Writer’s Voice: Query & First 250

Query:

Prince Alexander spent his childhood planning his future reign the way a little girl might plan her wedding. He never dreamed of a wedding himself; he knew there could never be one. Although twenty first century princes have the luxury of marrying commoners, there’s a catch. Said commoner is expected to lack a Y-chromosome.

Upon receiving a music scholarship to attend the country’s most prestigious boarding school, Declan ‘Nobody-in-Particular’ Blythe expects to spend his days hunched over a piano, a pariah amongst the precious spawn of the upper class. Instead, he meets Alex.

Hopelessly entangled in one another, reality sets in for the pair when Alex’s father gives him an ultimatum: ensure their romance stays secret, or give up the throne. Concealing their relationship from the public eye is easier said than done, however – particularly after a photo of Declan goes viral and he becomes a celebrity in his own right. With cameras recording each glance he and Alex share, and a devoted fan base analyzing their every word, Alex finds himself under increasing pressure from his family to choose responsibility and propriety over love.

When Declan begins to receive anonymous threats, Alex realizes that someone is willing to harm his boyfriend to protect the reputation of the royal family. Alex could never imagine a future where he wasn’t king. But he’s starting to wonder if a future without the freedom to be with Declan is any future at all.

Gossip Girl meets Kings in THE SECOND KING, a contemporary novel aimed at young adult readers, complete at 85,000 words.

First 250:

I have many things to be grateful for. I’m grateful for my status. I’m grateful for my wealth and privilege. I’m grateful for the personal bodyguards that station themselves outside any building I happen to be visiting.

Most of all, I’m grateful for my school friends who are so used to all of the above they don’t notice it anymore.

It was snowing so heavily I felt genuinely sorry for the soldiers standing on the front porch of Zane’s mansion. They were sheltered from the snowfall, at least, but not from the bitter cold. They stood silently, one eyeing me through the window, the other watching the front yard. Their breaths came out in almost opaque puffs of mist.

If Zane’s parents had been home I would’ve insisted one come inside to watch from the warmth of the kitchen, perhaps with a cup of coffee. I’d done it before; it’s what my parents would have wanted. Around them I was ever the hospitable, thoughtful role model. Today was different, though. Today was a gathering of sixty or so Bramppath College students. In addition to us, a select group of girls from our sister school, Ashford Academy, had been invited. Although the room was filled with, for the most part, the precious offspring of the upper class, none of them needed armed guards to follow them between various appointments. If downplaying that meant not inviting the security inside, well, so be it.

That, and I was a little bit too high to be bothered making anybody coffee.

#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#

Thank You!

To Brenda Drake, Krista Van Dolzer, Elizabeth Briggs, and Monica Bustamante Wagner for organising and running this contest! Good luck everyone!