Wilde's Fire Editor-Judged Query Contest

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“There is no pain in this death, only peace, knowing I am going to die with the one I love the most.”—Katriona Wilde.

On Sale Now at Amazon

Sharon Bayliss is hosting an Editor-Judged Query Contest on her blog. Krystal Wade of Curiosity Quills Press is the Acquisitions Editor/Judge. She is also the author of the new release Wilde's Fire, and this contest is in honor of the new release.


You don't want to miss out on this great opportunity, because the winner will win a full manuscript request and a chance at publishing! Go HERE to sign up on the Linky List and to view full details of the contest.


Here are the basic rules:

1. Sign up on the Linky List.
2. On May 25th post your one-page query letter and first 500 words of your manuscript.
3. Between May 25 - May 28 visit the participants on the linky list and leave useful feedback and constructive criticism.
4. On 5/28 Sharon will post and ask you to email her your revised final entries for consideration by editor Krystal Wade at Curiosity Quills Press.

HERE IS MY QUERY LETTER


Dear Editor,


A modern day medieval village teeming with spirit activity is no place for sixteen-year-old ghost whisperer Indigo Eady, not when all she’s ever wanted is to be a normal girl. But normal girls don’t read the history of an object through touch (Psychometry), let alone see, hear and speak to ghosts.


After the death of her father, Indigo almost has the chance to start over and keep her secret, but the ghost of the missing Bart Bagley ruins it all by turning up and begging her to help solve his murder. Sorely tempted to ignore him, she only relents because he was the father of her new friend, Badger. That and the survivor’s guilt she feels over her own father’s death.


A murder investigation is hard enough without the disruption of interfering ghosts and a mysterious soul collector with her name topping its list, but when Indigo’s psychic abilities short-circuit, the sparks start to fly in more than one direction. The resulting mishaps compromise the success of the investigation and the budding but fragile attraction between Indigo and Badger.


When the body count mounts and a suspect ends up dead, Badger becomes a “person of interest" and they must surge ahead to solve the murders before they become the next victims.


GIVIN' UP THE GHOST, a 68,000 word young adult paranormal mystery can stand alone, although it is intended to be the first book in the Indigo Eady series.


Sincerely,


Gwen M. Gardner




HERE ARE THE FIRST 500 WORDS FROM GIVIN' UP THE GHOST:


“What the...” the dude sputtered. I lay sprawled across him, our eyes locked in stunned surprise, our bodies entwined in a tangle of arms and legs. Shock coursed through my veins. My breath came in rasps so I couldn’t speak, but muteness worked just as well. I mean, what could I say? Nice day for a run?


Luckily the early hour rendered the market square relatively quiet. I didn’t think anyone had witnessed my current fiasco. I only wanted to go for a jog. But now I could add “bowling over cute guy” to my mounting list of mishaps, along with, “Get a grip” on this growing problem of mine.


I chanced a quick, worried glance back toward the alley I had barreled from, but the thing was gone. I sighed. Not a graceful escape, I’ll admit. But all things considered, this new situation I suddenly found myself in was a vast improvement, never mind the embarrassment.


The dude beneath me began to squirm.


“I’m sorry,” I gasped, still trying to catch my breath. Now I had to get myself out of this current predicament. Trust me, the extrication process? Not so easy. Our entwined limbs and clothing became like a massive pile of clothes hangers. The more I tried to untangle, the more things got caught.


Plus, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t doing much to help me with the problem. In fact, based on his grin and that little devil dancing a jig in his eyes, I’d say he was enjoying himself way too much.


I tried not to grin back. I should have been thankful he wasn’t mad, but this was no laughing matter. I was extremely uncomfortable, on more than one level.


I didn’t know what the norm was in medieval England, but in this modern day medieval village, lying about on the ground? So not cool. The few people out and about on that gray morning had started to stare. The jettied, half-timbered buildings leaned over us, but it didn’t hide the fact that we were there, lying on the rain-soaked cobblestones, in broad daylight.


“You could help me, you know,” I chastised, my shaky hands working a strand of my braid from his jacket zipper. But with one strand down, I was still attached by another good-sized clump, preventing me from getting up - unless I was willing to rip out chunks of my hair - which I wasn’t.


“Oh, sorry. Here, let me.” All of a sudden he was all business. With gentle fingers he eased long black locks from the zipper, strand by strand. While he worked, I studied his face. He looked familiar. A slight scar above his right brow, about an inch long. Dark brown hair, slightly messy and overgrown. Golden speckles in brown eyes that...


...now viewed me with amusement.


Crap. Busted, checking out the dude I bowled over. So not cool. Plus, I had the feeling I totally missed something he said.

***

THANK YOU SHARON AND KRYSTAL FOR HOSTING!

I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to critique my work (nicely, of course) in the comments section.

Thanks for stopping by!

Our Own Sharon Bayliss is a Quarter Finalist in the ABNA!

I am so excited for my friend Sharon Bayliss over at The Blue Word. She has made it as a quarter finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award with her YA novel, THE CHARGE!

Please go here to read the rave reviews and shower her with stars to show her your support. She's giving out friendship points and everything if you do! Also, please feel free to repost this on your own site. There's no such thing as too much publicity for us writers, right?

Check out The Charge here, and you'll see why ABNA has chosen her.

Here is the excerpt:

Eighteen-year-old Warren King has been protecting his brother, Isaac, from bullies ever since Isaac decided to wear a top hat to the third grade. So when Isaac is kidnapped, Warren heads out to bust some faces. But Warren didn't expect the bully to be the King of the Texas Empire. Warren's mother confesses that Warren and his brother are some of the last members of the Texas royal family and now the new King is hunting down his relatives before the true heir decides to say, "Hey man, you're in my seat." On his journey to save his brother, Warren discovers that the legend about the Texas royal family being genetically "special" isn't a legend. The extra bioelectricity in their brain must be why Warren's brother is freaky smart, but it just makes Warren's brain buzz like a hive of killer bees. His supercharged brain doesn't add to his charm when he meets the first girl that ever made him want to do things like iron creases in his pants. She's ready to help him take on the King, but since she's an anti-monarchy activist dating the son of the President of the United States, he's not sure if she's going to kiss him or shoot him. Gone are the days when choosing a major was a big deal. Now he must embark into a West that stayed wild and choose to be King, follow a King, or die before he can retire his fake ID.THE CHARGE is set in an alternate present day after a dictator took over the Republic of Texas in 1836 and built his own empire in the West. This quirky "what-if" and its lovable and laughable anti-hero appeals to teenage fans of popular dystopian fiction and has strong crossover potential into the adult market.


I can't wait to read it! It is a truly original idea.

The best of luck to you, Sharon!