Title: BRINGING BACK DANIEL COHEN
Genre: Adult Contemporary Fantasy, Own Voices
Word Count: 101,000
How I fell for writing: My grandfather was a great storyteller. He inspired me to create my own stories and put them on paper. When I was 13, a beloved family member became very ill. In order to deal with my fear of losing her, I started writing more. She overcame her illness, and I overcame my depression with the help of the written word.
Dear Agent,
Lerin the Fix-Wiz, an immortal Jewish magician, is tired from years wandering the world, constantly changing aliases and looks. He just wants to remember the man he used to be and the family he left behind, find the island from his dreams, and disappear. But he can’t. Bound to his eternal contract with the malicious WWII General Dolen, the captor of his stolen memories, Lerin is forced to collect people’s pains and give them to his boss.
Along with his assistant and bestie Moiko—a melodramatic, foul-mouthed white magician’s rabbit—and a red, magical chest, Lerin finds himself on the road. Again. This time, it’s hipster Berlin, where four clients have booked his Quick-Fix services. After his street magic show in Alexanderplatz, he is approached by a woman who claims to know who he really is and how he can obtain his old memories and freedom. All he has to do is take the pain away from four individuals and deliver them to her employer, Mr. A.
The catch? Not only are these the four clients General Dolen is after, but their pains are the last he and his nemesis, Mr. A, need to execute their plans. The results of which may bring a deadly virus to Earth and turn people into emotionless, blood-thirsty monsters. Torn between his desire to trust the red-headed woman and remember Daniel Cohen—his true identity— Lerin finds himself in a lose-lose situation: his freedom might lead to the end of humanity.
An Israeli-German writer, I’ve recently returned to Israel after four years in Berlin. Having studied business anthropology, traveled the world alone, and lived on four continents, cultures play a big role in my writing. My short stories and journalistic articles had been published both online and in print.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
First 250 words:
It was already getting warm outside when Lerin made his way up the narrow dusty trail. Every step was a struggle for his straining calf muscles, and the ground was almost too hot to walk upon. He followed the spiral path up on the steep cliff and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a stained handkerchief. The rays of sunlight, those endless sky-piercing swords, seemed to wink at him, as if encouraging him to go on. The higher he climbed, the better he could see the great blue open out before him. In this quiet afternoon hour, there was no living soul around. The ocean was his and his alone. When he reached the peak, the world he had once lost revealed itself to him in its renewed creation: silent waters, cloudless skies, and the lonely ridge. He sat on the edge, his feet dangling in the air, and looked down at the deep abyss. Far below lay the ocean in its siesta-like stillness. Every now and again, a few hungry seagulls disrupted its slumber, diving into its waters and coming back up with fluttering fish.
A joyful surge filled his heart. The sea always made him happy. He took a deep breath as if it were his first in this world. Heavy footsteps thumped in the distance. They crushed whatever came their way and grew louder and closer. The ground shook and started crumbling around him. He didn’t need to look to know who was standing behind him.