VANISHING IRON -FIRST 3 PAGES

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Pure evil is staring back at me from my full length floor mirror. I may even be afraid of myself. My eyes glow a very bright crimson with black around the edges, as if the fire inside had burnt the curved periphery. I look like I have not had a “bite” in weeks. My skin, which is normally pale, is almost iridescent now. The jet black pixie haircut is arranged in little spikes that spell trouble. The menacing grin is complete with two sharp fangs over my scarlet red full lips that look poised to wreak havoc amongst the unsuspecting city’s people of Atlanta, Georgia.

The town won’t be that unsuspecting considering the rest of the people at DragonCon will also be dressed in costumes ranging from Star Trek to Night of the Living Dead. In addition to the wig, glitter, and contacts, my costume is complete with a red tank with three holes sliced across the front, a black leather floor length trench coat with three waist-high silver buckles, a black leather mini skirt, and black leather high heel boots that cover my knees but leave much of my thigh to be seen. Dare, I say it… I look hot.

This will be my second year to attend the huge convention/party that is Con. Last year, I went as plain old me, and in a crowd of freaks, the normal person is the weirdo. The crowd is always heavily dosed with glorious freaks dressed up as their favorite character or someone from their favorite genre. To call DragonCon a convention would be an insult. It is a place of worship to all geeks, freaks, and nerds, and a source of entertainment to anyone else who dares to enter. This year, we plan to submerse ourselves in this magical wonderland.

Last year, I had not found my “calling,” so my attendance was just to enjoy the show. I, a Con virgin, walked among the pirates, wookies, zombies, and even got to pet a real live functioning R2-D2. It took me almost thirty minutes to realize that the man beside me was operating it with a remote control as I carried on a conversation with the shiny robot while it beeped back at me. I stalked off stupidly.

A few months after the festivities, I picked up a vampire novel which I inhaled. I followed it with every type of dark fantasy tale that I could find. I still don’t consider myself a geek or a fanatic but I have definitely found my area of interest. But if you looked at me in this moment, you would think that I have lost my mind and drink blood on a regular basis.

I am in the midst of trying to add a little more dark shadows under my eyes to give myself the true undead look, when the doorbell rings. It must be Christian, my best friend who is a true fanatic. He is the reason I even started attending these types of things and unlike me, he is a fan of it all. I slide down the banister to get to the door. Safer than taking the stairs in these boots.
I fling the door open, and there he stands. We both let out a scream and begin cackling at each other. No one is really scared, we are just that silly. Christian is a yicky-ucky zombie, complete with a tattered, stained, once-white shirt, pants that actually look like they had been buried, and suspenders. His normally perfect hair is dirty and a total mess at the top of his head. His skin has been painted a weird grayish green, and his mouth is bloodstained. No one would recognize this scary critter as my normal, calm, clean-cut best buddy.

“Felicity Johnson, you look a-freakin-mazing.” He sounds surprised. “I would have never thought that you, of all people, could pull this off.” I should be offended, but he is quite right. Everyday me is not sexy, not scary, and definitely not a vampire.

“Well, hello Pot... I must be the kettle,” I snicker, opening the door for him to enter.

“Hey, listen to this,” I say, letting out a very non-intimidating version of a snarl. “I’ve been practicing.”

“Um…. Keep practicing, you sound like a drowning kitten.”

I look at him with my pouty lip showing. I at least sound like an angry kitten, not a completely helpless one.

QUERY - VANISHING IRON

Click here to read the first 3 pages.

Dear (agent name),

Felicity Johnson and her friends have made plans to submerge themselves in DragonCon, the convention in Atlanta that celebrates everything sci-fi and fantasy. When Felicity steps outside of her comfort zone and disguises herself as a sexy vampire, she attracts two men that will change her world as she knows it forever: Blake, the gorgeous attorney that first turns her head but quickly steals her heart, and Gabriel, the undisclosed vampire that wants her all to himself, one way or another.

When her best friend, Christian, doesn’t show up at their meeting spot, panic fills her down to her soul. She begins to desperately search for him, but instead finds another friend’s dead body. Her world spins out of control, and the one person she can depend on is the one person she can’t find. Christian has always been there for her and she must now save him, though she doesn’t have a clue how or from what.

In the weeks that follow, Blake and his highly connected friends try to help her find her long lost friend and struggle to keep Felicity breathing. Blake is forced to reveal to Felicity the existence of vampires, a secret that his family has made a pact to protect. Blake and Felicity’s relationship blossoms and the steam continues to rise as she falls deeper and deeper for this man who is working so hard to keep her safe, but little does she know that he has a deep, dark secret of his own.

VANISHING IRON, a suspenseful urban fantasy novel told with humor and romance. It is complete at 80,000 words. Set in modern day Atlanta, it is a story of passion, betrayal, and perceptions that exist on the edge of reality. It’s difficult at times to know whose side to be on. VANISHING IRON is the first in an open-ended series.

A third of my novel takes place at DragonCon, a real live event where thirty-thousand science fiction and fantasy fans descend upon the high-rise hotels of downtown Atlanta. It is a four-day convention where the participants are enabled to live out their fantasies. My novel plays with the idea that maybe some of those fantasies are real. I would be very interested in using these types of conventions as a platform to help market the book. As I am sure you are aware, conventions are becoming more and more mainstream thanks to the increasing popularity of young adult fantasy fiction, video games, and comic/superhero movies.

I am a member of Sisters in Crime and Atlanta Writer’s Club.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

(insert name here)