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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

THE UNMOTHERS x THE WOODS ALL BLACK x PREACHER'S DAUGHTER An agent’s guide to THE GODBRINGER, an 83k adult southern gothic horror featuring— 🦌 southern gothic atmosphere 👯 dual pov 🫀 forbidden love 📿religious fanaticism 🕯️cults ♀️ female rage #questpit #A #H #Q

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

OBSESSION x I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS x Micah Nemerever’s THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS An agent’s guide to THE WATCHFUL MR. SHEPHERD, an 86k adult psychological horror that'll soon be query ready featuring— 🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ Rep 👁️ Obsession 🔪 Rising Body Count ❓ Unreliable Narrator #questpit #H #A #W

The Watchful Mr. Shepherd
86K Adult Queer Psychological Horror/Thriller
Querying Q3 - Q4 2026

Cause of death…blunt force trauma. Victim was cut open post-mortem as some sort of…gift?
The envelope felt heavy in Luke’s pocket.
LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID
What did I do?

“Every day I wake up in the same bed as you and you’re still eighteen, and I’m still eighteen, and nothing ever gets better.”

Kieran talks at you, and you do try to listen, but mostly you’re rolling his name over on your tongue, tasting it.
Ki—
Kier—
Kieran—
—ran—
It’s a pretty name.

As an autopsy technician at the Augusta Medical Examiner's Office, Luke spends his nights attending crime scenes, preparing corpses, and offering condolences to grieving families.
Then an email arrives in his work inbox, a picture of a bridge he hasn't seen for ten years and an ominous message attached:
LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID.
At their high school graduation party, Luke and his future ex-husband Kieran left a boy dead and buried the truth with him. Now someone else knows what happened that night; someone who begins with anonymous messages and ends with murder.
For Kieran, the haunting is proof their past has finally come to collect. For Luke, it's something far more exciting: a reason for Kieran to finally come home.
As their watcher tightens the noose, Luke finds himself less afraid of exposure than of losing the only person who ever made him feel alive. But the closer Kieran gets, the clearer it becomes that the real danger to them both may not be outside Luke's isolated house, but inside it.

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Reposted by Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying

Indie Book Spotlight @bookspotlight.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I am once again begging folks to understand the difference between ‘I don’t like this’ and ‘Nobody likes this’. You are not the main character of the world. Readers and authors have different tastes. You are not the arbiter of what authors should and should not put into books.

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

5/28: insect. i can’t believe i only use it once in my whole draft 🐜 #WIPSnips

Kieran's face pinched but he did as he was told and then joined Luke. Both of them swept their phone lights over the house's interior. It was a humble home, but it's previous occupants had left in a hurry without taking anything. There was still a bowl of fruit, or what had once been fruit before the insects and time rotted it to mush, on the table.

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Reposted by Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying

SLUGGER @sluggerfiction.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

SLUGGER a dark fiction magazine that publishes two volumes per year. Each volume includes 7-10 short stories, full page/original/B&W interior art for each story, and a Sound Trails section that features non-fiction pieces related to punk/horror music. ko-fi.com/sluggerficti...

An image of a neon green slug with a yellow bat in its mouth that is dripping blood from it. The text reads SLUGGER: Stories that hit you in the mouth.

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

EILEEN x I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS x Micah Nemerever’s THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS An agent’s guide to THE WATCHFUL MR. SHEPHERD, an adult psychological horror featuring— 🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ Rep 👁️ Obsession 🔪 Rising Body Count ❓ Unreliable Narrator 🍰 Moral Rot ❄️ Snowy Backdrop #QuestPit #W #H #A

EA HARKINS'
The Watchful Mr. Shepherd
AN AGENT'S GUIDE

Quick Look
Genre: Adult Psychological Horror with Thriller Elements
Word Count: ~ 85,000
Status as of 4/29/26: 1%t Draft Complete, Developmental Edits Underway
Primary Inspiration: I wanted to explore the obsessive queer elements of Saltburn & The Talented Mr. Ripley, but with more horror & queerness--also without the social climbing themes.
Tropes
Unreliable Narrator
Obsession
Game of Cat & "Mouse"
Small Town
Character Haunts The Narrative
Past Won't Stay Buried
Comps & Vibes
Closest Comps
• Eileen
• These Violent Delights
Vibes
• Hannigram
• Saltburn
• The Talented Mr.
Ripley (title homage)
• I'm Thinking of Ending
Things
• Exquisite Corpse
One Sentence Pitch
Luke is forced to team up with his estranged ex-husband when someone unknown to them drudges up secret details of their sordid past that threatens to rip apart their lives.
Catchy Hook
Luke can dissect bodies without flinching.
Letting go of his ex-husband is another story.

Word Count: ~ 85,000
Pitch
Luke Shepherd knows bodies. What they keep hidden, what secrets they tell, and, most importantly, how to hide them.
As an autopsy technician at the Augusta Medical Examiner's Office, Luke spends his nights weighing organs, preparing corpses, and offering condolences to grieving families.
Then an email arrives in his work inbox, a picture of a bridge he hasn't seen for ten years and an ominous message attached:
LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID.
At their high school graduation party, Luke and his future ex-husband Kieran left a boy dead and buried the truth with him. Now someone else knows what happened that night; someone who begins with anonymous messages and ends with murder.
For Kieran, the haunting is proof their past has finally come to collect. For Luke, it's something far more exciting: a reason for Kieran to finally come home.
As their watcher tightens the noose, Luke finds himself less afraid of exposure than of losing the only person who ever made him feel alive. But the closer Kieran gets, the clearer it becomes that the real danger to them both may not be outside Luke's isolated house, but inside it.

Meet The Characters
POV: 3rd Person Limited
Protagonist: Luke Wells
Dual POV?: No
Primary Inspiration: I wanted the obsession elements of Saltburn & The Talented Mr.
Ripley, but horror and more gay. Also without the social climbing themes.
Luke Wells
Minor Characters
• Protagonist
• Medical Examiner's
Assistant
• 28| Gay? | Black Hair,
Blue Eyes
• Intelligent, Clinical, Numb,
Impulsive, Devoted
• Dr. Marriner, Medical Examiner, Luke's Boss
• Maple, Luke's cat
• Elliott Cutter, [REDACTED]
• Deacon Hollander, sex parnter?
• Jacob Routh, [REDACTED]
• [REDACTED] (REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
Kieran Shepherd
The Love Interest (?)
Forensic Scientist
28 | Pansexual I Dirty Blond Hair, Honey Eyes
Empathetic, Alcoholic, Emotional, Guilt-Ridden
Author's Favorite?
ho favorites:)

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

3/9: screw(ed) #WIPSnips Kieran spends a lot of time crying in this book but to his credit, it’s not melodrama

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

even though that thing isn’t necessarily healthy & readers might interpret that ending as being more tragic than bittersweet. to the *character*, though, it’s a “win” 3/3 🧵

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

endings though. i’d also be hesitant to say that any of them are completely nihilistic either…though the “gain” at the end might not seem like a positive thing to the reader it is to the character. for example at the end of one of my projects, the MC gets what they were after the whole book 2/3 🧵

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

i write horror almost exclusively & lean bittersweet. usually one of the characters experiences a loss (identity, death, health, safety, self, etc) but gains something else important to them (freedom, identity, courage, love). i’d be hesitant to say any of my stories have traditionally happy 1/2 🧵

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Okay, thanks! Sorry, I had one follow-up question about the self-harm. The specifics of the scene I'm referencing in my manuscript is a one-off (as in self-harm isn't reoccurring) and is short, but does involve the use of a sharp object (for non-suicidal purposes). Is that context more acceptable?

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

My manuscript isn't religious in terms of being "preachy" and it's a made-up religion that pulls inspiration from real life ones, so I just wanted to clarify your interest in something like that! 2) Are stories with mentions of off-page suicide and on-page light self harm a hard no? Thank you!!

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Hi Madelyn! You mentioned not being the best fit for religious or faith-based stories or stories featuring suicide. Two questions related to this: 1) Does this include cult-based religious horror that acts as social commentary critiquing religious extremism (paired with female rage)? 1/2

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

3/5: destroy -> destruction. this is one of my favorite dialogue exchanges #WIPSnips

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Reposted by Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying

SLUGGER @sluggerfiction.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Pre-orders open for Vol. 2! $12 for physical version + shipping. That's a steal for 13 pieces of original writing and 10 pieces of original interior artwork. $5 for the PDF. Go get it! ko-fi.com/sluggerficti...

A grinning skull sits atop ruffled and purple fabric. There are several hot pint electrode jacks that hover just above the skull. The synthwave colorway is neon pink and purple. A list of story and sound trails authors for SLUGGER Vol. 2.

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

i haven’t written quite enough short fiction to have my method down 100% but for longer works i usually focus a lot more on atmosphere, dread, & literary leaning characterization and themes whereas my short fiction tends to lean more commercial/punchy horror!

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

the protagonist of my horror wip sustains a significant neck injury over the course of the book. it affects him mostly psychologically, with a few targeted physical moments. i plan on commissioning @silverhalls.bsky.social soon for character art depicting this injury! #Writesky

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

thank you!! i’m actually mostly focused on longer works. i’m casually querying my first novel and almost done drafting my second but i enjoy writing short fiction too and have a few floating around on sub right now. how about you!

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

excited to announce that my short fiction “woman parts” will appear in this issue of slugger! the first issue was great & i encourage anyone interested in short horror pieces to check them out 💙🩸 #Writesky

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A.M. Schmidt ☀️ Drafting @amschmidt.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

I imagine in a modern AU, Anaya's Instagram is very clean and aesthetic. She’s a rising star 🌠 (or should I say sun?) #f #a #w #UnhingedPit

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Reposted by Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying

A.M. Schmidt ☀️ Drafting @amschmidt.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

🎶 Broadway proudly presents the Bringer of First Light: the Musical! 🎶 Or the musical AU nobody asked for 💃🕺 #F #A #W #UnhingedPit

The old rein
King
Seven Devils
How Villains Are Made
Golden
Free
Lie
Devils backbone
The other side
Outro

Anaya vaeltheir 140, sun elf, Ardësol city of sun
“I’ll take good care of your armor, na velora. I’ll try to make this right.”
“What am I? I am Álfrëi—Heliorae of Aelthyr!”
“Is chivalry dead in this part of the world? You’d have your wolf watch me depants myself, squat behind a tree and release my bladder and bowels? Allow me some dignity.”
“Very well, stay cryptic if you must. Can you untie me now?”
“Nael’súr! I know what magic feels like and that was dark, Void-touched magic.”
“Come to gloat? Remind me all magic is dangerous? We’ll you were right. Seems your monster finally showed her teeth.”
Lucien Grey 27 human oakstead
I should just kill you now. It’d save me a lot of trouble,”
“Magic? No. That wasn’t magic. I—I don’t have powers like that.”
“It’s no wonder the Elven Empire crumbled. Such arrogance.”
"Nobody’s ever seen an elf like you before. Besides that, you’re wearing armor plated with gold. That alone is sure to fetch a high price on the market.”
“I bring you the last Sun Elf of Old Aelthyr.”
“Um…braiding your hair?”

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

❤️February is the month of love.❤️ No better time to reimagine my psychological literary horror as a contemporary romance #H #A #W #UnhingedPit

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Meet... ❤️KIERAN SHEPHERD, 28❤️ Forensic Scientist 7 miles away I've blocked my ex on here 57 times. Sorry for late matches I enjoy drinking to escape reality. JK! But our first date should be @ a bar Kieran is the "love interest" of my "romance" novel, The Watchful Mr. Shepherd #H #A #W #UnhingedPit

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Meet... ❤️LUKE WELLS (Shepherd?), 28❤️ Medical Examiner's Assistant 15 miles away Swipe left. I'm only here for one person. Even if I wasn't, we wouldn't match. Don't be selfish; be an organ donor. Luke is the protagonist of my "romance" novel, The Watchful Mr. Shepherd #H #A #W #UnhingedPit

What's In Luke's Bag
- Rice (Loose)
- Dead Bird
- Lubricant (next to a bottle of hot sauce)
- Cat Treats
- Air Freshener that smells like Kieran
- Work Badge (usually missing)

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Reposted by Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying

A.M. Schmidt ☀️ Drafting @amschmidt.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

THE BRINGER OF FIRST LIGHT ☀️🌙 ✨ The Elves built an empire on magic and divine providence. For millennia, they believed power proved they were chosen by the Twin Goddesses to lead. But when a schism between Sun and Moon elves divided them, humans found a way to steal their magic. #WSpit #W #A #F

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

IM THINKING OF ENDING THINGS X EILEEN Luke can dissect a body without flinching. Letting go of his ex-husband is another story. THE WATCHFUL MR. SHEPHERD is a psychological lit. horror featuring: 🏳️‍🌈LGBTQ+ 🧊unreliable narrator 📱stalking 🩸rising body count -and a past that bites #WSPIT #W #H #L #A

[On a background depicting a snowy landscape and trees, a gradient of white to red text reads:]
E.A HARKINS'
THE WATCHFUL MR. SHEPHERD
Tag Line: Some People Should Stay Divorced

Meet The Characters
Luke Wells/Shepherd
- Protagonist
- Medical Examiner's Assistant
- 28 | gay? | Black Hair, Blue Eyes
- Intelligent, Clinical, Numb, Impulsive, Devoted

Kieran Shepherd
- the love interest?
- forensic scientist
- 28 | pansexual | dirty blond hair, honey eyes
- empathetic, alcoholic, emotional, guilt-ridden

[At the bottom of the graphic, over a series of pencil scratches in a smeared, bold red font:]
LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID

"Only guilty people over explained, and Luke Shepherd was not guilty."
"The people accompanying him were dead...and that made their company all the better."
"He struggled to keep the sensation of Kieran's skin against his own close. It'd been so long since Kieran had willingly touched him so softly."
"The game was afoot."
"Sooner or later...the truth crawled its way out of the grave."

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

this project is also definitely a one off which makes me so bummed! i'm about halfway through it now and preemptively mourning writing from luke's perspective but also beyond excited to finish my rough draft and launch into polishing it with revision. 🧵3/3

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

the novel also takes place over roughly a course of a few weeks / months with tie-ins to past events that are still bearing their teeth and causing problems for luke & his ex-husband, forcing them to work together again before they end up arrested, dead, or worse.🧵2/3

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Nick Harkins 🌟 Querying @dreadwrites.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

the protagonist of my psychological literary horror wip is luke, a divorced medical examiner's assistant. it follows him intimately, so readers get to live (and fester) inside his head, which has been so fun to write since luke has unusual psychology. 🧵1/3 #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Writing

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