An Agent's Inbox #10

Dear Agent,

Rhiannon Oliver aka “Rhi” is introduced into the world of the Grigori when she learns that her father is an angel, making her a child of the Nephilim. Meeting him for the first time on her 18th birthday. With his guidance, she must learn to use her new and developing angelic abilities that have now been awakened.

When Rhi meets Jax, another Nephilim, the two immediately sense a connection. Unfortunately they don’t have time to see how that connection will develop because they step right into the path of the leader of the fallen angels, who wants to use them for his own evil plans.

On the Run from the fallen angels, Rhi and Jax must cast their fears aside and find the strength deep within them, and enter the battle between the Grigori and the Fallen. If they fail, the fallen will bring about their own version of h*** on Earth, and use the kids to do it.

ANGEL’S RUN is a young adult fantasy complete at 82,000 words. It is a stand-alone novel with series potential. I live in Oregon with my very large blended family. I work in the medical insurance field, but my passion is writing. Thank you for your time and consideration. 

Best,

M.M.

ANGEL’S RUN

I could clearly hear the footsteps as they got closer to my bedroom door, hand raising to knock as it did every morning. “Rhi time to wake up”! “Big day today”! My mom, Charlotte called from outside the door. I Groaned and sat up in bed. I had been in the middle of the dream I’d been having since I was about 14 before waking up about two minutes ago. I was at the beach, my favorite place in the world and I was soaring over the ocean waves like I was a bird. I had the most beautiful pair of white downy wings, that glowed with a pink pearlescent sheen when the sunlight hit them just right. The best part was that I was wearing my beloved skinny jeans that used to fit me, but were now sitting in my “to wear again after losing 20 pounds” pile in the closet. Shoving the flowery pink and white down comforter off me, I threw feet down onto my fuzzy pink carpet. I slipped on my robe and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. “Coming mom” I called out before she could knock again.

I felt different, yes definitely different. I knew turning 18 meant that I was now a legal adult, and I was responsible for myself now, and could basically do what I wanted, but that wasn’t it. I felt stronger. I felt like I could take on the world.

An Agent's Inbox #9

Dear Agent,

I am delighted at this opportunity to be part of Krista Van Dolzer's "An Agent's Inbox" contest and look forward to your input on my novel.

Cole’s Fear List won’t stop growing. Soon it could trap him inside a box smaller than the linen closet where he hides to skip school. But Cole can’t tell Mom and Dad about his phobias, because he’s sure they already think he’s a freak. Worried they’re right, Cole runs. A 79-mile road trip on his tricked-out riding mower is a leap for any twelve-year-old. But for a boy who hates leaving his own house, it’s terrifying.

But not as scary as losing Lace, the long-distance friend who promises she can cure fear. If Cole can get Lace to safety before her stepdad sends her away, maybe then he can outrun his anxieties. But even if he outwits search helicopters, thieves, and the highway patrol, once his fears catch up with him, Cole will need all of his creative genius to reinvent what it means to be brave and normal.

Lawnmower, Leaving, complete at 56,000 words, is a contemporary middle grade. It combines an adventure along red rock trails with Autism Spectrum Disorder elements reminiscent of a higher-functioning Mockingbird, The London Eye, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. 

I am trained as a lawyer, but prefer fiction to legal briefs. I have published magazine articles, and my novels have won writing awards. I work with the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Conference, including two years as head conference assistant, and am a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
R.R.B.

LAWNMOWER, LEAVING

Leaving Reason, One. Mom thinks I’m stupid enough to run over my best friend.

One, my wheels hit the pressure switch I hid in the grass. Two, the rope tied to the chassis pulls Brock to the right spot in the lawn. Three, one sprinkler spurts up, spraying Brock.

He runs off the lawn. “You planned that.”

“Perfect timing.” I check the camera replay and smile. 

“What’s with the weird grin? Does it look like I peed my pants?”

“Maybe.” My invention worked. At least I’m good at something.

“Delete it, okay?” 

“Fine. But only if you drive.” I reach for the foot sled I made by welding cookie sheets.

But first Mom’s on the porch. Then all the sprinklers go off, soaking the front steps and Mom. The smell of wet cement reminds me I’m not just weird, but stupid. I didn’t unplug the timer. I turn off the water, then she points her pen at me. It’s the one Mom chews when she pays bills. “Mowers have blades, Cole. What if you ran over Brock’s foot?” 

The riding mower’s off, but Mom’s words buzz louder than engine noise. Going barefoot always felt good. Safe. Until now.

Mom taps her pen, probably adding to her “Fix Cole" Plan. Maybe I can make her smile. “We’re recording a video.” I hold up the camera. “It’s called, ‘Don’t Try this at Home.’

Brock laughs.

Mom doesn’t. “You can’t try it at our home either. Sorry.”

An Agent's Inbox #8

Dear Agent,

Thirteen-year-old Peter Holm has a list of requirements for surviving the year at boarding school. Loyal best friend? Check. Membership in a secret club? Check. Murder? Hmm, wait...

Life at the Horston Academy is about as fun as a freezing shower in winter--until Peter’s new friend, Sam, asks him to help her start a Conspirators’ Club. Her goal: to improve life for all Academy students. Her plan: to challenge Horston’s unfair rules with covert acts of rebellion.

Peter doesn’t need much arm twisting. For cool club missions like stealing back confiscated desserts, or dismantling the annoying school siren, he’s even ready to risk capture and punishment.

But what starts out as a series of exciting escapades turns grave when Peter uncovers the Headmaster’s bloody past. And when a club member suddenly goes missing, Peter is sure the Headmaster is behind it. To rescue his friend, Peter ventures into the treacherous caves beneath the school and comes face-to-face with a dangerous criminal who’ll stop at nothing to protect his secrets. If Peter’s wits and resourcefulness aren’t enough to carry him through, this mission will be his last.

THE CONSPIRATORS’ CLUB is a middle grade contemporary adventure, complete at 50,000 words.

Sincerely,

E.J.

THE CONSPIRATORS' CLUB

Peter Holm took another glance around the ferry cafeteria, his mind heavy with disappointment.

Face it, he thought. Jason’s not here.

He turned and burst through the swinging doors out on deck--

And knocked straight into someone’s dad who just happened to be carrying a brimming cup of soda. With no lid on. Just his luck!

The sugary fizz splashed all over them both.

"Sorry!" Peter gasped and dashed around the corner before the man could get over his shock and yell at him. He surveyed his soaked front, then sighed, and trudged up the iron stairs to the upper deck where he knew his older brother would be.

“Find him?” Mark asked without turning. His eyes were fixed on the Horston Academy Island as it drew closer.

“I looked everywhere,” Peter said. “No luck. Of course.”

Mark shook his head in disapproval. “You and your luck. When will you give it up already?”

Peter leaned on the railing with his elbows and watched the island, too. Dense evergreens covered most of the island, running straight into vertical cliffs and windblown beaches. Except on the eastern side, where the forest yielded to the Academy, the country’s top-rated boarding school. According to some, anyway. Mostly to people who never went there.

Peter would’ve laughed to call Horston anything nice. Strict rules, severe punishments; “a floating prison” was a more fitting description. To get through a year at a place like that, a guy needed his best friend, but at the moment, Peter’s was nowhere in sight.

An Agent's Inbox #7

Dear Agent,

Fifteen-year-old Zoey can’t put herself back together after her kidnapping two years ago. Daily panic attacks, crippling anxiety and trying to push down the memories leaves her exhausted.

Now her life coach has published a book detailing the nightmare. Thrust back into the national spotlight, a fragile Zoey gets a phone call from a man who calls her his “sweet girl.” The kidnapper’s found her, even though she’s moved three thousand miles away. Too bad no one believes her, especially the cops who think he’s dead. 

When a friend dies from a bullet Zoey believes was meant for her and another friend is found dead, Zoey’s worst fears are confirmed when the kidnapper texts her that the deaths are surprises for her. Not wanting anyone else to die, she pushes everyone away until a neighbor girl who looks eerily like Zoey turns up missing. 

After the kidnapper contacts her with a proposition that could save the missing girl, Zoey scrambles to follow the clues he leaves on her blog. She knows if she finds the girl, he will not let Zoey escape, but it’s a chance she has to take. She can’t let him shatter another girl.

SHATTERED, a dark contemporary YA thriller is complete at 79,000 words and is in the same vein as POINTE and SPEAK.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

K.S.A.

SHATTERED

I don’t do well in crowds. 

The shoving and jostling, sends me into panic mode. I should be able to get through this--no one else is panicking about their first day of high school. Old friends embrace one another, lockers bang, laughter rings out but it all fades to a distant echo as my heart speeds up and my palms sweat. Eager to get away from the crowd, I spot an open door up ahead. 

Please don’t let me pass out.

The bubble of panic lodges in my throat and swells. Footsteps echo behind me. Through the door is the sweet scent of rain.

Holding my bag in front of me like a shield, I rush out. My gaze darts searching for a place to hide. The rain-soaked air cools the hot bubble. The bell rings for first hour and I breathe easier.

Welcome to the first day of high school, Zoey. Congratulations, you made it a whole ten minutes.

Careful not to get too wet, I duck under the eaves to watch the rainwater gush from the ends of the half-broken gutter pipe onto the dirt making muddy puddles at my feet. Glass panoramic windows afford me a view into the school. But if I can see in, my classmates can see out. I catch a girl staring at me and I duck around a corner, jumping when I encounter a boy who smiles the kind of smile I wish I could keep in my pocket. 

An Agent's Inbox #6

Dear Agent,

The Sunday morning after her boyfriend rapes her, sixteen-year-old Audrey Harper is evacuated from her home because of a wildfire she believes they set. 

As the October flames threaten Orange County’s prized gated community, Audrey attempts to make sense of their relationship’s descent in pyromania and abuse by recalling her early summer weeks with Brooks--a charming but reclusive eighteen-year-old volunteer firefighter, scarred by his older brother’s alleged suicide, now facing the blaze. To understand his biggest lie, Audrey must return to his first.

The fire and assault aren’t all that’s demanding Audrey’s attention. Her thirteen-year-old sister fainted during her morning’s ballet audition--an audition Audrey walked out on three years ago--and their mom refuses to accept the blame Audrey thinks she deserves. Audrey must not only reconcile Brooks’s facades, but also her own. Like how she hasn’t allowed herself to dream since her rash departure from ballet and refuses to vocalize her grief.

Confession: Brooks isn’t the only liar in the relationship.

It only complicates matters that Hayden--her sappy AP psychology partner and the dude she unfaithfully kissed last week--is stuck with Audrey for a hike to the flames. In the glowing foothills, Audrey must shatter Brooks’s fictions, as well as her own, and acknowledge the truth of what’s happened--last night, last Thursday, and when Brooks was only eight--regardless of the waiting red and blue flashing lights.

SPARKLERS is an approximately 70,000 YA novel told in a single day in the vein of Gayle Forman’s IF I STAY and Jay Asher’s THIRTEEN REASONS WHY. Though I’m a southern California native with far more firsthand experience with wildfires than I’d prefer, I recently graduated from Colorado College with a degree in Literature and Creative Writing.

I’m thrilled to share SPARKLERS with you!

Thank you for your time and consideration,

H.M.E.

SPARKLERS

The morning after I lose my virginity, I wake to knocking. My mom and dad’s alarm clock reads 5:22 am. It’s Sunday. More pounding from downstairs and I wonder if it’s Brooks. No. He’s probably still at the party, passed out on a couch, or maybe even nursing his final beer.

This thought enables me to move.

I jump from the bed, Mom’s caramel afghan around my shoulders. The room tilts. My hips ache, and there’s a raw throbbing between my legs. I might still be drunk. I might only be hung over. I need to shower. Need to go back to bed.

I pull aside the curtains. It’s still dark, but porch lights and streetlights and brake lights and red and blue lights illuminate the dense smoke that hazes the street. Our pepper tree whips in the October wind, spraying leaves on the police car idling at my mailbox. A man shouts. The lashing gale takes his words. The doorbell rings—once, twice, three times.

Move. I need to move.

I drop the afghan, run downstairs, and yank the front door open to smoke and two cops. One is talking. My dad’s old In-N-Out shirt sticks to my back. I’m not wearing a bra and rum laces the spit beneath my tongue.

“Mandatory evacuation,” the older cop says. “The fire is approaching the bank’s ridge.”  

The younger cop lowers his chin. If he were a friend, I’d think he’s about to hug me, but instead he coughs and says, “Miss—”

“Brooks said it isn't that bad,” I say.

An Agent's Inbox #5

Dear Fabulous Agent:

Seventeen-year-old Madison’s lost one hundred pounds but not her kissing cherry. When her cousins get her drunk on her flight to Rome, they trick her into a bet: Kiss one hundred boys by the end of August, or hop into Trevi Fountain in the skimpiest bikini imaginable. Madison plans to work at an archaeological dig over the summer, not lock lips with strangers or expose her body in a crowded piazza.

She shares her first kiss with Raffaele, a hot intern so out of her league. He’s the perfect combination of confident and smart. Everything she’s not. On the bright side, she’s one smooch down. But she can’t give him another. The terms of her cousin’s bet insist Raffaele's lips are now off-limits.

Days spent excavating Rome's ancient past are followed by nights touring the city, bringing them closer together. Until a Roman Barbie endangers Madison's position at the dig and sinks her claws into Raffaele.  Madison must uncover her inner-Indiana Jones to save her job, get out of the bet, and drop her walls for the only boy worth kissing.

100 Kisses, complete at 69,000 words, is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance. I’m a member of Romance Writers of America and SCBWI.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
M.M.


100 KISSES

When my connecting flight landed in Paris, I came close to receiving my very first kiss.

From an old guy.

After the plane nudged against the terminal, the heavy man in the seat beside me leaped to his feet. Like he couldn’t wait three seconds for me to get out of the way? Before I could unbuckle, he climbed over me, his face so close I feared the deed would be done.

Imagine. Me, no longer a kissing virgin. Courtesy of some unnamed guy with a bad comb over. I’d waited forever for Mr. Right, and instead, I get Mr. In-A-Hurry. Throw in the added bonus of halitosis, and my life was complete.

Shuddering, I darted into the tiny bathroom. While I was away, my twenty-one-year-old, identical twin cousins, Nat and Cat boarded the plane.  They’d join me for the last leg of my flight to Rome. We hadn’t seen each other since the family reunion a year ago, and I couldn’t wait to reconnect with them over the summer. Knowing them, the party would start immediately.

Creeping around a steward, I tapped on Cat’s shoulder.

She shoved her bag in the overhead compartment and spun. Her mouth dropped, and she squealed, her hands rising to cup her face. “Oh. My. G**. Maddy. You’re skinny.”

“It’s Madison,” I murmured. When would I ditch that horrible nickname?

We hugged, and she kissed my cheeks in bobbing European fashion before stretching back to look me over at arm’s length. “You’re absolutely gorgeous.”

An Agent's Inbox #4

Dear Agent,

My 47,000-word Upper Middle Grade contemporary novel OF MADNESS AND FOLLY is a coming-of-age novel and will appeal to fans of James Patterson’s MIDDLE SCHOOL, THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE and Carolyn Mackler’s LOVE AND OTHER FOUR-LETTER WORDS.

Twelve-year-old Peter McGinn thinks he ruined his parents’ marriage. When a harmless prank goes horribly wrong, he’s forced to deal with their crumbling relationship.

In order to save his family, Peter needs to form a plan, which happens to be his specialty. He thinks. A short story contest gives him a chance at redemption. If he can win the grand prize and pay off his dad’s gambling debts, it might be enough to keep his parents together.

As life at home decays, Peter has to face his arch nemesis, trick his dream girl into believing he’s cool, stay out of the hospital, deliver a stinky package, dodge incoming tetherballs, build a snowman on train tracks, outrun Harold the pervert pug, pretend he can dance, throw a right hook, and worst of all, apologize. If not, his juggling act could collapse and leave him with a broken home and no friends to tell about it.

I received my BA in English Writing and am an active member of the SCBWI. I pasted the first 250 words below. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

S.L.

OF MADNESS AND FOLLY

Before the woods and the blood and the police chase, we had a plan. Sort of. 

The thing about plans is, well, they never turn out the way we plan. One surprise, one twist, one turn, and a plan becomes a pickle. Now, a pickle is a different matter. I don’t like pickles--the food or the conundrum. They’re slimy, sour, and they appear without warning, like on a cheeseburger or in a mystery.

Or the night before Halloween, when my friends and I felt like decorating the neighborhood, “to make it more festive.”

Our target: The Oakwood Mansion (the biggest house in Wisconsin, and maybe the world).

“I think we have over two hundred rolls. Let’s let these rich peacocks know we don’t want them in our neighborhood anymore.” Milton Hansen, my friend who turned unimportant pranks into D-day, closed the minivan’s trunk and hopped into the passenger seat. My older brother Jamie pulled away from the Mini Mart and began the two-minute journey to the Oakwood Mansion.

“Why don’t we want them in our neighborhood?” I asked, poking my head between the front seats.

“Because the dufus that lives there yelled at me last week when he thought I ran over his geraniums with my bike,” Milton said. 

“Did you?”

“If they don’t want me running over their precious geraniums, maybe they shouldn’t plant flowers next to the road where I practice wheelies.”

We parked in the neighborhood behind the mansion to avoid suspicion and unloaded the minivan.

An Agent's Inbox #3

Dear Agent,

Getting sucked into a snow globe wasn’t part of the plan.

Not that twelve-year-old Lily had a plan, more of an impulse: run away to save Milo--her hero dog and best friend. The ‘No Dog’ policy hasn’t stopped the move to their soon-to-be new house, so when the snow globe transports them into a magical world and to Queen Ved’ma’s castle, Lily believes it’s a perfect escape: right up until Milo disappears.

The queen comforts Lily and promises to do everything in her power to find him. A cold comfort, as Lily suspects Queen Ved’ma is behind his disappearance. After witnessing the queen take off a second layer of skin, unmasking a hidden face, Lily escapes. Captured soon after, the snow globe no longer contains her dreams of paradise, but her prison. Ved’ma proposes an impossible game: find Milo alive before sunrise and Lily wins their freedom. Lose, and she becomes the prize: devoted daughter, trapped in the snow globe, unhappily ever after. Tick tock...let the game begin.

SNOW GLOBE is a middle grade novel with fantasy and horror elements. It is 36,000 words with sequel potential. I believe it would appeal to readers who enjoyed Coraline and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I am a British artist and arts psychotherapist living in Canada.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best wishes,

M.S.

SNOW GLOBE

Lily Ellis wished her parents had waited until after breakfast for their latest fight. Or chosen to have it anywhere other than the kitchen. She was hungry. Her belly protested with loud pops and gurgles. But knowing better than to walk in on them mid row, she waited at the top of the stairs and stared at the wonky family photo slipped off its nail. Their smiling faces hung lopsided, ready to fall out of the frame and on to the floor. She straightened it up; saving her family and wishing it was as simple as that in real life.

Milo nudged her hand with his nose. Thank God she had him--her hero dog, her best friend, rescued from a shelter four years earlier when she was eight. Funny, it felt like he’d been rescuing her ever since.

His ears pricked as the sound of his name drifted up the stairs.

‘I heard that too.’ How did Milo get dragged into one of their fights? ‘Come on.’

They crept down the stairs and waited at the bottom, listening.

Nothing.

The tap gushed on. Off.

Still nothing.

A cupboard door slammed.

What was happening?

At last her mum spoke. ‘Well at least we’ll save some money.’

‘What?’ her dad said, his voice cracking. ‘I can’t believe you just said that.’

Huh? How did saving money become a bad thing? Money was all they ever fought about.

‘Look, I’m just trying to find something good to come out of this.’

‘Perhaps you can tell Lily that.’