Pitch Wars ALT: LL-9 TWIST OF FATE

MENTOR: Shelley Watters
ALTERNATE: Martha Mayberry
TITLE: TWIST OF FATE
CATEGORY/GENRE: New Adult Fantasy
WORD COUNT: 80,000

PITCH:
After goddess-born, NYC socialite Pandia travels through time, she convinces Julius Caesar to ditch politics for gardening, altering his destiny. As punishment, her father, Zeus, sentences her to mortality in ancient Pompeii. Pandia must show she’s changed, but a gladiator’s proving tempting and Mt. Vesuvius is rumbling.

EXCERPT:  If I hadn’t traveled back in time to attend that party with Aphrodite, I wouldn’t have met Julius Caesar. Jules wouldn’t have taken my advice to ditch politics for gardening, and I wouldn’t be in deep shit with my father, Zeus.

I took a fortifying breath, yanked down my red crop top, and swept into the Great Hall. My father and step-mother sat in gilded thrones at the end of the room, wearing tropical clothing and matching scowls on their tanned faces.

As I strode through the pillared aisle leading to the receiving area, the click-click-click of my heels echoed in the stillness surrounding me. Normally, gods packed the aisle and the alcoves between the pillars, chatting as they waited for a word with my father. The fact that it was just me, Dad, and Hera was ominous.

I halted before the dais and tried not to squirm under Dad’s white-hot gaze. His silver hair stuck up in all directions, as if he’d raked his hands through it.

A frown deepened the lines on his face. “Pandia,” he said without his usual greeting. “You’ve done it again.”

Hera smirked and clutched the arms of her throne with fingers like talons.

Sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, creating colorful patterns on the marble tiles. I traced an outline with my peep-toe Louboutin and avoided his eyes. “Could you be more specific?”

“Julius.” He sighed like the weight of a planet rested on his shoulders. “When will you stop fooling around with notorious mortals?”