CREATIVE WORKS
Caroline J. Trussell is an independently published author, junior literary agent with Metamorphosis Literary, and has served in a number of editorial roles throughout her career. She was previously a contributing writer for Her Campus and Folio Weekly. Caroline graduated from the University of Central Florida with a major in Writing and Rhetoric and also attended the prestigious Columbia Publishing Course in 2021. Her speculative fiction fantasy novel, ENHANCED, comes out with Fire and Ice YA in July 2025. She is a queer, neurodivergent, disabled writer as well as a mental health and chronic illness warrior and hopes to inspire others through discussing these topics in her work. Her favorite genres to write in are thriller, horror, and fantasy.
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ENHANCED, YA Speculative Fiction
COMING OUT JULY 2025 WITH FIRE AND ICE YOUNG ADULT BOOKS
THE PROGRAM x DIVERGENT
In a society that eradicates mental illness and turns it into “mental abilities,” The Elite receive the Elixir, purging them of the illness. But not everyone is being given the Elixir, and Thea has to fight to find out why else the world as she knows it will unravel.
WORDS CAN KILL, Dark Academia Fantasy
QUERYING AS OF OCTOBER 2024
Aster Moen would do anything to be the best writer the world has seen— even if it means spilling her blood to commune with the greats that came before her and potentially lose the ones she loves the most in the process.
For fans of: THE SECRET HISTORY, THE MAIDENS, NINTH HOUSE, A LESSON IN VENGEANCE, A DEADLY EDUCATION, THE ATLAS SIX, IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE, AN ACADEMY OF LIARS, THE MIDNIGHT CLUB
LOVE IN THE CITY WITH NO J STREET, YA Contemporary
Amazon Publishing, 2019
Jeannette Jaxon feels that she’s never made an imprint, but Washington, D.C. calls for a new approach, when she is pursued by Randolph Watterson High’s most popular guy and well-known player Jackson Marshall.
Her next few months in the nation’s capital are landmarked by a whirlwind relationship, one too many pot brownies, and a really bad mentoring program that she feels she isn’t qualified to take part in. After an interesting, challenging, and eye-opening six months, Jeannette feels like she finally has a grasp on things, that is, until she gets tragically dumped at an ironically extravagant and beautiful lake house.
Staring out at the sunset, she realizes that whatever she thought was real seems fake, and that she’ll need to take a different approach to how she views those around her.
She must decide if she will drop down into the depths of her once consuming self-doubt and paranoia, or if she will allow herself to learn that pain is essential for growth and that she’ll never be perfect, but instead, human. In order to learn that life is beautiful, in all of its stages, she has to love someone with no reservations, forgive those who have wronged her, and open herself up to new friendships and new experiences.
THE MARKED ONES, YA Fantasy
WORK IN PROGRESS SINCE NOVEMBER 2024
- GLADIATOR II X DIVINE RIVALS
Decided fate since birth
- Sacrifice to the gods for power and prestige
- Ancient Rome inspired
- Female gladiators
- The prophesied one trope
- Feminine Rage
A GREED SO RUINOUS, Horror
WORK IN PROGRESS SINCE JULY 2024
- Angels and demons
- Plagues/apocalyptic
- Stepford Wives-eqsue Connecticut elite community setting
- Greed that could ruin it all
- feminine rage
FEMME FATAL, Horror/Thriller
WORK IN PROGRESS SINCE OCTOBER 2024
- Female serial killer
- PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN vibes
- Northwest Florida university setting
- Revenge for wronged women
- F**k the patriarchy and the casualness of harassment in university settings
KINDLE THE FLAME, YA Magical Realism
WORK IN PROGRESS SINCE 2023
- Mental illness and LGBTQIA+ rep
- Bi-sexual MC
- Irish and Argentinian folklore
- Elemental, divination, and healing magic
- Prophecy to end all prophecies
- New England setting
-Close knit cast of characters
- Wonderfully supportive dads
NO CANCELLATIONS, Paranormal Horror
AN IDEA SINCE AUGUST 2024
- Idyllic coastal Georgia island setting with vast historical roots
- A hotel you can't escape
- Lots and lots of ghosts
- A spirit that doesn't realize she's dead
- Loss of sense of time and space
- Sinister workers
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CROSSING THE LINE, Romantasy (On Hold)
WORK IN PROGRESS SINCE FEBRUARY 2024
- Mental Illness Rep
- ALICE IN WONDERLAND Retelling
- Sexy Mad Hatter x Alice's ancestor
- Magic and mayhem/unique abilities
- We're all mad here
- Lush world-building
- Not all those who wander are lost
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HOUSE OF MINDS, Psychological Horror
OUTLINED SINCE 2023
- Mental illness rep
- Haunted house that preys on your worst fears
- What's real and what isn't?
- Rich paranormal history
- Cabin in the woods
- Can you escape?
- Who and what is the real evil?
- OCD rep
RELEASED, Paranormal Romance
WORK IN PROGRESS SINCE 2020
After witnessing her brother’s untimely death, CYNTHIA is diagnosed with panic disorder and checks herself in to a mental health facility. On the night of her release from Aardenhall Institute, she runs into a mysterious man who equally leaves her feeling unsettled and exhilarated. Little does she know it’s WILLIAM GRAYSON, who had his own stay at Aardenhall 50 years prior. And that William isn’t human. He’s a vampire.
Drawn to one another by more than just primal attraction, Cynthia and William quickly fall for each other, and it becomes increasingly hard for William to conceal his true identity as a monster. Meanwhile, Cynthia’s mental illness rears its ugly head, trying to ruin everything she’s worked hard to build up.
Cynthia becomes fast friends with the five ‘alumni’ from Aardenhall Institute that she now shares a house with and particularly finds solace in her quiet, kind roommate Connor, who promises her a simple and comforting life free of danger. It’s tempting… but does Cynthia really want that?
On a fateful Valentine’s night, Cynthia discovers William’s secret and, even though his true nature is shown, she remembers that he’s shown her a life almost free of fear and uncertainty. And she knows she’s in love with a vampire and there’s absolutely nothing she can do about it.
Throughout RELEASED, Cynthia deals with realistic barriers caused by her panic disorder, but continues to rise above and give herself, love, and life a chance. Within the story, the reader is also given the opportunity to see the lives of her five housemates who each deal with a different mental illness and who bring something special to Cynthia’s life.
RELEASED is set in a small, gothic town and explores Cynthia and her friends’ stories as they navigate life and love in their twenties. At 112,000 words, it is a new adult paranormal romance with elements of fantasy and an #ownvoices narrative, discussing mental health and LGBTQ+ issues. It can best be described as TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN meets BORDERLINE by Mishell Baker.
PAINT IT RED, YA Psychological Thriller
WORK IN PROGRESS SINCE 2019
Everything changed for sixteen-year-old Elliot Abernathy in the blink of an eye. One night his mother comes home, clearly out of sorts, and is admitted to the hospital, where she is deemed as having large quantities of drugs in her system. She is immediately transported to the Adirondacks Psychiatric Facility, where she stays as a rehab patient. However, Elliot’s mother divulges to him that this was part of her plan: to uncover the mistreatment of the patients by the head psychiatrist, Dr. Axley.
Elliot must get his mother out of the facility. He discovers that the facility is not only mistreating its patients but is being funded by high-level politicians and that his own father has a connection to the wrongdoings. He begins to write for his mother’s paper to expose the corruption and, with each new discovery, Elliot feels that his world is being turned upside down. A school fire twenty-five years ago, a group of missing children, and the sick-looking appearance of the psych patients all drive Elliot further towards finding out what is going on behind the walls of this facility. If Elliot doesn’t expose the corruption and help release the patients, he risks losing his mother forever, and fears that his town will never know the truth.
PAINT IT RED is set in 1983 and explores how far someone will go for their loved ones while examining mental health issues. With many twists and turns, PAINT IT RED will keep anyone on their toes and on the edge of their seat. PAINT IT RED strives to tell the story of a young man who fights for what is right, at all costs, and finds himself in the process.
At around 90,000 words, it is a young adult psychological thriller and can be described best as THE PROJECT by Courtney Summers and STRANGER THINGS meets SHUTTER ISLAND.