Would you like to read my pitch?

~What if your deepest fear was everyone else's good luck charm? Meet rabbiter's daughter Gemma Bleeker, an eleven year old girl in a Dutch town where storks nest on rooftops and fathers make a living slaughtering rabbits.   

~Mr. Bleeker thinks rabbits are for eating, not petting, and can't understand his daughter's wish for a pet rabbit. Gemma hates butchering and wants a friend besides the flighty girl across the street. She wants her father's love even more than a rabbit, but since she asks pesky questions which challenge his beliefs, his love seems as far out of reach as the blue Netherlands sky.   

~After Gemma dares to ask if God exists, her brother, Wim, leaves the church their father has attended for twenty years. Blaming his daughter for Wim's decision, Mr. Bleeker slaps Gemma - damaging their relationship even more. Out of guilt, he finally gives Gemma a rabbit, but not his love. So Gemma creates the relationship she craves, with her rabbit, Toos.  

~When schoolboy rumors of a rabid rabbit-eating stork begin to circulate – and the stork takes up residence on the Bleeker's roof, Gemma worries for her pet. Though storks are considered lucky, and people tell her there is no such thing as a rabbit eating stork, she locks Toos in the garage. With family life unraveling fast and fresh evidence that the stork is a killer, Gemma turns in desperation to God – only to face heaven's betrayal the next day when she finds that her rabbit, trapped in the safe garage, was ripped apart by a dog.

~STORKS AND RABBITS explores difficulties we all have; growing up, relating to our parents, finding truth, and facing fear; it will immerse you in a culture not your own, but as familiar as your backyard.

_______________________________________________________________________________

~So there it is people, a 300 word pitch creating through literally hours of sweat, concentration, and overworked braincell expenditure. I'm entering the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest tonight -so prayers would be appreciated! My most pressing concerns right now are figuring out how to configure the microsoft word document properly (no hard returns???) and getting my manuscript in before the site overloads with the maximum number of entries!  

~Do you like the picture? It's also the product of hours lots of labor :) I'm not generally a fan of "glam" shots, but we are supposed to submit an author photo - so Savvy and Mom took me under their wings. Yep, they basically did everything. I just sat there and tried to smile through the plaster of makeup and hairspray. A BIG thank you for all their work, and for the siblings who looked after things. (like getting ready for unexpected prospective buyers - showing up in thirty minutes - when we were already in the process of "dressing up")  

~I can't wait till tonight is over, in fact, I can't wait to move on to the next novel! This one is taking all the starch out of me....