Title: TAKING SECOND CHANCES
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Word
Count: 109,000 words
Query:
Thirty-nine-year-old
college professor, Gabriella Edwards has lost her parents, her husband and
sometimes she thinks she’s lost her mind. With so much death surrounding her,
Gabriella is trapped in a state of depression. But when she takes advice from a
friend to relieve the pent-up stress and “just get laid” it turns into seven
semesters of getting lost between the sheets—with her students. Her naughty
vice is a welcome distraction, but when she unexpectedly falls in love her
whole world is turned upside down again.
Tired
of the empty affairs, Gabriella is finally ready for more. Her prayers are
answered by Caleb Waters; a hot, older, promising student. He’s different from
the rest. And she can’t stay away from him, even though she knows she should.
For the first time since losing everything, Gabriella finds herself letting
down her guard and trusting this man, who teaches her how to love again.
But
it’s never easy for Gabriella. Just when the semester is winding down and they
are almost in the clear, Caleb’s obsessed roommate discovers they are together
and threatens to expose their secret. Now, with her career and her family's
respect on the line, Gabriella must decide if Caleb is worth it.
First
250:
Depression
has a way of rearing its ugly head and taking root so deep within your soul
that it can literally take over. I’ve walked around like a zombie, consumed by
this sickness for too long. For a while I thought I would be content to just
watch life speed past me as if viewing a really long movie, frame by frame. But
Bryn finally knocked some sense into me. I hate to admit she’s right, but
something’s got to give.
I’m
only thirty-four freaking years old. I’m not dead yet, so why shouldn’t
I be taking advantage of the good things, the pleasurable things, that life has
to offer? For instance, why am I thinking about how messed up my life is while
I’m seated next to one of the hottest men I’ve seen in a long time? Seize the
damn day, Gabriella. Take pleasure in the good things.
My
body should be a clear indicator. I should listen to it instead of my
convoluted brain. My heart is racing, my palms are sweaty, my knees twitching.
I want this. I want him. And from the looks of things, Luke wants me too. Plus,
it’s not like I have a choice, because if I don’t follow through with this one
simple act of insanity Bryn is going to follow through with one of her own.
This seems like it's going to get real steamy REAL quick!! This seems like a great and fun read, I'd keep reading if I had pages! Sounds delightful!! Wishing you the best of luck!!
ReplyDeleteJuicy, Juicy! I would love to read this!
ReplyDeleteGood luck from #173
Excellent job giving Gabriella a distinct, clear voice right away. I can tell this is a well-done, very sexy story. And your query is clean, concise and best of all, catchy.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! -Lisa (#170)
I'm going to wait until Thursday to announce my top 3, but I'm going to give everyone some feedback in the meantime.
ReplyDeleteNice job describing the conflict--that's the trickiest part of queries.
Some tweaks. Did her husband die, too? "Lost" is pretty vague. What do you mean by "promising student." Promising in terms of academics, or in terms of romance? Also, not sure what you mean by "family's respect." If her parents are dead, whose opinion is she worried about?
Okay. Stay tuned!
Thanks to everyone for the wonderful feedback, including Bouncer Colonel Mustard. To answer your questions: yes, her husband is also dead. The more I think about the word 'promising' I can probably take it out. It was meant as promising as in terms of romance, but I can probably omit it if it makes things confusing. And her remaining family is her sister (who has a big part in the book, but lives across the country) and her 2 college age twin daughters, who are home for the summer (she meets Caleb during a summer course she got roped into teaching unexpectedly). I didn't want to introduce too many characters into the query, but if it makes things more clear or makes the stakes seem higher maybe I should change "family's respect" to "her daughters' respect."
Delete