MENTOR:
Megan Oliver (she/her) &
Ava Watson (she/her)
CATEGORY:
Adult
SUB GENRES:
Contemporary Romance, Rom Com
BIO:
Megan Oliver is a lover of all things romance whose (currently untitled) debut set in Iceland will be released in the fall of 2025 from Berkley. When not crafting HEAs for her messy characters, she spends her time traveling to faraway places, cuddling with her golden retriever, and lying on the couch with a book in her hand. She is represented by Laura Blake Peterson at Curtis Brown.
Ava Watson is a hopeless romantic who struggled to understand why thriller stories never included swoony romance subplots while growing up. As a writer by night and psychiatric social worker by day, advocating for mental health is not just a passion of hers, but a part of her everyday life. When she’s not writing about millennials trying to find themselves while falling in love, she’s lugging her husband and dogs around on impromptu road trips, watching ghost-hunting shows while claiming she doesn't believe in the paranormal, and haunting the nearest bookstore. Ava is represented by Bibi Lewis at Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency.
MSWL:
We would love to see any and all contemporary romances and Rom Coms that are full of heart and humor. We’re looking for something that wants to break us down and put all of our pieces together. Can you ruin our lives while also making us laugh? We’re meant to be. We love characters with deep, complex arcs. Give us the messy and the broken, we’re here because like Taylor Swift, we can fix them (no really we can)!!!!
We would love to work with you on stories that include any of our favorite tropes: forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, childhood-friends-to-lovers, second chance romance. The more tension and the less beds, the better! We love books with high heat, both in the bedroom and out. Ava can’t handle spicy foods, but she loves spicy scenes.
Some of our favorites include: THIS SUMMER WILL BE DIFFERENT by Carley Fortune, WITH LOVE FROM COLD WORLD by Alicia Thompson, LOVE, THEORETICALLY by Ali Hazelwood, FUNNY STORY by Emily Henry, BEND TOWARD THE SUN by Jen Devon, the always classic THE HATING GAME by Sally Thorne, and literally anything Kate Clayborn writes. (Seriously, we'd read her grocery list.)
Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be the right fit for: historical romances, dark romances, love triangles, anything that involves harm being done to animals or children, anything with strong religious concepts, or anything that tries to paint any form of oppression is a positive light.
MENTORING STYLE
We want as open communication as possible! Zoom calls, a constant text/DM group chat (whichever you're comfortable with). We want to help you through the whole process, from the first edits you trust us with, through querying!
APPLICATIONS FROM CONNECTIONS
We welcome you to apply if we've interacted or are mutuals on social media or anywhere online! However, if we've beta read for each other, we ask you not apply to us. Anyone else, please feel free!
MORE MENTORS
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Liana De la Rosa (NA, A)
Faye Delacour (A)
Grace Demyan (A)
Noelle Douglas (A)
Amaka Egbe (YA, NA)
Christina Elle (YA, NA, A)
Isabelle Engel (NA, A)
K. M. Enright (NA, A)
Shaylin Gandhi (A)
Daniel James (YA, NA)
Anahita Karthik (YA, NA, A)
Rufaro Faith Mazarura (NA, A)
Pyae Moe Thet War (A)
Taylor Moore (YA, NA, A)
Noreen Nanja (A)
Katie Naymon (NA, A)
Melissa O’Connor (NA, A)
Megan Oliver & Ava Watson (A)
Kalie Reid (NA, A)
Audrey Ruoff (A)
Annika Sharma (NA, A)
Mia Sosa (NA, A)
Celia St Gelais (A)
Ravynn Stringfield (YA, NA)
Neely Tubati Alexander (NA, A)
Alexandra Vasti (A)
Sujin Witherspoon (YA, NA)
Lenora Woods (NA, A)