GENRE: Lyrical, Intergenerational, Journey
WORDS: 375
Query:
Dear Editors and Agents,
When an arctic river freezes safely, a child and parent set off on skis for a moonlit adventure with their dog. As their skis SHHHH, SHHHH along the snowy river, a refrain weaves through their thoughts: Will she be there beyond the riverbend? Who is the mysterious “she” they’re hoping will be home at the end of their journey? Along the way, they meet a howling dog team on the shore, a boreal owl, a moose, a chattering red squirrel, and a skyful of northern lights. The rhythm of sliding through the wilderness on the moonlit snow is the heartbeat of their journey. At 375 words, WILL SHE BE THERE? is a lyrical, intergenerational story that combines a refrain, as in Sophie Blackall’s HELLO LIGHTHOUSE, with the reverence for nature in A RIVER’S GIFTS by Patricia Newman.
Like the child in the story, I lived in a cabin on the banks of a river in Alaska. When the river froze, it transformed as if by magic into a pathway for a dog team or skier. As I skied home along its banks in the moonlight, I often dreamed of rounding the bend and seeing a light in my cabin window—a surprise visitor waiting for me!
I have an MFA in creative writing, with a thesis in verse. I’ve taught college English, driven a bookmobile to far-flung communities in Interior Alaska, and worked in a small elementary school—teaching literature, writing, and music. My writing has been anthologized a number of times, including poems in New Voices (The Academy of American Poets) and an article on teaching children to write in Workshop 5: The Writing Process Revisited (Heinemann). I’m an active member of SCBWI and participate in my local chapter’s peer critiques. In addition to WILL SHE BE THERE?, my completed manuscripts include three middle-grade novels and several other picture books.
Thank you for considering my manuscript.
Excerpt:
“The river’s finally safe!”
We pull our warmest mittens on.
Denali wiggles by the door—
and leaps ahead along the path,
his tail a fluffy flag.
We SHOOSH the hill
to the river ice.
Will she be there beyond the riverbend?
Ah wooooooooooh!
The dog team on the shore
sets up a howl,
their voices twining in the air
like smoke we hear instead of see.
“We know you’re here!”
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
The wilderness landscape of Interior Alaska is etched in my heart. I once lived in an old cabin on the banks of the Chena River, outside Fairbanks. When the magic wand of winter froze the river, I was free to glide above the ice on my skis. Like the child in my story, I passed a howling dog team, heard the shivery calls of boreal owls, and was thoroughly scolded by red squirrels. I wanted to share the experience of skiing on a moonlit river under a dome of swirling aurora, hoping for a lighted cabin around the bend.
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