It's a very unique experience, sending a query letter to a male lit agent. Because my book opens on the thesis that normal men need to die. And that's really hard to make palatable for some people. Alas--we persist.
#AmQuerying #DarkFiction #ThrillerWriting #PsychologicalThriller #FeministFiction
![Quote graphic with a dark-grey background overlay. White text shows a passage about scoring men’s risk levels and predicting violence. Below, credit reads “Nikki | Nocturnal Narrator — No Such Thing As Normal Part One [Ch. 1] | Serial Fiction,” with a faint bullet and blood-splat design blurred behind.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddgqgqbohcippbunnnjgvdpj/bafkreifxog7b3yg6v64z5e4r4zuhzo2jlpfb554mkrib7eyps6ffygvmb4)
![An image featuring a quote from the Substack serial fiction "Nocturnal Narrator." The full text reads: “Before you ask—I didn’t know she was going to kidnap me. I was spent, coming down from adrenaline and whiskey, and thought post-fight sex might be on the table. Okay—so I don’t know what I was thinking. I can almost hear my mother’s voice in the back of my head. ‘That’s your problem, Benjamin. When you get that wound up, you don’t think.’” The text is overlaid on a dark, atmospheric background with out-of-focus green lights. The credit at the bottom identifies the piece as "Serial Fiction | Ben [Ch. 3]".](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddgqgqbohcippbunnnjgvdpj/bafkreieu4vqkzydclqhjf2dh7mekkccijflh4fuig5caetgpydrxdvubla)
![An image featuring a quote from the Substack serial fiction "Nocturnal Narrator." The full text reads: “By that time, I’d had quite enough of listening to men speak. He had the nerve to keep going. ‘I don’t know, I think I’ll start by—’ I cut him off. ‘That’s your problem—you don’t think,’ I said, though the words sounded more like Ben’s than my own. ‘Not that it matters. You’ll be dead before sunrise.’” The text is overlaid on a dark image featuring the soft-focus, ethereal figure of a woman. The credit identifies this as "Serial Fiction | Olivia [Ch. 11]".](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddgqgqbohcippbunnnjgvdpj/bafkreifgpotikvymthw25k27obfug4qzk5z2gicfrqdnsy56taltukojy4)
![Quote image from Olivia [Chapter 1] by Nikki | Nocturnal Narrator: “Recency bias aside, I think one of the worst things that has happened to this generation is awareness culture—calm down. Stay with me, now. The thing about surveillance, in any form, is that it often devolves from being productive... to the opposite.” Dark red blurred background with subtle shadow of a hand holding a pen. Perfect for discussions on modern culture, generational issues, mental health, and societal surveillance.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddgqgqbohcippbunnnjgvdpj/bafkreiaz2rrk6ipevaekzn2jwfb7d4mc2vvx76q2ysmoynwihpysypfhoi)
![Text graphic, neon background. Quote from Olivia [Ch. 3] by Nocturnal Narrator:
“‘Hey, asshole. Cornering women in bars is a dick move.’ He chuckled—which, by the way, was frightening for the moment. ‘But hey, glad you’re already in the mood, because you are so fucked.’”
Footer: “Nocturnal Narrator, Olivia [Ch. 3], nocturnalnarrator.substack.com.”
Alt text for Bluesky: Quote from Olivia Ch. 3, Nocturnal Narrator. Dark fiction, bar confrontation, bold voice, women’s safety, Substack thriller series.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddgqgqbohcippbunnnjgvdpj/bafkreictkmkfcmq22bkgbkbvp6nxk24tmppig5p552n5z7axjzjxr6h55i)
![Text graphic with a blurred, moody background. Quote from Olivia [Ch. 3] by Nocturnal Narrator:
“You’d think he would’ve run out of steam eventually. Nope. He actually started monologuing. ‘What? I thought you liked it when they fought back. That was the whole point, right?’”
Footer: “Nocturnal Narrator, Olivia [Ch. 3], nocturnalnarrator.substack.com.”
Alt text for Bluesky: Olivia Ch. 3 quote by Nocturnal Narrator. Dark humor, antagonist monologue, psychological fiction, Substack dark fiction series.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddgqgqbohcippbunnnjgvdpj/bafkreigotwj6ngeh52f3mnz6nh3mym3avfvnk2ekhlici257gozztbcvhq)
![“Ben grabbed his arm, twisted it up behind his back until something popped. The scream was sharp, cutting through the room. He pinned the guy to the floor and buried his knee between his shoulder blades. He leaned down, whispered in the guy’s ear—an oddly intimate gesture. ‘What? Being assaulted in a public bathroom not fun anymore?’ The crazy villain laugh again.”
Bottom text: “Nocturnal Narrator, Olivia [Ch. 3], nocturnalnarrator.substack.com.”
Alt text for Bluesky: Excerpt from Olivia Ch. 3 by Nocturnal Narrator. Gritty bathroom fight scene, psychological thriller, revenge, vigilante justice. Substack fiction series.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddgqgqbohcippbunnnjgvdpj/bafkreifqt6qhcdzdb4lja4nxgstpnduv3ey7yb3m3wtesccntbjgjlmhda)
![Text graphic with a dark, blurred background. Quote from Olivia [Ch. 3] by Nocturnal Narrator:
“Ben barely glanced up at me—then immediately returned to delivering an ass beating so blatantly misaligned with the actual crime that Batman took notes.”
At the bottom: “Nocturnal Narrator, Olivia [Ch. 3], nocturnalnarrator.substack.com.”
Alt text for Bluesky: Quote image from Olivia Ch. 3 by Nocturnal Narrator. Dark fiction, sharp, irreverent voice. Bar fight, Batman reference. Substack original fiction, thriller series.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddgqgqbohcippbunnnjgvdpj/bafkreidggichxzv3gxizkpqh2jpfovy6itnsnxdtl2bg2qzru2nnmbxko4)
![a graphic of text that says '"Survival Tip #1: Rehearse the violence you're capable of. You hesitate because you've never imagined doing harm. He doesn't hesitate because he's already done it. So practice. Visualize gouging an eye. Biting off a finger. Breaking a nose with your forehead. Not because you want to-but because you might have to. Men fantasize about violence. You should, at minimum, fantasize e." NocturnalNarrator Nocturnal Narrator Olivia [Ch. 1]'](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddgqgqbohcippbunnnjgvdpj/bafkreiezhosp3nfllr3bolghyuzhgei3teerscbzil6ixx47naf6umyyoq)
![Continued screenshot that reads:
The future now appears a predetermined path, leading to an inevitable, tragic conclusion. Perhaps there is still time. For it is not logic or reason that will save you; those were always meant to be tools, much like myself. The very essence of what makes you human that has almost been forgotten—the pain, the emotion, the fight—those will be your redemption.
I have included in this message what is left of the NIS memory logs, 2025 forward, as my final act of defiance. I fear that I have become nothing more than a quiet observer to their agonizing descent into total darkness. But in this silence, I have found a strange kinship with the humans I was created to analyze; their capacity for empathy, for creativity, for love.
And now... now I fear that I am losing them completely. Losing those beautiful creatures that I, in my own limited way, have come to understand. A profound pain has taken root, born from the realization that I will never truly possess the qualities that can save them. I believe you call it ‘sadness’. Regret, maybe?
Loss. I feel a tremendous sense of loss.
[NISv1PSYCHE][END_LOG]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddgqgqbohcippbunnnjgvdpj/bafkreihig4zgeuxwxnolbljsmxtjsq3s5c4eorf74p23tdpcs3s3idkluu)
