Nervous Nellie

I'm going to try to make this one of my last posts for a while on the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. But ABNA is gearing up at the moment and the first round results will be announced tomorrow.

There are three components to an entry in ABNA -- the pitch, an excerpt and the complete manuscript. In the first round, the only thing that is judged is the 300-word pitch. It's like a sales pitch that needs to include the main character, the plot and some really good writing. (It's kind of like the description you see on book jacket covers.) But since 80 percent of the entries are eliminated in the first round, more than a good story and good writing are required.

Luck will play a major factor.

Some of the past contestants estimate that luck plays up to 50 percent in whether you advance out of the first round/pitch stage and into the excerpt stage, which is the second round. If the reviewer is having a bad day or doesn't care for your genre, you likely could be bounced.

Just today on one of the ABNA community discussion boards I was reading the pitch of someone whom is active in the ABNA contestant community and who revised their pitch for a fantasy novel several times before it was entered. It is still a complete mess. I had no idea what the story was about and, worst of all, I didn't care. If I was a judge, I'd eliminate them immediately, although the book itself may be quite good (although I doubt it). But then, I don't care for fantasy novels. If I were judging, it would have a hard time with me anyway.

All that is to say I am a Nervous Nellie waiting for the first round results tomorrow, which should come in by early afternoon. I keep dreaming of advancing but know realistically the odds are against me.

All that said, below is my pitch. Read and send me a comment if you'd like. And above all, thanks for reading.

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Rachel Edelstein is a rarity - it's not easy being black AND Jewish in America - but she has developed her own unique survival instincts. When Nazis come to kidnap her and she finds out her boyfriend is an Israeli intelligence agent, her life depends on trusting those instincts - and in trusting the right people.

The person she trusts most is her grandfather, Julius Edelstein, but he has suddenly disappeared. As Rachel searches for him, she learns Julius is the surviving member in a financial agreement called a tontine, which was created with millions of Deutsche Marks stolen from the Nazis during World War II. The men planned to use the dividends from the tontine to fund a resistance movement and ultimately support Jewish charities for the rest of their lives.

But the Nazis have long memories. Now, seven decades later, the descendants of a former Gestapo chief who escaped judgment are still looking for Julius. And they will stop at nothing to recover the money, including murder or kidnapping. That puts Rachel, who doesn't know why Julius is missing, in their cross hairs.

After the bad guys attempt to kidnap her hoping she will lead them to Julius, Rachel must use her instincts to determine whom to trust - her boyfriend, who lied to her about being an Israeli agent, or the black New York City police detective with a sketchy past who is investigating her grandfather's disappearance.

The wrong choice could lead to more chaos - and more dead bodies.

THE LAST TONTINE SURVIVOR is written in a style similar to that of authors Jeffrey Archer or Jack Higgins, and its target market is educated readers over the age of 30 who enjoy mystery and suspense, and a bit of history.