And away we go! Welcome to Son of a Pitch, Week 2. This week, I'll be hosting ten writers here on my site.
The top twenty will be selected and posted on Friday. Without further ado:
Title: MY SOUL TO GIVE
Age and Genre: Adult Paranormal Mystery
Word Count: 89,000
Query:
When Celina escapes the brutal home invasion that kills her husband, she’s left with a bullet in her gut and vengeance in her heart. A charming demon, Mekaisto, offers an irresistible deal: In exchange for her soul, he’ll let her live long enough to get her revenge, but she must hunt and kill the murderers herself.
But the break-in wasn’t random. When Celina digs deeper into her husband’s past for clues about his murder, she uncovers dangerous secrets. His company never existed. His family history was a lie. And he was intricately involved with The Lumen, a shadowy religious order whose members know more about demons than they’re telling. As faith in her marriage wanes and Mekaisto proves a trustworthy ally, Celina struggles against her late husband’s betrayal and the dark charms of the devil she knows.
Once Celina targets her husband’s killers, she learns it’s not just her life and soul on the line. She’s pregnant, and Mekaisto has plans for her unborn son. If Celina can’t trick the dark realm’s greatest master of deceit, both she and her child will be lost for eternity.
First 250 words:
Celina stared ahead, the headlights cutting through early spring fog as they wound down the long country road. Her husband’s silence hung heavy between them, Celina’s thoughts flying by faster than the trees whipping past the car.
They didn’t get into town for dinner often; it should have been romantic, but Thomas had been distant and distracted all night.
Five years of marriage and I still can’t figure out all his weird moods.
She gasped as he slammed on the car brakes as hundreds of crows dived at the car. “What the hell is—?”
Their black feathered wings smashed against the windshield, and the car screeched to a halt, flinging Celina into the seatbelt.
Thomas grabbed her shoulder. “Are you ok?”
She nodded as her pulse slowed, and they both stepped out of the car.
Celina leaned against the side of the vehicle and looked around, the headlights illuminating a small circle in the darkness. “We definitely hit some of them… How is there no blood?”
His eyes glazed as he glanced back. “What?”
“You’ve been acting strange all evening.”
He winked. “That’s because I am strange.”
What is he hiding?
“Really? We almost crashed because a group of crows flew out of nowhere like something out of Hitchcock, and you’re smiling and winking like it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist. “A murder.” She arched an eyebrow and his smile widened. “It’s what a group of crows is called—a murder of crows.”
