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Does this sound like an interesting project?I have a complete book (first of a series) titled 'In The Lucid Dream Future: Beyond Malanchthon.' I'm looking for beta readers who can read all or part of the book. It is 230,000 words so I can send it out chapter by chapter.
The book is about a young musician who discovers that a song that he's been writing in privacy is mysteriously being played by a heavy metal band. He is driven to extremes and finds out that the thief was a lucid dreamer, somehow dreaming in the future. The story was inspired by reports of clandestine operations involving psychedelic drugs and E. S. P., along with some freaky stories from some lucid dreamers I know. It also touches on 'The Elder Ones' theme from Lovecraft. The story features nonsense sentences throughout to reveal the hero's deranged state of mind, and as relief against the schmaltzy romantic tension that is central to the story. These sentences (which I will call "The Sentences of Gloar" in a later book) are also central to the overall story background in that they are related to the main character's nature, a strange schizophrenic image that follows him throughout, and an image that he sees in The Heart of the Black in the dream world.
Here's the hook as seen on Amazon
An average garage band kid becomes something extraordinary after the mysterious hearing of his own song being played by a satanic death metal band...
No one had yet heard the song that Aldan Jones was writing, but from early on a dim dark unknown presence seemed to surround the inspiration as he wrote...
When during the course of a late summer jam session he discovers the song is being played by a satanic death metal band it drives him to the edge - and thus begins his obsession with the assassination of Sedeth Wehunt, lead guitarist of Cessinducist and the one who he felt was responsible for the theft. Plagued by a schizophrenic image of an eye watching threateningly from the woods he embarks on his relentless mission only to be intercepted by two questionable characters who at first seem to be only figments of his imagination. They lead him into the world of Lucid Dream Future Travel as they claim to know how his song was stolen and offer to reward him if he pulls off a similar heist against the very same perpetrator. But a horrifying precognitive vision of his girlfriend's brutal murder overwhelms him and leads to his discovery of powers beyond his universe and propels him ineluctably on to the final conflict.
Hi Crystal. It's good to meet you and nice to have someone like you here. My story doesn't have romance, and it is around 45,000 words. Here is a summary:Some say he’s a wizard or a demigod, and others just say he’s a lunatic, but whatever he is, he’s no human. As a child, Wes brought to life fantasies and nightmares that should have never come to be. Now he is a cranky and drunken old coot, without much to show after a life of hard drinking.
Wes didn’t have to live with the consequences of his creations, as that was left to Marty, a pizza delivery man. He was sent on the adventure of a lifetime, thrust deep into the chaos of a world he would never wish on anyone else. He journeyed to lands with unearthly creatures, not all of which were friendly. Amidst the danger and frenzy, his simple wish was just to get home before it was too late.
Meanwhile, voices and dark feelings are lurking from a place deep inside….
Hi Crystal. I'd love to have another beta reader for my YA/Adult Fantasy novel. Warnings for mature themes including sexual abuse of a minor. 120,000 words, multiple formats.
JOURNEY TO LANDARAN Synopsis:
Aidah and her twin brother Tavish have always had a knack for getting into trouble. From pie stealing and pranks to hunting for magical creatures, they have always escaped notice in their tiny mountain village.
Until now.
Aidah begins seeing visions through her brother’s eyes. He’s a Firestarter, gifted with the Talent to control light and heat, destined to become a Sun Mage in the great city of Landaran. But he doesn’t want to leave without his sister. As storm clouds gather, Aidah dreams of a beautiful man, a frightening man, calling to her.
She fears the truth. That she may developing a Talent of her own, one that will change their lives forever.
The power to read minds. To possess bodies. To travel inside dreams. In the world of Ernid, Spirit is the ultimate power.
Nations will go to war over them.
Crystal wrote: and some exotica (not hardcore)."Hello Crystal and welcome! When you say "not hardcore" do you mean abusive, violent sex scenes? I am looking for beta readers for a story I'm writing, "Thicker than Blood" and it does have sex scenes in it, but the sex is consentual...
Anyway, it's just 10k words in length, so if you'd like to read a romance/paranormal tale about a nurse that discovers the world around her is not what it seems... please let me know. :)
Hi Crystal. I am looking for a Beta Reader for my YA Supernatural/Fantasy Romance. Currently the novel is only a 1/3 of the way through, and is my first novel in this genre, I would welcome an unbiased critique.The Novel is as yet untitled.
The synopsis:
A girl finds life is changing all around her, too fast for her liking. The final summer college program with a selected group of college students, was more than she could handle. The two week stay at Grantham would be nothing but out of the ordinary. Lyndsy, an overbearing and obnoxious girl, would by 'accident' change Angela's life forever.
Currently, on Chapter 6 with nearly 12k words. If you are interested in reading please contact me. Thank you so much :)
Interested in reading a young adult thriller? "Dangerous Boys" is 60k words and is on the verge of being torn down and rewritten from scratch. However, I don't really know what was wrong with the original version as I've only gotten form rejections from agents and publishers. Below is a synopsis for your consideration.The book opens with a crash as 16-year-old CHANCE breaks through a storefront window, hot on the heels of a dangerous and wanted skinhead, while 16-year-old KEVIN supports the mission from his bedroom halfway across the country. Chance takes down his bounty and the story rolls back a few weeks. In a gloomy container yard at the New York City harbor, a syndicate of four dangerous criminals meets to examine their latest shipment of young women to be sold into the sex slave trade.
Meanwhile, Chance and Kevin live polar opposite lives. Kevin is high schooler from a loving and complete home in a quaint Chicago suburb; Chance is a dropout working a demeaning fast food job and living with his abusive stepfather in New York. Despite their wild differences, the two are best friends, connected via the internet. Neither is happy in their situation. Kevin passes through school like a ghost, not connecting with anyone while easily passing his classes and pining for CRYSTAL, his classmate. He longs for challenges and thrills and, of course, for money, which has led him to become a computer hacker. Chance hates his job and stepfather but loves another internet penpal of his, MACKENZIE.
Having reached his limit, Chance quits his job after a violent confrontation with his manager and finally stands up to his stepfather, who boots him out on the street. Kevin is lost without his one true friend to talk to. While on the street, Chance is lured out of the martial arts studio he’s trained at for years into the dangerous world of underground fighting. When Kevin learns what Chance has been up to, he is angry and worried, but it sparks an idea in his mind. With Kevin as the brains and Chance as the brawn, they begin their careers as bounty hunters, chasing down New York’s wanted criminals and collecting the prices on their heads.
Both Chance and Kevin enjoy the spoils of their new profession, with Chance able to put a roof over his head and food in his stomach while Kevin can buy the luxuries of life he could never have before. They get greedy, however, and turn on the criminal syndicate seen earlier. It all crashes down around them as their identities are compromised by the syndicate’s own computer hacker. The grim decision is made to kill them all before they are killed themselves.
Kevin proves mission support as Chance kills the group’s leader in a firefight in the man’s apartment. They plan to deal with the remaining members of the group. Meanwhile, Chance finally confesses his feelings to Mackenzie and tells her the ugly truth about his life. She isn’t repelled and insists that Chance give up this dangerous game he’s playing and ultimately invites him to come live with her. He considers this for a moment, but knows he can’t leave his best friend in the lurch.
Kevin is baited into letting Chance walk into a trap laid by the remains of the syndicate, but manages to distract them long enough for Chance to fight his way out and escape. The gangsters pursue Chance by car while he slashes through thick New York traffic on a bicycle. They both end up in crashes and limp to a final showdown. Despite being seriously injured, Chance kills the last of the criminals. With his dying breath, the last one alive promises Chance that it’s not over and that he and Kevin will never be safe.
As Chance patches himself up in his hotel room, he and Kevin say their goodbyes as they part ways for the time being. Kevin, flooded with confidence after his ordeal, confesses his feelings to Crystal, who rejects him, leaving him with the final thought, “The real world sucks.” Chance, meanwhile, travels to Florida and finds Mackenzie waiting for him. She leaps into his arms and they share their first kiss as the book draws to a close.
Olivia wrote: "Crystal wrote: and some exotica (not hardcore)."Hello Crystal and welcome! When you say "not hardcore" do you mean abusive, violent sex scenes? I am looking for beta readers for a story I'm wri..."
Hi, Olivia! I'm new to the group [abt 10 mins now!] and don't intend on stepping on Crystal's thread . . . but would happily beta-read for you if Crystal can't - or if you'd like more than one reader! Let me know. robertapearce1@gmail.com
Hi Crystal ~ I know you just got bombarded with requests! I am the assistant for an author who has a series of YA/Paranormal (vampire) books that we are looking for a beta reader for. The first one to start and needs a quick turnaround time. 3 Beta readers have recently flaked on a novel length book and sent back 2 sentences after reading it ... if interested, please send me a message!Thanks
Stacey
Hello, and looks like you might be overwhelmed, but my book seems to fit your genre choices and it is fairly short, so I thought I would give it a go.My book is Dragon's Curse. It is a fantasy with romantic elements. It is the first part of a series, but the first book is my current concern and it sits at a moderate 54k words (14 chapters, 172 pages, and a whopping 299,000 individual characters!)
If you are at all interested, my book is actually very well edited. I'm looking for opinions on the story over all, not a line by line edit or proof reading. I also just want to see if it grabs people or not.
SYNOPSIS:
On her first assignment out of the Academy, young healer and scholar, Shannon Macaulay is summoned to the struggling kingdom of Regone to see to the wounds of a young but crippled king. When the unwanted attentions of an aggressive knight and the sudden appearance of a hated dragon turn her world upside down, she decides to take matters into her own hands even if doing so proves dangerous.
Finding herself strangely drawn to the company of the dragon, Gnaw, Shannon must force herself out of her safe world of books and botany to come to the aid of her unexpected ally in a strange kingdom, cursed by a fateful encounter with a dragon and the loss of a beloved prince. Can she learn to put aside her fears, and perhaps sacrifice her deepest desires, to help a friend and restore a family?
Please let me know if you're interested in reading my novel? The work is polished. You can email me at: lpobrien7277@gmail.comLaWrenCE
Title: "Skipping Stones along the Kìchì Sibi"
Period: 1794-1816
Genre: Historical Fiction/with Fantasy substory
Location: The Canadas
Language: English
Rating: Some War violence
Age Level >16
Length: 135,000 (Slightly shorter than Last of the Mohicans)
Storyline:
This is about people drawn to a waterfall. The Kìchì Sibi runs through it.
An Irishman runs from a landlord who is tries to kill him. He continues to try to kill him in the new land.
An Algonquin woman, paddles against waves of mystery, foreboding and desolation.
A New Englander from near the Mohawk valley struggles to maintain order and influence in order stake his claim.
A free black man from a town near Boston brings his small children and the memories of his dead wife to a place with an undefined future.
Each crosses the paths of a Púca and the Wìsakedjà. Each have their sights on how to traverse through conflict, subterfuge and maybe redemption.
I cannot wait to work with some awesome writers! I would be honored to be part of the process!