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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 #28: FIRST COMES LOVE MARRIAGE BABY (Contemporary Rom-Com)
Mentee:
Hannah B. Olsen
Mentored by:
Alicia Thompson and Amy Lea
Book Title:
FIRST COMES LOVE MARRIAGE BABY
Category:
Adult
Genre:
Contemporary Rom-Com
Word Count:
97,000
Manuscript Content Warning(s):
Mentions of child loss, mental illness, and cancer; non-graphic descriptions of pregnancy and childbirth

Pitch:

When curvy, career-oriented engineer Tess finds herself unexpectedly expecting her BFF's baby, she attempts to catapult herself out of the friend-zone via a mutually-beneficial fake relationship with her steamy ultrasound technician. But when the line between pretend and real blurs, she must decide between the future she’s always imagined and the happily-ever-after she actually deserves . . . before she loses both.

 

Excerpt:

CONCEPTION

Ben and I have hooked up exactly five times since becoming best friends in the seventh grade.

The first time was fifteen years ago. During spring break of eighth grade, I was feeling uncharacteristically ballsy. Ben snuck a bottle of six dollar sangria from his mom’s fridge, and I somehow convinced him to watch Angus Thongs with me. Tipsy—mostly off the thrill of our illicit behavior—we decided to ‘practice’ making out. After less than three minutes, it got too weird so we stopped.

The next time, eleven years ago, was the summer after high school graduation. My friends and I were all set to attend college in various cities, with only Ben staying local (to help his mom). One week before we left, Ben’s summer girlfriend—Andrea—broke up with him after completing her exchange program. His hopeless romantic heart shattered. It was pitiful. So we got totally sloshed on wine coolers and did it in my parents’ camper. Ah, sweet memories.

Third time’s the charm? Nope. I moved back to our Colorado hometown five years ago, after completing my masters and accepting my first real engineering job. We celebrated with many, many margaritas. Ben’s always been fun: life-of the party, filler of drinks, a living mirror-ball magically transforming all who surround him into their happiest, most carefree selves. But Tequila Ben was fun. And for some inexplicable reason, Tequila Ben only had eyes for me.

6 responses to “PW2021 Adult #28: FIRST COMES LOVE MARRIAGE BABY (Contemporary Rom-Com)”

  1. Sharon Pelletier says:

    Always a sucker for the fake relationship! I’d love to read. Could you please send the full (as a Word doc) and your query to spelletier@dystel.com? If you get more than one request from DG&B, please choose the agent you think is the best fit for you and note in your email the other requests.

    Thanks!

  2. Kim Lionetti says:

    I’m hooked and would love to read more!

    You can upload the full manuscript here: QueryManager.com/klionetti/PitchWars

    I hope to see it in my inbox!

    ** If more than one BookEnds agent requests, please just send to the one you think would be the best fit.

  3. Paige Wheeler says:

    This sounds amazing. I’d love to take a look at more of your work. Please email me the synopsis and first 100 pages to me at paige@cmalit.com. Please write “Pitch Wars Requested Material” in the subject heading. Thanks so much!

  4. Penelope Burns says:

    I would love to see more of this! If you’d like, can you send your query and full manuscript to penelope@gelfmanschneider.com, with #PitchWars in the subject line? Thanks so much!

    All best,
    Penelope

  5. Alex Rice says:

    Would love to see this manuscript in my inbox! Please send over the full manuscript and a synopsis to me at alex.rice@caa.com, using the subject line of “Pitch Wars Query // TITLE.” If another agent at CAA also requests, please include their name in the query as well. Looking forward to reading! All my best, Alex Rice

  6. Laura Bradford says:

    Of course I want to know what happened the 5th time they hooked up! I’d love to see 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***