Genre:
MG Adventure
Word Count: 55,000
Pitch: A thirteen-year-old boy learns his
not-so-imaginary friend is real when he uncovers an ancient family legacy of
Norwegian trolls and Vikings. Now to guard his inheritance he must outwit a
murderous kidnapper.
Excerpt:
Jack Brown is always in
the middle row on picture day. He looks like an average almost-thirteen year
old. He wears his brown hair just shaggy enough to hide his too-big ears and
sweep of freckles. But nothing can hide his lopsided nose.
Every day since kindergarten
he’s worn the same outfit: work boots, jeans and a button-up flannel, brown, of
course – his least favorite color – because that’s the uniform of the Brown’s
Family Nursery and the color of his super dull life.
There is only one thing
that is special about Jack. But his uniqueness expires at midnight when he
turns thirteen. And he can’t do anything about it.
With his face twisted
into a frown, Jack stepped off the bus on the quiet country road and lobbed a
rock down his wooded driveway, irritated. Once the bus slipped out of sight, he
turned to a large, quivering bush.
“This is it, Nada. Aren’t
you scared? What if you turn into a pile of goo or something?” he asked.
A giant, gray troll
appeared beside him and smiled with a big, goofy smirk. “Jackabean, that’s
crazy. Trolls don’t turn into goo. We turn into slime.”
Her snaggletoothed grin
and deep voice made it hard to tell that Nada was a girl. Luckily the yellow
bed sheet, worn toga-style, cleared up that mystery.
Nada shook her fat fist
in the air. “Maybe you should use those big ears for listening. I told you I’m
not imaginary. I’m your troll!”
Oh, I'd like to look at this. I'll buy a hotel! (Full request). Thanks! Pete Knapp
ReplyDelete"Buy a Hotel"
ReplyDelete?? I'm hoping that's how I go about doing this. Sorry if I totally messed it up!
Danielle Smith - Foreword Literary
This was such a fun excerpt to read! The humor woven into it was delightful, and I hope to see this in print sometime in the near future. My kids would get such a kick out of it!
ReplyDeleteYour premise packs a punch. Congrats on the request!
ReplyDeleteThis one was considered for my team list, but I'm not always the best judge with MG. I think about my kids and whether they'd read it, but that's failed for me a couple of times. This one my 8yo definitely would, so I'm so glad my slush zombies pulled this back out.
ReplyDeleteI remember this one in the slush! Darn you Sharon! Why must you steal all the things?!
ReplyDeleteI was grinning ear to ear while reading this. Love it!
This is darling, intriguing, and well-written!
ReplyDelete