Oops! The Goblin's Maw is emptier than I would like, so while I'm rustling up more queries, here's a re-edit of Query #2: Eyes of Stone by Beckahrah and Query #5: From the Neighborhood by Merry Monteleone.
Both writers had expressed interest in getting more feedback, so please let them know what you think!
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SECOND VERSION OF "EYES OF STONE" BY BECKAHRAH:
Even living among the last of the gargoyles, Anaiiya has always believed she's human. But the day she awakens covered in blood is the day she realizes she's something else entirely. A terrible darkness lies dormant within her, waiting to be triggered. When a deranged queen attacks her beloved gargoyle tribe, Anaiiya blacks out--and awakens surrounded by dead soldiers with no memory of how it happened.
Now stone crumbles to powder at her touch and blood obeys her every command. The monster she's becoming takes her over one piece at a time, slowly filling Anaiiya with an ever-increasing lust for violence. Each day she struggles to use her newfound powers only to defend her tribe.
Instead, Anaiiya's attempts to protect her family draw the attention of far more dangerous creatures. Now immortal beings of dark magic war for control of Anaiiya's powers, and the last gargoyle tribe is in greater danger than ever. Anaiiya can save them--but only if the darkness within her doesn't destroy them first.
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GOBLIN RE-EDIT:
Even living among the last of the gargoyles, Anaiiya has always believed she's human, but when a deranged queen attacks her beloved tribe, Anaiiya blacks out--and awakens surrounded by dead soldiers. A terrible darkness has lain dormant within her, waiting to be triggered.
Now stone crumbles to powder at her touch and blood obeys her every command. The monster she's becoming takes her over slowly, filling Anaiiya with an ever-increasing lust for violence. Each day she struggles to only use her newfound powers to defend her tribe.
Instead, Anaiiya's attempts to protect her family draw the attention of far more dangerous creatures. Immortal beings of dark magic war for control of Anaiiya's powers, and the last gargoyle tribe is in greater danger than ever. Anaiiya can save them--but only if the darkness within her doesn't destroy them first.
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SECOND VERSION OF "FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD" BY MERRY MONTELEONE:
When Jack Poverelli's uncle bails him out of jail, packs his mom off to rehab, and whisks Jack out of the neighborhood, it should have been a good thing. What sixteen year old wants to wake up in the middle of the night and make sure his mom's still breathing? But Jack doesn't belong in the gleaming halls of his new high school where everyone judges him for what he looks like, and he doesn't trust his uncle. Why would he show up now, after all these years? And why is he so interested in their house and finances?
Jack would give up clean sheets and full meals to be back with the friends who've looked out for him his whole life. Everything is pushing him into this new place--better classes, a job, a girl whose way out of his league but doesn't seem to notice. Even Jack's oldest friends are telling him to move on, that he should be trying to get out of the neighborhood, not stay in it. When his mother relapses, Jack and his friends step between her and a neighborhood drug dealer, setting off a chain of events that put them all in the crosshairs of both the dealer's cronies and the police.
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GOBLIN RE-EDIT OF "FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD" BY MERRY MONTELEONE:
In the gleaming halls of Jack Poverelli's new high school, his only friends are the kids who like the notoriety of hanging with a sixteen-year-old fresh out of jail.
They aren't friends who would help him scrounge for food if his mom was high, or back him up in a fight against one of her dealers, and because of that, Jack just wants to go home. Even if it means being poor; even if it means not finishing school.
Everything is pulling him into this new life--better classes, a job, a girl who is out of his league but doesn't seem to mind--even his old buddies are telling him to move on. Jack can't so much as yearn for a better life without feeling conflicted, because what is he longing for if not the tidy existence his uncle just gave him?
When his mom's relapse yanks Jack back to the old neighborhood and into a confrontation with a gang, he learns not only how far his old friends will go to defend one of their own, but how much he's willing to give up to have friends like that.
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