Pitch Wars 2017 Agent Showcase . . . Adult and New Adult Entries

Welcome to the Pitch Wars Agent Showcase! Adult and New Adult entries …

For those unfamiliar with Pitch Wars, it’s a contest where published/agented authors, editors, or interns chose mentees and work with them for two months to make their work shine. Our amazing mentors chose one (some cases two) writer to mentor from nearly 3000 entries for this year’s for the agent showcase.

For a list of the amazing agents participating in Pitch Wars 2017, go here and here.

AGENTS: To make requests, simply peruse the following entries and enter what you would like to have the writers’ send you in the comments of the individual manuscript posts. Please include submission guidelines and/or additional instructions.

PLEASE only agent comments. All others save your comments until after the agent round. If you would like to cheer on your friends, go to the Twitter hashtag #PitchWars and show your support there. Thank you!

Here are the links to each entry’s post for your convenience…

 

PW #100: Adult Literary Fiction #ownvoices: OTHER PEOPLE

Pitch: THUG meets The Kite Runner. Lapsed attorney Anvar Faris is a bad Muslim, though he hides it well. He deals, albeit poorly, with complex issues, such as immigration, predator drones, eternal damnation, and his accidental cuckolding of a potential terrorist. When the woman he loves is paired with his odiously perfect, Quran-thumping brother for an arranged marriage, Anvar must find a way to intervene without losing his conservative family forever.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #101: Adult Thriller with supernatural elements: THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO

Pitch:  After a hit-and-run, eleven-year-old Lee is in a coma. His parents’ once-happy marriage is collapsing, while Harvey and Elle—the officer and bartender who caused the accident—struggle with guilt. Soon, Lee’s spirit appears to each of the four, driving them together in a quest of revenge and redemption. All five lives will intersect again, and not everyone will survive.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #102: Adult Romantic Suspense: IN THE NAME OF THE MOTHER

Pitch: The Punisher meets Revenge. Bail enforcement agent Alex is hell-bent on finally avenging her murdered mother. Shot while investigating the crime, Alex turns to Reid, the man she once pushed away. Together, they work to expose the dirty cops who covered up her mother’s homicide, but when Alex’s life is threatened, she fears Reid will be next. Unless she eliminates her stepfather, the man she loves will become collateral damage.  READ MORE . . . 

 

PW #103: Adult Epic Fantasy: GODBREAKER

Pitch: Forty years ago, Kastien slew a false god and freed a nation. Now, his knees ache every Void-damned time it rains, and he longs to retire with his wife and comrade-in-arms, Val. But when plague ravages their home, they must attempt the impossible: kidnap a healing god. If they fail, everything they love will fall to dust and shadow. ALLOY OF LAW meets DISHONORED. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #104: Adult Paranormal Romance: FOR THE LOVE OF GHOSTS

Pitch: When Emily meets Sean at a New Orleans masquerade ball, his supposed ability to talk to ghosts drives a wedge between them before she even learns his identity. But if he can’t convince her spirits are real, a demon will destroy them both. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #105: Adult Romantic Women’s Fiction: JANE DARLING’S RULES OF INHERITANCE

Pitch: The humor of SOPHIE KINSELLA meets the charm of AMY E. REICHERT: Commitment-shy Serie Little believes there’s nothing some homemade tiramisu and a few choice cuss words can’t fix. But that philosophy gets shot to hell when her long-time employer dies, leaving Serie a generous inheritance meant to force her out of a self-imposed rut. Now, she must make quick use of her new-found wealth or risk forfeiting everything. Including a chance at happiness with Rocco DeLuca, her co-inheritor and no-strings-attached, hottie fling. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #106: Adult Contemporary Women’s Fiction: THE RELUCTANT TRAVELER

Pitch: High school teacher Kristin Caine doesn’t travel—that’s for people with no sense of self-preservation. But when she finds herself pregnant, single, and talked into helping her overbearing dying mother complete a bucket list, plans change. As a journey of physical challenges, belated mother-daughter bonding, and unexpected romantic feelings for a new female friend ensues, Kristin must find the courage to live life fully and fearlessly, one bucket-list checkmark at a time. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #107: Adult Romantic Comedy: SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Pitch: Erma Bombeck meets Sophie Kinsella. When divorcee Sparrow Andrews moves her pack of semi-feral children to a run-down farmhouse, renovating—not romance—tops her to-do list. Until she meets new boss, hunky widower Sam. Falling in love with a man who is allergic to chaos and crumbs may be her biggest mistake yet. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #108: Adult Dark Fantasy: TIDEPOOL

Pitch: When Sorrow Hamilton travels to Tidepool in search of her missing brother Henry, she finds sinister locals, an intimidating widow with a daughter who may not be human, and a town caught in an ancient web of evil. Discovering a deadly ritual to appease the immortal creatures that dwell in the ocean, Sorrow knows that avenging Henry will doom all of Tidepool – and its denizens are hell-bent on making sure she never leaves. Gender-flipped Lovecraftian dark fantasy meets American Horror Story. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #109: Adult Speculative Fiction with LGBT romantic elements  #ownvoices Iranian : COUP DE GRACE

Pitch: Fleeing Iran with only his poetry book, reclusive Arash resolves to survive the world war—preferably alone. However, in the refugee camps of Nairosia, French-Russian Vitaliy charms Arash into joining his adopted multinational family. Now, on a desperate scramble toward safety, Arash carries a burden he never wanted: People he’d die for. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #110: Adult Paranormal Romance: MOONSWORN

Pitch:  Mated under the moon, a sassy, foul-mouthed, veterinarian alpha and a rival pack’s Heir must fight their dominant instincts—in and out of the bedroom—and join forces to solve the mystery surrounding the murders of local supernaturals. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #111: Adult Urban Fantasy: NIGHTMARE INK

Pitch: Professional curse magnet Wayne is doomed to live forever and watch everyone he loves suffer lethal accidents—including his daughter. Until he snags a contract offering one genuine miracle—for a price. He has two days in Las Vegas to ensure the witch-girl who’s dreamt up a new breed of nightmares never wakes. Trouble is, he’s not the only one after her, and damned if she doesn’t remind him of his daughter. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #112: Adult Contemporary Romance: HOW TO RESET A BROKEN HEART

Pitch: Traveling nurse Simone Duncan only wants a fling with MMA fighter Gabe Diaz. He’s exactly her type—smoking hot, easy to leave. But with a shot at going pro, he won’t blow off his training for anything less than love. Minor wound care ignites major chemistry, but if Simone can’t plant her feet and drop her guard, Gabe won’t have time to prove he’s worth fighting for. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #113: Adult #ownvoices Amateur Detective/Traditional Mystery : Death Comes to ComiKon 

Pitch: Imagine Veronica Mars as queer, Asian-American, and all grown up, and you’ve got geek girl extraordinaire Sunshine Salinas. Obsessed with Samurai Surfer Squadron since she was a child, Sunshine must crack the case when the show’s star turns up dead at Chicago ComiKon and her childhood heroine becomes the prime suspect. But if Sunshine’s not careful, they might be sharing a cell, as Chicago PD is all too eager to cast her as the faithful sidekick. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #114: Adult Dark Fantasy with Weird West elements: IN THE SHADOW OF THE CAULDRON

Pitch: After powerful sister gods tempt Daron and Aubrey into fulfilling a secretive plot and nearly destroy their marriage in the process, the young couple turn to dangerous magic and fetishism to reclaim their lives and punish the scheming goddesses. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #115: Adult Contemporary Romance: JUST A TASTE OF YOU

Pitch: To boost a curvy confectioner’s self-esteem, her best friend/business partner suggests an arrangement: an orgasm for every year they’ve been friends. But when emotions intensify between the pair, their once easy recipe turns into a sugarcoated disaster. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #116: Adult Supernatural Mystery/Suspense: THE MADDENING OF HOLLY ROBIN

Pitch: RIVERDALE meets HIMSELF by Jess Kidd

Hiding a scandal which threatens her career and reputation, sociologist Julia Saint Hilaire flees to the sleepy subarctic village of Fort Parry. An eerie encounter with Holly Robin—local bad-girl, missing and presumed dead—leads Julia to discover that like herself, this town has secrets it wants buried. Soon Julia is entangled in a deadly and nightmarish hunt for the truth: either one of the town’s many suspicious residents is responsible, or something far older and darker is at work. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #117: Adult Science Fiction: SUBJECT ONE

Pitch: Amar is the government’s leading regeneration expert, working deep underground on a top-secret military experiment: The Origin Project. After surviving death at the hands of extremists, she now defies it, crafting new lives out of old bodies to create the perfect soldier. But while Amar searches for clues to her missing past, she discovers harvesting body parts is a far more murderous business than the government lets on, and her family of creations is in danger. To save them, she must uncover secrets of the project’s ill-fated Subject One and walk a fine line separating man, woman, and monster. READ MORE . . .

 

PW #118: Adult Women’s Fiction/ Book Club Fiction: WORN OUT WISHES

Pitch: It’s been ten years since Milly ditched town, leaving behind her beloved sister, an imprisoned mama, two eccentric, pot-peddling great-aunts, and a bleak future reading tea leaves to make a living.

But when her estranged sister shows up on her doorstep, bruised and beaten by her politically-connected husband, Milly will do anything to protect her—even when the tea leaves suggest murder.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #119: Adult Women’s fiction: THREE MEN AND AN ACTUARY

Pitch: Attending her estranged mother’s wedding could be Brooke’s one chance to make her mom suffer for abandoning her—if only the reserved actuary had the guts to do it. Her roommates concoct a series of absurd adventures designed to demolish her comfort zone, but may send Brooke scrambling for an escape hatch instead.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #120: Adult Urban Fantasy Romance: HOUSE OF ASH AND BRIMSTONE

Pitch:  Forced back into the demon court that nearly killed her as a child, exiled princess Gisele fights blossoming feelings for Shade, a royal guard who claims his soul is bound to hers. Except he serves the prince who wants her dead—and someone’s sealed away Gisele’s memories…for reasons she doesn’t understand. But when Shade becomes a dangerous weapon, hell-bent on ending her life against his will, Gisele must re-forge their soul bond, severing the prince’s hold on him once and for all—or die at the hands of the man she’s come to love.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #121: New Adult Male-Male Romance: WELL-PLAYED

Pitch: Theatre-major Oliver doesn’t care what Google says; he can totally handle being friends with benefits with his high school crush turned enemy turned college roommate. Whether he’s a good enough actor to hide his rapidly-rekindling feelings for Jason is another story.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #122: Adult Contemporary Women’s Fiction with Romantic Elements: ON THE VERGE OF BREATHING

Pitch: When a cantankerous widow discovers her new tenant is like her estranged daughter, she doesn’t let manners or her lovestruck son keep her from scheming to re-build both families. But the harder she tries, the more she pushes everyone away. WFWA 2017 Rising Star Finalist. A MAN CALLED OVE meets ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #123: Adult Psychological Suspense: VICTIM CONTROL

Pitch: BLACK SWAN meets UNREAL: Chicago actress Kira expects drama when she books a breakout role with Machiavellian director Malcolm Mercer. But as she strives to beat Mal at his own mind games, Method acting turns to madness, staged violence draws real blood, and Kira starts to realize he’s not the dangerous one. She is.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #124: Adult Speculative Fiction (Alternate History with a Steampunk twist): THE BRASS QUEEN

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.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #125: Adult Romantic Comedy: EAT YOUR HEART OUT, TOR MACKELROY

Pitch: There are three things Samantha can’t resist: cheesecake, the thrill of pursuing a hot lead, and her Editor-in-Chief/ex-boyfriend, Tor Mackelroy. When charity scholarship funds go missing, Tor lures Sam back for one last byline. Soon the couple’s old flame blazes into wildfire. But their happily-ever-after hangs in the balance when Tor’s dad becomes the prime suspect. THE HATING GAME meets the 1940’s film HIS GIRL FRIDAY.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #126: Adult Fantasy: HARVEST MOON

Pitch: Single mom and federal prosecutor Amelia Rousseau is used to feeling torn, but being pulled into an alternate universe—and the arms of its guardian, Aiden Skye—shreds her heart. She must return to her four-year-old daughter, but finding a way home will require solving her toughest case yet—and leaving Aiden.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #127: Adult Mystery with Speculative Elements #ownvoices: INTO THE FIRE

Pitch: Lady GHOSTBUSTERS x CASTLE with Ecuadorian-American MC. When harrowing serial killings in Philadelphia are linked to a bygone Incan god, paranormal P.I. Maddy teams with cop nemesis O’Neill. Something’s hunting for a victim, and Maddy just got in the way.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #128: Adult Dark Fantasy: BAD PARTS

Pitch: Desperate to fix her busted hand before a career-defining gig, guitarist Ash Hudson returns home to seek out an organ-swapping shapeshifter. But instead of trading with her, the creature steals her hand and blackmails her into completing its “collection” of ruined body parts.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #129: Adult Contemporary Romance (heat level: hot) #ownvoices: LUST

Pitch: If up-and-comer Isadora can prove her value to her boss, and run a scandal-free legislative session, she’ll make it to DC. The hot new lawyer might be all sin and sex, but he works for her boss’s archrival. A romance is just the sort of scandal that crushes goals at the Capitol.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #130: Adult Contemporary Romance: ONCOLLISION

Pitch: When game designer Deena collides with a swarthy cosplayer, Grant becomes her biggest challenge. She can handle his trollish friends and insecurity, but to keep Grant in her life, she must show him commitment doesn’t mean giving up his geeky passions.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #131: Adult Contemporary: THE MARRIAGE CODE

Pitch: THE HATING GAME meets A BOLLYWOOD AFFAIR. American IT guru Emma relocates to the Bangalore office only to be taunted by new coworker Rishi. Rishi can’t forgive her for stealing his promotion, but after Emma creates an algorithm to find him a suitable wife, he realizes love is right in front of him. A love that could make him choose between his family and Emma.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #132: Adult Romantic Suspense #ownvoices: THROUGH THE INFERNO

Pitch: A tragic blaze leaves a firefighter battling to adapt his broken body. His nurse, a transgender woman, is attacked and left for dead by a charming psychopath. The two begin to heal together, and romance blossoms. But her attacker resurfaces, threatening more than just their lives.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #133: Adult Urban Fantasy: THE ICE MAIDEN

Pitch: To clear her debts in Valhalla, Inga, an ice-wielding immortal must take mortal form and pose as a law student in present day Boston to track down Norse trolls and save Odin’s daughter from becoming a blood sacrifice—all while keeping Loki at bay and out of her pants.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #134: Adult Literary Fiction with elements of psychological thriller (#ownvoices): MALAISE

Pitch: Young Indian widow, Mira, witnesses a beautiful woman faking a seizure at the park. She’s pulled into an obsessive relationship with the woman and her husband. As Mira unravels the couple’s mystery through the lenses of history, philosophy, and urban irony, she realizes finding the truth not only risks experiencing loss again but will challenge her understanding of sanity.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #135: Adult Psychological Thriller (#ownvoices): MISSING BLACK WOMAN

Pitch: Two suspects, one missing black woman, zero media coverage. Fletcher can’t remember much after a traumatic brain injury, like why he hid his laptop, or what went down the night his coworker Tanya disappeared. While Black Lives Matter activists clash with police over the lack of interest in finding her, Fletcher must follow clues he left himself to uncover what happened before he becomes a suspect.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #136: Adult Contemporary Women’s Fiction: A BRITISH AFFAIR

Pitch: BRIDGET JONES meets LUCK, LOVE & LEMON PIE. Risa Vita Stein, a thirty-something mom and American expat, lives in posh London when she suffers a midlife crisis, early. With a husband who is no longer interested in what is in her knickers, a handsome boot camp instructor who shows interest in more than just her squats and a newfound friendship with a highfalutin socialite, Risa must decide if she’ll live the carefree existence she yearns for or find her way back to her family.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #137: Adult Contemporary Fantasy: NORTH WIND

Pitch: The great-great-granddaughter of a Duwamish medicine man and a Scottish changeling, Skylar knows something about living in two worlds. After all, she’s half-Native, bisexual, and not entirely human.

Then Skylar encounters a troll who claims her ex-girlfriend Carly has been abducted and dragged underground into the dark remnants of Seattle’s original city. But saving Carly means enlisting the help of Khean, the son of a Cambodian refugee with his own supernatural secrets. He was her first love until he betrayed her trust.

She’ll delve deep into Seattle’s dire history, coming face to face with an ancient evil she thought lived only in her ancestors’ legends: North Wind. The primordial spirit of ice and winter has returned, in a new form and with his cold sights set on Skylar and everyone she holds dear.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #138: Adult Epic Fantasy: WINDBOUND

Pitch: A gust of wind and a legendary monster drag retired warrior Lyla Larken to an underwater kingdom where people can transform into air and everyone has an agenda—including King Ryker, who tricks her into signing a magical contract to kill an immortal dragon. But when Lyla discovers the elusive winnowill have erased her family’s memories of her, she recruits an unlikely band of allies to perform two impossible tasks: save the world and her heart. XENA meets BEOWULF.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #139: Adult Women’s Fiction: BEHIND CELLAR DOORS

Pitch: With the ink not yet dry on her winemaking degree, Taylor rushes home to run the family winery after her father’s stroke. She struggles to manage a stubborn winemaker, missing barrels, and mounting bills, while exploring her budding romance with Alec—the sexy-as-hell new investor in the neighboring vineyard. But someone’s trying to force a sale of her financially-unstable winery, and she soon suspects her new love is after more than just her heart.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #140: Adult Contemporary Fantasy Romance: BUSINESS OF LOVE

Pitch:  Eros must bind the hearts of two mortals or lose his wings—and one true love—for all eternity. Desperate to hit his mark before time runs out, he orchestrates an office romance. Trouble is, thanks to the Fates, it’s hate at first sight, making his already hard-as-Hades task of turning enemies into lovers a Herculean feat.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #141: Adult Historical: ELEGANCE AND ECONOMY

Pitch: In this retelling of Pride and Prejudice gone awry, Lydia’s scandalous elopement leaves the Bennets stuck at home with nary a gentleman in sight. Kitty’s sure she’ll grow old squabbling with her sisters in the sitting room––until an unexpected invitation offers a way out. But finding a husband isn’t so simple, and Kitty soon discovers she must choose between security and love.   READ MORE . . .

 

PW #142: Adult Urban Fantasy: GRAVE DIRT

Pitch: Archaeologist Sydney Reid scrapes by forging fake antiques, but when her boss uses her work to release an ancient Mesopotamian demon, she is suddenly clocking overtime dodging bullets, riled-up cultists, and the kind of magic that steals her future. Now she’s in a race against time to dig up a long-buried myth before she becomes ancient history.  INDIANA JONES meets JANET EVANOVICH.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #143: Adult Contemporary Romance: ALMOST ROCKED

Pitch: Jilted guitar goddess Victoria wants the life of a rock star, but she’s afraid to face the spotlight. When she meets throw-your-panties-worthy-frontman Nate he’s got enough ink-coated muscles to help forget her ex. Just as Nate is thinking about forever, Victoria auditions for his band – and nails it. The silent code among musicians says never hook-up with a band mate. Blazing spotlights or burning love – they can’t have both.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #144: Adult Contemporary Romance: PLAID PACKAGE

Pitch: 1 kilted Scottish tour guide barely keeping his company afloat + 1 American travel agent in dire need of a promotion, secretly evaluating his company = recipe for delicious sexcapade—er—disaster that could leave them both jobless. With an ocean separating them, they must decide if their connection’s more than a Highland fling.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #145: Adult Historical Fiction: PORTRAIT OF LISE

Pitch: 19th-Century Paris. When real-life figure Lise Tréhot sits for artist Auguste Renoir, she feels alive. But his betrayal forces her to decide between remaining his secret lover and muse or having the family she’s always desired.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #146: Adult Contemporary Romance: BEAUTY AND THE BLACKMAIL

Pitch: Beauty and the Beast meets THE HATING GAME when a former child star turned Hollywood pariah acquires footage of America’s reality TV princess falling-down drunk. Blackmail’s an ugly word, but Hugo’s career’s dead and Larke’s image could revive it. She’d rather walk barefoot through Queens than date him, but attending thirteen events with Hugo beats damaging her family’s reputation. When their relationship becomes more than pretending for the paparazzi, Hugo wants something real. Except staying together means living in the public eye…and all Larke’s ever wanted is to escape the spotlight.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #147: Adult Contemporary Romance: SALT + STILETTOS

Pitch: The kitchen ignites when driven image consultant Brett meets her latest client: William Te’o, an attention-phobic debut chef desperate to win over Miami’s cutthroat culinary scene. Mission accomplished, Brett’s ready for no-strings fun, but Will’s all about Happily Ever Afters. He’s set to cook his way past her reservations, until a smear campaign led by Brett’s ex-client-turned-stalker threatens her career, his restaurant, and their chance at love.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #148: Adult Science Fiction: PIRATE

Pitch: Space pirate Michael Jackson (no relation) takes on a job delivering the ransom for the captured leader of the rebellion. After all, a man has to pay the bills, even if he doesn’t love the politics. Unfortunately, the client is Jackson’s ex. Worse, she stole his payment from a fanatical warlord who’s now hunting her.  READ MORE . . .

 

PW #149: Adult Women’s Fiction: PRETTY CITY

Pitch: When a feminist doctor inherits the town pageant that stole her confidence in fourth grade, she must face an army of pageant diehards and a lifetime of self-doubt in a journey to redefine “pretty” for the town…and herself.    READ MORE . . .

 

PW #150: Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy: THE FORK REPORT

Pitch: Heartbroken, Nate accepts work as a “forker”. While transporting packages across several alternate Americas, he learns an inter-dimensional war is coming. He must choose between a utopia built on slave labor or an older, stranger civilization. Sliders meets Iran-Contra.   READ MORE . . .

Agents, thank you for participating in Pitch Wars this year! We hope you found some manuscripts you like and wish you all the best!