Pitch Wars Blog Archive

PW #124: Adult Commercial Fiction: DRAG NET

Manuscript Delivery: Finished Mentor: Kelly Siskind Mentee: Meghan Scott Molin Title: DRAG NET Category: Adult Genre:  Commercial Fiction Word Count: 91,000 Pitch:  MG’s world revolves around geek culture, designing for drag shows, and writing comic books. A rash of copy-cat crimes from her favorite series disturbs the peace, bringing with them handsome Matteo Kildaire, LAPD, who needs her expertise. When MG learns she’s being framed, sleuthing on her own will either exonerate her or land her in the clink. Excerpts:  Instead Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW #125: Adult Contemporary Romance: A HEART'S DESIGN

Manuscript Status: FINISHED Mentor Name: Scarlett Cole Mentee Name: Natalee Cooper Title: A HEART’S DESIGN Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance Word Count: 65,000 Pitch: When Madison lands a project with real estate tycoon Jase Cutter, one that will ignite her architectural career, she doesn’t expect his request for secrecy—or to fall hard for the sexy-sweet bachelor who’s haunted by a past he can’t escape. But when one leaked story fuels a firestorm of doubt, Madison realizes Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW #126: Adult Upmarket Women's Fiction: 101 NORTH

MANUSCRIPT STATUS: Finished Mentor: Laura Heffernan Mentee: Tabitha Forney Title: 101 NORTH Category/Genre: Adult upmarket women’s fiction Word Count: 82,000  Pitch:  On September 11, Erin sips cocktails on a Spanish beach while her husband, who didn’t want her to go on this girls’ trip, is at work on the 101st floor, North Tower. When she makes it home and Daniel doesn’t, guilt pushes Erin into a dark fog of pills and booze. After a downward Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW #127: Adult Science Fiction: ERGO SUM

MANUSCRIPT STATUS: Finished Mentors: Dan Koboldt and Michael Mammay Mentee: Elise Bungo Title: ERGO SUM Category/Genre: Adult Science Fiction Word Count: 99,000 Pitch: Ethan Ogden, a robotics prodigy suffering from PTSD, returns to Africa to work for a company with dubious motives. After an experimental nanotechnology treatment saves his life, he begins to question his own thoughts—and whether he’s still human—as he races to stop a civil war. Excerpt: Sound always disappears first. I know Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW #128: Adult Mystery: DERAILED

Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor Names: Kellye Garrett & Sarah Henning Mentee Name: Mary Keliikoa Title:  DERAILED Category:  Adult Genre:  Mystery Word Count:  83,000 Pitch: Second-generation P.I. Kelly Pruett has a deaf daughter, an over-protective ex-husband, and her first real case involving a woman who drunkenly stumbled into the path of a train. Kelly is desperate to prove the death was no accident, but as she sinks further into the world of Portland’s elite, she finds Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW #129: Adult Humorous Women's Fiction (#ownvoices): MY NAME IS NOT JULIE

Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor Names: Sarah Henning and Kellye Garrett Mentee Name: Suzanne Park Title: MY NAME IS NOT JULIE Category: Adult Genre: Humorous Women’s Fiction (#ownvoices) Word Count: 76,000 Pitch: MASTER OF NONE meets BRIDGET JONES: Drowning in a never-ending onslaught of parental nagging, work catastrophes, and romantic blunders, unlucky-at-life Korean-American millennial Julia Jung is fed up and wants a do-over. Pronto. She moves on a whim to Seattle with no job, cash or Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW #130: Adult Supernatural Suspense: SOLSTICE SISTERS

Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor: Jennie Nash Mentee: Emma Nelson Title: SOLSTICE SISTERS Category/Genre: Adult Supernatural Suspense Word Count: 86,000 Pitch: After her grandmother passed away, Cici Dardompre left America’s most haunted city in search of proof that death isn’t as final as her mortician father believes. But when an upstart eco-friendly funeral home threatens the family’s traditional business, she returns to Salem and finds a haunted tour-guide job to keep her quest alive. As spirits Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW #131: Adult Contemporary Interracial Romance (#ownvoices): #INTERCEPTED

Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor Name: Kara Leigh Miller & Meredith Ireland Mentee Name: Alexa Martin Title: #INTERCEPTED Category: Adult Genre: Contemporary Interracial Romance (own voices: biracial) Word Count: 85,000 Pitch: When Marlee Harper learns her NFL-star boyfriend is wide-receiving other women, she swears off athletes, but new quarterback Gavin proves irresistible. Unfortunately, between the teammates’ wives and the rabid fans, their love may not last the season when REAL HOUSEWIVES meets ANY GIVEN SUNDAY. Excerpt: Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW #132: Adult Romance: ONCE WHEN YOU WERE MINE

Manuscript status: Finished Mentor: Brighton Walsh Mentee: Jen DeLuca Title: ONCE WHEN YOU WERE MINE Category/Genre: Adult Romance Word Count: 89,000 Pitch: Twenty years. Two continents. A third chance at first love. On a whirlwind trip to Leningrad, a sheltered American and a sweet but pragmatic Soviet fall in love as teens, bridging their language barrier with local underground rock and shared Walkman headphones. A decade later a missed connection leaves them yearning for unattainable love. Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW #133: Adult Contemporary Romance (#ownvoices): RELATIONSHIP ON RETAINER

Manuscript status: Finished Mentor: Brighton Walsh Mentee: Helen Hoang Title: RELATIONSHIP ON RETAINER Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance (#ownvoices) Word Count: 89,000 Pitch: In this gender-swapped Pretty Woman, a brainy economist desperate for love but struggling with intimacy issues stemming from her autism hires a male escort—a complex Hapa man escaping the shadow of his past. When he awakens her dormant sexuality and she reminds him he’s more than the body he was hired for, they Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago