Jake Epstine
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jakeepstine.bsky.social
Jake Epstine
@jakeepstine.bsky.social
57 followers 130 following 5 posts
I am a Queer writer, living in a barren desert, spending my days in front of a creaking oscillating fan as I punch away at the keyboard.
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jakeepstine.bsky.social
Jake Epstine @jakeepstine.bsky.social · 23h
Woven through chillingly honest monologues, five disparate Queer men ride out the whims of a cold-blooded desert in a shabby Palm Springs apartment complex—where one man’s foolish scheme for survival leads to his ironic flameout on Election Day 2016.

#QUESTPIT #Q #A #LF #DR #LGBTQ
Hot desert day, cooled off by hedges and a tree, from which a lonely swing hangs.
Reposted by Jake Epstine
crbarenza.bsky.social
Chris—a bisexual designer—has avoided desire to stay in control… until his new job throws him together with Beatrice, a Latina writer who makes him risk his sobriety and sanity for the love he never thought he could have—especially after the last time he fell in love.

#questpit #Q #A #R #U
February 1, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
bestthingaround.bsky.social
SEVEN DAYS IN PARADISO: a second-chance fake-dating contemporary romance that sits between THE EX VOWS and THE PARADISE PROBLEM.

Because wouldn't you also escape this bitter winter cold by running off to a lush Mexican resort for a week -- even if it includes your ex-fiancé?

#QuestPit #Q #R #A
a fake hotel poster advertising the author's book pitch
January 31, 2026 at 8:00 PM
jakeepstine.bsky.social
Woven through chillingly honest monologues, five disparate Queer men ride out the whims of a cold-blooded desert in a shabby Palm Springs apartment complex—where one man’s foolish scheme for survival leads to his ironic flameout on Election Day 2016.

#QUESTPIT #Q #A #LF #DR #LGBTQ
Front window of the Fake Theater on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.
February 1, 2026 at 2:33 AM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
marisolwrites.bsky.social
MOUTH PIECE

desperate for beauty, validation, and digital relevance, Blanca seizes on a mysteriously gifted skincare product that promises to transform her life only to discover that it causes a small, insatiable mouth to grow on her stomach.

#W, #LF, #H, #questpit
January 31, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
thecrumpet.bsky.social
MY LAST INNOCENT YEAR x GREEN DOT

SURFACE TENSION: The problem with studying intelligent women who make bad choices? You start to see yourself scribbled all over the syllabus. Jenny’s entanglement with her English professor isn’t fiction, but she’s starting to wish it was. #U #W #A #questpit
A collage of photos: a young woman in repose with her eyes closed, in half-profile, sun reflecting on her face; a man’s hand pushing an elevator button; John Singer Sargent’s “Portrait of Madame X,” a painting of a young woman in a sleeveless black dress; a black and white photo of a man embracing a woman from behind, in front of what looks like hotel room window sheers; red and white dahlia flowers on a black background; looking over the shoulder of a person reading a manuscript; a black and white photo taken from the vantage of a woman looking down at her black high heels; a view down a hallway where doorways are visible on the walls; a collection of botanical books open to pages with flowers; a black and white photo of a hotel bed, with an open book, a room service plate, and what looks like recent signs of intimacy; a colorful row of books on a shelf; the title of the WIP “Surface Tension” is superimposed in a central rectangle.
January 31, 2026 at 6:07 PM
jakeepstine.bsky.social
Jobs disappear, rent increases, food banks, car running on empty, an aching tooth beckons bankruptcy, a blossoming culture of meanness and nasty edges.

In this, our new world, Levi fights to rebuild his finances and broken spirit.

America, how did we get here?

#QUESTPIT #Q #A #LF #DR #LGBTQ
Faded red 69 Chevy Malibu on a Palm Springs street
January 31, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
bhartwrites.bsky.social
"Ought To Be Thy Adam" is a queer Frankenstein retelling fuelled by internalized gay guilt and trans rage.

🏳️‍⚧️🖤🏳️‍🌈

I'll be seeking representation this summer. In the meantime, I hope it finds the gothic horror monsters that will enjoy devouring it someday.

#questpit #LGBT #OW #W #A #DF #H #HFic #S
An image of a skull with a black box overtop that says: Ought to Be Thy Adam “I’d studied and lectured on your ligaments, muscles, and arteries. Cells swabbed from your cheek pushed under a microscope. Papers built off your anatomy. But I had never asked you how it felt. For all I studied your body, I was still terrified to study your soul.” In 1897, after studying corpses and toying with electricity, medical student Viktor has created the man from his darkest, shameful desires. Except guilt forces him to make one final adjustment: female parts. As his new creation gains sentience while vivisected during Viktor's university tour and begins to chafe under Viktor's thumb, a violent death and disobedience leads the monster to make himself into the man he was always meant to be. Trans/Gay Frankenstein Retelling
January 31, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
alexfromawen.bsky.social
Once Gwen was called Wendy. She was promised love. All she lost was her humanity.
Once Hook was called Rosie. She was promised adventure. All it cost was her family.
Together, maybe a cranky immortal & a smug pirate can find a thing they didn’t know was missing.
#PosterPit #PosterPitW #A #F #H #LGBT
Image shows the close-up of a young woman laying amongst plants in a jungle. Her mouth and upper chest spattered in blood, though no wounds are visible. Text is as follows: A Film by Alex Baker Gwen Dale as Wendy Darling Roseline Rivière as Capt. Hook Enemies to Lovers Butch/Femme Pairing Pan-pires & Pirates Spicy Sapphics Hurt & Comfort Support Women's Wrongs "An Education in Malice X Peter Pan" - Movie Reviewer FOREVER IS A VERY LONG TIME What Really Happened After Neverland
April 19, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
hmwilson.bsky.social
THE FERN follows Alice and Marge, friends turned lovers, as they reckon with sexuality, family, and loss. Through Alice's journals and Marge's stories, the novel explores our capacity for delusion when we attempt to chart the inner worlds of those nearest to us.

#questpit
#LF
#Q
January 31, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
dianebillas.bsky.social
QUEER NANCY DREW
17-yr-old Emmie is suspect #1 of a murder during her mom's book event. She needs to get her life back and not get killed in the process.
💖 Sapphic crush
🕵️ Amateur investigation
🎃 Halloween vibes
📚Indie bookstore
🐈 Store cat
🌈Queer cast
#Questpit #Q #YA #MY #LGBT
Mood board for the book The Final Chapter: Halloween candy, white and black cat, blonde girl in flannel with a pumpkin, crime scene tape, murder board, Harley Quinn, police car, books with a single light bulb hanging down.
January 31, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
hollyollybeeee.bsky.social
When a queer crew of friends is given the power to choose the fate of a world that's only ever hurt them, all must weigh the price against the product - an uncertain future with all the lessons of history, or guaranteed survival without any of the context?

- WE EXPECTED MORE -

#questpit #q #a #d
Well it's a map of pennsylvania's power lines in the back, and then in front is four rad chicks and their rad giant praying mantis, u know.
January 31, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
rdwinterauthor.bsky.social
WHERE ECHOES WAIT #W #A #H #LF

A woman restoring a remote Cornish manor slowly loses her sense of where her mind ends and the house begins.

The village knows the pattern. They just won't say it out loud.

Epistolary gothic horror.

#QUESTPIT
Dark stone well surrounded by overgrown ivy and moss, title WHERE ECHOES WAIT overlaid in white text.
January 31, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
mariekesmbooks.bsky.social
A mouthy teen singer flees to Amsterdam after an online scandal, but when new gossip sparks, he drops an anonymous song that goes viral—his choice: stay low and lose his chance for redemption, or take credit and risk outing the closeted footballer he's falling for.

#AG #YA #LGBT #editors #QuestPit
6 photos, in between the word rumors. A blond boy with a guitar, an Amsterdam canal with bikes, a soccer (football) player, a sleeping cat, an image of a cat café, the demisexual flag.
January 31, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
dreadwrites.bsky.social
IM THINKING OF ENDING THINGS X EILEEN
Luke is forced to team up with his estranged ex-husband when someone, or something, unknown to them drudges up secrets of their sordid past that threatens to rip apart their lives.
ICEBOX is a WIP.
🏳️‍🌈LGBTQ+
❓unreliable narrator
👁️ obsession
#questpit #W #H #A #T
Text reads: Introducing ICEBOX, an adult psychological horror/thriller COMPS + VIBES Ian Reid's I'm Thinking of Ending Things and Ottessa Moshfegh's Eileen meet the unsettling, obsessive intimacy of Saltburn and a creeping, psychological dread reimaging of I Know What You Did Last Summer Featuring: Queer MC, Obsession, Unreliable Narration, Past That Has Teeth The image shows a collection of blue-tinged images, including one that says "get out of my fucking house", a tape-recorder that says "play me", and a newspaper article that cuts off a title that reads "mystery accident...teen fatality" Text Reads: Club music pulsed in Luke’s bones. His face, normally gaunt and pale like a perfect porcelain doll, was splotchy and bloated from crying. He’d been here before after a fight with Kieran, when he ran away for once, something that was more of Kieran’s specialty. He hadn’t done anything; he’d only entered, felt the throbbing, dark music in his muscles until it beat away all the negative feelings. And normally Luke loved those feelings. Precious few that they were, he clawed onto them. Sometimes he even chased them. Initiated them. Kieran pulled it out of him and made him care like no one else did. Then the divorce finalized. Luke must’ve been possessed when he signed the papers. He was never really given a choice, only Kieran slapping them in front of him at any given opportunity while he searched for a new place to live. On the kitchen counter, narrowly avoiding Luke’s breakfast. On his car windshield, the bathroom mirror, shoved into the crack of the front door when Kieran decided to stay overnight at a coworker’s house. Nothing had been settled yet in terms of assets, but Kieran made it abundantly clear before Luke signed the papers: keep everything. Keep everything and let it haunt you, not me. And haunt Luke it did. The house was a graveyard. Headstones of everything he’d had taunted him to the point where nothing but the kitchen and the bedroom ceased to exist. Luke gathered all his favorite memorabilia of Kieran and shoved it into a hidden cubby in the living room, because he didn’t know how else to memorialize him. Kieran wasn’t dead, but once he moved out, Luke wondered if it would’ve been easier if he was. Kieran could’ve died loving him rather than lived just a few miles as the crow flies at his new place hating him. How did wedding vows of forever, and sickness and health and thick and thin turn into this slop? Picture shows a playlist of songs, in this order: Buckle by Florence + The Machine Merry Christmas, Please Don't Call by The Bleachers Now That We Don't Talk by Taylor Swift The Alcott by The National, Taylor Swift Letter To An Old Poet by boygenius Choking Games by Nicole Dollanganger
January 31, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
frankieunpublished.bsky.social
SHAMELESSLY WANTING 🐝🖊️📚

BEA DORSEY, a librarian who moonlights as a spicy content creator, has spent years keeping her worlds separate—until a leaked photo, a public exposure and her irritatingly attractive boss threaten to undo everything she’s buried.

#questpit #Q #A #WF #R #LF #amquerying
Title card: pink post with the words SHAMELESSLY WANTING, a bee doodle The comps: the idea of you, seven days in June, fleabag Bea Dorsey: Getting up wouldn’t make it better, just change the view, so Bea stayed on the floor. Her phone balanced on her chest, still lit with the photo. At least I look hot. Couldn’t have picked a better one myself. Miles Noor: I crossed a professional line. But in my defense, she waved me over from the other side. The opening: Three floors below, a bus hissed as commuters lined up with briefcases and lunch totes. Oblivious to the peep show above them. If anyone looked up—Bea bent at the waist and blew a kiss. Lucky them.
January 31, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
ldrexauthor.bsky.social
Before she dies, a former lead psychiatrist at a sanatorium admits to some dark truths about her time there, but not all. A phantom begins haunting her granddaughter, guiding her closer to the truth behind the institution's walls, deep in the Canadian woods.
#QuestPit #Q #PNH #M #R
an aerial view of a snowy area with buildings and trees in the background
Alt: an aerial view of a snowy area with buildings and trees in the background
media.tenor.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
jundlife.bsky.social
THE EXORCIST X DONNIE DARKO

Chris is haunted by Shadows since almost dying.
They are increasing in power.
A Red Eyed God talks of change.
A Shadow with a hat seeks to use him for his dark purposes.

🍂 New England
💽 2000's nostalgia
🧹 Witchcraft
🌕️ Cosmic Horror

#Questpit #H #Agentsguide
"Hat" 84K cosmic horror. Join the beta. Querying soon. Pitch: Chris is cursed to see Shadow people since almost dying as a child. Now, as the new MILLENNIUM dawns they are INCREASING in FREQUENCY and GAINING power. His peers think he is psychotic, The Red Eyed God in the woods speak of a great change, and a HATEFUL shadow wearing a hat seeks to use him for his own ends. Tropes: 2000's setting Space and Nature WitchCraft Spooky New ENgland Stoner Goth kids Madness possession Vibe Comps: The Bababook, Donnie Darko, The Exorcist
January 31, 2026 at 12:39 PM
jakeepstine.bsky.social
Woven through chillingly honest monologues, five disparate Queer men ride out the whims of a cold-blooded desert in a shabby Palm Springs apartment complex—where one man’s foolish scheme for survival leads to his ironic flameout on Election Day 2016.

#QUESTPIT #Q #A #LF #DR #LGBTQ
Hot desert day, cooled off by hedges and a tree, from which a lonely swing hangs.
January 31, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
kpbooksnstuff.bsky.social
𝒅𝒖 𝑴𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝑹𝑬𝑩𝑬𝑪𝑪𝑨 𝒙 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒙'𝒔 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑬𝑹𝑭𝑬𝑪𝑻 𝑪𝑶𝑼𝑷𝑳𝑬 𝑺𝒌𝒚'𝒔 𝑹𝑰𝑽𝑰𝑬𝑹𝑨

When everyone she loves has motive for a murder, a PR exec must decide how far to go to protect them. Esp. the man she's in love with. The dead woman's husband.
#Questpit #Q #A #RF #MY

My cast list for who would play my MCs.👇
The FMC - Catriona Balfe as Listy Snippet - Listy swallows against the dryness in her throat. 'You loved her very much, didn't you? Rianna.' The MMC - David Gandy as Kris Snippet - He looks at her. 'I fell in love with her the moment I saw her,' he says bleakly. MMC's late wife - Ana de Armas as Rianna Snippet - Rianna sets her glass down and rises. The moonlight traces the ineffable beauty of her face, its clever shading masking the eyes which can't always disguise their cruelty. MMC's childhood sweetheart - Eleanor Tomlinson as Christina Snippet - How is it she's the one at fault now? The one made to feel guilty. When it is his fault. What happened is his fault. They both know it. And they both know she will never forgive him.
January 31, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
worldsforus.bsky.social
After 4 years of hard work, I’m sinfully pleased that publication of my graphic novel BLACK TIES – IN GODS WE TRUST is approaching.

Gods. Oversized egos. Structural rot with a halo.

Illustrations by @maolyart.bsky.social

(1/4) Read on⬇️

#GraphicNovel #IndieComics
#WritingCommunity
January 3, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
wordpamela.bsky.social
12yo sceptic Yanju becomes homeless, grieves, so loses the will to paint. She encounters a ghost, witch and Mamiwata(mermaid). To heal from grief, she must let her spirit guide help fight, and win an art competition to have a home, or else remain homeless and be a ghost #Questpit #MG #F #PR #BVM #Q
January 31, 2026 at 5:05 AM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
zprospero.bsky.social
THE OFFICE X GOOD OMENS

A satire of both business and the supernatural, Virgil Mora, Hell's Consultant, must restore Heaven's faith in Hell by saving a vampire-run Ohio gas station in just three months to save his job and Lucifer, the angel he's fallen for.

#QuestPit #W #A #F #LGBT
January 31, 2026 at 5:12 AM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
authorrjwebb.bsky.social
HAZELTHORN X THE SPIRIT BARES ITS TEETH
Journals of a Familiar
Hawthorne has never left the cathedral. Raised in silence and prepared for a future he doesn't understand, everything changes when he meets Violet, a witch with wild dreams of escape.
#questpit #W #YA #H #LGBT
January 31, 2026 at 6:20 AM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
braydenrwrites.bsky.social
MIDSOMMAR X WHITE LOTUS
A wrong plane landing traps a group of rich guests at an idyllic wellness resort where rituals replace spa treatments, confessions are mandatory & the staff already knows who won’t be leaving.
Girl Dinner X The Compound
#questpit #U #H #LF #W #A
January 31, 2026 at 5:50 AM
Reposted by Jake Epstine
brittneyjoan.bsky.social
When plus-size baddie dog sits to survive after her breakup, the last thing she expects is to meet a guy in the personal care aisle who’s everything her ex wasn’t: loyal, patient & in desperate need of a dog sitter…which might just ruin her plan to swear off love forever 🐾🌿

#QuestPit #A #R #Q
Agent's Guide cover page for GOOD BOYS ONLY, an 89,000-word adult plus-size rom-com. Green background with Sydney & Owen (the main character's names) alternating. Stock images of a plus-sized girl and a tattooed man. Polaroids of tattooed hand holding, a Red Wings hockey game, and a Corgi + Golden Retriever. GOOD BOYS ONLY pitch: After her boyfriend of six years moves out, retail manager Sydney Bennett is barely hanging on—juggling long shifts and a side hustle dog-sitting to tide her over. When she meets Owen Sutton in the personal care aisle after a rant about two “demonic Pomeranians,” he’s instantly charmed—and in need of a sitter for his own, much better-behaved dogs. What starts as a business arrangement turns into something gentler and deeper: a slow-burning romance between two people still healing from betrayal. But as Sydney grapples with falling for the man keeping her financially afloat and the past comes back to haunt Owen, they’ll have to decide if the safety they’ve found in each other is worth risking their hearts for. On a split green background of sage green and light green. Two stock images of a tattooed man and a plus-sized woman. Paw print & sage leaf sprig emojis. Sample page and comps from GOOD BOYS ONLY. Comp titles include Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings, You, With a View by Jessica Joyce, Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen, Young & Hungry TV show. Sample text: “I hate to admit it, but you might be onto something,” I say with a small smile. “A compliment? From the chef herself? Whew, I’m gonna need to sit down.” Owen beams at me, and it’s a blast of electricity straight to my heart. “But think about it—you can finally get out of retail hell. I can help you, too. With a business plan. I’m kinda good at that stuff.” His grin turns sheepish before he dips his pinky finger into the sauce, sneaking a taste. My body processes the feeling before I do, and I lean closer to him, a newfound buoyancy floating across my limbs. “You’d do that for me?” “I’m not sure when you’ll get it through your pretty head that I’d do anything for you, Syd. Literally anything you asked.” He steps toward me, body radiating heat like the oven, casting me in a warm glow. His words have my stomach sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Tension circles the space between us, grasping the string and yanking us impossibly close. I scan across him, the art decorating his perfect form, and it’s suddenly a bucket list item to be part of his canvas. “Would you get a tattoo for me?” Owen’s nostrils flare and he squeezes his fists, as if he can feel the sting of the needle inking me onto him. “What’d you have in mind?” he chokes out. I crane my neck. He’s so close, eclipsing the steam from the pan surely teetering toward burnt. I can’t find it in me to care. “I think a sage leaf sprig would suffice, since you do love using my middle name.” “I’m not opposed. Where would you want it? Somewhere hidden? Where you’d only see it if I let you? Maybe front and center for a daily reminder of you?” He shifts. Our chests brush. Breathing is an illusion, a magic trick. I’ve never drawn in a breath in my life. Tropes & The Couple. Book tropes: black cat x golden retriever, strangers to lovers, she's his dog sitter, confident plus-sized FMC, facetimes & texts, found family, he falls first (his dogs fall harder), set in Michigan, starting over at 30, when the spice hits... Stock images of the main characters: Sydney Sage Bennett (plus-sized woman) and Owen James Sutton (tattooed man). Sydney's info: 30, Aquarius, Retail Ops Manager, Empathetic. Competitive. Amazing cook. Loves hockey. Sarcasm as a shield. Pilates girlie. Brunch is her love language. Poor spending habits. Younger sister. Sworn off relationships to focus on herself. Owen's info: 31, Cancer, National Events Manager. Patient and loyal. Flirty. Loves hockey. Bottles everything up. Former company co-founder. Amazing dog dad. Acts of service. Takes care of his elderly neighbor. Older brother. Prone to emotional spill-overs.
January 31, 2026 at 5:00 AM