Title: THE WISHBONE CURSE
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Fantasy
Word Count: 51,000
My MC and MA (main antagonist) are dressed as:
Pip’s dressed as The Bride of Frankenstein. She has poliosis, so she’s already got white streaks in her black hair. (She has a pretty self-deprecating sense of humor, so she wouldn’t mind). Daryl would go dressed in his martial arts uniform holding his katana. “Because I’m scary enough just as I am.”
Query:
Twelve-year-old Pip Gillies has lost interest in almost everything since her grandmother died from cancer two months ago. Even kickboxing, her usual respite from the antics of her madcap little sister and demanding mother, has lost its shine. It’s just not the same without Gran cheering her on from the sidelines. She misses Gran’s warm and easy-going nature, a contrast to her mum’s high pressure parenting.
During a kickboxing class at an old Victorian dye house, Pip finds an enchanted wishbone. Before she can make a wish, the class bully steals it and wishes for the martial arts prowess he has always craved. Soon the bully’s torments take a dangerous turn as he almost maims another student with his supernatural strength.
The only way to undo the bully’s wish is to snatch the bone after it re-forms and make a different wish, which is perfect for Pip. She knows exactly what she’d wish for: Gran back in her life. But as Pip finally wrests the bone from the bully, she discovers her new friend, Georgia, could use the wishbone to heal her sick mother.
Now Pip must decide who to save, knowing the person she doesn’t choose will be gone forever.
First 250 words:
Pip aimed a spiteful kick at the bag of punch pads, attempting to knock it into place. Overstuffed, it barely fit into the storage cupboard.
“I’ll do it!” Pip’s sister Immy shouted. “I’ve got big muscles!” With a toothy grin, she patted her arm, tensing her skinny biceps.
“Yeah,” Pip sighed. “To match your great big mouth. Fine. Do your best.”
Immy pushed, eyes squeezed shut with effort. After a minute or so, she collapsed on top of the bag with a groan. “This is impossible!”
Pip bent down and gave it one last, hard shove. Finally, with a painful, nails-on-chalkboard scrape, it moved. Only an inch or so, but enough to wedge it between two crates.
“Yes,” Pip hissed, bringing down a clenched fist in victory. As Pip moved to close the door, Immy pointed at the back of the cupboard. “What’s that?”
A wooden disc about the size of a dinner plate was propped against the crates. It had a black circle at its center, surrounded by slices of color, like a pie chart. The shades glowed bright: pumpkin orange, misty gray, the warm red of blazing campfires. But what really caught Pip’s attention was the wishbone in the middle of the circle, embedded deep in the wood.
She swallowed. She’d seen quite a few wishbones at Gran’s house. The old lady always picked them out of the chicken carcass when she and Immy visited for a Sunday roast.
Scream! Please send the full ms as a word attachment with the query in the body of the email to kristy[dot]hunter@knightagency[dot]net. Please put "NoQS: TITLE" in the subject line. Thanks! Looking forward to reading.
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