Manuscript Status: Finished
Mentor: Léonie Kelsall and Marty Mayberry
Mentee: Elizabeth Chatsworth
Title: THE BRASS QUEEN
Category: Adult
Genre: Speculative Fiction (Alternate History with a Steampunk twist)
Word Count: 102,000
Pitch:
The Aeronaut’s Windlass meets Soulless. In a steam-powered world, Constance Haltwhistle is the last in a line of blue-blooded rogues. Selling firearms under her alias, “the Brass Queen,” has kept her baronial estate’s coffers full. But when US spy, Trusdale, saves her from assassins, she’s pulled into a search for a scientist with an invisibility serum. As foes create an invisible army to start a global war, Constance and Trusdale must learn to trust each other. If they don’t, the world they know will literally disappear before their eyes.
Excerpt:
The grass was always greener in another dimension. Miss Constance Haltwhistle assumed that in a parallel world, she was enjoying her coming-out ball. A taller, less red-haired version of herself was waltzing in the arms of a dashing beau. Young noblemen, resplendent in white tie, were lining up for the opportunity to propose holy matrimony.
And no one had tried to kill her in weeks.
Draining her fourth glass of champagne, she stuffed her unmarked dance card into the pocket in her bustle. Snickers erupted from a trio of viscounts trailing her around the party as they made wagers on which etiquette rule she would stumble over next. Her current faux pas included dropping a fan into the punch bowl, wearing steel-toed ankle boots instead of dance slippers, and mistaking a cigar in an earl’s pocket for a concealed weapon. She’d demanded that he disarm himself before she damn well did it for him.
Alas, sometimes a cigar was just a cigar.
She strode away from the viscounts, recalled her need for a wedding proposal, and added a little swing to her bustled behind. She glanced over her shoulder as the lords guffawed at her dropped dance card.
She’d missed her pocket. Again.
Cheeks aflame, she headed for the dance floor.
12 Comments
Quressa Robinson · November 1, 2017 at 12:43 pm
I’d love to see more!
Please query me at queryquressa@nelsonagency.com. In the subject line, write REQUESTED QUERY (PitchWars) and the title of your project. This will help ensure that your query isn’t accidentally deleted or caught in our spam filter. In the body of your email, include a one-page query letter and the first twenty pages of your manuscript.
Kelly Peterson · November 1, 2017 at 12:48 pm
Hi Elizabeth!
I’d love to see more of this. Could you send me your query, synopsis, and the first 100 pages of your manuscript? If you go to http://queryme.online/kellypeterson/pitchwars you’ll find a form and should be able to attach the pages! Let me know if you have any questions! =)
Warm Regards,
Kelly Peterson
Jr. Literary Agent
Corvisiero Literary Agency
Carrie Pestritto · November 1, 2017 at 1:12 pm
I was super intrigued by your pitch and sample and definitely want to read more of this!! Please send me your query and first 100 pages, with the subject “PITCHWARS REQUEST,” to carrie(at)prospectagency(dot)com. Thank you and excited to see more!
Lindsay Mealing · November 1, 2017 at 2:20 pm
I’d love to see more! Can you please send your first 50 pages to querylindsay@emeraldcityliterary.com. Please include your query in your email and Pitch Wars in the subject line.
Thanks,
Lindsay
Penelope Burns · November 1, 2017 at 2:27 pm
Hi Elzabeth,
This is SO intriguing. Can you send the full to penelope@gelfmanschneider.com with your query in the body of the email and #PitchWars and title in the subject line? Thanks so much, looking forward to reading!
Penelope
Laura Zats · November 1, 2017 at 3:29 pm
I’m charmed by this! Please send the query in the body of an email with the MS attached to laura@redsofaliterary.com. Please mention Pitch Wars in the subject line!
Steven Salpeter · November 1, 2017 at 6:26 pm
Hello, Elizabeth,
I read this earlier and cannot get the excerpt or your pitch out of my head. Would you please send a sample of about 75 pages via this form?
https://www.literaryagents.io/pitch-wars-submission-form/
All my best,
Steven
Steven Salpeter | Curtis Brown, Ltd. | Ten Astor Place | New York, NY 10003
Roseanne Wells · November 1, 2017 at 9:17 pm
Wow! What a story, and what a name! Please use the guidelines on jdlit.com to send 100 pp (instead of the usual 20) and put #pitchwars in the subject line. I can’t wait to read more!
Roseanne Wells
The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
Caitlin McDonald · November 2, 2017 at 11:24 am
Yes, please! I’d love to see more of this. Please send the query, synopsis, and full manuscript (as an attachment) to query.cmcdonald@maassagency.com and include “Pitch Wars” in the subject line. Looking forward to reading!
Amanda Jain · November 3, 2017 at 9:59 am
I’m pulled in right from the start, would love to see where your story goes! Please send your full as an attachment to amanda@inklingsliterary.com. Thanks!
The Brass Queen: Pitch Wars Agent Showcase | Elizabeth Chatsworth · November 5, 2017 at 1:54 pm
[…] Pestritto November 1, 2017 at 1:12 pm · […]
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