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Lenora Woods Author Photo - Lenora Woods.jpg
MENTOR:

Lenora Woods (she/her)

CATEGORY:

 New Adult, Adult

SUB GENRES:

Contemporary Romance, Rom Com, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Genre Blend/Speculative, Romantasy, Paranormal

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BIO:

Hi! I'm Lenora Woods, and I write geeky Rom Coms and romantic fantasy. I was a SmoochPit 2023 mentee, and I'm represented by Rose Ferrao at P.S. Literary. My debut novel ROLL FOR ROMANCE is a D&D-themed romcom about two players who find themselves (and their characters) falling in love both in-game and out; it comes out Summer 2025 from Dell (Random House).

I'm originally from Austin, Texas, but I currently reside in New England. When I'm not writing, you can find me hiking, crafting, rolling dice, and pretending to be an elf at my local Renaissance Faire.

MSWL:

I love reading widely, but for this program I'm the best fit for fantasy, sci-fi, romantasy, speculative, romcom, and contemporary romances. These are the genres I write and have worked with in the past, and what I feel I could give the best feedback on!

I will very happily read anything inclusive of the subgenres listed above, but here are a few specific things I'd love to see in a manuscript:
- Any story that uses any of these as comps: Olivia Dade, Jen DeLuca, Cathy Yardley, Ashley Poston, Ali Hazelwood, Rachel Gillig, Jacqueline Carey, Heather Fawcett, Rebecca Ross, Megan Bannen, T. Kingfisher, Naomi Novik, Tasha Suri, Alexis Hall, Holly Black, Baldur's Gate 3, Mass Effect, Dragon Age
- Anything that pushes or mixes genre boundaries, or turns genre on its head! I love high-concept hooks, speculative twists, and new perspectives
- Favorite tropes: enemies to lovers, found family, pen pals / secret identity, rivals, only one bed, loveable/reformed rogue
- Contemporary romances with geeky elements like cosplay, fandom, fanfic, videogames, MMO's, board games, D&D, fanart, Renaissance festivals, etc.
- Anything fey. I am always feral for fey/fae/faerie
- Any heat level, though I tend to read and write open door romances
- This is a very specific ask, but I'd love to read a long-distance romance in any genre (pining! so much tension buildup!)
- Banter!

Books I am not the right fit for:
- historical romances (unless they have a speculative element). I enjoy reading these, but I'm not familiar enough with the subgenre to help you as much as some of our other superstar histrom mentors are!
- romantic suspense (for the same reasons listed above)
- anything featuring sexual assault, child abuse, storylines with cancer as a major component

MENTORING STYLE

I'd love to be as involved as a mentee would like me to be! I love every aspect of workshopping a project, from brainstorming big-picture changes and constructing a hook-y pitch to diving into the nitty-gritty details of developmental and line edits. I have a background in book editing, and I feel strongly about working together to help writers hone their craft, determine which story elements are working and which may be holding them back, and make the heart of their book shine. I'm very enthusiastic and friendly, so all feedback will be delivered via a generous compliment sandwich.

Further than working on the manuscript itself, I would love to be a resource, sounding board, and cheerleader for my mentee throughout the entire process. I'm very game to chat through industry questions, brainstorm query lists, workshop pitches, commiserate about querying experiences, and more. I'm available via video call, email, text, discord, phone, etc, and happy to check in as often as is helpful. 

APPLICATIONS FROM CONNECTIONS

Please do not apply to me if we've ever worked together before or have had extensive conversations online. If we're in the same discord(s) or mutuals on social media but haven't talked more than a comment on a post here or there, feel free to apply!

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