Pitch 21: Where Heather Was Hiding

Name: Karyn Riddle
Title: WHERE HEATHER WAS HIDING
Genre: YA Coming-of-Age 
Word count: 75,000

35-Word Pitch:


As 16y.o Shayna struggles to fit in at her stupid new California high school, she debates revealing a huge secret: her neighbor and new best friend is a beloved teen celebrity, who’s in hiding.


First 250 Words:



What is so special about palm trees anyway?
 
They’re just trees. They have trunks on the bottom and leaves at the top. That’s it, people. When you think about it, they’re just like any other tree, only worse.  You can’t really climb them, for example. And don’t get me started on the lack of shade.
 
I get it, though. They’re symbols of warm weather and tropical locations and vacation and blah blah blah.
 
Just don’t try to tell me I’m gonna enjoy moving to California because of the palm trees, OK? Don’t EVEN try it. Because believe me – I’ve heard quite enough about how wonderful California’s going to be, and it apparently boils down to one amazing feature: palm trees.
 
Unless one of those palm trees is going to sit with me during lunch, or take me to Homecoming, or walk with me in the halls during passing period, or gossip with me on the phone…….they are no good to me.
 
I’m quite happy living where I am right now, thank you very much. Yes, I realize it’s winter for nine months out of the year in Wisconsin, and during the rest of the year, we are infested with mosquitos. I know that California has the ocean and mountains (and as I believe I mentioned, palm trees). I realize that the average daily temperature where we’re moving will be something like 70 degrees.
 
Year round.
 
And so I admit that most objective observers would think I’m getting an upgrade.