Adult Urban Fantasy: GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

Author's Name: Vicki Cooke

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Stage of Completion: Mostly polished, I hope.

Preferred Critique Style: Straight to the point.

Cat Person or Dog Person: Dog

Tea or Coffee: Neither, I prefer Pepsi.

Short Pitch

Siobhan thought starting over after her husband left for his pregnant secretary was bad; then she inherits a job she has no training for, and spends her time protecting the creatures people think don’t exist. Now, someone is hunting her charges, whoever it is has Siobhan firmly in their sights.

Writing Sample

 I crept like the fat, forty-four-year-old woman I am through the torrential downpour of an Oregon spring evening. Staying in the shadows, I tried not to look as if I were a thief about to case the joint as I moved toward the tall wooden fence. I felt like a cartoon character as I tiptoed from one shadow laden area to the next. I neared the fence where my target hid moving into position. Donal, my partner, waited to let me into the backyard.

At the gate, I raised my hand to knock on the weather-beaten wood. The latch released with a quiet click before the gate swung toward my face, attempting to turn it into a piñata. A quick step to the side, I grasped the gate slipping through the opening. Donal stood to the side frowning as I turned to pull the gate closed behind me. A quick glance showed me Donal was steaming, in the literal sense of the word. Steam wafted off him in waves like fog.

"Any sign of Norman?" I whispered. I looked where I assumed Donal's face should be. As a five-foot four-inch-tall woman, it's difficult to look someone in the eye under normal circumstances. If the person is at least six and a half feet tall, it's even harder. If it's dark...worse yet.

"No," Donal growled. What would you expect from a thousand-year-old dragon? He may appear human on the outside, but inside he's still one grumpy dragon.