I wanted to share what inspired the creation of the Sabrina Hunter Series in this blog. The contents stated herein result from years of research. Names have been excluded to protect the trauma some families continue to experience today. However, if there are any questions regarding the facts, I have links readily available. I know some of these events will raise an eyebrow, and feel obligated to keep my readers informed, while still protecting the families involved.
Thank you for understanding.
Freezing Fire Proposal Overview
Randall Staples
I. The Content:
A. Premise
The startling facts,
according to PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), lists a
combined literary average of grades four through twelve as 389, while a mere
five percent of 35.2 million high school students top out at 663. (These figures reflect the United States only,
which ranks twentieth in forty participating countries.)
The fact is: schools obtain
government grants reflecting the graduating class size; not the classroom. Sadly, small grants mean larger classrooms
and less attention to each student. The
results are smaller graduating classes; a difficult cycle to break.
Sabrina Hunter’s FREEZING
FIRE adventure interrupts this cycle by increasing the readership of our
children with a score of incentives intended to build their confidence, further
their education, and attract attention to what ails society today.
B. Motivations for Subject Matter
The PIRLS
Nation’s report card also states: sixty-eight percent of our Nation’s
fourth-graders are reading below the proficiency level, while sixty-four
percent of twelfth-graders never make it there.
·
Thirty-two
percent of fourth graders, twenty-five percent of eighth-graders, and
sixty-four percent of twelfth graders scored below the basic score.
·
Sixty-eight
percent of fourth graders, sixty-eight percent of eighth-graders, and
sixty-four percent of twelfth-graders scored below the proficient level.
·
Thirty-four
percent of our Nation’s fourth-graders never read for fun out of school, while the
international average of fourth graders is eighteen percent.
In May of 2009, CNN reported that nearly 6.2 million students, in the United States, ages sixteen to twenty-four, dropped out of high school, fueling a report called 'a persistent high school dropout crisis'.
Also, scores
from the 2009 Pisa program show 15-year-old students in the U.S. ranked 21st in
science and 25th in math. Of 34 OECD countries, only 8 have a lower high school
graduation rate than the US. Add thirty-four percent of 72.3 million
children living in single parent families, while 2.9 million live without
either parent, and you have 27.5 million children floating the poverty level,
while 13 million children sit well below.
The saddest part: 35 million children go hungry every year. Fuse this
number to an alarming amount of schools in disarray, and you have an education
system altering their policies to adapt to the lack of federal funding. These children are our future. If we can’t
get them to read, what future will we have?
The
following facts are results of elementary, middle, and high school students.
A
teenage boy stabs a fouteen-year-old girl, of Charlestown, Mass.
over one-hundred times because she would not submit to his advances. Another teenage boy shoots and kills a twleve-year-old girl, of Roxbury, Mass., and an eight-year-old boy, of Dorchester, Mass.,
was shot and killed by his seven-year-old cousin. These children died violently, and their
deaths could have been prevented if their killers were educated. (These names are withheld to protect the traume these families still experience today. However, if needed, links can be supplied to these articles).
Sabrina
Hunter’s goal is to reduce the above percentages by combining three elements of
reading together, such as,
·
Merge the
compositions of stories children already find interesting.
·
Formulate a
unique world of characters, situations, and emotions children can identify,
while structuring a storyline that focuses on values to help them succeed in
life.
·
End each chapter
compelling enough to keep the children reading, while inserting words requiring
research to increase their learning skills.
And finally, reward them with opportunities to further their education.
This
is every parents dream, right? Is it
possible to find someone who can occupy the minds of 72.3 million children (this
figure obviously increases world-wide), make a story compelling enough to keep
them reading and, the real challenge, get
children to research values to help them succeed in life? Not in the real world, but Sabrina Hunter will
transport them into her world and get the job done.
C. Unique
Selling Proposition
Some
parents reward children with allowances for doing chores around their
homes. Why not reward children for the
ambition to learn. Why not add a fourth
element to increase their desire to read material that will give them a chance
to succeed with a format not easily deciphered until research is applied.
If
we add a fourth element, say, a scholarship program for chosen winners who
participate in deciphering the message of each journey:
Then
Sabrina Hunter will:
· Create a buzz
among the readers and the education system, thus, increasing the sales of this
series. (I am aggressively working with the Boards of Education to have this
series installed into their summer reading program)
·
Draw attention to
the problems children face in today’s society.
· Draw children
away from the television long enough to teach them
how to identify life’s complexities early in crisis, so they can resolve these
issues.
· Create an
entertaining environment so children can research without the pressures of
being graded. (Through consistent
applications, this would make compiling information for their schoolwork easily
understandable — without the pressures of being graded.)
·
Finally, and more
importantly, it will create opportunities for children who might never have a
chance to further their education.
Our
children are our biggest assets, and our future depends on their proficiency
level. If we, as role models, get these
positive messages to children at an early age, then we give them a better
chance to succeed in life; hence, a brighter future.
D. Overview
Children
often look for escapes to channel traumatic events in their lives. This unfortunate account is true in most
cases, because parents (especially those raising children alone) simply do not
have all the answers. Often times these
events overwhelm the parents, who regress to their own iniquities, thus,
leaving their children to sort through these trying times alone.
We
have counselors for these situations, right?
Well, how many of the 72.3 million children, who suffer one traumatic
event or another at different stages in their life; actually visit one; let
alone the troubles needed to convince them to go.
Sabrina
demonstrates the variations of each event by applying positive and negative
applications through each adventure.
This early intervention will prepare children for these trying times so
they can work through them, or seek the help they need to understand them.
Now,
J.K. Rowling did a wonderful job at getting children to read. However, the Harry Potter series will not help children battle the complexities
they face in today’s society. With Harry Potter behind us, this would be
the perfect time to introduce Sabrina Hunter to the world.
Why
now, you ask, and why choose Harry Potter
as an example. Well, although extensive
research failed to reveal fantasy novels regarding structure; the content of
the Sabrina Hunter series blends:
·
The protagonist’s
desire to overcome adversity at a young age, so the reader can grow and relate
to her situations.
·
A unique world of
modern day faeries (some, deceitful and deadly), which explode onto earth with
tortuous ferocity.
·
A quest that
sprinkles life’s complexities with breathless sinister twists to keep the
children reading.
I
would like to express at this time, the only use of Harry Potter as an example, is based on the interest and impact
that series had on our children. All
demons, characters, animate and inanimate objects, pets and dialogue are
unique. You will see that this series is full of information not found in the Harry Potter series.
Freezing Fire focuses
on love, trust, faith, and, truth. While
most people spend a lifetime searching for these complexities, they never really find them; simply because they look
in the wrong places.
Sabrina
Hunter addresses these issues in two parts: the difficulties of life when
applied through disdain, and the simplicity of life when we understand the only
way to bring them out in others is to, first, find them in ourselves. This is the message of Sabrina Hunter’s Freezing Fire adventure.
Her
second adventure, Sheltered Life, is
under construction and focuses on poverty and discrimination, while her third will
tackle gangs and violence. Kids join
gangs to find what they lack at home: love.
This is a clear example of why most people search for love in the wrong
places. That’s why Freezing Fire is so
important as the debut novel
II. The Market
- Characteristics
The
design and content of this series has an overall format (comedy and drama) to
attract the young reader. The structure
is designed to attract older teens, and the rewarding scholarship program is
designed to attract the education system for their summer reading program. Although I see this novel sitting in the Children’s/YA
section of bookstores, I also see it in the Independent Reader Series section. My goal is to seat this series in the Best
Sellers section.
- Provisions
While
these provisions have an attractive feature to draw children to the series, the
overall reward is to reach them at an early age, teach them how to identify
life’s complexities, and show them how to approach them with positive
resolutions.
1.
First, this
section will be consistent with each novel throughout the Sabrina Hunter series. (Please note: foreign participation will
equal the U.S. dollar amount.)
·
Five five-thousand
dollar scholarships, five two-thousand dollar scholarships, and fifteen
one-thousand dollar scholarships will be awarded to the selected winners who
unravel the clues and solve the message correctly.
·
Please Note: This
program may increase according to the success of the series.
o
Half of my
proceeds will go directly into a separate scholarship fund. As I travel to promote this series, and raise
awareness to our children’s education, I will entice celebrities, high
corporate firms, and other institutions to contribute to the education of our
children.
2. For the younger
children, who may struggle with the structure and plan, I have added a fifth
element. Select children will become
characters in the following adventures (providing parents sign legal waivers to
prevent issues regarding the integrity of the Sabrina Hunter series). These children will choose their character,
colors, styles, and manners in which they will help or hinder Sabrina conquer
her next quest. Until these winners are
chosen, I will use “fillers” to continue writing.
The fifth element is not new, sure, but it is different. The old style compliments stories shared by
the immediate family only. This new
style will allow children to be characters in adventures read by many. Can you imagine the surprise, and delight of
children who open their mail to discover they have been chosen, not only to be a
character, but the manner in which they will participate? This should create a stir among the younger
readers. (Please note: only first names will be used in the adventures. Their full name will surface in the credits.)
3. Finally, why not
add a sixth element to include select winners to become “Faerie,” or “Troll”
for a day. This will level the playing
field for the younger ones who struggle, but try to solve the message. This will include an appearance at their
school for a reading, with a host of concessions surrounding the winners and
their friends, and finally, ending with a party in their favor.
These
novels are designed to attract attention to what ails society today — perhaps setting the standards for Corporate America,
and author/reader relations, who care enough to help our children with their
education, and the direction in which they will lead. After all, without proper education for our
children, what future will we have?
III.
A. Background.
Raised in a single parent household in Charlestown,
Massachusetts during an era torn by racial strife (Forced busing of the
seventies) was more than enough to start my life out on a long hard road. On 10 June 1981, I died on the operating
table at Mass General Hospital, but the doctors never gave up on me. I have
since volunteered to help children avoid the forbidden path through numerous mentoring
programs.
After twenty-four years of sharing the joy, heartache,
and successes of countless children, I combined their experiences with my own
and, after several years of research, gave birth to Sabrina Hunter’s Freezing
Fire adventure.
As I write this proposal, I am a single father raising
six children alone. All my children are
active in their respective communities.
B. Goals
My goal is
to inspire writers, authors, celebrities, and Corporate America to invest in
our children’s education. I am
communicating with the Boards of Education to instill this series in their
summer reading program. I am also raising
donations for Sabrina Hunter's Freezing
Fire adventure, which will peak at fifty thousand dollars by the time this
adventure hits the store-shelves (Although I have several donors as I write
this, a copy of one such donor will accompany this proposal). Also, half of my proceeds from this series
will be deposited into a second scholarship fund. With my contributions, I will reach out to
Corporate America and bring the importance of the children’s education to the
forefront to increase the monies contributed to this fund. I’ve had numerous
conversations with Attorney Steven Brooks, of Dedham Massachusetts—tel
781-251-0555, who also has contacts in the media circuit. He has expressed
interest for this project from the beginning and will be the trustee of the
Sabrina Hunter Scholarship Fund. I have support from numerous schools and
libraries, where I will hold readings. I also have a large supermarket chain
(Stop & Shop) willing to promote my work throughout the New England area. I
have friends in the comedy circuit I will reach out to; one is a radio host of
WRCA 1330 that offered to reserve several one hour slots to promote my work. I
am also a proud member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 103, which I first joined in 1982.
We are a tight-knit international family of 750,000 strong. I have shared my views with my administrative
brothers and sisters, who have taken an interest and offered to help. The IBEW
has a journal that reaches all 750,000 members worldwide, where I plan to place
ads. The Financial Secretary of Local 103 also offered setting aside booths for
me at all of IBEW’s future conventions (at least four per year). I will travel
extensively to promote Sabrina Hunter’s quests and raise awareness to our
faltering education system. And finally, I will have a website drawn to attract
my target audience. It is my goal to make that website interactive by animation
in the future.
IV. Cast of
Characters
Sabrina Hunter
is the protagonist. She is a little girl
of twelve, struggling with the loss of her mom, the bitterness of her father’s
new companion, and the pursuit of her mother’s killer.
Samera is a
fae, and the overseer of the Guardians of the Locket. She represents trust in numerous ways, while
guiding Sabrina throughout her quests.
Seraya is
also a fae, who represents love. She is
the director of the first sector of knowledge, and the deciding factor in the
Freezing Fire climax.
Aaliyah is
a pixie, who represents Sabrina’s faith.
Her underdeveloped powers create an aura of cuteness, until she reveals
the unsuspecting twist in the Freezing Fire climax.
Cadence
represents Sabrina’s inability to speak of her problems.
Bergs is
half of the comedy team, and represents Sabrina’s indifference. Although heartless at first, he soon
discovers his feelings create his own struggles to find his purpose in life.
Ne’Scient is
an orphaned shape-shifting troll, and the other half of the comedy team. He represents Sabrina’s ignorance, and
initiates the battles Sabrina incurs in her quest.
Gordon is a
gargoyle, which represents truth. At
first, this scares Sabrina, until she realizes the strength in truth, which
carries her to the climax.
Succuba is
Ne’Scient’s nemesis; after all, someone has to keep him in line (smile).
Virago means
loud or boisterous woman. These demons
are the antagonists representing the woman Sabrina fears will replace her
mother. These blistering, unsightly
demons wreak havoc throughout the first sector of knowledge to capture the
cipher.
Vituperators
(or vituperate) means spread negative information. These demons are the Viragos’ deceitful
soldiers, who leap with tortuous ferocity to prevent Sabrina from reaching Copperhead Cave, where the final battle takes
place.
Ophidians
are also soldiers of the Viragos. These
grotesque serpents kidnap Cadence, which initiates the ambushes that separate
the group to teach Sabrina the difficulties of life when she battles her fears
alone.
Saurians
complete the circle of evil, which trap the group with slime. These soldiers represent the mess Sabrina
created through her disdain for Whitney.
Polyphemes
are the offspring of the mythical giant Polyphemus. These blind giants represent the magnitude of
Sabrina’s problem, which she fails to see.
The Nyrjiidra is
an enormous Draco rising to battle the Guardian in the Freezing Fire climax.
The Guardian
represents peace, and rises from her chrysalis to battle the Nyrjiidra.
Crystal is Sabrina’s biological mother, who represents the
fae’s weapons.
Thomas is
Sabrina’s father, who initiates this quest by bringing Whitney into Sabrina’s
life without discussing it with her; resulting in Sabrina’s quest for love,
trust, faith, and truth.
Whitney is
the woman Sabrina fears will replace her mother. She suspects this woman has something to do
with her mother’s death, triggering Sabrina’s quest.
