Success Story Interview - Gabriella Lauren

An Interview with Gabriella Lauren (gabriellanowak on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Olivia Emerick of Metamorphosis Literary Agency.

10/09/2026

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

Gabriella Lauren:
SKULLSCAPE is about a quirky mortician who takes her missing brother’s place at an elite botanical university to uncover the truth around his disappearance, but learning forbidden magic to find him may cost her life, or her heart.
The idea started out watching my father trim an unruly boxwood in his front yard and I thought, ‘you could shave off someone’s skull with that thing.’ Immediately, that unsettling thought took on a whole new shape in my writer's brain, and I became obsessed with the contrast between the lush greenery and the gory visual. I have a botany and human biology background, so I always try to incorporate those veins into my stories. At the same time, my younger sister decided to move across the country on a whim, so I was missing her dearly, and the story sort of rooted together after that.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Gabriella Lauren:
I wrote my first story in 2008 when I was in fourth grade (check out my substack article Dear Little Dream for photo evidence!) Then throughout high school and college, I chipped away at a manuscript that ultimately was a mess but cultivated my love of writing. After college, I wrote consistently since 2021, completing an additional three books before writing SKULLSCAPE and landing an agent.

QT: Is this your first book?

Gabriella Lauren:
Nope! This is my fifth, though I've only seriously queried this one. I queried two other books lightly and did not get much interest.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Gabriella Lauren:
During the week, I try to devote about two hours a day to writing. I take breaks on the weekends, where I like to catch up on reading and meet with fellow author friends in critique groups!

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

Gabriella Lauren:
I queried SKULLSCAPE for six weeks. My other two projects I didn't query widely.

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

Gabriella Lauren:
85 queries

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

Gabriella Lauren:
My first batch I did, but once I knew the query letter was working and I was getting 3-4 requests a week, I stopped tailoring the query specifically, unless there was something really unique I thought the agent would like to see the connection to.

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

Gabriella Lauren:
The only advice I have—the only thing I can encourage fellow writers to do—is fall in love. Obsess over your characters. Contemplate what sort of outfit they’d wear while spying on a suspect. Decide if they’d choose to hide or fight in a moment of fear. Give them little quirks that are annoying and adorable and reflect the things in your life that you cherish. When I wrote SKULLSCAPE, I understood my characters. There were typos in the prose, moments when I rushed a crucial scene, and my claim-to-fame of misplaced commas. But ultimately, I felt confident that if I plucked my protagonist out of this manuscript and dropped her into another, I knew exactly what she would say, do, and decide. If you’re working on your book and hoping to see it on the shelves, keep going! Your characters capture something lovely and rich and tragic through their unique point of view, and that, I believe, is the beauty of books.

Query Letter:

Dear Olivia,

A quirky undertaker assumes her missing brother’s place at an elite botanical university to uncover his disappearance, but learning forbidden magic to find him may cost her life, or her heart.

I’m thankful you connected with me during JoyPit and prior during QuestPit regarding SKULLSCAPE, a 90,000 word adult dark academia with crossover potential and gothic undertones. This project has twelve full requests, and I’d love to share the manuscript with you.

For fans of a determined protagonist in the vein of Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang paired with the fast-paced, voicey sleuthing in Ex-Girlfriend’s Murder Club by Gloria Chao, and a stab of rival romance as in A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid.

Sahra Golthera arrives at the elite Anthurium University of Botanical Arts with a suspect list, a cape, and a knack for killing—plants, not people. With no intention of establishing roots at the Anthurium, Sahra must pass her classes long enough to decipher the mysterious clues her brother left behind before he disappeared on the grounds last semester and settle a debt with whoever is responsible. His dangerously charming roommate, Oleander Lochwood, is first on her list.

Unfortunately, she’s a terrible horticulturalist, and her time at the Anthurium is dependent on her succeeding in a semester-long research project. But when she falls behind, Oleander offers to help her pass the class. Although loathing the idea of relying on others, the chance to investigate him up close is too tempting to refuse.

But as Sahra is drawn deeper in Oleander’s tangled web, she finds herself in the center of institutional corruption and a problematic attraction to her brother’s potential killer. When Sahra discovers a connection between a forbidden magic known as skullscaping and her brother, she’ll have to decide if mastering the magic alongside Oleander is worth risking her life, or worse, her heart.

SKULLSCAPE is my debut standalone novel and has series potential. It has won an honorable mention in the 2026 First Chapter Challenge hosted by November Brown. I hold a degree in Human Biology and a certification in field botany, which both greatly influenced the magic system and atmosphere of the story. Additionally, I work as a digital marketer in Higher Education at a university in Western New York. I would be happy to send the full manuscript upon request.