Query for Catching Feelings

Stats

• Queried 45 times (August - December 2024)

  
  

• Three (3) full manuscript requests

  
  

• Personalized Rejection Feedback

  • "You have a lot of potential and you're a skilled writer, but my editorial vision didn't coalesce."

  • "I enjoyed your writing style and was intrigued by your story idea, but I didn't quite connect to the main characters."

  • "I would have liked to see the story move at a quicker pace, with lots of action/tension to keep the reader turning the page [...] and CATCHING FEELINGS feels a little too familiar."

  • "This is a good concept and opening, but unfortunately it's not a match for me."

    
    

• Key Takeaways for Me

  • I didn't love the POV/tense that I chose for this story, which kept me from going beyond 45 queries

  • Despite positive feedback, there was a bit too much telling as opposed to showing

Letter

CATCHING FEELINGS (88,000 words), a contemporary romance where he falls first and she has no idea. This book has all the heat and banter you’d expect from a Tessa Bailey novel, with antagonism between the main characters like in Alexa Martin’s Next-Door Nemesis, and Elsie’s humorous interiority from Ali Hazelwood’s Love, Theoretically.

At twenty-nine, Orelia Kane—full-time translator, part-time surfer—has life totally figured out: amazing friends, a career she thrives in, and a hobby that thrills her. If she’s been avoiding romance, she has a valid excuse. Watching her mother grieve her father so fiercely for years and still move on has made her seriously question if the inherent risk of relationships is worth the pain.

When Chris Immani, long-time acquaintance and permanent thorn in her side, sets his romantic sights on her, she knows she’s in deep trouble. She’s avoided the ex-pro surfer for years after a horrible first impression inspired her to steer clear of him at all costs. As they’re thrown together during wedding preparations for their best friends, it becomes impossible to deny the simmering chemistry and the promise of so much more.

Between embarrassing dance lessons, surfing accidents, and bachelor party mayhem, Orelia absolutely shouldn’t be falling for Chris and yet at every turn, he’s proving himself more than the gruff, arrogant athlete she initially pegged him as. Orelia knows her dislike for Chris has only existed to hide a wicked attraction, but it begs the question of risk: is it better to have an epic wipeout or not ride the wave at all? For Orelia, when it comes to catching waves, the answer is obvious, but catching feelings…she’s is uncharted waters. 

As a hobbyist surfer, competitive skydiver, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt, I adore characters who push their bodies and love stories to the limits. My own love story came to life because of a chance meeting at a baseball game and has taken me all over the world, including Japan where I currently reside with my partner. I studied creative writing at the University of Michigan and I write romance, sci-fi and fantasy.

Thanks for taking a look at Catching Feelings! 

Bette Tucker