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Chezza Lee📚

@chezzawrites

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SFF Writer | cat lady | biracial CN/ENG | cdrama fangirl | she/her
Rep: @madethisforlu at MWLA
First Reader at Small Wonders
Smoochpit '24 mentee

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If you were born without emotions and a handsome immortal offered you a chance to regain them, would you take it? What if he expected more from you than you were willing to give? 🔥

Pitching my Asian-inspired dark fantasy, TO POSSESS THE FLAME, at different difficulty levels! This book has inspirations from Ming Dynasty courtesan culture, Daoist soul dualism, and xianxia cdramas. It was so much fun to write, and I hope it's as much fun to read 🥹
Repped by @madethisforlu! 🌸
Post inspired by @lilywzywrites and @caracastro_ ❤️❤️❤️ by @chezzawrites

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4 months ago

Figured it was time to post an updated intro since there have been a bunch of new friends coming through lately 🥰 I'm Chezza, and when I'm not writing xianxia-inspired books with big plots and big emotions, you'll usually catch me yapping about cdramas or playing Where Winds Meet. I don't love the term "wasian," so let's just say I'm Eurasian ☺️ I love gaming (I streamed on Twitch for like 5 years and cosplayed for 10 years lmao), I read a lot (though not as much as some of you cuz y'all are insane?) and I'll never say no to hot pot (soup season is every season). I was born and raised in England and now live in Canada, and I sound Canadian unless I speak to my dad or go back to the UK 😅 I work full time as a business editor, and I'm also a submissions reader for Small Wonders magazine!
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If you're new here, HELLO and welcome! What are you reading/watching/playing rn?👀 by @chezzawrites

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5 months ago

so millennial i had to go through beta reader comments from my gen z friends for this 😅
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i'm chezza, and i write romantic fantasy books inspired by chinese mythology, with all the xianxia vibes! i'm a fan of bittersweet HEAs and i love BIG emotions ❤️
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character art:
STARLIGHT and BLOOMS: @hisurkgk
FLAME: @ciancy_an by @chezzawrites

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5 months ago

💋I'm a @smoochpitig mentee!!

When I saw that I was selected for this mentorship program, I was in TEARS, y'all. Thank you, @chezzawrites for seeing the potential in my work and for loving my characters (no matter how evil). I can't wait for us to work together❤️ by @chezzawrites

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4 days ago

Making (hopefully...for now) final edits to this project before I send it back to my agent! I will admit it can be difficult to keep posting about my writing when there are no guarantees in traditional publishing, but I love this book and I'm really proud of how it turned out. I feel like my books have gotten darker the more I write 😅
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TO POSSESS THE FLAME is an adult dark fantasy book about a heartless courtesan who goes to an immortal's palace to try and recover her emotions. But the palace is hiding seven disfigured women in the shadows...and they all look exactly like her. 🔥🔥
This book heavily features Daoist inspiration, Chinese mythology, and xianxia cdrama vibes!
#cdramalover #xianxia #darkfantasy by @chezzawrites

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3 months ago

Hi, it's me again yapping about my book! I've always enjoyed doing these kinds of guides to pitch my projects, and I just love all the ways I can play with the aesthetics for TO POSSESS THE FLAME!
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Some fun facts about this book:
- It's fantasy, but it's inspired by Ming Dynasty China!
- The story is inspired most by sanhunqipo/三魂七魄, which is the Daoist theory of soul dualism. There are a lot of nods to different elements of Daoism in this story, including cultivation and alchemy.
- My cdrama comp is Love Beyond the Grave! I watched it after I'd finished writing and even though the plots are very different, I was struck by a lot of similarities, such as the lack of emotions/senses and a male character with obsessive tendencies.
- There's a romantic subplot that's fairly significant, but it's not a capital R romance, nor would I call this a romantasy. (And the romance isn't a super toxic one, though they certainly have their struggles!)
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PITCH: A courtesan with no emotions goes to an immortal's palace in the mountains to try and fix herself, but the palace is hiding a dark secret: seven grotesque women are locked away, and they all look just like her.
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Rep: @madethisforlu at Mad Woman Literary!
#asiandarkfantasy #gothicfantasybooks #cdramafans #chinesefantasybooks by @chezzawrites

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a month ago

I wrote an Asian-inspired dark fantasy that's Bluebeard x Obsession x To Dream in Darkness 🔥 It's currently with my agent, but hoping for the best for this book 🕯️
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Xinyi is a courtesan with no emotions--she dances to survive. When a handsome immortal appears and offers to help her, she goes with him to his mountaintop palace. But the palace is hiding a secret behind it's locked doors...seven disfigured women are tucked away in the shadows, and they all look exactly like her.
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Rep: Alex Land at MWLA!
#cdramalover #chinesefantasy #xianxia #fantasybooks #darkfantasy by @chezzawrites

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2 months ago

A quick note on SmoochPit! Mentee announcements were this morning, and huge congratulations to the mentee class of 2026!

I really want to stress that there were a ton of amazing submissions this year. Applicants put forward some truly strong manuscripts. I read every single package that was sent my way and constantly thought to myself that I don't envy agents! There are so many great packages...how does one choose?

If you applied and didn't get a request, it is NOT a reflection on the quality of your work. If I had all the time in the world, there were so many manuscripts I wanted to read. There were some packages I read that I knew would do well in the query trenches already. There were many that were stunning but just not a great fit for me personally. I debated about so many simply because I wanted to read them, but I knew I wouldn't be the right mentor for the manuscript. This also happened last year, when I knew some packages would do well but weren't a right fit for me...and many of those writers have gone on to find agents!

We say this all the time, but it's true--this industry is so subjective. This subjectivity bleeds into things like this mentorship program, and you'll see it while querying and also on submission. I saw so much great writing and the passion for craft really shone through, and I hope you all continue pushing on. Applying for a program like this alone is a huge milestone! You put yourself out there and that's a very difficult thing to do.

Resilience is the key to surviving this industry. Keep going, and keep believing in yourself.

Thank you so much to everyone who submitted their materials to me. Please know I approached every single application with thoughtful consideration and was impressed by the quality of your work. I wish you so much success with querying, and I hope you keep trying to get your books out there! ❤️

#smoochpit by @chezzawrites

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4 days ago

To be honest, these were difficult graphics to make because...no, I didn't write a romantasy. I didn't set out to write a romantasy! I've been pitching TO POSSESS THE FLAME as dark/gothic fantasy with a romantic subplot, and while the romance is important, the FMC's quest to find her selfhood is the primary point of the story. I also love how fierce she is (definitely giving Dilraba in Love Beyond the Grave or Meng Ziyi in Blossoms of Power). I hope you do like it if this book ever hits the shelves, though 🪭

TO POSSESS THE FLAME follows a courtesan with no emotions who goes to a handsome immortal's palace to try and fix herself, but the palace is hiding seven grotesque women in the shadows...and they all look exactly like her.

Rep: @madethisforlu at MWLA❤️

#darkfantasybooks #asianfantasybooks #xianxia #cdramafans #writingcommunityofınstagram by @chezzawrites

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11 days ago

Which Chinese fantasy book did you get? 🥮🏮🎍✨

Song names and book titles:
月又西（Yue You Xi): For the Love of the Moon by @ireencbooks
A Heartbeat’s Turn: To Possess the Flame by @chezzawrites
难解（Nan Jie): Edicts Against Heaven by @minyue.writes
Love of Cang Lan: The Phoenix and The Soul Stones by @jessehan_writes

#asianfantasy #chinesefantasy #bookstagram #booktok by @chezzawrites

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19 days ago

Sharing some book recommendations for Mid-Autumn Festival by some very talented and beautiful people! Some to add to your tbr, and others you can read now🥰🥮🌕

WHITEFISH by Catherine Cheng
TO SWAY A SOUL by Ireen Chau
DELICIOUS MINDS by Thea Liu
THE HEAVENS WE DEFY by Tiffany Wang
DEATHLY FATES by Tesia Tsai
THE GIRL WITH A THOUSAND FACES by Sunyi Dean

#bookrecommendations📚❣️ #fantasybooks #horrorbooks #bookstarecs by @chezzawrites

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21 days ago

It's funny because I wrote a gothic book without realizing I was writing a gothic book💀 It's true that writers are influenced by all the things we've read before! TO POSSESS THE FLAME actually follows a ton of gothic genre conventions. Constant sense of unease and fear? Check. Hauntings and the supernatural? Check. Imprisonment and a controlling patriarchal figure? Check. Creepy palace? Check. Past influencing the present? Check. An underlying mystery? Check. It's not quite The Mysteries of Udolpho, but the influences are there🤭

Anyway, if you like cdrama inspired stories, dark fantasy, and gothic themes, I hope you'll stick around!❤️🪭🔥

TO POSSESS THE FLAME is an adult dark fantasy about a courtesan with no emotions who accepts an immortal's offer to become whole again, but when she goes to his palace, she finds seven other women hidden away, all of them severely injured...and all of them look exactly like her.
The horror of Bluebeard and Obsession meets the female quest for survival and Ancient China-inspired world of The Poet Empress.

Rep: @madethisforlu at MWLA❤️

#asianinspiredfantasy #darkfantasybooks #cdramavibes #gothicfantasybooks #xianxia by @chezzawrites

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16 days ago