Tricksters - Snow Globe

Name: Mel Stephenson

Genre: Middle Grade, Dark Fantasy

Title: SNOW GLOBE

Word count: 40,000


Hero: Lily's dog Milo, because he loves with all his heart, he stands by her side without question and together they can face the world, when it stops being a friendly place.


Pitch: Sucked into a snow globe, Lily must save her dog to win their freedom, or she becomes the prize: the ice queen's devoted daughter, unhappily ever after. Coraline meets CS Lewis's Snow Queen.

250: Lily Ellis slid her back down the wall and sat at the top of the stairs, clutching her rumbling belly. Couldn’t her parents have waited until after breakfast for their latest fight, or at least chosen to have it somewhere other than the kitchen? Milo dropped his chewy bone, glancing at her through long tufts of floppy fur from her bedroom doorway. In the alcove, on the opposite wall, the family photo of her and her parents slipped of its nail—their smiling faces hung lopsided, ready to fall from the frame and to the floor. She crossed the landing and straightened it up; if only saving her family were as simple as that in real life.

Milo’s name drifted up the stairs and he scrambled to his feet, nudging Lily’s hand with his wet nose. Her heart smiled as she melted into his brown, droopy eyes; the way she had four years ago when she was eight—the day they rescued him from the dog shelter. “Come on,” she whispered. They crept down the stairs and waited at the bottom by the kitchen door.

The tap gushed on. Off.

A cupboard door slammed.

Milo sniffed along the gap under the shut door, then padded over to sit by her feet.

At last her mum spoke. “You can’t pretend this isn’t happening.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” her dad said.

“This.” A paper fluttered, which she guessed was her mum waving something at her dad. “We need to tell Lily, and the sooner the better,” said her mum.