PW-13 (YA): ETERNAL

MENTOR: Erica M. Chapman

MENTEES: Leah and Kate Rooper

TITLE: ETERNAL

CATEGORY/GENRE: YA Fantasy

WORD COUNT: 90,000

PITCH: 

After Jane drowns and wakes up in the Egyptian underworld without her heart – the only ticket to paradise – she’s offered a deal to steal the heart of King Tut. But falling in love with Anubis, the guard of the underworld, wasn’t part of the plan.

EXCERPT:

Adventure is overrated.

I can explore any world I want through my laptop or books, so there’s no point in even being outside. It’s much more beneficial to stay indoors, where I can actually learn something. Of course Duncan, my older brother doesn’t see it that way.

I take a deep breath as the cold water bites my legs, threatening to throw me to the strong current. I just have to pretend I’m Charles Darwin, sailing off to the Galapagos. Creating a new theory for evolution seems much easier than plopping down on the black inner tube, which is currently spinning and shifting on the churning waters of Skutz Falls.

“Come on, Jane, it’s not that hard,” Duncan snaps. “Just sit down.”  

“But it’s moving!” I say.

“Yes,” he says, “that’s what rivers do.”

“Technically, they flow. A combination of gravity, wind, and geographic land folds causes the water to continuously run downward, unless disrupted by a dam or—”

Duncan snatches me around the waist and pushes me onto the tube. The black rubber burns the back of my thighs. “I said no science stuff, remember? Mom said to have fun, not ramble on about gravity and land folds. Okay?”

“Wouldn’t want to embarrass you in front of all your distinguished comrades.” I roll my eyes as I wiggle deeper into the hole of my tube.

“You haven’t been outside at all this summer. See that, Dr. Jane?” He points to the sky.

“That’s called the sun. It’s there for us to enjoy!”