Writing Samples
Faux Marketing Email for Future House Publishing Internship
Subject Line: Jump to new heights in Katherine Rundell’s new book, Rooftoppers!
Email Text:
Hello adventure seekers!
Get ready to buckle in for a fantastic ride as Katherine Rundell’s new book, Rooftoppers, hits bookstores this August! Sophie, the main character who has hair the color of lighting and a wild spirit, takes us all on a daring adventure to Paris to find her long lost mother with the only clue to her past; a cello case. Young readers and fans of beautiful storytelling with a whimsical flair will fall in love with Rundell’s childlike wonder that she pours into Rooftoppers.
A story of love and determination, Sophie will grow into her own as she takes charge of her future and helps protect what family she has and tries to escape the clutches of the Welfare Agency with her guardian, Charles, at her side. Along the way, Sophie befriends Matteo, who is sure to be your new favorite character. Matteo is a “rooftopper”— by the cover of night he plays on the moon-soaked chateau roofs and lives as a French Tom Sawyer. Matteo shows Sophie Paris from a thrilling perspective that will keep you on the edge of your seat, nervously reading ahead out of anticipation.
While Rooftoppers is aimed for younger readers, Rundell’s delightful language and truly visionary way of writing for these characters and world building will have any reader locked in. Pick up Rooftoppers today at a bookstore near you or visit our website for more information!
See you in Paris!
Creative Writing Sample: Excerpt from Sentimentality (approx. 900 words)
Lightning cracked sharply outside the window as the storm raged on. Ted climbed up the creaky stairs to his attic, putting one socked foot in front of the other. Scratching the overgrown shave on this chin, he groggily looked down to grab his phone as it buzzed in his pocket. He yawned and focused on the glowing message–another text from his daughter. He rolled his eyes and stuffed the phone in his back pocket, not intending to ever respond.
Normally, he would’ve been overjoyed from any communication from his oldest, but nowadays she only sent him links to TikToks that he still couldn’t figure out how to open. Only now did he think back to the time he had just seen on his phone seconds ago. Doubting his own memory, he checked again. It read 3:00 a.m. What was he doing up at 3 a.m. going up to his attic? Ted was thinking the same thing.
He had woken up in a sweat from a panicked nightmare. He dreamt a giant tree branch had come down and crashed into the attic, leaving the roof splintered into a million pieces. The sound had seemed so deafening and real that he couldn’t sleep until he knew for sure. He reached the top of the stairs and pushed open the attic door with a creak. Looking around, praying there wasn’t a family of squirrels in search of a new home up there, he was abruptly swept into a world of the past.
Every momento, old toy, and piece of nostalgia was up in this room. The smell of dry must and cobwebs didn’t change the emotional impact of the space to Ted. If anything, it triggered old dusty memories that Ted had tucked into the back of his mind. He giggled in spite of himself. The tiredness shook away and bloomed into excitement as he looked over in the corner where his old banjo was carelessly tossed to the side. It was missing three strings and looked more like a large burnt frying pan than an instrument, but he swore he could almost hear the strumming filling the living room. He could see his girls twirling in their nightgowns, singing along, and waving their imaginary instruments in time to the beat.