[QCrit] PANDEMONIA, Adult, Fantasy Romance, 90,000 words, 1st attempt
Hi. It’s my first time and I’m scared.
Dear (agent),
[personalization]
I am seeking representation for PANDEMONIA, my adult fantasy romance complete at 90,000 words. It merges the dark whimsy (and unapologetic silliness) of EMILY WILDE’S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES by Heather Fawcett with the emotionally charged rivals-to-lovers romance of A DARK AND DROWNING TIDE by Allison Saft, while subverting classic genre tropes. Set in an alternate 19th-century world, PANDEMONIA reimagines the pagan mythology and fantastical creatures that fascinated Victorian society.
The great god Pan is dead, and Elodie is to blame.
When a frightening goatish fellow corners Elodie on Midsummer’s Eve, the ambitious housemaid never suspects she’s driving her kitchen knife into the ancient god-king of the Otherworld. Yet skewering a deity soon proves the happiest mishap of her life. Believing Elodie to be their prophesied savior, a pack of grateful nymphs bows to her as their new queen, and Elodie pounces on the chance to con her way out of a life of drudgery.
There is only one foil to her scheme: Pan’s son Sylvan, a world-weary libertine with impotent empathy magic, and the true heir to the throne. Elodie’s very existence threatens his right to kingship, and his opportunity to gain absolute respect while doing absolutely nothing. Naturally, he isn’t yielding without a fuss.
But selecting their rightful ruler proves delicious entertainment for the cunning forest-folk council. They devise a sensationalized competition to decide whether Elodie or Sylvan is fated to lead. The stakes are thus: The victor will be crowned and celebrated. The loser will be deemed a traitor and fed to a peckish dragon named Hargon.
Determined to win, and evade Hargon’s gnashing maw, the pair compete in the garish spectacle. But with each harrowing test, their ire dampens: Sylvan is reluctantly charmed by Elodie’s indomitable spirit, and Elodie discovers Sylvan’s droll cynicism masks an unusually tender heart. Despite the couple’s dawning realization that they make better lovers than rivals, they are irreversibly bound to the immortal oath that decrees one shall rule, and one shall die.
I live in Colorado, where I go on epic quests with my toddlers, meander along mountain trails, and drink impressive amounts of tea. As a librarian’s daughter, I was raised among bookshelves and decided to stay forever.
Warmest wishes,
Redacted