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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 YA #29: BEGUILED AND BEWITCHED (Fantasy)
Mentee:
Laura René
Mentored by:
Nova McBee
Book Title:
Beguiled and Bewitched
Category:
2020 Entries
Genre:
YA Fantasy
Word Count:
98,000

Pitch:

CHARLIE’S ANGELS meets BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

When seventeen-year-old Gabrielle Beaumont’s father is mysteriously abducted, she coerces a handsome courtier into posing as her betrothed and gains entrance to Le Grand Palais, where she discovers her father is the Queen’s spymaster. Becoming a lady-in-waiting—a spy for the Queen—offers her a chance to find her father. But when her betrothed becomes her mark, she must discern enemies from allies—or risk her father’s life.

 

Excerpt:

My father, like all parents, kept secrets.

He wrapped my presents not in paper or twine, but in mystery—a set of clues leading to a novel I’d pestered him for, or solving riddles to earn a token from his travels. He crafted entire worlds with mere words and imagination, all in an attempt to keep his only child occupied on afternoons when his hands were busy forging weapons or horseshoes. These secrets he doled out like candy, and I reveled in their knowledge. With every clue, I glimpsed the inner workings of my father’s brain, laced with patience, wisdom, and care, and therefore, his love.

But there were other secrets too. Ones he never intended for me to find.

He held those secrets close to his chest, guarded not by latch or door, for I had become too adept at those physical means. No, those secrets—the ones about my mother—he protected with his fiercest defenses, and all the snooping and lock picking in the world wouldn’t do me any good. They were stashed away deep in his heart where my greedy hands could not reach them.

But I had a secret, too.

I was on to him.

9 responses to “PW2020 YA #29: BEGUILED AND BEWITCHED (Fantasy)”

  1. Samantha Fabien says:

    Hi Lauren,

    Congratulations on completing Pitch Wars! You must be thrilled.

    I love everything about this: the political intrigue, spies, not knowing who to trust. This is exactly what I’m looking for more of. I’d love to request the full manuscript to continue reading!

    If you’d like to share it, please send the query in the body of an email, with the full manuscript and synopsis attached as a Word doc.

    The subject of the email should be “Pitch Wars Request: BEGUILED AND BEWITCHED for Root Literary” sent to submissions@rootliterary.com.

    Although not all of Root Literary is participating in Pitch Wars, please feel free to query whoever feels like the best fit! We’re happy to coordinate internally.

    All the best,
    Samantha

  2. Natascha Morris says:

    Hello Laura,

    LADY SPIES!! Sign me up!! Please upload at QueryManager.com/natascha/PitchWars. And if another Tobias Literary Agent requests, please know you can submit to multiple parties for this event, and we will discuss in house if multiple agents are interested.

    Thank you and can’t wait to see this!

    Best,
    Natascha Morris
    The Tobias Literary Agency

  3. REBECCA STRAUSS says:

    Hi Laura,

    I’d LOVE to read more of BEGUILED AND BEWITCHED! Great voice. 😉 Could you please email the query and full manuscript to: rebecca@defliterary.com? Please label the subject as: ‘Pitch Wars Requested.’ I can’t wait to read more!

    Thanks so much!

    Cheers,
    Rebecca Strauss
    DeFiore and Company

  4. Renae Moore says:

    Please send your query, synopsis, and first two chapters of your book using the following link: QueryManager.com/renae/PitchWars
    Please feel free to apply to more than one agent at Tobias simultaneously. We will handle multiple submissions on our end.

  5. Tamara Kawar says:

    Hi Laura,

    I’d love to keep reading! Could you please send the full manuscript to tamara.kawar@icmpartners.com and make sure to include “PW2020” in your subject line?

    Thank you!

    Best,
    Tamara

  6. Laura Bradford says:

    Ooooh, I love the voice here! Please email me the full manuscript + synopsis at laura@bradfordlit.com. Please put Pitch Wars in the subject line and paste the pitch into your email. Thank you!

    Laura Bradford

    *If more than one agent from the Bradford Literary Agency has requested this, go ahead and send it to those agents and just let us know

  7. Lee OBrien says:

    I would love to see the rest of this!

    To query me, you can send the query and full MS to lee.queries@irenegoodman.com with the words “Pitch Wars” in the subject line! If another agent at Irene Goodman requests your manuscript, please submit to just one agent at a time. If they pass, you are welcome to resubmit to another.

  8. Elle Thompson says:

    Hi! I’d be very interested in reading this in full. If you could please submit your work to elle@triadaus.com with the email header “PITCH WARS: [Title]”, the query pitch, and the full MS attached in .doc format, I’d be very appreciative. If another agent from TriadaUS has requested your manuscript, please submit to each of us–we will sort it out on our end. Thank you so much!

  9. Christa Heschke says:

    I’d love to read this! Please send the full manuscript, synopsis and query to chquery@mcintoshandotis.com with Pitch Wars request and the title of the manuscript in the subject line. –Christa Heschke, McIntosh & Otis