Genre: MG Contemporary Fantasy
Title: GIDEON AND THE NIGHTMARE DEMON
Query:
Gideon Hardy is eleven years old and going blind. The doctors said, “No cure,” and they meant it. No amount of money would buy a solution and no battle of wits could solve the problem. With the diagnosis, Gideon believes his days of being an ordinary kid, of hiking and stargazing, are over.
Then the sneaky shadow plaguing Gideon’s eyesight starts to whisper. Teasing him. Threatening him.
Not good.
While Gideon tries to ignore the shadow’s taunts, his parents and doctors try to help him adjust to living with a disability. But the constant concerns and corrections are too much, so he seeks respite in the only place he can: his dreams. When asleep, he meets and befriends Baku, a nightmare eater, who invites Gideon to spend more and more time in the dream world. Together they help other children escape from their darkest fears, and Gideon finds a new purpose, until Baku accidentally lets slip that staying asleep for too long might reap dangerous consequences for human boys.
As darkness encases his vision, Gideon has to decide if he will abandon his parents and real life for his dreams, a place where he can still “see”.
GIDEON AND THE NIGHTMARE DEMON is a Middle Grade contemporary fantasy novel complete at 37,000 words. It is both creepy and heartwarming, like THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, and reminiscent of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, but for older children who are still more interested in exploring their dreams rather than chasing them.
First 250:
“Whoa, Gid, did you hear that?”
“What?” Gideon Hardy froze in place, hiking boot hovering over the ground, mid-stride.
“Look up, over there,” his father said, holding just as still. “Ahead on the path.”
Gideon followed his father’s gaze to a downed tree surrounded by berry shrubs. He squinted, straining to see, to hear anything out of the ordinary.
“What is it?”
“When she comes out, don’t look her in the eye.” Gideon’s father reached down to the pouch at his waist and undid the zipper. “Direct eye contact is a challenge.”
Goosebumps marched up Gideon’s arms. The pouch held pepper spray.
On the trail over the past few hours, they had seen two bald eagles and more fuzzy chipmunks than Gideon cared to count. He wanted to see a real animal. Something a little more exciting, like a bear.
Okay, maybe not that.
Still! The forestry signs warned hikers to be wary of predatory animals, but in the five years his family had been hiking this particular forest, they had yet to come across anything larger than a buck. That one time.
And it had been dead.
Eyes to the ground, Gideon tried to look at the path through the periphery of his vision, but it was hard, too many shadows between the trees or something. He waited.
A bobcat three times the size of a house feline strolled out from behind a shrub and onto their path. Pointy ears angled back, she sniffed and looked straight at him.
