Monday, November 26, 2018

Saucy Cranberries 12: JO RIVETTI AND THE MISSING MATH TEACHER, MG STEM Mystery

Title: JO RIVETTI AND THE MISSING MATH TEACHER
Genre: MG STEM Mystery 
Word Count: 49,000


How Did You Fall for Writing: I started writing to help cope with my anxiety in the evenings, and I fell in love. Now i want to write all the books!

Query:

Thank you for taking the time to review my Fall Fest submission. Fans of the Devlin Quick Series by Linda Fairstein and The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency by Jordan Stratford will enjoy this story and potential series.

Twelve-year-old Jo Rivetti knows three things for sure: geniuses still have to go to school, math rules, and trouble is practically a swear word (she avoids both at all costs). So when Jo overhears her favorite teacher/fellow math savant being threatened, she dutifully avoids any conflict and assumes Ms. Blooms can handle the situation on her own.

But then Ms. Blooms suddenly goes missing, and the police refuse to investigate. In a late night recon mission with her brother, Justin, and BFF, Ronnie, Jo finds a mysterious math website connected to a hidden treasure, along with death threat ultimatums— definitive evidence Ms. Blooms is in trouble. Unfortunately, the police not only dismiss Jo’s discovery, but are way more concerned about three kids trespassing after curfew. Typical. 

Now, Jo, Justin, and Ronnie are in trouble with the parental units while Ms. Blooms’s life is at stake. The only way to save her is to solve the clues and find the treasure before the bad guys do, all while grounded and without internet access. Luckily, Jo has never met a puzzle she couldn’t solve. And honestly, she does have a reputation to maintain (she is a genius after all). But as the clues unravel, Jo finds the kidnappers will stop at nothing to get that treasure, even if it means Jo, her friends and family, and Ms. Blooms might all sum to zero. 

I have a bachelor’s of science in mathematics and am a member (assoc) of the International Thriller Writers as well as the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. I live in Denver, Colorado with my daughters and husband. Thank you so much for your time. 

First 250 words:

Holy. Einstein. 

Jo Rivetti stared in stunned silence at the math test she'd been handed back. Ms. Blooms had to have made a mistake. A giant red B+ bled from the corner of her test. Jo didn't get B+'s, or for that matter, B's. She was a straight A student. Everyone knew that.

A's were kind of her legacy. Even at the ripe age of twelve, Jo’d already planned to write her college entrance essay about her devotion and execution of perfect exam scores. 

B's were simply unacceptable. Other people got B’s. Like Jo's sister, Jessica. But Jessica was the athletic Rivetti triplet so her priorities were on the field or track or whatever. And Jo’s brother Justin got B’s sometimes, though C’s and D's were more typical. Everyone called him the trouble triplet. Jo just thought he was lazy.

But Jo? She was the smart one. The prodigy. She did not get B's. Especially in math. This test clearly had to be a mistake. 

Jo set her lips in a firm line and told herself she would speak to her teacher after class. Ms. Blooms would correct this obvious error. After all, she was the nicest teacher on the planet, and practically a second mom to Jo. A math mom more or less, since Ms. Blooms definitely understood Jo’s cognitive function better than Jo’s real mom.
 
She knew how the letters and numbers danced into patterns inside Jo's head, and how the hardest mathematical proofs and concepts all appeared in her brain as beautiful dances.

7 comments:

  1. Light a fire and send me 50 pages

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  2. I'll take a look at this - 50 pages to ashane@writershouse.com, please.

    - Alec

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  3. I've fallen for this! Please send the full ms and a synopsis to crubinobradway AT lkgagency DOT com.

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  4. This popped the corn right off the cob! I’d like to see this. Please paste your query in the body of the email and attach the first fifty pages as a docx. Put your title and Fall Fiction Fest in the subject line and send to: querylynnette (at) theseymouragency (dot) com. #ExcitedToRead

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  5. I'd love to read more! Please send your pitch plus the full manuscript to soloway@andreabrownlit.com. Please also include "Fall Fiction Fest Request: JO RIVETTI AND THE MISSING MATH TEACHER" in the subject line. Thank you!

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  6. I am NOT an athletic Jessica but would still like to read! Please send synopsis & first three chapters to jerrera(at)janerotrosen(dot)com and mention "Fall Fest" in your subject line

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  7. I want to read this one by a crackling fire! Please send me your pitch plus the full manuscript to clelia@martinlit.com with "Fall Fiction Fest" and the title of your book in the subject line. Thanks!.

    ReplyDelete