Manuscripts

ALL HER WISHES

My 2021 #PitchWars book, ALL HER WISHES, is an adult romantasy. A fairytale retelling for the millennial, it is dual-POV written from the perspective of a selfish fairy godmother, Isabelle, and her villainous ex, Adrien. Pitched as a written Once Upon a Time for adult fans of Marissa Meyer, you’re sure to fall in love with this deconstruction of the traditional happily ever after.

Pitch: Twenty-something Fairy Godmother Isabelle Fortier hates her job. Give her a sketchbook and shoes over a wand any day. Iz must prove she doesn’t suck at Godmothering to keep the villain—her infuriatingly sexy ex—from turning her best friend into an evil queen. Sounds simple. But in this fairytale gone wrong, Happily Ever After is never what you think.

A white woman with auburn hair in a green gown leans back against a tree, pointing her wand downward while a white man with dark hair wearing a dark jacket leans toward her, holding his hand to her foot. Image (c) Jaria Rambaran (https://linktr.ee/jariarambaran) — A white woman with auburn hair in a green gown leans back against a tree, pointing her wand downward while a white man with dark hair wearing a dark jacket leans toward her, holding his hand to her foot.
Image © Jaria Rambaran (https://linktr.ee/jariarambaran)

DEATHBRINGER

DEATHBRINGER is a 1920s-inspired young adult fantasy best pitched as a story with an alternate history like Scythe but which features the occult darkness reminiscent of Serpent & Dove. A villain origination story or perhaps better said, a corruption arc, Deathbringer is about trauma, rebellion, and how the dark places in our society, but more importantly our homes, can make us put on the masks of monsters.

Pitch: In Aviare, where magic has been outlawed by the theocracy, 17 year old Violet’s death magic is the worst sin, so she seeks refuge in the rebellion. But not all in the magic speakeasies is glitz and glamor, and the cost of joining this world and the new found family it’s brought might come at a high cost for Violet: her new family in exchange for her old.

A white girl with short dark hair in a bob, wearing a purple, sequined dress and long purple gloves holds a turkey vulture aloft.
Image © Jaria Rambaran (https://linktr.ee/jariarambaran) — A white girl with short dark hair in a bob, wearing a purple, sequined dress and long purple gloves holds a turkey vulture aloft.
*Image © Jaria Rambaran (*https://linktr.ee/jariarambaran)

FOR THE LOVE OF CATS

Inspired by my many years volunteering in cat rescue as a foster, medical coordinator, foster home coordinator, and board member of multiple Philadelphia area shelters and rescues, FOR THE LOVE OF CATS is an adult contemporary romance for fans of the sharp tongue of Nora from Emily Henry’s Book Lovers and the soft sunshine of Quan from Helen Hoang’s The Heart Principle.

Pitch: When a passionate but grumpy cat rescuer who (against her better judgment) falls for a kind animal control officer stuck between a rock and a hard place, both of them will have to overcome their biases about rescue, love, and each other. If they don’t, they risk losing the city shelter to its corrupt executive director, and losing one another to their preconceived notions.

Moodboard featuring in upper left corner a woman kissing a kitten, upper right corner a dirty orange and white cat on the street, lower left corner a LOVE sign, the lower right corner a man hugging a golden retriever. All images freely sourced via Pixabay or Unsplash.

THE KING’S BLADE

Written with the worldbuilding help of one of my oldest and best alpha readers who is an oceanographer for World Wildlife Fund (hey, Emily!) and my dad who is an environmental engineer (what up, pops!), THE KING’S BLADE is an adult fairytale retelling of the Little Mermaid but with anatomically correct mermaids who don’t wear seashell bras and are not nearly as nice as the ones you’re probably thinking of. Pitched as if Mia from Nevernight was a mermaid on an environmental revenge mission meets the alluring worlds created by Tasha Suri, if you’re into stories where the enemy is the ignorance of man, this one is for you.

Pitch: In the Deep Sea, there can be no weakness. So when a mysterious sickness threatens her king, the Deep Sea’s First Assassin must abandon the sea to chase a cause—and more importantly—a cure. Failure means losing her home, her king, her best friend, and her tail.

Underwater hall with pillars to left and right, shark to the right, octopus to the left, and two statues of men ahead. Image sourced freely from Pixabay.

Genderbent Beauty & the Beast WIP

A darker adult fairytale retelling, my current WIP is a genderbent Beauty & the Beast where the Beast isn’t interested in redemption but revenge and the Beauty isn’t looking to fix the Beast but himself.

Featuring ambition too big to be caged, poverty that tears through the soul like a plague, and a love much larger than curse breaking, this one tackles trauma, desperation, and so many things that shred a life.

Once Upon a Time…

A man told her she would never amount to anything.

Society told him he was a stone under its boot.

Together, they will break their tale and their world.

Mood board containing images from left to right of a man with white skin, black hair and horns, a white woman in a long black gown with branches sprouting from her arms, a black and white chess board with a queen centered, a sepia castle overlooking a river, and a faded rose on a bed of charred leaves.

SECRET WIP

On the opposite end of dark I have… a picture book? About a jellyfish??? You heard it here first, folks. I am working on writing my first ever picture book! And it features a jellyfish. Inspired by a trip to the Camden Aquarium with one of my most favorite CPs, this story is meant to not only teach kids about pollution but also is a heartwarming story about loneliness, the quest for friendship, and how creatures you think are scary have feelings just like you. Alex, Dean, you out there? This one is for you!

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