Success Story Interview - Tiffany Darling

An Interview with Tiffany Darling (TDarling on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Bethany Jett of MacGregor & Luedeke Literary.

09/17/2025

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

Tiffany Darling:
My book is a psychological suspense novel. It follows the intense and complicated friendship between two women—Lacey, a grief-stricken young woman, and Emily, whose loyalty and need to care for others borders on obsession. Their relationship begins as a lifeline but quickly spirals into a dangerous entanglement of secrets, betrayals, and blurred boundaries.
The inspiration came from my fascination with morally gray women and the quiet, everyday ways people manipulate, love, and harm each other. I wanted to explore the darker sides of caregiving, grief, and intimacy—the ways devotion can tip into control, and how love can sometimes destroy as much as it saves.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Tiffany Darling:
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, always drawn to creating stories and letting my imagination run wild. Publishing a book has been a dream of mine since childhood, but for much of my adult life, family and motherhood took precedence. This past fall, I had a moment of clarity: reaching middle age, I realized it was now or never to finally pursue my dream.

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

Tiffany Darling:
I began writing this book in 2021, starting and stopping along the way. In the fall of 2024, I committed to finishing it—and by the following spring, I typed “The End.”

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

Tiffany Darling:
There were definitely moments when I wanted to give up—the hardest being when a critique partner told me I’d never make it as an upmarket author without an MFA. But I’ve always told my kids to chase their dreams no matter what. If I gave up without even trying, I’d feel like a hypocrite. That reminder kept me moving forward.

QT: Is this your first book?

Tiffany Darling:
This is my first completed book. I’ve started many others and never finished, but something about this one felt different—it was special.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Tiffany Darling:
I have none, and that held me back for too long.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Tiffany Darling:
I write in small pockets of time, but now with an agent and revisions ahead, I plan to develop a routine.

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

Tiffany Darling:
I believe there have been six edited versions of my manuscript (with more to come!).

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Tiffany Darling:
I had alpha readers and two groups of beta readers. I also had a critique partner. They were invaluable to me, and I am incredibly grateful for the clarity they brought to my manuscript.

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

Tiffany Darling:
I mostly write from the hip. I know the beginning and the end, but the middle is all about discovery as I go. I loved writing this way for this book, and I’m excited to see if it works just as well for the next one!

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

Tiffany Darling:
I queried for 58 days. This was my first time querying.

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

Tiffany Darling:
I sent out 48 query letters in small, strategic batches. (I edited my letter 8 times throughout this process.)

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

Tiffany Darling:
I selected agents based on their experience representing upmarket psychological suspense and even literary fiction, as well as their interest in morally complex, character-driven stories. I also looked for agents whose recent sales and client lists aligned with the kind of story I was telling, and whose communication style and values felt like a good fit for a long-term partnership.

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

Tiffany Darling:
I did. I tailored the opening sentence of each letter to briefly explain why I thought my MS could be a good fit for their list.

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

Tiffany Darling:
Don’t be afraid to tweak or revise your query letter as you continue to query! It took me so many iterations to write the one that hooked the perfect agent for me.
And, truly, it only takes one yes!

Query Letter:

Dear agent,

(Opening/personalization)

EVERYTHING I GAVE HER is an 89,000-word slow-burn upmarket psychological suspense novel, told in dual perspectives with a non-linear timeline. It explores obsessive friendship, emotional rot, and the performance of suffering.

Trapped in a toxic friendship built on decades of devotion and lies, EMILY has spent her life saving her chronically ill best friend, LACEY. As cracks appear in Lacey’s stories, Emily begins to suspect the truth might be more dangerous than the illness itself. With a toddler on her hip and a marriage on the brink, she must confront whether Lacey was ever really sick — or if Emily has been sustaining the illusion all along.

After finding her mother dead at eight, Lacey learned that pain brings attention. Attention brought Emily. What began as childhood friendship warped into a relationship defined by manipulation, control, and performance. As adults, Emily is still the caretaker, Lacey still the patient, but when Lacey’s health takes a sudden turn and long-buried truths surface, Emily faces a chilling possibility: the girl she devoted her life to saving… never needed saving at all. What began as care spirals into control, and trauma doesn't just echo, it replicates itself in increasingly sinister ways.

Told through the fractured perspectives of two women bound by grief and the quiet terror of needing to be needed, EVERYTHING I GAVE HER will appeal to fans of None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell and Magpie by Elizabeth Day, with echoes of The Push and My Dark Vanessa in its exploration of toxic intimacy and maternal legacy.

(Closing.)