novel in progress
Jacquard’s Flight
a young adult fantasy
Cursed teen aerialist Jacquard keeps her beloved wings in a backpack, and her horrible greenness tucked into the hours before dawn. But when trees invade the grounds, Jacquard is blamed for wrecking the circus, and she can no longer hide how the woods turn her into the green-skinned Forest Demon. Jacquard’s only hope to put things right arrives in the form of Kolyu, a talking hawk from the invisible islands of Misqola, whose broken magic may explain the circus’ tree problem. If she helps Kolyu fix magic, Jacquard could clear the circus of trees, eliminate her greenness and finally be her true uncursed self.
Despite being totally in synch with Kolyu when they fly, Jacquard is sure that if he gets wind of her curse he will never take her onboard, so she keeps her greenness hidden from him. But hiding has its price, and fixing magic is not as straightforward as Kolyu hoped. As the two uncover magic’s true nature and how it could be hurtling the islands towards ruin, Jacquard’s struggle to guard her secret becomes increasingly disastrous…and its discovery could not only cement Misqola’s destruction and end her friendship with Kolyu, but 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.
