Pitch Madness!!

Dear readers, sorry about being so sporadic with posts over the past two weeks. I had to travel for work and then last week I had to work night shift for a satellite test campaign. Basically, things have been crazy!!

But I plan to get things back to normal here, so expect a post on Wednesday and Friday as normal!!

In other news, I made it to Round 2 of Pitch Madness!! Granted, there is still another round of cuts before things go live on March 26 and I may not make it through, but it's just good to know I made it through at least the initial gateway.

So for Pitch Madness we had to write a 35 word logline and send that with our first 250. Loglines are something I really suck at, but with the help of my awesome CP's (i.e. Critique Partners) I was able to make one.

So my pitch, just so you guys have it all in one place is:

Title: THE DESCENT OF CHRIS CHAPPELL

Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy*

Word Count: 87,000 words

Pitch: Seventeen-year-old Chris is the only Norm in his wizard family, until an amulet grants him magic. When confronted about his unnatural powers, he must choose between betraying friends for power or losing power for friends.

Excerpt: My shoulders hunch under the weight of my backpack as I near the front door, and I tighten my grip on my trumpet case. I shouldn’t stress. Odds are no one will notice me slipping into the house. Dad’s probably in the basement. Mom’s car isn’t even here so she must be at work. And the twins know better than to get me in trouble—especially about this.

And yet my heart beats unevenly. At this moment, I would sell my soul for the ability to know if anyone stood on the other side of the door.

I reach for the knob, but the door opens before I touch it. I stumble back. My father stares down at me with his magical, silver eyes, catching my gaze before I can look away.

At first my dad’s expression is worried, but then a scowl replaces fatherly concern. His hand shoots out, pulling me inside before I can think to protest.

“Chris! Why aren’t you wearing your contacts?” he demands, the door slamming shut magically behind me. I imagine a normal father would show concern about my bloodshot eyes, questioning whether I’m getting enough sleep, if something is stressing me, or if I’m on drugs. Not my father. His only concern is that people might have seen my normal, gray eyes. That someone might know the truth he’s so carefully hidden for over a year now.

I am not a wizard.

*So I decided to call it "contemporary fantasy" at least for the sake of this competition. There are a lot of reasons for that. I feel like "paranormal" gives off too much of a ghosts/vampires/werewolves vibe, and since my story doesn't really have any of those things, it's not appropriate. I also didn't like "urban fantasy" since though my story does take place mostly in the city of Atlanta, it mostly just takes place in people's houses or at school. So it seemed inappropriate. But since it's contemporary and fantasy, I decided contemporary fantasy works.