Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Adam S Reisinger

Success Story Interview - Adam S Reisinger

An Interview with Adam S Reisinger (adamreisinger on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Carolyn Forde of Transatlantic Literary Agency.

02/10/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Adam S Reisinger:
THE ICE BETWEEN US is a sapphic romance novel set primarily in the world of show figure skating. I was inspired to write it after attending three Disney On Ice shows in one day in early January 2025. When I got home that night, I had this clear picture in my head of a story where an accomplished skater joins a show after an injury brings an end to her competitive career and ends up clashing with the show’s entrenched star — before they end up falling in love. I wanted to marry my passion for figure skating with my love of love stories, and it ended up being perfectly timed with the increased attention on same-gender partnerships in figure skating over the past year.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Adam S Reisinger:
I wrote my first novel about two decades ago, and another one about five years ago, but this was the first one with which I decided to pursue publishing. I’m also very involved in writing in my day job, serving as an editor for ESPN.com and having done more than my share of writing in that role.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Adam S Reisinger:
I started writing this book in mid-January 2025, finished the first draft about two months later, then went through multiple rounds of revisions before I started querying.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Adam S Reisinger:
I was ready to give up multiple times, including as recently as a couple months ago. What kept me going was encouragement from my writing group and my friends, and my personal passion for the two main characters of this book. I felt I’d be doing them a disservice if I didn’t do everything I could to get the story published.
QT: Is this your first book?: Adam S Reisinger:
It’s the first one I’ve tried to get published, but the third I’ve written to completion.
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Adam S Reisinger:
Yes, but journalistic writing is far different from novel writing, something I learned a lot about in the process of writing this book.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Adam S Reisinger:
Not typically. For this book, the idea was so strong in my head that I had to write nearly every day just because I was so excited about it. Now, as I’m working on two new WIPs, I don’t feel like I have to force myself to write every day, or even at the same time of day from day to day.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Adam S Reisinger:
This book went through four major revisions and countless minor edits between each of those.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Adam S Reisinger:
Yes, four formal beta readers, plus multiple informal early readers giving me feedback specifically on the skating and touring aspects of the book.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Adam S Reisinger:
I started off just writing from the hip for the first couple of chapters, but then as I got into the part of the book when they went on tour, I had to outline the subsequent chapters to match up with the tour schedule I had planned for them to make sure certain events that I knew I wanted to have happen took place in the right cities and at the right time of year.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Adam S Reisinger:
I sent my first query for this book on August 16, 2025 and my last query for it on January 18, 2026.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Adam S Reisinger:
My final count was 100, including a handful that couldn’t be tracked on QT.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Adam S Reisinger:
I started by looking for agents in my genre, then tried to narrow it down to agents who were looking specifically for stories either by queer authors or featuring queer characters. As time went on, I broadened my search to anyone expressing an interest in representing romance.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Adam S Reisinger:
At first, I always tried to start my query letter with something that specifically referenced each agent’s MSWL and how it tied back to my book. After a few months of doing that with mixed success, I mixed in some queries that were not personalized.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Adam S Reisinger:
Be patient. This is not an overnight process. You’ll hear about some people who started querying and had an agent a week later, but they are the exception, not the rule. Also, if you can, find a community of writers who are going through the same journey you are. It can be so helpful to lean on each other for support and ask each other for advice. If you have that community, this process won’t feel nearly as lonely.

Success Story Interview - Adam S Reisinger

Query Letter: