Sunday, July 31, 2011

Query #31: "The Zero Line" by Anonymous

This query is from an anonymous author for the novel The Zero Line. Thank you, Anonymous, for the honour of allowing me to work on and post this!

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ORIGINAL QUERY

A young couple inadvertently step into the secretive world of the CIA, and apply their unique skills to stop a friend from killing an innocent man.

In one of Maryland's oldest seaside towns a secret is about to be revealed.

Polly McKenna is a suburban housewife with a past she'd rather forget. But a recently purchased grandfather clock with the words 'I killed Robert Morrison' written on the back, stirs a long-subdued curiosity that prevents her from resting until she tracks down the scribe. Her husband Mitch, a former Marine pilot with a guilty conscience reluctantly follows. But when they discover an old friend, David Jordan, wrote the shocking admission a chilling scenario begins to unfold.

Drawn into the cryptic world of the CIA, the young couple race to stop their friend from killing again.

What the Mckennas don't know is that someone else is targeting David--someone with the power and desire to kill hundreds. And Mitch is the new target. Suddenly the reluctant one, Polly is forced to reach back into a world she left behind--a world that nearly took her life.

THE ZERO LINE is complete at 100K words. The story is set in the crowded chaos of Pakistan, where truth and honor take a back seat to revenge and deceit, and on Maryland's upscale Eastern Shore where one man's tainted history holds the key to unraveling a decades old drama of Cold War intrigue.

Prior to writing THE ZERO LINE, I worked extensively in the counterintelligence field with over twenty-five years experience at the XXX and the XXX. I would be pleased to send you a partial or full manuscript at your request.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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GOBLIN-EDIT

A young couple inadvertently step into the secretive world of the CIA and apply their unique skills to stop a friend from killing an innocent man.

Polly McKenna is a suburban housewife with a past she would rather forget, but when a recently-purchased clock with the words 'I killed Robert Morrison' scratched in its back stirs her long-subdued curiosity, Polly convinces her husband Mitch, a former Marine pilot with a guilty conscience, to help her track the scribe.

Mitch's tainted history holds the key to unraveling a decades-old drama of Cold War intrigue, and the couple discover an old friend wrote the shocking admission. Polly and Mitch are drawn into the cryptic world of the CIA and must race to stop their friend from killing again.

What the McKennas don't know is someone from the crowded chaos of Pakistan, where truth and honor take a back seat to revenge and deceit, is targeting the killer also. When the couple's nosiness results in Mitch becoming the new target, Polly is forced to reach back into a world she left behind--a world that nearly took her life--to save her husband and stop [a catastrophe--is it a single murder? A terrorist massacre? Whatever the book's biggest crisis is, put it here.]

THE ZERO LINE is complete at 100,000 words. Prior to writing THE ZERO LINE, I worked extensively in the counterintelligence field and have over twenty-five years experience at the XXX and the XXX. I would be pleased to send you a partial or full manuscript. Thank you for your time and consideration.


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