When It All Went Away - The Writer's Voice 2014

I'm so excited that I made it into the first round of The Writer's Voice, a multi-blog, multi-agent writing contest based on NBC's singing reality show! A huge thank you to Brenda Drake, Monica Bustamante Wagner, Kimberly P. Chase, and Elizabeth Briggs for hosting this.

My entry is below

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Query:

It’s been twenty-seven days since Grayson broke seventeen-year-old Quinn Bishop’s heart. Twenty-seven days since the night of the party, where she caught him kissing one of her closest friends. And despite his claims that it was “just a drunken kiss”, the emails from her former friend - the girl he kissed - prove otherwise.

With her loyal best friend Harper by her side, Quinn sets out on the daunting path of getting over Grayson - crazy colored hair, first dates and open mic nights included. 

But Grayson’s plans to win her back threaten her resolve to forget him, and remind her of the epic love they shared. And as the news of their breakup spreads, the most popular boy in school declares his crush on Quinn.

It seems like an easy enough choice, until Quinn discovers she’s been lied to more than once. 

WHEN IT ALL WENT AWAY is a YA Contemporary complete at 60,000 words

First 250 Words:

When I started my senior year, I had a long list of unfathomable wishes. Now that I’m more than halfway through the year, I’ve narrowed them down to one. One pulsing wish.

To forget him.

Right now, it seems an impossible task, especially considering the object of my wishing stands three lockers away from me. But such are the calamities of sharing last names in the same branch of the alphabet. I can’t even escape him in homeroom.

“Avert your eyes, stat,” a voice hisses over my shoulder.

With a sigh, I turn to face my best friend. “I’m trying my best. It might be easier if he weren’t so hot.”

Harper rolls her eyes. “Please, his hotness is overrated. Who really wants tall, dark, and handsome anyway?”

“You’re not helping,” I answer, refusing to let my eyes caress his face one last time.

“Ok, then just imagine Sydney every time you look at him.”

My heart constricts painfully in my chest. “Yeah, because that visual doesn’t haunt my every waking moment.”

She bumps me with her hip. “But it works, doesn’t it?”

“It’s cruel.”

“So is torturing yourself over someone who proved that he’s not worth your time.”

“My mind knows that. Now if we could find a way to convince my heart, we’d be golden.”

Harper slings an arm around my shoulder. “It’s only been a few weeks, Quinn. Give it time.”

“I’m trying.”

“I know.” Harper’s green eyes are sad. “Are you going to be ok until lunch? We could totally skip.”