Today I offer for you my contribution as part of the
blogfest inspired by the musical group Devo
and their catchy song WHIP IT. Elise Fallson
and I are putting the song title…or rather a slightly altered version of it…to
good use by encouraging participants to enlighten the blogosphere about their most
recent [W]ork [I]n
[P]rogress.
Guiding you through the process are a few prompts we came up with to
answer in your own post, along with the opportunity to solicit CP’s (partners
who exchange material for detail critique – usually chapter by chapter) or Beta
Readers (test readers who read entire manuscripts and offer broad opinions) if you’re looking for that.
Without further ado, here are the details about my
most recent project:
WIP Title: Moving Fear
(tentative)
Word Count (projected/actual so
far): 62,500
Genre:
YA Horror
How long have you been working on
it?:
Ten months. First draft complete, about to begin
revisions.
Elevator Pitch
(if you came across an agent in an elevator ride, what couple of lines would you
use to summarize your book): I have a book that has the look and feel of Kendare Blake’s ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD, the
dread and intensity of Stephen King’s
IT, and the mystery elements of THE HARDY BOYS.
In it, I pit my sixteen year loner protagonist against a demon who has
been destroying families for centuries…specifically families who have just
completed a move…by taking possession of a family member and terrorizing the
household for a period before finally taking their lives. Now it has found a victim in my hero’s family
and he must figure out who it is, and a way to save them,
before it’s too late.
Brief Synopsis (300
words or less): We are a planet on
the move. In the United States alone the
average American moves 11.7 times in a lifetime. The length of an average move approximates
the distance from New York City to Des Moines, and involves 6,900 pounds of
possessions. It is one of those times
when we are most vulnerable, and in people’s lives moving is the third most
stressful event, behind only death and divorce.
That’s why IT chooses them. That’s why IT has remained unnoticed for so long.
To hear other people tell it (including his own family), Chace
Gidden is nothing but a sixteen year old military-brat...emphasis on brat. The constant uprooting and moving
from state to state and school to school has left him withdrawn, bitter, with a
tendency to act out following each of his father’s transfers. But that was before, and as the saying goes…be
careful what you wish for. It appears
his family is finally settling down, but only after losing his mother to cancer
and a prank-gone-wrong tragically sentenced his younger brother to life in a
wheelchair. Now Chace finds himself in
unfamiliar territory, attempting to make amends for past behavior and doing
what little he can to help mend his broken family.
The move to Ox Bow was intended to be a fresh start, but
unbeknownst to the Gidden’s something else has moved in with them. The appearance of a mysterious black box in
Chace’s room begins a chain of events that have repeated for centuries. Inside
awaits an ancient evil, a demon that has chosen one of the Gidden’s as its next
vessel to do its bidding. It falls to
Chace to do what no one has ever done before, figure out who that is and find a
way to defeat the entity without killing its human host. His only help comes by
way of the socially inept boy next door who’s desperate to make a friend and
the girl who’s reluctant to let that happen.
But time is running out for the three of them as the malevolent force
draws closer to obtaining the two things it hungers for most, mortal fear…and
fresh souls.
Are you looking for a Critique
Partner? I already have a really good one, but the two of us might be
interested in expanding. Leave a note if
you’re interested and we’ll see.
Please
check out the other participant’s WIP’s from the list below.
