Success Story Interview - A.B. Knightly

An Interview with A.B. Knightly (abknightly on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

06/18/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

A.B. Knightly:
My debut novel, A TAPESTRY WOVEN IN BLOOD, is an adult romantic fantasy. The story follows Orah, the gods’ Guardian, who has one month to live before she’s sacrificed. After twenty-five years of isolation, she flees her island and enters a divided kingdom, where saving it from a magical blight requires the help of the prince who wants her gods dead.

Growing up, I discovered my passion for the arts—singing, drawing, acting—but none of them felt right. Not until years later, when I was twenty-four, did I find something that finally satiated my hunger for creating. It started as an idea, a passing moment that, for some reason, clung to my dreams. One day, I decided to stop thinking about it and instead do something about it.

QT: How long have you been writing?

A.B. Knightly:
Besides writing my debut novel, I haven’t written anything before.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

A.B. Knightly:
I started the first draft in August of 2024.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

A.B. Knightly:
Yes, of course, but I reminded myself that if I gave up, then my dreams would never come true. I’m also so grateful to have the most supportive people in my life who kept me going, even when I wanted to give up.

QT: Is this your first book?

A.B. Knightly:
Yes.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

A.B. Knightly:
No.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

A.B. Knightly:
When I was working on this project, I wrote every weekend at the same coffee shop for hours and any chance I got during the week when I wasn’t actively teaching.

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

A.B. Knightly:
At this point, I’ve lost track, but I would say I had four distinctly different drafts. After that, I tweaked and polished it until my hands ached and my eyes bled.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

A.B. Knightly:
Yes, besides family and friends, I had four beta readers who completed the entire manuscript.

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

A.B. Knightly:
I did outline my book, and for the most part, the major story beats remained the same.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

A.B. Knightly:
I sent my first query out in August 2025, which, looking back, I queried way too early.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

A.B. Knightly:
I sent out a little over 100 queries.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

A.B. Knightly:
The advice I found for this contradicted each other. In the beginning, I tried my best to tailor each query, but I didn’t see that it made a difference. Towards the end, I stopped altogether.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

A.B. Knightly:
Keep going. I know querying feels worse than pulling out your own teeth, but just remember all of the hard work and passion you’ve poured into your manuscript. Even when you get rejections on top of rejections, even when it feels like everyone else is getting on “the call”, even when giving up feels easier, do not let that noise drown out your love for writing and the reason you queried in the first place.

Query Letter:

Dear Agent XXX,

She was created to serve the gods. He was born to destroy them. FROM BLOOD AND ASH meets Tangled, if Rapunzel's magic were forged by the gods and weaponized for sacrifice.

In one month, Orah, the current Guardian, will complete her final sacrifice—herself—to prevent a magical blight capable of devouring the kingdom. Free in death, the kingdom's priest will create a new Guardian, continuing the cycle to sacrifice those with blood-siphoning magic, the Frayed. But terrified of a life never lived, Orah defies the gods and escapes her island.

When Frayed heretics attack the capital and imprison the kingdom's divine priest—the one person capable of creating the next Guardian—Orah is drawn into a conflict she never knew existed. To keep magic balanced, she reluctantly allies with the sardonic prince, whose motives are as shadowed as his secrets, to rescue the priest before the month ends. As danger closes in, the bond between Orah and the prince deepens—along with the lies Orah's been fed her entire life. To unravel the truth, Orah must choose to sacrifice herself for a faith built on lies or fight for the chance to become more than the gods' weapon and end their oppressive rule.

A TAPESTRY WOVEN IN BLOOD, a 105,000-word adult romantic fantasy standalone with series potential. It will appeal to readers of THE KNIGHT AND THE MOTH by Rachel Gillig for its deconstruction of beliefs rooted in lies, and SPARK OF THE EVERFLAME by Penn Cole, for its slow-burn romance steeped in yearning.

I'm twenty-six years old and live in Atlanta, Georgia, where I teach sixth-grade social studies. When I'm not in the classroom, I'm refining my passion for building a lifelong career in writing through my mentorship with the Round Table Mentor.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

A.B. Knightly