Can You Hook a Teen? … Contest Submission Post …

Violet Ingram · August 5, 2013 at 5:08 am

Dear Agent,

Sixteen-year-old Sierra Callahan has sworn off church. Three months after losing her aunt and uncle, she must deal with the loss of her dad. Desperate to escape the suffocating memories, what’s left of her family moves to White Falls, Ohio where Sierra meets fellow Junior Alex Sorrentino.

Alex’s summer plans involved having fun and staying out of trouble, not falling for the new girl.

Sierra soon discovers something far more dangerous than memories has followed her to White Falls and the only way to protect Alex is to push him away.

Alex will do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means murder.

RISE FROM THE ASHES is an 85,000 word YA romantic suspense available upon request.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Violet Ingram

meredithmansfield · August 5, 2013 at 5:38 am

Name: Meredith Mansfield
Title: Mage Storm
Genre: MG Fantasy

When a killer mage storm blows up, catching Rell too far from shelter, he expects to die. Instead, the storm infects him with magic. That’s almost as bad.

Rell’s dream of doing bigger things than weeding the corn field was more in the line of being allowed to go all the way to Marketown by himself like his big brother, not becoming a mage. Not when the evidence of how not good being a mage can be is right outside his home settlement in the blackened stumps of the Blighted Forest.

Unless his magic could be used to restore the forest and his family’s orchard. But Rell soon discovers that coming down with magic and knowing how to control it aren’t even in the same neighborhood. When he almost burns down the family’s barn, Rell realizes he needs help learning how to control this magic. So he sets out alone to find someone who can teach him, even though all the mages are supposed to be dead.

The first teacher he finds turns out to be a homicidal charlatan. Rell watches another boy explode into a cloud of sparks–far too much like a tiny mage storm. No one is going to survive this school. Rell’s going to have to escape and risk being hunted down by this “teacher” if he’s going to have any chance of actually learning magic–or saving his new friends.

MAGE STORM is a 55,000-word middle grade fantasy and potentially the first of a series. Readers of John Flanagan’s RANGER’S APPRENTICE series will enjoy MAGE STORM. I have enclosed [whatever the agent wants].

Thank you for your time.

HEATHER LYNNE DAVIS · August 5, 2013 at 5:52 am

Name: Heather Davis
Title: IF I GIVE YOU THE SUN
Genre: YA Futuristic Romance

Nineteen-year-old Mana Aquino and sixteen-year-old Eve Thomas have no business speaking to one another. In the technology-free territory of New Eden, non-natives like Mana work the fields while citizens like Eve enjoy higher pursuits. Contact between them is punishable by death.

But Eve’s brother has just tested positive for a genetic disorder New Eden’s leaders won’t treat. And Mana can’t stop thinking about the local bishop who murdered his sister years ago. When Mana learns about Eve’s photographic memory, he offers to bring illegal medicine to her brother, if she’ll serve as his human camera, gathering information that could destroy the bishop.

Raised in a closed, all-white society, Eve knows better than to trust an outsider, but finds herself drawn to the fiery boy with the dark sun eyes. She’s determined to show him that she’s no pampered child he can use and throw away. If she accepts his offer, she’ll break almost every law she’s ever known, jeopardize her entire family, and become entangled in an uprising that could leave New Eden in ruins. If she says no, her brother is as good as dead.

Told by Eve and Mana, If I Give You the Sun is a YA futuristic romance with light sci-fi and gothic elements. A stand-alone novel with series potential, it is complete at 115,000 words.

Mia Lansford · August 5, 2013 at 6:32 am

Name: Mia Lansford
Title: GET A WIGGLE ON
Genre: YA Historical Romance

Dear Mr. Taylor,

Patsy O’Rourke, the cat’s meow of Ann Bar High School’s graduating class, plans to attend college for two years before moving to Texas for Aviation Training. He attempts to fit in at Rencemare College by joining the row team and attending parties. There is no harm in having fun during the two years. Until he starts having fun with Molly Emma, a girl from his hometown.

Molly Emma wants to do more than cut her hair for the women’s movement. She wants to be an active member of the woman’s suffrage club on campus. It’s hard to concentrate on a cause that already has the vote when warm spirited Patsy O’Rourke is showing her attention. He takes her serious and pays attention to her interests. As Molly spends more and more time with Patsy, she forgets he’s leaving for Texas.

A break from partying and a trip home reminds Molly a long distance relationship will never work. Neither will Patsy giving up his dream and staying in New Jersey. The easiest solution is to stop seeing each other. But saying something is not the same as doing it. Molly better get a wiggle on if she’s going to find the solution before Patsy leaves for Texas.

Get a Wiggle On is a 61,000 word YA historical romance. It’s appeal to readers would be despite the time period it’s set in, which is notoriously known for being all about partying, it’s about every day people with every day struggles. It is a stand alone manuscript with series potential. I am a pro member of RWA and chapter member of NJRW. The past three years I have been on NJRW’s conference committees.

Thank you for reviewing my query. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Sincerely,
Mia Lansford

Carl Hackman · August 5, 2013 at 6:42 am

Name: Carl Hackman
Title: GERALD AND THE AMULET OF ZONRACH
Genre; Upper MG, Humorous Fantasy

Dear Brent,

In the realm of Wyverndawn, a wizard’s height is the mark of his power.

For thirteen-year-old Gerald, creating a hill outside his village to improve the view shouldn’t be too difficult. And it may even gain him a few inches. But the spell he bought – from a guy who knows a guy – was a tad more powerful than even he anticipated. The resulting earthquake breaks off a chunk of Wyverndawn from the rest of the realm. It also allows Vabalaz, a highly dangerous wizard, to escape from prison.

Gerald is banished from his village and shrinks another inch; two more and he’ll be rejoining his father’s profession of shoveling horse poop. The key to his redemption lies in a trinket he acquires; an amulet that can open a portal, allowing the realm to be repaired.

Vabalaz discovers Gerald is in possession of this amulet and that it can keep the portal closed, giving him the freedom to realize his dream of creating an independent wizard state.

If Gerald has any hope whatsoever of returning home, he must repair the damage to Wyverndawn and thwart Vabalaz’s plans. But fighting off bumbling bandits, dealing with a very smelly Orcling and evading a female elven assassin do not make things go smoothly. Failure could very well cost Gerald his life.

GERALD AND THE AMULET OF ZONRACH is a humorous, Upper MG, Fantasy. It is complete at 81,000 words. Similar in tone to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, younger readers would enjoy this novel of the trials of an inexperienced wizard who manages to turn everything he touches into chaos.

GSMarlene · August 5, 2013 at 6:57 am

Name: Marlene
Title: MIGHTY MIKE AND THE ALIEN PEZ DISPENSER
Genre: MG Sci-fi/adventure

Dear Brent,
Eleven-year-old Mike is determined to become NASA’s youngest astronaut. He daydreams of being a superhero and saving colonists from space monsters. But in reality, he tiptoes through the halls and hides from the school bully.

Then he meets Grimon, a blue alien wailing over his doomed job because he’s been called home and can’t complete his research. Figuring experience with real space creatures will guarantee a NASA job, Mike offers to help. Candies from a shiny red dispenser will show what planets humans could visit without turning orange or hiccuping forever, but they come with a side effect of temporary superpowers. Maybe even bully-stomping superpowers.

Speed, strength, and invisibility—sweet. Frog legs and belching zoo-animal noises, not so cool.

Mike records the results until creepy Federal agents show up. As a frogboy, Mike spies on the agents morphing into scary extraterrestrials determined to capture anyone who knows of their existence. If he wants to become a real hero, Mike must overcome his urge to hide to save his friends—and worst enemy—from a four-armed, snout-faced alien wielding the Interstellar Remote Control of Everything, or they’ll all end up frozen in a stasis field at the bottom of a haunted mine.

Tangynt · August 5, 2013 at 7:16 am

Name: L. L. McKinney
Title: HERITAGE BLADE: AWAKENING
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Dear Brent,

Due to bittersweet circumstances, my agent and I have parted ways. As such I’m querying again, and wondering if you would be interested in representing this and future works of mine.

Fifteen-year-old Jay Mitchell is the most lethal secret walking the streets of Chicago. He’s killed before, and he’ll kill again. Trained to protect an unwitting mankind from rogue Pandorans—supernatural beings who cross into this world through Pandora’s box—he’s good at what he does. The problem? No one’s supposed to know he does it.

One night a routine hunt goes wrong, and Jay inadvertently reveals himself while rescuing a “damsel in distress”. Now the Guild knows he exists, and worse, he’s Unsanctioned, a crime punishable by death. On the run, Jay discovers there’s a price on his head and everything that goes bump in the night arrives to collect. If he wants to survive he’ll have to draw on every ounce of his skill, and seek help from the most unlikely allies, including the hottie who got him into this mess in the first place.

HERITAGE BLADE AWAKENING is a young adult urban fantasy with series potential complete at 93,000 words.

Tissa · August 5, 2013 at 8:05 am

Name: Patricia Vanasse
Title: Against All Odds.
Genre: YA contemporary.

Mr. Brent Taylor,

Sometimes boy meets girl, and the stars align, and their future is laid out neatly before them. Together forever. Meant to be. But Max and Loren are not one of those couples.

Seventeen-year-old Max DuPont is on the verge of becoming a ward of the state and foster kid. Contrary to expectations, Max is not from the “wrong” side of town. He’s from a good home in a nice neighborhood, but his mother left after his father lost his job and turned to drink. Max has been struggling to keep his head above water ever since. All he wants is to survive his senior year, play hockey, and move on to college. When his dad lands himself in jail, Max has no choice but to accept an offer to live with his father’s do-gooder attorney, Mr. Larssi. The only contingency is that Max must stay far away from Larssi’s beautiful teenage daughter Loren.

Loren is aware that she’s had every opportunity in her young adult life—at least, that is, every opportunity her parents designed for her. She excels in academics at a competitive prep school, she never parties, she never dates, and she’s a budding ballerina and major hopeful for a Juilliard scholarship. But since her best friend Lily died tragically three months ago, Loren is lost. She knows just how precious life is. But she has no idea how to make the best of it. How can she live—really live—with obsessive parents breathing down her neck…and inviting the only guy who never noticed her to live right under their roof?

Loren’s first step in living her own life might be to get Max to notice her. Max’s only chance at a solid future without foster care is to keep his distance from Loren. But their chemistry is undeniable. And they can’t fight the odds forever…

Complete at 87,000 words, Against All Odds is told in first person from the points of view of both Loren and Max. Their stories are painful and real, but ultimately uplifting. And their romance is by turns sweet, sexy, and frustrating. It will appeal to fans of Simone Elkeles and Katie McGarry.

Thanks for your time and consideration.
Sincerely yours,
Patricia.

Michelle 4 Laughs · August 5, 2013 at 8:42 am

Name: Michelle Hauck
Title: Pygmy Hazards
Genre: MG Adventure/fantasy

Dear Mr. Taylor:

Tom, the classroom hamster, wants to escape from the h-e-double-hockey-sticks otherwise known as school. His military training at the pet shop didn’t include playing house or being sentenced to a boot camp of never-ending show ‘n tell, math facts rap, and story time. But he’s learned a lot behind the bars of his cage. For example, if you want to keep breathing, never trust a pygmy who has earned the nickname Squeezer. Somehow he has to get away before the pygmies dress him as Strawberry Shortcake again or worse.

When a “subspatoot” fills in, Tom sees his chance to put Operation Escape the Pygmies into action. He makes a run for the border, hamster style. Bad news. The principal says Tom is a distraction to learning and better off flushed. The way out is turned into a battlefield of snapping mousetraps, sticky snares, and poisoned pellets.

Tom seems doomed until the friendless Squeezer lends an over-excited hand. She quickly goes from supervillain to super sidekick. Now, the greatest obstacle to his freedom may be Tom’s soft spot for this lonely pygmy.

A cross between Monsters, Inc, Toy Story and those cute AT&T kid commercials, PYGMY HAZARDS is a MG fantasy complete at 34,000 words. My epic fantasy, Kindar’s Cure, was released by Divertir Publishing. My short story, Frost and Fog, was published by The Elephant’s Bookshelf for their summer anthology, Summer’s Double Edge. I’ve worked at an elementary school as a special needs assistant for over ten years, giving me lots of experience with pygmies.

Thanks for your consideration,

Alison Miller · August 5, 2013 at 9:17 am

NAME: Alison Miller
TITLE: CHICK MAGNET
GENRE: YA

Dear Brent Taylor:

Eighteen-year-old JD Marshall has a power most guys would trade their left nut for. With one hypnotizing look, he can get a girl to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. And for three years he’s racked up more scores than Brett Favre. But his power’s not a blessing.

It’s a curse.

A curse a witch put on him three years ago. A curse he’s got four months to break or lose any chance of ever having a real relationship. The only way to break it—learn to love and be loved. Like that’s going to happen. JD needs to focus on quarterbacking his team to the state finals. He needs to pass freaking English. And he needs to quit thinking about Susan Milton. She’s taken. She’s forbidden. Worse—she seems to be the only one immune to his power.

But JD can’t get away from her. The principal (aka Mom) arranges tutoring with Susan to save a shaky English grade. But when football botches the after-school sessions, the “tutoring” with Susan continues over late night phone calls. JD discovers he’ll have to do a little more than just look at a girl to charm the skirt off her. And he finds that underneath that tight little body lies a pretty screwed up past, one that parallels his own.

What blooms is a relationship JD can’t tell anyone about—not even his best friend. Because Susan—the one he wants, the one he can’t avoid, the one who could break the curse—just happens to be his hot new English teacher.

At 98,000 words, my young adult fiction CHICK MAGNET is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a Paradise Lost twist. It explores second chances, defying odds, and the bonds of friendship.

I am a member of SCBWI, the South Carolina Writers Workshop, and the Write Brained Network. I am also a founding member of the group blog YA Confidential, a resource for YA writers devoted to all things teen, all the time.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best,

Alison Miller

Jamie Krakover · August 5, 2013 at 10:08 am

Name: Jamie Krakover
Title: THE ADVIERA ABDUCTIONS
Genre: Upper Middle Grade Science Fiction

Dear Brent,

Thirteen-year-old Gary Jones doesn’t remember seeing alien abductions on his schedule. That doesn’t stop an advanced alien race called the Adviera from plucking him out of his life on Earth whenever they want. After some blinding lights and an alien probing, he can now move objects with his mind. If only his telekinesis could help him pass his math test and keep him from flunking the seventh grade. Having other plans, the aliens continue to abduct Gary and other Earth kids in order to secretly turn them into intergalactic weapons in the impending Adviera war.

Spending time with his cute alien trainer, Esther, and hurling rocks with his brain may be exciting, but the aliens expect Gary to take full control of his powers, pitting him against deadly challenges. As a kid who can’t shoot a basketball, he’s on the fast track to becoming another casualty of the Adviera training program. Mastering his ability will be impossible unless the alien council stops changing the rules and eases up on their intense training schedule. If Gary doesn’t get a handle on his ability and team up with the other kids whose powers range from invading people’s thoughts to turning watches into laser weapons, Esther and the rest of the Adviera will be turned into space dust. And without the aliens’ protection, humanity won’t be far behind.

THE ADVIERA ABDUCTIONS, complete at 61,000 words, is an Upper Middle Grade Science Fiction that blends Sky High and Ender’s Game, with young alien trainers reminiscent of Jedi Masters.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Jamie Krakover

susanbishopcrispell · August 5, 2013 at 12:42 pm

Name: Susan Crispell
Title: THE ART OF BREAKING
Genre: YA Magical Realism

Dear Mr. Taylor,
When rule-breaker Luca Grable drowns at seven years old, she doesn’t go to heaven. Instead she becomes an imaginary friend. But when her best-friend-from-life Katie Tayloe is unable to get over her death, the Council of Imaginaries breaks its own rule and assigns Luca to Katie. And the girls spend the next decade growing up almost like nothing ever happened.

But now the council is considering a new rule that will terminate their friendship on Katie’s eighteenth birthday. If they move forward with The Grable Clause, Luca will only have a month left. Then she’ll never see Katie again. And with her crush Wes Burnley suddenly able to see her after she saves his life—and the chance at a once-in-an-afterlife romance within her grasp—Luca is too caught up in trying to have a normal life to notice that the Imaginary world is breaking apart around her. Or that it’s all her fault.

Luca must learn what it means to be a true friend, or risk the lives of everyone she loves.

THE ART OF BREAKING is a completed 86,000-word young adult magical realism novel. It will appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall and Gabrielle Zevin’s Elsewhere.

I earned a BFA in creative writing from the University of North Carolina – Wilmington. My adult magical realism romance will be published in 2014 by Swoon Romance. For the past nine years, I have worked as a marketing copywriter, proposal editor, and graphic designer.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Susan Crispell

Taylor Lavati · August 5, 2013 at 1:46 pm

Name: Taylor Lavati
Title: THE THOUSAND YEAR CURSE
Genre: Fantasy

In this 82,354 word fantasy novel based loosely off stories from Greek Mythology with a contemporary edge, Ryder must decide to either fall into her patterns of fading into the background or taking her life into her own hands for once.
Being a teenager isn’t all fun and games for seventeen year old Ryder. After being thrown down the social hierarchy, Ryder Mason has one goal for her senior year-survive.
Within the first month of school, Ryder goes from bullied teen to a cursed half goddess with two boyfriends. As if that wasn’t enough, she travels into the Underworld to confront Hades about the curse and her missing mother.
Ryder delves head first into a Godly world as her knights fight to seek her approval, her best friend’s loyalties are tested and people’s true intentions are shown in the first Curse Books novel.
The Thousand Year Curse is best for readers 16 and up right on the cusp of Young Adult and New Adult. With a sub plot of bullying and plenty of sexual tension, the story fits into the New Adult craze for readers between the ages of 18 to 24.
Taylor Lavati, author, is a twenty two year old student studying early childhood education. She pursues her Bachelor’s Degree from Western Connecticut State University. After taking a Mythology class and focusing on teaching English to elementary school, Taylor started writing short stories with characters from Greek Mythology. After that, Taylor decided to write this series.
Taylor runs two blogs successfully and also writes for another. Her first blog, dedicated specifically to The Thousand Year Curse and The Curse Series (www.thecursebooks.blogspot.com) is especially popular and gets almost a hundred views per day. She runs another blog that posts reviews for books (www.spoilerprincess.blogspot.com). She writes blog posts for SwirlPost in the Writing section giving advice and tips to new writers.

Thank you for taking the time read my query and giving me a chance. Looking forward to hearing from you soon,

Taylor Lavati
tayjane1@gmail.com

Olivia · August 5, 2013 at 2:12 pm

Name: Olivia Hinebaugh
Title: PLAY IT COOL, CLAIRE
Genre: YA Contemporary/Paranormal

Dear Agent:

Claire knows all about her boyfriend’s troubling past. His dead mother shares all the sordid details. Aside from having an adorable new boyfriend, Graham, Claire’s sophomore year is off to a rocky start: her beloved Grandma Rae dies, she’s the new kid at school, and…she’s started seeing ghosts. All her life she’s been overshadowed by her two mega genius siblings and her brilliant parents. She’s finally got an exceptional talent, though it is seriously affecting her social life.

When Claire starts dating Graham, the dreamboat next door, Grandma Rae’s spirit doesn’t approve. Whatever. Graham’s dead mother thinks their relationship is great. The list of things to love about Graham expands exponentially each day, but so do the worrying behaviors. (Example: she and Graham have met more than their fair share of local cops.) It’s a lot to handle, and Claire’s family is too busy being brilliant to notice. Claire has to learn to cope, to accept her gifts, and to lean on her friends and family. None of these lessons are more important than when a spirit delivers the worst sort of news and Graham is ripped from her life. PLAY IT COOL, CLAIRE is twisted and funny, violent and romantic, strange and unforgettable–just like high school.

PLAY IT COOL, CLAIRE is YA Contemporary novel with Paranormal elements. It is complete at 75,000 words. Thank you for your time and consideration.