Neil Thomas' Current Query

Neil was referred to me by Kimberly Gabriel (who is awesome). I'm not sure if he has a blog, so I'll just link to you Kim's (Neil if you have any links you want me to add to this post, let me know, and I can edit it).

Here is his letter:

Dear Agent,

An oath designed to protect the weak and powerless may have instead doomed them all for eternity.

Rhymar, a reluctant prince on a quest to prove his mettle and worthiness for the throne, struggling to fill the boots of his lost and far more adept older brother, discovers the evidence deep in an ancient city in the mountains. A mage of unequaled power is not bound by the Hart’s Oath—a spell all mages must bind to their gift before they are trained in the arcane. The Oath prevents them from using their magecraft to harm any other. But this nameless, unbound mage lives in secret beyond the mountains to the east, gathering his forces, and consolidating his power. He plans to sweep over the lands unopposed and rule all of Ureth for himself. And because of the Oath there is no one who can oppose him.

Except, perhaps Delaney—this strange girl from another world that has no power, but whom the unbound mage desperately wants dead.

After his entire honor guard is slaughtered by vile creatures not seen on Ureth for centuries, Rhymar and his few remaining companions must now protect this rude and unruly girl and escape the ancient city and the mountains. But do they head west to get word to the twelve kingdoms of the threat they face? Or discern the mage’s weakness, and travel instead east to the forbidden lands and deal with him directly before he launches his assault?

But any plan they have may be thwarted by Rhymar’s own secret—unpredictable, debilitating headaches that render him incapacitated.

A STORM FROM THE EAST is a 140,000 word epic fantasy novel in the tradition of Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series and R.A. Salvatore. It is a return of the classic quest story with a fully developed, unique world and a rich cast of strong characters. But the story employs unconventional elements as well, and presents a different approach to the use of alternate, parallel worlds. The novel would appeal to young adult and adult readers of speculative fiction.

This is my first novel and my first attempt at publication.

Sincerely,
Neil Thomas

That's it!

Please thank Neil for his courage in sharing this with us, and save your feedback for tomorrow.