Marblehead literary agent Maura Phelan knows a good story when she reads one. And she knew right away that author Maria Ventrano’s debut novel, “Queen Bess,” was going to be a hit. The book is being released this week and is available at Saltwater Books on Washington Street.
“I thought it was so smart, and it depicted formidable women doing good things to change the world,” Phelan said. “It was also very hopeful.”
Phelan owns Green Light Literary, a boutique agency here in town. Her friend and fellow Marbleheader Ellen Jarrett owns Porter Square Books in Cambridge and tipped Phelan off to one of her customers who was writing a political fantasy and time-travel thriller.
“Queen Bess” tells the story of tech billionaire Dakota Wynfred who is determined to block the re-election of “the vile U.S. president Robert Vlakas, who wants to nationalize her cybersecurity company and simultaneously set fire to the Constitution,” according to a Green Light press release.
Wynfred’s champion of choice is… Elizabeth Tudor, the queen who secured England’s shores, restored the treasury and ushered in the Renaissance in the 1500s. Wynfred travels back in time to convince Elizabeth to leave the year 1588, come to 2027 and run for U.S. president.
“First, she has to expose Queen Elizabeth I to 400 years of history and get her adjusted to the 21st century,” said Vetrano, who lives in Woburn. “Elizabeth starts watching things like ‘The Crown’ and ‘The Bachelorette.’”
Vetrano, who owns a tech public relations and consulting business, was inspired to write “Queen Bess” novel after Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in 2016.
“A couple of years later, I was still feeling gutted,” she said. Vetrano asked herself, “What kind of woman could win the presidency in America?”
“That was before Kamala Harris was running,” she laughed.
“Queen Bess” is the first in a trilogy, Vetrano said. She hopes to start writing the second book soon.
As for her literary agent, Vetrano couldn’t be happier with Phelan.
“She’s so creative,” she said. “Maura is the hardest working agent in the business.”
