Ahoy my fellow NaNos, readers, book lovers, aspiring literary marauders, and members of the faculty.
We are gathered here today to announce the first round of entries on the chopping block. We had a chance to briefly look through them all, and we are really blown away by the amount of sweat, blood, and tears that clearly went into these NaNoWriMo entries.
Starting from December 3, and running all the way to December 16, 2011, we will be gathering votes to see who makes it through the first round elimination.
Support your fellow aspiring authors by voting for your favorite entries from now until the end of this first round:
First Round Entries
After the Woods
Genre: Upper YA
Author: Court Young
Synopsis: Elizabeth has visions induced by an antique music box that her dead grandfather was given decades before her birth. Gertrude, a witch, instructs Elizabeth to face her fears which induces her to go into the woods after dark. She travels to unfamiliar places and meets strange characters, all while trying to subdue her fear of an evil vampiress named Capella. In the end, Elizabeth finds the answers to the questions she has and understands the change that will soon take place in her life. She must ultimately choose between good, evil, and life or death.
Ashtray Girl
Genre: Literary
Author: Trystan Mackendrick
Synopsis: Ashtray Girl tells the tale of four people; a sidelined drifter-turned-prostitute, an affluent widow, a small-time drug dealer and an apathetic stripper. As their lives collide and intertwine under the sparkling lights of the Las Vegas Strip, each will be faced with decisions that will change their lives forever. Pleasurable escapes become dominating addictions, and even love is for sale. One person’s truth is someone else’s lie.
Black Magic
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Misty Mikes
Synopsis: For generations, the Black family has fought to keep demons and black magic at bay, in an effort to protect the safety and happiness of the vulnerable full-blooded humans who could be harmed if demons should be allowed to run amok. It’s a thankless job, carried out in the shadows of night, but somebody has to do it, right? John and JD Black had never overtly questioned their family’s mission. That is, until the Black family identified John’s ex-girlfriend as a demon.
Cell Hell
Genre: Sci-Fi
Author: Trudy Dillard
Synopsis: When the residents of a small town notice that cell phones are creating unusual behavior, they join forces with an odd pair of siblings to intervene before technology problems spiral out of control. The result is a journey which spans across the globe, the galaxy, and even time itself.
Chimes
Genre: Sci-Fi
Author: Amy Lawrence
Synopsis: Amaryllis Porter investigates a house on Somme Hill for a history project. After 10 o’clock, a man appears, saying the same things, doing the same things every single night that she returns. James Parker is a World War I soldier, haunted by the ghost of a girl night after night. Amaryllis must help James escape the time loop – but after discovering his history, does she want to?
Dark Water
Genre: Paranormal
Author: Vanessa Smith
Synopsis: After Pete’s wife disappeared, strange things began to happen. His dreams became vivid and intense, and he began doing things he had no memory of doing. When all paths led nowhere, a private investigator showed up at Pete’s door and changed his view. Obsessed with the lake where her car was found, Pete found himself drawn to it. When the dreams changed, Pete became convinced that his wife was still alive. All that was left to do was find her and the baby before it was too late.
Douchebags, Fags and Hags
Genre: Travel Spoof
Author: Vago Chris Damitio
Synopsis: Pigrone Martin aka “Pig” is a deadbeat loser from Las Vegas who is looking for a better life. Leaving Las Vegas he is funneled towards the Muslim-African nation of Baboob where he hopes to find the hijabi girl of his dreams and discover the key to his own happiness. Pirates, smugglers, cross dressers, Hawaiian ukulele players and discontent European royals all play their parts as Pig discovers that he isn’t nearly as dysfunctional as the douchebags, fags, and hags of the international travel and expat communities he meets along the way. The only question is, can he avoid becoming one of them?
Entomos: The Citizens of Fort Reiley
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Author: Jerry Hanel
Synopsis: Tabloid Journalist, Harrison Kass, is running from his past mistakes, hiding behind his new persona. He takes a story in the barren little town of Fort Reiley Oklahoma, never expecting that this unusual assignment would hold the seeds that would send the world into a darkness like it had never known. There is a secret in Fort Reiley, and learning it is a fatal mistake. The more he digs into the town’s history, the more he begins to understand that this town has more than a skeleton in the closet. It has houses full of undead. And now that he knows the town’s secret, he must either become one, or die.
Faithless
Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Author: Nykki Boersma
Synopsis: Eva Caldwell has wanted to be a Sopha and serve the Center for Faith Healing all her life. The Center is everything she dreamed it would be, until she finds a secret buried in the Center’s library: a flaw in the story she’s believed since her childhood. Is it a test of her faith — or a tool of the Deceiver? With her trust in the Center shaken, Eva sets out on a journey she never anticipated, and finds that she must decide for herself what it means to be a servant of God.
Gemini
Genre: SciFi
Author: D. L. Pera
Synopsis: Rand is a merc. Having just recently finished a job his old buddy, a dealer in information, tells Rand about a black job. Black because the universal security corporation WhiteSand hasn’t sanctioned it. The job is simple, find the gemini. Only that’s just the beginning. The end is, well… that the trouble with a black job. The end isn’t always as clear as one would hope.
God Cursed
Genre: Paranormal
Author: Tanith Perry-Mills
Synopsis: It started with a girl at a masquerade. She beckoned me with her fan, flirted with me. Then she screamed, because she saw my fangs. My sire, Alexis, saved me from the Hunters. I rather wished he hadn’t. It is better to be felled by the god Le Chasseur’s loyal Hunters than to live as a vampire. Nothing will make me believe different. Not even Adrian’s Blessed Child. That’s what I thought, at least.
Greater Than God
Genre: Paranormal
Author: John-Paul M. Estey
Synopsis: Private Investigator Eli Sheridan is hired to track down a lost little girl. When he finds her, she calls a bow-legged balloon man “Daddy,” and refuses to leave. The little girl looks at Eli like a bug she wants to crush, and her red balloon speaks with the voice of someone from deep in Eli’s past.
Gruesome Lagoon
Genre: Horror
Author: Ian Hancock
Synopsis: On the sun drenched shores of the lagoon, summer has arrived. It’s time for singing songs, dancing, late night bonfires, and surfing. But the good times don’t last forever when the dead begin walking and it’s up to Benny, Penny, and the rest of the gang to figure out why and how to stop them.
Half Wisp
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Gilberto Galvez
Synopsis: Zakaryas and Meena were stolen from their village by slave traders when they were very young. As the slave ships were transporting them to a human colony, Zakaryas was rescued by Captain Salix and her group of seafaring wisps. Six years later, he is still searching for his sister. A captured soulshaker confesses that he was on the ship that carried Meena to her life of slavery. Using clues the soulshaker revealed to him, Zakaryas begins his search for Meena with a renewed zeal. Little does Zakaryas know, that returning home with his sister will not be as easy as he thought. The soulshaker queen still hunts him.
Happiness: How To Find It
Genre: General Fiction
Author: Anthony Mathenia
Synopsis: Rose Gluck thought she knew what it meant to be happy, until Wyatt True, a recent graduate of the Ministerial Training School came to help her small country congregation. Rose finds herself drawn to the dashing young brother and experiencing feelings that she never knew existed. Meanwhile, despite his vow of singleness, Wyatt can’t but help to fall for the beautiful young sister. But the Presiding Overseer of the congregation has his own plans for Rose.
Hunchback
Genre: YA Steampunk
Author: Linda M. Teppler
Synopsis: The little hunchback Kinkajou was given to his tower Master at a young age. No one would recognize him as an equal to his Master, but when he throws off the yoke of exploitation he discovers there is more to the tower Masters than his limited experience has taught him. Now he sets out on a journey with a most unlikely ally to find out what the towers really mean and how to stop the tower Masters from destroying everyone and everything with their brilliant genius and lust for power.
Made in America: An Authentic Story of an Asian American
Genre: General YA
Author: Nancy Nguyen
Synopsis: My story is a coming of age Asian American novel, revolving around the protagonist, Fannie Nguyen. Fannie is just like her name, half and half. One side beckons her to become this identity that is deemed American. The other side pulls her back. To cope, she hides herself and is the person in the shadows. This all changes when her older sister gets disowned for following her dreams, and another Asian American transfers over to Fannie’s all-white school.
Modempunk
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Author: Andrew Singleton
Synopsis: To the late eighties that never were…. unless you believe Hollywood or media hysteria. The point is to tap that Nostalgia and have fun with it. Follow Max, Blackbird, Copper, and others as they go through that period in life known as High School and have to learn how to not only fit in but deal with the sorts of things most kids, or anyone else, have to deal with.
No Second Chance
Genre: Romance
Author: Columbus Smith
Synopsis: Ashley must choose between Gregory, a self-made millionaire that is willing to give her the world and Colin, her High School sweetheart recently returned from being MIA for five years. Gregory is used to playing tough in the boardroom and winning. He is not about to change now. Colin is a battle-field tested Air Force Combat Controller and never turned down a challenge. In the end only one can win Ashley’s heart.
Paddywhack
Genre: General Fiction
Author: Scott Birdseye
Synopsis: When Alexander, a young New York professional adrift in life after getting fired, and Eleanor, a young small town librarian in a comfortable rut, meet in the stacks of the Greenleaf Media Center, a new relationship begins. They get to know each other, their quirks, their history and the town of Greenleaf, VT as they date, fall in love, fight and eventually move on. Through the eyes of the two protagonists, Paddywhack tells the universal truth that not one of us knows what’s going on, we’re all insecure and faking it almost all the time.
Polymorphism: Cult of the Pigtailed Shapeshifter
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Author: Ryan Carter
Synopsis: Polly Morphenson, a young geeky hacker and avid gamer is searching for answers to life’s big questions, “Who am I? Why am I here? What should I do with my life? Why did he leave me?” While playing her favorite online game she accepts a strange quest that turns her life upside-down by giving her unpredictable powers in the real world. She soon becomes trapped in the game, tangles with an ancient evil, swarmed by fanboys, and harangued by her thoughtless ex-boyfriend, not to mention an angry dragon.
Reluctant Hero: Beginnings
Genre: SciFi
Author: Richard Green
Synopsis: In all the super-hero books I read, young people are the ones who get super-powers and become heroes or villains. So what if a late middle aged geek suddenly gets super-powers and he doesn’t know from where. He discovers that there are a LOT of challenges in using one’s powers for good and discovers that it’s a lot easier to just use his powers secretly for personal gain. I turns out that staying on the sidelines just isn’t in the cards.
Sanity Vacuum
Genre: SciFi
Author: Thea Isis Gregory
Synopsis: Vivian Skye is assigned to work on quIRK, one of the most advanced quantum computers ever designed. She leaves her home planet of Aurora to travel across the galaxy to the Extra-Galactic Observatory, the home of quIRK. When station administrator Bryce’s jealousy and ambition compels him to pit Vivian and quIRK against each other, Vivian must struggle to survive not only Bryce’s megalomania, but also the emerging artificial super intelligence that is quIRK.
Sister of the Swans
Genre: MG Fantasy
Author: Valerie Reid
Synopsis: Sidnee, the youngest of 7 children and only daughter of a nobleman, leads an idyllic childhood. When her father remarries, Sidnee is glad for a maternal figure. But the new stepmother is soon revealed to be a witch and she lays a curse upon the six brothers, turning them into swans. It is up to Sidnee to break the curse. Failure means her brothers’ death. Based off of a Brothers Grimm tale, Sister of the Swans is a story about a young girl who doesn’t want to grow up, who learns that responsibility does not have to mean losing your sense of self, but rather allows you to discover who you really are.
The Mann Who Won’t Go Away
Genre: Romance
Author: Heather Grayson
Synopsis: Darci Jordan wakes up one morning with a major hangover… and an unexplainable solitaire diamond on her left hand. Oh, and a new husband in her bathroom. She will do anything to have the marriage annulled and go back to her normal life. Jamal Mann has other plans, though. He’s loved Darci for as long as he can remember. They’ve never started on the right foot, but every relationship has to start somewhere. While he isn’t fond of their drunken beginning, he’ll take whatever he can. Will true love prevail?
The Specification
Genre: YA Fiction
Author: Sofia Phillips-Ikomi
Synopsis: When the government decides to take finite control of the worlds population, a National Specification Programme (NSP) is set up. Everyone is given a plan at the beginning of their life, dictating every detail with precision. When Ava and Dylan meet, both are impulsively drawn to each other in a way never experienced before. Dylan is battling his Dark past and Ava dealing with the world which she thought was perfect for most of her life. Both must sacrifice and make decisions that they never would dream of making for their sakes and the sake of every other person living on Earth.
The Tumultuous Escapades of Jarvis James
Genre: Literary
Author: Marshall Moore
Synopsis: Jarvis James, tired of the societal oppression of Monotony, goes on a quest to try and defeat it or find a cure for it. He realizes that this quest itself defeats his monotony, and then realizes that the path he has taken has led him on a path to defeat the seven deadly sins.
Warehouse Monster
Genre: Mock Horror
Author: Bill “bil.lion” Boyles
Synopsis: There are dimensions beyond our understanding, Universe layered on Universe. A creature that has developed the adaptation of traveling between dimensions has found a string leading from the nth dimension to the 3rd. It emerges in the low bluffs on the west side of Memphis, Tennessee, to the idolatry of the Chickasaw Indians. For many years, the relationship is more or less benevolent. Then, the Monster gets hooked, becomes substance dependent on electricity and his behavior changes dramatically. And there’s only one person in the country that has a chance of stopping this thing; an XAP WM consultant named Sam Stone.
Werewolf Tale
Genre: YA Horror
Author: Adam Gulledge
Synopsis: After trying to save the life of the victim of a werewolf, Alex Stryker finds himself on the receiving end of a bite from the same beast. Fending it off through what he believes is his own ability, he escapes only to find that by getting away, the werewolf has passed lycanthropy to him. With no mentor to turn to, and unwilling to risk the safety and company of his family and friends, he is left to observe the changes as they surface. With a new job in retail, his social hobby as a skateboarder, and his growing concern for those closest to him, he has his work cut out for him.
And now… the vote!
Please choose up to 5 entries that you would like to nominate for the next round, then click the “Vote” button!
The poll will close at midnight on the evening of December 16, 2011.
Curiosity Quills is a gaggle of literary marauders with a bone to grind and not enough time for revisions.
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