Jillian Maria

she/her. I write about sapphic teens and magic.

[byjillianmaria]

So, I figured it was time for me to make a pinned post! I'm Jillian Maria, and I write queer girls in queerer situations :P Or, more specifically, I write YA fantasy and supernatural novels with sapphic protagonists! Let's get into it.

Published Books

The Songbird's Refrain Supernatural Suspense | Published September 2019

Elizabeth is rarely noticed—until she’s noticed in the worst way, by an evil witch who kidnaps and curses her. Will she find the strength to break free? Can she find the courage to even try?

Rep: Lesbian MC, bisexual LI, queer supporting cast Vibes: spooky, dramatic, hopeful Read Preview/Purchase Links | Tumblr Tag

There's Magic Between Us Fantasy Romance | Published July 2021

City girl Lydia is expecting a boring week in her grandmother’s small town of Fairbrooke. But that changes when she meets Eden, a curious girl hunting fae treasure in the forest.

Rep: Pansexual MC, queer LI, genderfluid & queer supporting cast Vibes: bright, sweet, adventurous Read Preview/Purchase Links | Tumblr Tag

Curiouser And... Fantasy Novella | Published November 2023

When Ashlyn Jones falls down the rabbit hole into a strange forest, she's determined to return home. But the longer she stays, the less she feels like she fits in the life she's left behind...

Rep: Questioning MC, queer LI, nonbinary & queer supporting cast Vibes: whimsical, morbid, bittersweet Read Preview/Purchase Links | Tumblr Tag

A Colder Home Supernatural Horror | Publishing February 2026

Real terror plagues the production of an amateur horror film when a blizzard traps cast and crew in a haunted house. But Cleo finds herself strangely drawn to the ghosts on the other side of her camera...

Rep: Bisexual MC, lesbian LI, queer supporting cast Vibes: heavy, sorrowful, anxious Read Preview/Purchase Links | Tumblr Tag

WIPS

These don't have official taglines or anything yet, but you'll probably hear me talking about them a bunch, so here's where to find out more about them!

Of The Flesh Formerly: To Consume. Gothic horror with themes of cannibalism and Catholicism. Closeted teen finds love letters from one woman to another in the attic of her new home, which is comforting until it isn't; possession ensues. I got about halfway through draft 3 before I hit a wall and had to call it. It's resting for now! Tumblr tag here.

Behind You Horror tragedy with themes of devotion and fate. A sapphic retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice in which the underworld is a haunted corn field, ruled over by a serpentine woman with a dangerous smile. Currently working on Draft 2! Tumblr tag here.

CURRENTLY WORKING ON: Behind You

[kosmogrl]

july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good july will be good

[veliseraptor]

hate it when you're noodling on a story and all of a sudden you're like. "oh no. I have thought of a way that I can make this stronger and more thematically coherent and impactful. but I don't like it"

[vampiremother]

love listening to my own playlists. I am so correct and intelligent and inspired

[poobletoods]

i call this phenomenon "god hates me"

[flowerbleedme]

Well as a "fan" I would be "serviced" by some THEMES AND MOTIFS #themesandmotifs #artwithmeaning

[roselinbooks]

Which AO3 Tag Are You?

Tagged by @reye-chan to take this quiz. Trying to get back to tag games and asks so why the heck not?

Alt Text: Your Result is "crack treated seriously"; a certified silly goose, you wish everyone could chill out and find some fucking whimsy!

...I feel like this quiz is personally insulting me. Like it somehow took the combination of my answers and got, "This is a person who wants very much to be admired and respected, but they're just too much of a goofy goober to actually pull it off." Which is very true. And then threw it in my face.

Tagging @josephinetaylorbooks @incandescent-creativity @byjillianmaria @willtheweaver @transman-badass @gaslightwestern @sodaliteskull and of course, open tag~

[byjillianmaria]

lmao

[ryan-sometimes]

When people justify using gen AI by talking about how it allows them to do (insert creative hobby) it sends me into a blind rage. The whole point of the creative hobby is to use your brain. Having a machine do it for you defeats the purpose. That’s like saying you’re getting into running marathons then just driving the 42km

[insert-witty-user-name-here]

[albatris]

from new short story about what if there was a fucked up quiz night

[chungledown-bimothy]

reblog to tell a 14 year old that these are the very, very hard years and they're not wrong to feel the way they do.

[nojglisrenaissance]

I had a fifteen minute long crying session yesternight over the fact that all I was 10 years ago, at the ripe old age of 14, is lost and lonely, and now, at 24, I am neither and that filled me with so much gratitude

[cecil-speaks]

reblog to tell a teenager that these aren’t actually the best years of your life and that things can and will get better when you have independance and maybe are away from your situation right now.

Its me reblog to tell me that

[sevastiel]

Same thing with young adults. It can still get better. Your thirties aren’t when you’re getting old, that’s 70s-80s and we all know old people can be cool as hell anyway.

It might take time. More than has already passed, but it will get better.

It gets better. It does, right? Yeah. Yeah it gets better.

[the-haiku-bot]

It might take time. More

than has already passed, but

it will get better.

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[nicoforlifetrue]

shockingly getting out of that fucking house and into anywhere else does wonders for your ability to function!

[ashen-crest]

I can do it. I can write a chapter. I am capable of putting sentences together. I know what a comma is. I am Aware of the Character.

[kjscottwrites]

Writers!!!!

do you give your OCs astrological signs?

yes and it's important and reflects on their characterization

yes, but just for fun it's not critical to their character

I choose their birthday but don't care about their sign

I prefer a different typology (Chinese calendar, ENFJ, blood type, etc)

nope

results / I wanna discuss !

Voting ended onJun 28

Tell me your OCs signs!!!!!!

[catchymemes]

[deervsheadlights]

wish everyone could perceive the Vague Concepts in my head because i just know you would looove my Vague Concepts. you would think im so smart if you saw the misty clouds of Vague Concepts floating around in my head. #MyVagueConcepts

[what-even-is-thiss]

I hate I when I get an idea for a novel. Like oh no here starts the slow sad slip n’ slide to dissapointment again.

[what-even-is-thiss]

You ever been 30,000 words and hundreds of research hours into a project when you realize hey wait a minute. I don’t like this. This is bad.

[fassina]

Ok adding to this though that even though it is extremely relatable, this is a KNOWN thing with professional writing. 10k is often referred to as "having a pot boiling" or "having a stew" - it's the point where you often see an idea coming together and it's exciting! But THEN... 30k-50k is the point where that fun has to start coming together. In theatre, it's usually week 3 of a 5 week rehearsal period where you have to stop talking about the play and really get it all up on its feet and cohesive. In art, it's committing to what are going to be the final visible layers of colour and texture, in sculpture the moment where you're truly at the point of no return with carving out the shape.

It usually feels really bad. Because this is the point it becomes real craft. It's so, so difficult to really be able to identify if it's truly not going to be anything or you're just in the hardest part of the process, and really the only way to know is to... write through it. Write it badly. Or, if you really can't, put it in a drawer and come back to it after a few months of breathing space. Remember, you can fix so much in the edit, but you can't fix nothing!

(I say, fully looking at my latest draft of my book and considering throwing it in the bin. But my editor said exactly this to me, so I'm passing it along.)

[tjalexandernyc]

this is 100% true. I've written 6 complete novels at this point and every single time around the 40k mark I feel lost in the woods. Nothing seems to be working. I feel awful; I can't sleep. I keep going even though I'm convinced I'm going to fail. And then... It's like leaving a tunnel and getting back out in the sunshine. Stuff starts coalescing. Things that weren't working have obvious fixes. I "can write" again, except I was writing the whole time. It just felt hopeless in the moment. It's not. You just gotta get out of the woods.

[ariaste]

Ah yes the Slough of Desponds. Professional author with 13 books, and this is normal for me as well. (Checking for tension issues usually helps!)

[sainamoonshine]

Lmao I literally wrote a whole blog post abt it once.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/writing-advice-1-82451675

Writing Advice #1: The 90% project completion Dark Night of the Soul | Marie Blanchet

Get more from Marie Blanchet on Patreon

[luna-azzurra]

Something nobody prepares you for is that the better you get at writing the harder it becomes. beginners write freely because they don't know enough to know what's wrong. then you learn. and suddenly you can see every single flaw in real time as you're making it and you have to write anyway while your own brain is in the corner going "that's a weak verb. that transition is lazy. you've used that word three times." getting good at this is mostly just getting better at ignoring yourself.