The Writer's Voice Contest 2015: Query and first 250 words

Thank you for letting me be a part of this awesome contest! Below you can find my query and first 250 words for my NA romance, SHADES OF SYDNEY. 

Query:

Dear Amazing Agents:

Sydney West enjoys sampling summer boys. This year, though, one refuses to be just a one-night stand. 

Twenty-one-year-old Sydney doesn’t believe in relationships. Her parents’ toxic divorce has taught her love is nothing but a sinister fairy tale. So every year when she drives to Malibu, she parties, hooks up, abandons lover before dawn, passes out, then repeats.

At the beach, Sydney meets gorgeous local surfer Jason King. When Jason doesn’t flirt with Sydney, she wonders why he doesn’t want her like all the other guys do. However, when their best friends become Malibu's hottest item, Sydney and Jason are forced to spend more time together than they bargained for.

Sydney thinks she’s too cold-hearted to let anyone in, and uses her sharp tongue to keep Jason away. But one night at a party, she lets down her guard after a few drinks and tells Jason about her parents’ dysfunctional relationship. He is the first person who can see straight to her core and begins to care about her. When they sleep together, Sydney runs out on him like she does everyone else, but this time something has changed. Jason doesn’t want to be another one-night stand, and will do anything to prove to her love exists. Sydney fears letting Jason in, thinking he’ll break her heart, and confirm every doubt she has about love. She must find it in herself to trust Jason, or remain an empty shell, never knowing what love truly is.

Complete at 73,000 words, SHADES OF SYDNEY is a new adult romance novel. The manuscript has a completed sequel, but could also serve as a standalone. The novel will appeal to readers of Christina Lee and Jamie McGuire.

I'm a recent graduate from Arizona State University. I received my Bachelor of Science in Communication with a Film and Media Production minor. I have directed two student films and been the screenwriter to three. I have also been a part of three other student films. I post some of my work on an online writing community, called Wattpad, in my free time.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Brittney Coon

First 250 Words:

Something heavy fell on me, forcing me to sit up. I opened my eyes and found my best friend, Amelia Knight, sitting on me, screeching worse than any alarm could, about some beach party. I reached for her off button, but it was in vain.

“Get up! You’re wasting time! We need to go to the mall and buy something sexy for the party.”

“Do you really have to bother me now? What time is it?” I moaned, grabbing a pillow and covering my face with it. Didn’t I deserve rest? I did drive hours to get here.

She slipped off the bed and nudged the side with her leg, making it shake. “It’s one in the afternoon.”

I refused to move so she stole my pillow from me. A burning sensation stung my eyes as Amelia kept turning the lights on and off.

“Will you cut it out on the lights?” I asked, rolling over.

“Sure,” she said, and left them on.

I reached for my second pillow. With it planted over my head, in a steel grip, sweet darkness encased me again. Amelia went back to hitting my bed with her leg and chanting my name.

I missed the starstruck Amelia who rode shotgun with me. She was over the moon about California. When we reached the city she oohed and ahhed over the large tangled highways, the signs pointing to Disneyland, the Hollywood sign, at anything in general. Amelia had never spent time in California and acted like such a tourist.