Bio
Hi, I’m Isabelle! I was a 2023 SmoochPit mentee. My Bachelor-inspired debut rom-com novel, MOST ELIGIBLE, will be published by St. Martin’s Griffin/Macmillan in January 2026. I am represented by Kendall Berdinsky at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
I’m originally from New England but now live and work in Washington D.C. I have a MA in English with a focus on Shakespeare and early modern literature. When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading, petting dogs, and finding cute coffee shops to procrastinate in.
Manuscript
Wishlist
(MSWL)
I am looking for…
- High-concept, high-stakes romances with strong subplots
- Romcoms with laugh-out-loud banter and ridiculous hijinks
- Action-packed, genre-blending mystery romcoms (murder mystery, heists, etc. as long as it’s not too dark!)
- Books that feel like '90s romcoms
- I would love to see books with diverse voices of all types
- All heat levels welcome!
Some favorite romance elements: High-stakes, competitive environments, unique and/or isolated settings, early career protagonists finding their way in the world, and Hollywood-adjacent settings.
My favorite tropes include: enemies/rivals to lovers, forced proximity, second chance, mistaken identity, fish out of water, road trips, only one bed, and only one [insert thing of your choosing here].
I am probably not the best fit for:
- Historical romance
- Fantasy/Romantasy (while I love reading it, I am not the best mentor!)
- Accidental pregnancy and/or secret baby tropes
- Complex speculative/magical romance (though I will consider lightly speculative stories!)
Mentoring Style
I look forward to working with my mentee on their manuscript and providing editorial feedback. My comments will address both what I love and what might not working in the book, but all feedback will come from a place of deep love for your story and characters!
I am open to communicating in any way that works best for my mentee, whether that is via email, Discord, text, etc. I would love to have an initial phone or Zoom call to get to know each other and from there, we can talk about how we will communicate going forward. I would love to help prepare agent lists for querying, talk through strategies, and stay in touch once the mentorship is over.
Applications
from Connections
If we have ever beta read for each other or had extensive conversations online, please do not send your materials to me. Anyone else, please apply! If you have questions, please feel free to reach out.