Thursday, May 3, 2012

The Writer's Voice Entry: DAUGHTER OF THE MOON

The Writer’s Voice” is a multi-blog, multi-agent contest hosted by Cupid of Cupid's Literary Connection, Brenda Drake of Brenda Drake Writes, Monica B.W. of Love YA, and Krista Van Dolzer of Mother. Write. (Repeat.). It is based on NBC’s singing reality show The Voice, so the four hosts will serve as coaches and select projects for their teams based on queries and first pages.

I made it into the first submission period which was today at 9:00am EDT. There is another submission period tonight at 9:00pm EDT via the Linky on any of the four hosting blogs - so if you haven't entered already, get your clicking finger warmed up (you'll need the link to your blog and your name ready to enter the linky)!

Here's my entry (wish me luck and here's to hoping one of the judges will select DAUGHTER OF THE MOON for the next round):

Query:
Seventeen-year-old Selina Kane always knew she was different, but never imagined she was last-living-necromancer different. Not until she starts speaking the language of the Underworld and visiting Acherusian Lake in her dreams. And then Blake storms into her life, claiming to be her bonded protector and making her blush and stumble over her words. Blake warns Selina about Ciara, queen of the undead. Ciara has gained ground in the world of the living, and it isn’t a secret that she feels threatened by Selina’s return.

Before long, the undead attack and Selina watches helplessly through the only spell she can conjure – a protective shield – as Blake is dragged away in her place. Selina assumes the undead have murdered him and she turns to the necromantic powers she hardly knows how to use, risking her life to search for Blake in the Underworld. But Selina doesn’t find his soul resting peacefully in Acherusian Lake. Blake’s been transformed into one of the undead, and the guards of the Underworld expect her to find and destroy him.

Selina doesn’t care what the guards’ idea of her duty as a necromancer is; she’s determined to get Blake back in one piece. There is one spell, one that would save Blake’s soul, but she’d have to kill him to use it, and worse, transform him into a ferryman for the Underworld. There may be other ways to save him though, if she's willing to make dark alliances with the undead. Selina knows she shouldn’t, but with Blake’s life in jeopardy, the line between good and evil starts to blur.

DAUGHTER OF THE MOON: ACHERUSIAN BOUND is a YA Urban Fantasy complete at 53,000 words and will appeal to readers of both Garth Nix and Lauren Kate. It is a stand-alone novel with series potential.

First 250 Words:
Selina was probably the only seventeen-year-old with her own burial plot, and once a year, she looked forward to nothing as much as visiting her grave.

“I can give you a ride to school today, if you want. Since it’s your birthday,” Jess said, jingling the keys to the old Chrysler she’d inherited from Grandpa last summer.

“Thanks, Sis, but actually, I want to visit my mother on the way so I’ll just ride my bike.”

“We can stop at the cemetery on the way home,” Jess offered.

“I’d rather go now.” She would have already been at the cemetery a minute past midnight, if she’d dared.

“Yeah, sure. No problem. See you tonight,” Jess said. Her eyes were full of understanding and Selina turned away to hide the shame creeping into her face. Selina and Jess, like all of their brothers and sisters, had been adopted. But Jess had been thirteen when her parents died, Selina had been an infant. Using the loss of a mother she barely even remembered with someone like Jess was wrong, and Selina knew it. But she had to get to the cemetery before the wild roses covering her grave bloomed.

Her hands shook with excitement as she pulled her bike out of the side yard and closed the gate behind her. She jumped onto the saddle and pedaled down the driveway as fast as she could. Every moment spent on the road was one moment in which her roses might bloom without her.

54 comments:

  1. Hi A.K., I'm stopping by from the Writer's Voice Contest to wish you the best of luck! I'm following your blog now, so: nice to meet you.

    Your story and query both look great, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Matthew :) I'm so excited about this contest and appreicate your support!

      Thank you so much for the follow :D

      Delete
  2. That is a great opening sentence for your 250!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you :) I just rewrote and finished revising my first chapter based on feedback from the last contest, so I'm so happy to hear positive feedback on the new first line!

      Delete
  3. Thank you :)Best of luck to you too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This sounds great! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  5. nice. i was wondering what kind of creepy girl would want to visit her own burial plot. i'd love a secret like that. great entry. good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very cool opening - I'm immediately desperate to know what kind of girl wants to visit her own grave!

    Good luck with the contest!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is a fascinating way to start a book!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sounds wonderfully dark! Good luck in the contest. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fellow Writers Voice entrant checking in - howdy!

    Nice entry! Very dark - I like it. Good luck in the contest!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Not my usual genre but it sounds so good! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just stopped by to wish you luck. I LOVE your title - and what a great first line you have!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Aww... could you say Selina and Blake have a nec-romantic relationship? =P Best of luck from TWV #30!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha, you certainly could ;) Best of luck to you too!

      Delete
  13. Hi my fellow Necromancer writer :)
    Good luck in the Writer's Voice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Necromancer writers unite! :D Best of luck to you too!

      Delete
  14. Stopping by to say good luck! I swear I've read a pitch for this novel - perhaps in another contest? Sounds intriguing! Great opening line!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's highly possible :) I've been entering a lot of contests lately...I also had my query up on Absolute Write and Scribophile so maybe you've seen it there?

      Delete
  15. That first line is pretty compelling. Great job pulling in the reader!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Just stopping in to wish you the best of luck :D

    ReplyDelete
  17. Dude. Speaking the language of the underworld? FREAKY. Like, seriously. Freaky.
    And, reading your query? Honestly? *I'm* feeling kind of desperate to get Blake back in one piece. 0_0

    Looks so so so awesome. Wishing you ALL THE LUCK and ALL THE COACHES!!! <3

    ReplyDelete
  18. Congratulations on making the list, best of luck with your entry. I was hooked at your opening query line and couldn't stop. ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  19. This sounds so good! Love the tone you've greated with your query. Your first line rocks. Love it. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  20. You've got my interest. I love the idea of visiting your own grave. And I'm really curious about what the deal is with the roses. Once again, good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi A.K., just stopping by as one Writer's Voice contestant to another to say good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Such a cool concept! I think I recognize your query from somewhere.

    -Alex #85

    ReplyDelete
  23. This sounds very interesting. I really liked the opening scene too. Good luck!

    Entry #31

    ReplyDelete
  24. Best of luck from a fellow contestant! This sounds really interesting!

    Nikki (Entry #160)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I really, really liked this. Like, really liked this. I'm already rooting for Selina to get Blake back. Nice job and good luck in the contest :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Sounds interesting! Good luck! :)

    Carrie (#162)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Awesome opening! Good luck! :D

    ReplyDelete
  28. An intriguing premise. And a very interesting first line.

    Good luck!

    Tina (#194)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Ooh more undead! Good luck! Brandi #199

    ReplyDelete
  30. That is an interesting story! Good luck. :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love the last line of the query -- the blurring between good and evil in order to save her guardian. Good luck!!!

    ReplyDelete
  32. This sounds really cool! Good luck from #52

    ReplyDelete
  33. shades of gray - so much better than ultimate evil VS pure good.

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Turn him into the ferryman? Sounds really cool.
    Best of luck!
    Carolyn, #157

    ReplyDelete
  35. I like how the situation for Selina gets worse and worse in the query. You're not afraid to raise the stakes in this story. Good luck with it!

    -George (#49)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Thank you everyone for your wonderfully encouraging comments :D It looks like I didn't make it into the next round, but all of your support has really motivated me and I'm too excited about the entries who did make it to be too upset! Can't wait to see what the entries look like after the coaches get done with them :)

    ReplyDelete
  37. This is a great entry and I'm sorry you didn't make the next round! But to cheer you up a little I am giving you the Kreativ Blogger Award, because work like this deserves recognition! Details can be found here.

    ReplyDelete