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joyiswriting.bsky.social
Joy is ✨querying✨ 🥀🪦
@joyiswriting.bsky.social
1.3K followers 680 following 470 posts
🏳️‍🌈 fantasy & horror writer for MG/YA | 🪴+📚 fanatic | I have the #Wanderlust & an unhealthy obsession with Earl Grey
Querying ~ 🥀🔍🪦 & 🫀🗝️💋
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joyiswriting.bsky.social
Excitedly presenting an #agentguide for HEART OF THE BAYOU, my sapphic horror-romance—now in an inbox near you!!

🫀Deep Southern cryptids
🫀sapphic pining
🫀coming of rage
🫀monsters as a metaphor for queerness & disability
🫀 ✨Big 5✨ editor interest x2

#questpit #YA #Q #H #R #LGBT
An agent’s guide to: HEART OF THE BAYOU A YA Horror-Romance The pitch: The deadly legends that prowl the bayou eat more than just souls— and one wants Elle's heart for her own ... When a paranormal migration brings a slew of deadly soul-eating cryptids to the quiet swamps of Louisiana, subsequently cornering the paranormal clinic 17-year-old Elle works at—she must find out why the bloodthirsty monsters are migrating before BOLT, a paranormal branch of the FBI, threatens to shut down the clinic and arrest its supernatural patients. But when she discovers her crush is hiding some monsters of her own, the kind of cryptid that might just take down the clinic and Elle's heart—she'll have to decide if she's ready to take the girl's advice and finally risk letting her own inner monsters out of the closet ... Comps: They Bloom at Night, I Feed Her to the Beast, A Feast for the Eyes, This Ravenous Fate, Hear Her Howl, The Coven Tendency Snippet from HEART OF THE BAYOU: I'd heard of the brutality of how these cryptids killed. How the survivors were lucky if you managed to escape with only an arm lost. How they enjoyed ripping people from flesh to tendons and finally bone, before they dove for the final kill and snapped their prey's neck, the tell-tale halo of blood flowering above their victims' heads I only hoped there was something I could salvage once the beast finished. The man's shrieks didn't cease until the monster's eyes glowed brighter, rubies sparkling in the center of a dangerous black mass. His body stilled, transfixed in terror. A silent scream began to pry his lips apart as if drawn by an invisible force. I winced, the sounds of bones clicking, dislocating, and popping as the man's eyes rolled to the back of his head. A fleshy lump burst through his shirt, pulsating and twisting like worms had taken ahold of his skin. Tropes & Vibes: “Only one bed” Abandoned houses & creepy dockyards Sociopolitical commentary Neurodivergent, queer & anxiety rep Lesbian MC’s Cryptids & legends from the Deep South Small town horror The monster wins in the end . . . Sassy x Stabby FMC’s Central moodboard: Swamp pictures, an orange moon, flannels, heart-shaped carabiners, a “don’t go into the woods” sign, girls kissing, a religious sign, a truck in a field
November 5, 2025 at 8:35 AM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
THIS RAVENOUS FATE x MEN IN BLACK

The deadly legends that prowl the bayou eat more than just souls—and one wants Elle’s heart for her own . . .

🫀Deep Southern cryptids
🫀sapphic pining
🫀coming of rage
🫀monsters as a metaphor for queerness & disability

#DVpit #YA #H #R #LGBT #ND #MH
Moodboard from left to right: swampy road, a person in a flannel, an orange moon, a sign that reads: don’t go into the woods, a house sinking into a river, an ac unit in a window, a blue truck in a field at night, two girls kissing, a religious sign reads: are you going to heaven?
October 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
In the life of a Victorian noble, society will rip you to shreds—but in Greer Manor, so will the flowers . . . 🥀

🔍 whodunnit mystery
🥀 deadly botanicals
🗝️ “Everyone in this manor has secrets”
🍃 searching the lake at night
🕷️ creepy crawlies & ghosts

#DVpit #MG #Mys #H #LGBT #ND #MH
Moodboard images from left to right: an abandoned greenhouse, a fancy staircase in an English manor, a black and white photo of a Victorian girl, a picture of purple belladonna, a Venus flytrap eating a fly, a indoor conservatory with ferns, a Victorian woman holding a skull, an abandoned mansion, a person drowning beneath water lilies.
October 8, 2025 at 12:15 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
#PosterPit with ✨Big 5+✨ editor interest & 10+ full requests 🥀

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS x THE SECRET GARDEN x WEDNESDAY

As ghosts appear and people disappear—the gardeners at Greer Manor seem to be planting more than just flowers . . .

#Q #MG #M #H
From the creators that brought you "JUMANJI " and "Clue" Featuring: Adelaide Greer & Maggie Thornton Reviews: "VERY GOOD & VERY WEIRD" ~ my mother “ECO HORROR, COTTAGE GORE WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT!" "I WILL NEVER LOOK AT FLOWERS THE SAME! [WANT A SEQUEL!!" The pitch: EIGHT ghosts FOUR suspects ONE monstrous flower Can two girls unravel this Iris-istibly deadly mystery?? Title (In large decorative print): What Lurks Beneath the Glass The Greer Estate used to be revered for its rare botanicals, but now guests leave with tales of horror, missing limbs, and sometimes not at all. NOW IN AN INBOX NEAR YOU
August 16, 2025 at 6:09 AM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
In the life of a Victorian noble, society will rip you to shreds—but in Greer Manor, so will the flowers . . . 🥀

🔍 whodunnit mystery
🥀 deadly botanicals
🗝️ “Everyone in this manor has secrets”
🍃 searching the lake at night
🕷️ creepy crawlies & ghosts

#QueerPit #MG #M #H
What Lurks Beneath the Glass, a MG Botanical Horror Pitch: The gardens at Greer Manor used to be the pinnacle of botanical pursuits, until the gardeners tending the rare flowers started rapidly disappearing around the estate. When two girls discover it's the bloodthirsty plants lurking around the manor that are causing the disappearances, they must quickly nip this deadly case in the bud, before they become playthings for the monstrous flowers that have more than just sharp thorns . . . Completed at 49k words w/ Big 5+ editor interest
August 15, 2025 at 7:37 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
THIS RAVENOUS FATE x MEN IN BLACK

The deadly legends that prowl the bayou eat more than just souls—and one wants Elle’s heart for her own.

🫀Deep Southern cryptids
🫀sapphic pining
🫀coming of rage
🫀monsters as a metaphor for queerness & disability

#questpit #W #YA #H #R
Moodboard from left to right: swampy road, a person in a flannel, an orange moon, a sign that reads: don’t go into the woods, a house sinking into a river, an ac unit in a window, a blue truck in a field at night, two girls kissing, a religious sign reads: are you going to heaven?
August 6, 2025 at 6:06 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
Proudly presenting my new guide for my revised manuscript w/ ✨Big 5+✨ editor interest!

In the life of a Victorian noble, society will rip you to shreds. But in this Iris-istibly deadly mystery, so will the flowers that lurk around Greer Manor. . . 🥀

#questpit #MG #Q #H #MY
An agents guide to: What Lurks Beneath the Glass By Joy Culp Pitch: 13-year-old Maggie must team up with Adelaide, the morbid and lonely heir of Greer Manor, to solve a deadly mystery and prove her father's innocence in a recent fire after Mr. Greer blames him for planting explosive bushes. But as the mystery turns paranormal, and people start disappearing, the girls realize there may be something scarier lurking than just specters, and the rare botanical specimens that inhabit the Manor's greenhouses may have a taste for more than just bugs— Beware the plants you trod on . . . Comps: The Swifts, Don’t Let the Forest In, Serafina and the Black Cloak, Little Shop of Horrors, Aggie Morton: Mystery Queen, The Haunting of Aveline Jones 49,000k Historical MG Garden Horror Snippet: She gently brushed her hand over one of the fat triangular petals, its leathery surface rough like the skin of an exotic reptile. She rose on her toes, disrupting several flies before peeking over the center. A gaping circular hole was in place of where the pollen should've been, and crawling in the center of the flower was a horde of shiny black beetles. The creepy little insects climbed over each other rapidly, thousands of legs rolling and rippling like the tides of the ocean. While their curved pincers chomped away at the gooey inner flesh of the flower. She shivered, quickly backpedaling away from the foul sight as she fell. She landed roughly on the ground, her hands hitting something strangely squishy, almost like a delicate cake. She lifted her hand in horror, as slimy red hunks clung to her fingers. A thin line of mucous connected the lumps, the sap dripping from her fingers. Carnivorous flowers & hungry plants, Inspired by Alnwick Poison Garden, Haunted teaparties & spooky seances, Victorian Horticultural society, cottageGORE & botanical horror, subterranean greenhouses Moodboard from left to right: abandoned greenhouse, fancy manor, Victorian girl, poisonous flower, Venus flytrap, a conservatory, a historical woman with a skull, an abandoned estate, a person drowning.
August 6, 2025 at 1:11 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
Sapphic vampires, secret societies, AND dark academia vibes??? These flirty lesbians stole my heart!

4.5 🌟
July 26, 2025 at 8:28 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
If the cast of ✨What Lurks Beneath the Glass✨ were a bunch of cats🥀

#UnhingedPit #Q #MG #H #MY
July 10, 2025 at 1:37 AM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
✨1K GIVEAWAY✨

To celebrate meeting 1k of the wonderful #WritingCommunity,
I’m doing a 30 page giveaway!!!
To enter: follow, and tell me something unique about your book or wip!

Entries will be open until 12pm est 5/24 and a winner will be chosen on Sunday.
Good luck!!
1k Giveaway For a 30 pg manuscript critique Comment + follow for a chance to win!
May 21, 2025 at 7:08 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
Bonus #PosterPitW
This wip already has agent interest & will make its debut in the trenches soon 😘🫀🕯️

“I pierced her skin with trembling hands. Shoulders hunching together as I carved my knife into her, like she was no better than a beast waiting to be butchered.”

#YA #R #H
FROM THE STUDIO THAT BROUGHT YOU" BRIDE " AND "THIS RAVENOUS FATE" BASED ON THE BESTSELLING NOVEL BY JOY CULP Reviews: “DELICIOUSLY DARK AND FULL OF TENSION" “UM, COTTAGE GORE ANYONE?" Pitch & title: MAGIC MURDER Mayhem In: The Heart of the Bayou Featuring: RHEA DURAN, ELLE TILLET, and GRACE WILSON YA SAPPHIC HORROMANCE COMING TO THE TRENCHES JULY 2025
April 19, 2025 at 2:01 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
#PosterPitQ with ✨Big 5+✨ editor interest 🥀

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS x THE SECRET GARDEN

As ghosts appear and people disappear—the gardeners at Greer Manor seem to be planting more than just flowers . . .

#PosterPit #MG #M #H
From the creators that brought you Jumanji and Clue. Featuring: ADELAIDE GREER & MAGGIE THORNTON Reviews: "VERY GOOD & VERY WEIRD" ~ my mother “ECO HORROR, COTTAGE GORE WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT!" "I WILL NEVER LOOK AT FLOWERS THE SAME! [WANT A SEQUEL!!" The pitch: EIGHT GHOSTS FOUR SUSPECTS ONE MONSTROUS FLOWER CAN TWO GIRLS UNRAVEL THIS IRIS-ISTIBLY DEADLY MYSTERY? What Lurks Beneath the Glass THE GREER ESTATE USED TO BE REVERED FOR ITS RARE BOTANICALS, BUT NOW GUESTS LEAVE WITH TALES OF HORROR, MISSING LIMBS, AND SOMETIMES NOT AT ALL NOW IN AN INBOX NEAR YOU
April 19, 2025 at 5:01 AM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
The scent of flowers lingered in the air as she strode down the hall. Roses maybe . . . ?
No. This was lighter, a touch more exotic. This was the scent of vanilla cookies, and finely crystallized sugar cakes which were served during tea. Then, the slight hint of hyacinths.

#1stLinePit #Q #MG #M #H
Images from left to right: An abandoned greenhouse, grand staircase in a manor, a Victorian girl, a poisonous purple flower, a Venus flytrap, a conservatory, a woman holding a skull, an abandoned manor, a person drowning beneath water lilies
April 5, 2025 at 1:04 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
Pitching my horrormance (BayouWIP) as random posts without ANY context.

These girlies are stabby, sapphic, AND psychotic! 🫀🕯️🐺🥀

#UnhingedPit #YA #W #LGBT #H #R
March 28, 2025 at 2:40 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
THE NIGHT OF THE TRIFFIDS x ALICE IN WONDERLAND

The girls catch their main suspect—except it doesn’t quite go as planned when he kinda gets eaten mid-interrogation

#UnhingedPit #MG #Q #H #MY
A painter is working on a piece of art in a beautiful garden, while a little Victorian girl, Adelaide, holds two paintbrushes menacingly. A governess and young gardener, Maggie, sit in the foreground. They’ve all come to confront the artist, who they believe is the cause of all the mysterious disappearance and deaths around Greer Manor. Adelaide: “I’ll make you pay!” *She rips the painting the artist was working on with his very own brushes* The artist: “Insolent Child!” Maggie: “Oh dear!” Now Maggie is standing next to Adelaide for moral support as the artist collapses to the ground after momentarily shouting in anger at his destroyed art. Artist: “NOW you’ve angered THEM!!” Both girls: “WHO?!” The artist subsequently goes hysterical. He rips up the lovely flowers and grass, then explodes his colorful paints and smears them across his face, all the while screaming, shrieking, and wriggling his noodle arms. Both girls: “He’s gone MAD!” After his insane fit, the artist collapses on the ground where his body seemingly disintegrates. Wrapped around his now empty clothes are thorny vines and shreds of lawn. Maggie: “He tore up ALL the grass.” Adelaide: “Maggie, he’s GONE!” The governess: “Girls, I don’t think those flowers belong.” Up behind the neat border of the flowers, looms three monstrous, toothy, beautifully deadly blooms that most certainly don’t belong in the garden. Did the artist REALLY disintegrate? Or did the flowers he was lovingly painting have a malicious part in his death? Thanks for partaking in the nonsense! 😂
March 28, 2025 at 1:59 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS x THE SECRET GARDEN

As ghosts appear and people disappear—the gardeners at Greer Manor seem to be planting more than just flowers . . .

🥀✨big 5✨editor interest
🥀 plant horror
🥀 spooky séances
🥀 flower language

#PopUpPitA #PopUpPit #LuckyPit #MG #Q
March 17, 2025 at 2:30 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
Bonus moodboard for the WIP that I sporadically add to 😚

SHE IS A HAUNTING x HOUSE OF ROOTS & RUIN x MACBETH

#questpit #W #YA #DF #H
February 12, 2025 at 8:39 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
Southern monsters are threatening to destroy everything Elle stands for, her mom’s clinic, and her bakery. When she falls in love with one she must choose between love, and having everyone around her destroyed.
But what if they’re one and the same? #BayouWIP
#questpit #W #YA #R #H
February 12, 2025 at 8:16 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
These bloodthirsty flowers have already snapped up the interest of a ✨BIG 5✨ editor 🥀

#litagents, if you’re looking for a book that’s reminiscent of THE SECRET GARDEN & LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, ❤️ and these monstrous plants can be in your inbox too!
#questpit #Q #MG #PR #MY #H
An agent’s guide to: The Secrets of the Fernery By Joy Culp
February 12, 2025 at 8:10 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
My agent’s guide for my newly #amquerying project, THE SECRETS OF THE FERNERY.

In the life of a Victorian noble, society will rip you to shreds—but in Greer Manor—so will the flowers 🥀

🥀Botanical horror
🪦Young detectives
🥀Plant obsessed family
🪦Victorian era

#P2Ppit #Q #MG #M #H
Foggy greenhouse glass in the background, with two red orchids. An Agent’s guide to: The Secrets of the Fernery. By Joy Culp Rainy greenhouse background. Pitch: In the life of a Victorian noble, society will rip you to shreds. But in Greer Manor, so will the flowers . . . To prove to her boorish friends that her house isn’t full of bad luck or malicious ghosts, Adelaide Greer decides to dig up the root of the rotten rumors: Why are people disappearing in the gardens? And who better to help her than the young gardener Maggie, who’s desperate to prove her father’s innocence after Mr. Greer blames him for planting explosive bushes near the manor. But this isn’t like any sort of mystery Adelaide’s read about—something’s taken root in the gardens, and it’s more sinister than the specters. With Maggie’s knowledge of plants and Adelaide’s sleuthing skills, they must join forces in order to solve this Iris-istibly deadly mystery. If the girls hope to save their families they must act quickly and destroy the very flowers they planted, before they end up as playthings for the roots writhing underneath. Comps: Serafina and the Black Cloak, Little Shop of Horrors, The Haunting of Aveline Jones, Premeditated Myrtle, Aggie Morton Mystery Queen. Chapter One: The scent of flowers lingered in the air as she strode down the hall. Roses maybe . . . ? No. This was lighter, a touch more exotic. This was the scent of vanilla cookies, and finely crystallized sugar cakes which were served during tea. Then, the slight hint of hyacinths. Such a beautiful, colorful, sweet-smelling spring flower. But it wasn’t spring. It was the end of summer, nearly fall at that! She paused as she noticed the ornate vases sitting on opposite sides of the doorframe. Ah, orchids. She spotted the arching blooms placed artistically against large leafy fronds. Wide, white blooms hung gracefully against the brown stems alongside delicate pink flowers. They were beautiful, much like the rest of the manor. She took a deep breath, trying to fill her lungs with the smell as she stood in front of the mahogany door. She pressed her hands across her stiff petticoat, and straightened the bow in her hair one last time. And then, she knocked on the door. Reach out! @joyful_joy5 on X and @joy_iswriting on IG and bsky
January 17, 2025 at 2:47 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
Post the snippet where your main villain or antagonist is first introduced! Let’s really see how rotten they are (or aren’t 👀).
Here’s mine 🤭 🥀

#WritingCommunity #amquerying
December 19, 2024 at 4:14 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
‼️New Project Alert‼️
I thought this was just a slight distraction but it’s quickly turning into something more 🤭
A gothic horrormance filled with dark magic, southern decay, and some suspiciously hot monsters—I can’t wait to finish this one!
#WritingCommunity #amwriting
December 16, 2024 at 4:34 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
As ghosts appear and people disappear—the gardeners seem to be planting more than just flowers.
A young gardener and a lonely heir must put their skills together to solve this deadly mystery. But they soon realize there may be something scarier lurking than just specters 🥀

#HoliPit #Q #MG #M #H
December 15, 2024 at 6:55 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
CLUE x SERAFINA AND THE BLACK CLOAK x LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

In the life of a Victorian noble, society will rip you to shreds—but in Greer Manor—so will the flowers 🥀

🥀Botanical horror
🪦Young detectives
🥀Plant obsessed family
🪦Victorian era

#HoliPit #Q #MG #M #H
December 15, 2024 at 3:08 PM
joyiswriting.bsky.social
When 12yo Maren isn’t reading a new spellbook and trying to learn witchcraft, or saving her family from a sinister magic-draining curse—she loves spiced hot chocolate and can’t resist belting out “Sleigh Ride) with her friends during the holidays.

#CheerPit #Q #MG #F #Cozy #Con
December 9, 2024 at 2:55 PM