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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.
PW2019 Adult #15: GODFORSAKEN (Historical Fantasy)
Mentee:
Vaishnavi Patel
Mentored by:
Sarah Remy
Book Title:
GODFORSAKEN
Category:
2019 Adult Entries
Genre:
Historical Fantasy
Word Count:
88,000

Pitch:

The gods have forsaken Queen Kaikeyi, so she turns instead to magic, using the secret threads of the Binding Plane to empower the women of her kingdom. But the gods always punish defiance, and in their wrath they force Kaikeyi to choose between her principles and her beloved son, Rama.

CIRCE meets the RAMAYANA. #OWNVOICES #LGBTQ+

 

Excerpt:

I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.

In Bharat, where the gods regularly responded to prayers and meddled in mortal affairs, the circumstances of my birth held great promise. This did not matter to my father, who cared only that my brother Yudhajit followed me into the world minutes later under the same lucky stars. Regardless of birth position, Yudhajit, being a boy, was the heir to the Kekaya kingdom. I was but a dowry of fifty fine horses waiting to happen. For each of my mother’s subsequent pregnancies, my father made sacrifices to the gods, requesting sons. In return, he was blessed with six more healthy boys, portents of future prosperity.

The people of Bharat have often blamed my father for my sins, as if a woman cannot own her actions. He was not a perfect man, that I freely admit, but for all his faults he loved each of his sons fiercely, playing with them in his throne room, bringing them the finest tutors in all the kingdom, and gifting them ponies so they would grow into brilliant cavalrymen.

If he bears any fault for my actions, it is through his inaction. I remember few occasions where we exchanged words, and fewer still when he sought to speak with me. So when he summoned me to the throne room at twelve years old, I knew instantly something was amiss.

 

13 responses to “PW2019 Adult #15: GODFORSAKEN (Historical Fantasy)”

  1. Mollie Glick says:

    Hi Vaishnavi,

    I would love to take a look at this! Could you send the full manuscript my way at mollie.glickasst@caa.com?

    Best,
    Mollie Glick

  2. John Cusick says:

    This sounds fantastic! I’d love to read more. Could you please send your query and first ten pages to john [@] foliolit.com? Can’t wait to keep reading.

  3. Tricia Skinner says:

    I’d like to see the full manuscript. Please use this link to upload your query letter and the Word document. http://QueryMe.online/querytricia/PitchWars2020

  4. Adriann Ranta Zurhellen says:

    Hi Vaishnavi,

    Am loving what I’ve read so far! Please submit the full manuscript to arsubmissions@foundrymedia.com, cc’ing in flmasst@foundrymedia.com, with the subject line “Pitch Wars: GODFORSAKEN.” Thanks so much, and looking forward to diving in more!

    Adriann

  5. Jim McCarthy says:

    I’d be happy to take a look! When you can, I’d love to see the full manuscript. You can send to jmccarthy@dystel.com.

    Thanks!
    Jim

  6. Rena Rossner says:

    Hi there!

    This sounds great! I’d love to take a look at the first 50 pages. Please send them attached as a word document!

    Thanks so much!

    – Rena Rossner

  7. Tamara Kawar says:

    Dear Vaishnavi,

    I would love to read more of GODFORSAKEN! Could you please send the full manuscript as a Word doc to tkawar@icmpartners.com?

    Thank you!

    Best,
    Tamara

  8. Elizabeth Bewley says:

    Dear Vaishnavi,
    I would be excited to read your full manuscript. Please email it to me as a Word doc attachment at ebewley@sll.com.
    Thanks!
    Elizabeth

  9. Sandy Lu says:

    Hi Vaishnavi,

    I can really relate to this! Please send the full manuscript with your bio and complete synopsis (all in one Word document) to sandy@lperkinsagency.com. I look forward to read more.

    Best,
    Sandy Lu
    L. Perkins Agency

  10. Samantha Wekstein says:

    I’d love to see the first fifty pages of this! If you are interested, please send them as an attachment to samantha@thompsonliterary.com with your query in the email body and #pitchwars in the subject. Thank you!

  11. Zabé Ellor says:

    I absolutely LOVE this voice and concept, and I’m dying to read more! Please send the query and synopsis (in the body of an email), and full manuscript (as an attachment) to zrellor . books @ gmail . com. I’m looking forward to diving in!

  12. Aimee Ashcraft says:

    Hi there! I’d love to read more of this. Could you send the full manuscript in Word format to aimee@browerliterary.com, with “Pitch Wars” in the subject heading? Thanks!

  13. Diana Fox says:

    I’d really like to read more of this! Please email me the full manuscript at diana at foxliterary dot com. (Including “Pitch Wars Request” in the subject line is also helpful but not required.)