WIP IT GOOD Blogfest

Thanks to DL Hammonds and Elise Fallson for the Bloghop where we answer the questions below about our Work In Progress.


WIP Title: GUTTER GIRL
As a Christmas Present and joke one of my CP's made me this cover-It's nothing like my book or my MC, but it sure looks good. A bit mature for my target market though:D

Word Count (projected/actual so far): 65,000 projected finished. actual: 79,000
I'm in the revision cave, big time.

Genre: YA Contemporary

How long have you been working on it?: Too long-LOL I write the first ROUGH draft for NaNo 2012. I'm polishing draft number three but in the middle of a cross-country move (it's taken over my life) so *crosses fingers* hopefully I'll be ready to send it to CP's in August.

Elevator Pitch (if you came across an agent in an elevator ride, what couple of lines would you use to summarize your book): You mean when I suddenly feel like I have to pee and I can't quit squirming but I NEED to make a good impression? Yikes! I don't do well under pressure. I found my agent through a writing contest. But if I had to talk to them, this is what I'd say if I didn't swallow my tongue first:
Bowler nerd Jules's only hope of escaping small town misery and not hiding behind her bowling jacket is to both win  the State Physics Scholarship and find a wife for her dad, but along the way she realizes she can shed her armor in her home town.
*I worked on this pitch during Hannah Bowman's Master Class at LDStorymakers, but like everything in my life, it's a WIP.

Query Attempt:  

When  bowler girl Jules sees a hickey on her boyfriend’s neck that she didn’t put there, she totals her Beetle and their relationship. Now all the changes she has made over the summer—taking her from reject to wanted—feel fake and wrong. So, with senior year starting, she’s back to being Gutter Girl, the school pariah, working at Pie Alley and biking to school like the freshmen. Tired of hiding behind her dead mom’s league bowling jacket, she decides to get out of her small town and make a fresh start, because even though bowling runs in her veins, being tormented isn’t worth it.

Jules’ only way out is a full-ride scholarship to college in the city. With physics on the brain and a bowling ball in hand, she needs to win the State Physics Competition to secure her scholarship, but to do that, she has to beat out Junior Olympic diver and physics whiz, Nate. He gets under her skin, and not in a good way. When her lab partner gets sick and Nate’s brother steals her lucky bowling jacket, Jules realizes getting Nate’s help is her only hope of securing the scholarship or getting back her jacket—the one piece of her mother she’s not sure she wants to give up anymore.

Are you looking for a Critique Partner?: Not at the moment. I have a great group of ladies right now. Here's a shout out to the Plum Critters: Emily Prusso, Kathryn Purdie, Ilima Todd, and Taryn Albright. You can find links to their awesome blogs on my right sidebar, if you're interested.

Are you looking for a Beta Reader?: Not yet, but hopefully this fall:)

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be visiting, but I'll be a little slow today. We're painting again. Dun dun dun...

See you next week for my Golden Five Recent Reads and for the launch of  Sporty Girl Books.