Introducing "The Prophet's Quest"

Before we get into things, I wanted to take a minute to say a big thank you to all 19 wonderful people who filled out my survey! I appreciate the feedback so much. (And I recognized a number of you without having any names to go on. *wink*) Hopefully I'll be able to start incorporating some of your suggestions in the near future.

One thing that came up a couple times in the survey results was a desire to see more about my writing. Synopses, blurbs, that sort of thing. And while I've talked openly about The Brightest Thread and other smaller projects, my main love has been kept mostly under wraps. I've done a few Beautiful People posts for it, and even shared a few snippets, but that's about it. I mean, I'm still referring to the books as book one, book two, and so forth--not even their real names!

Seeing as I need some practice summing up my book(s) anyway, why not start here? (Querying will be a whole 'nuther thing, but shhh.)

Also, Daniela Ark started a linkup called A Book's Genesis that provided me with another nudge in this direction. You can use the linkup, which runs until the end of 2016, to talk about what inspired your current work-in-progress (WIP). Each month features a new slant, beginning with April's introduction to your story.

Um. Well. This feels a little awkward. You see, this series has been part of my life for eight years. It was the first time I got serious about a long project, the first thing I stuck with beyond a few chapters, and maybe also the first idea to hold any merit. Prior to this, my stories consisted mostly of girls and horses, or talking pets, or mysteries that . . . were so mysterious I can't even make sense of them. So you can see how it might be difficult to sum up something that has been such a long-time fixture in my life. It's just there. How am I supposed to explain something that feels like it's always been around? But I shall certainly make an effort to give you a window into it.

That "book 1" I'm always vaguely mentioning is titled The Prophet's Quest (or TPQ, as I tend to shorten it). It's the first in a four-book YA fantasy series. The second is The Prophet's Key, and is currently being wrangled into a brand new form, so we won't speak of that wild infant thing just now. Books three and four exist only as nebulous ideas in my head, and thus do not yet have titles. The series is called Journeys of the Chosen, though I'm not happy with that name. It's a placeholder until inspiration strikes me with a brilliant replacement.

My badly rendered picture of the Prophet. XD

The Prophet's Quest has evolved massively since I sat down as an overzealous twelve-year-old to begin penciling out a thinly-veiled hybrid of The Chronicles of Narnia and Dragons in Our Midst. In more recent years, I have grown tremendously as a writer--though I still have so very much to learn--and the book has been through fire after fire, being purged of loopholes and spineless characters and bad writing. Not that it's perfect now, but it's a whole heck of a lot closer than it used to be. And considerably more original, I hope. It also went from 68,000 words to 131,000. Not even sorry. According to my rough estimates, it will probably make a 300-400 page book.

Anyway. It's a portal fantasy/high fantasy/contemporary fantasy mash-up. Which basically means it starts on modern Earth, and then moves to another world with a medieval fantasy setting (called Alewar, for those of you who want to know--and that's pronounced Ah-luh-WARR . . . rhymes with car . . . just in case any of you are fantasy pronunciation nerds.)


I feel like I'm blandly describing a piece of real estate or something. Goodness.

Here's an actual blurb to give you a sense of the story:

When visions of suffering begin to plague Aileen and Josiah, they pursue answers, and discover they are the prophesied rescuers of Demetria, a nation in another world. On that world, war hastens. And the very evil threatening Demetria has extended a branch to Earth as well. Transformed into dragons, Aileen and Josiah are propelled into a harrowing journey. Only a mysterious orb called the Prophet guides their way as they embark on a quest to save the Demetrians . . . and their own world as well. But the malevolent dragon Criffel will stop at nothing to keep the prophecy from coming true.


So we have a prophecy, some deliciously evil bad guys of the human and beastly sorts, a transformation into dragon form, talking animals (I can't seem to get away from those), awesome Demetrian people, and a huge new world to explore. And, of course, there's the Prophet--an object of which there is more than meets the eye. There are guardians, lords, warriors, mountains, waterfalls, long flights, battles, fortresses, fire, ice, allies, enemies, betrayals, division, ALL THE EPICNESS. (That's the incoherent synopsis, methinks. The one where my writer side goes all bubbly and excited.)


That gives you a sense of the plot, but what about the characters? If you're like me, an awesome storyline is well appreciated . . . but if it's not populated by vibrant characters, my interest level severely drops.

Main Characters

Note: I'm terrible at finding accurate character pictures. The ones that follow are rough representations of how I picture these people.

Aileen McKay - Sixteen years old. Brown hair, brown eyes. Introverted, intense personality, makes thoughtful decisions. Turns into a white dragon with ice breath. Read more about her HERE.

Josiah Williams - Sixteen years old. Blond-ish hair, grey eyes. Bold, self-assured, makes snap decisions. Turns into a red dragon with fiery breath. Read more about him HERE.


The POV switches back and forth between these two. It's fun to get both of their perspectives and see the storyworld through two different lenses.

Secondary Characters

(Alas, I have next to no pictures for these guys. One of these days I might just cave and make a Pinterest account. Google images is almost useless for good character pics.)


Mr. Hawkins - Aileen and Josiah's geography teacher. Guardian of the Prophet and all-around epic person.


The Sagire - A group of Criffel's people on Earth, hunting for the Prophet and the chosen ones.


Lord Mauray and Lady Geneva - Benevolent rulers of Demetria.


Captain Dauntless - Fierce leader of the Demetrian dragons. Trains Aileen and Josiah.


Korohan - Centaur. Head of Lord Mauray's security.

This is a bit like how I imagine the lesser cousins of Criffel's species,
which appear in The Prophet's Key (book 2).

Sheena - A female leopard warrior who befriends Aileen.

Leander - A white lion with a broken past. Read more about him HERE.

Fay Blacktail - A spirited crow brimming with opinions.

Criffel - Powerful mith'vel dragon. Main antagonist. Twisted ideals and bloodthirsty methods.

Character who will not be named due to spoilers - Criffel's right hand. Mysterious magical abilities. Skilled in the art of deception.


This is a very brief look at just a few of the important characters. I fear it doesn't do them justice, but I guess you'll have to wait until the book is published to learn more! Because yes, this is the book I plan to start querying this year. (!!!)

Your turn to yammer away!

Do you like portal fantasy? Are you partial to the chosen one trope, as long as it's done in new ways? DO YOU LIKE DRAGONS? (Most important question right there.) Oh, and if you have anything to say about my synopsis--constructive criticism definitely included--please tell me. Not like it's the official synopsis, but you know. I need to make one soon, so if you feel this one was too broad or too specific or something, I want to know.


And do tell me about your work in progress! I love hearing about other people's stories--rejoicing over fabulous ideas or commiserating over stubborn plots/characters/what have you.