Writing Wednesday

I am a little late posting today. I usually write my Wednesday post on Tuesday night, but I got side tracked last night. I was up a little late voting for Landau on America's Got Talent. If you click on his name, it will take you to the YouTube video where he auditioned for the show in NYC. It's a great clip!

Okay, now that I have bragged a little about a fellow West Virginian, back to writing.

I woke up yesterday morning with thoughts in my mind. Have you ever did that? They just wouldn't go away and although I wanted to go back to sleep, I sat up and got my little notebook from the end table and began to put my thoughts on paper.

I knew if I went back to sleep, I wouldn't remember the words. I have did that before and was sorry, because the words escaped me no matter how hard I tried to remember them.

It was what will be the forward to my family history book that I am working on. I don't know what made my mind go to that yesterday morning. Maybe my brain was telling me to get back to work on it. That particular WIP has been put on the side burner for too long.

I also came to a decision yesterday. I am going to try to find an agent. I spend too much of my time worrying about who to send my manuscripts to. If I can find an agent, he or she can open doors for me that I can not. I am always finding publishing companies that I think would be a great match for one of my manuscripts only to find out that they don't accept material from a writer without an agent. That is so frustrating!

Wish me luck. 

The Family Secret is a 17,000 word story that takes place during a hot stormy summer in 1960s southern West Virginia.  Two adventurous girls, Jan McMillion and her cousin Sarah, have an adventure they will never forget.

Do any of you writer's out there know of any agents looking for a manuscript involving hidden caves, old coins, bats, snakes, blind spiders, friendly spirits and an amazing family tale? It is for middle readers and is based upon a family story which has been passed down through the years since before the Civil War. The girls set out to prove whether or not the legend of the family treasure is true or not. The hot and musty attic provides them with the first clue to the mystery.

The legend is passed down to family members when they reach 13 years of age. After the girls stumble upon a Civil War letter in the attic, Jan’s mother tells the soon to be 13-year-old girls the story of the hidden family chest.

The curious girls search for more clues and discover a note in a secret compartment of Jan’s dresser left there many years ago by Dudley, their 13-year-old Civil War ancestor. It tells specifically where he hid the chest.  They do not tell anyone about the note they found and against orders from Jan’s parents, the cousins secretly take off by themselves to find the hidden treasure.

They find the hiding place, but are trapped by a ferocious storm and must spend the night in the cave.  Sarah, Jan’s ‘scaredy cat’ cousin from the city, turns out to be the brave one and saves Jan’s life.

The frantic parents go on a search to find the girls, but they are also trapped by the storm and have to wait it out, huddled in their pick up truck, until the waters recede.

The parents are reunited with the girls the morning after the storm. After a happy reunion, they retrieve the chest and return home to discover its contents.  After many delays, they discover the treasures inside the chest.

All during the story Dudley’s spirit helps guide the girls.  They form a bond with their ancestor and in the final scene, at the newly discovered family cemetery, they realize that Dudley’s spirit is now content.

The story is quickly carried along by torrential weather, frantic searches, exciting discoveries and a persistent spirit from long ago. It takes readers on a page turning adventure.   

Well, now I have managed to plug Landau and my manuscript. 

But, who knows, maybe an agent will read my blog. Stranger things have happened.

Happy Writing!