least 2 days before getting a final beta. But it's hotter than the blazes of hell so I'm just drinking ice water with a 1000 yard stare at the wall
static.klipy.com
Tentofate Elmo's Wide-Eyed Stare
ALT: Tentofate Elmo's Wide-Eyed Stare
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Marketing to my peers: (detailed synopsis) Marketing to people younger than me: morally grey heroine x red flag rizzmaster, fake dating Is that right? Is that how we talk 🥲
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Me? Staring at QueryTracker like it's going to bite if I try the trenches again? It's more likely than you think
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
When you get an email and it's not outright rejection
static.klipy.com
Unjeonly Park Hyung Sik Giggles on Bed
ALT: Unjeonly Park Hyung Sik Giggles on Bed
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
footage of me when the beta reader gets to the end of the manuscript
static.klipy.com
Spice Adams Rubbing Hands Meme: Yellow & Pink Suit
ALT: Spice Adams Rubbing Hands Meme: Yellow & Pink Suit
030
Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
It's always "how I got 12 offers of representation in 2 weeks" this, or "how I was only on submission for 3 days" that. What I really wanna see is "come with me as I eat my feelings instead of facing my inbox". "How I lost 2lbs waterweight by crying at QueryTracker". That's the content for me!
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
When microsoft windows decides to delete the last 6000 words you wrote. Even though you saved.
static.klipy.com
Taxidermy Fox Sitting on a Chair
Alt: Taxidermy Fox Sitting on a Chair
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Have you ever finished a beta read and just. I'm a whole other person now.
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
How it feels when you're beta reading and you get every single reference...
static.klipy.com
Sarcastic Man with Confetti
ALT: Sarcastic Man with Confetti
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The synopsis. It mocks me. 94 words stand between myself and greatness.
A grey background that merely reads: "Words    594"
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Reposted by Deborah
✨ Joy Shaw | Author ✨ @joyshaw.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Writing a novel is basically: “I am a genius.” followed 11 minutes later by: “I have created the worst sentence in the English language.” 😅 #writersofX #amwriting
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Deborah @deborahholmes.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Do y'all have a favourite adjective? I do, apparently.
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