Bio
Sonora Reyes is a bestselling and award-winning author of Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, The Luis Ortega Survival Club, The Broposal, and the forthcoming The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar. They also have contributed short stories to the anthologies Transmogrify! and For the Rest of Us.
Sonora writes fiction celebrating queer and Mexican stories in a variety of genres, with current projects in both kidlit and adult categories.
Outside of writing, Sonora loves breaking their body and vocal cords by playing with their baby niblings and dancing/singing karaoke at the same time.
Manuscript
Wishlist
(MSWL)
I'm open to almost any genre, and am especially looking for stories from historically marginalized authors (LGBTQ/BIPOC/mental illness/neurodivergence/disability, and any intersections and combinations of these identities). Some things I'm extra excited about are below, but my interests don't stop there so please still send to me if you think we'd be a good fit!
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I love a good balance of humor and heart! I want to laugh one minute and squeal at the cuteness the next. If you can make me cry, extra points!
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Super interested in underrepresented mythology/fantasy, especially diaspora stories
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Multigenerational stories
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Immigrant families or immigrant parents
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QTBIPOC love stories with happy endings
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Queer and trans re-imaginings
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Anything that will give me a good cry. I want to feel all the feelings. Tears of joy, anger, sadness, I don't care! Just make me cry lol.
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Voicey manuscripts! I LOVE a good voice, and if the MC is "unlikeable" by traditional standards, even better!
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I would love to read something that handles any important topics like grief, abuse, consent, etc.
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Contrary to the last point, if you have a book that is just full of marginalized people being joyful, finding love and having a blast without having to deal with pain, I want that too!
TROPES I LOVE
Disclaimer: if you don't have these tropes, that's totally fine! If you feel we'd be a good match, submit to me anyway. That said, these are the tropes I have a huge soft spot for off the top of my head.
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Character tropes: Himbos, cinnamon rolls, assholes with a heart of gold, losers (affectionate)
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Slow burn. Give me the longing. The pining. I want to die a slow, painful death waiting for the characters to finally get together.
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Hate to love or enemies to lovers. This trope is my kryptonite, but I do think it can be tough to pull off. For example, if the characters are enemies because one of them did something completely unforgivable or is a racist or a bigot, it's not really my cup of tea. But misunderstandings? Family feuds? Rivalry? Long-time childhood grudges? Give me all of that!
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Found family. I am weak for this one. Family is so much deeper than just blood connections, and I absolutely love to see characters forge their own bonds outside of blood.
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Fake dating. Are the feelings real, or were they just pretending? SCREAM.
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Childhood best friends to lovers. Something about the idea of a love that has the foundation of knowing each other since childhood just sits right with my soul. The memories! The bonds! The fear of messing something up that's been there since as long as they can remember! Give it to me!
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Hurt/comfort. Go ahead, hurt me, then heal my sad little heart!
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I also love a good trope subversion! If you flipped a trope on its head in a creative or clever way, I'd love to see it!
PLEASE DON'T SEND ME...
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If the only disabled character in your book is evil, it's not for me.
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If there's a magical cure for disability keeping disabled people from existing in your world
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If the main character's arc centers around learning how to not be racist
Mentoring Style
I'm open to whatever methods of communication work best for you. Want to stick with emails? Great. Want to hop on the phone to brainstorm? Let's do it! Want to text me or DM me on Twitter about that epiphany you just had? Feel free!
I want this to be a collaborative partnership. While I will definitely have suggestions of my own for how to improve your manuscript, I don't want to pressure you to make a change that doesn't feel right. If any of my suggestions don't sit well with you, we can talk about it and figure out a solution you can be proud of. My main concern is that we address the things in the manuscript that need to be addressed, but how we do that is completely up to you. I will never force a change you don't want to make. This is ultimately your book, and whatever changes you do or don't make will be your own choice.
I will also try my best to mentor in other ways besides just looking at the words on the page. You need a sounding board to vent about revision, the querying trenches, or submission? I'm your guy. I can help you revise your query letter and research agents to query. I'm an open book, and will share to the best of my knowledge what I can about the publishing industry and how to navigate it.
Applications
from Connections
Please do not apply to me if we've ever beta read for each other or if we are close friends.