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Pitch Wars Showcase

Please note: These are the entries for the Pitch Wars season beginning in 2021 and continuing through 2022. Please note that our Agent Showcase ends at 9:00 p.m. ET on Monday, February 14, 2022. Agents will not be able to leave comments requesting material after that time.
PW2020 Adult #10: THE ART OF SCANDAL (#OwnVoices Contemporary Romance)
Mentee:
Regina Black
Mentored by:
Denise Williams and Charish Reid
Book Title:
THE ART OF SCANDAL
Category:
2020 Adult Entries
Genre:
#OwnVoices Contemporary Romance
Word Count:
95,000
Manuscript Content Warning(s):
PTSD, Panic Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Death of a Parent, Recreational Drug Use

Pitch:

SHONDALAND reboots THE GOOD WIFE. Rachel Abbott’s marriage to her politician husband implodes when he sends her a text message meant for his mistress. With no job, a dwindling bank account, and an airtight prenup, she’s forced to accept his million-dollar offer to play the dutiful wife until after his election. But a passionate night with the son of his biggest campaign donor could cost her everything. Including her heart.

 

Excerpt:

When your husband of ten years sends a closeup of his erect penis, you should not, under any circumstances, ask him why he sent it. Rachel Abbott didn’t know much about sexting etiquette, but she was fluent in middle-aged fragility. It was the theme of the birthday party currently rattling the walls of her home. A massive meat tray and a bowl of pimento cheese sat congealing on her Carrara marble kitchen island, while a dozen lawyers were in her living room getting wasted on Macallan scotch in red solo cups. Her house was filled with food she didn’t eat and people she barely knew, because Matt was turning forty and needed balloons and streamers to blunt the sharp edges of his mortality. 

She shouldn’t have let Faith talk her into such a big phone. The model her twenty-one-year-old daughter claimed was great for watching movies made the penis that filled her screen inescapable. It kept her frozen in front of her kitchen island, holding an icing knife in one hand and a dick pic in the other, while the muffled beat of “Rump Shaker” played like a jeering soundtrack in the background. 

She tried to remember the last time she’d actually seen Matt’s penis up close and in person but could only picture him drunk and pissing against their neighbor’s crab myrtle after last year’s Fourth of July celebration. 

25 responses to “PW2020 Adult #10: THE ART OF SCANDAL (#OwnVoices Contemporary Romance)”

  1. Jess Dallow says:

    Hi Regina,

    I know I’ve requested this pre-Pitch Wars and it sounds just as amazing as it did then. I’d love for you to send your query letter and synopsis in the body of the email with a document of the full manuscript attached to jess@browerliterary.com, Pitch Wars in the subject line.

    If someone else from Brower requests this, just email us both to let us know and we’ll decide in house who will read and let you know.

    Looking forward to it!

    Warmly,
    Jess

  2. Anya Goncharova says:

    Dear Regina, your prose has me completely hooked (and what a brilliant, topical story!) — I would absolutely love to read more. Could you please send through the first 50 pages of your MS for our consideration? My email is anya@peonyliteraryagency.com. Really looking forward to reading more, and I hope you are doing well! All best, Anya; Peony Literary Agency

  3. Jill Marr says:

    I can’t resist a story that starts with a text gone wrong.

    I’m technically closed to queries at the moment but couldn’t resist coming here to check out the action. And I just love this!

    Please send the first 50 pages in Word to jill@dijkstraagency.com, along with your query letter. It helps if you include “Pitch Wars” in the subject line.
    I look forward to reading!
    Jill

  4. Kari Erickson says:

    Hi Regina, I am so intrigued by your sample and would love to read more! Please upload your full manuscript, synopsis, and query letter here: QueryManager.com/KariErickson/PitchWars
    Thank you for considering me!

  5. Jessica Alvarez says:

    How juicy! Please upload your manuscript, synopsis, and query at this link: http://www.QueryManager.com/JessicaAlvarez/PitchWars. I’d love to give this a read.
    Jessica Alvarez, BookEnds Literary

  6. Tara Gelsomino says:

    I’d like to read more! Please send full, query, and synopsis to tara@onetrackliterary.com if you’re interested. Thanks!

  7. Ashley Blake says:

    Hi Regina! I absolutely love this pitch and the opening pages. The voice and situation is so intriguing and I’d love to read more! If you’re amenable, please include your query letter and upload the full manuscript using the link below. If you end up querying more than one agent at Rees, that’s totally fine, just let us now you did so in the query. Thank you and congrats on all your hard work!

    QueryManager.com/AshleyBlake/PitchWars

  8. Melissa Edwards says:

    Hi Regina,

    I’d love to take a look! Please email the full to medwards @ stonesong . com with PitchWars and the title in the subject line.

    Thank you!

    All best,
    Melissa

  9. Sharon Pelletier says:

    Hi Regina, this sounds terrific!!! I’d love to read the full. Would you please send along your query and attach the full manuscript as a Word doc? I can’t wait to read!
    Sharon Pelletier, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret – spelletier@dystel.com

  10. REBECCA STRAUSS says:

    Hi Regina,

    I’d LOVE to read more of THE ART OF SCANDAL! You’ve created quite a vivid scene.

    Could you please email the query and full manuscript to: rebecca@defliterary.com? Please label the subject as: ‘Pitch Wars Requested.’

    Thanks so much!

    Cheers,
    Rebecca Strauss

  11. Claire Friedman says:

    Hi Regina! I so loved this one when it hit my query box a few months ago. I’d love to take another look! Please send the full manuscript to claire@inkwellmanagement.com/. Excited to read!

  12. Lauren Spieller says:

    Congratulations on completing Pitch Wars, Regina! I’d love to read more. If you think we’d be a good fit, please send your query + full manuscript to Lauren@triadaus.com, and put “PW Request” in the subject line. I look forward to hearing from you! ~Lauren

  13. Hi Regina,
    I love what I’ve read of The Art of Scandal and would love to read the full manuscript. Please follow this link to upload your work: QueryManager.com/1353/PW2021
    Thanks,
    Joanna

  14. Stephanie Winter says:

    Hi there! Your excerpt has me hooked! Not to mention, you had me at those comps. I’d love to read your full manuscript. Please send an email to query@psliterary.com with the manuscript and a synopsis attached. In the subject line, please mention Pitch Wars and direct it to my attention.

    Thank you! I’m so looking forward to reading your story.

  15. Victoria Cappello says:

    I’d love to read more! If you’d like me to consider, please send the full manuscript as a word doc to victoria@thebentagency.com and put ‘Pitch Wars’ in the subject. If another agent here at TBA also requests, that’s totally okay, we’d just be grateful if you would let us know if more than one of us has your work. Thank you!

  16. Renae Moore says:

    Please send your query, synopsis, and first two chapters of your book using the following link: QueryManager.com/renae/PitchWars

  17. Nicole Payne says:

    Love!!! Please send query, synopsis, and full ms to nicole@goldenwheatliterary.com with Pitch Wars in the subject line. Thanks!

  18. Jennifer Herrington says:

    Hi Regina,

    You have a great pitch! I am intrigued. I would love to see more.

    I hope you’ll consider submitting to me. You can send query, synopsis, and the first three chapters to QueryManager.com/JenniferHerrington/PitchWars2021

    Thanks! I hope to see your submission!

    Jenn

  19. Jemiscoe Chambers-Black says:

    Hi, I’m Jem, and I’m an agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency. This sounds amazing! I mean, with a hook like that, how can I resist? I’d love to take a look. I’m not sure if others from my agency have requested, but I would love, love, LOVE to see this. If you’re open to me considering your novel, please send me a query, a one to two-page synopsis, and the full manuscript to https://querymanager.com/query/Jemiscoe/PitchWars.

  20. Adria Goetz says:

    Ooh this sounds so good, I would love to read this! Can you send the first chapter and a synopsis to adria@martinlit.com?

  21. Sandy Lu says:

    Hi Regina,

    What an opening! Please send the full manuscript, preceded by your bio and complete synopsis (all in one Word document) to submissions@bookwyrmlit.com. I look forward to reading more!

    Best,
    Sandy Lu
    Book Wyrm Literary Agency

  22. Katelyn Detweiler says:

    Regina, your pitch and excerpt are both fabulous and so intriguing, and I would so love to read more! Could you please send the query and full manuscript to me at katelyn@jillgrinbergliterary.com with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line? (Please note, if multiple agents from Jill Grinberg Literary Management request your ms, we ask that you only share with one.) Thank you! 

  23. Hannah Schofield says:

    Hi Regina,

    I absolutely love your concept – and what an great extract (I laughed twice)! I’d love to read your full manuscript. If you’d like to submit to me please send me a query letter, the full manuscript, and a synopsis to hannahsubmissions@lbabooks.com, including ‘Pitch Wars’ in the subject line.

    All the best,
    Hannah

  24. Cindy Uh says:

    Regina,
    I can’t wait to continue reading. Please send the first 100 pages as an attachment to cindy.uh@caa.com with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line. If you are submitting to more than one agent at CAA, if you could just make note of it, that would be great.
    Looking forward to seeing what happens next!
    Warmly,
    Cindy Uh

  25. Michelle Grajkowski says:

    I love your entry and would love to read more! Could you please email me your complete manuscript, along with your synopsis and bio to threeseaslit@aol.com? Also, in the subject line, could you please mention this is a Pitch Wars request?

    Thanks so much!
    Michelle

    Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary Agency
    http://www.threeseasagency.com