Manuscript Status: Finished
Mentor Name: Juliana Brandt
Mentee Name: Julie Artz
Title: QUEST FOR THE KALEVALA
Category: MG
Genre: Fantasy
Word Count: 60,000
Pitch:
Eleven-year-old Kai and his annoying nerd-sister only agree on one thing: moving to Helsinki equals epic disaster. But when they discover a mysterious book of Finnish folklore, the squabbling siblings must overcome their rivalry and protect the book’s ancient secret before their dad’s power-hungry boss uses it to tear the earth—and their family—apart.
Excerpt:
The basketball thuds against the driveway as I run warm-up drills. I line my toes up with a crack in the pavement, but before I can shoot a free throw, someone draws a rasping breath behind me. I spin, holding the ball out for protection, half expecting to find an evil hag or an ax-murderer lurking in the eerie fog. But nothing’s there except a pale circle of sun hiding behind clouds so low they touch the treetops.
Finland officially creeps me out.
Dad never mentioned a cold sun or endless fog when he described the “unusual atmospheric disturbances” he came here to study. I’ll ask him about it if I ever see him. He headed straight to the lab after the shuttle dropped us off, only coming home long enough to sleep.
Curtains swish in the neighbor’s window. A gaunt, wrinkled face stares out, gawking at me with unblinking, washed-out eyes. I dribble a few times, my gaze flicking from her to the ball, then aim for a patch of ivy on the cement wall of our house. An imaginary hoop will have to do—I haven’t spotted a single basketball court since we arrived last week.
I chase down my rebound and shoot, but I can’t ignore the spooky audience. She’s still there, her lips moving behind the glass, when a voice echoes all around me.
Lem-min-kä-i-nen.
The ball drops from my fingertips as I race for the door.
8 Comments
Carrie Pestritto · November 3, 2015 at 12:11 am
I’m a sucker for folklore and mysteries! Please send the first 100 pages as a Word doc attachment to carrie@prospectagency.com, with the subject line “Pitch Wars Request.” Thank you and I look forward to reading more!
Rebecca Podos · November 3, 2015 at 10:35 am
Wow, I love this opening. Great atmosphere, great language, awesome set-up. Please send the query and first 50 pages in an attachment (with PitchWars in the subject line) to Rebecca@reesagency.com. Thanks!
Laura Zats · November 4, 2015 at 10:08 am
I’m a sucker for folklore, so this is right up my alley! Please send a query (with #pitchwars in the title) as well as the first 100 pages to laura@redsofaliterary.com!
Laura Biagi · November 4, 2015 at 5:57 pm
This has such a cool premise, and your writing is really strong. I’d love to read more! Please send the query and full ms as a .doc or .docx file to LBiagi at jvnla dot com with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line. I look forward to reading!
Melissa Edwards · November 5, 2015 at 4:24 pm
Hi– I’d love to see more. Please send the first 50 pages as a .doc to medwards@aaronpriest.com
Kitty Walker · November 11, 2015 at 9:31 am
Hi – I know I’m a little late to the party but I’d love to have a read of the full manuscript. Please do send it to kitty@evewhite.co.uk
Juliana L. Brandt - Fiction Writer – Interview with #PitchWars 2015 Mentee, Julie Artz · June 13, 2016 at 4:42 pm
[…] I knew I could help make into stronger novels. I ended up choosing Julie Artz’s incredible QUEST FOR THE KALEVALA in the most super secret of ways (I’m still snickering over this, Julie!). I hadn’t […]
Juliana L. Brandt - Fiction Writer – Pitch Wars Wish List 2016 · July 19, 2016 at 9:06 pm
[…] by the lovely Katie Grimm! Julie Artz, my mentee from 2015, received a solidly stupendous 6 requests, and is now working as the talented editor she is! Both of these lovely ladies will likely help me […]
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