top of page
  • Writer's pictureDouglas James Troxell

30 Days on a Roller Coaster


Proud to say that I finished the first draft of my latest novel, 30 Days on a Roller Coaster. It's a YA novel about a recent high school graduate who enters a roller coaster marathon planning to use the prize money to impress his ex-girlfriend. The contest slowly devolves into a battle of attrition as the 36 contestants engage in psychological warfare against one another until only one survivor remains.

Here's a taste from the first chapter:

Margo broke my heart at the top of my favorite roller coaster. We were right at the crest of the first hill 200 feet in the air when she delivered the verbal suplex.

“Drake, we need to break up.”

Boom. That simple. No stuttering, no hesitation. Absolutely savage. That meant she had been waiting to say it, preparing herself. How long had she been waiting? How long had she been secretly plotting to slice me in two? All day? A week? A month?

The worst part was that she caught me in mid-whoo. My hands were flung over my head and my lips formed a perfect circle and I had gotten the “wh” out when she said it. Let me tell you, there’s nothing worse than getting caught in mid-whoo. We plummeted down the huge drop at 75 m.p.h. but there was no accompanying whoo. The wind rushed over me, ripping at my totally sweet “Goonies Never Say Die” vintage t-shirt. Obviously Margo was no Goonie.

Now the fun part starts. Revisions.

Yay...

bottom of page