Become an Agent 2015 Post #13

Title: Suomi's Song
Genre: MG Fantasy
Word Count: 50,000

Query:
Ten-year-old Henry would rather be on the basketball court perfecting his fadeaway jump shot than on a one-way trip to Helsinki, Finland. So when Henry’s sister, Lauren, steals his copy of The Kalevala, Finland’s creation myth, during their first week at international school and shows it to their new teacher to get extra brownie points that should have been his, yeah, he overreacts. And lands himself and his sister in Finnish lessons for the whole semester as punishment for fighting.

But the Finnish lessons turn into Introduction to Weird 101 when their hip Finnish teacher admits he’s part of an ancient society that protects magical artifacts like Henry’s book, which the original copy of The Kalevala. Weirder still, the book has a connection to Henry that pulls him deeper into the mystery with each rune they read.

Now, in addition to adjusting to the dark, frigid winter and the endless servings of salmon soup, Henry and Lauren must help their teacher locate the Sampo, the mythical horn of plenty from The Kalevala, that keeps the Earth’s magnetic energy in balance. When they realize their Dad’s new boss wants the power of the Sampo for himself, they must stop him to save the Sampo and their father.

SUOMI’S SONG, a dual POV middle-grade fantasy that stands alone but has series potential, is complete at 50,000 words and will appeal to fans of Marissa Burt’s Storybound and Chris Colfer’s The Land of Stories series.

First 250:

Lauren’s sprawled out on her beanbag, nose in a book. Avoiding the heat just like every other hot Colorado afternoon we’ve had this summer.

“Put the book down, sis,” I say. When she ignores me, I kick the bag a few times to get her attention. “Seriously. We’ve got a situation.”

She still doesn’t look up, so I grab the book out of her hands. “Macbeth? You know this stuff will turn you into a nerd, right?” That got her attention.

“Give it back, Henry.” She glares at me, clenching her teeth. That’s one scary metal mouth.

“Jeez, relax,” I say, stepping back in case she decides to bite. I hold the book out and she snatches it, sinking back into the bag. “Just messing with you! But seriously, I have to tell you something.” I swing her door closed. “In private.”

She groans, but puts the book down.

“Mom and Dad are up to something,” I say, crouching down next to her.

“Whatever, Hen,” Lauren says, fiddling with the frayed edge of her jean shorts and yawning.

“No, really. I just overheard them talking in the kitchen as Dad was heading out the door to work. They said something about selling the house.”

The fiddling stops. She’s paying attention now, her green eyes wide behind the her thick glasses. “Again? Where? Boston? Seattle? Not Dallas.”

“Even worse,” I say. “Helsinki.”

She pulls her hair in front of her eyes, hiding her face. “Helsinki? In Finland? No way.”

Title: QUEST FOR THE KALEVALA
Genre: MG Fantasy
Word Count: 52,000

Query:

Ten-year-old Henry would rather be on the basketball court perfecting his fadeaway jump shot. Not on a one-way trip to Helsinki, Finland because of his Dad’s new job. Then Henry’s big sister, Lauren, steals a mysterious old Finnish book that appears in his room and shows it to their new teacher to get brownie points that should have been his. The resulting fight lands them in extra Finnish lessons for the whole semester as punishment.

But the Finnish lessons turn into Intro to Weird 101 when they discover their hip Finnish teacher's part of an ancient society that protects magical artifacts like Henry’s book, which is the original copy of The Kalevala, Finland’s creation myth. Weirder still, whenever someone reads from the book, Henry gets pulled into the story.

In addition to adjusting to the dark, frigid winter and the endless servings of salmon soup, Henry and Lauren must help their teacher locate the Sampo, the mythical horn of plenty from The Kalevala, that keeps the Earth’s magnetic energy in balance. When they realize their Dad’s new boss wants the power of the Sampo for himself, they must stop him to save the Sampo, their father, and the world.

QUEST FOR THE KALEVALA, a dual-POV middle-grade fantasy that stands alone but has series potential, is complete at 52,000 words and will appeal to fans of Marissa Burt’s Storybound and Chris Colfer’s The Land of Stories series.

FIRST 250:

“A job?” I glare at Mom as she stands in the kitchen unpacking boxes. She’s got to be joking. “Seriously? Like moving to Finland wasn’t bad enough, now you’re putting me to work.”

“Henry, it’s not like I’m asking you to pick up forty hours a week,” she replies. “It’s just an hour or two helping out a nice elderly neighbor.”

“A creepy old Finnish lady,” I add. “Does she even speak English?”

“Henry James Rollins.” Mom wags a finger at me. “That isn’t nice and you know it. Her name is Mrs. Lönnrot and she speaks English as well as you do.”

I cringe at her lecture and my name. Why did Dad have to name me after some old punk rocker? “Oh come on, Mom, Lawn-rot?” I groan. “Even her name creeps me out!”

“It’s a very old, very non-creepy Finnish name,” she says, hand on her hip, hazel eyes giving me the look that usually comes right before she tells me I’m “pushing my luck.”

“Have you ever seen her in the sunlight? Maybe she’s a vampire. No, no, I’ve got it—an evil enchantress!” I shudder dramatically. She’s right, I am pushing my luck, but I can’t help it. The lady gives me a serious case of the squirms. Her wispy hair, crooked teeth, and weird washed-out eyes watched from her window the whole time we were lugging boxes into the house. Like a ghost or something.