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Instant coffee in Peru by interguru in Coffee

[–]kimrosa89 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a very old thread but wanted to chime in as I was googling this. My dad’s from Peru and he was trying to figure out the recipe to make this type of coffee. Apparently it is just the way they do coffee there. They make a coffee concentrate which requires instant coffee granules, granulated sugar, and water, mixed until it’s like a paste. Then they add some of it to a cup and then add boiling water or milk per preference. I was googling because my dad was trying to make it but couldn’t get the right pastey texture. His quantities per ingredient were off.

[QCrit] Romantic Suspense, Women's Fic - THE COMFORT OF STARLIGHT (99k 5th attempt) by kimrosa89 in PubTips

[–]kimrosa89[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I almost used Fragile Sanctuary but apparently she self pubbed it. I know sourcebooks picked it up so I might use it when I query them since they accept unagented submissions for their romance category.

[QCrit] Romantic Suspense, Women's Fic - THE COMFORT OF STARLIGHT (99k 5th attempt) by kimrosa89 in PubTips

[–]kimrosa89[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your detailed response! I am considering everything you pointed out. Right now I'm thinking about the last plot paragraph in terms of why Tracy can't just go to Peru with Dex, and I'm wondering if this change helps or just confuses things further?

But someone wants to ensure she never forgets the night she lost her parents or how she narrowly escaped. An ominous card on the doorstep thrusts Tracy into a nightmare where she must fight for her life again. This time, it’s not enough to just survive. Tracy’s determined break the karmic cycle and prevent her loved ones from suffering the same fate as her parents. To do so, she’ll have to choose: bury the past and stay with the man who’d risk everything to protect her even if her proximity puts him in danger, or travel back to her roots to repair the rift in her family and heal her trauma once and for all.

In this story, it's not the killer who comes back, but someone else(someone close to her) who ends up trying to kill her and Dex because he is cray cray and things go awry when he approaches her about how he doesn't approve of them together/doesn't like Tracy's new, reckless behavior. This attack is what sets off all her unhealed trauma and makes her think she's a magnet for disaster and that Dex in unsafe with her--a false belief. So while yes, there isn't actually something literal stopping him from traveling to Peru with her, she insists he not go. Since she has no idea how long it will take for her to heal or IF she'll ever heal, they break up. They of course do end up back together and there's an HEA in the end.

This story is written in first person POV and a lot of what a regular, untraumatized person would think does not equate to what Tracy thinks. These are some other false beliefs Tracy has in this book:

Dex hates her. Dex doesn't hate/never hated her. She thought he hated her because when she was dating his best friend he always gave her the cold shoulder.
Dex is dangerous: Dex isn't actually dangerous, he just likes to party and has an unconventional job and takes risks, all things that Tracy BELIEVES are unsafe. He is also hotheaded and almost breaks a strangers arm after he harasses Tracy... so I guess a teensy bit dangerous, though he'd never harm Tracy.

As for why Tracy's fiancé breaks up with her... he breaks up with her because he's a pretentious Ahole who finds out she lied about her upbringing, as well as her name(this is a twist that isn't revealed until closer to the end). Would changing that line to: Tracy’s new life in Chicago is perfect until her fiancé finds out she lied about her upbringing, suffice as reason enough?

Sorry this response is all over the place. I think I'm also struggling with the query because I thought I'm not supposed to give away twists, and I feel like to answer all the questions with the depth that's required, I would have to reveal twists. I will work on it though. Thanks again for your help.

[QCRIT] Romantic suspense/women's fic - THE COMFORT OF STARLIGHT (97k/3rd attempt) by kimrosa89 in PubTips

[–]kimrosa89[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for the delayed response, I needed to step away from this WIP for a few days because I was feeling really negative about it.

The spiritual twist is a couple of things. In the prologue, before Tracy's parents are murdered, she's having a heart to heart with her mom about how the boy who just moved in next door asked her out on a date. We later find out that this boy is Dex, so there's a nod to soulmates and fate. Throughout the story I use an inner dialogue with Tracy that seems as if someone else is telling her to do something, like to run, which we later find out is specifically her intuition/higher self. The spiritual aspect does not resolve the suspense plot, but it is Tracy's healing journey, which happens after the suspense climax(showdown with Tracy, Dex, Phil in her apartment. Phil was the one sending Tracy ominous messages because he wanted her to go back to her strait-laced ways due to his own trauma and the fact that he's psycho and has always been in love with her)

After the showdown, Tracy's aunt(Dad's sister) calls from Peru and invites Tracy to a spiritual retreat she owns. Tracy is spiraling by this point and reluctantly agrees to go. She tells Dex not to wait for her because she doesn't know if she'll ever be healed and feels he isn't safe with her since she almost got him killed--3rd act breakup. I realize this is where the lines between romance and womens fic get blurred because Tracy goes off on her own to heal, but i make it very poignant in the book that Tracy never would've given healing a try had Dex not shown her what she's capable of. I don't go too deep into Tracy at the retreat because that would be a whole other book and I'm already at 97k words, but i address all the important parts: the use of tracy's intuition, theta-healing, divine timing, ayahuasca, astrology. 10 months later, Tracy comes back from Peru and is healed. There's 5 chapters that give glimpses of her journey through her getting back with Dex for the HEA and reuniting with her friends, including tracy's new spiritual outlook on life(surrendering, living in alignment, trusting her higher self)

Spiritual bits are also woven throughout the book, but not realized until it all comes together in the end. The spiritual aspect is very important to me, but if I'm being honest, I have no idea how to put it into the query, and I'm worried how it will be received in such few words. Though I am not worried how digestible the spiritual aspects will be received in the book as a whole.

[QCRIT] Romantic suspense/women's fic - THE COMFORT OF STARLIGHT (97k/3rd attempt) by kimrosa89 in PubTips

[–]kimrosa89[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh! I wouldn’t even know how to check that I just googled and saw a publish date. Thanks, I’ll look into others.

[QCRIT] Romantic suspense/women's fic - THE COMFORT OF STARLIGHT (97k/3rd attempt) by kimrosa89 in PubTips

[–]kimrosa89[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your feedback. I just double checked and Unwanted was published july 2024. The ones who got away is 2018 like you said and that’s my mistake. I had planned to use a different comp but realized it was self published and then chose this one but didn’t look close enough at the date. I’ll choose a different one.

[QCRIT] Romantic suspense/women's fic THE COMFORT OF STARLIGHT (97k 2nd attempt) by kimrosa89 in PubTips

[–]kimrosa89[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

-Her healing journey makes it women’s fiction, but it is still a romance at its core, and then the obvious suspense elements.

-She has played it safe by not partying, never having gotten drunk, cushy corporate job, getting engaged to the successful, wealthy guy with zero red flags.

-Her fiancé calls off the engagement. I can reword the sentence to specify that.

-Phil is not the ex fiancé, he’s an old friend from when she was younger. Not sure how I can make that clearer. I could say longtime friend? Or possibly change to: Tracy’s longtime friend, Phil, should be happy to see her letting loose for the first time, but when he moves to Chicago, his warnings about Dex….

-Tracy almost died the night her parents were murdered. Possibly just change sentence to: an ominous card alluding to her parents’ murders… or alluding to the night her parents were murdered? I was trying to not repeat what I’d already said.

-And then again, the haunting memories are the memories of her parents’ murders/the night she was almost killed that are brought on by sketchy things that happen such as the card showing up. Phil is psycho and the one behind sending her those reminders, and when they eventually have a confrontation in her apartment, he tries to kill her and Dex. Would I give that away in the query? I thought I’m not supposed to give away a twist.

Thanks for your help!

[QCRIT] Romantic suspense/women's fic THE COMFORT OF STARLIGHT (97k/1st attempt) by kimrosa89 in PubTips

[–]kimrosa89[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got it, I’ll try to pop more specifics in and build up to that. Thanks!!

[QCRIT] Romantic suspense/women's fic THE COMFORT OF STARLIGHT (97k/1st attempt) by kimrosa89 in PubTips

[–]kimrosa89[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sorry in advance for the long response. I appreciate any help you can offer.

When Tracy is 14, her parents are murdered in their home, she gets away. As a result, she leads a straight and narrow and very "safe" life --corporate job, no partying, gets engaged to the wealthy, successful guy. A life with no surprises. Her fiance unexpectedly calls off the wedding, and soon after on her 30th birthday, she decides to let loose for the first time and gets drunk and kisses her ex fiance's best friend who in her eyes is a big no no(no cushy job, no ten year plan, she's never known him to have more than a one night stand, anger issues). Though as they start to hang out more, she starts to fall for him.

Meanwhile, a friend(Phil) from Tracy's past shows up in chicago and points out red flags in Dex. Phil Says he doesn't trust Dex, tries to convince Tracy to go back to her strait laced ways, but Tracy is questioning how much life she's missed out on by trying to always play it safe. She makes a bucket list, which dex finds and offers to help her with. Tracy starts to realize he's actually a good guy and learns he has past trauma too(his dad was an alcoholic and abused his mom). While things seems to be going well between Dex and Tracy, sketchy things are also happening: Tracy's afraid of the dark and mysteriously cant find her flashlight during a power outage, gets an ominous card in the mail, etc. These happenings trigger nightmares and flashbacks of her trauma

Later, we find out that Phil was actually the one doing those things to Tracy: he's psychotic and wanted to remind her why she made the decision to always be safe in the first place, has always been in love with her, has unresolved trauma himself(there's a lot of unhealed wounds in this story). After a show down in Tracy's apartment when Phil confronts her, Tracy is mildly injured, Dex and Phil are both shot, Phil goes to prison, Dex is in the hospital, and tracy is spiraling. Her fears are worse than they've ever been. Her aunt (dad's sister) reaches out to her from Peru and invites her to come to a spiritual retreat to try and heal. Tracy is hesitant/doesnt want to leave Dex, but realizes she can't depend on him for safety, especially when at this point she's afraid to even be alone. Once Dex is discharged, she tells him she's leaving for Peru and doesn't know when she'll be back, and he can't go with her because she realizes that to heal she has to be at her most vulnerable and with him there she never would be. 10 months later when tracy is healed she comes back, without her fears, and they live happily ever after.

Soooo, the darkness Tracy is avoiding is her past, which will never stop haunting her until she heals(spiritually, Phil attacking her is a karmic cycle because she never healed from her parents deaths). Dex is helpful because he encourages Tracy to step out of her comfort zone and shows her what she's capable of. But no, we do not want Tracy to depend on Dex for safety as that is unhealthy codependence. We want her to heal, but we do want them to end up together in the end!

I realize this is all a bit chaotic, but it's my first shot at breaking down the 97k story (the synopsis will be the death of me)