Successful Queries: Haley Heidemann, Natalie Hallak, and “The Debtor’s Game,” by Isabelle Mongeau

Welcome back to the Successful Queries series. In this installment, find a query letter from agent Haley Heidemann to editor Natalie Hallak for Isabelle Mongeau's debut novel, The Debtor's Game.

Isabelle Mongeau is a freelance writer and editor in Atlanta, Georgia. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and published in Bayou Magazine, Litbreak Magazine, The Merrimack Review, Cleaver Literary Magazine, Alloy Literary Magazine, and Living Springs Publishers. She earned her MSt in creative writing from the University of Cambridge, and a BA in English/creative writing and film studies from Emory University. The Debtor's Game is her first novel.

I’m so thrilled to send you Isabelle Mongeau’s brilliant debut romantasy novel, THE DEBTOR’S GAME.

In a world where faeries are born with their debt to the High Fae tattooed on their bodies, things have never been fair. But right now, things are feeling particularly unfair to Avery. Tensions are high among the houses of Reign, Illusion, Healing and Death, and Avery has found herself at the center of the precarious court politics.

As a palace faerie, Avery is busy preparing Lady Kassandra for the coming Coronation. Both of their freedoms rely on it: Kassandra, to escape her violent brother, and Avery, to pay off rings of debt tattoos that reach her shoulders. After a series of tragic events, Avery is forced to serve both Lady Kassandra of the house of Illusion and the new King of the House of Reign. Her circumstances prove more and more complicated. Testing her loyalties, uncovering secrets, and avenging the execution of her best friend, she ultimately uncovers the truth of the High Fae and the key to faerie freedom.  

Even if it means subterfuge and sexual promises, blood oaths and blood baths. Avery will free her growing number of loved ones. For if joy is a rebellion in dark times, then perhaps rebellion is like joy: contagious.  

Lush, thrilling, and gritty, The Debtor’s Game explores the moral, mental and physical implications of generational poverty and wealth, drawing from the American debt crisis. With a band of incredible characters, a bubbling undercurrent of tension, steamy queer romance, and page-turning twists, you will not be able to put this book down and will be begging for the next.

Isabelle Mongeau is a freelance writer and editor in Atlanta, Georgia. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and published in Bayou Magazine, Litbreak Magazine, The Merrimack Review, Cleaver Literary Magazine, Alloy Literary Magazine, and Living Springs Publishers. She earned her MSt in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge, and a BA in English/Creative Writing and Film Studies from Emory University. She also has been growing her TikTok page which has amassed over 1.5M likes. She has plans for further books in the series and is well into the sequel.

The manuscript is attached. I hope you love this book as much as I do and I cannot wait to hear your thoughts.

All best,

Haley

Bookshop | Amazon

(WD uses affiliate links)

When I’m reading a pitch, I look for the telltale spark in my gut—one that has me wanting to drop everything to read the novel that moment. And that’s exactly what I felt when the submission for The Debtor’s Game crossed my desk, promising a rage-fueled feminist fantasy inspired by the French revolution.

As romantasy becomes an increasingly crowded genre, a unique angle is essential to breaking through the noise, and my attention immediately hooked on the idea of debt tattoos in a magic-infused world. Isabelle Mongeau’s imagination stood out to me from the freshness of that high-concept idea alone. I hadn’t seen it done before, and it promised both escape and sharp commentary, which is the exact recipe I look for in genre fiction for a mainstream audience. Isabelle’s savviness with social media is mentioned in the pitch, too, which is always an added plus (though certainly not necessary!).

And with any proposed series, I always want to make sure there’s a narrative engine that can sustain multiple novels. The scope and ambition of the project shone through not only because of the scope of the politics, but the gravitas of the themes Isabelle is interrogating. And Isabelle’s literary credentials further excited me—making me eager to experience her voice for myself.

Then, I was completely swept away by the read: pacey, atmospheric, and transportive, with razor-sharp writing and a sprawling, deeply lovable cast of characters. Simply put, it was so much fun to read, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the novel after finishing it. The book exactly lived up to the pitch, and I knew I needed to acquire it and position Isabelle Mongeau as a major new voice in fantasy. I can’t wait for readers to discover the world of The Debtor’s Game and fall in love with it as I have.

*****

Natalie Hallak is an Executive Editor at Ballantine Books, where she has published bestsellers including Conform by Ariel Sullivan and Happy Wife by Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores. She looks for standout voices in genre-bending fiction, stories that are wholly transportive and keep her up reading late into the night. Previously, she was an editor at Atria/S&S and Park Row Books/HarperCollins, where her list comprised of New York Times bestsellers and major media book club picks, including The Cloisters by Katy Hays, The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner, and The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim.

Haley Heidemann has been at WME since 2016 and lives in New York City. Click here to learn more.