I’m hooked on stories written in extremely deep POV and I appreciate writing that provides just enough information to the reader while letting their imagination take over…very “Master of Suggestion” Alfred Hitchcock-esque, if you will.

I’m a sucker for small towns, anything in the South, and I adore an unreliable narrator…or two.

On the flip side, I’m not the best agent for books written in 2nd Person or stories with high spice, erotica or sex “on the page, vulgarity, gore, or extreme violence.

I appreciate trigger warnings for suicide and cancer. 

Extra Thoughts:

Cozy Mysteries, Thriller, & Suspense

Regarding cozy mysteries: please make sure that your cozy mystery is actually a cozy mystery before submitting it. If you’re not sure, please check out this article: “What is a Cozy Mystery?” to ensure you’re hitting the crucial elements that set cozies apart from other mysteries.

Some favorite psychological thriller and domestic thriller authors include: J.T. Ellison, Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, Jeneva Rose, and Andrea Bartz. For cozies, I love Victoria Gilbert and Ellery Adams. 

If your story revolves around government agencies, military, para-military, or can be categorized as action/adventure, I’m not the best agent for you.

Romance

 For romantic comedies I’m a better fit for closed-door, sweet romance (see Amazon’s Clean & Wholesome category). If your book can be described as a low-spice Emily Henry, I’d LOVE to see it.

My current rom-com obsession is Melissa Ferguson’s The Perfect Rom-Com, but please don’t follow in Bryony’s footsteps and send me a “149,800 word literary fiction with a touch of magical realism, a bit of suspense, and somewhat biographical” manuscript. #IYKYK.

Upmarket / Book Club / Women’s Fiction

For upmarket/book club/women’s fiction, I’m more flexible. I can’t stop thinking about The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller. It’s not closed-door but the emotional depth won me over.

In a nutshell: I’m looking for low-spice stories in the romance genre, but have more flexibility when it comes to upmarket, book club, or women’s fiction.

For a fantastic breakdown between literary, upmarket, and commericial fiction, see Jane Friedman’s guest post from senior literary agent Carly Watters here.

Stories with Magic

I’m drawn to stories rooted firmly in our world with a thread of magic woven through. While I consider this to be “grounded fantasy,” they are often categorized as magical realism on platforms like Amazon. Alongside the magical realism category, you’ll often see these stories additionally categorized as contemporary romance, romantic comedy, women’s historical fiction, etc.

I’m not the right agent for high or epic fantasy, portal fantasy, or any manuscript with detailed world-building, systems, or creatures.

Books I love in this category include The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods; The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden, and The Seven Year Slip  by Ashley Poston. For funsies, here’s a link to Amazon’s top 100 in this category.

While I’m using the term as it’s used on Amazon for comparative title purposes, I acknowledge that magical realism has deep cultural and literary roots in Latin American traditions. For further reading, check out Writer’s Digest’s article “What is Magical Realism?” I love their definition:

If you’re unsure if your manuscript fits into magical realism or use Gotham Writers’ definition as a guide: “While magical realism situates readers in a predominantly realistic world, fantasy takes place in an unreal world with unreal characters.”

FICTION SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

**Please note: Query Manager will have a place for these sections:

• Title
• Word Count,
• Genre,
• Query Letter,
• Synopsis,
• One Paragraph Pitch,
• Target Audience,
• Comps (please provide 3-5 titles sold within the last five years)
• First 10 pages uploaded as a separate Word document. I often check QM on my phone and a Word doc (versus a PDF) is easier to read.

If I want to read more, I’ll request the full manuscript.

Do not query unless the manuscript is complete, edited, and polished.