An Agent's Inbox #14

Dear John Cusick,

Belinda Gallagher is mere months away from aging out of the Georgia foster care system, when a seductive and terrifying woman claiming to be her mother arrives to take her home. And introduces herself as Lilith, the Queen Succubus Extraordinaire.

Belinda isn’t totally surprised by her demonic genetics, since strange things were always happening around her, like her ex-boyfriend being hit by a car seconds after she imagines it. But she is surprised that her new home is Limbo, a place where the dead work off their sins, which looks very much like the suburbs. Despite living in a mansion (gardener included) and having all the trappings of the perfect life, everything is far from picturesque. Lilith has plans for world domination and insists her daughter learn how to be a proper succubus via regular visits from Lilith’s demonic sisters. Goat intestine for breakfast, then school at a prestigious Christian academy, followed by lessons in seduction, deception, and how to crush a person’s soul are not the standards for normalcy.

As Belinda tries to suppress her demonic urges (worst superpowers ever), she struggles to keep up the appearance of an average suburban teenager. The more she rebels against Lilith’s sinister ways, the harder it becomes to hide the evil lurking under the surface. And keep Mommy Dearest from destroying the world.

BELINDA LIVES IN LIMBO is a 90,000 word YA paranormal novel, and potential start of a series. Fans of THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER will appreciate Belinda’s inner battle.

I graduated summa cum laude from the Savannah College of Design with a degree in Motion Graphics. I designed and produced the trailer for the award winning novel The Technologists, written by Matthew Pearl, and published by Random House in 2012. I have published an ongoing fiction novel on Wattpad, which has drawn in a significant amount of readers and has over 35,000 reads.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best Regards,

J.E.

BELINDA LIVES IN LIMBO

I don’t belong here, but everyone thinks so. County Corrections Orange looks particularly right on me. I have that “damaged goods” look. Perhaps at one time I had potential but now that I’m wearing this jumper that works nights as a traffic cone, I’m just another poor miscreant on her way to a life of crime. Here is the secret though: I never had potential. At least I never had potential to do any good.

My probation officer babbles about what happens now that the judge has signed off on my community service, something about counseling and mandatory court dates. I’m hardly listening. Three more months and I won’t have to deal with the Georgia judicial system anymore. My probation will be up and I’ll be free. She swiftly dismisses me, having about fifty other juvenile delinquents to speak to. Docile, compliant Belinda Gallagher is the least of her worries.

The air outside her office is stifling, rife with teenage breath and youthful angst. None of us want to be here, but we’ve all done something to deserve it. Now, I’ve done plenty of bad things in my life but, for the first time, I can say that I actually am innocent. Mostly.

I navigate my way through the endless hallway. It’s littered with girls wearing the exact same outfit as me. We are a sea of highlighter orange. I finally get to the locker room, change quickly, and then exit the building to meet my ride.