Beta readers wanted: Queer Middle-Grade Fantasy!
- info9013468
- Apr 7
- 2 min read
HELLO, MY NAME IS ASH (First of the Red Door Series), is a middle grade fantasy about a nonbinary 4th grader who just moved across the country and would do anything to get back to their friends. Fortunately, they find a mysterious Red Door in the attic of their new house in Oregon that links to the Red Door in their old classroom where their friends are in Michigan! Unfortunately, when they try to use it, it takes them to Neverywhere, the magical world that exists in the spaces between the doors. Ash has to make their way to Hartscourt Castle, home of the miserable Queen of Neverywhere, in order to save their friends. Along the way, they meet frogs that control the weather, tiny rhyming goats, waitress monsters who serve only grotesque versions of everyone's favorite foods, and Yetis with a sacred mission of their own. Can Ash make it back to Oregon? Will they ever see their friends again? Or will they be stuck in Neverywhere forever? Read to find out!
When PJ and I say we're looking for feedback from beta readers, what do we mean?
Read half of the book (72 pages) in the next 2 weeks (by April 20th) and that you give us feedback along the way. You can go deep into line editing- grammar, sentence structure, or just focus on the big picture things, like: Does the story make sense? Do you care about the characters? Do they seem real? Is there the right amount of action? Suspense? Humor? What is confusing? What is unnecessary? What do you wish you saw more of? What books/movies/shows does this remind you of? If you could change anything about the book, what would it be? Do you want to read more of Ash and their friends?
If you tell me you'd like to read the first half of HELLO, MY NAME IS ASH, I will send you a link to a Google Doc and you can make your comments and suggestions in that document. Once you've read the first half, please provide your overall impression (as per the ??s above) in an email and let me know you're ready for the second half (only 58 more pages, feedback due May 4th).
As always, I absolutely could not write my books without my friends and family readers. THIS book is especially fun because you can read it with/to the kids in your lives! It's designed for ages 9ish to 12ish, but so far everyone we've read it to has found something of themself in it.
Thank you and let me know if you're ready to read!
Sarah
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