MG QUERY/ 250 words: SUNNY BERINGER'S TOTALLY AWESOME PLAN FOR ROMANCE

MG Query: SUNNY BERINGER'S TOTALLY AWESOME PLAN FOR ROMANCE

Dear Writer's Voice Judges,

I am seeking representation for my 47,000-word middle grade novel, SUNNY BERINGER'S TOTALLY AWESOME PLAN FOR ROMANCE.

At a time when most eleven-year-olds are navigating first crushes, Sunny Beringer finds herself trying to ignite a spark... between her own parents. That’s when Sunny Beringer’s Totally Awesome Plan for Romance is born--a list of sure-fire ways to make her mom and Daddy Scott fall madly in love again.

By the time she gets to Number 5, cutting down the neighbor’s roses so she can give them to Mom as a gift from a Secret Admirer to make Daddy Scott jealous, life in a new city gets even more challenging.

Sunny has to choose between the eccentric girl on her Odyssey of the Mind team and the popular girl who’s invited her to sit with her at lunch because, according to middle school rules, it’s impossible to be friends with both. And building a relationship with the grandmother they’ve moved in with isn’t easy, especially when animal-lover Sunny finds out Grandma Grace sells fur coats at her store. To make matters worse, she uncovers secrets about her mom and Daddy Scott’s past that make her question whether she’s ever had a real family at all.

When everything spins out of control, Sunny can be certain of only one thing: romance--and preteen life--are more complicated than she thought possible.

I’m a teacher, a mom of two daughters, and an Odyssey of the Mind coach.

My debut middle grade, EXTRAORDINARY, will be published by Skypony Press in Spring 2015. I’m also an active member in SCBWI and in an online critique group.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best,

Miriam Spitzer Franklin

 First 250 words:

            Gravel crunched under the car wheels as we pulled into a long winding driveway. I stuck my hand in my jeans pocket, running my fingers over the tiny slip of paper I’d found in my fortune cookie at lunchtime.

You will have a pleasant surprise.

I’d had plenty of surprises in the last couple of months, none of them pleasant. The only surprise I wanted now was for Mom to back the car out of the driveway and tell us it had all been a big mistake.

            “This is our new home?” my younger sister Autumn said, bouncing up and down on the seat.

I stared out the window at a huge white house with black shutters and a porch that wrapped around the side. “This is not our new home,” I corrected her. “It’s our temporary residence.”

            Autumn giggled as she got out of the car. “It sure is awesome!”

The house may have looked like something out of one of those magazines you find at the dentist office, but that didn’t make it awesome. Moving in with our grandmother meant I was now dad-less, best friend-less, and cat-less, which was nothing to be excited about at all.

 “Oh, can’t you just feel that fresh mountain air!” Mom said, exhaling deeply to make her point.

I had no idea what she was talking about. It still felt hot and humid to me, seeing it was the middle of August. I stared at the hazy blue mountains off in the distance.