Manuscript Status: Finished
Mentor: Laura Shovan and Tricia Clasen
Mentee: Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo
Title: RUBY IN THE SKY
Category/Genre: Contemporary Middle Grade
Word Count: 46,000
Pitch:
Ruby Moon Hayes (12) is as silent and invisible as a new moon in the frozen Vermont sky. She doesn’t want kids at her new school to ask about her past or find out her outspoken mother has been arrested. Ruby’s only friend is the town’s reclusive Bird Lady. There is more to the Bird Lady’s story than people know — as there is to Mom’s and Ruby’s. As Mom’s trial draws near, Ruby must break her silence or risk losing everyone she loves.
Excerpt:
People disappear all the time. Sometimes you see their faces on the Internet or plastered across the backs of tractor trailers. Sometimes they stare from posters as you stand in line at Walmart. Sometimes, when they’ve been gone a long time, an artist can draw their face the way they probably look now, so you can recognize them when you see them again.
Sometimes people are there, then poof, like a magic trick, they’re gone.
On that first Saturday after we moved to Fortin, when I watched my mom handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser, that’s what I thought about. People disappearing.
I’d just handed Mom the tape to seal the drafty windows of our latest “forever home” when Bob Van Doodle barked. We peered outside as the cruiser fishtailed up our unplowed driveway. Mom dropped the tape.
“He must be here about my complaint,” she said. “He must have questions. Or paperwork. Remember how Dad hated paperwork?” She pressed her necklace’s moon charm against her lips.
The officer raised his hand to knock, but Mom had already opened the door. A blast of frosted air propelled him inside. The door shut. The window rattled. I hugged myself.
“Dahlia Hayes,” he said.
“Yes?” Mom said.
“Ma’am, you have the right to remain silent.”
27 Comments
Lauren Spieller · November 3, 2016 at 10:47 pm
Wow, this was a really gripping first page, and I love the premise. Please send the full manuscript (as well as a synopsis if you have one) to lauren@triadaus.com with “Pitch Wars: [YOUR TITLE]” as the subject line. Please also include your query in the body of the email. I look forward to reading!
-Lauren Spieller, TriadaUS
Saba Sulaiman · November 3, 2016 at 11:37 pm
Lovely, lovely writing, Jeanne! Please send a query, synopsis, and full manuscript (Word documents will suffice) to ssulaiman@talcottnotch.net — and don’t forget to mention #PitchWars in your subject line. Thanks—looking forward to my read!
Good luck,
–Saba
Suzie Townsend · November 3, 2016 at 11:53 pm
Wow! I love this! Please send it as a Microsoft word document with “Pitch Wars manuscript” in the subject line, including your query letter in the first page of the document. Suzie at newleafliterary dot com.
Pam Howell · November 4, 2016 at 12:24 am
Hi! I’d also love to see the full please with query and whatever synopsis you have available.
Carrie Pestritto · November 4, 2016 at 9:49 am
Oh my goodness, I love this opening! I’d love to read the full of this if you would please send as a Word attachment. You can email me directly at carrie(at)prospectagency(dot)com. If you would put PITCH WARS in the subject and the query in the body of the email that would be great. Excited to read more!!
Ammi-Joan Paquette · November 4, 2016 at 11:25 am
Love this! Please do send query & first 3 chapters my way to joan at emliterary.com – thanks!
Laura Zats · November 4, 2016 at 11:59 am
Wow! Please send the full MS and a query to laura@redsofaliterary.com!
Brianne Johnson · November 4, 2016 at 12:46 pm
Hi Jeanne,
Talk about a gripping first page – I’d love to read more! Could you send the first 50 pages to bjohnson@WritersHouse.com? Make sure to include Pitch Wars in the subject line!
All the best,
Brianne Johnson
Jennifer Johnson-Blalock · November 4, 2016 at 2:11 pm
I can’t wait to know what happens next. Please send the first 50 pages attached as a Word doc and the query in the body of the email to queryjennifer[at]lizadawson[dot]com. Thank you!
– Jennifer Johnson-Blalock, Liza Dawson Associates
Ilse Craane · November 4, 2016 at 2:14 pm
Intriguing premise and great opening. Please send the full manuscript with a query letter to ilse(at)bookstopliterary.com, I’d love to read more.
Thanks,
Ilse Craane
Melissa Nasson · November 4, 2016 at 2:49 pm
I would love to read more! Please send the full manuscript as a Word doc or PDF to melissa@rpcontent.com, and be sure to include “Pitch Wars” in the subject line. Please also include your query in the body of the email.
Thank you!
Melissa Nasson
Rubin Pfeffer Content
Victoria Marini · November 4, 2016 at 2:59 pm
Hi Jeanne,
What a beautiful opening and interesting premise! I’d love to continue. Can you please send the full manuscript to victoria.queries@irenegoodman.com with “query” and “pitchwars” somewhere in the subject line?
Thank you so much!
All my best,
Victoria
Stefanie Lieberman · November 4, 2016 at 3:08 pm
I’d like to see more! Please send a query and the first 50 pages as a Word attachment to submissions@janklow.com and please put “Pitch Wars – Stefanie Lieberman” in the subject line. Thank you!
Laura Biagi, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency · November 4, 2016 at 5:34 pm
This sounds really amazing–great concept, great writing, great voice! Please send the full manuscript + query + synopsis to LBiagi (at) jvnla (dot) com, with Pitch Wars in the subject line. Can’t wait to read!
Emmanuelle Morgen · November 4, 2016 at 8:11 pm
Hi Jeanne,
May I request the manuscript as well? If you could send it as a Word doc to submissions[at]stonesong[dot]com, that would be lovely.
Emmanuelle
Jennifer Laughran · November 4, 2016 at 8:14 pm
I’d love to take a look. Please send the query and full manuscript (as a word doc) to JennL@andreabrownlit.com — with PITCH WARS in the subject line.
Melissa Jeglinski · November 5, 2016 at 10:37 am
Very compelling and want to read more. Please send the complete manuscript (as a Word attachment) and query (in body of email) to Melissa.Jeglinski@knightagency.net. Please put Pitch Wars Request in the subject line. Thank you.
Susan Hawk · November 5, 2016 at 1:22 pm
I can’t wait to see more of this! Please send the complete manuscript and query to me at: kidsqueries@thebentagency.com; include PITCH WARS in the subject. Can’t wait to read!
Pete Knapp · November 5, 2016 at 8:05 pm
I’m hooked! I’d love to keep reading. Please send the full manuscript attached as a Word document to queries@parkliterary.com with “Pitch Wars – Pete Knapp” in the subject. Looking forward to reading! – Pete Knapp
Stacey Glick · November 5, 2016 at 11:14 pm
Adding my request to the mix. Please email the manuscript to me at sglick@dystel.com as a word doc and include Pitch Wars in the subject line. Many thanks!
Heather Flaherty · November 6, 2016 at 10:09 pm
Throwing in as well – Would love to see the full!
Can you please send the full manuscript along with the query + 10 pages pasted in the body of the email to flahertyqueries@thebentagency.com, with subject line: PITCH WARS + Title.
Thank you! 🙂
Victoria Selvaggio · November 8, 2016 at 12:06 pm
WOW! A long list of requests and I’m adding to it. Would love to see the first 50 pages. Please send to vselvaggio@windstream.net and put “PITCHWARS” in the subject line. Thank you!
Tamar Rydzinski · November 8, 2016 at 1:27 pm
Joining the crowd — I can’t wait to see your manuscript! Please send to trydzinski@ldlainc.com. Thanks!
Christa Heschke (@ChristaHeschke) · November 8, 2016 at 2:46 pm
I love this! Please send a query, synopsis and the full manuscript to chquery@mcintoshandotis.com. Please mark “Pitch Wars request” in the subject line. –Christa Heschke
Taylor Haggerty · November 8, 2016 at 2:48 pm
I’d love to read as well! Please feel free to send the query + full ms (as a word doc) to taylorsubmit@waxmanleavell.com w/PitchWars in the subject line. Thank you!
Andrea Somberg · November 8, 2016 at 4:18 pm
I absolutely loved these opening pages and would love take a look at the full manuscript. Please feel free to send it along as a word document to andrea [at] harveyklinger.com with “PitchWars Requested Manuscript” in the subject line. Thanks! I’m looking forward to reading.
best,
Andrea Somberg
Harvey Klinger Inc.
Roseanne Wells · November 10, 2016 at 11:08 am
Jeanne–What a compelling opening! Please send the manuscript and a synopsis as Word doc attachments to queryroseanne@gmail.com with Pitch Wars and Query + title in the subject line. Can’t wait to read!
Roseanne Wells
The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
Comments are closed.