Middle Grade Fantasy: THE SECRETS IN MERLIN'S JOURNAL

Author's Name: Alexandria Rogers

Category: Upper MG

Genre: Fantasy

Stage of completion: Mostly polished and looking to query

Preferred Critique Style: All the flails

Cat or Dog Person: I have both!

Tea or Coffee: Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon 

Short Pitch

In The Secrets in Merlin's Journal, twins Dianna and Caedmon Tuggle discover their late mother's secret: she hid them in Wisconsin to keep them safe from the dangers of their homeland, The Isle of Clas Myrddin, where King Arthur reigned 1,000 years ago. Dianna drags Caedmon to this magical land. But someone – or something – is desperate for Tuggle blood, and won’t rest until they find it. The twins must unravel the mysteries of their family’s past. If they don’t, Caedmon will die…and the secrets of their past will be lost forever.

Writing Sample

            The people of Boulder Falls slept as the towering oak tree began to sway in a nonexistent breeze. Nobody noticed the red lights peeking through the bark. Nobody heard the whooshing noise. And nobody saw the letters and symbols skidding from the tree, through a sleeping boy’s bedroom window. An ‘s’ caught on the ceiling fan, while the tip of a ‘q’ wriggled in leftover mac and cheese.
            The oak tree beside the Tuggle’s house shivered and stilled as the last letter bounced up its branches and onto the windowsill. Some of the letters burned gold. Others had blue water droplets as thick as paint dripping off them. The letters hummed – spun – sighed – and at long last, settled into words.
            Then, thick pieces of parchment appeared out of thin air. The parchment acted as flyswatters, thwacking the words until every last piece of language was properly assembled. A leather binding smothered the pages, and the fully formed book burst into flames like a phoenix making itself anew. It zoomed through the air – right into the sleeping boy’s nose.
            “Wha-whos-fox robbers!” Caedmon bolted out of bed and instinctively reached into the surrounding darkness. His nose throbbed, and something wet and oozing dripped onto his lips.
            His bedroom door slammed open and a bright light blinded him. Caedmon blinked back tears as the dim outline of his twin, Dianna, appeared. She held one hand on her hip and the other pointing a flashlight straight into his eyes. “What’s going on?”