Jun 6, 2010

Query - Silver Squirrel and the Crucible of Silver

Silver Squirrel realized that the hawk was planning something terrible for him, ever since she attacked his friend Morning, the crow, and left her in his care.

This relationship he had with the crows got him in a lot of trouble, with the community, with his girlfriend, and now with the hawk.

His plan to save the community was a good one, but somehow it all went wrong. Now lives are shattered, and here he is, caught in the hawk's talons. Why didn't she kill him? Silver could only wonder.

"Our leg bones lock into place. That's how we sleep while perched," the hawk said. "I could die of old age and rot, and you still won't escape my grip."

The hawk is a smart one, but Silver's experience with the birds might help, if he can only put together the pieces of the puzzle before it's too late.

Silver Squirrel and the Crucible of Silver is a coming of age novel completed at 75,000 words. Two additional Silver Squirrel novels are also completed.

I have been published in several trade publications including Keyframe Magazine. I studied screen writing, and have completed three novels. I worked in special effects for film (Star Trek, Spiderman 2) and published software and documentation for the animation industry for a number of years.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

To be honest, I'm confused. Here's what I'm getting: Silver Squirrel is friends with the crows. The hawk doesn't like that. So the hawk captures him and keeps him in his talons.

I guess what I'm missing is why. Why is Silver Squirrel friends with the crows? Why does the hawk care if he's fiends with them--aren't hawks and squirrels natural enemies anyway? And why bother keeping him in her talons instead of killing him? Wouldn't it be awfully inconvenient for the hawk to keep a grip on Silver Squirrel indefinitely (which is what I think I'm understanding)?

Also, we don't know yet what the silver crucible is. I think you need more information in this query.

Dan Ritchie said...

There seems to be a fine line between to little and too much information.

Dan Ritchie said...

Here's a more direct version:

Some animals seem to have a much harder time of things. These few special animals aren't evil, or unintelligent, or even unlucky. They're animals with a special destiny. They suffer trails and tribulations that remove the dross from their life, as if in a crucible.

Silver Squirrel is one such animal. Timely as the 100 year anniversary of the loss of 4 billion American chestnut trees nears, Crucible of Silver is a coming of age story completed at 75,000 words.

As a fire burns a forest, and flame sets mountains ablaze, Silver Squirrel learns to survive his first year in a world that is in chaos around him.

Fear of the cataclysmic chestnut blight leads squirrel leaders to destroy their own forest, leaving Silver homeless. Repercussions of the fire – starvation, predation and more – bring the animals to the edge of ruin.

Through it all, Silver tries to find friendship with the crows, love with a female, and a sense of who he is, though everything seems to be against him – the community, a hawk, and even spring fever.

Silver dreams of a day when he can be at a piece with his mate, far from the trials and tribulations, but Silver is at last caught by the hawk, and all seems lost. Still, his experience with the birds may help him survive his greatest trial yet.

I have been published in several trade publications including Keyframe Magazine. I studied screen writing, and have completed three novels. I worked in special effects for film (Star Trek, Spiderman 2) and animation (Roughnecks, Dan Dare, Mystic Knights), and published software and documentation for the animation industry for a number of years.

Thank you for your time and consideration.