Thank you.

A cinematic view of a young man and woman sitting apart on a clifftop bench beside a windswept tree at dusk, looking out over the ocean, overlaid with the title "HAUNTED" and a romantic book excerpt about happiness against the sky.

Some ghosts aren't memories you forget—they're the ones you choose to sit beside.

HAUNTED — a slow-burn about the cost of choices and the weight of memory.

For readers of One Day and Jojo Moyes.

#AmQuerying #BookSky #ReadSky #SlowBurnRomance #ContemporaryRomance #EmotionalReads #WomensFiction

An open hardcover book photographed on a wooden surface. The left page is titled "Haunted" and shows dialogue between two characters, Blake and Amanda, in which Amanda dares Blake to accept a ride from her back to campus for ten pounds, saying she never turns down dares. The right page continues the exchange: Amanda only accepts dares from people she knows, Blake dares her to get to know him, and she agrees to a ride on his motorbike. The text is set in a classic serif font on cream-colored pages. A copyright notice at the bottom reads "© 2026, Venetia Grand.

Every love story has a first line.
Theirs was a dare.

Ten years later, he offers her another.

Paris.

She knows better.
But says yes anyway.

HAUNTED — the dare neither can forget.

#AmQuerying #BookSky #iwanttoreadthis #writingcommunity #slowburn #RomanceBooks #ContemporaryRomance
#LoveStory

A photograph of a small, open, vintage leather suitcase resting on a rustic wooden desk. Inside the suitcase is a piece of aged parchment paper with typed text that reads: "In an instant, Mandy becomes Amanda to him. Blake Richards built a billion-pound empire to forget her. Ten years later, a chance encounter in a New York airport frees him from his promise—and ignites something far more dangerous. Now he's offering her their unfulfilled dream: Paris. Rome. A journey through everything they lost — with one quiet, devastating intention. To break her heart. As she once broke his. Haunted. Venetia Grand © 2026."

In an instant, Mandy became Amanda to him.
She left when he 💍 He never recovered.
Fate puts them face to face—this time, he's in control.
With one devastating intention:
to break her heart.
As she once broke his.
Who pays the price of revenge? 🥀

#amquerying 📚 #writingcommunity #readers #romance

Quote card with a soft pale blue background and dark serif font. Text reads: "Her bare left hand rested on the sofa arm, its thin bracelet evoking a strong desire in him to caress her fingers. To find her now, in New York, after ten lonely years. The odds were staggering. Blake asked more civilly, 'Where are you headed today?' 'London.' London, dear God! The only true sense of happiness he ever found. To hear her refer to their city so indifferently, treat him like an acquaintance... 'I kept my word, Amanda.' 'Was it worth anything to you?'" Footer reads: © 2026 Haunted Venetia Grand #AmQuerying #SlowBurn #Romance

Stories that reveal themselves page by page... for those who wouldn't have it any other way. 🩵

Love wasn't enough to make her stay.
Yet it was enough to never let him forget.
Her choice. His memory.
#Haunts them both.

#BookSky #AmQuerying #Readers #RomanceReaders #IWantToReadThis

lol, I keep a shelf of books I wouldn't read again - to give away to those who might appreciate them more - the unwanted titles of my library as I call them. The rest, are ones I would return to, just for the heck of it. So, no, you're not alone :-)

Hi Tori, I'm maintaining a beta reader list offline, and I've loaded the chapters on betareader (.io) for now - I share the link with the beta list. I was curious how others were handling it.

Thanks so much, Ariel. Yes, absolutely.

Thanks so much. I shall add you to the beta reader list, and DM the link once I'm ready to share - not long, now.

Thank you so much! Would you like to beta read it? 😊

Not yet — HAUNTED is currently querying. I shall be sharing chapter excerpts here. Happy to also share with beta readers — DM me if interested!

Epigraph page from HAUNTED by Venetia Grand. A man, injured after a rain fight, speaks of honor and integrity when his wounds are being tended to by a woman.

before a story can reopen… something had to be sworn, broken, or lost.

now, back to where it begins. ⬇️ HAUNTED by Venetia Grand

#ReadSky #BookSky #Romance #iwanttoreadthis #Upmarket #bookclub #amquerying

A open book showing Chapter 1 of Haunted by Venetia Grand, with a vintage illustration of a hand placing a book at the top of the page, and a fountain pen resting at the bottom right.

Haunted:

Some lines don't introduce a story — they reopen one.

#ReadSky #BookSky #Romance #iwanttoreadthis #amquerying

Haunted by Venetia Grand, a scene where a couple under the stars promising “forever” with a snippet from the book.

HAUNTED

He proposed. She walked away. 💔

Six weeks earlier, they said “forever.”

Only one of them meant it.

Ten years later, he wants answers.

Some truths don’t heal.

#amquerying #readsky #booksky #writesky #SecondChanceRomance #booklovers #writingcommunity

La Vie En Rose YouTube video by Édith Piaf - Topic

Yes. La Vie En Rose.

"Let's do this forever."
"Forever?"
"Yes. Forever."

This is Blake and Amanda six weeks before the breakup that will drive them ten years apart.

DM to read #HAUNTED.

#WriteSky #WIPsnippet #readsky #amquerying #RevPitWaiting #romance

Book cover for "The Price of a Lemon Bar" by Venetia Grand. A man and woman sit across from each other at a small café table, both pointing at each other with playful intensity. She wears a green sweater, he wears a brown leather jacket. Between them sit two coffee cups and a lemon bar. Through the large window behind them, Big Ben, the Thames, Westminster Bridge, and a red double-decker bus are visible against a blue sky. A woman with a camera is faintly reflected in the window glass. The title is in white script lettering across the top, the author name in gold at the bottom.

A journalist who doesn't believe in love.
A patient stranger with a secret.
A fake engagement that was supposed to be simple.
A grandmother who sees more than they think.
And a romance novel that refuses to stay fictional.

#FakeEngagement #SlowBurn #RomCom #LondonRomance #AmQuerying

HAUNTED:

A woman forced into an impossible choice.
A man who built an empire to erase his failure with her.
Ten years apart.
One fated encounter returns them to Paris & Rome.
Each believes the other thrived.
The truth will undo them both.

#read @earthlingbeta.bsky.social #betareaders

Opening scene in HAUNTED by Venetia Grand. A dark, rain-soaked scene showing a young woman tenderly cleaning the bloodied face of a bruised young man in a leather jacket. Their faces are close, her hand holding a cotton swab to his cut lip. Rain streaks the frame.

HAUNTED Epigraph:

His lip was bloodied, his forehead cut, the right side of his face bruised. He was soaked…

He stopped her ministrations. “If a man cannot vouchsafe something to his honor, what’s his integrity? What’s his word worth?”

DM to read 📖✨

#WriteSky #ReadSky #BookSky #Q #WSPit

Book cover for "HAUNTED" showing two silhouetted figures walking away from each other on a city street at sunset, with an unopened gift box in the foreground. Text reads: "She left when he proposed. 10 years later, fate forces a reckoning. Chemistry? Still. Pain? Worse. Truth? Complicated. Walking away might cost them everything."

HAUNTED:

Amanda left when Blake proposed.
10 yrs on: fate forces a reckoning.
Amanda didn't leave for the reasons Blake believes.
Blake didn't thrive the way Amanda imagined.
Walking away might cost them everything.

#amquerying #bookclubfiction #writesky #writingcommunity #romance #upmarketfiction

Illustrated book art for The Price of a Lemon Bar. A London coffee shop on a rainy day. A skeptical red-haired woman in a brown jacket scribbles in a notebook labeled "Romance Dare: Chapter 1" while a charming dark-haired man in a blazer watches her with an amused smile. A lemon bar sits between them on the table. Spectre magazine covers line the brick wall behind them. The chalkboard reads "Lemon Bars & Love Stories."

THE PRICE OF A LEMON BAR:

How to write a romance novel in 90 days when you hate romance:

1. Make a reckless bet.
2. Fake an engagement with a dangerously charming travel writer for 'research.'
3. Lose control of the narrative—on and off the page.

#amquerying #romcom #MSWL #writingcommunity

Book cover for HAUNTED by Venetia Grand. A watercolor illustration in soft pinks and purples showing a woman in a dark coat standing alone on a bridge at dusk, looking out over a river. The Eiffel Tower rises on the left and the Roman Colosseum on the right, Paris and Rome merging in the mist.

Book cover for HAUNTED by Venetia Grand. A watercolor illustration in soft pinks and purples showing a man in a dark suit standing alone on a bridge at dusk, looking out over a river. The Eiffel Tower rises on the left and the Roman Colosseum on the right, Paris and Rome merging in the mist.

HAUNTED:

A woman forced into an impossible choice.
A man who built an empire to erase his failure with her.
Ten years apart.
One fated encounter in New York returns them to Paris.
Rome.
Each believes the other thrived.
Neither knows the truth.

#amquerying #upmarketfiction #MSWL