Bouncer Post #73

Title: THE EMERALD WOOD

Genre: Middle Grade

Word count: 39,000 words

Query:

When ten-year-old Wyatt Cook and his older, jerk of a brother, Dustin,

venture alone into the mysterious greenbelt behind their Pacific

Northwest home for the first time, they have no idea the discovery of

a strange, blue-haired creature will thrust them into a timeless

battle between two raging realms of the forest, and it will fall upon

Wyatt to save them all.

As the woods around them manifest into talking beings, Dustin is taken

prisoner by the Axindae and Black Thorn and Wyatt is told he is the

only one who can save him - no pressure.  With help from the Knights

of the Wood, Pinecone Warriors, and a trusty golden retriever, Wyatt’s

adventure becomes a fight for his life and the existence of the

Emerald Wood.  Along the way, Wyatt must lead an army, save Dustin,

and find out what it truly means to be a brother.

Introducing a stunning new world filled with natural wonders, THE

EMERALD WOOD is a 39,000 word middle grade novel inspired by my own daily adventures in the 8 acres behind my childhood home in the

Pacific Northwest.  I remember every imaginary conversation I had with

the beautiful environment around me and can't wait to spark this same

thrill within every girl and boy who reads this book.

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Arts Education and English from

Central Washington University and I am a Theatre Arts Teacher at South

Kitsap High School.  I am an experienced public speaker with access to

over 2,000 High School students who are willing (and waiting) to buy,

promote, tweet and Facebook the heck out of this puppy.  In the spring

of 2007 I wrote, produced, and directed an adaptation of Lewis

Carroll’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND, entitled ALICE IN DISCOLAND.  It became the most successfully produced non-musical in school history.

First 250:

“Go Dustin, GO!”

The two brothers hit the tree line at a dead sprint, the bigger of the

two leading the way while the smaller, more agile figure egged him on

from behind.  It was the first day of summer break.  Dustin and Wyatt

Cook awakened at sunrise to get an early start on their first day of

freedom.  Stopping to kiss their mom good-bye and pack a few crucial

food items from the kitchen pantry, the Cook brothers sprinted through

the door and plunged into the great beyond of forest that lay behind

their house.

The brothers had been planning this day for several months.  Wyatt,

the younger of the two by four years, had turned ten in April and was

now allowed into the woods with only the supervision of his older

brother Dustin.  They saw this as a right of passage, almost a ritual

into manhood.  Not only did it mean the two boys were free from the

watchful eyes of adults, but Wyatt could now perform the sacred act of

“swashing”.

Swashing was a technique for moving down Glenwood Creek, the small

creek that ran through the woods and emptied into a large pond at the

Johnson Farm about five miles east of the Cook house.  The reason it

was called swashing was because it wasn’t exactly swimming and it

wasn’t exactly running; it was just swashing.  There were spots where

the creek opened up and a person could run at a full speed.  At some

points one might find himself crawling on his stomach through water

with sticker bushes looming just inches from his back. Other times a

person might have to climb a fallen tree to navigate to the next open

part of the creek.  Regardless of one’s progression, the journey

always ended with the creek spilling into the pond at the Johnson

Farm.