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ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
Ilana Kelley
@ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
780 followers 320 following 110 posts
Aspiring Fantasy Author | Fantasy Book Fiend | Horse, Donkey, Sheep & Dog Wrangler | #WritingCommunity
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ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
To celebrate 8🎉 MS requests, an updated #AgentGuide for NIGHT BIRD, an adult romantic fantasy ft:

🕰️ dual timeline
✨ invisibility & intangibility
🔪 FMC vigilante for women
☠️ poison & female rage
💔lost & found love
🫂 found family

❤️ or DM
#AgentsGuide #WritingCommunity #litagents #amquerying
A Guide to Night Bird An adult romantic fantasy novel The Pitch Ava can become invisible and walk through walls but can’t escape her warded cage. Destined to follow in her dead mother’s footsteps as a courtesan and spy for House Heartwood, she’s trained to get close to—and betray—those in the highest levels of society. But alone at night in her room, she listens to the steam engine’s whistle, plays her cello to the night birds, and dreams of escaping her prison. Until one stormy evening, a boy, Zev, breaks through her window and gives her a taste of life beyond the bars. Their chance meeting sparks a two-year secret friendship, until her eighteenth birthday, when her seduction training is set to begin. Instead, she wakes up to a grisly scene—a bloody trail, dead guardians, and broken wards. Given what she knows of Zev’s powerful abilities, she assumes her freedom came at his hand. She waits for his return, which never comes. Eight years later, Ava has reinvented herself as Night Bird, a vigilante for wronged women. She’s assisted by a misfit crew in her vengeful quest while untangling the mysteries around her mother’s death. But tipping the scales of justice draws the notice of House Heartwood and New Oster’s power elite, including one of the most feared men in the city, who turns out to be the boy who set her free. Reigniting long-buried feelings, she learns that there’s more to their past and his role in her escape than she ever realized. When she takes on her biggest target—the last man to see her mother alive and an agent of House Heartwood—Zev may be the only person keeping her from following in her mother’s footsteps. For Fans of: - dual timeline - slow burn romance - found family - female rage & poison - knife to the throat - escape from oppressors - past catching up - isolated FMC - industrialized urban setting Books: - Serpent & Dove - Six of Crows - Book of Azrael - Lost Apothecary - Belladonna - Rhapsodice Chapter One Only the night birds provided company in my caged existence. They were my link to the outside world, a fragile tether to life beyond my warded room. The name I’d given myself—Ava—was an homage to the beautiful creatures that kept me sane. They’d swoop and dive, triumphant in their freedom—something I’d never known and never would. When streetlamps glowed in the satiny darkness, and the night birds’ trills pierced the quiet, I pulled out my cello. I reveled in evenings like that, with thunderheads rolling, lightning rattling the bars, and mounting clouds blanketing the sky. It had been a hard day. My temple throbbed from the unforgiving slap when I couldn’t master a new dagger technique. After repeated failure, I’d become the practice dummy. I ignored the guilty blade decorated with my blood lying on the dresser. At least the jagged cut and bandage weren’t on my bow arm. I hated myself when I couldn’t get my lessons right. And even more when I did. The chaotic rage of the storm swallowed my music and roiling emotions. Pounding rain and the steam engine’s whistle hid the shouts and booted feet on the street below. Submerged in my own tempest, I missed any warning.
July 3, 2025 at 5:25 PM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
THE BARGAINER x SERPENT & DOVE
THE LOST APOTHECARY x THE BOOK OF AZRAEL

For Fans of:
✨Dual timeline
✨Slow burn
✨Found family
✨Female rage & poison
✨Knife to the throat
✨Escape from oppressors
✨Past catching up
✨Industrialized world
✨Serval cat

#QuestPit #F #RF #A #Q
May 7, 2025 at 11:06 AM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
THE BARGAINER x SERPENT & DOVE

NIGHT BIRD, an adult romantic fantasy ft:
🕰️ dual timeline
✨ invisibility & intangibility
🔪 FMC vigilante for wronged women
☠️ poison & female rage
🌃 newly industrialized world
🫂 found family

#QuestPit #A #F #RF #Q #AgentsGuide #AgentGuide
An Agent’s Guide for Night Bird An adult romantic fantasy novel The Pitch Ava is destined for a life of seduction, espionage, and assassination. Born with the ability to become invisible, she is the secret weapon of one of the five great houses. But when a mysterious boy, Zev, crashes through her warded cage, she is freed. With her freedom, Ava transforms into Night Bird, a vigilante for wronged women. But tipping the scales of justice draws the notice of New Oster’s power elite, including one of the most feared men in the city, who turns out to be the boy who set her free. And when the house she left behind catches up, he may be the only one able to help her from following in her dead mother’s footsteps. For Fans of: DUAL TIMELINE SLOW BURN ROMANCE FOUND FAMILY FEMALE RAGE & POISON KNIFE TO THE THROAT ESCAPE FROM OPPRESSORS PAST CATCHING UP INDUSTRIALIZED URBAN SETTING Images: Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner The Book of Azrael by Amber V. Nicole A Snippet: The man in the ring seemed inhuman. Not like the Zev I’d known. “I’ve seen a serratys fight. Rumbled with a few myself,” Stone said, eyes flicking wildly to take in every detail. “They didn’t move like that. This fight was over before it began. He’s just providing good entertainment by not ending it right away, that’s all.” Despite his blood-slicked skin, Digger remained on his feet, weaving desperately to regain footing. His unfocused eyes were dazed. Zev finally stood still, letting the other man throw a punch, then sidestepped with a hard elbow to the head. That was the end of Digger, who crashed onto the ground like a collapsed building. Earsplitting cheers and stomping beat at my ears, and I wanted to clap my hands over them. Then the screams transformed from exuberance to fear as Zev sprouted horns on stage, body growing, muscles bulging—his serratys form taking over. His roar deafened the crowd, but my hands dropped as his chest tattoos came into focus. With his constant motion, I hadn’t gotten a good look during the fight. But now he was still, and I saw it. The tattoo entwined by so many others, almost hidden. It was a bird, wings raised as if viewed from the side and slightly underneath. A night bird. The exact ones I used to play my cello for on those lonely nights. Where Zev’s nickname had started. And that bird was now inked across his chest, directly over his heart.
May 7, 2025 at 9:33 AM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
Only the night birds provided company in my caged existence. They were my link to the outside world, a fragile tether to life beyond my warded room. They’d swoop and dive, triumphant in their freedom—something I’d never known and never would.

#1stLinePit #F #R #RF #A #Q #AgentGuide #AgentsGuide
An Agent’s Guide for Night Bird An adult romantic fantasy novel The Pitch Ava is destined for a life of seduction, espionage, and assassination. Born with the ability to become invisible, she is the secret weapon of one of the five great houses. But when a mysterious boy, Zev, crashes through her warded cage, she is freed. With her freedom, Ava transforms into Night Bird, a vigilante for wronged women. But tipping the scales of justice draws the notice of New Oster’s power elite, including one of the most feared men in the city, who turns out to be the boy who set her free. And when the house she left behind catches up, he may be the only one able to help her from following in her dead mother’s footsteps. For Fans of: DUAL TIMELINE SLOW BURN ROMANCE FOUND FAMILY FEMALE RAGE & POISON KNIFE TO THE THROAT ESCAPE FROM OPPRESSORS PAST CATCHING UP INDUSTRIALIZED URBAN SETTING Images: Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner The Book of Azrael by Amber V. Nicole A Snippet: The man in the ring seemed inhuman. Not like the Zev I’d known. “I’ve seen a serratys fight. Rumbled with a few myself,” Stone said, eyes flicking wildly to take in every detail. “They didn’t move like that. This fight was over before it began. He’s just providing good entertainment by not ending it right away, that’s all.” Despite his blood-slicked skin, Digger remained on his feet, weaving desperately to regain footing. His unfocused eyes were dazed. Zev finally stood still, letting the other man throw a punch, then sidestepped with a hard elbow to the head. That was the end of Digger, who crashed onto the ground like a collapsed building. Earsplitting cheers and stomping beat at my ears, and I wanted to clap my hands over them. Then the screams transformed from exuberance to fear as Zev sprouted horns on stage, body growing, muscles bulging—his serratys form taking over. His roar deafened the crowd, but my hands dropped as his chest tattoos came into focus. With his constant motion, I hadn’t gotten a good look during the fight. But now he was still, and I saw it. The tattoo entwined by so many others, almost hidden. It was a bird, wings raised as if viewed from the side and slightly underneath. A night bird. The exact ones I used to play my cello for on those lonely nights. Where Zev’s nickname had started. And that bird was now inked across his chest, directly over his heart.
April 5, 2025 at 12:05 PM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
Introducing Zev or Z, the LI in my adult romantic fantasy.

He helped Ava escape then disappeared for eight years, leaving nothing but a note.

Now, he’s back and making his presence known, with 👀 only for Ava, aka Night Bird.

#UnhingedPit #A #F #R #Q
Zev, Z 28 Lived in New Oster About me: I run a shadowy organization and have a tendency of sprouting horns in my serratys form, but I’m a one-woman man—chronically monogamous. I hope you like tattoos—mine provide additional powers. My slight stalkerish tendencies may lead me to buy the house next to yours but feel free to show your displeasure with a knife to the throat. I like my women bloodthirsty. Interests: Runes, daggers cello music Lifestyle: Social, Fancy or Dive, workout sometimes, night owl
March 28, 2025 at 2:27 PM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
Hear ye, hear ye!

The MC of my adult romantic fantasy, aka the vigilante Night Bird, is wreaking havoc across New Oster. Who is her latest victim/man who deserved her wrath? She and her misfit group are cleaning up the streets, one creep at a time.

#UnhingedPit #A #F #R #Q
New Oster Daily Night Bird Strikes Again! The Mysterious Avenger Attacked a New Prey, Who Isn’t Talking Known libertine Brooks Houndston was found disheveled and roughed up at his social club two nights ago. Despite his attempts to cover the mark with his stylish hat, a distinctive brand peeked beneath the brim—the symbol of the Night Bird. This unknown protector of women seeks revenge for actual or perceived wrongs, which begs the question—what did Mr. Houndston do? We’ve asked, but he’s not talking. He’s holed up in his mansion and word is a magique has visited, perhaps to cover that distinctive mark? No one knows the Night Bird’s identity. In fact, no one’s ever seen her. It’s almost as if she’s invisible and can walk through walls.
March 28, 2025 at 1:24 PM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
For easy perusing, here is my #AgentGuide for #LitAgents:
A guide to Night Bird An adult romantic fantasy novel The Pitch Ava can become invisible and walk through walls but can’t escape her warded cage. Destined to follow in her dead mother’s footsteps as a courtesan and spy, she’s trained to get close to—and betray—those in the highest levels of society. But alone at night in her room, she listens to the steam engine’s whistle, plays her cello to the night birds, and dreams of escaping her prison. Until one stormy evening, a boy, Zev, breaks through her window and gives her a taste of life beyond the bars. Their chance meeting spawns two years of secret friendship until her eighteenth birthday, when her seduction training will begin. Instead, she wakes up to a grisly scene—a bloody trail, dead guardians, and broken wards. Given what she knows of Zev’s powerful abilities, she assumes her freedom came at his hand. She waits for his return, which never comes. Eight years later, Ava has reinvented herself as Night Bird, a vigilante for wronged women. She’s assisted by a group of former street kids who’ve matured into a misfit gang. A botched mission finds them in the crosshairs of a shadowy man known as a high-powered fixer. That man turns out to be the boy who’d disappeared years earlier. It’s unclear if he’s friend or foe. However, when she takes on her biggest target—the last man to see her mother alive—Zev may be the only person keeping her from going up in flames. For Fans of: Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa—dual timeline & lost love The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner—female rage & poison Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo—found family & misfit crew Chapter One Only the night birds provided company in my caged existence. They sang for me after the sun dipped, gliding beyond my window’s metal bars as their trilling tunes wove through the moon’s light. They were my link to the outside world, a fragile tether to life beyond my warded room. My self-given name—Ava—was an homage to them, the beautiful creatures that kept me sane. During the day, when I was granted time away from lessons, the noise and bustle of the street scared them beneath the eaves, into the holes and crannies of buildings. I’d sit, fists clenched, ears straining for their hopeful notes. But I was alone. The lectas didn’t count. They were caretakers, not company. When streetlamps glowed in the satiny darkness, the night birds’ warbles piercing the quiet, I’d pull out my cello. My bow swept the strings like a feathered wing, and the resonant chords danced with the birdsong. They’d swoop and dive, triumphant in their freedom—something I’d never known and never would.
March 17, 2025 at 12:42 PM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
THE BARGAINER x SIX OF CROWS x THE LOST APOTHECARY

#PitchCard for NIGHT BIRD, an adult romantic fantasy ft:
🕰️ dual timeline
✨ invisibility & intangibility
🔪 FMC vigilante for wronged women
☠️ poison & female rage
🌃 newly industrialized world
🫂 found family

#PopUpPit #PopUpPitA #LuckyPit #A #F #Q
Picture: A woman playing a cello with hair flowing Words: NIGHT BIRD An Adult Romantic Fantasy The Bargainer x The Lost Apothecary x Six of Crows Ava can become invisible and walk through walls but can’t escape her warded cage. Destined to become a courtesan and spy, she breaks free with the help of a boy, Zev, who then disappears. Eight years later, she reinvents herself as Night Bird, a vigilante for wronged women. She and her misfit gang find themselves in the crosshairs of a shadowy man, who turns out to be Zev. It’s unclear if he’s friend or foe. When she takes on her biggest target—the last man to see her mother alive—Zev may be the only person keeping her from going up in flames.
March 17, 2025 at 12:28 PM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
THE BARGAINER x SIX OF CROWS x THE LOST APOTHECARY

A Reader’s & #LitAgents Guide for NIGHT BIRD, an adult romantic fantasy ft:
🕰️dual timeline
✴️invisibility & intangibility magic
🔪FMC vigilante for wronged women
💞friend or foe?
☠️poison & female rage
🫂found family

#WSPit #WSPitQ #F #A #AgentGuide
A Guide to Night Bird An adult romantic fantasy novel The Pitch Ava can become invisible and walk through walls but can’t escape her warded cage. Destined to follow in her dead mother’s footsteps as a courtesan and spy, she’s trained to get close to—and betray—those in the highest levels of society. But alone at night in her room, she listens to the steam engine’s whistle, plays her cello to the night birds, and dreams of escaping her prison. Until one stormy evening, a boy, Zev, breaks through her window and gives her a taste of life beyond the bars. Their chance meeting spawns two years of secret friendship until her eighteenth birthday, when her seduction training will begin. Instead, she wakes up to a grisly scene—a bloody trail, dead guardians, and broken wards. Given what she knows of Zev’s powerful abilities, she assumes her freedom came at his hand. She waits for his return, which never comes. Eight years later, Ava has reinvented herself as Night Bird, a vigilante for wronged women. She’s assisted by a group of former street kids who’ve matured into a misfit gang. A botched mission finds them in the crosshairs of a shadowy man known as a high-powered fixer. That man turns out to be the boy who’d disappeared years earlier. It’s unclear if he’s friend or foe. However, when she takes on her biggest target—the last man to see her mother alive—Zev may be the only person keeping her from going up in flames. For Fans of: Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa—dual timeline & lost love The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner—female rage & poison Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo—found family & misfit crew Chapter One Only the night birds provided company in my caged existence. They sang for me after the sun dipped, gliding beyond my window’s metal bars as their trilling tunes wove through the moon’s light. They were my link to the outside world, a fragile tether to life beyond my warded room. My self-given name—Ava—was an homage to them, the beautiful creatures that kept me sane. During the day, when I was granted time away from lessons, the noise and bustle of the street scared them beneath the eaves, into the holes and crannies of buildings. I’d sit, fists clenched, ears straining for their hopeful notes. But I was alone. The lectas didn’t count. They were caretakers, not company. When streetlamps glowed in the satiny darkness, the night birds’ warbles piercing the quiet, I’d pull out my cello. My bow swept the strings like a feathered wing, and the resonant chords danced with the birdsong. They’d swoop and dive, triumphant in their freedom—something I’d never known and never would.
February 26, 2025 at 10:38 AM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
THE BARGAINER x SIX OF CROWS x THE LOST APOTHECARY

A Reader’s & #LitAgents Guide for NIGHT BIRD, an adult romantic fantasy ft:
🕰️dual timeline
✴️invisibility & intangibility magic
🔪FMC vigilante for wronged women
💞friend or foe?
☠️poison & female rage
🫂found family

#QuestPit #Q #RF #F #A #AgentGuide
A Guide to Night Bird An adult romantic fantasy novel The Pitch Ava can become invisible and walk through walls but can’t escape her warded cage. Destined to follow in her dead mother’s footsteps as a courtesan and spy, she’s trained to get close to—and betray—those in the highest levels of society. But alone at night in her room, she listens to the steam engine’s whistle, plays her cello to the night birds, and dreams of escaping her prison. Until one stormy evening, a boy, Zev, breaks through her window and gives her a taste of life beyond the bars. Their chance meeting spawns two years of secret friendship until her eighteenth birthday, when her seduction training will begin. Instead, she wakes up to a grisly scene—a bloody trail, dead guardians, and broken wards. Given what she knows of Zev’s powerful abilities, she assumes her freedom came at his hand. She waits for his return, which never comes. Eight years later, Ava has reinvented herself as Night Bird, a vigilante for wronged women. She’s assisted by a group of former street kids who’ve matured into a misfit gang. A botched mission finds them in the crosshairs of a shadowy man known as a high-powered fixer. That man turns out to be the boy who’d disappeared years earlier. It’s unclear if he’s friend or foe. However, when she takes on her biggest target—the last man to see her mother alive—Zev may be the only person keeping her from going up in flames. For Fans of: Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa—dual timeline & lost love The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner—female rage & poison Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo—found family & misfit crew Chapter One Only the night birds provided company in my caged existence. They sang for me after the sun dipped, gliding beyond my window’s metal bars as their trilling tunes wove through the moon’s light. They were my link to the outside world, a fragile tether to life beyond my warded room. My self-given name—Ava—was an homage to them, the beautiful creatures that kept me sane. During the day, when I was granted time away from lessons, the noise and bustle of the street scared them beneath the eaves, into the holes and crannies of buildings. I’d sit, fists clenched, ears straining for their hopeful notes. But I was alone. The lectas didn’t count. They were caretakers, not company. When streetlamps glowed in the satiny darkness, the night birds’ warbles piercing the quiet, I’d pull out my cello. My bow swept the strings like a feathered wing, and the resonant chords danced with the birdsong. They’d swoop and dive, triumphant in their freedom—something I’d never known and never would.
February 12, 2025 at 6:48 PM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
I committed the social media cardinal sin, and now the algorithm hates me.

I forgot the photo on last post, so I deleted *gasp* and reposted.

Now, I’m invisible.

In my defense, the forgotten photo was of my super cute puppy.
Mini sheepadoodle puppy in grass
November 20, 2024 at 5:54 PM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
Somebody send me productivity *fairy dust*

Almost at 20K for this WIP, and it’s getting to the good part. But that’s where I falter because of the anticipation 👀.

I just need a little push into it.

Also, photo of my other productivity killer: my puppy.

#WritingCommunity #Booksky #amwriting
Mini sheepadoodle on the grass
November 20, 2024 at 5:30 PM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
Me: I NEED to finish writing this WIP by the end of the year. That is the goal.

Also me: Do know what will help productivity? A mini sheepadoodle puppy.

Reyna, getting picked up 11/16. RIP to my productivity.

#WritingCommunity
#BookSky
Mini sheepadoodle puppy with blue merle coloring sitting on a stuffed bear.
November 10, 2024 at 2:23 PM
ilanakelleyauthor.bsky.social
I am OBSESSED with our new baby donkey.
Mama and baby donkey on pasture
October 14, 2023 at 11:10 PM