get your foot in the door contest

I am participating in contest sponsored by Gabriela Lessa's blog, which will allow me to pitch my completed manuscript to editors at Sourcebooks. The winner of the pitch for my category (Women's Fiction) will receive a free critique of the first three chapters of his or her book. It'd be a great opportunity for anyone, like me, hoping to find an agent and publisher.

Here is the entry I will submit next week. Please let me know what you think — I value your critique!
____________________________________________________________________


Name: Laura Chapman

Title: Hard Hats and Flip Flops

Genre: Women's Literature

Manuscript word count: 96,000

Judge: Deb Werksman

One-sentence pitch: A quirky HR manager finds love and the courage to pursue her dreams while working in the Gulf Coast's cut-throat chemical industry.


First paragraph: Ten minutes into the investigation and one fact is quite clear: metal forks and knives are going to be a thing of the past.

I can't believe this is happening. I am sitting in a stuffy office mediating a disagreement between two grown men. Who fought in their break room. With forks and knives. The Safety Department was going to have fun with this one. It's not every day a major chemical company, like Gulf America, writes policy about cutlery. (UPDATED)