MSWL*
*manuscript wish list
Samantha is looking for high-concept, commercial and upmarket fiction that features diverse, marginalized, and/or underrepresented voices with all-or-nothing stakes.
I enjoy working with new and established writers interested in writing for adult, young adult, and middle-grade readers with fluidity.
If you would like to query me, please use this Query Manager form.
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Genres: book club fiction, contemporary romance, romantasy mystery, thriller, speculative, gothic, horror, and fantasy. (Please send all the genre blends!)
As of 3/2025: I’m hungry for diverse rep in romantasy, fantasy, and horror.
Some dream projects for me would be a Haitian-inspired fantasy, a Black sapphic romantasy, a werewolf fantasy with pack dynamics and fated mates, and a fantasy or horror with a badass MC with disability rep.
Things I’m drawn to in stories:late-stage coming of age stories
immigrant experiences
healthy + toxic relationships (familial, platonic, or romantic)
themes of obsession, power, feminism, gray morality, and more.
chaotic openings and/or characters
specific experiences that hold universal truths
body positivity
sex positivity
fast-pacing
tight plotting
ruthless and messy characters
female villains
unexpected twists or POVs
con artists or grifters on job
convincing red herrings
ensemble casts
twisted games or puzzles
yearning and/or pining
non-western mythology
unique magic systems (especially with consequences)
unexpected villains and/or villain POVs
unraveling secrets at a reunion or celebration
reincarnation + fated lovers
haunting, small and/or isolated settings
anything involving curses or prophesies
inheritance stories
secrets amongst groups
cults and dark rituals
light + dark academia
Books I Love:
The Brown Sisters series by Talia Hibbert
Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
In My Dreams, I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
Never Saw You Coming by Vera Kurian
You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa
No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall
The Bridge Kingdom series + A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
The Blood Gift Duology by N.E. Davenport
The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
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Genres: contemporary romance, romantasy, thrillers, horror, speculative, and fantasy. (Please send all the genre blends!)
Things I’m drawn to in stories:
joyful BIPOC stories
ensemble casts
yearning and pining
fresh takes on familiar tropes
body positivity
BIPOC casts creating space in PWIs
LGBTQIA2S+ affirming stories
the high emotions of firsts—first date, first kiss, first friendship breakup, etc.
all the shenanigans, hijinks, and lists
atmospheric, haunting, and isolated settings
internal and external horror
mixed media + social media
generational reckonings
themes of: grief, finding community, battling for autonomy, feminism, battle for power, self-acceptance
light + dark academia
non-western mythology and folklore
unique magic systems (especially with consequences)
high stakes competitions, games, or puzzles
healthy and toxic relationships (familial, platonic, and romantic)
Books I love:
Heartless Hunter by Kristin Ciccarelli
She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
The Black Queen by Jumata Emil
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
I Feed The Beast and The Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea
All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody & C.L. Herman
The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
Sawkill Girls by Claire LeGrande
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
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Genres: mystery, horror, and fantasy (please send all the genre blends!)
I’m temporarily closed to this genre.
Other comps I love
Knives Out series; It’s What’s Inside; The Count of Monte Cristo; The Picture of Dorian Gray; Kill Bill; The Haunting of Bly Manor; Elite; Only Murders in the Building; The Afterparty; Severance; Defending Jacob; Gossip Girl; Sex Lives of College Girls; Schitt’s Creek; Ted Lasso; Behind Her Eyes; Booksmart; Trinkets; The Craft; Gilmore Girls; Never Have I Ever; Sex Education; The Old Guard; Crimson Peak; Julie and the Phantoms; Turning Red; Encanto; To All The Boys I Loved Before; Peaky Blinders; Heathers; Once Upon A Time; Switched at Birth; Ready or Not; Do Revenge; Missing…; Saltburn