QK Round 2: RV Arya versus Girl Destroys World

Entry Nickname: RV Arya

Title: The Raven Queen’s Revenge

Word count: 40K

Genre: MG Fantasy

Query:

After her dad moves out—for good this time—eleven-year-old Sylvie’s mom takes a job as a Louisiana state park campground supervisor, moving Sylvie and her pesky sister into a stinky RV. Ticked off and lonely, Sylvie wants to be back home with her own bed, her own stuff, and her dad.

One day Sylvie and her sister follow a fox into the woods, where they meet Lowell, a local kid whose dad is a park ranger. Lowell insists he can help Sylvie and her sister find the fox he scared off, but he loses the trail and leads them into an alternate world—Wiledyn. Frustrated with herself for following an annoying boy she hardly knows, Sylvie smashes a strategically-placed old, blue bottle against a tree, freeing hundreds of ravens . . . and their queen.

Raven Queen Keres—furious after spending the last seventeen years imprisoned, which gave her plenty of time to plot her revenge—seals all the exits from Wiledyn, confining her enemies while also trapping Sylvie, her sister, and Lowell in the crossfire of a power battle. Now Sylvie must protect her sister as they hunt down the Raven Queen, force her to unseal the exits, and—if Sylvie has anything to say about it—make her pay for the destruction she’s caused. With the help of a talking fox, a pair of cheery goblins, and a childlike druid, Sylvie and her companions struggle to return to the one place Sylvie wanted more than anything to escape: her home.

First 250 words:

Sylvie patted more dirt, wet her fingers in the plastic bowl, and sculpted the muddy mound in front of her. She looked back and forth between her mud creation and the folding, laminated field guide. 

Not quite. 

She squished and smoothed, then reexamined. Just over two inches. Tapered ends. She’d even added a few wild blackberry seeds.

Ha, nailed it! Best fox scat replica yet.

After snapping a close-up with her iPod, Sylvie stepped back for a group shot. Louisiana black bear, nutria, eastern cottontail, Virginia opossum, white-tailed deer, Northern raccoon, and now red fox. This had to make her some sort of campground expert on the subject.

She packed the replicas in their plastic shoe box, except the fox one. It had to bake in the sun a few hours before she could move it. Her dad would want to see her collection, but it wasn’t like he was going to drive four hours for it. Your father’s very busy, Sylvie. She’d been considering some sort of museum set-up and charging admission. She was sure a few weekenders would swing by, if only to check out the weird girl and her sun-baked mud poop museum. She didn’t care. Not if she could get a dollar out of each of them.

A flash of red near the trees caught her eye, but when she turned . . . nothing. No movement, no fox, nothing. Wishful thinking, she figured.

VERSUS

Entry Nickname: Girl Destroys World
Title: MAGICK 7.0
Word count: 85,000
Genre: MG Fantasy

Query: 

There are two kinds of quests: the good kind and the bad kind. The good kind leads to pots of gold and unicorns and everlasting fame. The bad kind gets you and everyone you love killed. Horribly and painfully. Possibly by zombie sharks.

Fourteen-year-old Anne is leaving the orphanage she calls home to embark on a quest—and it isn’t the good kind. That’s what happens when you accidentally fulfill a prophecy. She could opt out, but then as per Paragraph 5 Subparagraph 3 of the Official Questing Regulations she’d be exiled forever and all of her friends would be tossed into a dungeon. But hey, at least she has options.

The goal?

Slay a silver dragon that doesn’t exist (that’s bad).

In just three days (that’s worse).

With only the help of a wizard with a platypus for an arm, a disgraced academic with no practical experience, a fused-together dwarf and elf, and a sassy holographic sparrow (that downright sucks).

Oh yeah, and to top it all off, what Anne doesn’t know—what no one knows, in fact—is that finishing this quest doesn’t actually save the world. It destroys it (so, you know, not exactly environmentally-friendly).

If she uncovers the truth before it’s too late, she’ll be a Hero^TM.

If she doesn’t, everyone dies (that also sucks).

First 250 words:

At Saint Lupin’s Institute for Perpetually Wicked and Hideously Unattractive Children they didn’t play favorites. Each orphan was treated with the same amount of disdain and neglect. They were provided with one threadbare tunic, one pair of ill-fitting shoes, and one dusty and moth-eaten overcoat. They were given a daily ration of gruel, and they were bathed exactly once per month, just before going on duty in the coal mine. This, incidentally, was consistent with the advice given in the popular self-help guide, How to Raise Orphans and Make Money.

There were three ways to leave Saint Lupin’s. The first was to get adopted. Perhaps by a nice family who would whisk you away to your long dreamed-of castle on a hill—one surrounded by forests and glens, filled with interesting and friendly people, rich with history and bright with promise and hope. The board of governors was extremely pleased with its track record in this regard as it had managed to prevent all adoptions since the Institute’s foundation.

The second way was to reach the age of fourteen and be unceremoniously kicked out on your bottom.

The third way was to embark upon a quest. Although quests were heavily regulated (so they could then be heavily taxed), there were no restrictions regarding age or background and thus anyone could apply. The secret to a successful application was first to fulfill a prophecy (also heavily taxed). At Saint Lupin’s, both of these topics, that is, quests and prophecies, were considered particularly taboo subjects of inquiry.

QK Round 2: World on a String versus Skateboarding Sherlock

Entry Nickname: World On a String

Title: The Day I Ruled the World

Word Count: 57,000

Genre: MG Fantasy

Query: 

Twelve-year-old Teddy Bridwell thinks her parents are great. They’re also wrong. She shouldn’t have to wait until she turns thirteen to start learning magic, so she practices in secret. That way, they don’t have to worry, and she doesn't have to get in trouble.

Until she gets caught, of course. Then she’s in all kinds of trouble. She’s grounded and stuck doing inventory on the junk Dad collects for his business. That’s where she finds the barrette. It looks ordinary, but it feels like magic, and when Teddy holds it, she can make people do anything she tells them. For the first time in her life, she’s the one with the power.

Unfortunately, the power Teddy uses to make her Dad teach her magic could do mega-damage in the wrong hands. Those hands belong to a fanatic who wants to end all the pain and misery in the world by turning everyone in the galaxy into his puppets. To stop him, Teddy has to destroy the barrette. Until she does, her stubbornness is the only thing standing between humanity and slavery, which, if humanity knew, they probably wouldn’t find too comforting.

First 250 words:

Spying is rude, and I would never, ever do it. Not without a good reason anyway, like needing to know if my parents suspected I'd been practicing spells in secret.

For Snooper's Delight, I needed a mirror, some magic, and a little privacy. Good thing I had my own bedroom, so I wouldn’t be interrupted by my bossy older sisters or nosy younger brothers. 

I settled cross-legged on my bed, tugged on my pajama shorts to de-wedgie them, and balanced the mirror on my knee. 

At six o’clock on a Saturday morning, Mom and Dad would be in the kitchen, eating breakfast alone and talking about stuff they didn’t want us to hear. That was the scene I had to picture to work the spell—the counter along the back wall and the big dining table surrounded by chairs. When the mental image was as clear as I could make it, I slid it into the mirror to replace the reflection. My brain relaxed, and I opened my eyes. There it was, a perfect picture of my parents with plates of eggs and glasses of juice set out on the table in front of them. I could practically smell the butter on the toast.

I had one second to enjoy my success before the side-effects hit me, the slam of crazy emotions that came with every spell. This time it was a wave of what-the-heck-does-this-have-to-do-with-anything sadness. Mean things people said to me years ago and disappointments I’d forgotten all about rolled in to drown me. 

VERSUS

Entry Nickname: Skateboarding Sherlock
Title: Skidsters
Word Count: 62,000
Genre: MG Science Fiction

Query:

Adrenaline junkie Jedediah Tank lives for the thrill of perfectly landed tricks on his frictionless skid-board. That is, until he crashes into the most dangerous ride of his twelve-year-old life.

After plummeting into an alley during a race, Jed witnesses two men beat up an old guy in a lab coat. Jed takes off—no sense getting caught up in that. Three hours later, a familiar-looking Skid Tech physicist turns up dead. Jed feels guilty, but what can a scrawny kid do? His guilt multiplies when Jed finds out the physicist also happened to be his best friend’s grandfather. Well, Jed’s not about to sit on the sidelines anymore.

Problem is, he can’t go to the police. And since he’s a skidster—a nickname given to kids who treat the city as if it were their personal playground—the coppers would love nothing better than to lock him in juvie and toss the key. No, the only way anyone will take him seriously is if he uncovers some hard evidence.

A question here, a favor called in there, and soon Jed realizes this runs deep into the world of corporate criminals. After some dangerous meddling, he and his friends unravel clues leading to a project that could bring Skid City to its knees. To save his city, Jed must bend the laws of physics to their breaking point or it’s… time’s up, you’re dead, Jed.


First 250 words:

In about 2.07 seconds, I was going to crash. The math didn’t lie—the acceleration of an object by the pull of gravity is 32 feet per second squared, and falling at a velocity of… nevermind. I was going to crash, plain and simple.

I glanced down at my skoard as I fell, jamming my back foot against it so the magnets would catch. Please catch, c’mon. Please.

They caught. Now I had milliseconds to save my neck. As I fell into the alley, the glint of an awning caught my eye. I kicked my heel back, forcing the sleek bottom of the board to glance off the metal canopy. My skoard and I hit a railing a story below, then a dumpster, and finally the alley floor. I grabbed the edge of the second dumpster and skidded to a halt.

I blew out the breath I’d been holding and shook my head. Lucky those dumpsters were there. That’s the trouble with skoards. With their flat, frictionless bottom they just keep going—nearly impossible to stop. But that’s also what’s great about them.

It’s a love-hate relationship.

I double-clicked my heel and the hidden magnets from the bottom of my shoes and the chrome-covered top of my skoard separated. After that near-crash, I wanted to stay still for a second or two. Resting my hands on my knees, I took deep breaths. Adrenaline shot through my veins like electrical currents through a cell tower.

Calm down, Jed, you ain’t dead yet.

QK Round 2: A Burning Dilemma versus Trailer Trap

Entry Nickname: A Burning Dilemma

Title: Burn, Baby

Word count: 62K

Genre: YA Contemporary

Query:

The fates must have been laughing their asses off the day sixteen-year-old Ziggy's crack-head mom poured gas all over his sister and lit her on fire. The tragedy that wrecked Layla's future gave him the life he'd always wished for, and too much guilt to ever enjoy it.       

His mom got thirty-to-life for attempted murder and now the brother and sister are living with a crazy but cool uncle in the suburbs, far away from the public housing apartments where they grew up. They’re going to a private high school and Ziggy's driving his own car and excelling in kickboxing. Unfortunately, his once kind, smart sister now hates everything, but mostly she hates him, for saving her. 

Until she connects with her poetry teacher, who falls in love with her angry words, and slowly draws her out from her prison of scars. But Ziggy isn’t happy about eighteen-year-old Layla dating a teacher. Should he try to come between them, or wait to see if Mr. Osterman – despite the taboo – is just what his sister needs to move on with her life? And will Layla's forgiveness allow Ziggy to finally let go of his guilt?

250 Words:

Lightning streaked across the Tampa sky, illuminating the cockroaches that feasted on the kitchen counter. Thunder cracked, slow and building until vibrations shuddered the tiny living room of our crap apartment, where I sat cross legged on the couch. My sister sprawled beside me, reading a book while I watched some dumbass reality show, pretending not to listen for Mom’s john on the stairs with his twenty bucks and baggie of meth. 

Aside from a couple of mattresses in the bedrooms, that was the extent of our furniture. A Goodwill couch which doubled as my bed and a junk TV on a milk crate. I held a box of Lucky Charms where Layla could reach, enjoying our family sit-down dinner.

“What’re you reading?” I asked during a commercial.

The rain messed up the picture, so I fiddled with the rabbit ears, only making things worse. Frustrated, I flopped back down beside her, catching the cereal box before it bounced to the floor.

She looked up, her fake scowl only highlighting her anomalous beauty. Freckled apple cheeks and gorgeous blue eyes that turned heads wherever we went. I know that’s weird for a brother to notice, but I was counting on that face to end up in magazines or on TV, and thereby financing our escape from the crack smoking gorgon who used curses and fists to turn her kids to stone.

Layla waved the cover of some teen romance in my face. “A book. You should try it sometime.”

VERSUS

Entry Nickname:  Trailer Trap

Title:  Experiment in Progress

Word Count:  40,000

Genre:  MG Contemporary

 

Query:

 

Alexis Reed is going to make her school sorry for sticking her in a trailer. Thanks to overcrowding, her fifth-grade class has been assigned to a portable classroom with defective air conditioning and a cockroach problem. She’s stranded across the soccer field from her quirky little brother, who tends to wander out of classrooms and hide in storage closets. When she can’t stay close to him, it’s a lot harder to keep Lucas from getting himself expelled.

Determined to get back in the main building, Alexis designs an experiment for her school science fair to prove that the trailer is dangerous. She and her partner Jaelynn demolish a model of the trailer with a leaf blower to show what would happen if a tornado hit Glenwood Elementary. The project wins the girls a third-place ribbon, an appearance on the local T.V. news, and an invitation to speak at the next school board meeting. Alexis thinks she’s won—until she learns that the school board plans to empty the trailer by transferring a busload of kids out of Glenwood. A busload made up of low-income students from the “wrong” side of town. A busload that includes Jaelynn.

Caught between her brother and her friend, Alexis must decide if she still wants out of the trailer at any cost.

 

First 250 Words:

 

If you ever run across one of the newspaper stories about my science project, don’t believe a word of it. Every single reporter got the story wrong.

 

Take The Canlaston Chronicle. The article said, “Jaelynn Moore asked her rebellious classmate Alexis Reed to help with a controversial experiment for the fifth grade science fair.” That’s completely backwards. I asked Jaelynn to be my partner, not the other way around. Besides, I wasn’t rebellious or controversial back then. That came later.

 

I told the reporter the real story, but he didn't listen. The truth is, I asked Jaelynn to be my partner because of a boy band. Normally, I would have teamed up with my best friend, Olivia. We’d been doing school projects together since kindergarten. But on September 15, the day the experiment was assigned, Olivia brought The Ultimate D.A.Z.E. Photo Journal for us to read at recess. She shoved it at me as we walked to the playground. I tried not to groan. “I think you showed me this already.”

 

“Nuh-uh. It’s new.”

 

“But we looked at it after swim practice, remember?”

 

Olivia sighed at my cluelessness. “That was The D.A.Z.E. Craze Behind-the-Scenes Fan Guide. Totally different.”

 

Olivia’s books all look the same to me. So do the posters on her bedroom wall, no matter whether they’re showing Damian, Alan, Zack, or Edward. Songs by D.A.Z.E. always sound alike, too. But I’d never dare say any of that to Olivia. “Oh, right. Totally different.”

QK Round 2: Mini Mutants versus BingBamBoomBFF

Entry Nickname: Mini Mutants

Title: Hunted Souls

Word Count: 65k

Genre: YA high fantasy with sci-fi elements 

Query:

When eighteen-year-old Bixby codes in a hospital, his soul takes a detour to Centerra, a world where giants hunt humans for magic, harvesting it from their blood to gain temporary super powers. Prisoners are kept as specimens for experimentation, as giants seek to make magic permanent, since the gods stripped it from them as part of an ancient Punishment. If humans in Centerra, all eighteen and under, rescue any of their friends, giants retaliate by killing another prisoner. They call it "insurance."

A band of teens and kids adopt Bixby into their system of underground forts, so long as he follows rule number one: Don't be a hero. His choice is to hide below the forest floor when giants' hunting parties pass through, doing nothing for those who get captured, or risk expulsion from the group. The art of fitting in will determine his survival, and he's already an odd one out given he can't seem to discover his own power. His hopefully soon-to-be-girlfriend, Otsu, shares his powerless anomaly, so he swallows his pride, obeying his overprotective leader and ignoring taunts.

But love makes one do stupid things. His house mate, Sacheen, shared a hospital floor with him on Earth, where he watched her suffer and die. When the giants take her, he knows he can't live with himself if he does nothing. Otsu agrees, but insists on rescuing everyone; saving only Sacheen would result in another's death. They travel towards the giants' developed territory, and when they reach the castle, they hear rumors of four humans who will possess powers capable of destroying the giants' race. These four will be identified by a delayed manifestation of specific abilities, so by entering the castle before discovering their hidden strengths, Bixby and Otsu have just given the giants a key to their survival.

First 250 Words:

 

Bixby stared at the world through a fish tank. His body clenched in pain while delirium hazed his senses. The bed shook passing over an elevator crack, flooding his throat with nausea. Doctors pressed his abdomen.

"What's your pain score?"

          

Meh, a one. His sarcasm gurgled into a groan. At eighteen, he refused to forfeit his battle against cancer.

A chill ran through his right forearm, and he watched white bubbles form beneath the skin. Perfect timing for you to blow, IV. I don't need drugs. A nurse dug a needle in his left wrist, failing to find a good vein. Please, take your time. He mentally told her off with a slew of words that would send his mother running for soap. Mom. She here? He sunk deeper into the aquarium, pain clogging his ears and eyes. His mother kissed his cheek, rubbing her hand on his bare head, tears spilling over his face. The deep tugged at his chest. Don't leave her. Damn it, fight! 

*

        

Bixby’s eyes blinked open, his brain struggling through the fog of deep sea dreaming. A forest of maroon oaks cloaked in purple mist blurred into view. The scent of fresh soil filled his nose. Something tapped his forehead. A small creature with spiky, black hair and velvet moth wings hovered before his nose. Her fingers poked at his skull.

"Wake up! Giants are here!"

Alarmed, he sat up. The fairy fluttered to a sleeping girl with milky skin, slanted eyes, and pink lips.

VERSUS

Entry Nickname: BingBamBoomBFF
Title: Sucker Punching Magic
Word count: 75,000
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Query: 

The first time Luz Bangor inadvertently triggered her innate magic, it compelled her grandma to elope with a long-distance trucker, forcing Luz’s brilliant younger brother Eric to quit high school to support the family. The magical mishap, her floundering GPA and her attention deficit disorder slapped a ginormous loser L on Luz’s forehead, which she doesn't expect to peel off anytime soon. Not when she keeps toying with magic she doesn't know how to use.  And not when everyone compares her to Eric. Then he goes missing. Desperate to save him and redeem herself, Luz turns to her unpredictable magic. But her spell backfires, putting her straight into the path of her brother’s powerful enemies, the Fairy Syndicate.

Home-schooled Jude Kozlowski, whose allergy to light causes him to shift into a troll, wants the world to accept him as a decent guy, not the “who’s that tramping over my bridge” stereotype. But his huge frame and pistachio skin scare normal humans and his shyness keeps him from meeting anyone else. Even his part-time paper-pushing job has him working alone. Fitting in seems hopeless.

That is, until Luz crashes into his cubicle at First Metro Finance, thugs on her heels. Smitten and presented with the unexpected chance to be a hero, Jude vows to help Luz rescue her brother. When the villains snatch Luz, Jude pursues. He braves neighborhood vigilantes, a spoiled poodle and a troll biker gang to track Luz to Underhill, the fairy fortress. There, the unlikely pair must square off with the evil Fairy Godmother or lose Eric—and each other—forever.  

First 250 Words:

Jude Kozlowski jerked his head up. He could blame a lot of things on The Fairy Tale Effect, but missing the bus wasn’t one of them. He’d been at the stop, nose deep in calculus homework when the Number Ten shot by, ruffling his hair.

At 4:35 in the afternoon, on a clear day in downtown Milwaukee, 6’2” Jude made a big target. Hard to believe the bus driver hadn't spotted him. Yet the guy hadn't even slowed.

Jude leaped to his feet. Book, paper and pencil in hand, he barreled down the sidewalk in pursuit.

He needed his job. The order and routine. The chance to be normal.

If he waited for the next bus, he’d be late. His heart racing the pounding of his feet, he dodged the parking meters and the guys who cradled cheap wine in paper bags outside the military surplus store.

Down the block, the bus’s brakes shrieked. Its axles groaned. The side doors disgorged a bearded dwarf in a trench coat.  Jude bounded over the dwarf and reached the curb as a woman wearing a Hamburger Heaven uniform hurried through the bus’s front doors.

Jude followed, but before his foot touched the step, the gnome at the wheel flinched. Eyes wide, he hastily cranked the Plexiglas doors closed. The reflection of Jude’s lumpy, pistachio green skin played over the window.

“I need a ride.” Going for friendly, Jude grinned. Wrong move. In the glass, his smile appeared strained—too full, a baring of teeth.

Query Kombat 2014 Second Round Match-Ups

Here we go again! The second round match-ups!

Once again, they are in no particular order and without reference to where you'll find them Sunday, June 15th. Match-ups will be spread on Mike and Michelle's blog for round 2. Judges will have until 8:00 pm on June 17th to cast their votes. Best of luck to everyone. May the feedback provide insight and the friends you make lift you through the kicks to the gut. Battle on! Making Baby With Socks On versus Reality Star She Wears Bruises Like Trophies versus Lavender Marriage Beauty and the Crazy Kidnappers versus Burning Down the House Remember Me versus Maidens, Monks, & Murder Can’t Keep a Bad Girl Down versus Sunnyside Up The Past is Back versus Love is Hell WEEL versus A Few Quick Hellos Cozy for Geeks versus Attempting Average Making Boys Cry versus Have Sword Will Travel RV Arya versus Girl Destroys World Guerilla Geek versus Star Light, Star Bright World on a String versus Skateboarding Sherlock Tag, You’re Dead versus Amnesiac A Burning Dilemma versus Trailer Trap Caprice No. 13 versus Shalom Sasquatch Mini Mutants versus BingBamBoomBFF

Catch Me When I Fall Cover Reveal

It’s cover reveal day for Vicki Leigh’s CATCH ME WHEN I FALL! Lots of awesome stuff going on, including a giveaway! 

And here’s what CATCH ME WHEN I FALL is all about:

Recruited at his death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing more than to stop.

Then he’s given an assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day, drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the Nightmares. And him.

A vicious attack on Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped. Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his immortality.

CATCH ME WHEN I FALL will be available on October 23, 2014 in both paperback and e-book formats from Curiosity Quills Press. For more information, visit the book’s Goodreads page.

Now, there can’t be a cover reveal without a giveaway, right? Lots of authors stopped by and donated some fantastic books to help Vicki celebrate. You don’t want to miss out on these! Here’s what you can win:

·         An e-copy of HEIRS OF WAR by Mara Valderran

·         Two query+first chapter critiques from YA author Emily Stanford

·         Two full manuscript critiques from YA author Emily Stanford

·         An e-copy of WITHOUT BLOODSHED by Matthew Graybosch

·         A paperback of DESTRUCTION by Sharon Bayliss

·         An e-copy of KIYA: HOPE OF THE PHARAOH by Katie Teller

·         One query+first chapter critique from YA author Katie Teller

·         An e-copy of DARKNESS WATCHING by Emma Adams

·         A copy of DESCENDANT by Nichole Giles

·         Two signed copies of DIVIDE by Jessa Russo

·         An e-copy set of EVER and EVADE by Jessa Russo

·         A copy of UNHINGED by A.G. Howard

Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win! All prizes will be accompanied by a Dreamcatcher swag package from Vicki Leigh.

Thanks for stopping by!

Rafflecopter link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0de5901/

QUERY KOMBAT 2014 AGENT ROUND

Here we go! The agent round!

Agents, entrants are spread out over all three blogs. You can also find them at SC’s blog and Mike’s blog. Blog assignment does not necessarily indicate who picked them.

Agents will request by saying, “I want to see more of this!” and leaving their submission instructions. (Kombatants: Don’t forget to put QUERY KOMBAT Request in your subject line when sending material!)

As you remember, agent requests will stay hidden until an entry is knocked out of the tournament. What you didn’t know is that the number of pages you’ll send depends on how far you go in Query Kombat! 

SURPRISE!

For instance, getting knocked out in the third round means an entry will send 50 pages to any agent who requested their work. The grand champion winner from the final round will see their requests bumped up to a full. Host Saves will be allowed to see their requests immediately as they are not continuing to the 2^nd round.

Follow this guide:

Host Saves + Round 2 knockout = 30 page request

Round 3 knockout = 50 page request

Round 4 knockout = 100 page request

Round 5 knockout = 150 page request

Round 6 knockout = 200 page request

GRAND CHAMPION = Full request

You know it’s coming. It wouldn’t be normal unless Mike, SC, and I have another super top secret surprise all planned. After all, where’s the fun in having straight rules with no twists. We’re all about the fun!

SURPRISE #2

Query Kombat is a tough tournament. Some really great entries that deserve full requests might get knocked out early. Therefore, each agent gets 2 wild cards! (In the case of a wild card, said wild card is displayed immediately. Giving Kombatants a reason to watch the blogs!)

If an agent sees an entry where maybe getting the minimum of 30 pages isn’t enough, they can play a wild card and name their amount of pages! If they fall in love and absolutely want a full, the wild card will let them do that.

However, only one wild card can stand per entry. That means if two agents wild card the same entry there will be a #MartialArtsBattle. Agents must leave a fun martial arts move with their wild card request. “I want to see more. WILD CARD! Give me 100 pages or I’ll use a pancake karate chop with a sidespin of syrup!”

The hosts will pick which martial arts move they believe is the best (or silliest) and declare a winner of the #MartialArtsBattle. (Isn’t it lucky we have an uneven number of hosts!)

Then the Kombatant may send their material as soon as they are ready to the winning WILD CARD agent! The losing agent's request must wait until the Kombatant leaves the tournament, along with any other hidden requests for that entry.

So that’s it! The rules for the agent round. Only agents can comment on entries. Kombatants can mix and mingle on twitter but can’t comment. But we do want to know how Round 1 went! Please, feel free to comment on this post with your experiences (and any questions you have about the agent round). 

NINJA AGENTS are very welcome! Request away! The same rules apply, except ninja agents cannot use WILD CARDS.

Best of luck and May the Requests Be With You! BATTLE ON!

QK Agent Round 1 (Host Save): Lowlife Extraordinaire, YA Noir

Entry nickname: Lowlife Extraordinaire
Title: THE MADMEN'S CITY
Word count: 73K
Genre: YA Noir

Query:

THE MADMEN’S CITY is a YA Noir with dueling POVs.

Seventeen-year-old Gwen Kane wants nothing more than to follow in her vigilante father’s footsteps. Nightly, she trades her chemistry homework for burner phone protocols and fist fight drills in the streets using his strict moral code. That is, until her can-do-no-wrong father is arrested for the murder of Nicky D’Amico, a member of the infamous Nerozzi crime family. But Gwen refuses to believe her father is the one responsible for Nicky’s death, especially when the corrupt Towton City justice system sends him straight to death row. 

After a childhood of abuse and neglect from his imprisoned mafia boss mother, eighteen-year-old Silas Snow tries to erase the bitter memories by flattening any lowlife who dares to prey on the innocents of Towton City. To Silas, death is the only suitable punishment for the iniquitous criminals who prowl the seedy streets. So, when he shoots Nicky D’Amico for stalking a girl home, it’s just another night in a long string of similar nights. 

Gwen enlists Silas’s help in clearing her father’s name. When he discovers someone used his kill to frame Gwen’s father, he’s torn. If he admits he bagged the mobster himself, he’ll replace Gwen’s father in the electric chair. But if he doesn’t, he’ll be letting an innocent man die. To avoid either of these fates, Silas sets Gwen off on the wrong trail while he points his crosshairs at the mafia.

But when Gwen finds evidence that Silas shot the bullet that killed Nicky D'Amico, Silas disappears into the sordid underbelly of the city. Gwen takes to the streets to track him down and finally trap the monster behind it all. The clock ticks down to her father's date with death row, and she refuses to let him die. It's time to stop playing nice.

QK Agent Round 2: Reality Star, Women's Fiction

Entry Nickname: Reality Star

Title: I Was a Summer Reality Star

Word Count: 79,000

Genre: Women's fiction

Query:

Jen is a bit disillusioned with life after college. She works long hours at an uninspiring job, and she’s suffocating under overdue emergency room bills. When she finds an ad seeking intelligent, puzzle-loving twenty-somethings for a competitive reality show with a cash prize, Jen grasps at a solution to her problems.

Any uncertainties about the wisdom of pinning her future to a TV show evaporate when Jen finds herself unemployed, single, and homeless. She moves into an all-glass, fishbowl-shaped house in Los Angeles with eleven strangers. Jen dives into the competition: solving puzzles, exploring mazes, and having the time of her life. She clicks instantly with fellow contestant Justin, but can't tell whether his interest is real or fabricated for the viewers. When she finds herself battling competitor Ariana for Justin’s attention, Jen discovers that some of her housemates aren’t above backstabbing, lying, and cheating.

Over the course of the summer, she struggles to win challenges— and viewer votes—while trying to figure out how Justin really feels. It’s a tricky balancing act, especially if she isn’t willing to sink to Ariana’s level. When Jen finds out she’s about to be eliminated, she must decide whether to sacrifice her values, the money, or her chance at love.

QK Agent Round 3: Remember Me, Adult Historical Fiction

Entry Nickname: Remember Me

Title: THE GOSSAMER VEIL

Word Count: 75,000

Genre: Adult/Historical Fiction

Query:

Fifteen-year-old Katya watched her family starve to death one by one. She buried her dreams of a happy ending along with the bullet-riddled body of the love of her life. Her survival during Stalin’s assault on Ukraine is a testament to her strength, but it came at an unforgivable price.  Now, in the twilight of her life, the secrets she has kept buried for decades have come back to haunt her.

Summer Porter just wanted to stop the nightmares, and nearly died doing so when she accidentally overdosed in high school. Doctors labeled her schizophrenic, but the dreams she’s endured her whole life are something far different. While away at college, she discovers that painting the horrifying images in her mind prevents the dreams. A normal life seems almost possible, till she moves back home. There, the night terrors return and the lure of a quick pill fix threatens everything she has worked so hard for.

Desperate for a change, Summer jumps at the chance to move in with her ailing great-grandmother Katya. Their renewed relationship compels the old woman to do something she swore she’d never do: rip open the scars of her youth and tell her life story. Hearing this confession awakens an inexplicable connection between the two women. This bond may be Summer’s only opportunity to understand and end her nightmares for good and Katya’s last chance at the forgiveness she has spent a lifetime yearning for.

QK Agent Round 4: Burning Down the House, Women's Fiction

Entry Nickname: Burning Down the House

Title: The Farmer’s Wife

Word Count: 60k

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Query:

Jody Sinclair’s grandparents, Samuel and Lillian, have spent their entire married life in the farmhouse her grandfather built by hand. When the house goes up in flames, Lillian barely escapes with her life.  Samuel is not as lucky. Fire crews attempt to control the blaze, leaving Lillian with nothing to do but watch as she loses everything she’s ever cherished.

Jody arrives at the house just after the first fire truck and offers Lillian both comfort and her spare bedroom.  In the days following Samuel’s death, Jody struggles to help her grandmother return to a sense of normalcy.  As they sift through what the fire left behind, they unearth more than Jody ever expected. When Jody discovers that Lillian intentionally set the house ablaze, she must decide whether she will seek justice for her recently deceased grandfather, or let the truth die with him.

QK Agent Round 5: Cozy for Geeks, NA Cozy Mystery

Entry Nickname: A Cozy for Geeks
Title: The Genuine Fake
Word count: 75,030
Genre: NA Mystery Cozy

Query: 

You'd have to be drunk or crazy to hire Dahlia Moss as a detective, and her client was conveniently both.  Drunk was verifiable-- there was a wine glass in his hand.  Crazy was self-evident: Dahlia's got no experience, no money, and the only thing she'd been reliably good at finding were pink slips.  

The details of the job only makes it seem stranger.   The client wants her to recover the Bejeweled Spear of Infinite Piercing, a powerful and breathtakingly gaudy weapon from the online game "Kingdoms of Zoth".  The pay is insane, a thousand bucks just for looking, and double for finding it.  Dahlia thinks the job is certifiable, but pragmatically signs on; two thousand bucks buys a lot of Ramen.

Her investigation takes her through the student slums of St. Louis and into the on-line jungles of Zoth, interviewing aggrieved gamers, out-of-work actors, drunken fire-mages, misogynist golems, and an extremely petulant tree.  But just when she gets a handle on the case, her client shows up dead-- skewered by a 3-D printed copy of the very spear she was looking for.

Suddenly, the police are involved, and Dahlia is in the middle of a murder investigation.   Gamers are showing at her doorstep, detectives are trailing her, and more 3-D printed spears are mysteriously showing up in the mail.   It's exactly the wrong time to learn that her client's decision to hire her wasn't so random after all.

QK Agent Round 6: RV Arya, MG Fantasy

Entry Nickname: RV Arya

Title: The Raven Queen’s Revenge

Word count: 40K

Genre: MG Fantasy

Query:

After her dad moves out—for good this time—eleven-year-old Sylvie’s mom takes a job as a Louisiana state park campground supervisor, moving Sylvie and her pesky sister into a stinky RV. Ticked off and lonely, Sylvie wants to be back home with her own bed, her own stuff, and her dad.

One day Sylvie and her sister follow a fox into the woods, where they meet Lowell, a local kid whose dad is a park ranger. Lowell insists he can help Sylvie and her sister find the fox he scared off, but he loses the trail and leads them into an alternate world—Wiledyn. Frustrated with herself for following an annoying boy she hardly knows, Sylvie smashes a strategically-placed old, blue bottle against a tree, freeing hundreds of ravens . . . and their queen.

Raven Queen Keres—furious after spending the last seventeen years imprisoned, which gave her plenty of time to plot her revenge—seals all the exits from Wiledyn, confining her enemies while also trapping Sylvie, her sister, and Lowell in the crossfire of a power battle. Now Sylvie must protect her sister as they hunt down the Raven Queen, force her to unseal the exits, and—if Sylvie has anything to say about it—make her pay for the destruction she’s caused. With the help of a talking fox, a pair of cheery goblins, and a childlike druid, Sylvie and her companions struggle to return to the one place Sylvie wanted more than anything to escape: her home.