Bouncer Post #58

Title: THE SKY THRONE

Genre: YA Fantasy

Word Count: 77,000

Query:

Zeus becomes the king of the Greek gods, but few know how he developed his powers to control the heavens.

When Zeus’ failure to follow rules causes the sun deity, to attack his family on Crete, Zeus's mother is left unconscious and his best friend is dead. Zeus soon realizes that in this pre-human world where only gods exist, duality exists at every turn. The woman who raised him on Crete, was never really his mother at all, but to ensure her safety while she recovers, he must leave her behind and seek answers at Mount Olympus Preparatory Academy.  

Zeus embarks on a quest to find his real mother, discover who ordered the attack on his home, and avenge the death of his friend. When some of his new schoolmates vanish, though, searching for them forces him to abandon his initial quest. A wicked turn of events reveals that rival school Headmaster, Cronus, is not only responsible for the Crete attack, he is also behind the abductions. To gain the power he needs to defeat Cronus, Zeus must access the power of The Sky Throne, but doing so could kill him.

THE SKY THRONE was accepted into the prestigious Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program, where I was mentored by Suzanne Morgan Williams from May 2012 to October 2012. I am an active member of SCBWI, having attended regional and national conferences. I am also a member of the Historical Novel Society, YALitChat.org and American Authors Association.

First 250:

The distance between darkness and light was a split-second, my mother once told me. A sliver of space. The breadth of a strand of hair. I didn’t know what she’d meant until today. And still wished I didn’t.

I relaxed on the beach beside a pearl-skinned sea nymph. Entranced by her beauty, I’d lost track of the moon’s flight. A single star shone defiantly against the vast indigo, which now receded from a coral horizon.

My friend Anytos stood in the surf, embracing another nymph. After she swam away into the white-capped waves, Tos turned. A smile dimpled his cheeks until he caught me looking. He quickly stowed his grin before he reached me.

“All right, Zeus. C’mon,” Tos said. “We need to get going.”

I looked up. “Just because you already sent your girl on her way, don’t come over here ruining my good time.”

He was right, though. We’d been out way longer than the other times I’d dragged him to the sea’s edge. In my defense, no matter how long we’d stayed out before, we always made it back on time. I could afford to steal a few more moments.

Tos kicked the bottom of my feet. “I promised Amalthea I’d keep you safe. Let’s go.”

“Safe from what, some demonic sheep from the other side of the island?” I asked. Every morning, the same drill; get back to the cave before someone sees you. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Zeus, seriously. Look at the sky. We need to go!”