M.E. Brownstein is querying a thriller! 🕵️‍♀️
LightNews LightNews
banner
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
M.E. Brownstein is querying a thriller! 🕵️‍♀️
@mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.5K following 250 posts
A UX and accessibility professional by day. A mom and a fiction writer by night. Neurospicy Latina ally all the time. INFJ 🇨🇺🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Linktree: https://t.co/DRttpHntJs
Posts Replies Media Videos
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Fingers crossed for at least some constructive feedback on this query!!! I won't get my hopes up for a full, but I won't be mad if it happens. #amquerying #writingcommunity
Rejections in querytracker surrounding my submission which is not yet rejected
February 10, 2025 at 10:03 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
I'm surprised at the interest level of my Goodreads account based on click rates in my Linktree. #askagents what other info are you looking for from your querying writers? #writingcommunity
Screenshot of Linktree analytics, showing 0 clicks on Bluesky, 4 clicks on Goodreads, 1 click on X/Twitter, and 2 clicks on Instragram
January 9, 2025 at 3:32 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO x NEVER LET YOU GO

Blind programmer Sandy uses her digital skills to hunt her stalker ex-gf in a tech-driven pursuit. She’ll have to decide how many laws she'll break and how much danger she’s willing to face to be free from her ex’s reign of terror.

#HoliPit #A #Q #T
Mood board showing snapshots of a park bench overlooking the water, a woman using, a smart phone, a simple wardrobe, a fuzzy blanket with cookies and tea, a mysterious handwritten letter, a woman crossing a sidewalk with a white cane, a person following a woman walking down the street, SEEKING IN THE DARKNESS written in Braille, a city sidewalk, a refreshable braille display, a dark abandoned subway tunnel and subway car.
December 15, 2024 at 3:40 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO x NEVER LET YOU GO

Blind programmer Sandy uses her digital skills to hunt her stalker ex-gf in a tech-driven pursuit. She’ll have to decide how many laws she'll break and how much danger she’s willing to face to be free from her ex’s reign of terror.

#HoliPit #A #Q #T
Agent’s Guide to SEEKING IN THE DARKNESS adult thriller by M.E. Brownstein Complete at 72,000 words. Themes: Survival and Resilience Overcoming Abuse and Trauma Independence vs Connection Fear and Paranoia Identity and Self-discovery Empowerment and agency Digital Age Vulnerability Tropes: A Threatening Message An Unseen Enemy Playing the Long Game Cat-and-Mouse Game Paranoia No Escape An Abandoned Place Comps: Conversational First-person tone of EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE Pervasive psychological suspense of NEVER LET YOU GO Pitch: Blind programmer Sandy uses her digital skills to track down her stalker ex-gf in a tech-driven pursuit. She’ll have to decide how many laws she’s willing to break and how much danger she’s willing to face to be free from her ex’s reign of terror. First Lines Without fail, my annual reviews always shattered the illusion that I was just like any other programmer. In my mind, I was just a typical employee working at the largest bank in the city: a single thirty-two-year-old, with no interest in clawing my way into middle management. Granted I was the only woman in my department. And I just happened to be blind.
December 15, 2024 at 3:38 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
I decided to review the feedback from my past queries for SITD. Anything that wasn't a form reply was actually quite helpful. I've already integrated the improvements suggested, so today I decided to focus on the positive feedback to keep me motivated as I #amquerying. #writingcommunity
- We really enjoyed this and can see the potential in your writing. The premise is fantastic. - Your dedication and passion for storytelling are evident - This appears to be a strong project - Having reviewed your query and the first three chapters, I found the premise intriguing - I really adore your premise -- you have such a cool idea here and *great* vibes in terms of character and worldbuilding.  - I found great qualities within your query and synopsis, and I love the premise and the portrayal of blindness, - The premise is fantastic.
December 4, 2024 at 7:07 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
This book was so impactful and it changed my work & personal life for the better.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 20! 🎉

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover for Thanks for the Feedback: The science and art of receiving feedback well by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
December 4, 2024 at 3:01 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
I'm looking forward to the film adaptation with Ryan Gosling!

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 19! Penultimate book!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, author of The Martian
December 3, 2024 at 6:53 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
#LateNightWrite I come from a long line of story tellers, so <6 yo seems the wisest answer here. But my first moment of pride in writing was high school English class reading my description of the stench of meat my family acquired from a local farm. The reactions were priceless.
#writingcommunity
December 3, 2024 at 5:03 AM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for the word "lift".

May you always be able to lift yourself up, while avoiding licking your own arm. 🧘‍♀️

#writesky
#writingcommunity
#writingprompts
#authors
Screenshot from manuscript "SEEKING IN THE DARKNESS": I lifted my head enough to stick my tongue out at her without licking my own arm and then put my head back down on my forearms. Trying to steady myself, I took a deep breath and immediately regretted the stench emanating from every pore of my body. I half-wondered if that’s what ‘fear sweat’ smells like and I made loose plans to shower later.
December 2, 2024 at 8:47 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 18!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover for Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
December 2, 2024 at 7:20 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 17!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover for The Ling Way to a Small Angry Planet
December 1, 2024 at 8:47 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 16!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover for Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
November 30, 2024 at 5:59 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 15!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
November 30, 2024 at 4:27 AM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Used this book’s quirky voice as inspo for my 1st-person pov thriller.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 14!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover of Happy Place by Emily Henry
November 28, 2024 at 6:03 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
A few months ago a friend passed away unexpectedly. It was especially hard to take given how much he loved life every day.

Since then, I always get a little choked up reading this passage in my MS. I had written it years before he passed, but it hits hard every time now.

#writingcommunity
This is one of the hardest things you will face in your life. And it sucks. There is no way around it, no sugar coating it. The only way past it is through it. But you will be ok. The grief and the pain of loss doesn’t get easier, but we learn to carry it better over time. So, feel the full weight of the loss now. Let yourself grieve fully. Then when you feel you can, remember the amazing [blacked out gender] that [blacked out character name] was and how much she loved you. And know that she would not have wanted you to be sad forever. Then you can start to learn to carry that loss more easily as time goes on.” She squeezed my hands and got up and padded to the door of my room quietly.
November 28, 2024 at 12:45 AM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Lucky Day 13!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover of The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
November 28, 2024 at 12:33 AM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to back into an IKEA again after this one.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 12!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover of Horrorstör: a novel by Grady Hendrix
November 26, 2024 at 10:22 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
I actually have this one! Huzzah!

#writingcommunity
“Sushi outing with the crew?” We had the same lunch on the same day every week, so it wasn’t much of a guess. “Yeah, unless you have other plans.” I took a second to grab my bag, thinking over my work schedule. My personal life was basically non-existent, so no conflicts there. “No, that sounds great. I think I’ve got a meeting right after lunch though. Do you think you could drive me back afterwards so I don’t miss it?” “Sure thing. Do you want a ride over there now?” I considered it, but being alone in the car together on the way back from lunch already promised to be more alone time than we’ve had since I moved out of our apartment about a year ago. Riley had been basically the roommate equivalent of Mother Teresa, plus she cooked and cleaned. She was the perfect roommate for me, until our big fight when I realized she wasn’t healthy for me–or for herself for that matter. While we were on decent terms now, I was still a bit unsure how to act around her, and I assumed the feeling was mutual. “I think I’ll walk over if that’s good with you. Gotta get those steps in!” I waited for her to push back, to insist that I needed help getting there. I played with the zipper on my bag while I braced for the oncoming lecture.
November 25, 2024 at 7:56 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 11!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
November 25, 2024 at 5:43 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
I’d comp this for my current MS if it wasn’t so old.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 10! (A little late)

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover: the girl with the dragon tattoo by Stieg Larsson
November 25, 2024 at 5:41 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 9!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover of Sanctum: guards of the shadowlands by Sarah Fine
November 23, 2024 at 9:04 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
I won't discuss how close I am to Tolkien's age, but it's a good reminder when we feel like we should have done more in our lives already that for many their successes started later in life. Keep writing.

#writingcommunity
Cartoon brain says "Are you sleeping" Woman in bed trying to respond says "Yes, now shut up..." Brain responds, "Tolkien didn't start LotR until he was 45, you're doing just fine..." Women rests easy
November 22, 2024 at 3:52 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 8!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
Book cover of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, No. 1 New York Times Bestselling Author
November 22, 2024 at 2:27 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
Hey, look, one of my comps!

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

Day 7!

#BookSky
#Books
#BookChallenge
#Writingcommunity
book cover: Everyone in my family has killed someone: a Novel by Benjamin Stevenson
November 21, 2024 at 1:29 PM
mebrownsteinwriter.bsky.social
#WIPSnips for the word "worth", a common theme of my MS.

Recognizing your worth is a key step in discovering who you truly are.

#writesky
#writingcommunity
#writingprompts
#authors
“You have to understand, Riley. I didn’t know I was worth more than that back then. I thought Jamie was right, that I deserved everything that I got, and worse. It took me a long time to get past that experience and understand my own worth. To know with certainty that I could be my own person and stand up on my own two feet. So, me wanting to figure out this Jaimie thing is absolutely not about me wanting to be with her, although admittedly, for a hot second that old trauma-filled part of me considered it. But this isn’t a love story. This is about me trying to understand what she’s doing and why, and what I need to do to get her to leave me alone so that I can live my life. There’s no romantic ending to this story.”
November 20, 2024 at 8:44 PM