Book Proposal

So, for one of my last assignments for Christian Writer's Guild was to write a book proposal. So I did, and came up with this. Now I'm dying to finish this book. My goal is to be three-quarters of the way finished when school starts next year. (I'm a freshman in college!!) So, here's the proposal, tell me what you think of the idea.

The Last Generation

Proposal: I propose a fiction book of the science fiction/fantasy genre that will have Christian aspects and ideas incorporated into an original adventure that will enthrall those that read it. This book will be the first of a four part installment that will begin with a young girl walking into an unknown world, changing it forever, and end with her descendants finishing what she started. This book will show the meaning of dedication and leadership, reveal the intensity behind loyalty and courage, and tell of the hurts, pain, and difficulty experienced while setting one’s life according to God’s Will, all while divulging a intricate tale.

Form: Paperback, 100,000 words

Audience: I perceive the buyers to be:
Christian or secular teens who are eager for an original fantasy/science fiction book
Teens who think that they must be specially equipped with knowledge and/or talents in order to follow God’s Will and call.
Young adults or adults who desire to follow God’s Will, but believe they missed their chance to serve Him.

This book is geared toward teens and young adults but does not exclude adults and pre-teens.

Rationale: In the past few years, the hunger in teens for stories that were unreal, fantastical, and simply non-believable has grown into an enormous demand for more books that will take one’s imagination to places it’s never gone. Secular authors recognized this hunger and immediately started writing more science fiction and fantasy to quench their ravenous readers. Some Christian authors have also recognized this demand, and have broke the mold of Christian fiction by writing books of this genre, but more Christian writers need to be reaching the next generation with Christian truths, and one way to reach them is through this genre of books. The Last Generation will give this tough crowd the tales they want, while helping them learn important values and what it’s like to serve God – for real.

Qualifications: I am a first-time author, but I took several extra English and writing courses in high school, and am currently studying to be an English major with a minor in Creative Writing.

I have also had one-on-one experience with other teenagers and young adults who, like myself, enjoy the science-fiction/fantasy genre, and have collected information on what they desire most in a novel, observed the topics of the books they read, and have asked them their ideas of the perfect novel. I have many ongoing sources that I can use in the future when it comes to writing this series.

Marketing Research: There are two books similar to my topic:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1950)

Summary: In the never-ending war between good and evil, The Chronicles of Narnia set the stage for battles of epic proportions. Some take place in vast fields where the forces of light and darkness clash. But other battles occur within the small chambers of the heart, and are equally decisive. At the core of each of the seven books in the chronicles is the magnificent lion Aslan--the powerful high-king whose wisdom guides all. Journeys to the ends of the world, fantastic creatures, betrayals, heroic deeds, and friendships won and lost all come together in an unforgettable world of magic. So open the door and enter a new world (Christianbook.com).

Difference: Mine has fantastical creatures and battles, but takes a more personal journey with the characters, seeing how they make their decisions, the struggles they go through, and the relief and joy and regretful heartache once they’ve made their decision.

Dragonspell by Donita K. Paul (Random House 2004)

Summary: Once a slave, Kale is given the unexpected opportunity to become a servant to Paladin. A small band of Paladin's servants rescue Kale from danger but turn her from her destination: The Hall, where she was to be trained. Feeling afraid and unprepared, Kale embarks on a perilous quest to find the dragon egg stolen by the foul Wizard Risto (Christianbook.com).

Difference: Mine is more in-depth and personal with the plot and the characters.

Distinctives: The following will make my book even more appealing:
A pronunciation guide in the back of the book
Five pages of discussion questions to do with friends or family

Promotional and Marketing Ideas: I have several ideas to help promote this book, and am aware of my responsibility as the author to help in this regard.

1.) Website promoting book and series – possibly start a public forum
2.) Visits to bookstores and libraries for readings and discussions
3.) Public speaking opportunities
4.) Sneak-peeks to upcoming books in series
5.) Donate a handful of books to choice libraries – for good circulation

Manuscript Status: A two page synopsis follows this proposal. I could have the manuscript ready in nine to twelve months.


Synopsis

Dakota O’Neill, a fifteen year-old girl with a sad past and a future that doesn’t look too bright, suddenly finds herself at a foster group home in the city of Alliance, Nevada after being reported for things that were not her fault by her last set of foster parents. Facing her problems with suppressed emotions and a hardened heart, Dakota reluctantly attends Alliance High, with the promise to herself that she would never get close to anyone again.
A few weeks into the school year, she meets the bubbly Charity and her overconfident friend, Reece, and saves a boy from getting beat up by two grown men. A week after helping the boy, she is pursued by one of the two men. She runs as fast as she can, but suddenly finds herself in another world, with no explanation as to how she got there.
Dakota sees things there that she never would have believed before. An ever-purple sky, three moons that are most visible during the day, feathery birds ranging from bug-size to behemoth size, dragons, giant, canopy-like trees, strange creatures that live in both the air and the water. There is simply no end to the unfamiliar. Dakota discovers that she landed in a very militaristically-minded country that is at war with its greatest enemy.
Dakota, while being taken on an orientation of the main building of the capital city, makes the mistake of touching one of seven colored stones on display, said to be Cinneia’s last line of defense in their time of greatest need. She drops the smallest stone, slightly cracking its shimmering pale green exterior. She puts it back, hoping no one notices her mistake, and continues on like nothing ever happened.
The next day, she is shown the animal nurseries and stables, which holds creatures that Dakota has never seen in her life. She meets a young dragon that can’t fly or talk (she also discovered that dragons can usually physically speak when they’re 2 or 3.) and has been considered handicapped. She instantly bonds with the dragon, whom she names Aerhan, after her older brother who disappeared when she was 11, and eventually, over a few months, teaches him to speak and fly.
Six months after Dakota meets Aerhan, the head general over all of the militaristic divisions and branches of the country picks her out from a crowd of people, and asks her to come with him. He tells her of the status of their country, and that they desperately need aid in fighting. He tells her that he believes in a God who’ll deliver them and help them in their greatest time of need; that his God had pointed Dakota out to him. He tells her of a legendary branch of the military, a special branch, designed specifically to protect the city and it’s people, whose time has come to be summoned again. He appoints Dakota the head of this division, the Dragonguards, a team of seven people and seven dragons. The general then tells her that this is the beginning of the last generation of the Dragonguards.
Dakota initially struggles with this responsibility, and keeps protesting that she isn’t the right person for the job. She can’t fight well, can’t ride a dragon very well at all after several attempts, has trouble making split-second decisions, and has never led anything or anyone in her life. She must first gather six others, along with six dragons. To her surprise, six teens that she knew from Alliance High, including Charity and Reece, show up looking lost and confused. A few days later, all of them somehow find their dragon; whether it be by the birth of a newborn or the retirement of an old farm dragon. Within two weeks, Dakota has everyone she needs.
The Dragonguards begin their training in flying, fighting, diplomacy, culture, and stealth in preparation for an upcoming attack of the enemy. They are also instructed by the general himself about the power and love of God, and how He can save us from harm, if we accept him. They learn that this belief is not prominent in the country anymore, and are often discriminated for believing it. One of the Dragonguards rejects it. Meanwhile, Dakota happens upon the realization with the aid of a friend that she is from and was born in this world. She finds out her mother is the queen, who was forced to marry the king’s son after her husband was murdered. Dakota learns that her mother sent her and her brother with her husband’s brother and his wife to live in a separate world, the world that Dakota knew. Dakota meets with her birth mother and finds out this information, but is forced out by her mother’s husband, and threatened.
Shortly afterwards, Misáraeh starts to endure attacks from all parts of the borders, and the Dragonguards are called on their first mission to help. They fight battle after battle, seemingly swatting away an endless stream of attacks. They are eventually called back to the capital city to stay on guard and protect the people there.
By this time a year and a half has passed since Dakota first laid foot in this country, and the Dragonguards are taken aside by the general and asked a hard question. He shows them their lives back in Alliance, their school, friends, and family. He even shows Dakota a home that wasn’t consumed by fire, a home where her parents were still alive and her brother had come home that one day. He asks all of them, in private, if they would like to return home, to the places that they’ve dreamed of returning to, instead of serving God and Misáraeh in the war. He presents to them a choice that will change their lives drastically in either way, with no judgment against them on what they choose.
Dakota struggles enormously, wanting desperately to go back to the family she’d lost so many years ago, to live like a normal, happy teenager, and not one that had been hurt and scarred so many times. With great longing in her heart she declines the offer, feeling that even though her mind wanted her family back, her heart was here, serving God. The other Dragonguards choose likewise.
The next day, the Dragonguards are sent to make an attack on a weak spot in the defenses of the enemy country. Dakota is knocked off of Aerhan during the battle, and falls within the walls of the city they’re attacking. She is captured, and thrown into a cell. Her cell guard is a man named Aleight, a young soldier who doesn’t treat her as roughly as the others do, and who always has a guarded expression. Dakota notices the way he looked disapprovingly at his superiors who promoted the beating of the prisoners, and his attitude toward the captives. When the day comes that she is scheduled to be interrogated, Aleight breaks her out and leads her out of the city, stopping dead in his tracks just fifteen feet away from the wall. Dakota persuades him to go with her, that he can defect and help her country fight for what is right. He concedes, and goes back to Misáraeh with her.
Over a period of three months, Aleight is thrown in prison by the king while Dakota protests his imprisonment, Aleight is released from the prison and set in active duty with the Neiran (firebird) Division by command of the general, and Dakota is reunited with her brother who she hasn’t seen in seven years who’d been in Misáraeh since the day he disappeared.
Two years later, when Dakota is nineteen, she and Aleight get married. Three weeks later, the corrupt king is killed in battle, with no successors or qualified candidates. A diplomatic battle ensues within the walls of the city over who is qualified. The general shocks everyone by bringing up Aleight as a candidate for king, a former enemy soldier. The general informs everyone that Aleight was not just a soldier, but one of the sons of a governor, and was instructed in the particular area of leadership. Aleight himself is reluctant to receive the throne, but is forced to when word comes that the capital city is under attack. He slips into his newfound position comfortably, and starts preparing everyone to evacuate. Dakota and the Dragonguards race to the walls of the city, and are shocked to see the destruction already wreaked. They fight tooth and nail, but are forced to retreat with the fleeing citizens as their city burns to the ground.
The homeless people journey to the coastal city of Nulla under the command of Aleight and the general. Their trek across the country is long, almost six months, and tests the emotional and physical stamina of all of the people. Some decide to break off and start anew elsewhere, some simply gave up hope and stopped walking;others struggled to hold a hope in their hearts that they would one day have a home again. Dakota encourages her husband to keep going, and to trust God, even when most of the people accuse him of the death of an overexerted child. They finally reach Nulla, with dead hopes restored to life. Dakota discovers that she’s pregnant with their first child, and takes leave from the Dragonguards. The story ends with a faint promise of hope for Misáraeh from God in the future.

I love to write...does anyone love to read?

Yeah, what the title says. I love to write, I just really wish more people loved to read. It's depressing how many people just despise reading and anything to do with books! I need someone to read my stuff and tell me if it's weird or funny or really inspirational or just plain freaky or if I need to consider another line of work! D: Anybody out there want to be my official "taste tester"? Please??

Okay..anywho.. another weird little blurb that I wrote for CWG. As usual, comments welcome.

We are a people without a country. We live everyday wondering whether or not we will live to see tomorrow. Ever since that scientist Carl Silentia experimented with the plant life here, we have been cut off from the rest of society, considered nothing more than casualties. It started with the unexplained deaths at the Silent Point, previously Omaha, the capital of the former state of Nebraska. Hundreds had suddenly died at 9:27 am August 16th; there were no explanations, no calm investigations, only instant panic, and a single surviving scientist standing in the midst of it all.
No one bothered to ask any questions; they simply quarantined the area along with a 100 mile radius of populated land, and told us to stay where we were until further instructed. It wasn’t long before they broadcasted a newscast declaring to the nation of America that our area, callously dubbed Silentia by the media, was a hopeless cause. About a week afterwards, we received news that they were building a wall around our “hopeless cause” that was to be guarded around the clock, so that nothing and no one could get in or out.
Soon after that, our power was cut off. There were no delivery trucks coming in to bring us food, water, or fuel. We were abandoned by our own people and left to fend for ourselves. We knew just as much as they did about the Silent Point and the deaths, yet in running safely away from their fear, they left us to face it on our own. We drew together in our common cause, the few of us that were left. They no longer call us Americans; before the communications died, they referred to us as the “Silentians”.
In the past few years our small group of fifteen has found more survivors of the Point Effect, the occurrence, the unknown cause of death that struck us. It has only happened three times in the past ten years; once when Carl Silentia doomed us all, the second time was five days after the initial Point, which wiped out most of the population of the 100 mile radius, and the third time was three years ago, when we had managed to build a new, independent society. The third Point only killed a select few, but still rattled us and made us realize that we were far from being safe from the danger. The worst part was that we knew nothing of our invisible enemy, that we have no way or means of striking back, or even defending ourselves.

We struggle to live our lives everyday, and find ourselves looking over our shoulders in fear. Some of out children have not known freedom from the clutches of fear; they have not been able to know what being safe is. We have known nothing of the outside world, which used to be proud to call us their brothers and sisters, but rejected us at a moment’s notice. We have all lost some family, some have lost all family. Those of us who remain hope and pray that we aren’t the last generation; we hope that we will be the ones who survive until the end. We are a people without a country, a world without a purpose.