This is the pitch that Briana MacPerry delivered at the RWA 2015 Conference. Rather than writing a full script she prepared the following notes, memorized them and delivered them in a conversational style. For more on Briana’s experience pitching take a look at her post here.
Hello,
INTRO:
I just have to say I am really excited to meet you. You were my first pick for an agent because I felt your background in psychology and behavioral science would be a good fit for me, as I am a creative arts therapist. Also, I read about your affinity for science fiction and fantasy, and felt you might be interested in my 75,000 word adult urban fantasy, A DRAGON’S DEBT TO APPLE PIE.
HIGH CONCEPT:
For the high concept pitch, it’s an enemies to lovers story. Think Russel Crowe in the Gladiator meets Kate Beckninsdale in Underworld…except, she’s a dragon.
SETTING:
The story is told from both the hero and heroine’s POV and is set in a decimated New York City, where vampires have invaded human reality from the spiritual realm of man’s collective unconscious, to turn humanity into a slave race of vampire-hybrids (humans bitten but left alive by purebred vampires with a need for vampire blood to survive).
BACKGROUND INFO:
Against this backdrop, the heroine is a brass tax, Hispanic, one-of-a-kind dragon-shifter who supplies synthetic vampire blood and protects escaped hybrid refugees. A principled seductress and crusader, Rosa gave up her job as an elite member of the human resistance, when she betrayed her beloved protégé, releasing the refugee hybrids accused of murdering his sister from prison, due to a lack of evidence.
CONFLICT:
Now, her protégé—who is a salt-of-the-earth, no-bullshit, man’s man–has become Second in Command of the human army, and has been on a quest to hunt her down and make her pay for stealing away justice for his sister, over the past fifteen years.
Oh, but only if his hatred, ran as deeply as his love.
INCITING INCIDENT/CALL TO ACTION:
After the heroine saves the hero in a botched capture attempt, she returns home to find her hybrid base brutally attacked by purebred vampires. Out of options, she begs the hero to train her “brids” to become better soldiers. In exchange, she will help him hunt down and kill the “fuckin’ bloodsuckers” who murdered his sister, who also happen to be the guilty perpetrators of her unwanted transformation into a dragon-shifter.
STORY ARCH:
So, for the hero, in achieving justice for his sister, can he forgive the heroine, and in doing so, find his way back to loving her again? For the heroine, in confronting her attackers can she finally accept what she has become, and in doing so, embrace a love she doesn’t feel she deserves?
ACCOLADES:
A DRAGON’S DEBT is the first of a trilogy in The Age of Mayhem Series, and has had a full copy write and content edit. A DRAGON’S DEBT also ranked second place in RWA’s On the Farside 2012 Touch of Magic Contest. Two other unpublished books in the The Age of Mayhem series have ranked in four contests combined. Additionally, after a Pitch Madness event it was requested by two publishing houses and is currently under consideration with Carina Press and World Weaver Press.
More on Briana MacPerry:
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to an Irish Catholic family, Briana MacPerry has always been surrounded by natural-born storytellers. For ten years, she has practiced as a licensed and board certified Creative Arts Therapist in various healthcare settings in New York City, working predominantly with traumatized women and addiction. Currently, she is an adjunct writing professor at Pratt Institute, and clinical coordinator at a brain research and diagnostic facility. She also maintains a community blog for writers focusing on research in love psychology, writer’s tips, and the intersection of visual art and written reflection.
novel pitch 