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Shardai Smith

@writer_junkie

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FROM OUR BLOOD/Spring 2027 @leftunreadbooks
✧ dark academic; book marketer; sporadically brilliant ✧
rep: @ericsmithrocks
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To my mother who made me believe the very first line I wrote of From Our Blood was too obvious and boring. I rewrote it. To my senior seminar class and my advanced fiction classes, thank you for reading those early pages. At least I know someone will buy my book. To Abby , who listened to me complain. Once this is published, I will still complain but I’ll be a complaining, published author. To my friends back home who had no clue how long it was going to take until they could read it. Sorry, I wanted it to be close to perfect for you. To my aunt who thankfully won’t read this book but wants a signed copy. Where should I sign it? To little me who wasted years of her life not writing. I have no idea what to do with this political science degree. To all of those I told the ending to when I got too excited. You didn’t hear anything. And to my lovely mentor, @taylorlgrothe ! Thank you for believing in me and my story. by @writer_junkie

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10 months ago

While the East Coast prepares for the cold, why not post something that'll heat you up 😏Happy [belated] cover reveal for @taylorlgrothe's 🌹 LETHAL KISS! 🌹OUT OCT 20TH!artist: @MissRachelSilvaJacket designer: Jess KileyArt Director: Katie Klimowicz***Something ravenous lurks below the marble floors of Preston University...But desire has teeth of its own.When Marcella is hired at Preston University, she intends to lay low for a few semesters, enjoy the extensive library, and feed … discretely. She’s a monster, but she’s careful. Then a professor is found mxrdered and it isn’t her doing. Whatever is k!lling her colleagues is older, far less restrained, and ravenous.Assistant professor Lacie is aware how ruthless the track to tenure is. But seeing the corpse of one of her colleagues is enough to make her suspect the professors that came before her didn’t just quit academia. There’s only one person she can trust enough to ask for help—the beautiful, aloof, and tantalizingly secretive Marcella.The deeper into the mystery they dig, the more Marcella’s drawn to Lacie’s immovable bravery and quiet intelligence. And the closer they grow, the more Lacie is drawn to Marcella’s vicious nature.The weight of spilled bloød and stolen opportunity is too heavy to carry alone, but they’re both determined to get what they deserve—even if they have to k!ll for it.A bløod-soaked love story of rage, revenge, and belonging, Taylor Grothe's adult debut is a sapphic horror/romance that's as grotesque as it is beautiful.DELUXE EDITION—a drop-dead stunning paperback featuring vivid sprayed edges! by @writer_junkie

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6 months ago

HAPPY COVER REVEAL! For fans of DIVINE RIVALS and EMILY WILDE— LETTERS FROM THE LAST APOTHECARY is a romantic, light fantasy novel following a willful, aspiring mage as she works with the local, uptight apothecarist to save his shop amid a wave of growing anti-magic sentiment, unaware they have already fallen in love exchanging anonymous letters. OUT: JUNE 9TH 2026Available "READ NOW" on Netgalley! This GORGEOUS cover was designed by Michael J. Windsor.***Nestled between steel skyscrapers lies a little shop stocked with old magic and elixirs... and a story of mistaken identity, reluctant partnership, and the quiet magic of being truly seen—on and off the page.Josephine Pinova doesn’t believe in fate. Yet, it must be fate when she walks into one of the last magical apothecaries in the city and they offer her a job after she’s just been fired.Struggling against a tide of anti-magic sentiment amidst the city's rapid industrialization, the shop is slated to close in six short months unless Josie can save it. Luckily, she's no stranger to impossible odds— she's applying to study magic at the local university, something women are typically excluded from— even as the shop's apothecarist, Aufidius Reid, seems determined to dislike her.Reid finds her unbearably insistent. She finds him infuriatingly uptight—nothing like the sensitive scholar Josie has been exchanging anonymous letters with for months as they study together for entrance to a graduate magic program. A scholar who just so happens to be Reid himself, unbeknownst to either of them.Letter by letter, they fall in love. But at work, Josie and Reid clash constantly about the direction of the business. As pressure rises, they discover the threat to the shop is more dangerous than they could have ever imagined, and working together to save it might be their only chance to pursue their true aspirations and each other. by @writer_junkie

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6 months ago

Thrilled to welcome @writer_junkie to the neighborhood, working with @ericsmithrocks ! An author of sharp and unnerving horror, she’s working on some exciting things in the coming months! And watch out for her debut, FROM OUR BLOOD, with @bindery_books in 2027! by @writer_junkie

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8 months ago

#HappyHalloween 🎃 Yesterday I went as "Arthur, the Author" and spoofed Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming.Fun fact, Marc Brown is from my hometown of Erie. He's got the coveted top spot of Erie, PA writers, but in 2027, I will be the 2nd most well-known author from Erie. by @writer_junkie

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9 months ago

Shardai Smith’s FROM OUR BLOOD, has been acquired by Michael LaBorn at Left Unread, for publication in spring 2027.#binderybooks #publishing #2027releasesImage description: purple gradient wood grain background with a screenshot of Publishers Marketplace over it. by @writer_junkie

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10 months ago

My novella FONDLE was a @texasreviewpress finalist! I had no expectations for this little story other than finally wanting to share it. I'm so grateful! And gratulations to winner Ana Maria Caballero!I have big dreams for this little book!Shardai Smith's FONDLE, following an actress longing to be touched who hires a professional cuddler and tests the boundaries of what the paid service can provide. by @writer_junkie

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a year ago

thought I'd let y'all know I'm 25 today by @writer_junkie

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a year ago

yesterday was a good day. chaotic, but good by @writer_junkie

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a year ago

Every day I rearrange my schedule so that I can get more done. Read more, revise more, write more. Hope fills my drains. It runs too fast for me to swollow...FROM OUR BLOOD is a romantic dark academia horror following a Black female student as she navigates her dream university only to realize her desperation to be loved has lead her astray. 🔪Perfect for fans of LEGENDBORN, BUNNY, GET OUT, and THE SECRET HISTORY. 🔍 On submission now! Please contact my agent, Claire Friedman @ InkWell..tags 🏷️: #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #booklover #writing #writingcommunity #reader #writinglife #darkacademiabooks #yafantasywriter #yafantasy #yafantasybooks #foundfamily #authorsofinstagram #authorlife #authorcommunity #writerlife #booksofinstagram #bookclub #bookrecs #toberead #bookrecommendations #bookcommunity #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #yabooks #academicrivals #rivalstolovers #slowburnromance #enemiestolovers #authorssupportingauthors by @writer_junkie

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a year ago

I'm so excited to for another horroromance! Thanks @berkleypub!The Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Canas:When a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust…from bestselling author Isabel Cañas.In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their teeth: Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong.Elías, haunted by a troubled past, came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family’s legacy of greed. Alba, as his cousin’s betrothed, is none of his business. Which is of course why he can’t help but notice her every time she enters a room or the growing tension between them… and why he notices her deteriorate when the demon’s thirst for blood grows stronger. by @writer_junkie

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a year ago

office with a view°°My novel FROM OUR BLOOD is on submission. FOB is a romantic dark academia horror following a Black female student as she navigates her dream university only to realize her desperation to be loved has lead her astray.🔪Perfect for fans of LEGENDBORN, BUNNY, GET OUT, and THE SECRET HISTORY. 🔍#bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #booklover #writing #writingcommunity #reader #writinglife #darkacademiabooks #yafantasywriter #yafantasy #yafantasybooks #foundfamily #authorsofinstagram #authorlife #authorcommunity #writerlife #booksofinstagram #bookclub #bookrecs #toberead #bookrecommendations #bookcommunity #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #yabooks #academicrivals #rivalstolovers #slowburnromance #enemiestolovers #authorssupportingauthors by @writer_junkie

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a year ago