Third Novel Done!

A book that began in January and continued through three funerals, a hard semester, and a crazy summer of traveling, is finally edited! I'm very proud of this book, mainly because I was able to finish it under such adverse circumstances. I proved that I really am a writer!

Now to get some betas...

ssbittner said:

Congratulations! Finishing a book when all you want to do is hide under a pile of blankets is a real achievement. I know, because I've been there. What's your book about?

Click to expand...

It's about a mother reading a story to her comatose son, and then realizing that he is living the adventure in his head. It was a neat experiment. I'd never written true YA before, let alone historical fiction of this kind.

Drop me a PM if you want to read it!

Thanks guys! I just realized that my first sales pitch was really boring, so try this query draft on for size.

***

Thomas Milton's mother is fighting for her son, who's been in a coma for six weeks after narrowly escaping a house fire. His doctor has agreed to let her try the experimental method of salient stimulation, a practice that can rouse the subconscious mind with familiar auditory signals. Nothing is more familiar to Thomas than his favorite story.

But he's oblivious to what's happening in the present day. Thomas is now living the tale of a boy who's sick of his life in Lightwitch, New York. It's 1894. America is crippled by its worst depression yet. So, naturally, he jumps at the chance to sign on with a team looking for gold in the nearby Adirondack Mountains. From the outset, the journey is laden with danger. Near their first panning site, the team happens upon the grisly remains of another group.

When a deranged mob threatens them, Thomas and company flee into an abandoned mine shaft. Forced to hike deeper into the caverns, they discover the ruins of a lavish estate illuminated by hanging mirrors. A great evil has been awakened by their trespass, but Thomas has another problem. A voice is speaking to him, his mother's voice. In the cold, stone darkness, Thomas begins to recall pieces of a life that was interrupted. But is he really dreaming? His pain, fear, and confusion seem more than a figment of imagination.

The stakes are bigger than gold. While fighting with his companions to escape the mountain stronghold with its booby traps, secret passages, intricate puzzles, and the power of an ancient curse, Thomas struggles to recover his identity and find a way back to his real life.

***

Thanks again!