Ripe

This is a short novel, about 56,000 words, and the target audience is New Adult. The story speaks to first grief, first love, and the profound effects of both. RIPE tells the story of Twyla, a young woman living in a seemingly quintessential American suburb with an underbelly of white-hot dark magic. Isolated from the world of humans, the supernatural population of Sunken Grove is afflicted with a variety of magical mutations. When Marlene, Twyla’s sea witch of a stepmother, grows increasingly ill, Twyla teams up with a mysterious and charming newcomer, Robbie. Together, they embark on a cross-country road trip, seeking treatment for Marlene at the curative seashore. As Twyla relates the story in epistolary to a mysterious figure she addresses as 'Waxman', the trauma of her past and the stakes of her present increasingly overlap. Along the journey to their ultimate destination, Twyla and Robbie encounter old gods, experience hallucinations, escape from cults, and battle the lingering effects of their own memories. Although their budding romance only grows from the obstacles she and Robbie overcome, nothing can prepare Twyla for what awaits her when she finally reaches the beach.Author's note: I wrote RIPE for my thesis at Oxford Brookes University Creative Writing Masters program and received a high distinction for the first 7,000 words of the manuscript. I currently live in New Jersey and, like Marlene, seek healing at my own hometown beach as often as I can.