Hi friends, 

Last week, I announced that I was finally committing to the Romanasy writing project I always half-joke about.

That's right: we're crowd-sourcing a romantasy book, folks. If you are just hearing about this, be sure to check out my announcement video. 

I opened up Round One with a simple question: What kind of magical creature dominates this world?

After over 200+ submissions, it's time to narrow down our options. 

Now, some of you went to town on the homework, not only pitching fantasy creatures, but full characters, arcs, plots, and politics. Because this round is all about choosing our fantasy foundation, I will be leaving out some of those additional details to focus us a bit here and make sure we are doing this one piece at a time.

I've organized the information into creature categories. I give a very brief, very generalized recap of each creature, add any first impressions, and then highlight some of your pitches. 

Honestly? I wanted to include all 200+ pitches here, but I got to number 40, and this post was already about as long as a Romantasy, so I had to whittle it down to some highlights.

As you review these, keep in mind that the creature we choose could be the dominant force in the world, a political power, the species of our love interest, or even our protagonist themself. Or all of the above! This decision will shape the tone, the setting, the stakes, and the type of chaos we're going to build together.

After reading through the options below, leave a comment with your top 3 choices. Once I tally those up, I'll determine an overall top 3, and we'll go from there!

1. Winged Beasts

🐉 Dragons

Dragons are one of the oldest and most adaptable fantasy creatures out there. They're found in mythology and folklore across the globe, meaning that there are quite a number of variations. In Western traditions, dragons are often winged, reptilian, and destructive. In Eastern traditions, they tend to be serpentine, wise, and associated with water or air. Across versions, they're usually powerful and ancient.

MY THOUGHTS: Last year, I read about 10 dragon books in order to make a video about dragon books. The video never happened because I found I didn't have much to say about dragons thematically or their role in recent fantasy. I think it would be cool to try to make dragons more interesting. More present.

Inherently, I imagine the big challenges with dragons include their many logistics as a large creature of power and combating dragon burnout (excuse the pun). 

PITCHES: 

Nina: My kids LOVED Wings of Fire, and it would be neat to see a more mature version that includes humans. 

Scheids: Dragons with a dnd-esque system of good, evil, and neutral dragons and the humans are simply at the whims of their war; some dragons fight for humans, some sit back and watch, and the evil dragons are selfish, dominating, always enormous f-u dragons (the good and neutral dragons can be any size, but the evil dragons must be beeg)

Jellybean: I think what the meta really needs is a brooding dragon boyfriend. Fourth Wing blew up, and it's a great opportunity for shadow daddy shenanigans.

Sarai: Dragons! But not dragon riders; I'd love to see a romantasy dragon world where dragons shapeshift into human form (with a few bonuses like claws and fangs, of course). They have independent communities from humans. Neither friend nor foe, they want nothing to do with human problems and are quite reclusive. Maybe they roost atop unreachable mountain peaks or in a city of clouds. We can stick with the cliche of dragons being ancient and well-versed in magic, and they closely guard that coveted knowledge from all others.

Salma: Let's go with... dragons. But like, dragons that can shapeshift, including in human form. Dragons have had a long history of either being hunted by humans or doing the hunting of humans for their safety, but there has been a treaty between humans and dragons to each lower their weapons, and some sort of peace has been established. That being said, they still don't exactly like each other, and the treaty is as fragile as ever due to insert some element relevant to the plot.

🦅 Griffins

Griffins are mythological creatures with the body of a lion and the head, wings, and talons of an eagle. They appear in classical mythology across many regions, typically serving as symbols of power and royalty, as well as guardians of treasure or sacred spaces.

MY THOUGHTS: It feels like Griffins are a great way to capitalize on dragon momentum without doing dragons exactly. Their built-in mythology makes them feel both regal and dangerous, and there is an opportunity here to capitalize on the idea of them being difficult to tame. 

PITCHES: 

CV: Griffins exist in this universe and are sort of akin to deer/forest wildlife in that they just generally hang out, sometimes people keep them as pets and ride them, but that's not their primary function. Perhaps there are other winged creatures (harpies, dragons, Pegasus, birds, gargoyles, chimera) that have some sort of hierarchy (maybe some are used just for labor/transportation, others show wealth/status). 

Ribbon Quest: Griffins! They're both scary predators and have potential cuteness if FMC finds a baby/young one to tame. In Christian lore, griffins were enemies of horses, so maybe this is a society with a lot of horseback riding. We can use some elements of the dragon bonding craze, but stand out by being a less common but still classic critter.

Abby M.: Griffins! (Mainly because Fourth Wing does them dirty imo). Friend-ish (like horses, maybe they need to be broken in?) And they go great in magical haunted forests with rocky mountains nearby.)

Erin: Gryphons, and they would be quite a wild card, where people have to earn their respect first. The vibes in the world could go for an African aesthetic.

🐝 Misc.

Anon: Pegasus, because flying horses.

Anon: Chimeras. Chimeras are like familiars and also an indication of status for citizenry. There could be more exclusive and desirable chimeras and forbidden chimeras. The world revolves around these human chimera partnerships that are integrated into everyday life. There could be some sort of "gold rush" style event to spur the protagonist to move to unexplored locales in order to gain a chimera, and try to get some upward mobility. The world could have a feudal lord set up.

Salomé: Harpies! People, often women, who have the ability to shift into carrion birds and tend to go into palliative/hospice care professions due to their ability to sense death. Our protagonist is looking forward to becoming a death doula when she learns that the bird she shifts into is not a carrion bird. In addition, she cannot sense death, but life.

Liz: Phoenix! Think about it. Giant fire birds who die and are reborn from their ashes! Phoenix riders anyone??? 

2. Sea Creatures

🧜🏽‍♀️ Merfolk

Merfolk are creatures with the head and torso of a human and the tail of a fish. They show up in myths and folklore all over the world, tracing back to ancient civilizations. Sometimes they're beautiful and benevolent, other times they're luring sailors to their watery deaths with hypnotic songs or hypnotic beauty. 

MY THOUGHTS: There's something fitting about me writing about the ocean, and a Caribbean-inspired setting is something I feel more confident in. The aesthetics are so rich, and I love the idea of a darker take on mermaids, but the big question would of course be: where do you put it in? 

PITCHES: 

Anon: Mermaids, sea monsters, maybe water nymphs? I'm imagining some sorta vast ocean world dotted with islands, a lot of need to travel around on big boats, but a lot of risk of running into sea serpents or magic storms. Maybe mermaids are sometimes called upon to help sailors navigate the seas without danger? Or maybe mermaids are seen as boogeymen, rare but dangerous creatures that will lure you to your death like Greek sirens.

Crystal: Krakens and mermaids would be neat! I haven't heard of many romantasy books that focus on the sea. Maybe the romantic relationship could be between a mermaid and a pirate, and the villains could be krakens.

Glo: I'm thinking an aquatic world with mermaids and other sea creatures. Haven't seen a romantacy in that setting yet! I think politics between mermaid groups or between mermaids and some other sea (or land!) creatures would be fun. Maybe the merpeople don't need tails, but legs with webbed feet (waterworld style lol), so the romance part isn't weird.

Charis: Bridgerton meets Pirates of the Caribbean meets Celtic folklore - the creatures - selkie, mermaids, kelpie, blue men of Munich, sea nymphs.

Anon: Merpeople. They're popular enough that it doesn't feel like pulling an extremely uncommon creature as parody or just to be different, but also surprisingly underutilized as the primary fantasy race in popular romantasy. The mermaids should not just be humans who can transform, and any human characters should go down to the merpeople to explore the underwater worldbuilding. The vibes should be like how people talk about cruel prince fae, where they're distinct from humans in culture and dark fairytale-esque, but the entire world, including humans, should be fairytale-like rather than humans having a separate dimension. Maybe there's siren style magic involved, and their thing is that they can manipulate people in some way, or they have some sort of telepathy mind magic. 

Samantha: Aquatic creatures (mermaids, selkies, hydras, leviathans, etc) and all are enemies to humans. The general vibes of the world are dark because humans are confined to environments that don't have access to the sea or rivers, so they've had to learn to navigate trade and food in other ways.

Anon: Mermaids! Underwater villages crusted with barnacles, strands of seaweed, dark murky depths, sunken ships, sea shanties, tidal magic. Not Ariel, a bit more fae and wild, but not quite "evil". Creative body types, Shape of Water, dark and atmospheric vibes, a scaly hand beckoning you to swim deeper into a kelp forest. The siren's call. 

Nicholas: Mermaids!! Young land girl somehow goes under the sea to a world of merpeople. The merpeople use singing magic to control humans, perhaps to stay hidden from them or perhaps to rule over them, or something else. 

Nicole: Mermaids/Sirens, definitely foe. Being friends doesn't have the drama. I think they should bring a "do not ever enter the water or you will die" vibe to the party, that is made more stressful by the fact that the main nation/kingdom is a bunch of island states and so it's pretty necessary to be near/around water and frequently cross it to travel/trade. It might also be interesting if they have siren-like abilities to entice people to enter the water as well. 

Redling: Set the whole thing underwater and have the characters be merfolk of different sorts - so not just people with fish tails, but people with crustacean or octopus features. You could do fun stuff with coral structures, bioluminescence, the ominous depths of the ocean, and the weird creatures you find down there. You could easily do the underwater equivalent of fae court politics with the different factions/species of merfolk. You could add as much or as little magic as you wanted and probably include other magical underwater creatures too.

Di: Atlantis is real, and the FMC turns out is part Atlantean and is called back (aka make it Aquaman but genderflipped).

🎶 Sirens

Sirens originate from Greek mythology, where they were not mermaids, but bird-bodied women who lured sailors to their deaths with haunting, irresistible songs. Over time, especially through medieval and modern retellings, they were conflated with mermaids, shifting from bird-women to aquatic seductresses. In modern fantasy, "siren" has become shorthand for any magically seductive sea creature.

PITCHES: 

Cami: I want to see a book where the main lead is a siren. In some versions of the Greek myths, sirens are granted wings (or made to have them as punishment) when Persephone is taken to hell so that the sirens can go in search of her. I think it would be cool and on brand for romantasy if some princess of the sirens has to go up to the sky realm, maybe because of an arranged marriage, and the main character accompanies her—a sister, a lady-in-waiting, or a secret princess as per the tropes. The beings in the sky realm can be the classic fae types—immortal, beautiful, kinda evil—and it could be a literal fish-out-of-water situation. 

Sarah C: Sirens! I'm envisioning a historical-esque fantasy world featuring a sapphic romance in which a siren who lures sailors to their death meets her match with a lady sailor (pirate?) who she falls in love with instead of killing. Could be an interesting way to explore power dynamics and subvert gender roles?

Hafsah: I am advocating for sirens! I think that they tap into some of the pervasive consent issues of romantasy, and because i think the nautical theme in romantasy is so underutilized. I personally find the sea insanely romantic and also a site where the instalove of romantasy could make sense - the isolation of the open waters! relying on those around you for survival and sustenance! bonding under duress! lots of fanfic tropes to lean into that aren't overdone. I would personally love for the male love interest to be the siren because again I think it could provide an interesting twist on the power dynamics of the romance, especially in a world where sirens are persecuted or hunted.

🦭 Selkies

Selkies come from Scottish, Irish, and Norse folklore. They're seal-like creatures who shed their skins to take human form. Traditionally, the selkie skin is the key to their autonomy. If their skin is stolen, the selkie is forced to remain in human form, often leading to coercive marriages and tragic endings.

MY THOUGHTS: There are so many interesting ways to take a Selkie story that naturally fit into conversation with Romantasy, specifically its existing obsession with power imbalances and the lack of autonomy for its FMCs. 

PITCHES: 

Mads: Selkies! We need their help against an encroaching mainland threat? Selkies caught up in the mess between two opposing coastal cities? Cities built into eroding cliffs, sprawling snowcapped mountains/highlands, craggy coastal towns with magically significant moss and stuff.

Shantell: Court politics of selkies. Maybe the FMC gets roped into helping the MMC get back his stolen pelt. (I'm suddenly nervous that there is a wrong way to take that.)

Rebekah: I've always liked the idea of animalistic shapechangers-- selkies are my primary inspiration, but also the story of the Crane Wife. Maybe the magic users in this world transform into their animal shapes with use of cloaks (similar to a selkie's coat), and cannot transform without it, or something similar.

Julia: I would love something with selkies. The movie The Secret of Roan Inish always fascinated and kind of scared me as a kid, I think selkies could be a good chaotic neutral magical creature, the kind where the humans largely don't believe still exist. There are legends and folklore (both positive and negative) about them that our main character has heard. Shapeshifters would give the story a mysterious vibe, while also avoiding any weird interspecies sex stuff because they are fully human when they take the seal skin off.

Karen: Selkie wife but this time the couple comes to understand each other and build trust. I like the idea of the selkie being someone so mistrustful but in such desprate need of love.

🌊 Misc

Sophie: Kelpies. We should harness the rabid and steadfast devotion of the horse girlies. This can make the "Spice" portion of the book easy - the studs/stallions will have cake, cock, and cloven hooves. And then there's the whole, "she's the only one he wouldn't devour…or would he? 👀". There could be a Twilight throwback with an apple on the cover, like, that's what she uses initially to tempt him in horse form, or that it becomes a kind of lampshade joke between oncethey become lovers. I know it sounds very Chuck Tingley, but I believe it could be classed up and packaged as legitimate romantasy as long as the mood is consistently sultry, moody, even a bit angsty. She can be half siren, selkie, or a failed water witch of some kind. They should both be kinda weepy to offset the silly.

Kamila: The nixie (or nøkken as I know it) could be a really cool creature! The depiction varies from culture to culture, but at least in Norway they're shapeshifting water-spirits, who either present as a white horse or a beautiful young man. He uses his beauty and sweet music to lure you into the water, which I've always felt was a bit gender subversive because of how closely it mirrors feminine monsters like sirens and hulder. They're usually evil entities who want to drown you, but there are also stories that frame them as sad and lonely creatures who want company. A romantasy could play with this dichotomy. The general vibes would be dark and gothic, but also whimsical and magical. Different magical creatures dominate different locations. Ponds, rivers and streams are the domain of the nixie.

A. Noyd: Undines and other water spirits. There is a lot of romance and marriage-based lore for undines and half-undines which seems like it could be really easy to adapt to some romantasy plot. The overall vibe could be land vs water. Maybe certain land folk are trying to develop more water trade routes and are being thwarted by the water people.

3. Fair Folk

🧝🏼 Fae

The fae come from a mix of Celtic, Germanic, and broader European folklore. Historically, they were less cute and helpful and more tricksters with their own moral codes. They might bless your house or steal your baby, or you know, maybe both.

In more modern depictions, fae are more synonymous with winged, beautiful, long-lived beings who live in divided courts and speak in vaguely threatening riddles.

MY THOUGHTS: Everyone does fae, and I suppose, depending on how far we are leaning into the "everyone does" nature of this project, that could make it perfect, especially if we lean more classic fae and less racially ambiguous maybe men of color. 

PITCHES: 

Yesi: Fae. I'd love to see a fun, nice fae romantasy that's not like SJM's, they should be really awful bc I'm tired of domesticated big dong fae who're actually fae white "feminist" dudes who're actually abusive, so commit and make them awful without the need to be abusive. 

Jayanna: Fae in a technologically advanced world. A cyberpunk type of world. For the longest time they have been a menace to society but finally the humans can even out the playing field. The fae are in denial and hold on to their power. But is fae magic greater than technology?

Ram: Fae obviously but with bat wings and they echolocate.

Cade: Fae, genuinely creepy and inhumane fae!!! I need them to scare, to trick, to decieve, and to want to do harm! What would it take for one of these fae to work side by side with a human? Is this a betrayal of nature? Is there even an inherent "nature" to betray?

Anon: I would love to see you tackle fae, but staying true to the mythological/Shakespearean idea of fae where they're a lot more varied. we'll still have our hot MMC (obvs) but some of the other fae can be a bit more messy in appearance and personality. also, would love to dive into court politics with courts that are completely made up. no seelie or unseelie or seasons, more based on specific elements of nature like plants and animals and environments. very excited to see where this project goes!

🧚🏽‍♀️ Fairies

In modern fantasy, "fairy" is sometimes used interchangeably with "fae," but fairies tend to evoke a more whimsical, magical, or folkloric feel. Less gothic, less brooding, more glittering.

MY THOUGHTS: Tiny creatures and tiny worlds sound both challenging and intriguing. I love the idea of fairies as chaos agents, but would want to lean away from anything too cutesy.

PITCHES: 

Ramona: Fairies, but actual ones. Small thieves with insect eyes and insect wings. They are rude and, for sure, like to trick humans. They would be foes, but definitely trying to leech off human beings too, if they can benefit from it. I think the world being a bit darker would fit quite nicely in that, too. Dark forests, maybe even swamps, that seemingly don't quite fit in but are still everywhere. A mix of a kind of whimsical and dangerous. 

Karyn: I believe this book needs to be about fairies. Not fae, straight up fairies. The people are hungry for fairies, and frankly, commercial romantasy is not feeding the people. I want sparkly wings and animal companions. And yes, these fairies need to f*ck.

Helen: Fairies, like real ones with wings, that steal human babies and replace them with rocks. None of this ACOTAR fae who are really just random magic humans with pointy ears! They can't lie, so they're super sneaky and manipulative. They make deals but you have to be careful of those hidden details that will likely come back later to bite your arse. In Dungeons & Dragons terms, they're chaotic neutral. They like anything shiny, and they like causing mischief. 

🌳 Misc.

Sahra: SPRITES! Forest sprites, "evil" sprites (that aren't just racially ambiguous w/ bronze/tawny skin), garden sprites, fortune sprites, weather sprites, etc, etc. And y'know what? Lets add in some random categories that are weirdly specific for no reason! For example, an acorn sprite! No, they're not forest OR garden sprites, they're SPECIFICALLY acorn sprites! And in this case, when I say "sprite," I mean tinkerbell-esque creatures.

Jessica: The setting is a cursed woods filled with evil fantasy creatures, including carnivorous unicorns. The dominant species of this world are dryads. They are neither friend nor foe. They are here to protect the woods. As long as you do no harm, they will not harm you.

4. Undead and Night Creatures

🧛🏼‍♀️ Vampires

Vampires have appeared in folklore across cultures for centuries, often as undead beings who feed on the life force (usually blood) of the living. In Eastern Europe, they were burial-related horror stories. In Western pop culture, they've evolved into tragic immortals, seductive monsters, or sometimes both. Thanks to everything from Dracula to Twilight to most recently Sinners and beyond, they come with centuries of lore and genre baggage.

MY THOUGHTS: I'm on a post-Sinners high. Unlike with dragons, I have so much to say about what vampires represent thematically, and have all kinds of feelings about human obsession with these immortal beings of immense power who are also (typically) taken down by the sun and some wood. I also like that vampires are adaptable. You could stick a vampire in pretty much any setting.

PITCHES: 

Katrina: Vampires!! But not broody, edgelord vampires. More like D.N. Bryn vampires (not immortal; grappling with what it means to exist in a society that is not made to accomodate/outright hostile to them; learning what it means to still be a person even though they're no longer human) or Vampire Therapist vampires (immortal but still people grappling with what it means to be a person that never dies; what makes life meaningful when you have an eternity; does anything you do matter when eventually anyone who would remember it is gone and the world moves on). Not only do vampires tend to be queer-coded, but I've always been fascinated with explorations of what it means to be a person despite not falling within the confines of "human" (robots, aliens, monstrous creatures, etc). I also think it would be interesting if the vampires didn't dominate the world. Maybe they could dominate the underworld (romantasy loves a bad boy) but not in an evil way. Like building community outside the lines of society because society is not built to support them. (Distributing blood despite no official channels or providing under the table employment because vampires can't work during the day or protecting vampires from the fantasy police that are trying to get rid of them or something). I feel like second world is a necessity to differentiate it from paranormal romance, but maybe more of an urban/modern-esque setting. Kind of like steampunk but minus the steam (or maybe with steam! Steampunk vampires would be sick!).

Karen: A vampire wants to break their curse and become human again, the only person who could possibly help is a vampire hunter! Opposites attract is cool, we gotta go on a quest which gives us plenty of things to do, I'm ambivalent on whether the curse breaking works out because you can get a lot of mileage either way.

Night: Vampires used to rule over humans when they had a spell that created clouds over the whole country, creating the Endless Night so they could traverse without threat of being burned in the sun. When the spell was broken, werewolves fought off the vampires, and the regular day night cycle returned. Humans now have Hunters to fight vampires, and werewolves are "gone." Recently, clouds on the horizon are threatening the return of the Endless Night. People are scared of vampires and each other and rely heavily on the government and military to "protect" them. 

Disgruntled Alchemist: Vampire Court vs Human Sorcerers. Dual POV. There has been a rise in murders, and the vampires are to blame. The FMC is a vampire who needs to solve this mystery before the situation rises to a full-scale conflict. The MMC is a sorcerer (I want amulets and arcane symbols, and power circles) who is also trying to find the culprit.

👻 Ghosts

Ghosts are usually the lingering spirits of the dead, bound to the world by unfinished business, unresolved trauma, or perhaps a tragic curse. They range from mournful to malevolent, and their presence often signals a crossing between life and death. Or memory and forgetting. Or justice and revenge.

MY THOUGHTS: Ghost love stories can be so tragic, but y'all better start thinking about how you make them spicy.

PITCHES: 

Colette: In this urban fantasy, ghosts are employed by humans to haunt those who have wronged them. From corporate leaders to loud neighbors to ex-partners, not one human is spared the horrors of these chaotic spirits. The currency? One day (from sunrise to sunset) for the paid ghost to possess its employer and walk amongst other humans. But there is a risk to possession: If a ghost stays in a human body long after sunset, they'll be transformed into nightmares not even the undead can face off.

Karen: ATU types 505–508 The Grateful Dead, but the ghost in question has a slow-burning romance with the main character while the MC goes on a journey to perform the proper rites. (I like the tragic aspect where we need to eventually say goodbye, you know its coming but you love seeing them come together anyway.)

Kira: Haunted Mansion (2003) is a movie in which a real estate agent and his wife go to this haunted house, and from my childhood recollection, the wife turns out to be a reincarnation of the great love of this ghost’s life. I think he was the guy who originally owned the property? Anyway, it very much fits into themes of power imbalances within Romantasy, the love interest who has all the authority within this magical world, and the exclusivity of that world. So my pitch is ghosts who all haunt one area. And they are just like the ghosts in Haunted Mansion. They are blue-ish and they remember everything from their mortal lives and now exist mostly to party it up in this house. Except this one guy who is searching for his long-lost love, who our protagonist is the reincarnation of. If that makes sense. Lol

🔊 Banshee

Banshees come from Irish and Scottish folklore, where they are supernatural women who wail or keen to warn of an impending death. Traditionally, they aren't malicious. They don't cause death, they only announce it. And still, their presence is usually feared. 

In more recent fantasy, banshees are sometimes reinterpreted as cursed women or creatures whose voices hold magical or destructive power.

MY THOUGHTS: A banshee feels like a good middle ground of being a fairly recognizable entity without being overused. I love the feared but misunderstood vibes, and women with death jobs.

PITCHES: 

G: Banshees! Hasn't been done to death, possibly fertile ground for discussions of gendered monsters. Cool as heck.

Niamh: This world is populated by banshees, which translates from the Irish' bean sí', can mean 'otherwordly woman', or 'woman of the mound'. These wailing women - dressed in long shrouds of white or black - portend death. Perhaps the colour of their shrouds tell us what kind of death they anticipate (violent or peaceful, quick or drawn out, etc). People often go mad hearing the banshees wails, and from worrying over which person they love is going to die, and why, and how. They might be created from those who had unjust deaths, or those who death seems to follow everywhere. Maybe our protagonist is a banshee, and our love interest is a death god or vampire. 

Michelle: I'd love a story with Banshees. Perhaps the FMC is one, and they are hunted / imprisoned / otherwise oppressed for being magical harbingers of death and destruction. Perhaps as a group they are very "morally gray" about how they use their power (gray is romantast's favorite color). The rest of the world could be human, but with various magical powers also related to voice. For example, some people can sing, and it changes the emotions of the listeners or affects their memories. Other people can use their whispers to persuade, control, or heal others. Other people might yell and it . . . Breaks things? Running out of interesting ideas here, but different people all have a different voice-related gift, and that's why the Banshee-type character (could of course have a different name) is seen as a perversion by the rest of their world.

5. Shapeshifters

🐺 Werewolves

Werewolves are one of the most enduring shapeshifter myths, with roots in European folklore but variations appearing in cultures around the world. Traditionally, they're humans cursed or infected so that they transform into wolves. Classic lore has this happening during a full moon with a loss of control, though more modern variations include shifting at will. 

MY THOUGHTS: Some of my favorite urban fantasy features werewolves and shapshifters. It hits my nostalgia button. I love pack politics and the girlies love growling and snarling. Win, win.

PITCHES: 

Ron: Werewolves, because how many Romantasy books have featured them? Not many popular ones! I think it would be interesting to take something "unsexy" and have one of the main characters be that thing. Going hand in hand with this, cursed woods would make for an interesting setting. Maybe "packs" live there, and thus we'll have our secret society element.

Lida: Creepy sentient trees (read: the forest scene in Snow White). Also sentient cacti (cactuses?) Also : grass that swallows you (quicksand style). And some werewolves in there as well. 

Loren: I am ITCHING for a gothic werewolf romantasy that doesn't fall into the wattpad-esque "alpha male" vibes and terminology; I don't want "packs" I want KINGDOMS with political intrigue and cursed woods outside the castle walls. In terms of vibes, something a bit like Castlevania meets A Song of Ice and Fire, but with werewolves, and with a prominent romance storyline. Lycanthropy is still considered a curse; werewolves are transformed through bites notborn...maybe werewolves are mostly viewed as foe, but like any group of people there's nuance and shades of grey.

Lucy: I'm all in or giving the fae men a run for their sidesmirk money, and support the furry might of werewolves as the creatures that can help. Since werewolves move in packs, each pack can be friend or foe. To bring out the most unnecessary "oops, my shirt ripped open" moments, the werewolves can be at a coastal town, with plenty of abandoned boats creepily creaking as they're rocked by the lapping waves. The werewolves would even get two moons (sky + reflection on the sea) to howl at!

Lauren: I would LOVE to see a werewolf navigating court politics. You can play into restraint and propriety versus desire, the masks we wear for general society, and how we can be judged for letting loose and not living up to respectability.

👯 Misc.

Clare: Dopplegangers, creatures of myth that can take the form of humans. Everyone wears iron to ward off the creatures, our FMC, a girl of an unknown past who makes everyone mistrust her even though she can wear iron.

Chickpea: I'm thinking a world of multiple creatures, mostly humans (as per usual), but also a lot of shapeshifters. Maybe the classical werewolves, a shapeshifty take on vampires (not regular bats, that's boring), sea creatures, birds etc. humans and shifters get along, no demonizing what we don't know/understand (shifters), not looking down on others because of lack of powers (humans), but every shifter sub-species have good and bad people/families/clans/societies, just like the humans also do. Meaning there is no war between humans and shifter, maybe there's a larger conflict between countries or something, but shifters and humans alike on both sides. Everyone is still victim to the ruling class, basically. Though this part isn't asking about the love interest, i already picture him as a shifter, but a super-special-rare-one that most believe is a myth..... dragon shifter? nah, done before, boring (there might be dragons in this world but no dragon shifters). No, the love interest is a unicorn shifter.

6. Magical Practitioners

Whether they're called witches, warlocks, mages, sorcerers, or something entirely new, magic users have been a staple of fantasy for, well, ever. Their power can come from study, bloodlines, divine contracts, ancestral spirits, bargains with darker forces, or some murky combination of all of the above.

MY THOUGHTS: Do we need a defined magic system, yes or no? 

PITCHES: 

Liz: Warlocks - Foe. Everyone enters a pact with a magical deity who controls this realm on their 18th birthday. 

Rebekka: Witches/ Warlocks/ Spellcasters. There's a lot of that in cozy fantasy, but I would imagine a darker setting. Either leaning into a Coven war or magic vs. non-magic factions. Maybe the world is deteriorating due to this ongoing confrontation.

Rini: I was thinking Sorcerers of some kind - people born with innate magical abilities. Most of the people are powerful from a young age and achieve some higher education - like magic trade schools. There are vayring levels to their powers, maybe they are descended from Gods or Fae (that seems to be the popular thing right now). They tend to be friend, as aside from their powers, they are technically just like everyone else.

Karen: workplace urban fantasy where we're editing magic books for publication, kinda specific but I like getting a view into other people's lives hehe

7. Divine and Infernal

🪽Angels

Angels are part of a wide range of religious traditions, often as messengers, guardians, or warriors serving a divine power. In Christian and Islamic texts, they're supernatural beings created by God Some are radiant and beautiful, others are terrifying. Their stories often explore themes such as obedience, fall from grace, rebellion, or the boundaries between the divine and mortal realms.

MY THOUGHTS: I love the idea of letting religion and divine beings play out with angels as a primary focus. I don't really love the idea of having to, you know, come up with a religion, but I can console myself with thoughts of wingpsans.

PITCHES: 

Suzanne: I've been thinking that angels (or angel-esque creatures) should make a comeback. "Angels" have recently re-entered the world of Man, and they're quickly gaining cults. Some are more friendly and seem to actually think they're doing good, some are blatantly ego-driven cult leaders, but all of them keep themselves at some level of emotional and literal distance from the humans. Well... maybe not ALL of them....

Luiza: The dominant magical creatures in this world are angels. Among the faithful and fallen, there's our MC, who's an unprecedented anomaly: a newly-formed angel, created a few centuries ago as part of a divine experiment. Unlike the old and terrifying entities who carry out God's will or rebel against it, this angel was forged specifically to bridge the divide between celestial and human nature. 

Meg: Fallen angels. Maybe throw in some demons, too. They can be at war with the mortal realm, or one another. It's been over 15 years since Hush, Hush and Fallen were all the rage. Fallen angels are long overdue for a comeback!

Erica: Angels...maybe it's the Shadowhunters books I read as a teenager that completely melted my brain, but I think angels have a lot of potential for a romance-type book!

😈 Demons

Demons appear across many religious and mythological traditions, typically as malevolent supernatural beings. In Christian-influenced Western lore, they're often portrayed as fallen angels or agents of hell, associated with temptation, destruction, or corruption. In other traditions (like Mesopotamian, Buddhist, or Hindu cosmologies), demons can be more morally ambiguous or even protective.

In modern fantasy, "demon" can be a flexible catch-all term for any dark, powerful, magical being.

MY THOUGHTS: Sorry to all my friends who pitched this, but I avoid a lot of demon media. The way my religious trauma is set up... 

PITCHES:

Ryan: I was thinking that we could make demons the creatures that dominate the world. Demons would mostly be foe in this world, but you would also have "good" demons that turn to the side of our heroine, including the love interest. These demons would mostly take human form for the sake of "accessibility," so to speak. The evil demons would take monstrous form, which the "good" demons also take, but only when their nature completely takes over. This will give the romance a hint of darkness and the feeling of forbiddenness.

Spacehue: Creatures: demons, demon-humans. The relationship between humans, demons and demon-humans is antagonistic but not (usually) in a violent way. Let's just say the relationship between the three groups is strained at best. The humans perceive the demons as a curse and the demons think the humans are incompetent, ugly and ridiculous.Humans are for the most part aftaid of demon-humans, but demons are mostly pretty accepting of them.

Hope2Dust: Set in a dark fantasy world filled with eldritch terrors and demonic gods, our heroine is a young 20-something year old initiate sworn to an elite order of demon huntresses. After submitting themselves to rigorous training and ritual sacrament, the huntresses are blessed with otherworldly strength and agility, unnaturally long lives, and lightforged sorcery to cleanse the kingdoms of evil. 

Kyla: Demons! A world where demons make pacts with humans, granting wishes in exchange for human souls. 

Mariam: Picture this a girl (a devil like creature has red skin, horns and and maybe a tail or maybe that's too much Idk) that resides in hell she is a daughter of (either a high ranking devil probably Lucifer or maybe a low ranking devil) she hates hell lol then one day a boy stumbles in hell and she teams up with him to help rescue his brother. Together they explore hell ( the inspiration of hell could be from difficult cultures and religions) the story could by dark whilst still being funny ( the romance will sure be hot as hell ok I'll stop with the puns).

8. Stonebound Beings

🪨 Gargoyles

Gargoyles started out as architectural features in medieval Europe. They were stone carvings added to buildings, especially churches and cathedrals, to direct rainwater away from the walls. And, of course, people eventually started attaching stories to them. Over time, they picked up a reputation as guardians, believed to scare off evil spirits.

In fantasy and pop culture, gargoyles are typically depicted as sentient stone creatures that come to life at night. Sometimes they're cursed, sometimes they're protectors, but they're almost always tied to a specific place or purpose. They're not part of any one mythology, but they've become a staple of gothic fantasy. 

MY THOUGHTS: I really did not have Gargoyles at all in mind, but I feel like the opposite of a Shadow Daddy is a Rock Papa, and I mean that in the best way. 

PITCHES: 

Clare: They are monsters of the night that people live in fear of. Turns out the royals are evil and gargoyles are good guys, perfect for millennials who watched the show Gargoyles growing up.

Ceinwen: If white millennial women are, as we suspect, the largest percentage of this romance market, then we need to remind them how heartily they lusted after Goliath from Disney's Gargoyles. We can do this via urban fantasy OR we can portal fantasy into a fantasy world in TURMOIL that lets you combine gothic architecture and like overgrown shadowy foresty vibes. I promise you the girlies will love it. 

Cassi Rae: Banshees (foe) and gargoyles that are like protectors who "sleep" as stone

Suzanne: Gargoyles! Vampires, werewolves, and fairies get all the love, but save some room for the curmudgeonly gargoyle. Their literal rock hard abs make them great love interests, and there could even be societal implications from what kind of material they've been chiseled from. They're neither exclusively friend nor foe; stone will outlast us all, why care about human issues? Since we're going gargoyles, got to be gothic vibes all the way.

🗿Golems

Golems come from Jewish folklore, traditionally depicted as beings made from clay or stone and brought to life through sacred words or symbols. They were usually created to protect, serve, or carry out specific tasks, often with limited understanding or autonomy. The term has become somewhat generalized in more modern fantasy to refer to magical constructs.

MY THOUGHTS: I've loved a few stories I've read that feature golems. They also have a bit of tragedy to them as magical constructs, and again, lean well into genre patterns of exploring power dynamics and agency.

PITCHES:

Tshepiso: I think Golems could be a cool fantasy creature to explore. Or any type of fantasy creature that is an inanimate matter (ie, clay) given life through magic.

Jessica L: Two main types of magic beings, those made of pure magic (spirits) and those constructed out of magic by humans (golems, for lack of a better term). Either can be friend or foe, but care would obvs need to be taken with the golems to make sure they are their own people and have agency. Maybe they're created for a specific time-limited purpose (their "childhood") and are free afterwards. Maybe they are created as part of an artistic or religious practice, rather than serving humanity at all. Maybe they're constructed as ambassadors between humanity and spirits. This is a dangerous world, but full of wonder. And sexy people.

🗽 Misc. 

Jamie: Trolls! I think there's a misconception about trolls being ugly and so hot trolls would be great and subvert a few tropes. I think it also lends to a potential "outcast" romance type of novel if there are other creatures in the world, which would let people root for the underdog.

Phane: Bridge trolls! In this fractured world, bridges are everywhere, but trolls living under it controls who pass and who doesn't, sometimes with a cruel riddle. Bigger bridges have more trolls, while smaller might have only one. Bridge trolls are hostile to every living being trying to cross their bridges. On the other side of the creatures, gargoyles are the stone elite of the architectural creatures of this world. Sadly, due to their grotesque appearances, humans despise them. Can humans, gargoyles and trolls live together in harmony? Or will one of them try to overtake everything? This is irrelevant because our girlboss protagonist will date the king/high lord shadow daddy gargoyle who is, with his friends, the only good-looking gargoyles in this world. 

9. Nature and Elemental Beasts

🦄 Unicorns

Unicorns appear in mythology across many cultures, but they're best known in Western lore as horse-like creatures with a single horn and an aura of purity, healing, or mystery. In medieval bestiaries, they were symbols of virginity and grace; in more modern fantasy, they've ranged from noble companions to unpredictable forest gods. Most depictions maintain their status as rare, powerful, and generally untouchable.

MY THOUGHTS: See previous thoughts on horse girls watching my every move.

PITCHES: 

Chelsea: You said cursed woods, and my little 90s heart went !!!!! And then I was thinking, have unicorns been done in the last couple decades??? Could we create some sort of unicorn-based economy or magic system (or magic system that is an economy...)? I feel like that could be the basis of sort of a dark fantasy backdrop for a romantic storyline.

Kaitlyn MR: Unicorns. Beautiful, majestic, equines with piercing, adamantine horns. They have long flowing hair in a range of colors: moon silver, jade green, ruby red, sparkling amethyst, etc. They have gorgeous, rainbow auras that give them a sense of divinity (at least some people think so), but they are incredibly hostile, despise any other creature around them, especially humans. They have been known to gore many people who foolishly attempt to tame them. General vibes of the world: enchanting, medieval, feudal, but unexpectedly sinister. 

Gabby: Here me out: Unicorns. Potentially common, potentially rare. The creatures themselves are good luck, and having pieces of them brings luck and fortune to the owners, but killing them brings a curse to the hunter. Potentially a world where magic is known but not a common entity among most people. Maybe it's a tool used by the rich/wealthy/powerful. Maybe it is hidden within old wives' tales and stories, waiting to be rediscovered. 

Mellow: Unicorns, but a world where there are a lot like a rodent infestation. Instead of main character being the special she is one of many unicorns.

Kat: Unicorns. sexy, sexy unicorns. or unicorn shifters or whatever. i do think it would be hilarious to have some kind of powerful unicorns and powerless horses dynamic (not sure what role zebras would play here). vibes are very horse girl fairytale but sexy and taking itself very seriously. x rated lisa frank stickers. unicorns are foe to our heroine who works with horses in a stable.

🐎 Centaurs

Centaurs come from Greek mythology and are best known as creatures with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse. They often appear in ancient stories as both wild and capable of wisdom and philosophy. In modern fantasy, centaurs range from noble warriors and scholars to brutal forest-dwelling clans.

MY THOUGHTS: I can only think of Adam Driver, send help. 

Anon: Centaurs, but the horse part is my little pony style. The rest of the world lives in great fear of these colorful horse men and cope by having assassin guilds or something.

Tam: Centaurs! You get the best of both worlds; soft coats to pet, handsome men with the requisite horse-sized schlongs, a form of transportation and someone to talk to all in one! Plus, you can braid his tail to make him look pretty.

Kitty: Centaurs. Four legs and 2 human hands that they use to rule over the pathetic 2 legged humans. Enemies to lovers, for the horse girlies.

🦌 Misc

PITCHES:

Dragonflydust: I say normal-looking forest animals (deer/wolves/rabbits/etc.) but they can burst into flame creatures. Animals are afraid and feral at the sight of humans. The world is cloudy covered with ash and dead trees. Maybe a quest to bring back the green forests??

Dave: Okay, so: since you mentioned a cursed forest as one of the possible setting, I was thinking... what if the magical creatures are trees? More specifically, the physical, anthropomorphic embodiment of specific trees inside the forest. What if there's this cursed forest close to where the FMC lives, and people are forbidden from entering it? And I mean physically forbidden, maybe there's an actual magical barrier, maybe there's a mental compulsion... and the people living nearby tell stories about the terrible things happening inside the forest and about its monstruous inhabitants having been sealed inside in ancient times.

Cat: Hear me out - magical woods with Ent like creatures, tree spirits, and the like. 

10. Mythologies Beyond the Mainstream

While many familiar fantasy creatures have roots in global mythology, most romantasy tends to recycle the same Western traditions—fae, vampires, dragons, rinse, repeat. This category highlights submissions inspired by mythologies that don't often get center stage in the genre. These pitches draw from a wide range of cultural sources, including Filipino, Hindu, African diasporic, and Mexican, among others.

They may not share a creature type, but these single pitches expand the palette of what a romantasy world can look like when it reaches beyond the usual canon.

MY THOUGHTS: All of these sound so interesting, so my big questions would be: am I the right person to do this? Is the right project to explore these?

PITCHES: 

Ramya: I love Hindu mythology in which there are these creatures called rakshasas that can shape shift into any being. They are underexplored in current fiction. Using those might be cool.

Meow: Manananggal (vampiric flying torso separated from its body) from Filipino mythology, I'm sorry, just had to shout out a Filipino monster! That creature is foe because they're killing and eating people.

Natalie: Mexican Gods/Goddesses and Alebrijes, I admit I don't know a lot about them, but would love for you to explore, learn, and teach us. It's definitely not done enough if at all.

Ray'El: African mythology is always a good time to me. I'm not sure what regions would be best to pull from, but the vibe should be very moody no matter what. Heavy emphasis on the neutrality of creatures and the tit-for-tat nature of some

Nee: Drudes. According to Wikipedia (I know), in German folklore, a drude (German: Drude, German: [ˈdʁuːdə], pl. Druden) is a kind of malevolent nocturnal spirit associated with nightmares. Since romantasy is all about shadow daddies, this sounds like the dream shadow daddy lol. 

Ana: Based on the Japanese nekomata, a large cat-like creature with two tails that can shapeshift. They are the wisdom keepers and are found in the mountains of this world, rather recluse and stern. They are neither friend nor foe, but an immortal being that can act as an impartial judge, but they are feared. The world is contained within a continent surrounded by a vast ocean. Three countries share the continent. Humans, spirits and other magical creatures live in all three countries.

11. Hybrid Realms

While the previous pitches could lead to a world with multiple magical species in it, most of them focus on one central creature type. I'd build the story around them. The pitches in this category are different. These aren't about one dominant species with others in the background, but rather about worlds that are built from the ground up to center many species at once.

MY THOUGHTS: So many love interests to choose from, but do these at some point start to feel too un-Romantasy?

PITCHES: 

Jocelyn: Vampire + ghost + werewolf a la Being Human (a cheesy supernatural TV show from the UK that had a very quiet US remake)

Ruaridh: ok, hear me out, but magical animal companions. Everyone has them. Some are seen as "good" and earn people positions of power, while others are "bad" and are looked down upon. It's all claimed to be a meritocracy or something butunderneath, they're stealing the low class's companions for the upper class.

PanicfromBrasil: The world has many hybrids, kids of magical creatures and humans, living in harmony in this mixed society, but there is a problem, humanity needs their magical core to have the capacity to perform magic and fight against extinction.

Ellie: What if we did SUPER classic fantasy, go full medieval style with dragons, unicorns, harpies, etc. Doesn't have to be set in medieval times necessarily, but I think it would be funny to have dragons who sit on piles of gold and unicorns that talk a la The Last Unicorn, but it's taken super seriously within the world because of modern romantasy mechanics. I think the uber classic fairytale vibe has been meticulously avoided by this genre (rightfully so) because of fears of being basic and uncreative, but to me, that makes it a funnier option lol. 

Zaf: The general vibes would be a fantasy world with different "district" where each district is "independent" of each other. However, there's a Peace treaty among these districts that allowed to selects a bunch of citizens of each district to an Academy for some sort of training as political diplomats to their respective "districts". As for mythical creatures, there's the Air district dominated by Pegasus, the Forest "district" dominated by Basilisk, the Desert "district" dominated by Chimera and Water "district" dominated by Kelpies. All the creatures are friends to their respective "district" and may or may not be friends with other "districts'" creatures. The general concensus will give of a strong political intrigue that will also involve one or more of the mythic creatures into the mix.

Kathy: Forest witch MC with a Merman love interest, with some kind of flying foe/potential for love triangle (such as dragon shifter, or gryphon, or harpy). In the case of a harpy, we could make this a bisexual love triangle.

Vex: In a world where elves and human witches have been at war for centuries, a recent environmental apocalypse has forced the two species to come to a ceasefire and integrate, or go extinct. Think the Broken Earth Trilogy, Waterworld, or maybe Baldur's Gate 3 for vibes. 

May Z: Courts of shapeshifting elementals: phoenixes for fire, kelpies for water, dragons for earth, pantheons for air. (I like the idea of the "animal" forms not immediately being associated with their element--horses don't live in water; deer don't fly--and there being some kind of lore to go with that.) Each court has their own culture and may or may not get along with humans (or each other).

12. Wildcard

What is there even to say? 

PITCHES: 

Cait: Hair magic - hair color is like your magical discipline. People have rigid beliefs about what hair texture means re:personality, morality. They are wrong, or course. Oh the hair brushes are sentient. 

Savoya: Zombies! Zombie x human forbidden romance. 

Q*bert: magical trash creatures (raccoons, skunks, pigeons, etc). love interest is an urban coyote. magic is known but not valued. 

Maya: I'm thinking like a nine lives of Chloe king kinda thing, people with cat abilities! Maybe there's different lineages with different kinds of animal powers and there's some preconceived notions about what lineages are the best/deserve power. Love some good undertones of court politics! 

Alexa C: okay hear me out - how about a clown creature / harlequin something. clowns and medieval core are very in at the moment. OMG OR the romantasy I actually want, some Zelda Link (Zelink) inspired world?? 

Anon: Clowns! I met someone recently who thought clowns were a separate species that humans just dressed up as (like vampires, werewolves etc) and (like vampires) didn't believe they actually existed. Pretending they're a mythical creature, I think they would work quite well in a court politics type of story and could have some sort of secret terrifying clown powers that they use in a clown rebellion or whatever. I think they would also work well for romantasy because, like SJM style Fae, they are human-like but have some defining physical traits. You could have the clown love interest grinning every other page or, like tails and wings in fae romantasy books, you could make a big deal out of a squeaky nose or comically large shoes.

Liz: As someone who also comes from Lindsey Ellis's Fifty Shades of Green, I think Cthulus and the Great Old Ones need to make a comeback. You can have a sea based setting, a prince with a dark secret, and a heroine who has to choose a between being a dutiful daughter or giving into her passions to the point of madness. 

Anon: I think your world should have a surge in the sasquatch population. Humans have now taken to the woods to play least in sight. Sasquatch no longer believe humans exist despite blurry photos of them surfacing every so often. 

I know that was a lot, but I hope you all had as much fun reading through these as I did! Thank you so much for submitting all of your amazing ideas. Don't forget to comment with your top three (creatures, not pitches, though you can also tell me your favorite pitches as a bonus, if you'd like). 

My top 3? Gargoyles, Selkies and Sirens. Angels are a close fourth. 

♥️

Mari