Call for readers – help!
Hi everyone,
As some of you may know, I’ve been working for the past few years on a young adult novel. As others of you may know, at the suggestion of my instructor from the Highlights Whole Novel Workshop this summer, I’m looking for readers.
Although of course I welcome constructive criticism from everyone and would be happy to send the manuscript to anyone who’s interested, I’m looking in particular for girls and boys aged 12-14 who enjoy fantasy novels.
What would these readers be volunteering to do?
1) Read as far as they want into my novel .
2) If they don’t want to finish, mark where they stopped reading and tell me why.
3) Jot down any comments – “bad” as well good! – that occur to them while reading and give them back to me.
No book reports, long analyses, or line-by-line critique. Ideally, I’d prefer to hear back from the readers within a month or two of when they receive the manuscript, but I’m happy to wait longer if necessary.
Because I know few young people myself, and because I prefer that the readers don’t know me personally (so they don’t feel like they have to be nice!), I’m passing this desperate call out to you. If any of your children, nieces, nephews, cousins, second cousins, students, friends, children’s friends etc. might be interested in doing me this HUGE favour, please email me at srkriger “AT” gmail.com. Or have them email me. They (and you) will have my eternal gratitude!
And never fear, the manuscript is available for any concerned adults to peruse before passing it on to young adults of their acquaintance. I’ve also compiled a list of anything that might qualify as bad language that appears in the story. The length and summary of the novel follow my signature.
Thanks in advance! (Cross-posted to Facebook, LiveJournal, and my blog.)
Sarah Kriger
www.srkriger.com
LENGTH:
My novel, BAD LIGHT, is 60, 000 words long (about 250 pages – for comparison, that’s a little over ¾ the length of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and a little less than twice as long as Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). It’s a fantasy-mystery for ages 12+.
“BACK-COVER” SUMMARY:
Bad Light is a reworking of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, told through the story of fourteen-year-old Karen Crowley. In Karen’s world, elementology has evolved from medieval magic to twenty-first-century science. While modern Air, Earth, and Water marshals research sustainable energy and new farming techniques, most Fire marshals work for military R&D – and would rather invent new ways to master nature than help people or the planet. Karen hates her talent for Fire and would rather die than give up her real passion: acting. But when her parents send her to an elementology-enriched high school with no theatre program, she has no choice.
Determined to be a drama star, not a bomb-designing drone, Karen rebels by starting her own production of Macbeth. But for actors, she’s stuck with her fellow “Burnsies”, selfish bullies who fit the Fire stereotype to a T. As Karen struggles to rehearse the story of the Thane who butchered his way to the throne, a murderous arsonist targets contenders for the school’s top prize. The evidence points to one of her cast. Now Karen must use her stage smarts to figure out how deserved Fire’s reputation really is – and what she’ll do if nabbing the culprit means giving up her theatre dreams.