PW #122: New Adult Contemporary Romance: ONE HUNDRED AND ONE CHANCES

MANUSCRIPT STATUS: 1 month delivery

Mentor: Marie Meyer
Mentee: Brianna Lespinasse
Title: ONE HUNDRED AND ONE CHANCES
Category/Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Word Count: 80,000

Pitch:

Kira is days away from killing herself when she confesses her plan to Chase, her handsome neighbor. Determined to rekindle her passion for life, Chase proposes a bucket list—one hundred and one challenges to help Kira remember that life and love are worth fighting for. All she has to do is hold on.

Excerpt:

I’ve been wandering between rows of headstones and delicately placed bouquets for over an hour. It doesn’t usually take this long to reach him, but today is different. Every time I start to get close, my legs take me down a different path—a path with statues and memorial trees and headstones with names that aren’t his. It shouldn’t have taken me weeks to come back, but once I made my decision I couldn’t face him. He would be disappointed in me. He’d be angry.

He won’t change my mind.

I reach an intersection I’ve gone through four times now, but instead of turning away I head where I’m supposed to go. My heart rate quickens with each step and I wring my hands in anticipation. I’m nearly there. Seconds away. A lump forms in my throat when his grave marker comes into view, and I slow my gait, letting the final few moments last as long as possible.

I fall to my knees, and trace his name with my fingers—letters that will forever mark his absence from my family. I cling to the smooth marble and close my eyes, biting back tears. If I start crying I’ll never stop, and I need to get through this. I need to tell Grant my plan. I owe him that much. When I’m confident opening my mouth won’t release a sob, I let go of the cool stone and sit back on my heels.

“Hi, big brother.”