Wednesday, June 7, 2017

QK Agent Round 9: Perfectly Imperfect Princess, MG Fantasy

Title: Penelope Charming and the Poisoned Glass Slippers
Entry Nickname: Perfectly Imperfect Princess
Word Count: 53K
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy


Query:

Twelve-year-old Princess Penelope, daughter of Cinderella, has a “charmed life.” Closets full of ruffly dresses (itchy), classes at the prestigious Charming Academy (boring), and her very own fairy godmother (annoying). Penelope would trade them all for her mother’s signature on an adventure slip to travel outside the castle walls. Too bad Cinderella refuses to sign.

Exploring secret passages and games of capture-the-frog are fun, but when a rival princess dares Penelope to steal her mother’s glass slippers, her craving for adventure results in shattered shoes days before the annual ball. Smashed slippers are small peas to Penelope, but to a villain plotting the end to her mother’s Happily Ever After, it’s a perfectly twisted opportunity. The replacement glass slippers are poisoned, casting Cinderella into a deathly slumber. 

Determined to save her mother’s life, Penelope searches for the origin of the mysterious poison. Once upon a time, an antidote existed. Lucky for Penelope, her new friend Jack may know where to find it. With Jack’s promise to guide them, Penelope and her best friend, Red, sneak out of the castle walls to travel into the forbidden Beanstalk Forest. Penelope’s wish to explore Fablewood becomes a race to find the antidote ingredients to wake her mother before she sleeps forever after. 


First 250:

Glass slippers made terrible frog-capturing shoes. I kicked them off my feet, shoved my slingshot through my sash, and dropped to the mud to peer through the rose bush. A small frog lay stretched out on the edge of the wishing well, belly up to the sun.

Once upon a time, a princess ventured through the wilds of Fablewood…


I squeezed under the bush, but a thorn snagged the frilly hem of my dress, tearing the fabric with a loud rip. I froze.

The frog stretched his scrawny arms, wiggled a teeny bit, and flopped his arms back onto the stones. He hadn't heard me. The frog was mine.

The brave princess had climbed tall towers, outrun villains, trudged through swamps…

Squelching stealthily through the mud, I crawled to the well and paused.

One happily ever after...two happily ever after...three happily ever after.

She was Princess Penelope, daughter of Cinderella. One slimy beastie was no match for her.

“Surrender!” I sprang to my feet. A frog-shaped blotch glistened on the stones. “Rotten peas!”

As I leaned over the well, the frog leaped from his hiding spot beside a broken stone and onto my shoulder. He poked my cheek with a twig.

“Gotcha, Princess Penelope!”

I glared into his scum-colored googley eyes. “Phib! When did you know I was coming?”

“I saw you leave the castle doors.” Phib flourished the twig like a fencing sword, bowed, and strolled down my arm to the well. The dank smell of algae mixed with jasmine tickled my nose: eau de Phib. 

8 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fun story. Would be happy to check out the query, synopsis, and first 3 chapters over at acquisitions@curiosityquills.com Good luck and congrats on making it this far!

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  2. I'd like to see Penelope. Please send pages and synopsis as an attachment to Lauren@LKGagency.com.

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  3. I'd like to see pages. You may send them to carlisle @ fuseliterary .com with the subject "Requested Query Kombat: Title."

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  4. I'd like to see pages. Please send as a word attachment to querycaitie AT lizadawson DOT com

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  5. Wild card! I love this! querydanielle@nelsonagency.com

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  6. Wild card!!! Please send the full and synopsis to jennifer@theseymouragency.com with subject line Query Kombat.

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  7. Just a note that this entry can't have any more wild cards, but please leave regular requests!

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  8. Alas I cannot use my wild card yet so I'll look forward to reading this when it's ready. Please upload the manuscript along with the synopsis to QueryMe.online/1005/QK2017.

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