Dear Secret Agent,
Fourteen-year-old Kyle Briggins didn’t enter Camelot Junior High with an evil sorceress or Excalibur in mind. But when a mistake in roll call brands him as Kyle Pendragon – a surname shared with King Arthur – his part in an old legend begins to surface.
School bullies and teachers aren’t the only ones making such ridiculous claims either. The class pet, a talking ferret named Merlin, insists Kyle is the real King Arthur, and if that wasn’t bad enough, his math teacher is Morgana, an evil sorceress who’d happily kill him for the throne.
Traveling to ancient Camelot with a talkative ferret as his sidekick is nothing compared to the characters he’ll meet once they get there. Stuck in the middle of a legend, Kyle must face Morgana, her dark realm of nightmares and brave the school dance. Should he survive, he’ll have to make the hardest choice imaginable – stay in the magical kingdom of Avalon or return home to new friends – his own Knights of the Round Table.
KINGDOM JUMPER, a middle grade fantasy, is complete at 33,000 words. Additional materials are available upon request. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
*****
First 234 words:
Kyle’s sneakers squished as he walked the long corridors of Camelot Junior High. A newbie surrounded by sharks, his heavy steps left wet footprints all throughout the halls.
After checking his schedule for the fifth time this morning, Kyle crept inside room 12B before the first bell rang. With only three desks open, he shuffled down the middle aisle and landed in one at the back of the room. A group to his left pointed at him, wide grins smeared across their faces.
“Check out the drowned rat,” the first said.
A boy with a mess of brown hair laughed. “What’s amatter, new-kid? No shower in the sewers?” he asked.
“Where’s your pack, rat?” asked a third.
Kyle sunk in his chair, blond hair wet and dripping down the sides of his face. In the history of first days lived by eighth graders, Kyle figured this had to be the worst ever.
First, the bus broke down before reaching his stop. Then, his umbrella turned inside out and he had to wait in the pouring rain. He’d be lucky to dry off before the end of the day.
Bunching his shirt around his middle, Kyle leaned over so the excess water could drip onto the floor. The voices around him hushed as the classroom door closed. A young woman in red stood at the front of the room. Kyle read his schedule: Ms. Parrish.
