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'The Stone in My Pocket' - Looking for Beta/Swap for Contemp. Lit-Fiction/YA

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cat_named_easter

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Hi folks. My novel 'The Stone in My Pocket' is at quite an advanced stage now. It's gone through several redrafts and edits and I've had two fantastic writing partner/betas work on it with me already. I'm now looking for someone who'd be willing to take a fresh look and give their feedback or who might want to swap their own work for beta-reading. Here's the gist (this is not a blurb or query letter, just my made-up summary on the spot!):

Seventeen year-old Nathan lives in Drichton, a tiny Scottish village, in 1999. He doesn't speak to his parents much — in fact, he avoids being around them as much as possible — and his few friends seem to be losing interest in him during their final year of school. After being urged by his mum Nathan takes a part-time job in the local bookstore, run by Iris — an eccentric middle-aged woman. She tells Nathan all sorts of wonderful stories and listens to his unusual accounts of strange events in his house including a mysterious wailing voice he heard outside his window one night. Iris reveals that she is a medium and introduces Nathan to tarot cards, crystals, mediumship and eventually her weekly spiritual circle, held in the loft of the book shop at night. After joining, Nathan discovers he has his own gifts and begins lying to his parents — even more than usual — about his whereabouts every Wednesday night. He even begins looking at flat rentals, hoping his newly-developed abilities might help him move away from his mum and dad and begin a new life alone.

The novel is complete at 82k and deals with themes of identity, secrecy and faith. There is no sexual content and very occasional swearing.
I'm not really looking for line-by-line editing since technical accuracy shouldn't be much of an issue at this point. I'm more concerned with broader ideas like characterisation, general engagement, pace, plotholes, dry patches etc.
If you're interested in swapping your own work, I usually prefer lit fiction or anything speculative (sci-fi, dystopian, magic realism, light fantasy) although I'm open to other genres if there's great writing and an amazing story.

Thanks for reading!
 

sylvanscribbler

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Hello, I'd be interested in a swap. My current WIP is YA magical realism with a slight dystopian/ sci-fi undertone. I might only need the first half looked at for right now since I'm still reworking the ending a bit. Let me know if this is something you would like to do!
-Violet
 

Beardon

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Sounds like a pretty interesting book. I'd be happy to do a swap if you're still looking for eyes. My current MS is a 108k dystopian novel about a small city that was isolated from the effects an attack that knocked the global power grid off line. The inhabitants of the city spend every day waiting to be overtaken by the roving gangs they've heard about, but the gangs never come. The waiting starts to break people, and drama unfolds as people are increasingly willing to see evil around every corner, even when there's nothing there.

It's on the third draft, and I just sent it out to a bunch of friends for beta reads. I'd love to get some eyes on it from people that don't know me so I can get more honest feedback. Let me know if you're still looking.
 
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