[QCRit] 71k, adult romance, version #2, HOLDING GROUND

Dear AGENT,

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Complete at 71k words, [HOLDING GROUND] is a dual-POV adult contemporary romance.

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Two years ago, Elaine Stewart left her emotionally abusive marriage. Although her little family is still dealing with the aftermath of the past few years, she is committed to building a life that feels safe, stable, and more than anything else, happy. She will protect this new, shiny life at all costs. Even if that means walking away from the unexpected possibility of her happily-ever-after.

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Griffin Jameson is ready to take over his grandfather’s company. As her new boss, all Elaine knows about him is that he wrote an ignorant, hurtful email four years ago. In her mind, it’s not something he can come back from.

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However, when Elaine starts seeing the real Griffin, who is kind, patient, and empathetic, she decides to give him a chance. He always tries to do the right thing, he keeps his promises, and he teaches her what it feels like to be both loved and safe at the same time. As Griffin watches Elaine take care of everyone around her, he finds himself eager to make sure that her and her children are taken care of as well. He particularly admires her goofiness and positive attitude, especially after learning what all she's been through.

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When Griffin’s mother and her boyfriend-of-the-month come for a visit, a lot of his old, negative feelings resurface. As he copes, Elaine begins to worry that being in any relationship, even one as great as this, could be too triggering, and too reminiscent of the life she just fought to leave. While Elaine fears losing herself to the emotional needs of a partner, Griffin finds himself scared that he’s walking in his mother’s footsteps, doomed to always be left heartbroken in an inevitable stream of unbalanced relationships.

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To make the relationship work, Elaine will need to trust Griffin to manage his emotions in a way that won’t overflow onto her, and Griffin will need to trust Elaine not to run, even when her trauma response tells her she must.

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A standalone with series potential, it will appeal to readers who loved Abby Jimenez's Say You'll Remember Me, the Canadian roots of Carley Fortune’s This Summer Will Be Different, and the main character energy of Kelly Clarkson’s song Since U Been Gone.

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[Bio, no writing credits]

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Thank you for your consideration, and I hope to hear from you soon!

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Sincerely,

[Name]

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First 300

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“I said NOW!” I snap at my children. Amelia looks up from where she’s playing on the floor, making her shoes talk to each other. Beatrice freezes in the doorway, where she was about to run upstairs and change her shirt for the third time this morning. Both of them look at me with wide eyes and I realize what I just did. Well, fuck.

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I have spent months trying to make our home feel safe again, after years of walking on eggshells around their dad, Cameron. And then I go and do something like this and bring us all back to those days? Acting quickly, I crouch down and force myself to soften.

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“I’m sorry. I should not have yelled like that. I know you aren’t trying to upset me, and you’re not doing anything wrong. But,” I say, taking a deep breath. “If we don’t leave now you’re going to be late for school.”

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I reach into my bag and grab my phone, pulling up my music app. I scroll for just a second until I find the silliest song on the front page—something about llamas wearing hats—and press play. The girls start laughing the second I bust out my wildest dance moves, but they quickly join in and we dance our way out the door. One of the more appealing parts of living out in a rural area like this, is that we have no neighbors close enough to see our parade of flailing limbs moving to the car. Once I get the kids buckled in, I give myself a high five for a job well done. I shake off what could have been a tough start to the morning, and get in the car with a smile on my face.

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