Pitch Slam Entry 2: AVENUE D 1/2, MG Adventure/Horror

Genre: MG, Adventure + Horror

Title: AVENUE D ½

Word Count: 45,000

Pitch: Money trouble and a disturbed orphan’s century-old letters send twelve-year-old Cash searching for treasure. Whispering shadows warn he’s heading for an asylum. To find the gold that’ll save his home, Cash must gamble his sanity.

First 250:

Stalking a tour group required lots of energy, not to mention supplies.

Tree bark scraped my hands as I scrambled up an oak and heaved my feet onto a branch. Behind a curtain of leaves, I adjusted my water gun’s strap and opened a little box with a black cat on the cover. The fireworks’ charcoal scent tickled my nose.

Spitting distance from my perch, people pulled damp shirts off their skin and crowded around my aunt. The heat and her velvety voice fed a contagious yawn.

“Galveston knows death.” Aunt Liz tossed a dreadlock the size of a copperhead snake over her shoulder. “Since the 1800s, when pirate crews held sway over the island…”

Cue the cannons.

Thanks to gumbo soil and hurricane damage, the sidewalk in front of the historical marker jutted up. I held the papery tail of a bang snap and aimed at the angled cement. A tiny firework exploded inches from flip-flops and boat shoes.

Ladies squealed. Dudes spun around.

That’s right, sweaty folks! This ain’t just a history lesson. It’s an interactive experience. Worth a five-buck tip.

Aunt Liz cleared her throat. “Here, a yellow fever quarantine camp fueled rumors that human bones fertilize our magnolias.”

A lady in a straw hat unleashed a head-splitting yawn. I tossed a wake-up call.

As bang snaps popped around the group, my foot slipped below the cover of leaves. Sunlight bounced off my safety-pinned sneaker. Aunt Liz squinted at the tree.

One-Mississippi. Two-Mississippi. Any second, she’s gonna holler, “Cash Corbet McCool!” 



1 comment:

  1. This is an instant classic! Please send query +25pp following query guidelines at jdlit.com with the subject Pitch Slam. It'll be the talk of Tinsel Town!

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