Elevator Pitch:
Runaways Jai and Ceder set sail in a boat full of holes, with a plan full of holes, searching for anything to hold onto in a world where nothing is what it seems. Steered by waves they set in motion centuries past, leaving in their wake ripples that will rock their trusty boat a thousand years hence, together Jai and Ceder struggle to stay the course against the tide of an inescapable truth: the farther away they try to run, the faster they will be reeled back to the beginning.
Young Adult Fantasy—85,000 words
Copyright 1st ed. 2005, 2nd ed. 2011
Cover Art for Second Edition of Riverlilly
The Story So Far:
Status-in-a-Nutshell: Complete, available to read. Needs revision and illustrations before publishing Third Edition.
I wrote Riverlilly in 2005 and self-published about 175 copies. Then, in 2011, I rewrote almost the entire thing, cut the page count in half, designed a new cover, and printed up another 250 copies. I gave about half away to family and friends, sold some, and sent a bunch to agents and publishers, but never made any real headway in terms of getting published.
Riverlilly is currently unavailable for download. If you would like a paperback copy, please contact me.
To date, Riverlilly has approx. 2,000 downloads across various platforms… and even a few positive reviews! (See below.) I temporarily disabled eBook downloads in January 2021 until I can give the whole manuscript a minor editing pass.
What’s Next?
Riverlilly needs a lot of work, and I am dying to give the manuscript a thorough and merciless revision, with a couple of big structural changes in mind. I also have dreams of producing between 6-12 full-color illustrations in the same style as the cover. When all that is done, I will try submitting to publishers again, retooling the digital version for e-readers, and printing up a handful of beautiful hardcover copies to commemorate the Third Edition!
Reviews for Riverlilly
“This was awesome.”
“I just recently found your book and fell in love with it! Is there any chance on buying a print copy of the book? I desperately want to get one for my nephew. Thanks!”
“Riverlilly has been one of my favorite books for the last ten years. I bought copy 114 out of The Bookstore in downtown Glen Ellyn a long time ago and have been captured ever since. I try to reread it once a year. I just wanted to say thank you for creating such a lovely story.”
“Dear Mr. Evans,
I read your book Riverlilly. I absolutely loved it. Whenever I picked it up I couldn’t put it down until I was about to pass out from staying awake so long. As each chapter passed, and the story progressed, the harder it was to put down. I didn’t want it to end, but (SPOLIERS!!!)
Your book was absolutely mindbending. I think it’s impossible to explain how much I enjoyed reading your book in this simple letter. I thought it was fantastic. I’ve read a lot of books through the fourteen years of my life, and by far, yours was one of the best. I would highly suggest you write another.”
Original Cover Art for First Edition of Riverilly