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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.
PW2021 Adult #41: MURDER IN EL MYSTICA: THE CASE OF THE MISSING SHEEP (Fantasy Crime)
Mentee:
Joss Wyatt
Mentored by:
Alexia Gordon
Book Title:
MURDER IN EL MYSTICA: THE CASE OF THE MISSING SHEEP
Category:
Adult
Genre:
Fantasy Crime
Word Count:
82,000

Pitch:

A whodunnit set in a magical city where creatures from myriad mythologies live in harmony—most of the time.

Garden gnome Nibbles Winklebottom has always dreamed of being a homicide detective, but he and his centaur sidekick, Cyrus, are stuck working burglaries. When the sheep of the aristocratic Draconnaire family goes missing, the detectives are tasked with its recovery. Only, this is no ordinary creature—and when theft turns to murder, the pair finally get their chance to catch a killer.

TERRY PRATCHETT’S DISCWORLD x AGATHA CHRISTIE x JASPER FFORDE’S NURSERY CRIMES

 

Excerpt:

It is said there exists no city so diverse in its character as El Mystica. From the cobbled labyrinth of Old Town and purple-light district of Vynt to the leafy boulevards of Eafling and the prestigious Estates to the north, it is difficult to imagine any other conurbation so harmoniously discordant.

– From ‘El Mystica: A Philosophical History’ by Cyrus Hoofstadter

 

A single sheep lay in the middle of its pen. A bitterly cold night, the air cut through his thick fleece and went to the heart of him. He hated the damn thing. His wool had grown impossibly heavy, consuming his face and legs, and yet it did absolutely nothing to keep him warm.

Wind whispered through the trees, disturbing the deathly quiet of night. Frosty leaves rattled together, clinking like crystal poised to shatter. To the sheep, this seemed the perfect night for something bad to happen. But the same could be said about the night before and the night before that—and still, nothing had happened. At least, not yet.

3 responses to “PW2021 Adult #41: MURDER IN EL MYSTICA: THE CASE OF THE MISSING SHEEP (Fantasy Crime)”

  1. Ernie Chiara says:

    Hi Joss,

    This sounds great! If you’d like to query me at QueryManager.com/ErnieChiara/PitchWars and include your full manuscript and synopsis, I would love to read it!

    Thanks so much, and best of luck!

    Ernie Chiara,
    Fuse Literary
    @erniechiara

  2. Laura Bradford says:

    You had me at Nibbles Winklebottom. This sounds so delightfully WEIRD, I must read more! Please send me the full manuscript and synopsis (as attachments) at laura@bradfordlit.com. Please put Pitch Wars in your subject line.

    Thank you!
    Laura Bradford

    ***If you receive a request from more than one agent at Bradford Literary Agency, you are welcome to send to all agents who made the request, but just let us know when you send the material***

  3. Sarah N. Fisk says:

    I’m imagining some delightful banter between the gnome and centaur on the job. I would love to read more. Please submit the query, synopsis and first three chapters here: https://querymanager.com/query/sarahnfisk/PitchWars

    If multiple agents at Tobias request your materials, please submit to the one you think would be the best fit.