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Dear editors & agents del mundo,

As a writer, I've worn a self-made button to writing conferences that reads: "Willing to work for serendipitous editor or agent." I inevitably get comments and once got an agent to ask me what I was pitching. He didn't take me on as a client, but the button did its job, one time.

In that spirit La Bloga provides this feature column with the message: Hechate un vistazo, which means take a peak. Here we're letting editors and agents, and all Bloga readers, get a peak at book-length stories hungry for an audience, and patron.

These will only be never-published works--novels, novellas, poetry collection, novelettes, screenplays, other collections, memoirs, children's books, anthologies--written by our contributors, complete and just itching to lock in your interest.

Consider this a service to our contributors as well as to publishing magnates out there. In the future we may give La Bloga readers a chance to feature their MSS here, so if you have one, send a 150-word pitch of your obra and a 25-word publishing history, as well as a way for people to contact you. Include the word count, genre, a photo and at least a working title for the story. If you want to include the opening 3 sentences of the story, we'll include that, too. Send to r.ch.garcia (ala) cybox.com. BEWARE: yes, your idea may be stolen because nothing is sacred nor secure in the Internet world.

Even if you're not an agent or editor, you may know one who one day writes you a big fat finder's fee for bringing one of these works to their attention. At least, we can imagine so.

Two MSS lead off today's parade. Who knows? Maybe this will do the job as well as my button and one day an editor/agent will call. BTW, if anyone should luck out, you MUST let us know.
____________________

Nine Days Dead a novel
by Lisa Alvarado

Florinda Cienfuegos, daughter of Oya and owner of a Chicago botánica, has dreams about criminals getting murdered and visions of a man flashing a detective's shield. Last night, she finally sees a name on the badge--David Ortiz, and tries to tell the police what she knows. When she's laughed out of the local precinct, she's overheard by Det. Naftali Gonzales. Gonzalez doesn't think it's a laughing matter. He had the same disturbing dreams; David Ortiz was his partner, killed in the line of duty nine days ago. What happens against a backdrop of Chicago's Puerto Rican and Mexican neighborhoods is a tale of the supernatural, crime/noir and two people drawn together to find out who or what has pierced the veil to exact justice.

Publishing bio: Lisa Alvarado is an educator, poet, novelist, and journalist. She is founder of La Onda Negra Press, and author of Reclamo and The Housekeeper’s Diary, originally a book of poetry and now a one-woman performance. Her first novel, Sister Chicas (written with Ann Hagman Cardinal and Jane Alberdeston) was bought by Penguin/NAL, and released in April '06. Sister Chicas is a coming of age story concerning the lives of three young Latinas living in Chicago and won 2nd place Best First Novel in English (Latino Literacy Nov. '07). Her book of poetry, Raw Silk Suture, is a recent release by Floricanto Press, and was reviewed by