Michael T. Kuester
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michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Michael T. Kuester
@michaeltkuester.bsky.social
340 followers 170 following 310 posts
Engineer, dreamer, #querying hard #scifi writer. Fan of baseball and '70s music. Passionately curious individual. Welcome to my universe. http://kuesterwrites.wordpress.com
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michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Michael T. Kuester @michaeltkuester.bsky.social · 21d
An #agentsguide to SEVEN DAYS ON SAMARKAND:

JURASSIC PARK x THE EXPANSE x STAR TREK.

Five thousand of Earth's best and brightest seek to live alongside an alien biosphere. But on a planet populated by dinosaurs, is that even possible?

#querying now!
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Re-reading Abaddon’s Gate, and I forgot just how amazing this book is.
November 12, 2025 at 7:37 PM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Thinking a few steps ahead, in this week’s #NaNoWriMo midweek update. kuesterwrites.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/n...
NaNoWriMo ’25: Midweek Update
Looking past the current crisis, and on to the next
kuesterwrites.wordpress.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:09 PM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
I love Tom Gauld. And it’s a great day for reflection…
tomgauld.bsky.social Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 2d
My latest @newscientist.com cartoon.

p.s. my new book of science cartoons 'Physics for Cats' is out now! Order from your local bookshop or online: www.tomgauld.com
Panel 1. Two scientists walking along. The first one says: I have opened a portal into an alternate universe that is an exact reflection of our own! Panel 2. The second scientist looks into a technical portal and says WOW Panel 3. A reflection of panel two. The reflected scientist's speech bubble still reads: WOW Panel 4. A reflection of panel one. The text is all back to front.
November 10, 2025 at 4:34 PM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Forming communities as I forge ahead with OctoWIP, in this week’s #WritersDesk. #WritingCommunity #booktwt kuesterwrites.wordpress.com/2025/11/10/w...
Writer’s Desk
NaNoWriMo rolls on, creating a community for my beta readers, and more
kuesterwrites.wordpress.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:32 PM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Last day for my beloved garden this year. Harvesting today. Probably ripping out dead plants on Tuesday.
November 9, 2025 at 5:06 PM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Building toward my first action scenes, in this week’s #NaNoWriMo wrap-up. kuesterwrites.wordpress.com/2025/11/09/n...
NaNoWriMo ’25: Week 1
Making my way toward the first action of this novel
kuesterwrites.wordpress.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Remembering a true colossus of science. His contributions to our species cannot be overstated. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at 97
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:57 PM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
When Star Trek failed to be Star Trek because it was afraid of being Star Trek, on this month’s “Sci-Fi Reviewed”. #WritingCommunity #scifi kuesterwrites.wordpress.com/2025/11/07/s...
Sci-Fi Reviewed: Enterprise
How the creators of Star Trek: Enterprise tried to create a Trek series without Trek, and paid for it
kuesterwrites.wordpress.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Yeeeesssss!!!!!!
sciencex.bsky.social Science X / Phys.org @sciencex.bsky.social · 7d
New findings demonstrate that quantum signals can be transmitted from Earth to satellites, potentially enabling more robust and practical quantum communication networks using satellite relays. doi.org/g989m9
Scientists reveal it is feasible to send quantum signals from Earth to a satellite
Quantum satellites currently beam entangled particles of light from space down to different ground stations for ultra-secure communications.
phys.org
November 5, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
sherlynsvault.bsky.social
HAPPY PLACE x HOW TO END A LOVE STORY

Meet DON'T FORGET ME. Complete at 70k words, second-chance, forced proximity, dark academia, set in autumnal Edinburgh, Scotland. ☕️

QUERYING NOW! ✨

#questpit #R #NA #Q #amquerying
November 5, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
meljrey.bsky.social
Here’s my adult epic fantasy #AgentGuide for #QuestPit

Ingredients:
🥷 1 stabby shifter
⚔️ 1 brooding smuggler
❤️‍🔥 2 for 1 on slow burn romances
✨ 3 kinds of forbidden magic
🚩 everybody lies
🐉 more twists than twisted dragon horns!

#A #F #OWN
A photo of a dark haired woman in the jungle. Title: An Agent/Reader Guide to The Breath of SIlence - A fantasy novel by M J Reynard A photo of a rainforest with the Title "Comps": A Feather so Black - magical FMC in a non-magical world The Last Vigilant - A broken MMC with a life debt The Jasad Heir - Forbidden magic The Raven Scholar - Intrigue & deadly agendas One Dark Window - slow burn sub plots A rainforest photo with the following text: The Pitch In a world where magic is forbidden, an outcast shifter & a broken soldier form a fragile alliance to smuggle a relic, but as betrayal leads to murder, they must stop a vengeful sorceress or lose all magic – forever! The Breath of SIlence by M J Reynard Illustrations of a POC woman in leather armour and a Caucasian man in a Regency style shirt and coat with brown hair. The following quotes: "He's a liar!" "She's hiding something." City in the sky!
November 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
authorrjwebb.bsky.social
When a benevolent vampire vows to end the cruel reign of a monstrous council, he must battle the past and present to stop the curse they have unleashed—and to have the second chance with the only soul he’s loved.
#questpit #Q #A #F #PR #LGBT
November 5, 2025 at 5:24 AM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Fantastic agent’s guide
ivytwoods.bsky.social Ivy T. Woods @ivytwoods.bsky.social · 7d
An #editorsguide to 🌲THE LAND OF UNDYING SUMMER🌲
This romantic fantasy has:
🐻‍❄️ A setting inspired by the Canadian subarctic
🌋Roots in animistic religion
⚡️A physics based magic system
👵🏽 Crotchety immortals
🏠 Complex family dynamics
🗺️ Neurodivergent MMC

#QuestPit #AG #A #F #R #FR
An Editor’s Guide To The Land of Undying Summer by Ivy T. Woods Adult Romantic Fantasy 105,000 words On a background with a map With a picture of a mountain, forest, and a lake on the left and text on the right: Pitch When a half-dead priestess is forced to work with the wandering mage who nearly killed her, they develop a reluctant camaraderie. But when he kills a guard, her people’s distrust of the newcomer escalates into a full-scale uprising. His presence risks the lives of the only family she has left, leaving her to choose once and for all: is she beholden to the living, the dead, or herself? With roots in animistic religion and a setting inspired by the Canadian sub-arctic, THE LAND OF UNDYING SUMMER is a stand-alone romantic fantasy Comps The atmosphere and vibes of: The Gilded Crown by Marianne Gordon Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang The Humour of: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher Chapter One - The End of Darkness No Guide could resist the Call of Return forever. But this time, when Tilaani pulled herself through the spiked rocks of the Wolf’s Fangs, trembling, the agonizing need for the missing part of herself had dulled to an aching throb. The Call would take her eventually. But not today. Today, she was already running late. “Shit!” Tilaani snatched her cloak from the icy stalagmite she had been using as a hanger and staggered to a slim crack in the cliff face. It had been a century since the passage had opened in one of El’Drek’s rages but the frozen stone was still jagged, tugging at her shirt as she sidled through, thin cloak clutched in one hand. Wind whistled through the crevice, peppering her exposed skin with hard snow. It melted, steaming as it touched her. Time within the cavern had always been malleable, misaligned with the world outside. Shinac had always claimed the shifts were random but Tilaani had her doubts. It always seemed to stretch whenever she was in a hurry. She wouldn’t put it past any of the dead—either blessed or Barred—to extend time merely to inconvenience her. And now, backing up this theory, the sun was high overhead and the few hours she had spent being lectured by the Ancients had become nearly an entire night and day in the land of the living. Allak would be insufferable if she was late.
November 5, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
sherlynsvault.bsky.social
an agent's guide for DON'T FORGET ME🕰️☕️🖋️

if you like:
- dark academia
- second chance
- dual POV
- dual timeline
- hispanic rep
- themes of trauma (DV)
#questpit #R #Q #NA #amquerying #agentsguide
November 5, 2025 at 5:44 AM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Oh my god this sounds awesome!
catherinewinters.com Catherine Winters @catherinewinters.com · 7d
F/NB WAYFARERS x MURDERBOT x SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN

Everything fell apart when the human came aboard. Instead of nice meals and quiet cargo runs, Tai's stuck with bickering crewmates, sinister criminals, explosions, and worse, a human who wants to be friends. #QuestPit #SF #A #Q #R #LGBT
Mood board/Agent's guide for my novel CARGO - a queer SF/heist/romance - 113,000 words "Did you hear? There's a human on board." A graphic of the wall of a spaceship with sticky notes and polaroid photos taped up. There are twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling. alien ship's cook (fussy, anxious) + terrifying monster (ordinary human) PITCH: Tai’s terrified of humans. Everyone is. Violent pack hunters, humans are notorious for their strength, sharp teeth, and carnivorous appetites. But the ship’s cook is safe among the multispecies crew of the cargo hauler Coreward Baker: everyone knows the warrior species rarely leave their own space. Then Captain Raz hires Clarke, a human horticulturist. Even after Tai overcomes their fear, they can’t stand Clarke. She’s bossy. Annoying. Useless in the galley, bad in a space suit. She might as well be cargo. Worse, she’s intent on befriending Tai—and why can’t they stop thinking about her, anyway? That’s when things go wrong. As Tai starts to realize their feelings for Clarke, they’re horrified to learn that nobody on their crew of dropouts and runaways is quite who they seem, least of all Clarke. And it’s no coincidence. Raz reveals they’ve each been handpicked for a heist he’s spent years planning—and no one’s allowed to say no. PRIORITIES: make dinner remain cozy haul cargo go for drinks pull off one last score try not to fall in love FIRST PAGE: “Did you hear? There’s a Human on board.” I choked on my noodles and turned to stare at the diners at the next table. Like most of the restaurant’s patrons, the pair had hidden their profiles, a halfhearted attempt at anonymity. “Gross,” the speaker’s crewmate said, oblivious to my alarm. “I hope it leaves soon.” “Don’t let it hear you say that,” the first worker laughed. She made a show of looking for Humans, her eyes darting from table to table. It. I frowned. I knew the workers’ language distinguished between people and things, and ‘it’ was an unkind choice of words at best. The second worker shuddered. “I don’t know why we let them come here.” The first laughed. “Are you going to stop them?” COMPS: Murderbot by Martha Wells Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wisewell The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers TROPES: Non-binary narrator masking anxiety with sarcasm lying to themselves non-human perspective (afraid of humans) neurodivergent main characters metaphorically disabled protagonist slow-burn friends-to-lovers and enemies to lovers in the same relationship disabilitynorm and queernorm setting found family loveable pet/terrifying monster
November 5, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
charyoung.bsky.social
🎸 daisy jones x knives out 🗡️

the songstress, the high-flyer, the gambler, the sweetheart, the watcher, the matriarch and the rogue. seven suspects. one the killer of renowned rockstar sam corvi. but who? only they can tell you

#questpit #Q #A #LF #MY
a moodboard detailing nine images related to my book ALL THE DEVILS aka devilswip. in order from right to left they are: london notably the landmark big ben, a band performing on stage, a sheet of music, a record store, the silhouette of a rockstar, some musical instruments scattered on a bed, two men running, a pile of evidence and finally a hand holding a cigarette
November 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
thekellerverse.bsky.social
#Questpit

Mass effect x Treasure Planet/ Master and Commander in Space

6 years after the Death of Earth and Humanity's Uplift into the Jada Empire. Elise Clarke is enlisted into the Royal Fleet. Can she overcome her trauma and prove Humanity can find a place in the Galaxy?

#Q #SF #SFF
November 5, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
emiliayoung.bsky.social
MARK OF A MAGPIE is #OnSubmission! 🐦‍⬛📖

When a small-town thief crosses paths with the kingdom’s big-shot assassin, an unlikely partnership is born; but can their goals align before their egos and secrets land them both a spot on the gallows?

#QuestPit #YA #A #F #RF
#OS #AG #EditorsGuide #Editors
Editor's Guide To MARK OF A MAGPIE Crossover Romantic Fantasy 118k Words Text is on a piece of parchment. Behind the parchment are blue seas and gold flower outlines. Blurb One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, Three for a Girl, Four for a Boy… Ryn is a small-town thief who has a knack for being overconfident in her abilities, but by day she’s a beloved tavern girl with the liver of steel that carries her reputation. On her most daring break-in yet, she runs face first into the kingdom’s last living assassin, Seven, and he’s just offered her the opportunity of a century: a ticket of attendance to the King’s upcoming courtship gathering. It’s a partnership she’d be a fool to take up, but with her family scattered across the sea after the draft, a fool is what she’ll need to be to find them. Five for Silver, Six for Gold… Seven is set on his own plans, however much they interfere with hers, and they won’t be the only ones in attendance with hidden agendas. Once whispers of the past begin to resurface and nobles begin dying around them, it’s survival of the cunning and silver-tongued. The castle is under lockdown, and all bets for the crown are placed on their capture. Seven for a Secret, Never to Be Told. Text is on a piece of parchment. Behind the parchment are blue seas and gold flower outlines. Tropes and Themes - Thief x Assassin - Mental Health Rep - Identity vs Duty - Class Difference - Forced Proximity - Secret Code - Morally Gray - Women's Wrongs - Unlikely Allies to Lovers Comps: Throne of Glass's castle-setting murder mystery and theme of "who you are versus what you have to do" meets the banter-heavy dialogue, strong female protagonist, and nautical setting of Daughter of the Pirate King. Text is on a piece of parchment. Beside the text are two headshot drawings: one of a girl with brown hair pulled back by braids, and the other of a black-haired boy with a worried expression. Behind the parchment are blue seas and gold flower outlines. The Atmosphere: There is a collage of pictures on a parchment paper. Picture one is of a boy crouched down with his head covered as a fire burns in the background. Picture two is of two hands tied to a pole on the beach. Picture three shows a person wrapping up the wounded hand of another. Picture four shows an old piece of parchment with unreadable script. Picture five is of an island with a castle and small village surrounding it. Picture six is of a girl on the run with a dagger in hand. Picture seven shows a bottle of alcohol. Picture eight has a medieval alleyway. And picture eight shows a ship's crew enjoying a sunset. There is text below the collage that says: ON SUBMISSION NOW! Represented by Amanda Wooden at SBR Media, contact information available on my website! Behind the parchment, with gold flower outlines surrounding it.
November 5, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
delandjessica.bsky.social
WAKE embodies "Free" from KPOP DEMON HUNTERS w/:

~A FMC tormented by her past that's ruining her mental health
~A LI working for the villain w/ his own troubled past
~a supportive slow burn romance built on understanding inner pain

Coming Spring 2027

#QuestPit #P #YA #F #MY #R
November 5, 2025 at 5:02 AM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Oh this sounds way too cool!
elizabethtitus.bsky.social 🌱 El(iza)beth 🌬️ K 🔥 T 🌊 @elizabethtitus.bsky.social · 7d
🔥 WHAT will GROW from the ASHES of our fallen civilization?

🕸️ a post collapse adventure of psychic powers and nurturing community

🔮 journey through the tarot across the former US, with unexpected twists

🌱 Clan of the Cave Bear x A Psalm for the Wild-Built

#A #Q #S #SFF #questpit #hopepunk #clifi
a Death tarot card I drew titled "What rises from the ashes" with death on a moped, a sun tarot card, a lovers tarot card, a color Hermit tarot card (I did all the art) quotes: "Every end is a beginning" - Tai Gong Diao "Light shines brightest in the deepest dark!" - Jim Butcher a variety of photos from my travels (+one dilapidated shack I did not capture myself) of reflective water in various landscapes and urban decay and plants growing through, swamp, fire, bridges, a map of the US with shrunken coastline over a sunset sky with leaves growing from dead branches elemental magic visions survival skills climate fiction #clifi indigenous futurism plant medicine meditation wilderness permaculture neotribalism community backpacking post-apocalyptic hopepunk
November 5, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
saraduran.bsky.social
Wouldn’t be #QuestPit without a shiny new agent guide ✨🌙

ANNIHILATION x BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, feat:

💫 two exiled men (+ their secrets)
💫 one lunar prison (+ its horrors)
💫 a cosmic entity that wants them dead
💫 the love they’ll lose if they don’t survive

#SF #H #R #LGBT
Dark starfield background. Text reads: ‘a guide to BABEL ON CALLISTO a queer cosmic horrormance [wip].’ Bottom right: saraduran@bksy.social / @saraduranauthor on x Dark starfield background. Large text at top: ‘THE PITCH.’ Under two movie posters, text on left reads: ‘encountering the unknowable’ and under Annihilation poster: ‘contact that warps and bends.’ On the right above Brokeback Mountain poster: ‘unlikely intimacy in isolation’ and below: ‘love that cannot last.’ Main body text reads: ‘On a lunar prison outpost, two exiled men uncover a cosmic presence waking beneath the ice. As their uneasy alliance against it twists into something tender and terrifying, they are confronted with the one thing they never expected to find on a dead moon: a reason to live. But the ice is thinning.’ Bottom right: saraduran@bksy.social / @saraduranauthor on x Dark starfield background. Large text at top: ‘THE COMPS.’ Three book covers below. Above the first cover (The Mountain in the Sea): ‘isolated research station.’ Below it: ‘philosophical alien threat.’ Above the second cover (The Deep Sky): ‘psychological unraveling.’ Below it: ‘fracture under mission pressure.’ Above the third cover (The Salt Grows Heavy): ‘queer, visceral horror.’ Below it: ‘love as a consuming force.’ Bottom right: saraduran@bksy.social / @saraduranauthor on x Dark starfield background. Large text at top: ‘SNIPPET.’ Large opening quotation mark. Text reads: ‘Neither spoke as Elias bypassed the security protocol on the keypad. The metal hatch shuddered as it unlocked, slinking back to hidden panels in the wall. They cleared the first few floors with carrion precision, methodical as Dermestidae stripping a carcass to bone. In Elias’s imagination, the gore thinned into something vaster—a time-lapse unraveling the ruin from above. Wordlessly, corridors were scoured to nothing as he and Jack moved like insects beneath an overhead lens. As the hours dissolved, their work became abstracted into a cold anatomy, intimacy pared away as cleanly as flesh from the frame until only the architecture of survival remained. When Jack hacked into the collapsed doorway to the next stairwell, Elias marveled at the contradiction—how those same brutal hands had, only that morning, traced him with the delicacy of a scalpel.’ Large closing quotation mark. Bottom right: saraduran@bksy.social / @saraduranauthor on x
November 5, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
bvbodegom.bsky.social
BLACK MIRROR × SEVERANCE × THE GOOD PLACE

Having a happy death is a luxury service for the rich and Wren is the rising top salesman—until a cynical coworker and a depressed billionaire force him to rethink it all in a world where even your last smile has a price tag.

#QuestPit #A #S #SF #W
Made from non-AI free stock images. This image is a book cover design for a novel titled "Happy Death Inc." by B. Van Bodegom. The cover is divided into three distinct horizontal sections: 1. Top Section: Features a cartoonish blue sky with white clouds and a bright sun. At the top, a tagline reads: "How much would you pay to die with a smile?" The word "HAPPY" appears in large, playful, hand-drawn-style font, partially overlapping the sky background. 2. Middle Section: A photograph of a deceased man in a suit, lying in a casket. He has an exaggerated smile on his face, almost unnaturally wide and clean, suggesting artificial enhancement or post-mortem alteration. Overlaid on this image is the word "DEATH" in the same large font as the previous word. 3. Bottom Section: A cartoon city skyline in pastel tones, similar in style to the top sky background. The word "INC." is overlaid prominently in the same large font. At the very bottom: A novel by B. van Bodegom
November 5, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Reposted by Michael T. Kuester
jenniferluce.bsky.social
Here's a moodboard for GUMIHO:

🇰🇷 Inspired by Korean folklore & mythology
🖤Told from the eyes of an anti-hero gumiho
🌧Set in modern-day PNW
🥀Dark, intimate atmosphere
🌀Psychological unraveling & physical transformation
❤️Slow-burn romance

✨️Currently revising w/ SmoochPit✨️

#QuestPit #A #F #H #R
Grid of pictures: Hands coming out of the dark, a woman with a cloth over her face, a silhouette of a couple, a korean woman, a woman walking down a hallway, a woman with stained red hands and face
November 5, 2025 at 5:16 AM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Seeing #OctoWIP from both sides, in this week’s #NaNoWriMo midweek update. kuesterwrites.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/n...
NaNoWriMo ’25: Midweek Update
Learning how two people tell the same story
kuesterwrites.wordpress.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:32 PM
michaeltkuester.bsky.social
Bluesky #WritingCommunity, what up fools? Who else is working on a novel project this month?
November 4, 2025 at 5:15 PM