Thursday, May 21, 2015

The Writers Voice: THE TREASURE HUNT

Query:


Dear Mentors/Judges,

When sixteen-year-old Benjamin McGill is shipped off to Bay Haven, ME, to stay with his grandmother for the summer, it’s not a vacation—it’s a punishment. With nothing to do in this lazy tourist town but run errands for Gran and clean up after her evil cat, Ben’s thrilled when he receives a letter from a secret admirer with promises of a treasure hunt. 


Ben follows clues to a cafe where he befriends Mitch, a long-haired metal head, and Jennifer, a chain-smoking extrovert. When Jennifer learns about the treasure hunt, she invites Mitch and herself along. But Gran says they're devil-worshippers, which forces Ben to sneak behind her back to see them. Despite this, his summer picks up, like a heavy guitar solo in the middle of a power ballad.

But when Ben starts making metal playlists on Spotify and daydreaming about Mitch's long hair and stubbly jaw, he realizes he wants to be more than friends. Just one problem—Mitch is full of mixed messages, acting like he has a thing for Jennifer one moment, and letting his hand linger next to Ben's the next. 

Now Ben must decide if he should risk everything and tell Mitch how he feels, or play it safe and continue the games with his secret admirer.


THE TREASURE HUNT, a 69,000 word standalone, is a YA contemporary with a bisexual main character that may appeal to music fans, especially those interested in post-hardcore and metal. It's DASH & LILY'S BOOK OF DARES meets SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA. 



First 250:


TRACK 1
“Daggers Speak Louder Than Words”
-Alesana

Skating was like flying. If my mother was criticizing my clothes or my step-father was questioning why I had so many pictures of “that skinny tattooed drummer” in my room, I could get on my skateboard and take off, leaving all that shit behind. Nothing could touch me when I was airborne. 

But when I was grounded (in more ways than one), stuck at home because my end of the year grades were less than stellar, music was the only thing that could keep me sane. Thank god my mother had no idea I owned an iPod shuffle, otherwise she would’ve taken it away during my sentencing last night.

After making sure my bedroom door was closed, I put a hand under my pillow and grabbed my iPod. I sprawled out on my bed and pressed play, turning the volume down so I’d be able to hear if someone was coming. “Stained Glass Eyes And Colorful Tears” by Pierce the Veil played first. 

Oh, god. A chill went through me, hearing Vic’s emotion-filled voice, and goosebumps traveled up my arms. My eyes watered, so I wiped them, eyeliner coloring my fingers. I rubbed the teary-makeup on my jeans, and then I replayed the song when it was over because I liked to torture myself, apparently. 

Ugh. This was not how I imagined I’d be spending my first day of summer vacation.  






Thanks for reading! Good luck, everyone! :)


Monday, April 27, 2015

Top Ten Favorites


My latest Top Ten Favorites:

1.) Revising an old manuscript. When I got inspired to revise one of my early manuscripts, I was super-excited. I don't have a lot of free time right now to write (because of my work schedule), and it's harder for me to get in drafting mode than revising mode. So this is the perfect thing for me to do right now. Plus, I finally figured out what was wrong with it after letting it sit for 3+ years!

2.) This chocolate from my CP Julie Dao:


Chocolate covered potato chips! Do I need to say anything else? Nope. Go buy some!

3.) GAME OF THRONES is back on TV. My husband isn't as excited because there are tons of "This didn't happen in the books!" from me... whoops :)

4.) April vacation! This means yoga pants and hoodies and writing every day! Woohoo!

5.) Date nights at the bookstore (Barnes and Noble)!


From the cafe: I got a tall caramel flan (iced) latte and my husband got a chocolate cupcake. From the bookstore: I got THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger and my husband got HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill.

6.) The caramel flan latte from Starbucks. So good!

7.) Writer friends. I'm super-lucky to have super-awesome, supportive writer friends. And it's really great to come home from a long day at work and find a package in the mail from a CP or Pitch Wars mentor! <333

From the lovely Julie Dao
From the awesome Stephanie Garber

8.) Being able to buy books by people I "know" (on Twitter, through other friends, etc). It's just so cool!



9.) "Rebel Love Song" by Black Veil Brides. The song makes me think of my manuscript THE TREASURE HUNT. (My characters should totally be in the video instead of that couple!) ;P



10.) Plants vs. Zombies 2. I randomly started playing it again and I can't get enough. It's so fun!


What are your favorite things?




Friday, February 27, 2015

Top Ten Favorites


I thought I'd post about my top ten favorite things at the moment.

1.) The new rocky road syrup at Dunkin Donuts. I don't like rocky road ice cream, but I loooove this coffee flavor! OMG. It's so good.


2.) The song "Kick Me" by Sleeping with Sirens. I can't stop listening to it. LOVE it! And I really like the video. I saw them this month and they opened the show with this song. (Explicit lyrics)




3.) Even though I read it during Christmas break, I can't stop thinking about I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson. Love love love this book! I went shopping for a friend's birthday the other day, and I was going to buy her the book, until I realized I already bought it for her at Christmas. Ha ha! If you haven't read it, you NEED to. Seriously.

4.) BREAKING BAD's spin-off series BETTER CALL SAUL. It's so good. And dark. And funny. And every time a character from BREAKING BAD makes an appearance, I squee! I hate waiting week-to-week to watch a new episode.

5.) Writing contests. I love them! The contest aspect is awesome, but I love them because they're a great way to make writer friends. I just entered Pitch Madness for the first time. The wait to find out if I've been picked is killer, but that's part of the fun. Fingers crossed!

6.) New socks. I bought a six pack of Puma neon ankle socks and they're awesome. They're super cushy!


7.) Writer friends getting literary agents. Two of my CPs got agents (within a week of each other!) this month. Yay!!!

8.) Vacation. I'm on vacation this week. Woohoo! No explanation necessary, right?

9.) SPOTIFY. I don't know how I lived without it.

10.) Spending my Sunday nights watching THE WALKING DEAD with my husband and dogs. Soon, it'll be replaced with GAME OF THRONES and my husband will have to listen to me complain about the differences between show and books. (Because that's totally his favorite part!)


What are some of your favorite things at the moment?