H. L. Docherty (Updates Only)

@hldocherty.bsky.social

1038 Followers 253 Following

Writer of romantasy with chaotic anti-heros, forbidden romance, and things that go bump in the night. 🥀SNOWDROPS & STONES ☀️Rep: Rachel Estep | D4EO Literary Agency https://linktr.ee/HLDocherty

This draft is meant to be awful and only Future Me has to give a shit.
Literary Blacklist Snowdrops & Stones sex, dugs, swearing, violent (basically all the good stuff). romeo and juliet retelling (with a tenuous hfn). complex family dynamics. themes of grief, loss, repressed trauma, generational trauma. Basically lots of trauma. Too long (but actually not long enough; used to be 178k words). lqbtqia+ is simply okay, and there's no social commentary on that. This 108,000-word novel claims to be a romantic dystopian fantasy for adults, but let’s call it what it is: emotional warfare wrapped in Monsters, rebellion, and illegal magic use. Alayna, a short-tempered rebel with more trauma than coping mechanisms, falls for the son of the governor—the same governor responsible for murdering her people. Tiv, the quiet rich boy in question, is so guilt-ridden and soft-spoken it’s a miracle he can string a sentence together without apologising. Their relationship unravels at speed when their families get involved. tiv's father bans the relationship, separating them, and ALAYNA'S brother starts a rebellion with all the subtlety of a nuclear bomb, intent on destroying tiv's family. There are enough morally grey characters to destroy a rainbow. No one is okay. Everyone is lying. you'll cry over a flower. I do not recommend publishing this book unless you're prepared to be emotionally concussed. You’ve been warned.
This book gets no more than 1 star from me for how it RIPPED OUT MY FUCKING SOUL! Okay, maybe 2, bc Ben was hilarious.  Alright, the world-building is awesome, I'll give it 3 for that. Right, having me kicking my feet deserves some cred too, but absolutely no more than 4.  FUCK! THE EPIC LOVE STORY—I'M DYING!!! Take 5! Take 10! Take a fucking million, just leave me alone, I need to go mend my aching heart.  Snowdrops and Stones-or whatever she's calling it these days-has not just one unhinged book boyfriend I want to climb, but 2. Do I still want to add songs to my book playlist? Yes. Do I wish I could climb into that world? Absolutely not; it's a fucked up place to be. But gods I need more of it. The best thing I can say about this book is that it hurt me very deeply and yet I never wanted to put it down. The characters are so well-written that you kind of want to wrap them in a soft blanket and give them a hot drink even while they’re committing horrifying war crimes and you know t
- sex, dugs, swearing, violent (basically all the good stuff) romeo and juliet retelling (with a tenuous hfn). - complex family dynamics - themes of grief, loss, repressed trauma, generational trauma (and lots more) - Too long (but actually not long enough; used to be 178k words) lqbtqia+ is simply okay, and there's no social commentary on that. This 109,000-word novel claims to be a romantic dystopian fantasy for adults, but let’s call it what it is: emotional warfare wrapped in betrayal, rebellion, and illegal magic use. The story kicks off with Alayna, a short-tempered rebel with more trauma than coping mechanisms, who falls for the son of the governor—the same governor responsible for murdering her people. Tiv, the quiet rich boy in question, is so guilt-ridden and soft-spoken it’s a miracle he can string a sentence together without apologising. Their relationship unravels at the speed when their families get involved. tiv's father bans the relationship, separating them, and ALAYN
SNOWDROPS AND STONES A 110k Dystopian Fantasy Romance with horror elements A hotheaded rebel catches the eye of a quiet, guilt-ridden aristocrat—who just so happens to be the governor’s son—in a triste that could end her life. When war puts them on opposite sides and pushes them both to their limits, they're torn between their family loyalties and each other. They don't know that no matter what they choose, it'll end in blood.
ROMEO AND JULIET meets THE HUNGER GAMES in: SNOWDROPS AND STONES A 110k New Adult dystopian romantasy by H. L. Docherty
On the surface, I smiled. I kept shoving thoughts down into the hollowness that had opened inside me, but the harder I pushed, the more something else cracked. Pretending that everything was fine was choking something vital, something buried deep. But I kept smiling, hoping whatever I was strangling wouldn't suffocate completely.
"On the surface, I smiled. I kept shoving thoughts down in to the hollowness that had opened inside me, but the harder I pushed, the more something else cracked. Pretending that everything was fine was choking something vital, something buried deep. But I kept smiling, hoping whatever I was strangling wouldn't suffocate completely."
THE GIRL IN THE MEADOW by H. L. Docherty Romeo and Juliet meets The Hunger Games in this 119k New Adult Fantasy Romance
THE GIRL IN THE MEADOW by H. L. Docherty. 119k words A new adult urban fantasy romance.
WHY MY MCS WOULD BE ON SANTA'S NAUGHTY LIST: FMC: - Prone to extreme violence. - Makes excuses for her unhinged family. - Swears like a sailor. - Uses humour instead - of dealing with her trauma. - Lies when she's angry (which is most of the time). - Lowkey insane. MMC: - Naive to the point of idiocy. - Makes excuses for his powerhungry family. - Too loyal for his own good. - Bit of a spoilt brat. - Drinks his feelings. - Keeps dark secrets. - Rich but doesn't give to charity.