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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Introducing Soulless to #QuestPit An #AG #RF #DR #H following a religious zealot hiding her cursed blood.

Dark blue and black horror romantasy Instagram graphic with a gold Viking compass symbol and cream text introducing Soulless, a 115,000-word adult horror romantasy. The graphic compares the novel to One Dark Window and The Serpent and the Wings of Night, describing a devout monster hunter hiding corruption in her blood until a monster uncovers her secret, forcing her to embrace the darkness within before the gods turn it into their greatest weapon.

Dark forest-themed horror fantasy graphic with a gold compass emblem and cream text listing the novel’s tropes and themes, including monster hunter romance, grumpy x sunshine, dark and gritty traumantasy, magic fuelled by emotional repression, generational trauma, corruption arc, religious trauma, love triangle, enemies to lovers, and touch her and die. This adult horror romantasy highlights its dark fantasy romance elements.

Dark blue horror fantasy graphic featuring the opening lines from an adult horror romantasy novel. The excerpt introduces Sanna, a noblewoman escaping her identity, gambling in crowded halls while hiding among commoners. The passage establishes the dark fantasy world, morally grey heroine, and gothic atmosphere of the horror romance.

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

For #QuestPit I give you my #NA #OS #AG #RF Perfect for you if you love: 🥀Star-crossed lovers 🥀Clandestine meetings across a class divide 🥀Soft MMCs and stabby FMCs 🥀Queer-norm world 🥀Hidden cost-based magic 🥀Messy families 🥀Monsters & horror vibes 🥀Dystopian rebellions

Moody green fantasy romance title graphic with wildflowers and two silhouetted figures facing each other. Cream text introduces Snowdrops & Stones by H.L. Docherty, a 104,000-word new adult fantasy romance represented by Rachel Estep at D4EO Literary Agency. The artwork evokes a dark romantasy with gothic atmosphere, forbidden love, and monsters lurking beyond the meadows.

Dark fantasy romance pitch graphic with a misty meadow background and cream text describing a world where monsters prey on the poor. A slum-dwelling Scab fights to protect her family from the ruling Elites, while the governor’s son longs to escape his privileged life. Their forbidden romance collides with rebellion, war, and the blurred line between humans and monsters. This new adult fantasy romance features class divide, monster fantasy, rebellion, and star-crossed lovers.

Dark green romantasy mood board featuring Serpent & Dove and Feather as comparison titles alongside aesthetic images. Curved text highlights second-world fantasy, intricate worldbuilding, cost-based magic, dual POV, and messy characters. The graphic showcases the atmosphere and themes of a new adult fantasy romance with monsters, forbidden love, and immersive worldbuilding.

Romantic fantasy excerpt graphic with a meadow background and cream text headed “Sneak Peek.” The passage captures a tense, flirtatious moment between the heroine and an Elite man as attraction overrides reason, ending with the revelation that he belongs to the privileged class. This fantasy romance excerpt highlights forbidden romance, slow-burn chemistry, class divide, and emotional tension.

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

ONE DARK WINDOW x ANATHEMA The creatures stalking the mists feast on souls but one wants Sanna's heart too. 🖤Scottish moor vibes 🖤redemption v damnation 🖤emotion & repression-based magic system 🖤stabby FMC 🖤Corruption v Light Rep: Rachel Estep at D4EO Literary Agency #questpit #AG #NA #DF #R #WIP

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

SERPENT & DOVE meets THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS 🥀Star-Crossed Lovers 🥀Messy Families 🥀Firecracker FMC x Reclusive Billionare MMC 🥀Hidden Cost-Based Magic 🥀Love v Betrayal 🥀Survival v Morality 🥀Monsters in the Forests Rep: Rachel Estep at D4EO Literary Agency #QuestPit #AG #NA #F #R

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

I wrote a short story inspired by Taylor Swift’s The Prophecy. AND IT’S GETTING PUBLISHED!!! 🎉🎉🎉 For the first time, I’ll have words published in a book, and I can finally scream about it! The Glass Ghost will be available in the Dreams Divine anthology by Flame Tree Press in June! #writingcommunity

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Because this book is a recipe for disaster, here's one cursed recipe that, once eaten, will leave you wanting more. #UnhingedPit #NA #F #R #AG

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Confidently, I can say none of these lot are getting raptured today. "They're a 10 but..." SNOWDROPS & STONES Edition Featuring: 🥀Star-Crossed Lovers 🥀Messy Families 🥀Lovers to Enemies 🥀Class Divide 🥀Monsters & Horror Vibes 🥀Dystopian Fantasy #UnhingedPit #NA #F #R #AG

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Thrilled to announce that I am now represented by Rachel Estep at D4EO literary agency! A huge thank you to her for all the love she’s shown my world and characters. I can’t wait to go on this rollercoaster with her!

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

I swear, the only reason I get anything written is because of Lorelai Bean. #FocusFriend #WritingCommunity

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

It’s been 4 years without the woman who shaped everything I am. I never told her I was writing a book, or that her resilience would carry me through 100+ rejections, all the way to 10 literary agent requests and 2 publishing offers. Love you, Mam. I miss you. #WritingCommunity

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

A #NA dual-POV #F #R where These Violent Delights meets Arcane. Featuring: 🥀 A firebrand FMC from the slums 🥀A gilded MMC with blood on his hands 🥀 Class war meets monster horror 🥀 Fated mates with a twist 🥀 He'd do anything for her 🥀2 publishers interested / 10 manuscript requests. #PosterPit #Q

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS x A BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES Featuring: ❤️‍🔥Star-Crossed Lovers ❤️‍🔥Messy Families ❤️‍🔥Lovers to Enemies ❤️‍🔥Class Divide ❤️‍🔥Fated Mates with a Twist ❤️‍🔥Queer-Norm World ❤️‍🔥Mental Health Rep ❤️‍🔥Monsters & Horror Vibes ❤️‍🔥Dystopian Fantasy #QueerPit #NA #D #DF #FR #Q

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

I’m just saying, if a lit agent or editor wanted to offer me in the next 30 days, they could save me an entire $25 and that’s like, 2 bottles of wine. #WritingCommunity

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Follow me here and everywhere else for more “motivational” quotes with atmospheric backgrounds. *insert Pedro Pascal laughing-to-crying gif* #WritingCommunity

This draft is meant to be awful and only Future Me has to give a shit.

My plot holes are just opportunities for beta readers to be useful. I’m doing them a favour.

The story doesn’t have to make sense now. That’s what second drafts and random lightbulb moments at 3am are for.

The characters are inconsistent because they’re growing. Rapidly. And possibly against my will.

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

ROMEO & JULIET x THE HUNGER GAMES Figured I’d pitch my #NA #F #R set in a dystopian world using comments from numerous beta readers. Yes, they're all adults, even the one asking for their mum. Anti-tropes: Soul mates but drawn together to kill each other. #UnhingedPit #Q

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

May I present to you the reason why all my energy to read/write has gone out the window lately. Due 26th Nov.

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

I’m arguing with bots on the internet. How’s everyone else’s day going? #WritingCommunity

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

I didn't partake in #PosterPit because of some personal things on my end, but I had started a poster so I thought I'd share. It's nothing amazing (and excuse any dyslexia typos); I just didn't have time, but it seems a shame to waste it! #amquerying #WritingCommmunity

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

HELP! I may have been offered a publishing contract 👀! Any #LitAgents who could read over this for me would be doing me a tremendous solid. Even better, if any want to check out my #AgentsGuid and rep me that'd be cool too, lol. #WritingCommunity please spread this about! #amquerying #mswl

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

A girl from the slums with more repressed baggage than an airport, and a privileged boy with daddy issues team up to emotionally destroy each other in the middle of a war. Also, there are monsters. #ChaosPit #NA #F #R #Q

Literary Blacklist
Snowdrops & Stones
sex, dugs, swearing, violent (basically all the good stuff).
romeo and juliet retelling (with a tenuous hfn).
complex family dynamics.
themes of grief, loss, repressed trauma, generational trauma. Basically lots of trauma.
Too long (but actually not long enough; used to be 178k words).
lqbtqia+ is simply okay, and there's no social commentary on that.

This 108,000-word novel claims to be a romantic dystopian fantasy for adults, but let’s call it what it is: emotional warfare wrapped in Monsters, rebellion, and illegal magic use.
Alayna, a short-tempered rebel with more trauma than coping mechanisms, falls for the son of the governor—the same governor responsible for murdering her people. Tiv, the quiet rich boy in question, is so guilt-ridden and soft-spoken it’s a miracle he can string a sentence together without apologising.
Their relationship unravels at speed when their families get involved. tiv's father bans the relationship, separating them, and ALAYNA'S brother starts a rebellion with all the subtlety of a nuclear bomb, intent on destroying tiv's family.
There are enough morally grey characters to destroy a rainbow. No one is okay. Everyone is lying. you'll cry over a flower.
I do not recommend publishing this book unless you're prepared to be emotionally concussed. You’ve been warned.

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

I’m being cheeky & using the post where I post all my #unhingedpit pitches in one place to post another😂. Have some dating profiles & songs: Alayna: Little Girl Gone by Chinchilla Tiv: Cast the Bronze by Raynes Ben: Feed The Machine by Poor Man’s Poison Marcan: Control by Halsey #NA #F #R #DS #Q

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

What my CPs thought about my 'Romeo and Juliet but make it dystopian, horror, and fantasy' MS. One was clearly more thirsty than the others. #UnhingedPit #NA #F #R #DS #Q

This book gets no more than 1 star from me for how it RIPPED OUT MY FUCKING SOUL!
Okay, maybe 2, bc Ben was hilarious.
Alright, the world-building is awesome, I'll give it 3 for that. Right, having me kicking my feet deserves some cred too, but absolutely no more than 4.
FUCK! THE EPIC LOVE STORY—I'M DYING!!! Take 5! Take 10! Take a fucking million, just leave me alone, I need to go mend my aching heart.

Snowdrops and Stones-or whatever she's calling it these days-has not just one unhinged book boyfriend I want to climb, but 2. Do I still want to add songs to my book playlist? Yes.
Do I wish I could climb into that world? Absolutely not; it's a fucked up place to be. But gods I need more of it.

The best thing I can say about this book is that it hurt me very deeply and yet I never wanted to put it down.
The characters are so well-written that you kind of want to wrap them in a soft blanket and give them a hot drink even while they’re committing horrifying war crimes and you know t

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Why the Romeo and Juliet meets The Hunger Games mix up, SNOWDROPS AND STONES should be blacklisted. #UnhingedPit #NA #F #R #DS #Q

- sex, dugs, swearing, violent (basically all the good stuff)
romeo and juliet retelling (with a tenuous hfn).
- complex family dynamics
- themes of grief, loss, repressed trauma, generational trauma (and lots more)
- Too long (but actually not long enough; used to be 178k words)
lqbtqia+ is simply okay, and there's no social commentary on that.

This 109,000-word novel claims to be a romantic dystopian fantasy for adults, but let’s call it what it is: emotional warfare wrapped in betrayal, rebellion, and illegal magic use.
The story kicks off with Alayna, a short-tempered rebel with more trauma than coping mechanisms, who falls for the son of the governor—the same governor responsible for murdering her people. Tiv, the quiet rich boy in question, is so guilt-ridden and soft-spoken it’s a miracle he can string a sentence together without apologising.
Their relationship unravels at the speed when their families get involved. tiv's father bans the relationship, separating them, and ALAYN

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

This book has no chill, and neither does anyone in it. Welcome to SNOWDOPS AND STONES. You're not leaving emotionally intact. Now have some memes. #UnhingedPit #NA #F #R #DS #Q

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

If you need me, I’ll be in a reading hole for a few days. Suzanne, the love of my life and biggest inspiration, thank you for finally giving me a book I’ve been waiting for for 15 years. #WritingCommunity #booktwt

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

ROMEO AND JULIET x THE HUNGER GAMES 🥀 Forbidden Love 🥀 Family Feuding/Messy Family Dynamics 🥀 Queer-Norm World 🥀 Morally Grey Characters 🥀 Coming of Age themes of Identity, Grief, and Loss 🥀 Strong FMC / Soft MMC 🥀 Monsters/Hidden Magic #PopUpPit #LuckyPit #NA #FR #Q

SNOWDROPS AND STONES
A 110k Dystopian Fantasy Romance with horror elements
A hotheaded rebel catches the eye of a quiet, guilt-ridden aristocrat—who just so happens to be the governor’s son—in a triste that could end her life. When war puts them on opposite sides and pushes them both to their limits, they're torn between their family loyalties and each other. They don't know that no matter what they choose, it'll end in blood.

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

New name because after removing 67k words, it's basically a new book! ROMEO & JULIET meets THE HUNGER GAMES when a fiery rebel and shy aristocrat find forbidden love amid a brutal uprising, hidden magic, and deadly monsters that could destroy them both. #LuckyPit #PopUpPit #PopUpPitA #NA #FR #Q

ROMEO AND JULIET meets THE HUNGER GAMES in:
SNOWDROPS AND STONES
A 110k New Adult dystopian romantasy by H. L. Docherty

The fire snarled as it chewed the wood of my home.
Heat singed my face, winter's bite contrasting with sweat soaking through my ragged hoodie. I gagged on smoke curling in my throat but swallowed the cough. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. If they wanted me scared, they should've used explosives.
Mum's eyes flashed at the burnt college entrance sign in our garden. Harroworth Central College was still visible beneath the scorch marks with Scabs not welcome scrawled across it.
Like we were nothing but dead skin, picked at until we bled.

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Was it easy? No. Is my MS better for it? Absolutely. Thanks to @2thestrugglebus.bsky.social for doing half the work, and @charmstrong.bsky.social Editor's Guide for doing the other half. Am I done? NOPE. Still got another 8k words to go at least 🫠 #WritingCommunity

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

As it’s my balloon day, I’m asking for presents in the form of full requests and offers of rep from the lovely #LitAgents out there. Actually, at this point, I’ll also take rejections from the unyielding slew of maybe piles 😂 Have a beautiful Friday you lovely lot! #WritingCommunity

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

AH! *fans self*. Here goes: The rivals to lovers of THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS meet the dystopian class divide of BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES. A fiery Scab and shy Elite find forbidden love amid a brutal uprising, hidden magic, and deadly monsters that could destroy them both.

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

The enemies-to-lovers of THESE VIOLET DELIGHTS meet the class divide of BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES. A fiery rebel & a shy aristocrat want freedom. But when rebellion turns to war, they must navigate murderous creatures & hidden magic to find themselves and each other. #Cupit #Q #NA #RoFa #DTR #R

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Sorry I was a bit useless at supporting #QuestPit yesterday. Mental health has been a little fragile so decided to step off social media for the rest of the day. From what I saw, your pitches were fantastic! You’re a talented bunch with some amazing stories to tell. And for anyone who needs it:

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS x THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES for any #LitAgents who have the following on their MSWL: 🥀 Forbidden Love 🥀 Family Feuding/Messy Family Dynamics 🥀 Mental Health Rep 🥀 Queer-Norm World 🥀 He Falls First 🥀 Dystopian NA Fantasy 🥀 Strong FMC / Soft MMC #QuestPit #Q #NA #F #R

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

On the surface, I smiled. I kept shoving thoughts down into the hollowness that had opened inside me, but the harder I pushed, the more something else cracked. Pretending that everything was fine was choking something vital, something buried deep. But I kept smiling, hoping whatever I was strangling wouldn't suffocate completely.

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

The family feuding and star-crossed lovers of Romeo and Juliet meet the dystopian world of The Hunger Games when an anger-prone rebel and a shy aristocrat find forbidden love amid a brutal uprising, hidden magic, and deadly monsters that could destroy them both. #QuestPit #Q #NA #F #R

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

#2025pit Romeo & Juliet meets The Hunger Games in this dual-POV romantic fantasy. A fiery, slum-dwelling rebel & a guilt-ridden aristocrat find forbidden love amid a brutal uprising, hidden magic, & deadly monsters that could destroy them both. #NA #F #R 🥀LGBTQ+ & Mental Health Rep

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

The Vibes vs The Snippet. In a world where their families, society, hidden magic, and monsters try to separate them, a Scab and an Elite must lose themselves completely and decide what is really worth fighting for. #YouDeservepIT #Q #NA #F #R

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

THE GIRL IN THE MEADOW sees 2 people from either side of the class divide fall into a forbidden romance until monsters, magic, and death test how far their love will bend. 🥀 Forbidden Love 🥀 Morally Grey Characters 🥀 Complex Family Relationships 🥀 Found Family 🥀 Mental Health Rep 🥀 Queernorm world

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

#YouDeservepIt with my latest #AgentsGuide Romeo and Juliet meets The Hunger Games in this NA, dual-POV, romantic fantasy. A fiery, slum-dwelling rebel and a guilt-ridden aristocrat find forbidden love amid a brutal uprising, hidden magic, and deadly monsters that could destroy them both. #NA #F #R

THE GIRL IN THE MEADOW
by H. L. Docherty
Romeo and Juliet meets The Hunger Games in this 119k New Adult Fantasy Romance

Opening Lines:
A burnt-out sign lay in our tattered front yard, face to the sky. Mum's blue eyes flashed as she stared at the smouldering pile of trash. Beneath the scorch marks, the faint words
'Welcome to Harroworth Central College' could still be made out. Someone had burned the college entrance sign in our garden, scrawling 'Scabs not welcome' across it.
Scabs. Always that word. Like we were nothing more than dead skin, picked at until we bled. Anger bubbled up, threatening to spill over. I wanted to scream, to burn their precious city to the ground, but I shoved the fire back down my throat until it was ember in my stomach. Like always.

Tropes and Themes:
Starcrossed Lovers /
Forbidden Love
Mental Health Rep
Class Divide
Morally Grey Characters
Complex Sibling Dynamics
Found Family
Queer-Normative World Power and Corruption
Loss
Survival and Morality
Identity

Comps:
THE SERPENT AND THE WINGS OF NIGHT by Carissa Broadbent
SERPENT AND DOVE by Shelby Mahurin
THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LA RUE by V. E. Schwab

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Last #P2Ppit post of the day with another #AgentsGuide (because I have a problem). #UA #NA #R #F #Q

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Romeo and Juliet meets The Hunger Games in this dark romantic fantasy where a rebel girl and an Elite boy fall in forbidden love. As deadly monsters stalk the streets and war brews, they're pitted against each other. But Fate has a tricky sense of humour. #P2Ppit #UA #NA #F #R #Q

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Romeo and Juliet's love story meets the dystopia of The Hunger Games in this dark, dual-POV romantic fantasy. A fiery rebel from the slums and a guilt-ridden Elite find forbidden love in a world of hidden magic, deadly monsters, and a brutal uprising. #P2PPit #UA #NA #F #R #Q

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Might as well post my #AgentsGuide for #BluePit #Q #NA #F #R In a city stalked by monsters and divided by class, a Scab from the slums and an upper-class Elite don't belong together. But as war looms and they're pitted against each other, they'll learn that Fate has a twisted sense of humour.

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

Romeo and Juliet meets The Hunger Games in this new adult, dual-POV romantic fantasy. A fiery, slum-dwelling rebel and a guilt-ridden aristocrat find forbidden love amid a brutal uprising, hidden magic, and deadly monsters that could destroy them both. #BluePit #Q #NA #F #R

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H. L. Docherty (Updates Only) @hldocherty.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

I have my first ever piece of fan art from a beta reader 🥹. Thank you @taycoffman.bsky.social for creating Alayna. I adore her. #WritingCommunity

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