(This is an archived copy of an interview originally published here at PitchWars.org) Samantha, why did you choose Leila? Leila’s manuscript and her resilient, courageous protagonist captured me from the first sentence. She deftly created a main character whose intelligence and empathy felt both realistic and compelling, and the setting in Oakland, CA clinched it for me. Her poetic descriptions of the city captured its uniqueness and energy. Leila, why did you choose to submit to Samantha? Samantha’s research background in sex trafficking and law adds a layer of understanding of the novel’s premise and complexities that allows her to support me in handling it as both an individual story…

(This is an archived version of an interview originally posted here at PitchWars.org.) We’re back with another Pitch Wars Success Story! Please join us in congratulating and celebrating Samantha Rajaram and her mentor, Carrie Callaghan! Samantha signed with Carrie Pestritto at the Laura Dail Literary Agency. We’re so excited for them! Samanta, tell us about the revision process during Pitch Wars. It was intense! Carrie was so on top of it, and gave me my edit letter well ahead of the deadline, which was such an act of generosity given my hectic schedule. I woke up every day at 3 or 4AM to work on my revisions during that 10…

(This is an archived version of an interview originally published here at PitchWars.org.) Carrie, why did you choose Samantha? This year’s submissions were outstanding — there were lots of excellent concepts in both historical fiction and fantasy that caught my attention. In this talented, crowded field, Samantha’s entry stood out because it was historical with a literary feel, which I adore, and her novel dealt with an important but relatively unknown subject — the women who traveled from 17th century Holland to the Dutch colonies to become wives to the men already there. The Dutch East Indies Company sponsored these women in a cross between a 17th century marriage scholarship…