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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Lest you think I am kidding.....

I hesitate to post this today, April Fool's Day, because you might think the ideas listed below are jokes.

I assure you they are not.

These are my genuine 100% true ideas, whittled down to one sentence each (pretty much).  I am still struggling a bit with deciding which two I will pursue for now.  I have written fake queries for all four, and each has its own "Manifesto" filled with ideas about the direction each book might take.

But only two have sample pages so far....so maybe those two will be the ones I write first. 

However, I promised that if I had not decided, I would seek your opinions.

So, what tickles your imagination?  (These are all middle grades, by the way)

1.  Title:  Calista

An oprhaned young girl, accompanied by a shape-shifting otter, must complete three magical tasks to regain her soul from the Lady of the Lake.

2. Title:  Wandering the World with the Willoughby Girls

When their twin dowager aunts go missing, the four Willoughby sisters:  Australia, France, India and Portugal, accompanied by their champanzee butler, take on a death defying challenge across seven continents to thwart the kidnapper before it is too late.

3.  Title:  In the Kingdom of the Selkies

In exchange for her mother's freedom to care for her ailing sister, Laria agrees to spend a year and a day with the seal people.

4.  Title:  Area 51 Elementary School

A boring little school which serves the children of parents that work at Area 51 is not weird, strange, bizarre or different from other schools in ANY way.  So stop reading about it.  Now.

Thoughts?

hrh

I'll clean up the typos later, I have to take a kid to Chorus practice.

24 comments:

Hayley Lovell said...

I reallty liked Claista (which is actually the name of one of my protagonists in my WIP, except she spells it with a K) and In The Kingdom of The Selkies. They both sound really intriguing, and I would pick them up off a shelf.

Hayley Lovell said...

I spelt Calista wrong, sorry.

Dawn Simon said...

They all sound fun! I'm absolutely no help, though. I like them all. I picked two, but then I looked at the list again and...the other two got me. So I can't decide. I must say, though, that AREA 51 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL sounds awesome...

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Well, as you may guess, the selkie story grabs my interest. I also love the names of the Willoughby girls, but I'm curious about Area 51, that has a dark, mysterious feel about it.

Tamika: said...

You are really good at blurbs! I enjoyed them all- my favorite is The Area 51 School.

MG Higgins said...

Area 51!!

Julie Dao said...

They all sound great. I would definitely read "Calista" and the Willoughby girls' story.

Jackee said...

Ahh! I can't decide. But I must admit #1 and #6 are sticking with me the most. And since MG humor is my current passion (and many people, thanks to Diary of a Wimpy Kid and others), I'm going to say #6.

There, I'm resolved. I want to see #6 in action! :o)

Jackee said...

Um... I meant to say #4, not 6, as there is no 6. Ha, ha.

Doreen McGettigan said...

Area 51..very intriguing..

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I'm leaning toward the Willoughby girls - it just sounds like way too much fun! :-)

Anonymous said...

The shape shifting-otter :o)

Laura Pauling said...

I like the sound of the Willoughby Girls. It sounds a little more original and I love the adventures of crossing different countries.

I couldn't tell what Area 51 was really about, but that would be my second choice.

Goodluck deciding!

Kim said...

I'm totally intrigued by #4!

Tina Laurel Lee said...

Shape shifting otters and chimpanzee butlers. Both on and two are my votes. My kids would dig and I love the voice in both descriptions.

I think that #4 could be really fun but the POV has to be perfect. I do believe you have that in you.

Renee Collins said...

Ooo, I like them all!

The Area 51 idea is the most high concept to me, so I lean to that one, but I'm also quite intrigued by the Selkie one.

All good choices, I'd say. :)

Unknown said...

2 and 4 hit me the most, though they all sound good. I love the names of the willoughby girls!

storyqueen said...

Hayley-Thank you! I think the voice in the stories will be similar..though I think the first one is third person and the Selkie one is first.

Dawn-Who knows what really lurks in Area 51 Elementary???

Tricia-Yes, I would have guessed about the selkie bit.

Tamika-Thanks. A bit mysterious, huh?

MG- Duly noted!

Julie-Ah, yes, the girliest ones!
(Or is it the shape-shifting otter and the chimp butler....?)

Jackee-I like number 6, too! (hahaha...actually, wish I had a number 6...)

Doreen-So, another vote for Area 51!

Shannon-Those Willoughby girls! I think it's their names that aids in the compellingness of their story.

Niki-(Shhh, the shape-shifting otter is based on folklore...I didn't make it up!)

Laura-Thanks for your thoughts! (of course, you pick to two hardest ones!)

Kim-Too funny! The vaguest description gets the most votes!

Tina LL-I guess I have the need to write some cool animal stuff right now....(and there's the fact that I wish I had a monkey butler....)

Nisa-Again, more votes for the hard ones!

Julie Hedlund said...

I like #2 the best because of the traveling the world aspect and I love the character's names (and the monkey butler). Second choice is #3 with the selkies.

Anne Spollen said...

I loved the Area 51 School. That sounds really intriguing. I would love to see what you could do with that one. I think it would be great!

Casey Something said...

Number 4!

lisa and laura said...

Area 51 and the sisters who go looking for their aunts. GREAT ideas! I can't wait to hear more...

Joshua McCune said...

#4 for me.

Myrna Foster said...

I want to read about Calista and Area 51, but the others sound great, too.