Bio
Hi, I’m Hayley! I’m a fantasy romance writer who gravitates toward telling stories with messy heroines who have to heal from their inner trauma every bit as much as their external demons, whether it’s a cozy romantasy or a romantic fantasy. Like many others, I got my start writing novels by accidentally writing a self-insert LOTR fanfiction in middle school, and it wasn’t long before I was creating worlds entirely my own. I was a 2024 SmoochPit Mentee and am now represented by Brent Taylor at Triada US.
Outside of writing, I collect artsy hobbies: I love to paint, play with pottery, make jewelry, and am always jumping into new crafts. Though in my childhood fanfic I reimagined myself as an elf, adult me has very hobbit-like interests: baking, gardening, sunny days spent in greenhouses, checking out all the local breweries. I work in Healthcare by day, and live in Central Kentucky with my husband and our two australian shepherds, who we’ve lovingly nicknamed the “aussie-raptors.”
Manuscript
Wishlist
(MSWL)
Above all else, I’m always seeking love stories that make me week in the knees. I want tension, I want yearning, I want swooning! I prioritize the romance subplot (or primary plot) over the external plot, but that said, I’m probably the best fit for: romcom, contemporary romance, fiction with romance subplots, dark romance, SFF, paranormal, speculative. I'm okay with darker themes and horror/spookier elements.
Things I love:
- messy, flawed protagonists who don’t always make the right decision (in both real-world settings AND fantasy worlds)
- plus-sized leads!
- genre mash-ups!
- Hozier level yearning!! I want to ache from how bad the romantic leads are pining for each other.
- romcoms where the protagonist is who makes the grand gesture! (This does not mean I don’t love when the love interest makes the grand gesture, I just adore the subversion of the trope, too)
- fairy tale vibes—whether it’s a direct retelling or just the mood, I could eat lush, whimsy with a spoon.
- some of my favorite tropes: invisible string/”it was always you”, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, rivals-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, second chance romance, STEM-inist bents, fake dating (even if it’s just a sprinkle), “i hate everyone but you”
A mish-mash of comps (if I just list the author, it’s any of their works):
- Fiction/Contemporary Romance/Romcom: Emily Henry (Funny Story and Beach Read are my favorites), When Harry Met Sally, Ali Hazelwood, Meg Cabot (Forever obsessed), Sarah Adams, any romcom Julia Roberts was in, Abby Jimenez, Rainbow Rowell, Abby Jimenez, 10 Things I Hate About You.
- SFF/Paranormal/Speculative: Rachel Gillig’s One Dark Window/The Knight and the Moth, Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals, Howl’s Moving Castle (really, any Studio Ghibli), Practical Magic, Stephanie Garber’s Once Upon a Broken Heart series, T. Kingfisher, Ashley Poston, Olivie Blake, Sarah Hawley, LOTR (forever crying when Arwen shows up at the end of ROTK), Rosie Danan, Holly Black.
This is definitely a long but not exhaustive list, so if there’s something on my profile that stuck out/made you feel like we’d be a good fit but you didn’t see it expressly here, please still consider me. I am probably not the best fit for: heavy themes of miscarriage/infertility (it's a personal trigger), on page child abuse or sexual assault (life is messy and mention of these topics is okay!), horror that has a high level of gore or cannibalism.
Mentoring Style
My approach to editing always includes celebrating what works well (because writing a book IS hard!) alongside pointing out potential issues (these could be in worldbuilding, character development, romance arcs, etc). I like starting with big picture edits before getting fussy with minutiae. Usually this looks like: reading the whole book for a “big picture” edit letter, reading the whole book a second time for line-level/clarity concerns, and then fine tuning further any passages that need extra attention. That said, I’m flexible/adaptable to what fits your editing style best and at the end of the day, my goal is to help you strengthen your vision for your manuscript and make your submission package shine.
After the mentees are announced, I’d love to hop on a video chat/call (if you’re more comfy camera off, that’s fine!) to get to know each other a little better, discuss your vision for the manuscript, and set mutual expectations for communication/how we’ll tackle edits. I’m the fastest to reply via discord, but e-mail/other apps are okay, too. I do work a standard weekday 8-5, but outside of that, I’d be happy to hop on additional calls if you wanted to check-in through the program.
Applications
from Connections
Please do not apply to me if I’ve already alpha read/beta read for you or we’ve been critique partners. If we’re mutuals on socials, or we’re in the same discord(s), but haven’t done more than chat occasionally, please feel free to apply!