Title: HAVE TOASTER, WILL TRAVEL
Genre: Adult Fiction/Humorous Fiction
Word Count: 66,000
Query
Thirty-year old Warren Rogers is quite accustomed to
being a confused CEO. But this is a different, disturbing kind of confusion.
The FBI has just shown him a picture of their suspect in recent security
breaches. He recognizes the suspect. It’s him as a teenager.
While his arch nemesis, Louisa Ferncliff, plots to take
over the company, Warren sets out to clear his name. But his troubles only
multiply when he follows his younger self into a secret lab and encounters a
strange toaster-like device that sends him haplessly bouncing in time.
Now all Warren has to do is evade the present day FBI,
the 1970’s police and both the Northern and Southern armies of the US Civil War
so he can track down his teenage doppelganger; the only person that knows how
to operate the mysterious toaster. His only chance of success depends upon the
dubious help of Louisa, who is bent upon securing the toaster device for
herself, a martini-drinking time traveler who only cares about olives and
getting into bed with Louisa, and a “GPS for the brain” that resembles a moose
who speaks Italian.
First 250
If Warren Roger’s thoughts made a sound it would be a
feeble “clink”, not unlike that of some old, decrepit elevator meekly
announcing its weary arrival. Just a muffled clink. A dead bell. That’s all
there was.
It was time for the FBI’s briefing. The thirty-year old
CEO of World Enterprises navigated the office’s maze-like aisles, oblivious to
the nameless employees hunkered down behind rows and rows of putty colored
cubicles. Warren was more preoccupied than usual, which is saying something
because he spent hours a day practicing preoccupation to perfection.
He was thinking about the reason why the FBI was here,
how this whole mess started; with the discovery of a half-eaten Ho Ho in his
office. Why was it here, he had wondered. Who couldn’t eat a whole Ho Ho,
anyway? Seriously, the whole thing was barely a mouthful. But back to who. Who
was in his office and why were they eating a Ho Ho there? Mystifying, he
thought. Warren thought a lot of things were mystifying.
The mystery of the partially eaten snack cake served
nothing more than a subject on which Warren could spend his idle time thinking
about. Warren had a lot of idle time, a benefit of perfecting preoccupation, so
he thought a lot about it. That is until a few weeks later when he found
several files askew and evidence someone had been using his computer. That’s
when Pete Smith, COO and Warren’s trusted advisor, brought in Harrison Ramsey,
VP of Security, who in turn brought in the FBI.
I love the title, and your query cracked me up. This sounds like a fun, clever read. Your first 250 bursts with voice and character. I like how you demonstrate how easily Warren can be distracted with the Ho-Ho. I would love to read this!
ReplyDeleteMonica #26
Belated thanks for your feedback! Congratulations on your full request - I really liked your entry and wish you the best of luck!
DeleteI love everything about this entry! Title, query, and the first 250 have me hooked. I would definitely read this.
ReplyDeleteGood luck from #20!
Thanks to all for the encouraging words - I'm really glad you all collected some arrows (means you all know what you're talking about when you offer critique!).
DeleteBest of luck to everyone and look forward to reading your published books soon!
Oh wow, your title and query are both hilarious! I have no critiques except perhaps the last sentence in the query could be tighter? I got a little tripped up in all the characters.
ReplyDeleteCarissa #24
This sounds hilarious. I would love to read this. I really have no suggestions, it's just to quirky to change. Love it all.
ReplyDeleteLaurie #8