Sunday, April 8, 2012

Next book written!

I'm done writing my next book, ELECTED! It's approximately 85,000 words as a young adult novel.

Here's the premise: In 2100, overuse of technology finally damaged the environment beyond repair. Climate change, earthquakes, floods, the rupture of oil pipelines, and nuclear warfare caused widespread devastation. The year is now 2185 in what is left of Washington DC. Aloy, a seventeen year old girl, prepares to assume the inherited Elected leadership role over East Country in a mere two weeks. All her life she’s prepared for this position, studying past generations' strict laws, which were determined to save humanity through elimination of technology. Forced to uphold duty over her own desires (love for a boy named Griffin), Aloy must pretend to be male to qualify for office. Against a growing Technology Faction, assassination attempts, forced marriage (to a girl named Vienne), and encroaching threats from a neighboring country, Aloy must solidify her leadership skills, protect her country, and learn to follow her own convictions.

I envision Elected as a three book series. I already wrote the outlines for books two and three. Book two, Neglected, follows Aloy and Griffin’s adventures in Mid Country, where Aloy must find a way to stop Mid’s invasion of East. Book three, Re-Elected, consists of Aloy, Griffin, and Vienne venturing into what is left of Europe to find out why those countries are targeting their continent and how they can work together to fix the planet.

Elected is similar to the Hunger Games and Matched in that it takes place in a dystopian future society and has a strong female lead who must find her own inner strength. However, Elected is also unique in that it deals with gender roles and the implications of environmental misuse. I see these two challenges as timely to our young adult generation, as our country’s population is currently enmeshed in dialogue about both climate change and tolerance.

I'm currently looking for agents on this book and just started sending out query letters. Wish me luck!