Gather the Stones

For the one and a half of you who read this blog, you may be wondering what happened to my upcoming book, Gather the Stones.  Well, since March of 2016, I have spoken with four different agents, one of them suggesting that the book should be YA, due to the age of its protagonist.  I took that to heart and essentially re-wrote the whole book.  It is the 2017 winner the University of Wisconsin Writers Institute Young Adult First Page Contest.

The following is the synopsis, which I will be officially querying to these, as well as other agents.  In the mean time, I am making the full manuscript, in its latest draft form, available for your reading.  I would appreciate any general feedback (in other words, how you feel about the characters, conflict, plot, ending, etc).  Either comment in the comments section of this post or email me directly at staymark@gmail.com

SYNOPSIS

GATHER THE STONES is a contemporary YA novel set in Harmondale, Wisconsin, population 9,142.  17-year-old Jack Turner is the center of it.  He’s the mayor’s son, the varsity quarterback, and boyfriend to the hottest girl in school.  His life is worlds away from that of Chuck Fredrickson, the town’s foraging recluse suspected of committing a serious crime 20 years ago.  That all changes Homecoming night, during the storm of the century, when Jack saves Chuck from drowning in a flash flood.

Neither his father, who demands a proper face be worn at all times, nor his friends, whose priorities are in partying and hooking up, would suspect that Jack would ever think of Chuck again.  But through subsequent interaction, Jack realizes that the stories behind the accused but never convicted pack rat are either exaggerated or untrue altogether.  Upon that, Chuck has a secret past, full of notoriety, love, and tragedy.  This friendship causes Jack a second look at the superficial, hypocritical nature of his lifestyle, his friendships, and even his family.  And the people of Harmondale, especially his father, refuse to accept that.

So when scandals arise with his now ex-girlfriend, Jack and finds himself alongside Chuck before the social execution squad, and must reconcile his own newfound beliefs with the world he lives in, especially when his father is the first in line to cast a stone.