THE ELEVENTH TRADE

Middle Grade Contemporary

When the Taliban invaded Afghanistan, Sami lost everything — everything except his grandfather, and the rebab.

Sami and his grandfather make a new life in Boston. But one day when Sami is playing the rebab at a T station, a teenager snatches the instrument and jumps on the T. The doors snap shut, and the rebab is gone.

When Sami finds it again in a pawnshop, the shopkeeper won’t return the instrument, but he offers to hold it. The only problem: The rebab costs $700, and Sami has no money.

Thirty days is all Sami has to raise $700 — and if he can’t, he’ll lose the last remnant of his old life, and break his grandfather’s heart forever.

Progress: Sold to Macmillan and HotKey! Debuts in Fall 2018.
Find Out More: On the blog

THE INVISIBLE BOY

Middle Grade Contemporary

Nadia Quick is the definition of a quirky homeschooler, down to her eccentric leggings and homemade archery field. But her life in Alexandria, VA, is coming to a close: Her dad’s up for new orders, and she still hasn’t made a best friend in this area.

Until she meets Eli, a boy with hoodie pockets full of mysterious objects. Apparently he lives on her street, though she’s never seen him before. He’s so good at vanishing, Nadia wonders if he might actually be a superhero.

But some powers aren’t super at all, and Eli’s secret identity is anything but Marvel material.

It’s up to Nadia to separate truth from imagination, and she’s running out of time — for both of them.

Progress: Sold to Macmillan and HotKey! Debuts in Fall 2019. Drafting started now!
Find Out More: On the blog

ILLUMINATE

Young Adult Fantasy (same world as BLESSINGS)

Perl’s world is full of masks, blood-thirsty mermaids, and now a plague.

When her cousin, Princess Elatha, falls ill, Perl is forced to give up dreams of freedom to take her place. Her task: to court the royal fiancé without letting anyone suspect she isn’t the princess. He seems charming, but in a city laced with as many secrets as canals, no one is what they appear.

If Perl can’t unravel the truth, she’s going to lose her cousin — and her heart.

Progress: Out with Amber before going to publishers!
Find Out More: On the blog, on Pinterest

WAKE

Young Adult Fantasy (same world as BLESSINGS)

After Elatha reveals the truth about the plague, she’s forced to flee the country before her mother can punish her. All she has now is a mentally-unstable ex-mermaid (Nila), who wants nothing more than to forget her man-eating days, and the youngest member of the Council of Twenty (Remiel), who is convinced Elatha should return to lead an uprising against the now-toppling monarchy. With these companions, and world full of customs she doesn’t understand and people she can’t control, finding anything—much less safety—is not going to be easy.

Status: Currently on hold, new plotting underway
Find Out More: On the blog, on Pinterest

BLESSINGS

Young Adult Fantasy

In a kingdom where the fair folk bless humans with supernatural abilities, Melle is a girl with no blessings who dreams of belonging and Velimir is a prince with six-hundred-and-one—including the ability to take life (adding to his own years) or give healing (at the cost of his life)—who wants to be left alone. When Melle begs Velimir for a healing and is refused, she accidentally opens the door to a curse. The two must find a way to combine forces if they are going to save their kingdom, their families, and themselves.

Progress: “Final” revisions complete. For the moment, anyway.
Find Out More: On the blog, on Pinterest

POPINJAY

Young Adult Fantasy (inspired by Robin Hood)

When Talvas saves the king’s life, all he gets for his trouble are three things he never wanted: A title, a ward, and a crippling disability. It’s a witch in the woods who finally gives him a gift worth keeping. Her magic arrow heals his wounds, but only as long as it’s in his quiver.

On a quest to get out of his inconvenient new life as fast as possible, Talvas takes to stealing from his own treasury under the guise of Popinjay. But things get out of hand fast, and soon his outlaw persona is the town’s hero, complete with a band of loyal followers.

When mistaken identity leads Talvas’s closest friends to the gallows, Talvas has to choose: Save his skin and keep his mobility, or become a hero.

Progress: Rewrite underway.
Find Out More: On the blog, on Pinterest

(Note: Ruth C. Thornton used to be my internet name.)