* This award winning screenplay is now a book! *
A young girl named Brooke becomes a bird with the help of a magical necklace her dad left behind before deploying with the Army.
When the necklace is stolen by a conniving raven, Brooke must battle his pigeon minions and enlist the help of a friendly mouse and some not-so-friendly rats to take back her necklace and return home, in the process learning that love and family are forever.
– Movie rights recently optioned!
– Reached #5 on “Amazon Best Sellers, Children’s Bird Books” December 2014
Young Readers (7-12)
Select Reviews:
“Great read! This book relays to all readers how our loved ones never completely leave us. As long as we have our memories, friends, and imagination…our life will continue to include those whom we have loved. I also thought the cover was brilliantly created, capturing the essence of the story.”
– Alton Campbell, JR.
“A magical story about friendship and family. I fell in love with the characters in this book. Justin Sloan creates a seamless imaginary world where birds, mice, rats, and cats come to life as heroes and villains. Great plot with lots of excitement – A definite ‘must read’.”
-Robin Wiesneth
SYNOPSIS:
“Back by Sunrise” is the heartwarming tale of Brooke, the 9 year old-daughter of a military man who will not be returning from a war overseas. Brooke refuses to acknowledge this traumatic, life changing event, and instead begins to pull away from her mother and brother as she internalizes her emotions about the tragedy.
She finds a mysterious necklace within the knapsack of a doll given to her by her late father just before he passed, accompanied by a note reading, “Be back by sunrise.” Her world is turned upside down when she puts the necklace on and is magically transformed into a bird at night.
At first Brooke thinks she can find a way to fly to heaven or somehow be reunited with her father, but soon she just wants to go home. Along the way she meets many charming characters, such as Roy, a bird that shows her the ropes, and Timmy, a mouse that reminds her of the importance of family. She encounters a few bad eggs as well. Take Trollay for instance, a carnivorous raven who is scheming to undermine Brooke’s reunion with her family and take her necklace for himself with the help of his minion pigeons.
The adventures take a turn for the worse when Brooke fails to heed the note’s warning and does not make it back to her room by sunrise. Being stuck as a bird is one thing, but Trollay manages to steal her necklace, leading to a series of events that force Brooke to make some very grownup decisions about what, and who, she truly wants to be.
In the end, “Back by Sunrise” illustrates a thoughtful coming of age story which shows how a child might interpret, and subsequently deal with, loss when tragedy suddenly strikes.
If you would like to be one of three recipients of a free digital copy of the audiobook, leave a review and let the author know on Twitter @JustinMSloan.
*From the author of TEDDY BEARS IN MONSTERLAND*
In addition to the screenplay of BACK BY SUNRISE being optioned, it placed (or won!) in the following contests:
The-GreenLight.com Monthly (First Place)
ScriptVamp/Attention Grabber (First Place)
PAGE International (Semifinalist)
Creative World (Semifinalist)
Fresh Voices Feature (Quarterfinalist, Still in the Running)
Screenplay Search (Finalist)
Austin (Quarterfinalist, (top 10% of over 7,000))
Nashville Fest (Quarterfinalist)
Emerging Screenwriters (Quarterfinalist)
