Face-Lift 110

Guess the Plot

The Healer's Legacy

1. On Troap island, Isa, only 14 years old, already practices traditional healing learned from her grandmother. But when Isa discovers she can heal the dead, her army of zombies turns the tropical paradise into a war zone.

2. When Doctor Disease runs rampant through the land, superhero The Healer follows close behind, undoing the evil one's mischief with his remediator.

3. A warlord, drunk with power, sends his army of mercenaries after his former lover, a psychic with healing powers.

4. "Here you go, Mrs. Smith," said Dr. Grimm. "My bill." A horror story.

5. Sandy didn't even know she had a rich doctor uncle until he died. Now, to win her inheritance, she must run a gauntlet of tasks designed to teach her the true meaning of the Hippocratic Oath.

6. When pharmaceutical researcher Millard Sludgenoid invents a true panacea, he finds himself out of a job. Embittered and alone, Millard plots his revenge: a super-itchy form of athlete's foot.

Original Version

Dear Agent,

How can a young woman running from an abusive relationship with a powerful warlord [If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times, ladies: if you don't want an abusive relationship, don't get involved with a powerful warlord.] escape his vengeful fixation, learn to rely on herself, and regain her ability to trust other people?

KIRA is a young woman with a secret; she can psychically communicate with animals. [She's like Tarzan, except she does it mentally, which is much more discreet than that embarrassing yodeling noise that always alerts the bad guys that a stampede is imminent.] At sixteen, Kira fell in love and ran off with TORIL, the young warrior responsible for leading the country’s forces to victory against the outland raiders. But Toril’s love of power consumed him and he became abusive, targeting his anger at Kira.

Kira flees with her animal companions, KELMIR, a moon cat, and a wyvern named AERON, but finds herself pitted against nature and harried by Toril’s mercenaries. [Why doesn't she psychically tell her wyvern to swoop down, barbecue the mercenaries, and bite off Toril's head?] [Or she could order thousands of crows to attack, and go for the mercenaries' eyes.] [Did Aquaman ever hesitate to let trout do his dirty work?] When her horse becomes lame she bargains for shelter at TEM HOLD, [You give me shelter, I won't tell your animals to kill you.] a small but prosperous settlement. However, not all of the Hold’s residents are friendly. Nevertheless, using her skills at hunting [She has an unfair advantage when hunting. She spots Bambi and psychically tells him, Come on over here, sweetie, I'll give you some lettuce, so the unsuspecting fawn trots over, and then Kira pulls out her blade and guts him. I'm starting to lean toward Toril's side.] and healing, she finds community and acceptance. When Toril and his army track Kira down and attack Tem Hold, Kira is forced to fight not only has come to care about. [Come again?]

My novel, THE HEALER'S LEGACY, is a completed character-driven Young Adult fantasy of 85,000 words, told in the close-third point of view from the perspectives of three female characters. [Three? Who are the other two?] I believe that THE HEALER'S LEGACY offers the opportunity for readers to see females as heroic and to look at the social framework of a people from differing viewpoints. It is my goal to reach out to readers with characters and stories that they will relate to on a personal and emotional level. [And who can't relate to an animal psychic and a warlord?]

I am an established grants development professional (a fancy way of saying I write grants and business documents for a living) with an M.A. in Creative Writing. I was a staff writer for my college newspaper and my poetry and short fiction have been published in a number of periodicals, both in the United States and Canada. I am an active member of SCBWI. [South Carolina I am eager to work with an enthusiastic agent with extensive knowledge of the young adult market. A full manuscript and synopsis are available upon request.

I look forward to hearing from you.


Revised Version

Can a young woman running from a powerful warlord escape his vengeful fixation, learn to rely on herself, and regain her ability to trust other people? That's the problem facing Kira, who, at sixteen, fell in love and ran off with TORIL, the warrior responsible for leading the country’s forces to victory against the outland raiders. Toril’s love of power eventually consumed him and he became abusive, targeting his anger at Kira.

Kira flees with her animal companions, KELMIR, a moon cat, and a wyvern named AERON, but soon finds herself pitted against nature and harried by Toril’s mercenaries. When her horse becomes lame, she offers her skills at hunting and healing in return for shelter at TEM HOLD, a small but prosperous settlement. In time, Toril and his army track Kira down and attack Tem Hold, and Kira is forced to fight against the man she once loved.

My novel, THE HEALER'S LEGACY, is a completed, character-driven, Young Adult fantasy of 85,000 words, told from the perspectives of three female characters: Kira, Mary Magdalene, and the revivified corpse of Katherine Hepburn. The novel depicts a people's social framework from differing viewpoints, and shows females in heroic roles. It is my goal to reach out to readers, with characters and stories that they will relate to on an emotional level.

I am an established grants development professional (a fancy way of saying I write grants and business documents for a living) with an M.A. in Creative Writing. My poetry and short fiction have been published in a number of periodicals, both in the United States and Canada. I am an active member of SCBWI. I am eager to work with an enthusiastic agent with extensive knowledge of the young adult market. A full manuscript and synopsis are available upon request. I look forward to hearing from you.


Notes

I think if you're going to mention that Kira has a secret, she communicates with animals, you should illustrate this talent working in her favor. I could have invented such an incident, as I invented the other two women who star in the book, but decided it was easier just to ignore the whole idea.