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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 #03: REVELLE! REVELLE! (Romantic Fantasy)
Mentee:
Lyssa Mia Smith
Mentored by:
Emily Thiede
Book Title:
REVELLE! REVELLE!
Category:
2020 Entries
Genre:
Romantic Fantasy
Word Count:
83000

Pitch:

MOULIN ROUGE! meets magical GATSBY

On a mystical island off the coast of NYC, the Revelle family keeps food on the table by dazzling tourists with hypnotic drinks and acrobatic spectacles. When the booze runs dry, their young star must pull off her most dangerous feat yet: enchant a powerful bootlegger into believing they’re in love before his rival family destroys hers. After she mistakenly charms a dashing pauper—then falls for him—she’ll have to choose which to save: her family or her heart.

 

Excerpt:

Luxe

It was our first show of the summer, and if fate had its way, it would also be our last.

The energy in the theater crackled with anticipation as my family made final preparations. While I stacked the champagne flutes in a sparkling pyramid, my uncles swept wind-blown sand between the floorboards, the scratching of their brooms drowned out by giggles in the mezzanine. The littlest Revelles huddled there, plucking cockroaches from the torn velvet upholstery. With a bit of booze, and plenty of magic, an untrained eye might mistake the Big Tent for a classy establishment.

I uncorked the champagne, but instead of shimmering gold, a clear, dull liquid dribbled out.

Watered down. Again.

With a sigh, I crossed the theater, narrowly missing a burst of fire. My flame-throwing cousins snickered, and I threw them a faux glare.

Nana paced behind the bar, her crimson sequined gown flaunting the cleavage I should have inherited. As I approached, her topaz eyes widened. “The champagne’s kicked?”

“I’m sure there’s more,” I lied. This was our backup supply.

“We’re nightwalkers, not magicians! We can’t be as dry as a nun’s—”

“Easy, Nana.” Fixing my smile, I stole a glance at the others. “Uncle Wolffe and I have a plan.”

More like a Hail Mary.

20 responses to “PW2020 YA #03: REVELLE! REVELLE! (Romantic Fantasy)”

  1. Eva Scalzo says:

    Hi Lyssa,

    I love the voice here and would be delighted to read more. Should you decide to send pages my way, please submit the full manuscript to QueryManager.com/evascalzo/PitchWars2020

    Cheers,
    Eva
    Speilburg LIterary

  2. Emily Forney says:

    Hi Lyssa! So I absolutely love this premise. It has my favorite sort of era vibe and I’m pretty stoked to see this love plot. If you’re willing, I’d love to check out your manuscript if you are willing. If so, please send the full manuscript to my email (eforney@bookendsliterary.com) with the title PitchWars and your story title! I hope to read it!

  3. Karly Caserza says:

    YES. PLEASE!

    Please send first 20 pages to QueryMe.online/Karly/ and please add “PitchWars” before your title. Thank you for sharing your work.

    If another Fuse agent requests your work, please query us one at a time.

  4. Larissa Melo Pienkowski says:

    I would love to take a look at this! Please feel free to send me this query and the first 50 pages as a Word attachment to larissa@jillgrinbergliterary.com, with your name, title, genre, and “Pitch Wars” in the subject line. (Also, if you have requests from two or more of us at JGLM, please do pick and send to only one of us.)

  5. Jordy Albert says:

    I would love to take a look. Please follow my submission guidelines here https://QueryManager.com/1426. Thank you!

  6. Tamara Kawar says:

    Dear Lyssa,

    I’d love to read this! If you’re interested in sending, could you please email the full manuscript to tamara.kawar@icmpartners.com and make sure to include “PW2020” in your subject line?

    Thank you!

    Best,
    Tamara

  7. Haley Casey says:

    Dear Lyssa,

    This description of your work immediately had me hooked. I would love to read more!

    Would you please send your full manuscript, a synopsis of the project, and a short bio about what you do and any of your previous publications to Haley@CMALit.com? Each should be a separate attachment in Microsoft Word or PDF format. To ensure your email doesn’t get lost in the shuffle, please include “Pitch Wars” in your subject line.

    The two other agents at Creative Media Agency, Paige Wheeler and Shannon Snow, are participating in Pitch Wars with me. Should one of them also request your manuscript, we would appreciate it if you would choose the agent you’d most prefer to work with and only send them the requested materials. Should they pass on the project for any reason, and you find yourself still seeking an agent, then you are of course free to resubmit to another member of CMA.

    Thank you for taking the time to send me more of what you’ve written!

    Sincerely,
    Haley Casey

  8. Penny Moore says:

    Hi Lyssa,

    This sounds amazing and exactly like the type of YA I’d love to read! When you’re ready, please submit your full manuscript here: QueryManager.com/LiteraryPenny/PitchWars2021. Thanks! Looking forward to reading.

    All the best,
    Penny Moore
    Aevitas Creative Management

  9. Tara Gonzalez says:

    Hi Lyssa! I would love to keep reading REVELLE! REVELLE! If you could send me a query with the full manuscript attached to tara@emliterary.com, with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line, that would be fantastic.

    Tara Gonzalez – Associate Agent at Erin Murphy Literary Agency

  10. Jim McCarthy says:

    I’d love to take a look! Kindly send the manuscript along to me at jmccarthy at Dystel dot com. A Word attachment is most preferable if possible. If more than one DGB agent requests, please feel free to send to the agent of your choice and just let us know who else at the agency requested. Thanks so much, and happy Pitch Wars!

  11. Samantha Fabien says:

    Hi Lyssa,

    Congratulations on completing Pitch Wars! You must be thrilled.

    Between being a huge fan of your mentor and the phrase “magical Gatsby,” I’m sold. I’d love to request the full manuscript and continue reading!

    If you’d like to share it, please sent 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: REVELLE REVELLE 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

  12. Hi Lyssa,
    I was so excited to see your name here and would love to take a fresh look at Revelle! Revelle! Please use this link to upload your pages: QueryManager.com/1353/PW2021
    Thanks,
    Joanna

  13. Allison Hellegers says:

    I adore this pitch, and the writing is so lovely! If you are interested in submitting to me, I would be happy to review the full manuscript. You can submit via our website, https://www.stimolaliterarystudio.com/Submissions, but do put PITCH WARS above the query. Thanks! -Allison Hellegers

  14. Maggie Kane says:

    Hi Lyssa,

    I would love to see the full manuscript! Please send it as a Word Document to maggie.queries@irenegoodman.com. 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! Thank you!

    Best,
    Maggie

  15. Jennifer Unter says:

    Hi Lyssa,
    We’d love to read! Please forward the opening 50 pages, as a Word attachment, to jen.nadol@theunteragency.com, including your query in the body of the email. Thanks!

  16. REBECCA STRAUSS says:

    Hi Lyssa Mia,

    I’d LOVE to read more of REVELLE! REVELLE! You’ve created such an engrossing world! 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
    DeFiore and Company

  17. Laura Bradford says:

    LOVE the mood and atmosphere of this one–it sounds so fun and transporting and I’d love to read more! 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

  18. Hi Lyssa,

    Cool premise on this one! You have me intrigued… Could I take a peek at the first fifty pages or so, via QueryManager.com/JenniferWills/PitchWars2020? I’d also love to see a query letter and a synopsis if you have one.

    Thanks so much!
    Jennifer Wills
    The Seymour Agency

  19. I would love to see this! Please send your query, the full MS, and a synopsis (if you have one!) to jessica@dhliterary.com. Looking forward to reading!

  20. Chelsea Eberly says:

    Hi Lyssa,

    I love the magical, romantic concept and your opening has me intrigued. I’d love to read your full manuscript if you think we’d be a good fit. Here’s the link to my Query Manager form:

    https://querymanager.com/query/ChelseaEberly/PitchWars

    Looking forward to reading your work, and good luck with Pitch Wars!

    Thanks,
    Chelsea Eberly