The Query: Putting it all together

Just a quick post today.  Here's what my query letter looked like all put together when I sent it to my agent.

Dear Natalie Fischer:  (SALUTATION:  REMEMBER TO PERSONALIZE THIS HERE.  DO NOT MASS EMAIL.  SEND TO ONE AGENT AT A TIME!!)

You'd think imagining a handsome stranger in your rearview mirror, crashing through a guardrail, careening into murky waters, and then being rescued by the same imaginary boy--who gives his name as Jackson--would be bad enough. But for seventeen-year-old Lily Baker, that’s just the start of her problems. (HOOK:  GRAB THE READERS ATTENTION)

After coming home from the hospital, Jackson starts showing up in reflective surfaces — mirrors, puddles, windows, you name it. Lily, fearing others will think she’s crazy, keeps the visions to herself. After all, they’ll just go away if she ignores them, right? Not if Jackson has anything to say about it. And it isn’t long before he convinces her he’s real. The more time she spends staring into her mirror, the more she realizes she’s falling in love with a boy her family and friends insist is nothing more than shadows in her mirror and the hallucinations of her healing head injury.  (SYNOPSIS:  EXPLAIN ENOUGH OF THE BOOK TO GET THEIR INTEREST.  END ON A HOOK)

MIRROR IMAGE is a science fiction romantic young adult novel, complete at 83,000 words. With a mix of Alice In Wonderland, The Phantom of the Opera, and Romeo & Juliet, this is a story of love that knows no bounds. Time, space, even the very fabric of reality cannot stop it.  (BOOK DETAILS)

My young adult book, under the working title FALLEN, has been offered a contract from XXX. We are currently undergoing negotiations. I am a member of the RWA and CFRW.  (PERSONAL BIO)

(PERSONALIZATION WOULD NORMALLY GO HERE)

Per your guidelines, I have enclosed a synopsis and the first 50 pages.  Thank you for your generous time. I look forward to hearing from you soon.  (TELL THEM WHAT YOU ARE INCLUDING AND THANK THEM FOR THEIR TIME.)

Sincerely,

(MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION.)

         As you can see, it’s pretty easy. Mostly.  :D

         Here’s some fantaboulous resources to help you. 

         Absolute Write

         Query Tracker

         Agent Query

         And my own agent’s template. 

         I’ll add more agent’s onto this as I find them, so check back throughout the day.

Query letter: The Beginning

As promised here’s day one of my Query letter writing “workshop” for my secret agent contest.  Since it’s the beginning, I figured it was only fitting to talk about beginnings.

Keep in mind there is no secret formula to writing queries, all my knowledge comes from my own writing and what I found worked for me.  Each agent is different, and each agent will want different things.

Also, keep in mind that while you want to catch the agent’s attention, you don’t want to be gimmicky.  Avoid using colored paper, glitter, or sending cookies or anything else with the letter.  It should be just as professional as if you were writing a cover letter for a job interview. 

Margins should be 1” wide all around and the letter should be no longer than one page, single-spaced.  Don’t forget to include your contact information somewhere in your letter.  Usually below your signature.

In normal circumstances, it’s important to do some research before submitting, don’t just carbon copy everyone in the writing business.  Personalize each query to each individual agent and send each query separately.

 Use Query Tracker, absolute write, editors and preditors, and Agent Query to locate, research their preferences, and check into agents.  For the purpose of this contest we’ll just personalize the query letter with Dear Secret Agent:

Now onto the first paragraph.  Some like to say why they’re querying right here, but I don’t agree.  The top of the letter is valuable real estate!  You want to make it as eye catching as possible. And most agents know why you're querying them.  You want them to offer representation!  

So, I suggest opening your book with your hook. 

Since the query for Mirror Image is what eventually got me my agent (along with the manuscript pages) I’ll use that as an example:

“You'd think imagining a handsome stranger in your rearview mirror, crashing through a guardrail, careening into murky waters, and then being rescued by the same imaginary boy--who gives his name as Jackson--would be bad enough. But for seventeen-year-old LILY BAKER, that’s just the start of her problems.”

As you can see, I only give a little bit of information here, but it’s enough to capture said agent’s attention and hopefully make him/her keep reading. 

That’s the goal here folks, is to make the reader (whomever it may be) to keep reading.

Here’s another example of a hook.  This is one from my new WIP. 

"For EMILY BRIAR the rules are simple: life is short, death is never-ending and absolute, and second chances are almost never given. But when teenagers start walking around without their souls, that’s all about to change."

Do you see something interesting about the names?  Names in the synopsis and query are in all caps the first time they are mentioned, as is the title of the MS. 

Also, it’s important that you double, even triple check your query for spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors.  Even have another person read it to make sure it’s perfect.  Nothing turns people off like errors in your query and it’s a good way to get an auto-reject.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about the synopsis of the query.

Teaser Tuesday: Mirror Image

Well I thought I'd share one of the new scenes I added for Mirror Image.  Next week I hope to have my teasers from my new WIP up.  Hope you enjoy.

***

I started avoiding any and all mirrors and reflective surfaces and it wasn’t long before all of my friends had noticed my odd behavior, but everyone--besides Ty--seemed to think my hang up on mirrors was due to the injuries I had. 

            Carly and Leah tried several times to convince me it wasn’t as bad as I thought, and even Noah and Owen would go out of their way to tell me how pretty I was.  In an effort to distract me, Leah had come up with a plan to go to the carnival that was down the street and Ty agreed it was a good idea so we all trooped down the street.

We walked around the fair, deciding what ride to hit next.  Ty wanted something gentle so I could go with, but I didn’t really care.  I just enjoyed getting out of the hotel.  When we stopped outside the house of mirrors, Ty glanced over at me and a strange look passed over his face. 

            “Come on, we’ll go in here,” he said, watching me carefully.

            A wave of panic rushed through me and I stopped in my tracks.  “No.”

            He leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Lily, he’s not real.  You need to face this.  It’ll never go away if you keep letting it bother you.”

            “No.  I don’t want to go in there.”  I started to feel sick to my stomach and dizzy as my heart rate picked up.  A sure sign of an oncoming panic attack.

            The others had stopped to see why we had and Leah said, “Ty, if she doesn’t want to go, don’t force her.”  She watched me carefully and twisted the strap of her purse in her hands.
            He sent her a look, but didn’t say anything before turning back to me.  “You can do this, Lil.  I’ll be with you the whole time.  You just need to prove to yourself he doesn’t exist.  I know you can do this.”

            I closed my eyes.  He was right.  Jackson didn’t exist and I needed to face this.  I couldn’t just keep avoiding mirrors for the rest of my life.  When I opened my eyes, I nodded. “Alright, but don’t leave me.  Okay?”

            “Never,” he promised and slipped an arm around my shoulder to lead me into the attraction.

            Leah reached out and tugged on my arm.  “You don’t have to do this, Hun.  You can wait until you heal.  There’s no need to rush into this and make it worse,” she said, her narrowed eyes on Ty.

            Ty made a growling sound in his throat, but otherwise said nothing.  I smiled at her, conveying my thanks, but shook my head, even as butterflies flew around in my belly making me feel even sicker.  “No.  This is something I have to do.  For me.”

            She watched me, then nodded and let go.  She gave one last glare to Ty and then stepped back to follow us into the building. 

            Ty kept a tight grip on me as I shook, but I forced myself to look in every mirror we passed. 

Jackson never appeared.

Eventually, I relaxed enough to let go of Ty and wander to a few mirrors on my own, laughing at how silly I looked.

            I moved from mirror to mirror, feeling lighter than I had in days.  I was over it.  I was fine.  No, I was ecstatic. Jackson didn’t exist and I wasn’t going crazy. Thank God.

When I got to a mirror that made me look not only short and fat, but made my face look all squished and gnome-like, I giggled and turned to get Ty’s attention.  But he wasn’t near me.  In fact, no one was. 

            Cursing myself for not paying attention, I tried backtracking to locate my group, but only succeeded in getting myself more lost.  So, I stopped and tried to think about the way I’d come and how to get back, but tingles of panic started to creep in. I’d been so focused on the mirrors I didn’t remember the path I’d taken.  And where the hell was Ty?  He’d promised he wouldn’t leave me.

            I debated calling for help, but decided that would only make me look stupid. I looked up and saw Jackson’s sad eyes staring back at me.  My heart leaped into my throat and my feet froze to the floor.  This isn’t happening.  This isn’t happening, I thought over and over. 

            He reached out to the glass, and mouthed, “Please.”

            I shook my head rapidly.  “No,” I whispered, backing up.  I bumped into another mirror and turned around, only to see him staring back at me from this one instead.  I spun again, and again, but no matter where I turned, there he was. 

            Oh God, this can’t be happening.  It isn’t real.  He doesn’t exist.

            “Please,” he repeated, his eyes turning even sadder.  “I won’t hurt you.”

            “No!” I screamed, squeezing my eyes tightly shut.  I dropped to my knees and slapped my hands over my ears as my screams echoed back to me. My heart felt as if it were trying to escape from my chest as Tyler raced to where I was. 

My eyes flew open when he grabbed a hold of me and pulled me into his chest.  I clung to him, but it still didn’t help much.

            “Lily!  What’s wrong?  What happened?” he demanded, but I couldn’t tell him.  I couldn’t get words to form coherently.  I could only babble things that didn’t make sense even to me.

            Leah ran in next and stopped when she saw me. She dropped down next to me and tried pulling from Tyler, but he held tight. She glared at him.  “I knew this was a bad idea.  You stupid son of a--”

            “Now’s not the time,” he said, cutting her off.  He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Was it another hallucination?”  I could only nod once before I sobbed and buried my face into his chest.  “Oh, man, Lily.  I’m so sorry.  I didn’t know.  I didn’t realize.  I’m sorry.”  He encircled my waist with his arm and, ignoring all the people who’d come running, led me back to the hotel and to his car, apologizing the whole time.

 I curled up into a ball in his passenger seat, making mewling sounds in my throat. He took me straight to my parent’s house, checking on me constantly as I trembled and rocked.

            He rushed me inside and my mom turned from the sink with a smile when she heard us.  “You two are back early…” she trailed off when she saw me.  “What happened?”

            “She’s seeing things.  A boy.  In mirrors,” Ty said, keeping his arm firmly around me as I trembled harder. 

Dishes clattered in the sink as she rushed over to me.  She placed the back of her hand on my forehead and looked into my eyes.  “How long?”

“Since the accident.  I think something’s wrong with me,” I finally managed.  Hot tears poured out of my eyes and she wrapped her arms around me as my father, who’d been listening from his seat at the table, called the hospital.

THE CALL!

"This just in, breaking news from the blog site of JA Souders:"

Okay, so I was going to do another blog on how to avoid being scammed, but I’m going to take a break from our regularly scheduled show to tell you about THE CALL!  Yep, you read that right.  A few weeks ago I received the call.  Some of you already know this, but a lot of you don’t, so I thought I’d share. 

Now onto the deets.  My “call” was actually an email, because my story is a bit different and a bit long so I'll cut it a bit to get to the good stuff. 

Okay, so I sent off my queries to my agents via email with every intention of only hitting the ones who accepted e-queries, but I was on absolute write where I heard about a newer agent that had started her own list.  To avoid confusion we'll call her NF.  Immediately I felt a little buzz and went to take a look at the site.  And became disappointed.  Not only did they only accept snail queries, but also they wanted the first 50 pages with it and they only respond if interested.  Since money is a limited resource around my house, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take the chance of sending it off, without even a response if they didn’t like it.

I put it off to the side as a maybe. But I just couldn’t get this agent out of my head.  It was almost as bad as when I first met my husband and developed a MAJOR crush on him.  This too I thought would never be reciprocated. So I decided to just go for it.  I’d just get a delivery confirmation so I know it got there and try to forget about it.  What harm could it do?  So, I might be out a few bucks if she didn’t like it, but if she did…

In the meantime, I'd kept on querying.  And after a really complicated and confused few weeks and another long story got "the call" from a different agent--we'll call her CF--but she needed to approve it through her partner and asked if I'd wait a few days.  I agreed and waited until she called back.  Which she did, but she still didn't answer.  She asked if I'd wait a little longer and I agreed.

The minute I hung up I received an email from NF telling me she had LOVED what I had sent her and would I snail the rest to her? The only thing she asked for was an exclusive.

I didn’t know what to do. I was excited, because she was my “dream agent.” So I decided to snail the full to her and then emailed her to let her know I wasn’t able to grant her the exclusive, but I’d let her know if the other agent offered.   She replied immediately thanking me and yes she’d still love to read it.

So, I waited another day or so and CF called back and made an offer.  However, now I couldn’t make a decision yet.  I asked for a week and immediately emailed NF back to let her know about the offer. 

She replied immediately and asked since the snail mail full hadn’t arrived would I please email the rest to her and give her a few days to read and respond?  I was floored.  I hadn’t been expecting that, so of course, I sent it right off and waited.  And waited.  LOL.  That was the longest 4 days of my life. 

Then the unthinkable happened.  She LOVED my story and wanted it.   She offered representation right then and there.  After asking a bazillion questions via email, which only confirmed she was my dream agent, I accepted her offer and emailed the other agent, apologizing and letting her know I was signing with NF. 

Now onto the information you all have been waiting for.  Who the heck did I sign with that would be so great that I’d be this giddy about it.  It’s none other than Natalie Fischer of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.  You know, the agency that represents Amy Tan (Joy Luck Club) and Kate White (Hush)?  Yep, that one.

That night Natalie emailed me all her notes and a few days later they sent me the temporary agency agreement to sign and fax back.  And then on Tuesday, I received the actual contract and I signed and sent it back the same day. 

In the almost 2 weeks I’ve been working with Natalie, I couldn’t be happier in our “relationship.”  She is so excited about Mirror Image and she’s always quick to respond and her comments on her notes always crack me up.  Not to mention the changes she suggests are usually spot on.  The best part is, she “gets” it and is always open to questions.

Personally, I’m looking forward to working with her for many, many years and I hope that the rest of you find an agent that is just as wonderful. 


I'm hoping to get her here to do an interview, but I don't know if I'll be able to do it.  We shall see.  :)  In the meantime, I'll keep you all posted on any news that comes my way.  

And now back to our regularly scheduled program.  


~JA

Teaser Tuesday: Mirror Image

Going back to MIRROR IMAGE for this week's Teaser Tuesday.  


This scene takes place as Lily realizes she's not in love with Tyler and that she's starting to have feelings for Jackson.

“Tell me a secret?” Jackson asked.

“A secret?”

“Yeah.  Tell me something no one else knows.”

I shook my head and gave him a coy smile.  “It won’t be a secret if I tell you.”

He crept closer to the mirror.  “Please, Tiger Lily, I promise not to tell anyone.”

I giggled.  “Who would you tell?”

“Exactly.”

“All right.”  I took a breath. “I still have my baby blanket.”

He smiled at me.  “Really?”

“Um hmm.” I got up and pulled open a drawer.  Inside was my pink baby blanket.  It was ratty and torn in a few places, but otherwise intact.  I held it up.  “See?”

He laughed as I tucked it back into the drawer and sat again.  “That’s very interesting,” he said.

“Your turn.”

He thought for a second and then said, “My mom has this fake flower arrangement in the front room and she likes it to be just so and it drives her crazy if it isn’t.  Every night before I go to bed, I turn it a quarter of a turn to the left.  When I get up in the morning, it’s back to its original position.”

I burst out laughing.  “Oh, that’s bad.  Does she know it’s you who’s doing it?”

“Probably.  Who else would it be?”

“True.”

“Give me another,” he said, sending me one of his heart stopping smiles.

“I count the steps if I’m going up the stairs.”

“Toilet paper has to be over the roll, not under.”

“I know what I’m going to wear for three days in advance.”

“I have to let my ice-cream melt a little before I can eat it.”

“I never step on sidewalk cracks.”

            “Neither do I,” he gasped.  We were both laughing so hard we couldn’t catch our breath or finish our list.  Every time we’d stop, we’d look at each other and it would start all over again.

            Finally, when we’d stopped laughing, he said, “Tell me another secret.”

            “Another? Like what?”

            “How about what do you secretly want to be?  Every one has one.” He grinned at me.

I thought about it and then glanced at the door.  “I’ve always wanted to be a singer.”

            He raised an eyebrow and a strange look crept into his eyes.  “A singer?”

            “Yeah, but I’ve never been brave enough to do anything about it. That’s why you always hear me singing in here.  It’s the only place I’m brave enough to do it. I never realized anyone could hear me. I’ve wanted to be a singer ever since I was a little girl and I heard Jewel on the radio. I know it’s the smart thing to go to college and get my degree, but what I really want to do, is audition for American Idol.”

            “What is that?” he asked.

            “Uh, it’s a show where people from all over the country audition in front of people who’ve been in the business awhile and then they go on TV and sing in front of the whole country and people vote.  By the end of the season, whoever is last wins a recording contract.”

            “So, why don’t you do it?  Your voice is beautiful.  You’d win for sure.”

            I laughed “No.  I doubt that. One of the judges is a real ass, but he’s good and he knows what sells.  I heard him sing once.  He was awesome.  I’m sure he’d chew me up and spit me out.”

            “I don’t think so, Lily.  I’d bet he’d be singing your praises when you finished. No pun intended.  You’d be rich and famous.”

            I shrugged.  “My parents wouldn’t like that at all.  They’d never let me.”

            “Yeah, I know the feeling.  I tried starting a band once.  My mom put the brakes on that one immediately.”

            I chuckled and scooted my legs underneath me.  “You tried starting a band?  That’s so cool. ”

            “Yeah, I wanted to be the next Ricky Solano.”

            “Who’s Ricky Solano?”

            “Only the best lead singer for a rock band there is.  Hold on.” He ran over to his desk and a few seconds later music flowed from his speakers, a male voice crooning in direct contrast to the edgy beat

            After a few bars, I found myself bobbing my head along with it.  “Yeah, okay. I’ll agree with you.  I think he’s better than a lot of the ones we have here,” I said when he turned it back off.

            He walked back toward me, a huge grin on his face, but stopped when his mother poked her head in his room.  “Jacks?  It’s almost midnight. Why are you still awake?  You have a meet in the morning.”

            He glanced at me.  “Nervous, I guess.”

            She gave a light, tinkling laugh that made me smile. I’d never seen her before, and it was impossible not to stare. She was beautiful and he looked just her, down to the green eyes that sparkled in the lamplight.  “I would be, too. This is a big one.  You want me to make you some warm milk?  It’ll help you sleep.”

            My smile grew bigger.  My mom made me warm milk too when I couldn’t sleep and it always worked.  She reminded me of my mom, especially when she walked over and ruffled his hair.  My mom always did that with Alder, but unlike Alder, Jackson only grinned up at her instead of batting her away.

 “No, Mom. I’ll be fine.  I’ll go to sleep in a few minutes.”

            She kissed him.  “You’ll be great.  You always are.”

            She glanced over at the mirror, and her eyes narrowed and she shot a look over at Jackson, but said nothing as she walked out the door.

            When she left, he came back over.  “So, you like the band?”

            “Does your mom know about me?”  I asked, ignoring his question.

            He frowned and shook his head.  “No, why?”

            “She glanced over here and I would have swore she saw me.”

            He twisted his head to look at the door.  “I don’t know how and I’m sure she’d have said something if she had.  I mean really, remember how you handled it.  Do you think she’d have handled it any better?”

            I drew my eyebrows together.  “I guess not,” I mumbled.

            He ran a finger down the mirror between my eyes.  “So, what other secrets would you like to share?”

            “Jackson,” I said, with a smile and a shake of my head.  “You have a meet in the morning.  Go to sleep.”

            “No. I haven’t gotten to talk to you all day.”

            “We’ve talked for over an hour. Besides, I’ll be here when you get back.”

“No, you won’t.  I’ll bet Ty comes over and takes you somewhere.”
            “Yes I will.” I reached over and pulled out my compact from my purse, opening it to show him the tiny mirror.  “See, I have this.  Even if I go somewhere, I’ll be able to see you.”

            He studied it carefully.  “You think it’ll work?”

            “Sure.  We’re starting to see each other easier, why wouldn’t we?  Remember, I even saw you at Ty’s house.  Twice.”

            He yawned.  “Okay,” he said.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

            “Good luck! You better bring home the gold.”

            “The gold?  Why would I bring home gold?”

            I burst out laughing.  “Sorry, that’s what we say for the Olympics.  People who win first place get a gold medal.”

            “Oh.  Okay.  We just have places.  We get a trophy. Not in this one though.  It’s more of a qualifier.”

            “Qualifier?  For what?”

            “Well, it’s kind of complicated, but basically it’s the first of six races.  If I win this, then I’m considered a favorite, which is just a fancy way of saying I get a free ride into the next race.  The others who place move on too, but they have to ‘qualify’ first to see where they should be placed in the next race.  Each race gets harder and harder because only the best make it.”
            “So, what’s it for?  That Coubertin thing you told me about?”

            He puffed out his chest.  “Yep.”

            “Okay, well now you know that when I say ‘go for the gold’, I want you to win.  Which you will.”

            He grinned.  “I hope so.” He turned to walk to his bed.

            “Oh, wait,” I said and waited for him to face me.  “Does your mom take pictures?”
            He gave me a “duh” look.  “Doesn’t every mom?”

            “Good.  I want to see them.”

            “What?  Why?”

            “Well, I can’t be there to see it, but I want to.  So, I’ll have to settle for pictures.”

            He looked dumbfounded.  “You actually want to see me race?”

            I nodded eagerly.  “Yes.  Why wouldn’t I?”

            He came close to the mirror again.  “I’ve never wanted anyone at my races before, besides my mom, but I really want you there.”  He extended his hand and stroked the mirror where my cheek was.  “I’ll bring the pictures.”

            I put my hand on my cheek and could almost feel his hand under mine.  “I’ll be waiting.”

            His expression changed as the mirror glowed brighter and the feeling of his hand grew more intense.  Our eyes met and I saw his widen as we rushed to touch the mirror, but it was just as sturdy as always. 

            “Damn,” we both muttered.

            “I thought…maybe…” I said.

            “Yeah, me too,” he agreed. 

            We gazed at each other for a few more minutes, until I sighed.  “Go to sleep, Jacks.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

            He grinned.  “Do you hear what you just called me?”

            I thought back on it and bit my lip.  “Yeah. Is that okay?”

            “It’s fine.  It’s perfect. Tiger Lily.”

            “Go,” I whispered, secretly wishing he’d stay.

            “I will.”  He didn’t budge.  “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

            “Yes.”

            “I’ll come home straight after the meet.”

            I closed my eyes and backed away.  “I’ll be waiting.”  He didn’t say anything else and I opened my eyes to see the mirror bouncing my image back to me.   

TEASER TUESDAY- MIRROR IMAGE

This is from my finished MSS MIRROR IMAGE. 

Blurb:  You'd think imagining a handsome stranger in your rear-view mirror, crashing through a guardrail, and careening into murky water would be bad enough. But when the imaginary boy--who gives his name as Jackson--rescues seventeen-year-old Lily Baker, that's just the start of her problems.

After coming home from the hospital, Jackson starts showing up in any and all reflective surfaces — mirrors, puddles, windows, you name it. Lily, fearing others will think she’s crazy, keeps the visions to herself. After all, they’ll just go away if she ignores them, right? Not if Jackson has anything to say about it. And it isn’t long before he convinces her he’s real. Even when Jackson starts talking about strange cults and parallel dimensions, she can’t deny his powerful pull. The more time she spends staring into her mirror, the more she realizes she’s falling in love with a boy her family and friends insist is nothing more than shadows in her mirror and the hallucinations of her healing head injury.

 This is the scene after her parents start realizing something isn't right about Lilly's new boyfriend and wonder why if she likes him so much, why she's constantly locking herself in her room.  In the previous scene she reassures them everything is okay, but they don't believe her.  She doesn't realize that though and so we from there.

Hours later, happy and exhausted I padded into my room a smile on my face.  The whole evening had been a blast and made me realize what a wonderful family I really had.  I never really fought with my parents or my siblings.  We had the occasional row, but nothing serious.  The best part was that they always stood behind me.  No matter what stupid thing I’d done.

            I glanced at the mirror, but it only showed my room, not his.  Damn it.  Where is he?  I really missed him.  As much fun as I had with my family, seeing my parents together had only made me miss Jackson more.

            My radio was still playing and another slow song came on as I pulled out a silk nightie from my drawer.  I hummed along and moved my hips slowly as I removed my shirt and imagined my hands were his. I trailed them along my skin, tracing lightly over my stomach, up my sides and along the curve of my breast, before sighing and pulling the top over my head. 

            “Stop daydreaming, Lily.  It’ll never happen,” I said to myself.

            “What’ll never happen?” Jackson asked, startling me.

            I spun around, and ran to the mirror, too happy to care he had scared me.  “Hi!”

            “Hey, Gorgeous.  Miss me?”

            I gave him a sly smile.  “Nope.”

            His lips curved.  “No? Well, then I guess I didn’t miss you all that much either.”

            “Good, then we can go on not missing each other.”

            He laughed and his eyes made a slow pass down my body and then up again.  His eyes darkened to almost black along the journey and goose bumps rose along my skin when his eyes met mine.  “That was some show you just put on.”

            My face warmed from the heat of my blush.  “You saw that?”

            “Well, not all of it.  Your back was to the mirror.”

            “Oh,” I said, oddly disappointed.  I should be glad he hadn’t seen anything.  Shouldn’t I?

            “But I liked what I did see.” His fingers caressed down the mirror and sketched down it, in almost the same pattern I had used with my own.  My skin tingled as if he were touching me instead of the glass.

            For the first time since we’d started talking, I noticed his shirt was off and he was only in pajama bottoms.  I gave him a saucy grin.  “I like what I see, too.”

            He grinned back and placed his palm on the glass in front of me and waited until I did the same. As one, keeping our palms together we slid down, until we were sitting on the floor in front of each other.

            His eyes roamed over my body again, sending more tingles over my already supercharged body.  My heartbeat accelerated and, from what I could see from the pulse in his neck, matched his.  My breath clogged in my throat when he said, “You are so beautiful, Lily.”

            “Thank you,” I managed after a minute.

He moved so only his fingertips touched the glass, sliding along the area my palm covered.  The surface was so warm already, I couldn't be sure, but I would have sworn I felt a change in the temperature. A slight one, but enough to cause a shiver to run down my arm.

 "Are you cold?" he whispered, his eyes moving from my palm to my face.

 "No."  I raised my other palm to the glass and he copied me, trailing his fingertips down the image of my hand.

 My heart skipped a beat and I had to look down for a moment, to stop the spinning in my head.   When I looked up again, he was watching me.

 "The moonlight is different over there," he said.  "Softer, somehow."  He moved his fingertips to the center of the mirror, brushing the surface in a curve.  "It just barely touches your cheek."

 I covered my cheek with one hand, certain I would find some trace of him on my skin. As it was, I could just barely feel that cheek was warmer than the other. My heartbeat filled my ears in the quiet of my room.  It surprised me he couldn’t hear it.

            “It’s not fair that it gets to touch you, but I can’t.” His voice was husky, making me tremble even more. “Is it strange to be jealous of it?”

Jackson pressed his right hand to the center of the mirror, and I brought mine to meet it.  Palm to palm, we stared at each other.  Without a shirt on, I could see that he was breathing shallowly.  If I tilted my head, I could make it look like my hand covered his heart.

 "It’s the glass that makes it unfair," I whispered.  "How did you get through to save me, and now we're both trapped?"

 "Maybe if we concentrate..." he murmured.

 We matched up our hands once more and stared into each other's eyes.

 "Concentrate," he whispered.

 I nodded, afraid to even blink.  I imagined my hands sinking into the warm surface and finding the heat of his palms on the other side.  I could almost feel it thinning.

 "Close your eyes."  Jackson's voice was just a breath, but I did what he said. How could I not? "Concentrate."

 No more glass, no more glass, I chanted in my head like a prayer.

 The heat under my hands grew--it was hot, almost to the point of pain, but it didn't burn me.  "Do you feel something?" I whispered.

 "Yes."  His voice was tight.  "You feel closer."

 I heard a rustle and opened my eyes to find Jackson up on his knees.  His fingers were still splayed on the glass, fitted to mine, but now his chest was just inches behind them and his mouth was close enough to steam the glass.  I swallowed, hard.  He was so close, but just out of reach.  I mimicked his position, raised up on my knees.  My breath steamed the mirror a few inches below his, and I tilted my face up to close the gap.

He opened his eyes and found me gazing at him.  With a slight tilt of his head, our breath made a perfect match.

My body tingled and strained toward the glass.  "Please," I whispered.

"Please," he echoed, his eyes slipping shut again.

I closed my own and pressed hard into the glass, willing it away.  The heat between our hands crested and for a moment, I could have sworn I felt the touch of flesh, but then as quickly as it came, it was gone.  I gasped and looked into Jackson's eyes.

"Did you feel that?"

"I'm not sure.  I felt...something," he sighed.

I rested my forehead on the glass, while disappointment made me aware of the floor biting into my knees and the chill of the room.  He touched his forehead to mine, mere millimeters of glass keeping us apart.  I leaned back and used one fingertip to scrub away a bit of the condensation from my breath.

            He leaned back as well, but his eyes were still dark, his breaths still uneven.  He straightened his shoulders.  "Does this mean the same thing in your world?" he asked, and drew an X and an O in the steam on his side.

I nodded as an overwhelming sense of relief poured through me.  "Yes."  I huffed a new patch of steam near his markings and drew a heart.

He smiled, and touched his fingertip to mine at the base of the heart.