u/ChronicallyColdGirl

Dear [Agent Name],

[Personalization] I am excited to present THE TOXIC TIDE, an Adult Fantasy Thriller complete at 85,000 words. Told in dual POV, it combines the technical underwater tension of The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne with the high-stakes, tactical chess match friction of The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, making it perfect for fans of high-stakes forced proximity and secret identities. THE TOXIC TIDE is a standalone novel with series potential.

Twenty-four-year-old Kye Aphrodite will do anything to protect her hidden mermaid colony off the coast of California. But when an unmapped salvage vessel releases a cloud of tracking chemicals directly over her family's underwater sanctuary, Kye panics. Her vocal frequencies spike into a defensive sonic scream, shattering the ship’s hull and driving the vessel onto a jagged reef. When the Coast Guard tasks her environmental agency with monitoring the fallout, her boss assigns Kye as the liaison to the civilian salvage team because the wreck sits directly in her research zone. There, she is forced to partner with the lead expert: Dillon Yusei, a suspected mermaid hunter. 

What Dillon doesn't know is that his own father secretly orchestrated the unauthorized trap.  The forced partnership turns cutthroat when they realize the wrecked vessel is leaking a toxic chemical weapon designed specifically to eradicate mermaids. For Dillon, securing the volatile ghost ship is his one shot to salvage his family's crumbling maritime legacy and prove he is more than just his father's shadow.

To save her people, Kye must dive directly into the contaminated waters alongside Dillon, matching his aggressive salvage tactics while preventing her own skin from reacting to the anti-marine toxins. For Kye, the stakes are existential; the spill will wipe out her hidden colony within seventy-two hours. But when a section of the wreckage collapses underwater, Kye faces a devastating choice: let Dillon drown to protect her secret, or use her biological abilities to save his life and expose her true nature to a man born to hunt her.

I am a marketing professional with a HubSpot Social Media certification, currently building targeted digital campaigns for a real estate agency. Alongside my writing, I look forward to leveraging this platform-building expertise to connect with the online "Romantasy" and "Eco-Thriller" communities on BookTok and Bookstagram. I live in New Hampshire, where I spend my time researching marine salvage and exploring the Lakes Region with my husband and our dog.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Passing as a human on land, mermaid KYE APHRODITE is desperate to protect her hidden colony off California. When an unmapped salvage vessel, the Valkyrie, leaks chemicals over her underwater sanctuary, Kye’s panicked sonic scream shatters the ship’s hull, grounding it on a reef in her research zone. Assigned as environmental liaison, Kye must partner with lead salvager DILLON YUSEI, who secretly hunts mermaids for sport. When Dillon attempts to bypass safety protocols, Kye uses historical environmental precedent to block the lift and assess the toxic spill before it wipes out her colony in 72 hours.

The stakes skyrocket when Dillon discovers the sunken vessel belongs to his family and covertly transported chemical weapons designed to eradicate mermaids. As toxins leak into the reef, their rivalry yields to an uneasy truce. Kye sends a distress text to her colony, per protocol, starting an evacuation that goes unanswered..

When wreckage collapses underwater, Kye reveals her mermaid nature to save Dillon. During a harrowing ascent, Dillon battles his instinct to destroy or exploit her, realizing he now owes a life debt to the creature he was raised to hunt. Trapped overnight in the lab under a strict deadline to analyze the chemicals, Dillon’s defenses crumble as Kye repeatedly defies his monster profile, turning their high-stakes tension into physical intimacy. Through a records search, Dillon uncovers a hidden connection: Kye's mother was allegedly the mermaid who killed his mother, prompting his father's retaliatory explosion 17 years earlier—Kye barely survived as a child.

The arrival of Dillon's ruthless father, TALION YUSEI, tests their fragile truce as Dillon ignores Kye to avoid contradicting his father, leaving Kye unsure of where he stands. While Talion pushes to entomb the wreck on the seafloor, Dillon covertly blacks out dive cameras and uses an ROV to steal the ship's black box, protecting his family's secrets.

After securing the Valkyrie onto a barge, Talion ignores safety protocols and triggers a catastrophic chemical reaction. Kye removes her protective mask to secure the decontamination bay—saving both men and earning a second life debt from Dillon—but suffers severe toxin poisoning. Still reeling from the case file discovery hours earlier, a conflicted Dillon exploits her disoriented state to confirm her secrets before rushing her to medical.

Locked away and fighting for her life, Kye must forcibly suppress her body's rapid cellular regeneration so Talion and the medical staff do not discover her non-human nature. Meanwhile, a badly burned Dillon leaves her side to bring the volatile chemical fire under control so the barge can finally make port. Back on shore, a recovering Kye fakes unconsciousness to escape into a waiting ambulance.

Talion corners his son, revealing he knows Kye is a mermaid. Reviewing the stolen black box footage in isolation, Dillon uncovers the ultimate dual truth: proof his father ordered the chemical deployment, and footage revealing Kye’s desperate scream sank the ship to evade capture. With the sanctuary ecologically decimated, Dillon is left holding the footage while Kye’s colony faces an uncertain future.

Hidden mermaid KYE APHRODITE is desperate to protect her hidden colony off California. When an unmapped salvage vessel leaks chemicals over her underwater sanctuary, Kye’s panicked sonic scream shatters the ship’s hull, grounding it on a reef in her research zone. Assigned as environmental liaison to the crime scene, Kye must partner with lead salvager DILLON YUSEI, who secretly hunts mermaids for sport. When Dillon attempts to bypass environmental protocols, Kye works overtime to block his maneuvers and stop a toxic spill from wiping out her colony in 72 hours.

The stakes skyrocket when Dillon discovers the sunken vessel belongs to his family and covertly transported chemical weapons designed to eradicate mermaids. As toxins leak into the reef, their rivalry yields to an uneasy truce. Kye sends an unanswered distress signal to her colony, warning of the hazard and starting the evacuation protocol.

When wreckage collapses underwater, Kye exposes her biological abilities to save Dillon. During a harrowing ascent, Dillon battles his instinct to destroy or exploit her, realizing he now owes a life debt to the creature he was raised to hunt. Trapped overnight in the lab under a strict deadline to analyze the chemicals, Dillon’s defenses crumble as Kye repeatedly defies his monster profile, turning their high-stakes tension into physical intimacy. Through a records search, Dillon uncovers a hidden connection: Kye's mother was allegedly the mermaid who killed his mother, and his father retaliated by setting off an explosion that Kye barely survived as a child.

The arrival of Dillon's ruthless father, TALION YUSEI, tests their fragile truce as they raise the ship. While Talion pushes to entomb the wreck on the seafloor, a reckless move that risks triggering a massive explosion, Dillon covertly blacks out dive cameras and uses an ROV to steal the ship's black box, protecting his family's secrets.

After securing the ship onto a barge, Talion ignores safety protocols and triggers a catastrophic chemical reaction. Kye secures the decontamination bay—saving both men and earning a second life debt from Dillon, but suffers severe anti-marine toxin poisoning. Dillon exploits her disoriented state to confirm her secrets before rushing her to medical.

Locked away and fighting for her life, Kye must forcibly suppress her body's rapid cellular regeneration so Talion and the medical staff do not discover her non-human nature. Meanwhile, a badly burned Dillon leaves her side to bring the volatile chemical fire under control so the barge can finally make port. Back on shore, a recovering Kye fakes unconsciousness to escape into a waiting ambulance.

Talion corners his son, revealing he knows what Kye is. Reviewing the stolen black box footage in isolation, Dillon uncovers the ultimate dual truth: proof his father ordered the chemical deployment, and footage revealing Kye sank the ship to evade capture.

Hidden mermaid KYE APHRODITE is desperate to protect her secret heritage, but her world unravels when she causes a shipwreck in her own marine research zone. To save her job, she is forced to partner with lead salvage expert DILLON YUSEI, an arrogant marine salvager who secretly hunts mermaids for sport. Right off the bat, Dillon attempts to hijack the mission, bypassing crucial environmental protocols. Driven to protect both her career and her family's hidden mermaid colony, Kye works overtime to match his maneuvers.
The stakes skyrocket when Dillon discovers the sunken ship is actually a "ghost vessel" belonging to his own family, used to transport chemical weapons designed to eradicate mermaids covertly. When the vessel begins leaking these dangerous toxins into the bay, their rivalry takes a backseat to survival, forcing an uneasy truce to bring the ship to the surface. Plagued by an ominous, unanswered message from her father, Kye dives into the toxic waters with Dillon at her side.
Disaster strikes when a section of the wreckage collapses. To save Dillon's life, Kye is forced to expose her true mermaid nature. During a harrowing ascent, Dillon is torn: destroy the 'abomination' immediately, or use her to eradicate her colony. Yet, trapped together in the lab overnight under a ruthless deadline to analyze the chemicals, their psychological chess match turns physical as their simmering tension boils over. Through a secret genealogy search, Dillon discovers a dark history: Kye's mother killed his own mother, and his father retaliated by sinking the ship Kye was supposed to die on as a child.
The arrival of Dillon's ruthless father, TALION YUSEI, tests their fragile truce as they return to sea to raise the ship. While Talion works to undermine them at every turn, Dillon covertly blacks out the dive cameras and uses an ROV to steal the ship's black box, protecting his family's secrets.
After a high-stakes operation, the team successfully secures the ship onto a barge, but they must still neutralize the remaining chemicals. When Talion ignores safety protocols, he triggers a catastrophic chemical reaction. As the crew flees for their lives, Kye fights to help secure the decontamination bay, saving Dillon and Talion, but leaving herself severely poisoned by the anti-marine toxins. Exploiting her disoriented state in the aftermath, Dillon manipulates her into confirming her final secrets before rushing her to the medical bay.
Locked away and fighting for her life, Kye must secretly force her body not to heal while Talion circles like a predator. Meanwhile, a badly burned Dillon leaves her side to bring the volatile chemical reaction under control so the barge can finally make port. Back on shore, a recovering Kye fakes unconsciousness to escape into a waiting ambulance. Still, the danger is far from over: Talion corners his son and reveals he knows exactly what Kye is. One month later, Dillon steps onto his hunting ship and updates his dossier on Kye to read: 'target has been neutralized.' By falsely reporting her dead, Dillon secretly shields Kye from his father, leaving their fates dangerously intertwined.

Dear [Agent Name],

[Personalization: e.g., "I am a long-time follower of your success with high-concept commercial fiction..."] I am excited to present THE TOXIC TIDE, an Adult Fantasy Thriller complete at [80,000] words. Told in dual POV, it combines the technical underwater tension of The Girl Beneath the Sea with the high-stakes, tactical chess match friction of The Atlas Six, making it perfect for fans of high-stakes forced proximity and secret identities.

Twenty-four-year-old Kye Aphrodite will do anything to protect her hidden mermaid colony off the coast of California. But when an unmapped salvage vessel releases a cloud of tracking chemicals directly over her family's underwater sanctuary, Kye panics. Her vocal frequencies spike into a defensive sonic scream, shattering the ship’s hull and driving the vessel onto a jagged reef. When the Coast Guard tasks her environmental agency with monitoring the fallout, her boss assigns Kye as the liaison to the civilian salvage team because the wreck sits directly in her research zone. There, she is forced to partner with the lead expert: Dillon Yusei, a suspected mermaid hunter. What Dillon doesn't know is that his own father secretly orchestrated the unauthorized trap. 

The forced partnership turns cutthroat when they realize the wrecked vessel is leaking a toxic chemical weapon designed specifically to eradicate mermaids. For Kye, the stakes are existential, the spill will wipe out her hidden colony within seventy-two hours. For Dillon, securing the volatile ghost ship is his one shot to salvage his family's crumbling maritime legacy and prove he is more than just his father's shadow.

To save her people, Kye must dive directly into the contaminated waters alongside Dillon, matching his aggressive salvage tactics while preventing her own skin from reacting to the anti-marine toxins. But when a section of the wreckage collapses underwater, Kye faces a devastating choice: let Dillon drown to protect her secret, or use her biological abilities to save his life and expose her true nature to a man born to hunt her.

THE TOXIC TIDE is a standalone novel with series potential.

I am a marketing professional with a HubSpot Social Media certification, currently building targeted digital campaigns for a real estate agency. Alongside my writing, I look forward to leveraging this platform-building expertise to connect with the online "Romantasy" and "Eco-Thriller" communities on BookTok and Bookstagram. I live in New Hampshire, where I spend my time researching marine salvage and exploring the Lakes Region with my husband and our dog.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Dear [Agent Name],

[Personalization: e.g., "I am a long-time follower of your success with high-concept commercial fiction..."] I am excited to present UNDER THE SURFACE, a Adult Coastal Fantasy Thriller complete at [80,000] words. It combines the technical underwater tension of The Girl Beneath the Sea with the high-stakes, tactical chess match friction of The Atlas Six, making it perfect for fans of high-stakes forced proximity and secret identities.

Twenty-four-year-old Kye Aphrodite is desperate to protect her secret mermaid heritage, but her world unravels when she accidentally causes a shipwreck in her own marine research zone. To save her job, she is forced into a high-stakes liaison role, partnering with the lead salvage expert: Dillon Yusei.
Dillon is arrogant, ruthless, and secretly hunts mermaids for sport. Working alongside the enemy becomes a dangerous game of tactical chess, especially when the wrecked vessel begins leaking a toxic chemical weapon designed to eradicate Kye's hidden colony. With a ruthless ticking clock above them, every look feels like a calculation and every touch feels like a trap.
To save her family, Kye must match Dillon’s maneuvers on a dangerous dive into the chemical-filled waters, all while keeping her identity under wraps. Can she outsmart a predator who is systematically pulling her world apart, or will the truth drag them both into the dark?

UNDER THE SURFACE is a standalone novel with series potential.
I am a marketing professional with a HubSpot Social Media certification. Alongside my writing, I utilize my background to build targeted digital campaigns, and I plan to leverage this expertise to aggressively drive pre-order momentum and engage the "Romantasy" and "Eco-Thriller" communities across BookTok and Bookstagram. I live in New Hampshire, where I spend my time researching marine salvage and exploring the Lakes Region with my husband and our dog.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Kye Aphrodite is a junior research scientist at Ocean Research, but her degree isn't her greatest asset—it’s her cover. As a mermaid living secretly on land, she uses her position to monitor Yusei Security & Salvage, the ruthless corporate dynasty she suspects is behind the mysterious disappearances of her people, including her own mother. When a midnight shipwreck leaks toxic secrets right into her coastal research zone, Kye is forced into the field as the lead environmental liaison. She has one goal: keep the ship at the bottom of the ocean, protecting the secrets of the deep from the hunters above.

Dillon Yusei is a former military intelligence officer trying to stabilize his family’s cutthroat salvage business while his father trains a radical new crop of hunters in the Pacific Northwest. When one of their ghost ships goes down under unnatural circumstances, Dillon is deployed to manage the corporate cover-up. His orders are clear: bypass the uptight scientists at Ocean Research, secure the asset, and lift the ship by any means necessary.

When Kye and Dillon collide in a high-stakes boardroom confrontation, the friction is instant. He sees an idealistic, green scientist he can easily manipulate with corporate red tape. She sees the arrogant face of the family that destroyed her home. Neither realizes that the secrets leaking from Hold Two are about to force them both into a deadly game of cat and mouse where the line between hunter and prey is completely erased.

The Details:

Format: Google Doc (First 4 Chapters).

Word Count: 14,366 words.

Feedback Needed: I am looking for general reader reactions, pacing, character impressions, and whether the opening hook works for you. I am not looking for line-editing, grammar, or proofreading at this stage.

The Process: I have a completely anonymous Google Form survey set up for you to fill out once you're done reading.

Timeline: I’m aiming for a gentle deadline of June 30th, as I'm currently working through the rest of the first draft behind the scenes!

Critique Swap: Not available for quick turn around but if you have something that I could have a bit of time to read that would be great!

If you are interested in diving into the first four chapters, please drop a comment below or send me a DM and I will gladly send over the reading link and the survey link. Thank you so much!

Kye Aphrodite is a junior research scientist at Ocean Research, but her degree isn't her greatest asset—it’s her cover. As a mermaid living secretly on land, she uses her position to monitor Yusei Security & Salvage, the ruthless corporate dynasty she suspects is behind the mysterious disappearances of her people, including her own mother. When a midnight shipwreck leaks toxic secrets right into her coastal research zone, Kye is forced into the field as the lead environmental liaison. She has one goal: keep the ship at the bottom of the ocean, protecting the secrets of the deep from the hunters above.

Dillon Yusei is a former military intelligence officer trying to stabilize his family’s cutthroat salvage business while his father trains a radical new crop of hunters in the Pacific Northwest. When one of their ghost ships goes down under unnatural circumstances, Dillon is deployed to manage the corporate cover-up. His orders are clear: bypass the uptight scientists at Ocean Research, secure the asset, and lift the ship by any means necessary.

When Kye and Dillon collide in a high-stakes boardroom confrontation, the friction is instant. He sees an idealistic, green scientist he can easily manipulate with corporate red tape. She sees the arrogant face of the family that destroyed her home. Neither realizes that the secrets leaking from Hold Two are about to force them both into a deadly game of cat and mouse where the line between hunter and prey is completely erased.

The Details:

• Format: Google Doc (First 4 Chapters).
• Word Count: 14,366 words.
• Feedback Needed: I am looking for general reader reactions, pacing, character impressions, and whether the opening hook works for you. I am not looking for line-editing, grammar, or proofreading at this stage.
• The Process: I have a completely anonymous Google Form survey set up for you to fill out once you're done reading.
• Timeline: I’m aiming for a gentle deadline of June 30th, as I'm currently working through the rest of the first draft behind the scenes!
• Critique Swap: Not available for quick turn around but if you have something that I could have a bit of time to read that would be great!

If you are interested in diving into the first four chapters, please drop a comment below or send me a DM and I will gladly send over the reading link and the survey link. Thank you so much!