PERFECT PITCH for ABNA 2014

 

ABNA 2014:

The five categories:

General Fiction
Mystery/Thriller
Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
Romance
Young Adult.

One finalist will be named from each of these five categories. The grand prize winner now gets published by Amazon Publishing and this includes a $50,000 advance! Wow!

And the rest of the finalists ALSO get a publishing contract with Amazon (and a $15,000 advance). ABNA is really something to consider this year.

Your first hurdle will be your  300 word PITCH. 

Get this wrong, and there goes the ball game!

I. START OFF WITH YOUR BEST SHOT -

     Make it short and riveting, evoking the spirit and mood of your story.

II. TARGET THE HEART -

     Whether your tale is horror, literary fiction, or in-between,

your words must reach out to touch the
                                                    heart of the judge. 
 
Think universal hurts and longings.

III. THINK MOVIE PREVIEW -

     Make the judge want to read more, to wonder what happens next.

IV. REMEMBER THEY ARE LOOKING FOR A REASON TO REJECT  ...

     and get to the 100 more pitches on their hard drive before night's end. 

Do not give them
     an easy reason to reject.

V. REMEMBER THEY ARE HOPING TO FIND A REASON TO BELIEVE -

     Believe that there are good writers still out there, that there are fresh stories waiting to be found,

     and that they have just found one.

Here is my 294 word pitch for FRENCH QUARTER NOCTURNE:

Long before Man, long before light, Darkness reigned.

Then, light pierced its flesh. It hates the light. It hates even more Man who casts light like a garment over this world.

Samuel McCord, the man with the blood of Death in his veins. His best friend, Father Renfield, a revenant priest. Both thought their lives couldn't get any worse. Hurricane Katrina proved them both wrong.

In the French Quarter, the last thing the setting sun sees is the transformation of St. Peter Street to the cursed Rue La Mort.

At the corner where it clashes with Royal Street, the jazz club, Meilori's, shimmers into being for all the children of the night to behold. They are called ShadowLanders, and they are the truth behind the myth of the supernatural.

Meilori’s is the Crossroads of Worlds. Within it lie hallways leading to realms long thought myths.

Outside the club stands DayStar, the being from beyond Time itself, waiting for his chance to extinguish all light, wrapping comforting darkness around him like a womb once more.

During the month following Hurricane Katrina, the ShadowLanders slip free into the night to hunt once more. And DayStar knows his chance has come at last.

Against the backdrop of Katrina's aftermath, the agnostic jazz club owner and his best friend engage enemies in the shadows that challenge both their belief systems.

But there are two things not in doubt: their deep friendship and the dark threat given license to kill by the absence of civilization.

Gifted with a cruel intellect that makes Hannibal Lector look like a choir boy, DayStar has always been able to outwit McCord.

But Sam's instincts tell him that if he is outwitted this time, not just New Orleans but the entire world will suffer.

***
Which of the 5 categories are you entering?

Did I put my prose where my mouth was with this Pitch?