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PW #235: YA Contemporary Romance: THE LOVE LETTERS OF ABELARD AND LILY

Monday, 2 November 2015  |  Posted by Brenda Drake

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Manuscript Status: Finished

Mentor Name: Marty Mayberry
Mentee Name: Laura Creedle
Title: THE LOVE LETTERS OF ABELARD AND LILY
Category: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Word Count: 62,000

Pitch:

After sixteen-year-old Lily goes off her ADHD meds, she spontaneously kisses Abelard, the brilliant boy with Asperger’s she hit by accident with a Hello Kitty lunchbox in 1st grade.  When they exchange texts, Lily falls for Abelard, but texts may not be enough to bridge their differences when they meet again in person.

Excerpt:

The day Abelard and I broke the wall, we had a four hour English test. Seriously. Every eleventh grade student in the State of Texas had to take a four hour English test. It was hard enough to sit still that long if you were normal.

But I’m a female Frankenstein’s monster trying to blend in, continually embarrassed by the random movements of my arms and legs.

Breaking things. I guess it was only fitting that a colossal act of destruction would bring Abelard back into my life.

After the test, I told my feet to take the stairs to the third floor. Every fiber of my being wanted to run out the front door and into the warm April sunshine. If I didn’t tell myself where to go, if I let my mind drift, I’d find myself in the quiet calm of the art wing where the fluorescent lights flickered an appealingly low cycle of semi-permanent gloom. Or, I’d stand in the empty girl’s room just to be alone. Sometimes, I think I’m not attention deficit but attention abundant. Too much everything.

When I got to Geography, Coach Neuwirth handed out a short, and not particularly interesting, article about the importance of corn as a primary crop in the early Americas, then left the room. He did this a lot. Rogelio muttered something in Spanish and several people laughed.

Over the murmur of voices, I heard a series of metallic clicks followed by a squeaking noise.

 

Filed: Pitch Wars

19 Comments
  • Positively intrigued by the synopsis. Would love to read more! Please send your official query (subject line containing “Pitch Wars”) and first 50 pages in an attached Word doc to laura (@) triadaus (dot) com. Thanks!

  • Melissa Edwards says:

    Would love to read more. Please send the first 100 pages as a .doc to medwards@aaronpriest.com with Pitch Wars and the title in the subject line. Thanks!

  • Caitie Flum says:

    I would love to read more of this! Please send the first 50 pages, sent as a Word attachment, to querycaitie(at)lizadawson(dot)com, with the words “#PitchWars request” in the subject and your query pasted in the body of the email!

  • Jennifer says:

    Love the premise and voice! Please send first 100 pages copied and pasted into body of email to queryjennifer@fuseliterary.com Can’t wait to read more!

  • Carlie Webber says:

    I’d like to see more. Please send the manuscript and a query letter (MS Word preferred, PDF okay) to carlie @ ckwebber.com with the subject line PITCH WARS REQUEST: Title of Work.

  • Mollie Glick says:

    Absolutely loved the title and synopsis! Please send 50 sample pages mentioning Pitch Wars in the subject line (mgsubmissions@foundrymedia.com). Thanks!

  • Suzie Townsend says:

    I’d love to request the query + full ms!

  • I’m intrigued and would love to see more. If you’re interested at all, please send the first 50 pages (as a .doc) along with your query letter and a short synopsis (pasted in the body of the email) to submissions(at)jaw-litagent(dot)com with the subject line “Pitch Wars request: THE LOVE LETTERS OF ABELARD AND LILY”. Thanks so much, Julia

  • Rena Rossner says:

    I’d love to read more of this! Please send the first 50 pages attached as a word document to:

    rena(at)thedeborahharrisagency(dot)com

    Thanks!

    Rena Rossner

  • Laura Biagi says:

    I’m so intrigued by this premise and Lily’s voice. I’d love to see more! Please send the query and full ms as a .doc or .docx file to LBiagi at jvnla dot com with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line. I look forward to reading!

  • Stefanie Lieberman says:

    I’d like to read more! Please send the first 100 pages in Word format and a query letter to submissions@janklow.com, and include “Stefanie Lieberman” in the subject line of the email.

  • Jackie says:

    This sounds fantastic! I’d love to read alongside Suzie at New Leaf. Please also send the full ms as an attachment to query(at)newleafliterary.com and include “Pitch Wars Request for Jackie” in the subject line. Thank you!

  • Louise Fury says:

    I’d love to read this. Please send me the query, synopsis and full manuscript in a word doc to furyqueries(at)thebentagency(dot)com .
    Include #pitchwars: (Title) in the subject line.
    Tnx!

  • Love this premise, and the voice! Do send me the full plus your synopsis to jessica@dijkstraagency.com. Also reference Pitchwars in the subject line. Can’t wait to read!

    Jessica

  • Christa Heschke says:

    You definitely grabbed my interest here! Please send the first 25 pages, query and synopsis to chquery[at]mcintoshandotis[dot]com and put “Pitch Wars request” in the subject line.

    Thanks,
    Christa Heschke
    McIntosh & Otis, Inc

  • Claire Anderson-Wheeler says:

    Hi Laura

    I’m keen to read this – could you send me the full MS as a Word doc and if possible, an expanded synopsis (ideally 500-700 words)? claire at rhaliterary dot com.

    Looking forward to reading more!
    Claire

  • Kitty Walker says:

    Wow! Such a good idea, and lovely writing. I’d be very keen indeed to read the whole thing. Please do send it to kitty@evewhite.co.uk with Pitch Wars in the subject heading.

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