Pitch Slam Entry 5: Awake And Dreaming, Adult Contemporary Fantasy

Title: AWAKE AND DREAMING

Genre: Adult Contemporary Fantasy

Word Count: 99,000


Hogwarts House: Emme would probably be sorted into Hufflepuff, because she's exceptionally loyal and dedicated, and breaking any sort of rule leads to much inner turmoil. She could definitely be sorted into Gryffindor though -- except she'd probably use Harry's tactic and ask the hat not to, mostly because she doesn't always recognize her own courage and bravery.

Pitch: Emme creates fully-customizable Dreams for clients, but when her own Dream causes a murder, she becomes a weapon for two revenge-obsessed rivals. Customizing this Dream will mean deciding who to trust -- and who to kill.


First 250:

Once someone's decided you're a hooker, there's not much you can do to convince them otherwise. Years of weekly interactions with Patty, my client's hyper-attentive security guard, had taught me as much.

I'd mistakenly mentioned her hatred of me to Albert Gibbons after one of her more intense glare-filled interrogations at the wrought-iron gates of his estate, and now the start of every appointment turned me into a liar.

Al ushered me down the hall of his guesthouse, gleaming white-tiled floor serving as roadmap to the back bedroom. "I trust you had no issues at the gates today?"

"None at all."

His deep laughter echoed against the barren walls. "You can be honest, Emmeline."

"No really. I mean, she still thinks I'm a prostitute, but that is totally fine."

It was totally not fine.

It might've helped, egotistically speaking, if I could convince myself Patty thought I was a high-priced escort, but everyone knows high-priced escorts don't drive Toyota Camrys.

I followed him through the bedroom doorway. "Better a prostitute than the truth, from a jail-time perspective at least. So anyway…should I be using the side entrance from now on?" Patty had been delighted to pass on the message that I shouldn't use the front door as I normally did.

A frown tugged at his lips. "No, just for tonight."

"Okay. We can get started then." I shivered as a blast of the arctic-level air conditioning nipped at my exposed skin. "Safeword for tonight, Mr. Gibbons?"




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