The CWA magazine Red Herrings rarely disappoints. In this month’s edition I was drawn to an article on how to write the perfect pitch for an agent or publisher. So I thought I’d try and craft one for Serpent’s Teeth, the fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. I’m hoping to publish it in time for Christmas. It’s currently out for editorial reviews with Kirkus and the Historical Fiction Company. I intend to use some of their comments for the back cover blurb. Then I’ll procure the cover designs, and I’ll be all set to publish.
A pitch could also be useful for the cover blurb, as well as other promotional opportunities. So I tried the advice from Red Herrings. Here is my pitch. What do you think?
It’s Paris, 1617, and Maria is desperately trying to avert the execution of her physician husband Manuel. Despite her friendship with the young King Louis XIII, his execution cannot be delayed indefinitely. Who could have added hemlock to the medicine Manuel had given the tailor? Concino Concini seems the most likely suspect, but when he is murdered by order of King Louis; and his wife Leonora sentenced to death, all hope seems lost. Leonora denies all knowledge of the tailor’s poisoning, even as the axe is poised above her neck. As Maria sobs her final farewell to Manuel, a new and shocking possibility dawns on Manuel.