Pitch Slam: NEVERLAND - Adult Epic Fantasy

Title: Neverland
Genre: Adult Epic Fantasy
Word Count: 105,000

Hero: Peeta from The Hunger Games, because they both love someone who doesn't always give them the same in return.

(NEVERLAND is a reimagining of the story of Peter Pan and James Hook, with the initial twist being that James is now Jaime, a girl.)

Pitch: When Peter Pan murders the dictator Emperor of Neverland, the island of immortals bursts into civil war, forcing Jaime to decide to either take her father’s throne or follow Peter, the man she loves.

First 250:

“Don’t kill him,” Blackbeard whispered to himself. “Just don’t kill him.”

As the carriage trundled on through the streets of the dockyards, frustration began to dance across his face. After three hundred and fifty-seven years, he knew himself too well. “Fuck it, I think I’m gonna kill him.”

He reached down and unsheathed the knife that was strapped to his leg, then opened the carriage door and flung it out into the street. But that did little to ease his mind, for he knew he was most certainly heading into a trap.

The palace courtyard was filled with arriving guests, and for a moment, Blackbeard hoped he might go unnoticed. But as he stepped into the ballroom, he was inundated with a multitude of stares and gasps. The lords, ladies, and courtiers were not accustomed to seeing a pirate, and although he had cleaned himself up, the trappings of his face painted true his identity. His solitary eye settled on the nearest bar, and he slowly made his way over. He leaned against the counter while a servant poured him a glass of wine.

“I’m afraid they don’t have any rum,” said a voice behind him.

Blackbeard froze in place. He cursed himself for discarding the knife. “Then they must not have been expecting any real men,” he said, then turning to face the speaker, he added, “only cunts.”

David Hameth simply smiled. “Ah, the tongue of the sea. Long has it been since it last graced these halls.”

Blackbeard raised an eyebrow, enhancing the weathered crevices on his forehead. “That it has.” He set down his glass and rose to face Hameth. “I’m surprised they still stand without me.”