novel in progress
Jacquard’s Flight
a young adult fantasy
All teen aerialist Jacquard wants is to fly in the bird act and keep her greenness secret. No one needs to find out she’s the dreaded Forest Demon. She doesn’t know her parents, her actual age, or why the trees that follow the circus cursed her, and only her, to turn green in the woods. Now trees are invading the circus ground and Jacquard’s monstrousness is becoming impossible to hide.
When a talking hawk named Kolyu flies in from Misqola, Jacquard learns the islands are her homeland. Its broken magic may explain why trees haunt the circus. If she helps Kolyu fix magic, Jacquard could stop the trees, eliminate
her greenness and finally be herself.
But Misqola’s tyrant exploits others’ magic, and Jacquard’s rare greenness could become his next prize. She hides her greenness while helping Kolyu brave mist dragons and search for a lost book of mystical power. As the two uncover
magic’s true nature and how it could be hurtling the islands towards destruction, Jacquard’s struggle to guard her secret becomes increasingly disastrous…and its discovery could turn her into the monster she’s always feared lurks
within.
Inspiration
My first sense of the novel rose from a short story I wrote in response to a writing prompt, which included a deserted island and a mask. Somehow a talking hawk showed up in the story. I had so many questions about where this hawk came from, that a short story wasn’t long enough to explore them.
It’s funny how, no matter the project, you tend to return to the same fundamental questions. And these fundamental questions become the work of your life. I am curious about the interplay of truth and illusion, as well as the difficulties of finding your place in the world. I guess it makes sense that a prompt with a mask and a deserted island would have captured my imagination. Still not sure where the talking hawk came from though :o) I think the answer to that is the novel itself.
Status
The novel has gone through multiple rounds of revision.
Thanks in part to a grant from MSAC, I kicked off the revision process with help from book coach Jennie Nash. Thank you, Jennie! Thank you, MSAC! To discover more about the Maryland State Arts Council, click on the link below.
