A Teaser Prologue
Or a Sneak Peek of the YA Book I'm Querying
As I query my contemporary young adult novel, The Envious Moon, I will share images of settings, character insights, and reflections about crafting 80,000 words.
The main character, Roz Capoccia, loves musical theatre, so the amphitheater in Curtis Hixon Park appears three times: in the opening chapters, in the middle during a critical moment, and in the closing scene.
This image is taken from where Roz witnesses a tender moment that obliterates her summer plans in Chapter 2.
For fun, I set out to write a prologue, à la Shakespeare’s for Romeo and Juliet. While writing a fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter took several hours, I confess, I had fun piecing it together. As with any piece of writing, I had to kill a few darlings. I was proud of the opening line of the first draft: “Two food trucks, most dissimilar in fare.” Alas, although food trucks play a key role in Roz’s life, the story is not about the food, the trucks, or her job. The story is about Roz learning about her birth parents and how the tragedy from her childhood shaped the story-present family dynamics.
I confess, I’m not a poet. This sonnet follows the rules, but I dare say, it’s a bit clunky. Still, I accomplished what I set out to do: to write a synopsis in sonnet form.
Without further adieu…
Prologue for The Envious Moon
Two cousins, most dissimilar in flair,
(In Tampa, Florida, hot and humid).
Love two-timed, jealousy swirls in the air.
Pasts, real and conjured up, still disputed.
Her mother’s death haunts Roz. Her questions stir
Up doubts and guilt. Twice betrayed now, she is
Determined to find her true birth father.
But tempers rise, fights ensue, and lies give
Adults cause to ground her. Rebellion leads
To accusations and the hospital.
Suppressed guilt and grief over decades bleed
Into the open. Roz and her family
Must confess lies and secrets before they
Can heal and Roz pursues life on Broadway.