PW #369: Young Adult Fantasy (with LGBT+ elements): A BOUNTY OF RUNAWAYS

Manuscript Status: Six Weeks Delivery

Mentor Name: Jamie Pacton & M.K. England
Mentee Name: Nicole A. Brake
Title: A BOUNTY OF RUNAWAYS
Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy (with LGBT+ elements)
Word Count: 70,000

Pitch:

When lady bounty hunters Annora and Hellion add wanted-dead-or-alive Carina to their trio, they inherit her problems, too: the vengeful husband she fled and the rival bounty hunters he hired. The solution? Find the ultimate bounty—the one who got away, who crippled Annora’s hand, who’s worth enough to buy Carina out of her marriage and fund the trio’s adventures for life. Unfortunately, he joined a royal tournament granting immunity to all competitors. He’s untouchable—unless they join, too.

Excerpt:

Annora was in no mood to hunt scoundrels. Every inch of her body ached like a giant throbbing bruise following their last job, and if the last eight months had taught her anything, it was that you can always find new ways to hurt.

Channeling her frustrations into her heels, she hurtled through the narrow alleyway. The bazaar pulsed around her, with rowdy vendors boasting of teas to quench the desert’s thirst and street children squabbling over shady stoops—prime real estate in these forsaken parts. Another cruel day in the Borderlands: bloody scrapes, sweaty mayhem, and dry, cracked lips.

Another day of trying to keep up with Hellion, who chased the most wanted siblings in Gaurida like it took no more effort than climbing from her bed in the morning.

“Quit dawdling,” Hellion called, amusement in her voice. Sweat was only now starting to break on her brow.

“Gods, you’re smug.” Annora failed to keep the breathlessness from her voice. “Keep your eyes on the twins. Don’t even blink. ” Sweat pooled in her gloves, inching its way along her remaining fingers.

“Not my first time, Nora.” The steel blades strapped to Hellion’s hips glittered under the sun’s unrelenting gaze as her golden brown limbs cut short, sharp movements through the alleyway. “Damn it! They’re heading to the pits.”