Y3: Thunderbird Dreams

Title: Thunderbird Dreams
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fantasy
Word Count: 47,000

Tomboy Christine Miller must save the Thunderbird trapped inside the mountain, but she’ll have to find him first before the mine boss can steal the Thunderbird’s power and trap him in the coal mine forever.


Not that I’m afraid or anything, ‘cause I’m not, but when a high-pitched wail rises in the chilly night, I pull the quilt up to my eyeballs and scooch closer to my sisters. “Did you hear that?” I whisper.

“It’s a coyote, Christine. Go to sleep,” Bethany mutters. She rolls over and yanks the quilt away. Megan keeps on snoozing in the middle of us, hugging that dang stuffed bear of hers.

“That’s no coyote,” I mutter. We’ve been in this flea-bitten middle-of-nowhere mining town for almost a week now, I know the difference. I shiver and tug my corner of the quilt back. What I heard sounded like a ghost from one of old Jeb’s stories But he’s far away now and that ghostly sound was nearby.

Another caterwaul, and I sit up. Twelve-year-olds do not believe in ghosts. I don’t. I can’t.