PW #248: YA Soft Science Fiction: ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS

Manuscript Status: 1 week delivery

Mentor name: Stacey Nash
Mentee name: Steph O’Neil
Title: ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS
Category: YA
Genre: Soft Science Fiction
Word Count: 75,000

Pitch:

16-year-old Mandy didn’t sign up for the experimental surgery that left her with alternative personalities. Nor the rogue voice in her head that calls himself Nick and won’t stop flirting. When she starts losing time, and it seems she’s lost control of her body, Nick’s the only “person” she can trust. Real or not, he may be her best chance of staying in control.

Excerpt:

I didn’t understand people who had awkward smiles. With mirrors everywhere, it was never hard to practice.

Even now, when it was the last thing I wanted to do, I fake-smiled, staring out the passenger-side window of my mom’s SUV as we headed south out of LA. Anybody who caught a glimpse of me, whether tourist or paparazzo, would never guess where we were going or why. They might assume we were on a mother-daughter date, or, if they followed us to The Center, speculate on the exorbitant cost of an exclusive spa.

I wish.

A pedicure, age-inappropriate Botox, or even a boob job would all be preferable to what we were actually doing at The Center. The doctors there did crazy things to the brain. Things I wanted no part in. But Mom and Dad did. My brain scan, last week, was supposed to make them feel like I was giving The Center a chance before I declined to undergo their experimental, elective brain surgery. Instead, it found something suspicious, and now Dr. Esposito, the head creep at The Center, was doing me a favor by checking it out with her advanced tools, non-invasive techniques, and 100% guarantee of privacy. I should be thankful, but that emotion wasn’t in the mix.