A Writing Milestone

On March 18th I found out that I made it to the second round of the Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award Contest! I wrote a pitch that got me to the second round. The judges will read four chapters of A Dozen East for the second round.

I was so excited when Amazon announced authors who made it to round two. I could not believe my eyes when I saw my name and my book title. I road on that high for several days. I printed out the announcement and highlighted my name and book title. I know it is only the first round and there are several more to get through. I, however, am taking the time to bask in this small milestone.

Here is my pitch:
A group of twelve boys named East reside in a Florida Everglades reform camp. They are held captive by cruel leaders and an electrified, orange fog force field. The fog shifts with the arrival of a brazen woman, Breeze Morgan.

In 2042 Breeze lands at Maverly Wilderness Camp to pay back a debt. During her two day interview a boy busts her nose and Breeze humiliates the program director. Somehow, she is still offered the job and she accepts. Breeze soon discovers the camp's cruel and hope-stealing culture. She considers leaving, but the dozen delinquents steal her heart.

Breeze mingles with a biker gang named Wings, attracts inspectors from headquarters, kisses the Vice President and throws punches with a co-leader. The camp’s program director tries everything in his power to push Breeze down, but Breeze perseveres. Each boy survives in his own way and like Breeze has their own reason for why they landed in this camp.

Despite their dark past and dreary future, most of the East boys still have a shard of hope. Breeze awakens that hope costing her much more than the debt she already owes.

A DOZEN EAST is HOLES meets DANGEROUS MINDS. It introduces a possible future system where many children are left behind. The Florida Everglades provides a harsh setting to an even harsher prognosis for the boys.

 This author spent four wonderful years working in a wilderness camps with at-risk youth. The camp portrayed in this book is the evil step-brother to this experience. Also, the author has time traveled to the year 2042, thus adding to the settings accuracy. The book is aimed at younger readers and can be enjoyed by most ages. It has great series potential.