The Writer's Voice

I'm excited to be entering The Writer's Voice contest! My entry is below! :)


Title: NO REST FOR THE WANTED
Genre: YA Mystery
Word Count: 99,000 words

Query:

Lora Winters' dyed hair and stick-on tattoos are the disguise of a fugitive. A one-way ticket to London and a fake passport are shoved in her bag. There hadn't been time for a tearful goodbye to ruin her heavy mascara. Because Lora is on the run.

International criminal Charles Holguin checked into prison for a one-night stay. He'd been charged with assassination, embezzlement, stealing an entire Russian security system … basically, he was bad news. Holguin used his slimy ways to slip from his cell, leaving one clue to where he was headed: during the interrogation he'd simply repeated "Ask Lora Winters."

Now Lora's stuck with secret agent Cole Davis, her 24/7 bodyguard. Cole's young enough to blend in with her classmates, so he's always around. Cafeteria table: party of two. But Lora is privy to info Holguin needs for his next job. She's not safe. Even with Cole.

Lora delves into Cole's world of espionage: sneaking behind locked doors in Milan and stealing Vespas (and kisses) in Paris. She must unearth her family's dark past before Holguin does, and in the process, decide is she can trust anyone but herself.

First 250 Words:

"My parents would kill me if the bomb squad interrupted Christmas … again."

I wiped the sleeve of my jacket against the frost-covered window outside Bettye's Bath Bubbles. There were hundreds of different scents like Blueberry Bliss and Mango Tango, each one piled high in a multi-colored pyramid until the very last bar, Pickled Pear, topped it off like a green-and-white speckled angel on top of a Christmas tree.

I sighed. Why couldn't my mom have requested anything other than soap? She knew the scanner was crazy sensitive.

"Lora, I fixed the UltraSweep." Cole turned his back to the display and crossed his arms, looking bored. "After last year's incident with the bubble bath, I've made sure the scanner won't mistake ammonium sulfate for ammonium nitrate again."

"What?" I glared up at him. "Why would you actually fix it?"

Cole ignored me as he eyed the crowd of shoppers hurrying along the street. He was only two years older than me at nineteen, but he wasn't like normal guys his age. For one thing, he was always perfectly presentable. From the dark suit that hugged his lean muscular frame to his carefully combed sandy hair, Cole gave off a World's-Greatest-Intern/Your-Daughter-Is-Safe-With-Me vibe.

That's because Cole Davis, with his hidden earpiece and ability to kill anyone with one swift jab at their trachea, was not normal. He was an agent. And, unfortunately, my bodyguard.

"Cole!" I nudged him, earning a swift scowl. "What do you mean, you fixed the bomb scanner?