Living as an expat in the serene Bavarian countryside, popular Christian blogger Grace Alexander has two things she can’t share with her readers: one is that her husband is obsessed with the end of the world; and two, she has a crush on the woman who runs the summer resort in Switzerland. When her husband’s obsession with end times prophecy spirals into psychosis, Grace believes the only way to both maintain appearances and obtain freedom is through death—but she’s not sure which one of them will go first.
THE ANTAGONIST
Having joined the military at age seventeen to escape an alcoholic family, David Alexander has used discipline to run a godly home. But his wife of twenty years has become polluted by the world. He thought a summer in the Swiss Alps with their church group would renew her dedication to him and to God. Instead, Grace takes part in a dangerous mountain race and allows her mind to be tainted by non-believers. Meanwhile, he has calculated the day of Christ’s return, and she doesn’t seem concerned. David attempts to control her financially and socially, but she becomes even more secretive and rebellious. To remind Grace of her role as wife and mother, David forces her submission in the bedroom, but the more David shows his authority, the further she slips. It can only be the work of demons. They have taken control of his wife and threaten to take his mind too. With the rapture coming soon, David is desperate to save his family, while they are still in a state of grace.
BREAKOUT TITLE
The State of Grace
Husbands Aren’t Forever
Saving Grace
COMPS
Like Anne Patchett’s Commonweath, this novel is inspired by real-life events. The theme of family secrets reaching the boiling point, and the mess that eventually bubbles over, is evident in the narrative style. This novel shows the desperation of families to keep secrets, only to cope with the consequences later. This novel also carries notes of Elizabeth Strout’s My Name is Lucy Barton, as the narrator learns to embrace the memories of a painful home-life.
HOOK LINE
When her husband’s obsession with the end times takes a cruel turn, popular Christian blogger Grace Alexander believes the only escape is death—she’s just not sure which one of them will go first.
CORE WOUND
Grace Alexander was raised by an overbearing religious mother. Her co-dependency was transferred to her husband when she married at a young age. For most of her life, she has played a role scripted by someone else. But the author of her wifely role is becoming mentally unstable, which causes Grace to contemplate her own desires, including her burgeoning crush on one of her best friends. She is caught between her outward religious ideals and the inner glimmer of freedom. When her husband’s obsession turns psychotic, she exploits the only loophole in the marriage contract: death.
PRIMARY CONFLICT
The Alexander family has lived in Germany for nearly ten years, and they are preparing to move back to the US. But change isn’t easy for David. He becomes obsessed with end times prophecy. Convinced of Christ’s impending return, David tightens his grip on his wife, as Grace struggles harder to break free.
David must reign in his wife before Christ’s return, and Grace must escape the marriage while maintaining her image. As David becomes more unstable, Grace stops waiting for god to rescue her and takes measures to save herself.
INNER CONFLICT
As her religious beliefs erode, Grace believes the only way out of her living hell is through death. After an accident on the mountain trail, she realizes she doesn’t want to be the one to step into the hereafter. Grace begins to fantasize of the freedom that would come through widowhood. But can she still be a good person if she wants her husband to die?
SECONDARY CONFLICT
Convinced demons have taken over his wife, David becomes increasingly paranoid. In an effort to assert control, David uses money, social life and sex to reign-in his wife before she drags them all into the pits of hell. With Christ returning soon, he will do anything to get his house in order. But does he have the faith of Abraham to wield the knife?
ADDITIONAL CONFLICTS
Grace has enjoyed her role as a mom, but at the same time, motherhood has trapped her in a marriage that is becoming increasingly abusive. With her oldest preparing for college, she realizes just how isolated she has become. When she suspects she’s pregnant, she fears being tied down even longer to a mentally unstable husband. Can she make choices about her own body when her husband has divine rights to it?
Grace has garnered a decent following on her blog about biblical motherhood and the luxurious challenges of living abroad. As her beliefs begin to crumble, her desire to write without omission grows stronger. She begins writing under a fake name and starts to see success. But David has money and power, and he would certainly take the kids if he found out. While the anonymous writing comes from the heart, she begins to feel like an imposter in her own life. With the leader of her prayer group breathing down her neck, can Grace keep her vibrant writing life a secret?
Grace can’t seem to control her desires these days. She fantasizes about a local man she meets on her trip to Switzerland. But the closer she gets to him, the more she realizes her true feelings for her best friend, who is a married woman. According to her religion, Grace’s desires are a one-way ticket to hell. But how can something God calls “unnatural” make her feel more like herself? It is a coming-of-age story in mid-life, as Grace struggles with her sexuality.
SETTING
The Swiss Alps are postcard perfect, as well as unforgiving. This setting is reflective of Grace’s life. The tourists see the perfection without fully comprehending the dangers.
Yet, it is the brutality of the alps that draws Grace. Running those dangerous paths is the only time she feels alive. She becomes addicted to pushing boundaries, both on the mountain paths and in her biblical ideals. Her life, both literal and eternal, are at stake.
The centerpiece of the Swiss village is the alpine lake, where Grace likes to swim. She feels both the numbness of the body (the facade) and the heart-pounding exhilaration of inner life.
In their isolated country home in Bavaria, David is free to rule the household with no interference. This is their protective bubble, and because they will be transferred back to the US soon, David feels a loss of control. When Grace throws out mementos of their old life, David is pushed to the brink. His inability to keep the family in this isolated place reflects his loss of spiritual control. The impending move from the idyllic countryside home is, for David, like the fall of Eden.
.jpg.345335b869ced8550872ae6f18305ca7.jpg)
New York Pitch Assignments - December 2021
in New York Write to Pitch 2023 and 2024
Posted
ACT OF STORY STATEMENT
Living as an expat in the serene Bavarian countryside, popular Christian blogger Grace Alexander has two things she can’t share with her readers: one is that her husband is obsessed with the end of the world; and two, she has a crush on the woman who runs the summer resort in Switzerland. When her husband’s obsession with end times prophecy spirals into psychosis, Grace believes the only way to both maintain appearances and obtain freedom is through death—but she’s not sure which one of them will go first.
THE ANTAGONIST
Having joined the military at age seventeen to escape an alcoholic family, David Alexander has used discipline to run a godly home. But his wife of twenty years has become polluted by the world. He thought a summer in the Swiss Alps with their church group would renew her dedication to him and to God. Instead, Grace takes part in a dangerous mountain race and allows her mind to be tainted by non-believers. Meanwhile, he has calculated the day of Christ’s return, and she doesn’t seem concerned. David attempts to control her financially and socially, but she becomes even more secretive and rebellious. To remind Grace of her role as wife and mother, David forces her submission in the bedroom, but the more David shows his authority, the further she slips. It can only be the work of demons. They have taken control of his wife and threaten to take his mind too. With the rapture coming soon, David is desperate to save his family, while they are still in a state of grace.
BREAKOUT TITLE
The State of Grace
Husbands Aren’t Forever
Saving Grace
COMPS
Like Anne Patchett’s Commonweath, this novel is inspired by real-life events. The theme of family secrets reaching the boiling point, and the mess that eventually bubbles over, is evident in the narrative style. This novel shows the desperation of families to keep secrets, only to cope with the consequences later. This novel also carries notes of Elizabeth Strout’s My Name is Lucy Barton, as the narrator learns to embrace the memories of a painful home-life.
HOOK LINE
When her husband’s obsession with the end times takes a cruel turn, popular Christian blogger Grace Alexander believes the only escape is death—she’s just not sure which one of them will go first.
CORE WOUND
Grace Alexander was raised by an overbearing religious mother. Her co-dependency was transferred to her husband when she married at a young age. For most of her life, she has played a role scripted by someone else. But the author of her wifely role is becoming mentally unstable, which causes Grace to contemplate her own desires, including her burgeoning crush on one of her best friends. She is caught between her outward religious ideals and the inner glimmer of freedom. When her husband’s obsession turns psychotic, she exploits the only loophole in the marriage contract: death.
PRIMARY CONFLICT
The Alexander family has lived in Germany for nearly ten years, and they are preparing to move back to the US. But change isn’t easy for David. He becomes obsessed with end times prophecy. Convinced of Christ’s impending return, David tightens his grip on his wife, as Grace struggles harder to break free.
David must reign in his wife before Christ’s return, and Grace must escape the marriage while maintaining her image. As David becomes more unstable, Grace stops waiting for god to rescue her and takes measures to save herself.
INNER CONFLICT
As her religious beliefs erode, Grace believes the only way out of her living hell is through death. After an accident on the mountain trail, she realizes she doesn’t want to be the one to step into the hereafter. Grace begins to fantasize of the freedom that would come through widowhood. But can she still be a good person if she wants her husband to die?
SECONDARY CONFLICT
Convinced demons have taken over his wife, David becomes increasingly paranoid. In an effort to assert control, David uses money, social life and sex to reign-in his wife before she drags them all into the pits of hell. With Christ returning soon, he will do anything to get his house in order. But does he have the faith of Abraham to wield the knife?
ADDITIONAL CONFLICTS
Grace has enjoyed her role as a mom, but at the same time, motherhood has trapped her in a marriage that is becoming increasingly abusive. With her oldest preparing for college, she realizes just how isolated she has become. When she suspects she’s pregnant, she fears being tied down even longer to a mentally unstable husband. Can she make choices about her own body when her husband has divine rights to it?
Grace has garnered a decent following on her blog about biblical motherhood and the luxurious challenges of living abroad. As her beliefs begin to crumble, her desire to write without omission grows stronger. She begins writing under a fake name and starts to see success. But David has money and power, and he would certainly take the kids if he found out. While the anonymous writing comes from the heart, she begins to feel like an imposter in her own life. With the leader of her prayer group breathing down her neck, can Grace keep her vibrant writing life a secret?
Grace can’t seem to control her desires these days. She fantasizes about a local man she meets on her trip to Switzerland. But the closer she gets to him, the more she realizes her true feelings for her best friend, who is a married woman. According to her religion, Grace’s desires are a one-way ticket to hell. But how can something God calls “unnatural” make her feel more like herself? It is a coming-of-age story in mid-life, as Grace struggles with her sexuality.
SETTING
The Swiss Alps are postcard perfect, as well as unforgiving. This setting is reflective of Grace’s life. The tourists see the perfection without fully comprehending the dangers.
Yet, it is the brutality of the alps that draws Grace. Running those dangerous paths is the only time she feels alive. She becomes addicted to pushing boundaries, both on the mountain paths and in her biblical ideals. Her life, both literal and eternal, are at stake.
The centerpiece of the Swiss village is the alpine lake, where Grace likes to swim. She feels both the numbness of the body (the facade) and the heart-pounding exhilaration of inner life.
In their isolated country home in Bavaria, David is free to rule the household with no interference. This is their protective bubble, and because they will be transferred back to the US soon, David feels a loss of control. When Grace throws out mementos of their old life, David is pushed to the brink. His inability to keep the family in this isolated place reflects his loss of spiritual control. The impending move from the idyllic countryside home is, for David, like the fall of Eden.