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WIlling Beta Reader/Writing Buddy for YA Fantasy

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amillimiles

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Hello, fellow writers!

I'm a YA fantasy writer willing to beta read for fellow writers of the same genre. I'm posting here because I'm making a slightly more specific request than the normal "willing Beta Reader" thread. I'm willing to beta read for you if I am interested in your work and if I think our styles/genres match. The end-goal of this would be for me to find a few great writing buddies of the same genre to encourage each other and critique for each other when needed.

If you're interested, please give me a quick reply here and send me a private message with a sample of your current WIP (whichever section you want). I've provided a sample of my WIP for your review (note this is my latest series and not perfection!).

Hope to receive some lovely requests!

---

The scent of blood was overwhelming when she stepped into the prison, its stone walls blocking out all light and preserving a dimness fit for its prisoners. Anastacya breathed in deeply as though she were sampling a mixture of perfumes. Her father had taken her to the Cyrilian Royal Prison many years ago, and she had cried because she could smell so much blood and death.

“He’s in the last cell,” the warden said gruffly, leaning against the prison door. He had a lowborn Bregonian accent and his badge was the most polished part of him. One quick scan and Ana had pinned down his life story: a lowborn metal Affinite of little talent who hadn’t made the prestigious mining or construction jobs in the large cities, and had been sent to a guard small-town prison.

Ana drew her ragged cloak around her and gathered her courage before descending the steps that led to the cells. Her coat was thin and she carried no weapons with her, not even a measly little pocket knife. Her bare hands were her weapons: hands that had the ability to draw blood from her enemies in a matter of seconds.

It was said that Affinites were blessed with the touch of whichever god or goddess that oversaw the element of their Affinity. People were always delighted to see water Affinites gliding through water like fish, or wood Affinites working on beautiful oakwood furniture with polish that was unachievable by any normal carpenter alive. Yet when Ana had shown the world her Affinity for blood, the world had recoiled in horror. Anastacya Kateryanna Mikhailov had been marked with the touch of a demon.

Shadows danced on the wall, cast by flickering torches placed sparsely along the walls. Moans came from beyond the metal doors, moans and other sounds of desperation that sent shivers up Ana’s spine. She walked briskly, focused on only the last door at the very end of the corridor.

The iron key was heavy and new; it grated in the keyhole and the door swung open noiselessly. Ana took a moment to appreciate this small detail – as expected of a metal Affinite – before pushing it completely open.

The first thing she noticed was the relatively clean state of the cell, with its stack of hay in the corner and plates of untouched food. The second thing she saw – and her heart skipped a small beat – was the man she had spent months searching for. The irony was that he didn’t even know she existed.

She cleared her throat, assuming a low, neutral tone. “Hello, Ramson Quicktongue.”

The man raised his head of matted, dirty-brown hair. He was already growing a beard which he hadn’t even bothered to brush, and his shirt was unbuttoned at the collar. His eyes, however, focused on her with sharp intent – exactly as she had expected. “It’s not every day that I get a beautiful lady visitor. What’s your name, darling?”

His voice was smooth and pleasant, with a faint lilt of the Wythennian nobles. “Quicktongue” – they had named him justly across the kingdoms. There had been a sum for his head for some time, and Ana suspected he was being kept in such humane conditions because he was much, much more valuable alive than he was dead. The most infamous conman of the Cyrilian Empire had no shortage of enemies.

“My name is none of your concern,” she retorted in the same cold voice. “I bought you from this misery and you will serve me from now on.” Little did he know that she had spent months hashing out a plan that centered on him and the boundless knowledge he could provide her. He was her key to taking back her title, her empire, and her birthright.

There was the rattle of chains as Quicktongue lifted his leg. “Trust me, darling, there’s nothing more I’d like than to get out of here. But you’d have to unchain me first.”

Ana swore under her breath. The warden had neglected to inform her of this small yet crucial detail. “I will,” she told Quicktongue. Turning around, she said loudly to the dark corridor, “Excuse me.”

He appeared almost immediately, and she was more than certain he had been eavesdropping. The sale of his most prized prisoner was, after all, a big deal. “What?” he barked.

Ana pointed at Quicktongue. “Unlock him please.”

The warden snorted. “You only paid for the key, missus. The chains demand a pretty penny themselves.”

Cold fury rose in her. “That was not part of the deal.”

“Twelve hundred gold coins an’ he’s all yers.”

Ana stretched the fingers on each hand and said with lethal softness, “Unlock him. I won’t repeat myself again.”

The warden crossed his arms and leered at her. “I ain’ unlocking him ‘til I feel twelve hundred gold coins in my pouch,” he said, patting his oversized belly.

Ana lifted the corners of her mouth in a humorless smile. She raised her hands.

The warden’s smirk dropped from his face and he let out a gasp, clutching his throat. Under the sparse lighting, his face was turning red. He sputtered at her, clawing at the air, spittle bubbling from his mouth. He was choking on his own blood.

Ana slashed her hands down and the warden dropped to the floor, where he crouched, heaving and spitting blood. “I told you I wouldn’t repeat myself again.”

Still gasping, he scrambled toward Quicktongue like a rat, his hands shaking as he fumbled for his keys. There was a soft click. The chains had barely fallen away when Quicktongue was scrambling to his feet.

Ana stood imperiously in the doorway, surveying him from beneath the shadows of her hood. He was taller than she had expected, with broad shoulders and a lithe, wiry frame. And he smelled like a sewer.

“How can I ever repay you,” he said, injecting his voice with such gratitude that it felt almost real. Conman to the bone.

She lifted her chin. “I’ll tell you exactly how you’ll repay me,” she began, but there was a sudden flash of movement from within his cell.

The warden swung his arms towards her and sharp pain exploded in her abdomen, drawing a scream from her lips. The air filled with the scent of blood – her blood – and she looked down to see the iron key to the cell lodged in her midriff. A dark patch was already spreading across her tunic and cloak.
 

Banshee_Lingers

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You know, it is both cruel and devilishly smart to end your excerpt like that. If I read that on the first page of a book, my wallet would be considerably smaller. I wish I was ready for beta readers but I'm currently under revision stages. I don't want to collect Beta readers for a piece when I only have a handful of revised 1st draft chapters.

My original target audience was YA but I'm not sure exactly how the end product will look. I've finished the first draft of my manuscript but the revisions are taking longer. Now, my piece is looking more like an Epic Fantasy with three... maybe four POVs. All of my POV characters except the MC are above 18.

I'll send you a PM anyways. I think it would be fun to talk with someone who enjoys similar stories and possibly a similar writing style.

-Banshee
 

WriterbotG

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This sounds good and I think our writing styles are similar. Only problem is, I don't know if I'll get time to Beta a full novel. I may send you a PM...
 
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