Here is the synopsis I plan to send out to agents by the end of this month:
Gordy Broome, 15, has known very little loving in his life. But he sometimes hears the Hum, a deeply resonant and soothing sound that has helped him get through several incidents of childhood upheaval. Late one evening in 1964, he witnesses a tragic family crisis, the shock of which immediately sends him into a bardo-dream that takes him across three oceans on a raft. The raft is wrecked in a storm, and Gordy wakes up on a beach on an unknown island.
It’s the middle of the Cold War, and the Island is administered by the Soviet navy. Gordy is immediately captured by a shore patrol, and a mysterious map in his possession prompts the base commander to accuse him of spying for the Americans.
When a civilian Islander cafeteria worker named Janie brings Gordy his meals, she sees Hum energy in his eyes. Janie decides that Gordy must be freed, and that he must meet Roselle!
Roselle Beall is a self-absorbed witch who knows more about the Hum than anyone else. By way of a chance discovery of an ancient text, she has found out how it works! This has changed her from an herbal-healer-witch to an obsessed specialist in applied quantum mechanics. She is also graceful, caring, and black – an exotic mix that enchants Gordy. When a devastating explosion rocks the Island, Roselle is shattered by guilt and grief - she knows she helped cause it by allowing Hum energy to go very wrong! Gordy, Janie, and others join Roselle in her quest to keep the Hum’s dark side out of the wrong hands.
The Hum is set at a time when the English-speaking Islanders and Soviet-era Russians co-existed in a cat-and-mouse relationship. This did not hinder the local cultural sprit, however. Gordy discovers rich (and gossipy) tribal cultures, alternative-gender relationships, a sky-clad lifestyle, and places such as Roger’s Dreamland and The Coast of Nevermore.
Gordy’s journey on the Island involves lessons in friendship, sexuality, and how loving can heal. But will all this overcome the emotional trauma that sent him here? And exactly how did he get here? And is the Island real, or has he landed in an alternative plane of existence?
Stay tuned!
—Lee
