Our mentors are mentoring, our mentees are revising, and we hope you’re making progress on your own manuscript! While we’re all working toward the Agent Showcase starting on February 10, 2021, we hope you’ll take a moment during your writing breaks and get to know our 2020 Pitch Wars Mentor and Mentee Teams.
Next up, we have . . .
Maggie North – Mentee
Rosie Danan – Mentor
Ruby Barrett – Mentor
Rosie and Ruby, why did you choose Maggie?
Rosie: Maggie’s story has so much heart. From the dynamic characters to the quirky small town setting, Charm Campaign jumps off the page. She introduced us to a world that I’d been missing since Parks and Rec went off air—one in which good people work hard to effect change and realize that taking care of each other is the first step to building a better world.
Ruby: Maggie’s voice hooked me from the first page. I knew immediately that I wanted more of Bell and Aron’s story. The setting was a huge draw for me, as well. Maggie painted a picture of a community that was warm and immediately recognizable. It was a place I’ve visited a thousand times and one I want to keep going back to. There’s something sweetly raw and tender about Charm Campaign that makes me want to root for it and see everyone win.
Parks and Rec reference? I’m sold! We definitely need more community-positive stories. So Ruby, why did you choose to submit to Rosie and Ruby?
All the reasons! Rosie and Ruby have this amazing energy of breaking down barriers and changing the world, and I want to be part of that too. Yet, they also have the kind of lovely presence that made me feel like they would be such amazing, generous, soothing mentors to work with. Their wishlist was like a to-do list for everything I’m trying to accomplish with this book: sexy yearning, #ownvoices rep, nerdy niche content, and unashamed, swords-out love for the romance genre.
I’m going to have to check out their wishlist. And Rosie and Ruby, summarize Maggie’s book in 3 words.
Rosie: Quirky, Sweet, Hopeful
Ruby: Cute, Funny, Sexy
Maggie, summarize your book in 3 words.
Charm versus smarts.
Love all of these descriptive words! Rosie and Ruby, tell us about yourself. Something we may not already know.
Rosie: In the summer of 2011, I worked with archeologists to restore an ancient Greek temple.
Ruby: As a teenager, I ran a horse penis cleaning business to great financial success.
I was reading along, impressed by Rosie’s archeology adventure, and then BAM! I spit coffee at my screen at Ruby’s answer. Ha! But I’m so glad it was a great success! Anyway, back to Maggie. What do you hope to get out of the Pitch Wars experience?
This question has such hidden depths! Like many hopefuls, I applied to Pitch Wars to become a better writer, and I definitely wanted to plug myself into the Pitch Wars community, make friends, and go on this writing adventure with them. But also, I’m a human and as such, my ambition is essentially unlimited. Like, I want to learn to write books that get right down into the machinery of your heart and then start making adjustments in there. I want my words to be the beginning of something that adjusts the machinery of the world. You know. The usual.
Yes, that sounds like the usual. I’m crossing my fingers that all the successes come your way! And Maggie, tell us about yourself. What makes you and your manuscript unique?
CHARM CAMPAIGN came from a place so deep in my heart. I’m autistic and maximally awkward, but I come from a family of wildly charismatic public figures. That experience made me wonder why we’ve constructed an election process that rewards charisma and social ability above all. Why do we think, “I’d enjoy having a beer with that person, therefore they would be great at running the country”? Why do we instinctively understand that fictional villains fool people with easy smiles and cheap flattery, but in real life we still debate whether candidates are ‘likable enough’? It makes no sense, and I wanted to challenge that mindset. So I wrote a romance about an awkward, earnest, autistic woman who decides to run for mayor only because there are no other candidates. But a last-minute rival shows up – a charming football hero who’s the darling of the city. And do these two ever have it bad for each other! I can’t wait for everyone to meet Bell and Aron.
This! All this! I can’t wait to see it on the shelves and read it one day. Thank you Rosie, Ruby, and Maggie for the interview!
Check out Rosie’s upcoming book releasing April 6, 2021, THE INTIMACY EXPERIMENT …
“The Roommate is a book about people expanding into their best possible selves — about embracing pleasure, loving unabashedly and fighting exploitation and small-mindedness.”—New York Times Book Review
Naomi and Ethan will test the boundaries of love in this provocative romance from the author of the ground-breaking debut, The Roommate.
Naomi Grant has built her life around going against the grain. After the sex-positive start-up she cofounded becomes an international sensation, she wants to extend her educational platform to live lecturing. Unfortunately, despite her long list of qualifications, higher ed won’t hire her.
Ethan Cohen has recently received two honors: LA Mag nominated him as one of the city’s hottest bachelors and he became rabbi of his own synagogue. Low on both funds and congregants, the executive board of Ethan’s new shul hired him with the hopes that his nontraditional background will attract more millennials to the faith. They’ve given him three months to turn things around or else they’ll close the doors of his synagogue for good.
Naomi and Ethan join forces to host a buzzy seminar series on Modern Intimacy, the perfect solution to their problems–until they discover a new one–their growing attraction to each other. They’ve built the syllabus for love’s latest experiment, but neither of them expected they’d be the ones putting it to the test.
Check out Ruby’s upcoming book releasing April 13, 2021, HOT COPY …
A meet-cute gone wrong is the start of a surprising courtship in this fresh, modern take on the workplace romance from debut author Ruby Barrett
Corinne Blunt knows what people think of her—she’s an icy, unapproachable executive. It’s the price she’s had to pay to get to the top. But there’s knowing you have a reputation in the office, and there’s hearing your new intern laugh when someone calls you “Blunt the C*nt” in the elevator on his first day.
She’d hoped to finally find an ally in Wesley Chambers, but she’s not about to let him off the hook for joining the office boys’ club. Taking refuge in the professional boundaries between them, she relegates Wes to assistant work—which would do the trick, if he weren’t so eager to prove he’s a decent human being.
Wes is sincerely apologetic, insisting it was a misunderstanding, and to her surprise, Corinne believes him. Being forced to work together was one thing, but long hours at the office with what turns out to be a kind, thoughtful man soon has their business relationship turning personal, and things get complicated—fast. Could this be something more serious than either of them dared to hope for? Or is their relationship just playing into the harmful power dynamics Corinne’s had to endure her entire career?
Thank you for supporting our Pitch Wars Teams! The Agent Showcase is February 10-15, 2021. Make sure to stop by then and check out all our mentees’ entries when it opens.