Wednesday, June 8, 2016

QK 2016 Agent Round 10: ONE-HANDED WONDER, Upper MG Contemporary

Title: The Windup
Entry Nickname: One-Handed Wonder
Word Count: 40,000
Genre: Upper Middle Grade, Contemporary

Query:

Kyle Whalen, a southpaw Little League pitcher, had enjoyed a typical adolescent boyhood until a car crash took his right hand, his twin brother, and his passion for life. Now, three years later, Kyle is fourteen and determined to play ball again in memory of his brother and fulfill the dream they shared: win the Brookhaven Invitational Baseball Tournament, a feat his home team has never accomplished.

Kyle practices hard with his catcher Hailey—the girl he’s crushing on and best friends with—but he struggles to pitch and bat one-handed. Those challenges mount when he discovers she likes a rival ballplayer. Things get worse when his coach and several of his teammates bail, leaving his team ineligible to compete. It’s game on, though, when Kyle convinces his estranged dad to take over as coach and his troublemaker cousin joins the team. 

As Kyle leads his ragtag club toward the championship, he grows closer to his father, the man he thought no longer cared—about anything, not since the crash. Encouraged by the enthusiasm and support of his cousin, Kyle begins competing for Hailey’s heart. But when a bully on an opposing team pulls a nasty prank intended to put an end to Kyle’s comeback, suddenly nothing seems sure. 

First 250 Words:

I stood atop the pitcher’s mound, baseball in hand. My only hand. Perched over the stub where my right hand used to be was my baseball glove, pocket-down.

“Last one, Kyle. Fire it in here,” Hailey said, punching her catcher’s mitt. She was my age, fourteen, but she could have passed for sixteen.

The two of us had been practicing on the weed-choked Little League field for about two hours. Summer rays warmed the back of my neck. My tired pitching arm sagged at my side like a wet noodle. I dug my cleat into the soft dirt in front of the pitching rubber, wound up, and slung a fastball. After my follow-through, I slipped my hand into my glove, fumbling a bit, and got into fielding position. Mastering the transfer of my glove was the hardest part. I had no doubt teams would test me by hitting comebackers.

“Sick pitch, Kyle,” Hailey said, hopping up. She pulled off her mitt and approached me. “You’re ready for this.”

I shook off my glove. “I hope so.” 

It was one thing to practice without a batter standing at home plate. It was another story to pitch in a tournament, which was what I planned to do in just a few days. The last time I laced up for a game was three years ago. Back when my dad was the coach. Back when I had a right hand. Back when I had a twin teammate to double high-five.

Three years.

A lifetime ago.

5 comments:

  1. I'd like to see more of this! Please send pages to query@corvisieroagency.com with the subject title, "Attn: Kelly Peterson - #QueryKombat Requested Material" P.S. I love baseball.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I want to see this! Please send to crubinobradway@lkgagency.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would like to see more! Please include the query and synopsis in the body of the email, attach pages, and send to alex@inklingsliterary.com with Subject line "Query Kombat Request: [YOUR TITLE]." Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'd love to see more! Please send your query and synopsis in the email body and pages as a word doc to whitley@inklingsliterary.com. And if you wouldn't mind, please include your query letter on the first page of the doc as well.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'd like to see a bit more of this. Please send to me at aweiss@skyhorsepublishing.com and include "Query Kombat 2016" in the subject line.

    ReplyDelete