NIGHT OF THE LIVING ZOM-PEAS
PICTURE BOOK
440 WORDS
Query:
Edgar LOVES vegetables. He can't get enough of them. But when everyone, including the President of the United States, starts sending their unwanted veggies to Edgar, he realizes that too much of a good thing can be, well, too much. Edgar tries to put an end to the vegetable deliveries, finally burying them deep in some very fertile soil. Add some moonlight, a little dew and the creepiest of gardens grows. NIGHT OF THE LIVING ZOM-PEAS is The Twilight Zone meets your dinner plate! Don't be surprised, parents, if your kids want to eat more vegetables by the last page.
First 150 Words:
Edgar loved vegetables. He couldn’t get enough of them.
He was crazy about the crunch, frantic for the freshness, and swooned over the snap!
Whenever someone did not want to eat their vegetables,
peas snuck,broccoli crept and lima beans wandered onto Edgar’s plate.
It started with his sister. Then his parents.
But soon veggies came from everywhere. Teachers, neighbors,
school crossing guards, the mailman
doctors,astronauts, zookeepers,
Even the President of the United States!
One day,upon delivery of some string beans from the Queen of England, Edgar had more vegetables than he could eat!
He tried to send the vegetables back.
He hid under his bed,
He wore a disguise.
He went on vacation.
But the vegetables always found him.
He asked his pets for help, but rabbits can only eat so many veggies.
The goldfish only stared at them
and the dog quit after an unsavory batch of Brussels sprouts gave him the burps.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Agent Pitch Finalist #2 - The Artsy-Fartsy Spider
The Artsy-Fartsy Spider
Picture Book
435
Query:
Spencer is an artsy-fartsy spider who spins...a potter's wheel. But because he is teased by the other spiders, Spencer is determined to prove that he can be a creepy crawling, web-spinning, fly-catching spider like everyone else. He follows a How-To book on spinning webs. But after failing to spin a spider-worthy web, Spencer decides to release his frustration as his artsy-fartsy self. As a result, he spins the most intricate web designs anyone has ever seen and ends up attracting more than just the approval of his peers. The Itsy-Bitsy Spider meets Michelangelo in THEARTSY-FARTSY SPIDER.
First 150 Words (not including illo notes):
Spencer was not your typical spider.
Spiders crawl. Spencer cartwheeled.
Spiders are creepy. Spencer was cuddly.
Spiders spin webs. Spencer spun...
...a potter's wheel.
"He’s an artsy-fartsy spider!” teased the other spiders. “How are you supposed to catch a fly with that?"
Spencer stared hopelessly at his art pieces.
“Bet you can’t even spin a web.”
“Can too!” said Spencer. He wanted to prove that he could be a normal web-spinning, creepy crawling, fly-catching spider, like everyone else.
Spencer dusted off his textbook, SPIDER SENSE, and turned to Chapter One. [Illo: Page reads: Chapter 1―Silk Spinning Skills. Eight steps to spinning a web.]
“This makes sense, ” said Spencer.
He spun, spiraled, and wove.
“Tada! ” said Spencer. [Illo: An unusual web with large circles built into the pattern.]
“What's that? ” The other spiders snickered.
“A web, of course.” Spencer admired his creation.
“Does it work? ”
Spencer hung around and waited. A juicy mosquito danced around.
It whizzed right through Spencer's web.
“Spencer can’t catch a single fly!” The spiders laughed.
Picture Book
435
Query:
Spencer is an artsy-fartsy spider who spins...a potter's wheel. But because he is teased by the other spiders, Spencer is determined to prove that he can be a creepy crawling, web-spinning, fly-catching spider like everyone else. He follows a How-To book on spinning webs. But after failing to spin a spider-worthy web, Spencer decides to release his frustration as his artsy-fartsy self. As a result, he spins the most intricate web designs anyone has ever seen and ends up attracting more than just the approval of his peers. The Itsy-Bitsy Spider meets Michelangelo in THEARTSY-FARTSY SPIDER.
First 150 Words (not including illo notes):
Spencer was not your typical spider.
Spiders crawl. Spencer cartwheeled.
Spiders are creepy. Spencer was cuddly.
Spiders spin webs. Spencer spun...
...a potter's wheel.
"He’s an artsy-fartsy spider!” teased the other spiders. “How are you supposed to catch a fly with that?"
Spencer stared hopelessly at his art pieces.
“Bet you can’t even spin a web.”
“Can too!” said Spencer. He wanted to prove that he could be a normal web-spinning, creepy crawling, fly-catching spider, like everyone else.
Spencer dusted off his textbook, SPIDER SENSE, and turned to Chapter One. [Illo: Page reads: Chapter 1―Silk Spinning Skills. Eight steps to spinning a web.]
“This makes sense, ” said Spencer.
He spun, spiraled, and wove.
“Tada! ” said Spencer. [Illo: An unusual web with large circles built into the pattern.]
“What's that? ” The other spiders snickered.
“A web, of course.” Spencer admired his creation.
“Does it work? ”
Spencer hung around and waited. A juicy mosquito danced around.
It whizzed right through Spencer's web.
“Spencer can’t catch a single fly!” The spiders laughed.
Agent Pitch Finalist #3 - Tomboy Rules: Blossoms Are Always Prepared
Tomboy Rules: Blossoms Are Always Prepared
Chapter Book, realistic
10,021
Query:
Eight-year-old Mabel isn’t going to let a few pesky rules get in the way of an adventure, especially when she thinks camping will be her biggest one yet. She is so close to going that she can almost feel the itchy mosquito bites. That is, if she can stay in the Blossoms troop long enough to go.
Mabel has already made two mistakes, but they really weren’t her fault. So what if she saved a spider from a shoe-squishing? She didn’t know girls aren’t supposed to like them. And she didn’t mean to ruin the cookie sale. All of those boxes of cookies just looked so tempting stored right in her room.
With her only chance at camping on the line, Mabel tries baking cookies, the girliest thing she can think of, and sets out on a sneaky delivery. But when Mabel discovers she isn’t the only intruder crashing the campout, she has to decide if she will use her tomboy talents to save the Blossomsfrom a stinky situation.
First 150 Words:
Except for maybe broccoli burps, nothing smells worse than broccoli steam. I held my breath to keep it from going up my nose while I scooped two heaping spoonfuls onto my plate.
“Mabel, are you going to eat all of that?” Mom asked with a funny look.
“Yup. Every bite,” I said. I blew the steam away before I put a forkful into my mouth, chewed just a little, and swallowed hard so I didn’t have to taste it.
“But you don’t like broccoli,” she said. She took a sip of water out of her glass. “I know what you’re up to. This is about Blossoms again isn’t it?” Mom put down her glass and rubbed her temples with her fingers.
“Why do you want to join Blossoms anyway?” Snarly asked. “It’s stupid. And it’s for girls. You’re more like a boy than a girl.” She made a cross-eyed face at me.
Chapter Book, realistic
10,021
Query:
Eight-year-old Mabel isn’t going to let a few pesky rules get in the way of an adventure, especially when she thinks camping will be her biggest one yet. She is so close to going that she can almost feel the itchy mosquito bites. That is, if she can stay in the Blossoms troop long enough to go.
Mabel has already made two mistakes, but they really weren’t her fault. So what if she saved a spider from a shoe-squishing? She didn’t know girls aren’t supposed to like them. And she didn’t mean to ruin the cookie sale. All of those boxes of cookies just looked so tempting stored right in her room.
With her only chance at camping on the line, Mabel tries baking cookies, the girliest thing she can think of, and sets out on a sneaky delivery. But when Mabel discovers she isn’t the only intruder crashing the campout, she has to decide if she will use her tomboy talents to save the Blossomsfrom a stinky situation.
First 150 Words:
Except for maybe broccoli burps, nothing smells worse than broccoli steam. I held my breath to keep it from going up my nose while I scooped two heaping spoonfuls onto my plate.
“Mabel, are you going to eat all of that?” Mom asked with a funny look.
“Yup. Every bite,” I said. I blew the steam away before I put a forkful into my mouth, chewed just a little, and swallowed hard so I didn’t have to taste it.
“But you don’t like broccoli,” she said. She took a sip of water out of her glass. “I know what you’re up to. This is about Blossoms again isn’t it?” Mom put down her glass and rubbed her temples with her fingers.
“Why do you want to join Blossoms anyway?” Snarly asked. “It’s stupid. And it’s for girls. You’re more like a boy than a girl.” She made a cross-eyed face at me.
Agent Pitch Finalist #4 - The Only Infinite
The Only Infinite
MG sci-fi
80,000 words
Query:
In a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the sea… exactly as it was meant to. In the centuries since, it has spread under every continent, far beneath the reach of even the deepest drills. Today, its high speed transportation tubes crisscross the planet’s interior, and even its most basic medical drones put doctors on Earth’s surface to shame.
Twelve-year-old Lena learns this firsthand when a freak accident lands her brother in a wheelchair. The doctors can’t heal him, but a stranger named Feore can. In return, she agrees to spend a year as an exchange student at his school in Atlantis, where gadgets spice up everything from gym class to the way she brushes her teeth.
Best (and worst) of all, Lena learns her mother’s final gift, a necklace, is much more than it seems. The more she gets to know Feore, the more she worries he’d do anything to possess its secrets – maybe even arrange the accident that put her brother in a wheelchair to begin with. And, if he’d do that to lure her to Atlantis, she fears how far he’d go to keep her there. Forever.
First 150 words:
CHAPTER ONE: THE MISPLACED MONUMENT
When the Eiffel Tower vanished, Lena Rush was in a tree house in Jupiter, Florida. More specifically, she was in the burning wreckage of what had been a tree house before it had… well, exploded.
It was too bad, really. She and her little brother, Zac, had only discovered the wooden shack a few months before, snared in the branches of an ancient oak. The wobbly boards leading up to it had threatened broken bones to anyone stupid enough to try them, but she knew if she didn’t go Zac would. And she wasn’t about to be outdone by a ten-year-old.
Together, they’d cleared out some old birds’ nests and patched the roof with duct tape. By the end, it wasn’t pretty, but it didn’t leak. And the window hacked into one side offered a killer view of the ocean, which set Lena’s surfer heart singing with each pulsing wave.
MG sci-fi
80,000 words
Query:
In a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the sea… exactly as it was meant to. In the centuries since, it has spread under every continent, far beneath the reach of even the deepest drills. Today, its high speed transportation tubes crisscross the planet’s interior, and even its most basic medical drones put doctors on Earth’s surface to shame.
Twelve-year-old Lena learns this firsthand when a freak accident lands her brother in a wheelchair. The doctors can’t heal him, but a stranger named Feore can. In return, she agrees to spend a year as an exchange student at his school in Atlantis, where gadgets spice up everything from gym class to the way she brushes her teeth.
Best (and worst) of all, Lena learns her mother’s final gift, a necklace, is much more than it seems. The more she gets to know Feore, the more she worries he’d do anything to possess its secrets – maybe even arrange the accident that put her brother in a wheelchair to begin with. And, if he’d do that to lure her to Atlantis, she fears how far he’d go to keep her there. Forever.
First 150 words:
CHAPTER ONE: THE MISPLACED MONUMENT
When the Eiffel Tower vanished, Lena Rush was in a tree house in Jupiter, Florida. More specifically, she was in the burning wreckage of what had been a tree house before it had… well, exploded.
It was too bad, really. She and her little brother, Zac, had only discovered the wooden shack a few months before, snared in the branches of an ancient oak. The wobbly boards leading up to it had threatened broken bones to anyone stupid enough to try them, but she knew if she didn’t go Zac would. And she wasn’t about to be outdone by a ten-year-old.
Together, they’d cleared out some old birds’ nests and patched the roof with duct tape. By the end, it wasn’t pretty, but it didn’t leak. And the window hacked into one side offered a killer view of the ocean, which set Lena’s surfer heart singing with each pulsing wave.
Agent Pitch Finalist #5 - Harold - The Kid Who Ruined My Life and Saved the Day
Harold - The Kid Who Ruined My Life and Saved the Day
MG contemporary
36,000
Query:
Harold has ruined twelve-year-old Jake’s life for the last time. So what if Harold has Asperger’s and is a genius when it comes to baseball trivia and sixth grade Algebra. Jake’s D-O-N-E.
Harold collects baseball facts like the Smithsonian collects dead things and Jake is convinced that Harold also has a talent for killing his social life.Jake’s known Harold ever since kindergarten and now that he’s in middle school he can finally be free of Harold and his obsession with the New York Yankees. Harold’s on the accelerated track which means he’ll spend all his time in the super smart classes all the way on the second floor.
With Harold out of the way, Jake can focus on landing a spot with the undefeated Comets. The best Jake’s baseball team can do is second place and he’ll do whatever it takes to get on the number one team even if it means leaving his friends and his dad, the coach, behind. Once he’s rid ofHarold and playing shortstop for a winning team, being one of the cool kids is in his glove.
But just as Jake finally gets a seat at lunch next to the Comets’ players, which will most likely lead to a spot on their roster, the unthinkable happens. Harold gets B lunch and in the words of Yogi Berra, it’s “deja vu all over again.”
If Jake wants to play for the Comets, he’ll have to ditch Harold for good and make it stick this time. Only he might decide that winning isn’t everything and that loyal friends are hard to find. And it’s just possible that Harold’s knowledge of expert plays can help Jake and his old team beat the undefeated Comets.
First 150 Words:
On the first day of sixth grade, I cracked open the front door and looked outside. The bus stop was empty. So far, so good. I’d figured Harold’s mom would drive him this year like she did when he was in kindergarten. Harold had trouble when it came to new things. Well, that was one of his problems.
I walked toward the stop and from behind I heard, “Hey Jake! Wait up! It’s 8:03. Bus Number 6 will be here at 8:07.”
I walked faster and called over my shoulder, “Thanks for the update, Harold. I didn’t know I was so early. Tomorrow, I’ll sleep in a whole 4 minutes.”
Harold caught up with me and said, “I woke up at 6:33, but Mom said I couldn’t come out until I saw you.”
Great. Where is that bus?
“Hey, Jake, have you ever heard of Harvey Haddix?” he asked while he rummaged through his book bag.
MG contemporary
36,000
Query:
Harold has ruined twelve-year-old Jake’s life for the last time. So what if Harold has Asperger’s and is a genius when it comes to baseball trivia and sixth grade Algebra. Jake’s D-O-N-E.
Harold collects baseball facts like the Smithsonian collects dead things and Jake is convinced that Harold also has a talent for killing his social life.Jake’s known Harold ever since kindergarten and now that he’s in middle school he can finally be free of Harold and his obsession with the New York Yankees. Harold’s on the accelerated track which means he’ll spend all his time in the super smart classes all the way on the second floor.
With Harold out of the way, Jake can focus on landing a spot with the undefeated Comets. The best Jake’s baseball team can do is second place and he’ll do whatever it takes to get on the number one team even if it means leaving his friends and his dad, the coach, behind. Once he’s rid ofHarold and playing shortstop for a winning team, being one of the cool kids is in his glove.
But just as Jake finally gets a seat at lunch next to the Comets’ players, which will most likely lead to a spot on their roster, the unthinkable happens. Harold gets B lunch and in the words of Yogi Berra, it’s “deja vu all over again.”
If Jake wants to play for the Comets, he’ll have to ditch Harold for good and make it stick this time. Only he might decide that winning isn’t everything and that loyal friends are hard to find. And it’s just possible that Harold’s knowledge of expert plays can help Jake and his old team beat the undefeated Comets.
First 150 Words:
On the first day of sixth grade, I cracked open the front door and looked outside. The bus stop was empty. So far, so good. I’d figured Harold’s mom would drive him this year like she did when he was in kindergarten. Harold had trouble when it came to new things. Well, that was one of his problems.
I walked toward the stop and from behind I heard, “Hey Jake! Wait up! It’s 8:03. Bus Number 6 will be here at 8:07.”
I walked faster and called over my shoulder, “Thanks for the update, Harold. I didn’t know I was so early. Tomorrow, I’ll sleep in a whole 4 minutes.”
Harold caught up with me and said, “I woke up at 6:33, but Mom said I couldn’t come out until I saw you.”
Great. Where is that bus?
“Hey, Jake, have you ever heard of Harvey Haddix?” he asked while he rummaged through his book bag.
Agent Pitch Finalist #6 - Duet With The Devil's Violin
DUET WITH THE DEVIL’S VIOLIN
Upper MG Magical Realism
43,000
Query:
Thirteen-year-old prodigy Miranda Harper craves the kind of perfection that goes beyond hitting all the right notes--she wants to be inside the music. Thanks to her new violin, she achieves her goal, but it's more than she bargained for. A flawless performance of Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” lands her in a flying chariot piloted by a Valkyrie transporting a dead soldier.
Once she snaps back to reality, Miranda’s first instinct is to call her best friend, but she’s in England, and hallucinations aren’t the kind of thing you explain over Skype. She’s thrilled when she meets Lizzie, a new girl at school. She’d rather not share her crazy right away, but when the magic strikes again during a Halloween concert and sends her into a black and white horror movie, she spills everything, including the fact that the scratches she got during her escape came back to the real world with her.
With each trip into the music, it’s harder to return and the side effects get worse. Lizzie begs Miranda to stop, but she’s determined to prove she can control the violin and achieve perfection on her own terms. She’s willing to risk a few cuts and bruises, but when she discovers the violin could trap her forever in an alternate reality, she must decide what perfection is really worth.
First 150 Words:
I prepared for the downbeat, bow poised over the strings of my new violin.
Miranda Harper: concertmaster. Just thinking about it made me want to jump up and dance. But I couldn’t do that, especially not at the first rehearsal. It wouldn’t be concertmaster-like.
After a year of waiting it out as principal second violinist “so I could observe and grow,” I’d finally made it. At least we played some Mozart last season. Good old Wolfgang sometimes let the second violins outshine the firsts.
Now it was my turn to shine, and we weren’t playing Mozart today.
My fingers tingled, like extra energy ran through them.
I’d been practicing this piece--a medley from Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung--for weeks. It started with “Ride of the Valkyries,” a melody everyone recognized, probably because they’d seen a fat lady singing it.
I aimed for perfection. I knew it wasn’t really possible.
Upper MG Magical Realism
43,000
Query:
Thirteen-year-old prodigy Miranda Harper craves the kind of perfection that goes beyond hitting all the right notes--she wants to be inside the music. Thanks to her new violin, she achieves her goal, but it's more than she bargained for. A flawless performance of Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” lands her in a flying chariot piloted by a Valkyrie transporting a dead soldier.
Once she snaps back to reality, Miranda’s first instinct is to call her best friend, but she’s in England, and hallucinations aren’t the kind of thing you explain over Skype. She’s thrilled when she meets Lizzie, a new girl at school. She’d rather not share her crazy right away, but when the magic strikes again during a Halloween concert and sends her into a black and white horror movie, she spills everything, including the fact that the scratches she got during her escape came back to the real world with her.
With each trip into the music, it’s harder to return and the side effects get worse. Lizzie begs Miranda to stop, but she’s determined to prove she can control the violin and achieve perfection on her own terms. She’s willing to risk a few cuts and bruises, but when she discovers the violin could trap her forever in an alternate reality, she must decide what perfection is really worth.
First 150 Words:
I prepared for the downbeat, bow poised over the strings of my new violin.
Miranda Harper: concertmaster. Just thinking about it made me want to jump up and dance. But I couldn’t do that, especially not at the first rehearsal. It wouldn’t be concertmaster-like.
After a year of waiting it out as principal second violinist “so I could observe and grow,” I’d finally made it. At least we played some Mozart last season. Good old Wolfgang sometimes let the second violins outshine the firsts.
Now it was my turn to shine, and we weren’t playing Mozart today.
My fingers tingled, like extra energy ran through them.
I’d been practicing this piece--a medley from Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung--for weeks. It started with “Ride of the Valkyries,” a melody everyone recognized, probably because they’d seen a fat lady singing it.
I aimed for perfection. I knew it wasn’t really possible.
Agent Pitch Finalist #7 - Rules of Rodentia
RULES OF RODENTIA
MG Fantasy
37,000 Words
Query:
It’s no mistake Tobin won Top Seed-finder for Junior Mice two seasons in a row. After all, he knows the Rules ofRodentia like the back of his paw. So when an explosive thunderstorm damages the Great Burrow and exposes his friends and family, Tobin’s routine forest life crumbles like last autumn's leaves. As if the destruction wasn't bad enough, his home has also been invaded.
Tobin watches in horror as a giant spider scuttles into the woods with a newborn pinkling in tow— his very own baby brother. He turns to his best friend Wiley and little sister Talia. They agree if the pinkling’s to have any chance of survival, they must follow the spider, even though the Rules clearly state to run away from predators, not chase them.
Tobin ventures into a world of dangerous terrain and crafty creatures, discovering he’s hardly the only animal with agrudge against this nasty breed of spider. He finds himself in a race to save his newborn brother before a battle for woodland supremacy befalls the spider stronghold. But once Tobin sees the horrors lurking inside the spider lair, saving one pinkling will only be the beginning. Sometimes a mouse just has to break the Rules.
First 150 Words:
Crouched in perfect stillness beneath a toadstool, Tobin recalled his training. He knew the Rules like the back of his paw. It was no accident he was top Seed-finder for Junior Mice two seasons in a row. Traveling this familiar patch of forest was simple as scratching a flea.
Tobin concentrated on the final leg of his journey home. The Great Burrow loomed just ahead. Shaped like a giant tortoise shell, the burrow possessed dozens of hidden entrances. It was very important to use different paths and different entrances back inside.
Rule #7- A predictable path provides easy pickings for a predator.
Tobin spied a route he hadn’t taken in a while.
Next, his mind ticked through the age-old checklist taught to all young mice, the second-most important rule in all of Rodentia:
Rule #2- Always survey your surroundings before setting a paw in the open.
Scan for hawks.
Done. Clear skies.
MG Fantasy
37,000 Words
Query:
It’s no mistake Tobin won Top Seed-finder for Junior Mice two seasons in a row. After all, he knows the Rules ofRodentia like the back of his paw. So when an explosive thunderstorm damages the Great Burrow and exposes his friends and family, Tobin’s routine forest life crumbles like last autumn's leaves. As if the destruction wasn't bad enough, his home has also been invaded.
Tobin watches in horror as a giant spider scuttles into the woods with a newborn pinkling in tow— his very own baby brother. He turns to his best friend Wiley and little sister Talia. They agree if the pinkling’s to have any chance of survival, they must follow the spider, even though the Rules clearly state to run away from predators, not chase them.
Tobin ventures into a world of dangerous terrain and crafty creatures, discovering he’s hardly the only animal with agrudge against this nasty breed of spider. He finds himself in a race to save his newborn brother before a battle for woodland supremacy befalls the spider stronghold. But once Tobin sees the horrors lurking inside the spider lair, saving one pinkling will only be the beginning. Sometimes a mouse just has to break the Rules.
First 150 Words:
Crouched in perfect stillness beneath a toadstool, Tobin recalled his training. He knew the Rules like the back of his paw. It was no accident he was top Seed-finder for Junior Mice two seasons in a row. Traveling this familiar patch of forest was simple as scratching a flea.
Tobin concentrated on the final leg of his journey home. The Great Burrow loomed just ahead. Shaped like a giant tortoise shell, the burrow possessed dozens of hidden entrances. It was very important to use different paths and different entrances back inside.
Rule #7- A predictable path provides easy pickings for a predator.
Tobin spied a route he hadn’t taken in a while.
Next, his mind ticked through the age-old checklist taught to all young mice, the second-most important rule in all of Rodentia:
Rule #2- Always survey your surroundings before setting a paw in the open.
Scan for hawks.
Done. Clear skies.
Agent Pitch Finalist #8 - Everdream
Everdream
Middle Grade Fantasy
52,000
Query:
It’s been thirteen years since the Queen of Ravens cast the spell to strip all Taravel’s inhabitants of dreams. Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to her, one remains who can dream unaided - Eleven, the dreamseer.
An orphan, El has been raised in a black market dream caravan, caring for the ponies who grant people the ability to dream artificially. The citizens of Taravel pay generously for a ride on the dream carousel, a chance to touch the magical, dream-inducing manes of the ponies. But when the ponies start losing their ability to spin dreams, which is the only way anyone can dream anymore, El knows she must do something.
Accompanied by Dusti, a persnickety pony, and Ryn, the pirate-poet, El sets out to break the Queen’s spell. The three companions’ adventures take them from crystal pirate ships, to cities in the sky, to underground palaces and the home of a sea witch. Along the way El realizes there’s a lot more at stake than the ponies: a rebellion is brewing, the Queen has learned of her existence, and the truth about her parents is far different than she ever imagined. And worst of all, if El doesn’t free the dreams soon, they’ll be gone forever.
First 150:
Dreams seeped through the flaps of the tent, escaping into the sky like multi-colored ghosts. It was a busy night in the caravan. Though the metallic taste of thunder sat on my tongue and dark clouds pressed down over the crowd, we were still packed. The other merchants had begun to close up for the night. But we weren’t exactly ordinary merchants.
I counted people as I walked along the line snaking out of the purple and white striped tent. Sixty-two. Eight-eight. Ninety-six. When I hit one hundred I cut in.
“Sorry, but this is the cap for the night.” I watched the opposite expressions of relief and disappointment on the faces of the two people I stood between. Groans and angrier protests rose around me.
I walked back to the tent as the crowd behind lucky number one hundred dispersed into the darkness.
Middle Grade Fantasy
52,000
Query:
It’s been thirteen years since the Queen of Ravens cast the spell to strip all Taravel’s inhabitants of dreams. Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to her, one remains who can dream unaided - Eleven, the dreamseer.
An orphan, El has been raised in a black market dream caravan, caring for the ponies who grant people the ability to dream artificially. The citizens of Taravel pay generously for a ride on the dream carousel, a chance to touch the magical, dream-inducing manes of the ponies. But when the ponies start losing their ability to spin dreams, which is the only way anyone can dream anymore, El knows she must do something.
Accompanied by Dusti, a persnickety pony, and Ryn, the pirate-poet, El sets out to break the Queen’s spell. The three companions’ adventures take them from crystal pirate ships, to cities in the sky, to underground palaces and the home of a sea witch. Along the way El realizes there’s a lot more at stake than the ponies: a rebellion is brewing, the Queen has learned of her existence, and the truth about her parents is far different than she ever imagined. And worst of all, if El doesn’t free the dreams soon, they’ll be gone forever.
First 150:
Dreams seeped through the flaps of the tent, escaping into the sky like multi-colored ghosts. It was a busy night in the caravan. Though the metallic taste of thunder sat on my tongue and dark clouds pressed down over the crowd, we were still packed. The other merchants had begun to close up for the night. But we weren’t exactly ordinary merchants.
I counted people as I walked along the line snaking out of the purple and white striped tent. Sixty-two. Eight-eight. Ninety-six. When I hit one hundred I cut in.
“Sorry, but this is the cap for the night.” I watched the opposite expressions of relief and disappointment on the faces of the two people I stood between. Groans and angrier protests rose around me.
I walked back to the tent as the crowd behind lucky number one hundred dispersed into the darkness.
Agent Pitch Finalist #9 - Endangered
ENDANGERED
MG Fantasy Adventure
51,000
Query:
Maddie has a woolly spider monkey that no one else can see. After losing all her friends and getting assigned a therapist, she’s stopped trying to convince people it’s real.
Then Maddie meets worrywart Liam and his smart-aleck friend Hayden at sixth grade orientation, and is astonished that they have invisible animals, too. Liam has a tiger, Hayden has a sea turtle, and soon Maddie is introduced to an entire secret society of wildlife "Guardians", each with their own Spirit Animal. As the Guardians explain, Spirit Animals are the essences of endangered species. So when a sudden illness ravages her monkey, a horrified Maddie realizes it can only mean one thing: wild woolly spider monkeys are in serious trouble.
Catapulted into a rescue mission, Maddie and the boys travel from California to Brazil to discover what is threatening the monkeys and to put a stop to it. Faced with slash and burn deforestation, a corrupt police detective, and desperate poachers, it seems impossible that three kids and one sickly Spirit Animal could have any chance of success. But when failure means losing her beloved monkeys forever, Maddie knows that giving up just isn't an option.
First 150 Words:
Maddie lowered the baby monkey into her backpack. “Just stay still for me, please?” Maddie asked. The monkey’s tiny fingers pulled playfully on hers as she tried to coax him into the bag, which balanced cautiously on the damp wooden fence in front of the zoo’s Primate House. Maddie had one backpack strap looped over her arm to make sure it didn’t fall. “I’m excited to be back here again, too,” Maddie continued, “But if you get out—”
“Who’s she talking to, Grandma?” a little voice asked.
Maddie immediately stopped what she was doing. People can see you. Got to act normal, she told herself, though it was impossible to keep her hands from bobbing weirdly as the monkey scampered out of the bag and over them. Brazilly, no! Get back here! She bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from actually shouting after him.
Farther down the spider monkey viewing area, an old lady gave her a sideways glance.
MG Fantasy Adventure
51,000
Query:
Maddie has a woolly spider monkey that no one else can see. After losing all her friends and getting assigned a therapist, she’s stopped trying to convince people it’s real.
Then Maddie meets worrywart Liam and his smart-aleck friend Hayden at sixth grade orientation, and is astonished that they have invisible animals, too. Liam has a tiger, Hayden has a sea turtle, and soon Maddie is introduced to an entire secret society of wildlife "Guardians", each with their own Spirit Animal. As the Guardians explain, Spirit Animals are the essences of endangered species. So when a sudden illness ravages her monkey, a horrified Maddie realizes it can only mean one thing: wild woolly spider monkeys are in serious trouble.
Catapulted into a rescue mission, Maddie and the boys travel from California to Brazil to discover what is threatening the monkeys and to put a stop to it. Faced with slash and burn deforestation, a corrupt police detective, and desperate poachers, it seems impossible that three kids and one sickly Spirit Animal could have any chance of success. But when failure means losing her beloved monkeys forever, Maddie knows that giving up just isn't an option.
First 150 Words:
Maddie lowered the baby monkey into her backpack. “Just stay still for me, please?” Maddie asked. The monkey’s tiny fingers pulled playfully on hers as she tried to coax him into the bag, which balanced cautiously on the damp wooden fence in front of the zoo’s Primate House. Maddie had one backpack strap looped over her arm to make sure it didn’t fall. “I’m excited to be back here again, too,” Maddie continued, “But if you get out—”
“Who’s she talking to, Grandma?” a little voice asked.
Maddie immediately stopped what she was doing. People can see you. Got to act normal, she told herself, though it was impossible to keep her hands from bobbing weirdly as the monkey scampered out of the bag and over them. Brazilly, no! Get back here! She bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from actually shouting after him.
Farther down the spider monkey viewing area, an old lady gave her a sideways glance.
Agent Pitch Finalist #10 - Point Blank
POINT BLANK
YA futuristic fantasy
60,000
Query:
Seventeen-year-old Norah is a Tracker, a student of a government-run high school that specializes in the extermination of Shifters—monsters that look like humans but can transform into animals. For several years, Norah trained in martial arts, weaponry, and virtual reality simulations with only one objective in mind: exterminate Seth, the phoenix Shifter who caused the fire that killed her family.
When Norah infiltrates a community of Shifters hiding in the woods, she discovers that Seth and the other Shifters are disturbingly more human than she was raised to believe. Seth is not the ruthless monster of her nightmares, but a seventeen-year-old boy just trying to deal with the fear and pressure of being the leader everyone expects him to be. Seth claims that the fire was an accident due to his inability to control his Shift, which is a far cry from what her government told her—that Seth started the fire on purpose to rally the Shifters against the humans.
Norah must quickly figure out who’s telling the truth—the boy who killed her family or the potentially corrupt government that took her in when she lost everything— before she ends up shooting point blank at the wrong side.
POINT BLANK is a YA futuristic fantasy complete at 60,000 words. It is told in the alternating points of view of Norah and Seth. Because of its dystopian and sci-fi elements, POINT BLANK will appeal to fans of LEGEND and ENDER'S GAME.
First 150 words:
The Phoenix is watching. The walls of the virtual simulation room flicker around its flames, and the legendary bird stares me down with its ruthless, scarlet eyes.
Before its image can fade away, I get out my pistol from my pocket and fire, again and again. The beast shrieks and takes flight. It swoops down towards me, and its soot-colored talons reach for my face. I go flat on my back and continue to shoot at it, aiming at its head this time.
The bird recoils from the bullets and flies past me, landing several feet away.
And then, the flames that make up the phoenix’s feathers bristle for a moment, crackling like a hungry forest fire, before absorbing the bullets. Just like it absorbed all the heat and energy from the bomb, the grenade, and the rocket that I’d used against it in previous simulations.
The gun had been my last resort.
YA futuristic fantasy
60,000
Query:
Seventeen-year-old Norah is a Tracker, a student of a government-run high school that specializes in the extermination of Shifters—monsters that look like humans but can transform into animals. For several years, Norah trained in martial arts, weaponry, and virtual reality simulations with only one objective in mind: exterminate Seth, the phoenix Shifter who caused the fire that killed her family.
When Norah infiltrates a community of Shifters hiding in the woods, she discovers that Seth and the other Shifters are disturbingly more human than she was raised to believe. Seth is not the ruthless monster of her nightmares, but a seventeen-year-old boy just trying to deal with the fear and pressure of being the leader everyone expects him to be. Seth claims that the fire was an accident due to his inability to control his Shift, which is a far cry from what her government told her—that Seth started the fire on purpose to rally the Shifters against the humans.
Norah must quickly figure out who’s telling the truth—the boy who killed her family or the potentially corrupt government that took her in when she lost everything— before she ends up shooting point blank at the wrong side.
POINT BLANK is a YA futuristic fantasy complete at 60,000 words. It is told in the alternating points of view of Norah and Seth. Because of its dystopian and sci-fi elements, POINT BLANK will appeal to fans of LEGEND and ENDER'S GAME.
First 150 words:
The Phoenix is watching. The walls of the virtual simulation room flicker around its flames, and the legendary bird stares me down with its ruthless, scarlet eyes.
Before its image can fade away, I get out my pistol from my pocket and fire, again and again. The beast shrieks and takes flight. It swoops down towards me, and its soot-colored talons reach for my face. I go flat on my back and continue to shoot at it, aiming at its head this time.
The bird recoils from the bullets and flies past me, landing several feet away.
And then, the flames that make up the phoenix’s feathers bristle for a moment, crackling like a hungry forest fire, before absorbing the bullets. Just like it absorbed all the heat and energy from the bomb, the grenade, and the rocket that I’d used against it in previous simulations.
The gun had been my last resort.
Agent Pitch Finalist #11 - Mad As A Hatter
MAD AS A HATTER
YA Supernatural Thriller
51,000
QUERY:
When Emil Aleric was saved from Wonderland seven years ago, the night he watched his sister die, he wanted nothing more than to forget. Forget the torture, forget his sister’s screams, and most especially, forget their captor, the Hatter, who claimed to come from the future. But when 1882 arrives with aserial killer ravaging London, and leaving notes quoting Alice in Wonderland wherever he goes, Emil knows his former abductor has returned.
When his guardian, Inspector Corwin James, is put in charge of the case, it’s clear to Emil that it isn’t mere coincidence. Still, Emil tries to ignore the evidence—until his best friend falls victim to the madman. Emil always knew, deep down, that when the time came he wouldn’t be able to hide; but now, he isn’t sure he wants to.
Corwin is adamant that Emil can have nothing to do with the case; after all, he’s only fourteen. However, as they come closer to learning the truth of the murders, they find the most pivotal clues lie in Emil’s memories—suppressed for seven years, but now threatening to consume him.
Emil never really believed in time travel. But as he prepares to fight the Hatter, he realizes believing might just be the key—or else, time itself could end.
MAD AS A HATTER is a YA supernatural thriller complete at 51,000 words. The first five pages are below. Thank you for your time and consideration.
First 150 Words:
From the warm floor of his sitting room, Emil Aleric glared out the window. It was late afternoon, and the crisp wind had left the streets of Belgravia empty, save for a couple climbing out of a carriage, followed by a butler carrying a dozen gifts. Probably some last minute Christmas shopping.
Emil scowled. He hated happy families.
He looked away from the window, took a gulp of tea, and winced. He’d always thought that Earl Grey was some disguised form of dishwater, but every adult he knew drank it, and his mother said it was an acquired taste. He forced himself to take another sip, and looked down at the table in front of him.
One, two, three newspapers lay strewn across the mahogany table. The first newspaper, dated December 16th, 1882, was flipped to the obituaries, where a small paragraph about a girl named Daphne Bell could be found. It was only a few lines, something about her family and “may He bless her immortal soul,” or some such rubbish.
She had been the first to die.
YA Supernatural Thriller
51,000
QUERY:
When Emil Aleric was saved from Wonderland seven years ago, the night he watched his sister die, he wanted nothing more than to forget. Forget the torture, forget his sister’s screams, and most especially, forget their captor, the Hatter, who claimed to come from the future. But when 1882 arrives with aserial killer ravaging London, and leaving notes quoting Alice in Wonderland wherever he goes, Emil knows his former abductor has returned.
When his guardian, Inspector Corwin James, is put in charge of the case, it’s clear to Emil that it isn’t mere coincidence. Still, Emil tries to ignore the evidence—until his best friend falls victim to the madman. Emil always knew, deep down, that when the time came he wouldn’t be able to hide; but now, he isn’t sure he wants to.
Corwin is adamant that Emil can have nothing to do with the case; after all, he’s only fourteen. However, as they come closer to learning the truth of the murders, they find the most pivotal clues lie in Emil’s memories—suppressed for seven years, but now threatening to consume him.
Emil never really believed in time travel. But as he prepares to fight the Hatter, he realizes believing might just be the key—or else, time itself could end.
MAD AS A HATTER is a YA supernatural thriller complete at 51,000 words. The first five pages are below. Thank you for your time and consideration.
First 150 Words:
From the warm floor of his sitting room, Emil Aleric glared out the window. It was late afternoon, and the crisp wind had left the streets of Belgravia empty, save for a couple climbing out of a carriage, followed by a butler carrying a dozen gifts. Probably some last minute Christmas shopping.
Emil scowled. He hated happy families.
He looked away from the window, took a gulp of tea, and winced. He’d always thought that Earl Grey was some disguised form of dishwater, but every adult he knew drank it, and his mother said it was an acquired taste. He forced himself to take another sip, and looked down at the table in front of him.
One, two, three newspapers lay strewn across the mahogany table. The first newspaper, dated December 16th, 1882, was flipped to the obituaries, where a small paragraph about a girl named Daphne Bell could be found. It was only a few lines, something about her family and “may He bless her immortal soul,” or some such rubbish.
She had been the first to die.
Agent Pitch Finalist #12 - Forever Friday
FOREVER FRIDAY
YA Urban Fantasy
85,000
Query:
Friday Anderson’s life is over. She just doesn’t know it yet.
Seventeen-year-old Friday wakes up from a car accident to find her cancer mysteriously cured. Everyone calls it a miracle, but now that her mother is gone and she’s being forced to move to a tiny Montana town, it feels way more like a curse. Her only hope of moving on is earning enough money for college, so when an ad appears in the paper for a job assisting a rock band, Friday jumps at the opportunity.
Hanging out with the gorgeous guitarist certainly beats baling hay, but there’s something odd about the four young musicians, who spend more time bickering than practicing. When Friday overhears them discussing a plan to move to New York -- and take Friday with them -- she finally confronts the band members and learns the truth: they are Athanatos, immortals trapped somewhere between life and death. Not only is Friday one of them, she’s the only immortal who can kill another, making her the one weapon capable of ending the world’s oldest blood feud.
Now Friday has a choice: confront the people hunting her down and risk the lives of the mortals she loves, or run and leave anything resembling a normal life behind. Between magic rings, ancient curses, and the fact that Friday’s going to have to live with the same haircut for the rest of her life, it’s definitely going to take some time getting used to this whole “undead” thing.
Forever should just about do it.
First 150 words:
Un milagro, they called me. A miracle. I heard the nurses whisper it to each other as they passed my hospital room. I saw it on the news for three days before my story was overshadowed by celebrity gossip and political scandals. And it was the first thing the Chilean doctor said to me when my scan results came back normal.
But I didn’t believe in miracles.
“Good morning, señorita,” the nurse said as she pulled back the curtains. “You are going home today, no?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure what “home” meant anymore.
“Muy bien. The doctor will be in to release you soon.”
It had already been a week since the accident, but I still felt like if I tried hard enough I could wake myself up from this nightmare. Surely the real me was sitting in a café in Paris, the place I’d dreamed of going since I was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor over a year ago.
YA Urban Fantasy
85,000
Query:
Friday Anderson’s life is over. She just doesn’t know it yet.
Seventeen-year-old Friday wakes up from a car accident to find her cancer mysteriously cured. Everyone calls it a miracle, but now that her mother is gone and she’s being forced to move to a tiny Montana town, it feels way more like a curse. Her only hope of moving on is earning enough money for college, so when an ad appears in the paper for a job assisting a rock band, Friday jumps at the opportunity.
Hanging out with the gorgeous guitarist certainly beats baling hay, but there’s something odd about the four young musicians, who spend more time bickering than practicing. When Friday overhears them discussing a plan to move to New York -- and take Friday with them -- she finally confronts the band members and learns the truth: they are Athanatos, immortals trapped somewhere between life and death. Not only is Friday one of them, she’s the only immortal who can kill another, making her the one weapon capable of ending the world’s oldest blood feud.
Now Friday has a choice: confront the people hunting her down and risk the lives of the mortals she loves, or run and leave anything resembling a normal life behind. Between magic rings, ancient curses, and the fact that Friday’s going to have to live with the same haircut for the rest of her life, it’s definitely going to take some time getting used to this whole “undead” thing.
Forever should just about do it.
First 150 words:
Un milagro, they called me. A miracle. I heard the nurses whisper it to each other as they passed my hospital room. I saw it on the news for three days before my story was overshadowed by celebrity gossip and political scandals. And it was the first thing the Chilean doctor said to me when my scan results came back normal.
But I didn’t believe in miracles.
“Good morning, señorita,” the nurse said as she pulled back the curtains. “You are going home today, no?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure what “home” meant anymore.
“Muy bien. The doctor will be in to release you soon.”
It had already been a week since the accident, but I still felt like if I tried hard enough I could wake myself up from this nightmare. Surely the real me was sitting in a café in Paris, the place I’d dreamed of going since I was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor over a year ago.
Agent Pitch Finalist #13 - Black Heart, Red Ruby
BLACK HEART, RED RUBY
YA Gothic Romance
74,000
Query:
Seventeen-year-old Ava Nolan grew up in the shadow of her father's obsession with macabre artifacts. An elixir brewed from witches’ blood. A cabinet of mummified cats. And Arabella's Curse, the missing prize in his collection: a ruby with the power to resurrect the dead. With a father who resents her existence, a dead-end job, and her expulsion from school to live down, Ava sets out to recover the ruby and reclaim her self-respect. Lucky for Ava, local legend says the ruby is buried in a crumbling mansion by the sea, not far from her new home.
But life as an amateur relic hunter is not without its share of emergency room visits. Or cutthroat competitors. And nearly plummeting to her death doesn’t terrify Ava half as much as her uncle, a gentleman graverobber with a vendetta against her father and sinister plans for the ruby.
Entangled in a web of family treachery, Ava finds solace with a lonely boy who fills her nights with stolen kisses and her head with ruby lore. But there's something strange about Ben Wolcott. He's a bit too cunning, a bit too preoccupied with keeping Ava out of his basement, and much too interested in Arabella's Curse.
First 150 Words:
The boy I caught lurking outside my bedroom window deserved a good beating, but my brother never knew when to quit. Cam’s head, as our dad used to tell my brother’s probation officer, was filled with missiles instead of brains—and it only took a tiny spark to launch WWIII. As his sister and keeper, only I knew how to work the controls.
Diving into the fray, I rammed Cam from the side and broke his stranglehold on the stranger. The creeper collapsed to the ground, choking and wheezing in the weeds. He was a scrawny guy about my age, seventeen, maybe nineteen at the most. Propped against the side of the barn, he looked as pathetic as a tattered scarecrow. Somehow he’d seemed scarier standing in my backyard, a dark prince cloaked in fog and shadow.
His name, we learned after Cam put him in a headlock, was Ben Wolcott.
YA Gothic Romance
74,000
Query:
Seventeen-year-old Ava Nolan grew up in the shadow of her father's obsession with macabre artifacts. An elixir brewed from witches’ blood. A cabinet of mummified cats. And Arabella's Curse, the missing prize in his collection: a ruby with the power to resurrect the dead. With a father who resents her existence, a dead-end job, and her expulsion from school to live down, Ava sets out to recover the ruby and reclaim her self-respect. Lucky for Ava, local legend says the ruby is buried in a crumbling mansion by the sea, not far from her new home.
But life as an amateur relic hunter is not without its share of emergency room visits. Or cutthroat competitors. And nearly plummeting to her death doesn’t terrify Ava half as much as her uncle, a gentleman graverobber with a vendetta against her father and sinister plans for the ruby.
Entangled in a web of family treachery, Ava finds solace with a lonely boy who fills her nights with stolen kisses and her head with ruby lore. But there's something strange about Ben Wolcott. He's a bit too cunning, a bit too preoccupied with keeping Ava out of his basement, and much too interested in Arabella's Curse.
First 150 Words:
The boy I caught lurking outside my bedroom window deserved a good beating, but my brother never knew when to quit. Cam’s head, as our dad used to tell my brother’s probation officer, was filled with missiles instead of brains—and it only took a tiny spark to launch WWIII. As his sister and keeper, only I knew how to work the controls.
Diving into the fray, I rammed Cam from the side and broke his stranglehold on the stranger. The creeper collapsed to the ground, choking and wheezing in the weeds. He was a scrawny guy about my age, seventeen, maybe nineteen at the most. Propped against the side of the barn, he looked as pathetic as a tattered scarecrow. Somehow he’d seemed scarier standing in my backyard, a dark prince cloaked in fog and shadow.
His name, we learned after Cam put him in a headlock, was Ben Wolcott.
Agent Pitch Finalist #14 - Times None
Times None
YA Fantasy
86,000
Query:
Amanda Leonard doesn't know who her mother was. She wishes she did.
Amanda does know when the world is going to end. She wishes she didn't.
There's a clock inside her head, and it's counting down to the apocalypse. But the burden of that knowledge is hers alone--she has never told anyone, not even her only family, the four "uncles" that raised her after her mom died. After all, who would ever want to know what she does? She has spent most her life trying to ignore it, but time is finally running out. The doomsday clock will strike midnight shortly after her upcoming eighteenth birthday, and she still has no idea why.
Desperate for answers, Amanda digs through the remnants of her family's history, unearthing dark truths about her past, her uncles, her mother, and even herself. She is not just a bystander to the approaching apocalypse, but its harbinger. For the first time in her life, she has power-- but that power comes with a price. She will be forced to give something up: her life, her family, or her world. If she doesn't . . . she will lose everything.
First 150 words:
The other clock ticked, and everything around her changed.
Amanda looked out the bus window and saw the end of the world.
The flat, snowy fields of central Minnesota had vanished, replaced by a desolate wasteland, pocked and cratered like a burn wound. No sun was visible behind the low-hanging smog of ash and smoke, but a lurid red glow was smeared across the sky, a bloody trail of sick-making light.
Come on. You can deal with this. You know it's not real--just a vision.
She dug the chewed nubs of her nails into her palms and squeezed, her fingers trembling under the strain. Just a vision. The spikes of pain grew from pinpricks to a throbbing ache as seconds became minutes. Finally, the last echoes of the other clock's single tick died away, and the all-too-familiar images faded, shimmering like a heat haze.
YA Fantasy
86,000
Query:
Amanda Leonard doesn't know who her mother was. She wishes she did.
Amanda does know when the world is going to end. She wishes she didn't.
There's a clock inside her head, and it's counting down to the apocalypse. But the burden of that knowledge is hers alone--she has never told anyone, not even her only family, the four "uncles" that raised her after her mom died. After all, who would ever want to know what she does? She has spent most her life trying to ignore it, but time is finally running out. The doomsday clock will strike midnight shortly after her upcoming eighteenth birthday, and she still has no idea why.
Desperate for answers, Amanda digs through the remnants of her family's history, unearthing dark truths about her past, her uncles, her mother, and even herself. She is not just a bystander to the approaching apocalypse, but its harbinger. For the first time in her life, she has power-- but that power comes with a price. She will be forced to give something up: her life, her family, or her world. If she doesn't . . . she will lose everything.
First 150 words:
The other clock ticked, and everything around her changed.
Amanda looked out the bus window and saw the end of the world.
The flat, snowy fields of central Minnesota had vanished, replaced by a desolate wasteland, pocked and cratered like a burn wound. No sun was visible behind the low-hanging smog of ash and smoke, but a lurid red glow was smeared across the sky, a bloody trail of sick-making light.
Come on. You can deal with this. You know it's not real--just a vision.
She dug the chewed nubs of her nails into her palms and squeezed, her fingers trembling under the strain. Just a vision. The spikes of pain grew from pinpricks to a throbbing ache as seconds became minutes. Finally, the last echoes of the other clock's single tick died away, and the all-too-familiar images faded, shimmering like a heat haze.
Agent Pitch Finalist #15 - You Are Mine
YOU ARE MINE
YA Fantasy
95,000
Query:
In Chardonia, women are only a source of magic for their owners. Males wield all power. When seventeen-year-old Serena’s blood is found potent with magic, a husband is chosen for her. He is domineering and abusive, like every other warlock she’s ever known. Yet her hatred of him does nothing to stop their impending wedding.
But when Zade, a warlock from another country, kills her betrothed in a tournament, by law she becomes his possession. She expects Zade to be like other warlocks, yet he never beats or hexes her. Without the fear of constant punishments she surrenders to her inner desire to be more and more outspoken. Instead of disciplining her, Zade encourages her to make her own choices. As Serena’s realization that she’s just as important as any warlock grows, so does her love for Zade.
Except society’s laws haven’t changed, even if Zade isn’t going to punish her for breaking them. Her rebellion is drawing unwanted attention and could force her to become part of the slave-like class, people worth less than the shadows they cast. Worse, her arrogance could mark Zade as a warlock who can’t control his property and cost him his life. Now Serena must decide if she can trade her self-worth for freedom she's gained and the life of the man she loves.
First 150 Words:
My blood will entice warlocks to ask for my hand in marriage, so of course Father wants it spilled. The sooner he can have the magic within it measured, the sooner he can be rid of me. Despite knowing this my whole life, I'm still unprepared for the demand. I'm not ready to enter the marriage pool. However many warlocks desire my hand, he won't think them enough to make up for my being the eldest of fourteen girls instead of being a boy.
Is there any way to say that without a fist flying my way? Or a hex? Father hasn't blasted me with one of those in a few days. I hazard a glance at him.
The predawn rays aren't enough to brighten his face as he sits at his desk next to me, just enough to cast a faint glow. I'm not worth using an electric lamp for, nor a candle.
YA Fantasy
95,000
Query:
In Chardonia, women are only a source of magic for their owners. Males wield all power. When seventeen-year-old Serena’s blood is found potent with magic, a husband is chosen for her. He is domineering and abusive, like every other warlock she’s ever known. Yet her hatred of him does nothing to stop their impending wedding.
But when Zade, a warlock from another country, kills her betrothed in a tournament, by law she becomes his possession. She expects Zade to be like other warlocks, yet he never beats or hexes her. Without the fear of constant punishments she surrenders to her inner desire to be more and more outspoken. Instead of disciplining her, Zade encourages her to make her own choices. As Serena’s realization that she’s just as important as any warlock grows, so does her love for Zade.
Except society’s laws haven’t changed, even if Zade isn’t going to punish her for breaking them. Her rebellion is drawing unwanted attention and could force her to become part of the slave-like class, people worth less than the shadows they cast. Worse, her arrogance could mark Zade as a warlock who can’t control his property and cost him his life. Now Serena must decide if she can trade her self-worth for freedom she's gained and the life of the man she loves.
First 150 Words:
My blood will entice warlocks to ask for my hand in marriage, so of course Father wants it spilled. The sooner he can have the magic within it measured, the sooner he can be rid of me. Despite knowing this my whole life, I'm still unprepared for the demand. I'm not ready to enter the marriage pool. However many warlocks desire my hand, he won't think them enough to make up for my being the eldest of fourteen girls instead of being a boy.
Is there any way to say that without a fist flying my way? Or a hex? Father hasn't blasted me with one of those in a few days. I hazard a glance at him.
The predawn rays aren't enough to brighten his face as he sits at his desk next to me, just enough to cast a faint glow. I'm not worth using an electric lamp for, nor a candle.
Agent Pitch Finalist #16 - Break Free
BREAK FREE
YA FANTASY
94,000
Query:
Seventeen-year-old courier Kiel Reaux has one goal: pay off the debt chaining him to the Baron of Old Town and earn his freedom before those chains become a noose. One last job, the Baron says, one last package to fetch for him and their contract will be quits. But when the job goes balls up and Kiel finds himself captured by slavers, the package goes undelivered and the Baron believes him a scheming thief. And no thief has ever survived the Baron’s rage.
Enslaved, Kiel is sold to Izzy, a young priestess naïve enough to trust him. On a mission to prevent the start of a war in a neighboring country, Izzy needs to travel through the Wild, a jungle of untamed magic where trees can kill and flowers can resurrect the dead. What’s more, she’s decided Kiel will be her guide and promises him freedom, only if he helps her.
Assassins trail Izzy’s every step, which is almost enough to make Kiel forget about the Baron, even if the Baron hasn’t forgotten about him. But while Kiel keeps everything under control, he fails to guard himself against the most dangerous power yet: Izzy herself. Her beauty and kind nature chain Kiel so tightly he starts to forget about his freedom. Now Kiel has a choice: escape Izzy to save face with the Baron, or trust in Izzy and her promise. Because unless Kiel can find a way to protect them both, he won’t have to worry about his liberty. He can’t enjoy freedom if he’s dead.
First 150 Words:
I lost the package.
It should’ve been my final job for the Baron. The last delivery, and then I’d be done with him forever. But a stop to take a leak resulted in a missing package, and here I found myself, empty-handed, back at the Baron’s ready to beg forgiveness. To ask for a final chance to pay off my debt – a final chance to be free.
I hesitated in front of the wrought-iron gates and scratched the stubble on my jaw. The Baron’s white manor gleamed in the sun. It almost looked pretty. It always looked rich.
My stomach twisted and dropped into my groin. What was that feeling called? Dread? Yeah… definitely dread.
The setting sun turned the dust from the road red, stretching our two shadows before us. The kid, Jal, stepped beside me and stared at me out of the corner of his eye. He brushed his brown hair off his tanned forehead. “Why’d we stop?”
YA FANTASY
94,000
Query:
Seventeen-year-old courier Kiel Reaux has one goal: pay off the debt chaining him to the Baron of Old Town and earn his freedom before those chains become a noose. One last job, the Baron says, one last package to fetch for him and their contract will be quits. But when the job goes balls up and Kiel finds himself captured by slavers, the package goes undelivered and the Baron believes him a scheming thief. And no thief has ever survived the Baron’s rage.
Enslaved, Kiel is sold to Izzy, a young priestess naïve enough to trust him. On a mission to prevent the start of a war in a neighboring country, Izzy needs to travel through the Wild, a jungle of untamed magic where trees can kill and flowers can resurrect the dead. What’s more, she’s decided Kiel will be her guide and promises him freedom, only if he helps her.
Assassins trail Izzy’s every step, which is almost enough to make Kiel forget about the Baron, even if the Baron hasn’t forgotten about him. But while Kiel keeps everything under control, he fails to guard himself against the most dangerous power yet: Izzy herself. Her beauty and kind nature chain Kiel so tightly he starts to forget about his freedom. Now Kiel has a choice: escape Izzy to save face with the Baron, or trust in Izzy and her promise. Because unless Kiel can find a way to protect them both, he won’t have to worry about his liberty. He can’t enjoy freedom if he’s dead.
First 150 Words:
I lost the package.
It should’ve been my final job for the Baron. The last delivery, and then I’d be done with him forever. But a stop to take a leak resulted in a missing package, and here I found myself, empty-handed, back at the Baron’s ready to beg forgiveness. To ask for a final chance to pay off my debt – a final chance to be free.
I hesitated in front of the wrought-iron gates and scratched the stubble on my jaw. The Baron’s white manor gleamed in the sun. It almost looked pretty. It always looked rich.
My stomach twisted and dropped into my groin. What was that feeling called? Dread? Yeah… definitely dread.
The setting sun turned the dust from the road red, stretching our two shadows before us. The kid, Jal, stepped beside me and stared at me out of the corner of his eye. He brushed his brown hair off his tanned forehead. “Why’d we stop?”
Agent Pitch Finalist #17 - Trespassers
TRESPASSERS
YA Fantasy
81,000 words
Query:
History books say a civilization called Middeah vanished from North America in 1015. They’re wrong. Middeah still thrives, twisted away from the modern world. The tribe’s survival comes at a violent price for the trespassers who slip through the cracks.
When sixteen-year-old artist Etta “borrows" her dad’s truck for a night of freedom, she ends up trapped in Middeah instead. The crisp air and upside-down trees make Etta feel like she’s stepped into one of her paintings. But if the tribe discovers she’s a trespasser, she’ll become their next human sacrifice. When one native learns her secret, Etta survives his attack and flees with a haunted, strangely familiar boy named Graham.
Etta doesn’t need Graham’s cat-green eyes and cryptic silences clouding her judgment, but she does need his help to conceal her identity. Disguised as a married couple, they discover what Middeah gains from its brutal offerings. The tribe has no sickness. No pollution. No technology, and no need for it. If Etta forsakes her past for an eternal life with Graham, she could contaminate the pristine world. If she follows the clues toward the only way home, back to the father Etta misses more than she ever expected, she risks losing both her neck and Graham’s on the altar stone.
TRESPASSERS was inspired by the real ancient American civilization that abandoned the Cahokia mounds near St. Louis. This 81,000-word YA fantasy is The Wizard of Oz meets The Girl of Fire and Thorns in early America.
First 150:
Etta knew better than to paint in the afternoon, but sometimes inspiration just swallowed her up.
Brakes squealed as her dad’s truck turned into the driveway outside. She squeezed her palm against her forehead. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Her dad was always home from work at six on Mondays. Etta had about three minutes until he walked through the door.
She tossed the paints in her supply basket, grabbed the brushes in a jumbled handful, and sprinted to the bathroom. Blue, green and silvery white swirled beneath the faucet as she rinsed the bristles, twisting into a smoky turquoise. Still dripping, she dropped them into their cup and stashed the whole basket under the sink.
The rattle and thump of the engine dying sounded through the hall. Two minutes.
Back in the kitchen she stole one last look at her piece, a bridge that hinted at metal towers on one side, with hungry, overgrown trees and vines reaching across on the other.
YA Fantasy
81,000 words
Query:
History books say a civilization called Middeah vanished from North America in 1015. They’re wrong. Middeah still thrives, twisted away from the modern world. The tribe’s survival comes at a violent price for the trespassers who slip through the cracks.
When sixteen-year-old artist Etta “borrows" her dad’s truck for a night of freedom, she ends up trapped in Middeah instead. The crisp air and upside-down trees make Etta feel like she’s stepped into one of her paintings. But if the tribe discovers she’s a trespasser, she’ll become their next human sacrifice. When one native learns her secret, Etta survives his attack and flees with a haunted, strangely familiar boy named Graham.
Etta doesn’t need Graham’s cat-green eyes and cryptic silences clouding her judgment, but she does need his help to conceal her identity. Disguised as a married couple, they discover what Middeah gains from its brutal offerings. The tribe has no sickness. No pollution. No technology, and no need for it. If Etta forsakes her past for an eternal life with Graham, she could contaminate the pristine world. If she follows the clues toward the only way home, back to the father Etta misses more than she ever expected, she risks losing both her neck and Graham’s on the altar stone.
TRESPASSERS was inspired by the real ancient American civilization that abandoned the Cahokia mounds near St. Louis. This 81,000-word YA fantasy is The Wizard of Oz meets The Girl of Fire and Thorns in early America.
First 150:
Etta knew better than to paint in the afternoon, but sometimes inspiration just swallowed her up.
Brakes squealed as her dad’s truck turned into the driveway outside. She squeezed her palm against her forehead. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Her dad was always home from work at six on Mondays. Etta had about three minutes until he walked through the door.
She tossed the paints in her supply basket, grabbed the brushes in a jumbled handful, and sprinted to the bathroom. Blue, green and silvery white swirled beneath the faucet as she rinsed the bristles, twisting into a smoky turquoise. Still dripping, she dropped them into their cup and stashed the whole basket under the sink.
The rattle and thump of the engine dying sounded through the hall. Two minutes.
Back in the kitchen she stole one last look at her piece, a bridge that hinted at metal towers on one side, with hungry, overgrown trees and vines reaching across on the other.
Agent Pitch Finalist #18 - Followed by Frost
Followed by Frost
YA Fantasy
73,000
Query:
Clever to the point of being devious, seventeen-year-old Smitha knows how to get what she wants and how to avoid what she doesn’t. But when she scorns the wizard Mordan’s affections, he curses her to be as cold as her heart. Followed by snow clouds and abandoned by warmth, Smitha is cast from her village after her perpetual winter kills not only the new spring crops, but her neighbors’ only son.
Drawn to her enigmatic mortality, Death himself offers Smitha a chance for relief: escape with him into the world beyond. But life is all Smitha has left, and even when pursued by angry settlers or hunters seeking game, she can’t give it up easily.
When a prince from the Southlands tracks down Smitha and begs her to end his country’s drought, Smitha realizes her curse can be used for good, even when it makes her every breath painful. It is through the Southlands that Smitha seeks redemption—but will her regrets for the past and her unexpected love for a man she cannot touch be enough to warm her heart, or will Death forever still it?
First 150 words:
I have known cold.
I have known the kind of cold that freezes to the bones, to the spirit itself. The cold that stills the heart and crystallizes the blood. The kind of cold that even fire fears, that can turn a woman to glass.
I have seen Death.
I saw him near my home, his dark hair rippling over one shoulder like thick forest smoke as he stooped over the bed of the Hutches’ only son. I saw his amber eyes as he tilted the rim of his wide-brimmed hat to greet me. I saw him kneel before me with his arms wide, and heard him whisper, Come with me.
I have known cold, the chills with which even the deepest winters cannot compare. I have lived it, breathed it, and lost by it. I have known cold, for it dwelled in the deepest hollows of my soul.
And the day I broke Mordan’s heart, it devoured me.
YA Fantasy
73,000
Query:
Clever to the point of being devious, seventeen-year-old Smitha knows how to get what she wants and how to avoid what she doesn’t. But when she scorns the wizard Mordan’s affections, he curses her to be as cold as her heart. Followed by snow clouds and abandoned by warmth, Smitha is cast from her village after her perpetual winter kills not only the new spring crops, but her neighbors’ only son.
Drawn to her enigmatic mortality, Death himself offers Smitha a chance for relief: escape with him into the world beyond. But life is all Smitha has left, and even when pursued by angry settlers or hunters seeking game, she can’t give it up easily.
When a prince from the Southlands tracks down Smitha and begs her to end his country’s drought, Smitha realizes her curse can be used for good, even when it makes her every breath painful. It is through the Southlands that Smitha seeks redemption—but will her regrets for the past and her unexpected love for a man she cannot touch be enough to warm her heart, or will Death forever still it?
First 150 words:
I have known cold.
I have known the kind of cold that freezes to the bones, to the spirit itself. The cold that stills the heart and crystallizes the blood. The kind of cold that even fire fears, that can turn a woman to glass.
I have seen Death.
I saw him near my home, his dark hair rippling over one shoulder like thick forest smoke as he stooped over the bed of the Hutches’ only son. I saw his amber eyes as he tilted the rim of his wide-brimmed hat to greet me. I saw him kneel before me with his arms wide, and heard him whisper, Come with me.
I have known cold, the chills with which even the deepest winters cannot compare. I have lived it, breathed it, and lost by it. I have known cold, for it dwelled in the deepest hollows of my soul.
And the day I broke Mordan’s heart, it devoured me.
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