AuDHD writer currently querying THE LOVE IN YOUR WORDS 🏆 Undiscovered Voices Winner '26 Published in SOMEONE LIKE ME, avail in bookstores! 👇
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ALT Title: “The Love In Your Words” Genre: YA Romance Word Count: 70,000 words A picture of Lena and Alistair walking underneath an umbrella together, wearing blue and grey school uniforms. The Royal Liver Building is in the background as red paper lanterns float in the sky.
ALT Pitch Sixteen-year-old Lena Mei has always felt like an outsider — too “Western” to be Chinese, too “weird” for everyone else — until Alistair Wong, an autistic polyglot, helps her reclaim her heritage by teaching her to read a Mandarin poem her late mother left behind. As their connection deepens, a devastating family secret threatens to uproot their budding love, forcing Lena to choose between family loyalty and a future with the boy who accepts her for who she is.
ALT Comps “Something More” by Jackie Khalilieh (Autism & Neurodivergence) “Never Thought I’d End Up Here” by Ann Liang (Language, Heritage & Chinese Diaspora) “Komi Can’t Communicate” (Overcoming Loneliness & Communication Difficulties)
ALT Opening Words don't come easily to me. Before they reach my lips, they fade like the smoke rising from a joss stick in front of my mum's shrine. My lighter brightens her portrait's uncanny youthful beauty, gazing out as if she's still alive, inviting me to speak. But when I extinguish the flame, the image slips back into shadow, a reminder that she's gone. I kneel and clasp my hands, wanting to say what I should've said before she passed almost a year ago. Words that weren't, "I wish I had more friends." But my teeth close like gates, keeping my thoughts captive, even when I'm alone in my tiny, brick garden, surrounded only by a bin and a rusty barbecue. For now, all I can do is wish, so I bow and whisper a message in my mind. I want Mum back, as impossible as it may seem. If I can't have that, then I want someone like her to enter my life—someone to sweep away the loneliness and help me speak... or even accept me when I'm silent.
ALT My Experience with the 2026 Undiscovered Voices Competition Ivylinwrites.substack.com
ALT Testimonial by Rian Lynch: Ivy was one of the beta readers for my queer adult sci-fi romance. Her feedback was thoughtful and deeply respectful of both the story and its characters. She identified nuanced details about my neurodivergent protagonist and offered practical suggestions to make the character more authentic. Her feedback was encouraging from start to finish, and I know my manuscript is stronger as a result.
ALT Testimonial by Chezza Lee: Ivy did a wonderful sensitivity and beta read on my manuscript! Her suggestions were thoughtful and insightful, and she truly understood what I was trying to do with the book. Her feedback gave me the confidence that I was portraying Chinese culture and mythological elements in an authentic and considerate way. Also, all her reaction comments were such a pleasure to read! I highly recommend Ivy as a beta reader and truly think your manuscript would be in good hands.
