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MENTOR:

Hannah Brohm (she/her)

CATEGORY:

Adult

SUB GENRES:

Contemporary Romance, Rom Com, Fiction with strong romantic elements

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BIO:

I'm Hannah, and I write romantic comedies featuring STEM characters, sprinkled with a bit of angst (to make that HEA feel well-earned!), and all the pining.

 

I'm a neuroscientist by day and romance author by night (or, truthfully, early morning because I falls asleep by 10 pm). Born and raised in Germany, I lived in Portugal and the UK before moving to the Netherlands to complete a PhD. After a stint in New York City, I now live in London together with my husband and an ever-growing collection of books and handknit sweaters.

 

My book, LOVE & OTHER BRAIN EXPERIMENTS, is a STEM romcom set against the backdrop of a hot NYC summer. I was a mentee in the 2023 SmoochPit cohort, and am now represented by Hannah Todd of Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.

MSWL:

I love reading widely, but for SmoochPit I am looking for romcoms and contemporary romances, as well as women's fiction with strong romantic elements, since this is what I feel I could best advise on.

I am looking for fresh romcoms that are fun but with well-layered character backstory and story arcs beyond the couple's relationships. I particularly love reading about workplace romances about women in their late twenties/early thirties, and how they balance career progression, personal development and love (think Rachel Lynn Solomon's adult romcoms, LOVE INTEREST by Clare Gilmore, Ali Hazelwood's STEM romcoms, etc.).

In particular, these are a few things I love - though note that I'd definitely not expect you to fulfill all of these:
- stories set within a STEM context
- stories set in countries outside the US, especially if written by someone from that country or with a strong connection to it
- pining / slow burn
- single POV (something I'm more drawn to as a reader, but I also love dual POV if done very well, and both characters have a satisfying arc)
- tropes: forced proximity, enemies to lovers, second chance, friends to lovers, fake dating
- all the banter
- open door / spice (though I'm fine with closed door, too!)

I'm not a great fit for very heavy drama / angst, surprise pregnancy trope, historical romance, and alpha holes. Please also don't send me anything featuring sexual assault, child abuse, oppressed/oppressor dynamic.

MENTORING STYLE

I love giving supportive and constructive feedback, and pointing out the things that I think do work and those that don't. In general, I like to ask all sorts of questions that may help further develop the characters or plot. I'm happy to brainstorm answers to those questions with you, listen to your ideas, or let you have a go at it yourself. Any solution we find needs to work for you, so I'm happy to adjust to whatever works best for you.


Overall, I tend to give any critical feedback with the most care I can, and I also love gushing about the things I love within your manuscript.

Because I'm based in Europe, video calls might be more difficult to schedule given timezones, but I'd love to at least have one face-to-face meeting before giving you feedback to hear what works best for you (and more Zoom check-ins if we can schedule them!), and one to get you set up for querying. Other than that, I'm definitely available via email / discord.

Having just queried myself, I'd also be happy to help you draw up your own querying strategy and be part of your support system during that overwhelming process!

APPLICATIONS FROM CONNECTIONS

Please do not apply to me if we've ever beta read for each other or have had extensive conversations online. If we're 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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