Monday, July 21, 2014

IWTN Entry 4: Lilly Washington Presidential P.I., MG Contemporary

Title: Lilly Washington Presidential P.I.
Word Count: 44,000
Genre: MG Contemporary






First 250: 

Not many people know that Thomas Jefferson invented the coat hanger. Or that Ulysses S. Grant got a twenty dollar speeding ticket for riding his horse too fast down a busy Washington street. Lucky for me, my photographic memory and love of useless trivia paid off when I landed a spot in the Jeopardy kid's tournament of champions this summer.

I was in the lead going into Final Jeopardy. But when Alex Trebek read the final answer, “He died in 1804, the day after his duel with Aaron Burr,” I froze, even thought I knew the answer. Stupid nerves. I was so confident I'd get the answer right, I bet (and lost) everything and ended up coming in third. I’ll never forget Alexander Hamilton again. Ever.  It still makes me mad thinking about it.

After the taping was over, I asked my dad why I froze. He gave me his serious look, that one where he gets a crease in between his eyes, and he said, "Life is a puzzle. Each experience is a piece of the puzzle that brings us closer to putting the picture together." I didn't quite understand and when I said, "huh?" he replied, "Don't worry, Lilly. One day it'll all make sense. For now, just keep on moving the pieces around and try to make them fit."

My eye wanders from the photograph of myself standing behind the Jeopardy podium next to a smiling Alex Trebec to the Mt. Rushmore calendar hanging next to my desk. 

1 comment:

  1. This sounds fun! Like a young VERONICA MARS meets NATIONAL TREASURE. And Lilly sounds like my kind of main character. If you’d be interested in querying me with this, I’d love to take a look at the first 100 pages!
