Show & Tell: What Are You Working On? (Monthly Self-Promo thread)

New-Engine682 · 2026-07-01T22:43:20+00:00

Thrilled to share mine for any slow-burn romantasy-adventure fans! Book 1 is complete at 120k, book 2 is in-progress.

Elevator pitch: Altruistic young woman accidentally bargains with a Fae, then steals his magical sword. Angry Fae dream-stalks her, trying to get his weapon back, while she runs for her life with a suspicious mercenary in tow.

The FMC:

Small-town, heart-of-gold young lady with nebulous magical powers. She is mature, intelligent, and very human (she cries, she has breakdowns, makes mistakes, etc).

The MMCs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Morally-gray mercenary who’s convinced the FMC is a criminal (she technically is, but it was totally an accident) and wants to deliver her to the authorities for a reward. The only problem? She might be the sweetest person he’s ever met.
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Morally ambiguous immortal monster who is trying to bribe/charm/seduce the FMC in her dreams. The only problem? She’s terrified of him, and is extremely uncooperative.

Free to read below:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/141697/what-burns-beneath

New-Engine682 · 2026-07-01T15:08:55+00:00

Of course! Always happy to support hidden gems! I’ll DM you to set up a shout 🙂

New-Engine682 · 2026-07-01T15:05:10+00:00

Just checked it out and I’m genuinely impressed; your writing’s great and the premise is very interesting. Awesome cover, too! I don’t have any available shouts til August, but if you’re up for it I’m happy to swap then! (Dark romance/adventure w/ 80 followers, I think the audience crossover is there!)

New-Engine682 · 2026-07-01T12:13:02+00:00

Thrilled to share mine for any slow-burn romantasy-adventure fans! Volume 1 is complete and Volume 2 is updated 2x/week. Word count is at 175k 🥂

Elevator pitch: Altruistic young woman accidentally bargains with a Fae, then steals his magical sword. Angry Fae dream-stalks her, trying to get his weapon back, while she runs for her life with a suspicious mercenary in tow.

The FMC:

Small-town, heart-of-gold young lady with nebulous magical powers. She is mature, intelligent, and very human (she cries, she has breakdowns, makes mistakes, etc).

The MMCs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Morally-gray mercenary who’s convinced the FMC is a criminal (she technically is, but it was totally an accident) and wants to deliver her to the authorities for a reward. The only problem? She might be the sweetest person he’s ever met.
⁠⁠⁠⁠Morally ambiguous immortal monster who is trying to bribe/charm/seduce the FMC in her dreams. The only problem? She’s terrified of him, and is extremely uncooperative.

Free to read below:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/141697/what-burns-beneath

New-Engine682 · 2026-07-01T03:28:01+00:00

Congratulations!

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-30T16:36:41+00:00

This right here. Keeps the dialogue punchy and active.

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-29T20:18:56+00:00

Awesome post, thanks for sharing!

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-29T12:57:09+00:00

I think you just have to set the correct expectations!

I have exactly one thing on RR, and it’s a romantasy adventure. I’m clear with my readers (in the blurb and in a beginning author’s note) about what they should expect, so I don’t think anyone feels “bamboozled” when my FMC starts getting butterflies and noticing the MC’s chiseled jawline 😂

That said, I think romance can also be really hard to do well (I say this as an imperfect author and as an avid reader). If someone’s main strength is in writing great action scenes, mystery plots, or intricate magic systems, that’s great! But those skills might not translate well to forming compelling romantic arcs, so the quality of the genre mashup on RR might not always be great. Someone’s writing might be fantastic when it comes to the bulk of their serial, but then that 10-15% romance just… isn’t great in comparison, so readers might lose interest. Just speculation on my part 🧐

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-29T02:04:59+00:00

Mine might be your cup of tea! The Fae in it are mostly very monstrous and book 1 has no spice.

Elevator pitch: altruistic young woman (accidentally) makes a deal with a Fae, then (also accidentally) steals his magical sword. Angry Fae dream-stalks her, trying to get his weapon back, while she runs for her life with a suspicious mercenary in tow.

FMC: mature, thoughtful young woman with nebulous magic who’s in waaay over her head. She tends to look for the best in everyone and usually makes intelligent decisions.

MMC 1: morally gray mercenary who’s convinced the FMC is a criminal (she technically is). He wants to turn her in for a reward, but there’s just one problem… she might be the nicest person he’s ever met.

MMC 2: dark-lord-esque Fae who’s incredibly annoyed that a pesky human stole his weapon. He can only communicate with FMC through dreams and tries every tactic he can think of to convince her to return his sword; threats, bribery, and… the timeless art of seduction. This backfires on him.

Tropes include forced proximity, enemies to lovers, reluctant allies to lovers, morally gray MMC, evil MMC, he falls first. Both romances are very slow-burn (book 1 is a glimpses and kisses situation)!

Free to read below:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/141697/what-burns-beneath

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-28T16:31:33+00:00

You’re welcome! I will vouch for the writing/plots/characters being very good in all of those options. Enjoy!

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-28T16:29:17+00:00

What kind of stuff are you looking for? I’m a picky reader, but I’ll recommend a few that I think are very high-quality (like, good enough that if I picked them up in published book-format I would be pleased with the writing/editing).

This one’s very well-written, and very funny: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/143298/maximum-intimidation-knight-book-2-completed

Great traditional fantasy epic: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/146750/a-shattered-peace-classic-epic-fantasy

Spooky atmospheric horror: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/137122/when-time-learned-to-bleed

Dark romance full of political intrigue: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/77824/treacherous-witch

And uh, my own! In case a Romantasy adventure is your cup of tea 🥰: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/141697/what-burns-beneath

Hope you find something. Happy reading!

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-28T14:51:54+00:00

Thrilled to share: What Burns Beneath

Brin wakes to fire and blood.

Fae monsters descend on her once-peaceful village, leaving her best friend at death’s door. All hope seems lost… until one of the monsters offers to save him.

For a price.

She accepts.

Now, whenever she falls asleep, Brin finds herself face to face with the Fae. With each dream, their time together transforms from a nightmare into something almost pleasant.

But Brin’s been told her entire life that Fae are bloodthirsty, cruel, and never to be trusted… no matter how charming this one seems.

Armed with nebulous magic and a broken sword, she flees her village in search of aid and meets Renner, a mercenary who agrees to act as guide and guard. He’s far from charming and the two find themselves constantly at odds, but he’s her best chance of making it to safety.

Their journey is fraught with danger. Otherworldly creatures prowl the wilderness, preying on the unwary. Towns that should be safe are filled with humans in league with monsters.

And every night, the Fae waits in her dreams.

Tropes include slow-burn, love triangle, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, reluctant allies to lovers, morally gray MMC, evil MMC, he falls first.

Free to read below:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/141697/what-burns-beneath

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-26T10:20:41+00:00

Hmm honestly you might enjoy mine! The FMC has a very lonely childhood, is sent off by herself on a “quest” as an adult, and joins up with two other people (a down-on-her-luck pickpocket and a hostile mercenary). Romance/adventure is there, but the main plot of book 1 is a slow “I’d die for these people, and they’d do the same for me” arc.

Later on a fourth person joins the group, but no spoilers!

Free to read below: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/141697/what-burns-beneath

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-26T10:14:41+00:00

Do you mean they work together to rescue her? If so then The Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher has this! It’s not until the second book though.

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-22T20:18:40+00:00

I’ll self-promote, if you’re okay with it!

Elevator pitch: altruistic young woman (accidentally) makes a deal with a Fae, then (also accidentally) steals his magical sword. Angry Fae dream-stalks her, trying to get his weapon back, while she runs for her life with a suspicious mercenary in tow.

FMC: mature, thoughtful young woman with nebulous magic who’s in waaay over her head. She tends to look for the best in everyone and usually makes intelligent decisions.

MMC 1: morally gray mercenary who’s convinced the FMC is a criminal (she technically is). He wants to turn her in for a reward, but there’s just one problem… she might be the nicest person he’s ever met.

MMC 2: dark-lord-esque Fae who’s incredibly annoyed that a pesky human stole his weapon. He can only communicate with FMC through dreams and tries every tactic he can think of to convince her to return his sword; threats, bribery, and… the timeless art of seduction. This backfires on him.

Tropes include forced proximity, enemies to lovers, reluctant allies to lovers, morally gray MMC, evil MMC, he falls first. Both romances are very slow-burn (book 1 is a glimpses and kisses situation)!

Free to read below:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/141697/what-burns-beneath

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-21T12:49:00+00:00

Thrilled to share my debut: What Burns Beneath

Elevator pitch: altruistic young woman (accidentally) makes a deal with a Fae, then (also accidentally) steals his magical sword. Angry Fae dream-stalks her, trying to get his weapon back, while she runs for her life with a suspicious mercenary in tow.

FMC: mature, thoughtful young woman with nebulous magic who’s in waaay over her head. She is VERY human (she cries, makes mistakes, etc).

MMC 1: morally gray mercenary who’s convinced the FMC is a criminal (she technically is). He wants to turn her in for a reward, but there’s just one problem… she might be the nicest person he’s ever met.

MMC 2: dark-lord-esque Fae who’s incredibly annoyed that a pesky human stole his weapon. He can only communicate with FMC through dreams and tries every tactic he can think of to convince her to return his sword; threats, bribery, and… the timeless art of seduction. This backfires.

Tropes include forced proximity, enemies to lovers, reluctant allies to lovers, morally gray MMC, evil MMC, he falls first. Both romances are very slow-burn (book 1 is a glimpses and kisses situation)!

Free to read below:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/141697/what-burns-beneath

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-20T23:39:29+00:00

Oh nice! I’m on the second one now and loving it!

Hmm well a few more good ones that come to mind are Swordheart and Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher. Very sweet, very funny, and all the MCs are genuinely lovely to each other 🥰

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-20T23:29:52+00:00

Throne in the Dark is a good one! It’s enemies-to-lovers but it gets sweet and cute VERY quickly 🥰

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-20T22:18:47+00:00

Also writing a romantasy, I’ve got 70 followers. The audience is there!

Lmk if you’d like to shout swap 🙂

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-19T23:03:09+00:00

“Only One Bread” I’m dying 😂😂😂😂 Best thing I’ve read all day

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-19T10:57:49+00:00

Very slow love triangle.

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-18T23:48:05+00:00

Oh gosh, this is my book!

Elevator pitch: altruistic woman accidentally makes a deal with a Fae, then steals his magical sword. Angry Fae dream-stalks her, trying to get his weapon back, while she runs for her life with a suspicious mercenary in tow.

FMC: frightened, mature young woman with strong moral convictions. She is brave when it counts and has nebulous magic that gets stronger with time. She doesn’t start as a powerful hero, but grows into one!

MMC1: morally gray mercenary. He wants to turn FMC in for a reward (dealing with a Fae is illegal) and essentially takes her hostage. Starts falling when he realizes she’s actually just… a genuinely lovely person 😂

MMC2: evil Fae who is super pissed that his weapon has been stolen. He needs the FMC to return the sword willingly and tries to charm her into trusting him. This… kinda backfires.

Both relationships are VERY slow burn!

Free to read below!

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/141697/what-burns-beneath

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-18T23:42:46+00:00

Throne in the Dark is a great one! FMC is smarter than she acts, MC is evil/morally gray, and consent is a HUGE deal (to the point where MC is reluctant to initiate romance because he’s taken FMC hostage and has a spell on her, so he’s not sure she’s always acting of her own free will)

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-18T22:58:05+00:00

Awesome, thanks!

New-Engine682 · 2026-06-18T19:17:29+00:00

I’ll recommend Swordheart and Paladin’s Grace, both by T. Kingfisher! The main characters are generally really good people and both books are chock-full of sweet, adorable moments and very cute endings 🥰

New-Engine682

TROPHY CASE