Query:
In eighteen-year-old Jena Anderson’s world, two things will never change. The twin Earth’s will always turn, and everyone has a doppelganger, or Ersatz, on one of those worlds. Except Jena has no Ersatz. She is branded as an indefinite, shunned by her own society and forced to run from the only life she has ever known.
Then people who Jena is close to start to die. Maybe they’re being killed by the government of her world as punishment for her twisted, rebellious existence. Maybe not. All she knows is that she has an enemy, someone who wants to hurt her and will stop at nothing to reach her.
There is only one thing Jena is certain of - neither Earth is safe.
So she turns her sights to the stars and boards a Wing, a giant sky ship that may be her only hope for refuge.
But the sky can only protect her for so long. When a malfunction on her Wing leaves her suspended in space, her only hope for rescue seems to be the very faceless enemy that has threatened her life for so long. And when they come for her she will have to make a choice: either save the worlds she has come to loathe or risk destroying Byron, the one person in them who could make life worth living again. The choice would be a lot easier if he wasn't working for the enemy.
Ersatz Wings is a 72,000 word young adult science fiction. It is my first novel, and has the potential to be a series. If you are interested in reading more, please contact me via email. I am querying other agents at this time also. Thank you for your consideration.
First 250:
Chapter
1:
The
red panic lights flash above me as all of the other lights are cut off,
plunging me into a ruby strobe-light darkness. I sit in the gloom, head tilted
slightly to the side, and listen to the low thrumming alarm that has been
triggered. It vibrates my whole body with its resonating tones: errr… err… errrrr…
The
systems are much too old. In fact, this is one of the oldest Wings still in
existence. It’s no wonder that something has gone wrong.
When
Coptain barges into my meal, flushed and scared, I just look up at him,
studying his fear for a moment with a sense of mild curiosity. His skin is
sheet white, glistening with sweat, and he almost looks like the spooked horses
I’ve seen in the history books, the ones that were ridden into battle. I watch
as his eyes dart around before locking onto me.
I’ve
never seen him so terrified before. And, in my experience, terror is not a good
sign.
“We’re
out of life support, Jena. You need to find someone to link with.” His voice is
a hoarse shout that sounds almost painful as he fights to be heard over the
alarms. For a moment I wonder if he is imagining the life-stealing expanse of
space that is all around us, trapping us on this damaged Wing. I know that I
am.
Looking
down at my hands, I daintily smooth a napkin out on the table, making sure the
creases disappear from the white fabric before I look up.
