(webmaster's note: Dave is an aspiring writer. To learn more about Dave, please look into his fictional work, the "Pallas" series.)

THE PALLAS SERIES

“Let the gods fight the gods,” her father tells her, “it is not for you to wage the wars of heaven.” For how can a mere mortal hope to battle omnipotent beings? 

Believe it or not, Dave has written three novels. Beginning with The Gods Among Us, the Pallas series primarily deals with the sanctity of life. Blending mythology with space opera, it’s a surprising mixture of the nobility of The Chronicles of Narnia and the warnings of Brave New World. 

Dave is looking for a publisher who will represent these books. Click on the right to read more about Pallas. 
 

Promo 

“I am powerful – because I can read!”

Pallas doesn’t believe in the gods except to peevishly blame them for drowning her mother. But she’s forced to shelve her moody cynicism when she rescues a talking cat named Othello. A god wants her dead - the cat is happy to oblige - until he realizes who she is…

Styling her as a child of Atlantis, Othello convinces everyone she’s a mythic princess. But how can an ignorant peasant possibly pull off this impossible charade? By learning the forbidden art of reading. 
 

Summary 

      The Gods Among Us tells the story of a peasant who lives in a world dominated by mythological gods. Only the “gods” aren’t gods at all, but a group of stranded astronauts who create a utopia by populating their virgin world with a race of clones.  

      Pallas is an athletic young peasant with pretty gray eyes. An impish loner who constantly gets into fights, she carries two demoralizing scars; the drowning of her mother and the rumors that her father was once a thief. Skeptical and confused, she doesn’t believe in the gods except to peevishly blame them for killing her mother. But her moody cynicism is challenged when she rescues a talking cat named Othello.  

      An arrogant fluff-ball with evil emerald eyes, Othello dismisses his rescuer as a mindless waif. For he is the “pet” of Mulciber; the handsome fire god. He also knows how to read, a discipline prohibited to the clones. But his most cherished secret is that he is actually a spy for the clandestine Sixth Column, an organization bent on overthrowing the gods. 

      Beyond his prowess at sarcasm, however, the pampered pet can’t survive by himself. Discerning his dilemma, the uneducated yet intelligent Pallas agrees to feed him only if he teaches her how to read. He reluctantly agrees, puzzled that a clone could be so clever. Soon, they are captured by a feudalistic leader who intends to hand her over to Mulciber. Using her power of literacy Pallas escapes, culminating in a triumphant ride upon a dolphin. 

      This forms the turning point of the first book. Pallas has no idea why she’s being pursued. But Othello deduces a startling trick of luck: she’s the lost granddaughter of Poseida, goddess of the sea. Taking a desperate gamble he abandons his mission of espionage to shepherd Pallas instead. But because he doesn’t trust her, he doesn’t reveal his plans until book three. Stylizing her as a mythic princess come from the sea, he places her in the watchful care of Lord Catagen who is loyal to Poseida and the water gods. Two mischievous princesses, Casey and Lucy, become Pallas’ fast friends; while their domineering older sister, Elena, becomes a jealous rival.  

      All Pallas wants to do is return to her father. This, the cat cannot allow, for he is busy hatching a complicated scheme to place her on the throne of the water gods. He lies to Pallas, convincing her that her father will be killed by Mulciber if she ever goes back home. Not wanting to doom her father as well as her mother she reluctantly obeys, forced to cling to her intolerable mentor to pull off this impossible charade. 

   The pauper lives as a princess, enjoying her friendship with Casey and Lucy. She even cements a bond with Elena when she saves her from an abusive prince. But Pallas has no idea how dangerous her life has become. Mulciber the fire god, who is busy forming an alliance against the water gods to become the dominant deity, is enraged by the prophecy. He nearly captures her but she cleverly escapes, again by her prowess at reading. Perplexed that she was able to elude a god, she reluctantly concludes that the prophecy might be true. Caught in an emotional crossroads, she’s forced to ally herself with those who drowned her mother, Poseida and the gods of the sea. 

      Things become much more complicated when the Catagens visit the capital city. Unable to navigate her way through the politics of feudalistic society, Pallas relies on Elena like never before. Suddenly, the cat (whom she now realizes is a spy) is plotting to kidnap her. Things couldn’t possibly get worse when she learns a wonderful, yet tragic secret: her mother is still alive - a tortured prisoner of Mulciber. She eventually confronts Othello, making him confess that her mother (Teresa) is the secret founder of the Sixth Column. Asserting her growing independence she refuses his orders to abandon her adopted family, sacrificing herself to rescue the Catagens. The book ends with a clash between immortals and a shocking surprise, when she’s taken to live with her godly kin. 

      Pallas and the City of God begins with her triumphant entry to Atlantis where she finally meets her grandmother, the goddess Poseida. But Pallas learns a horrible truth - it was Poseida who betrayed Teresa (her troublesome daughter) to Mulciber. Regretting her terrible choice and hoping for a second chance at motherhood, Poseida placates her guilt by doting on her newly-discovered granddaughter. But Pallas becomes disenchanted with heaven when she discovers how the gods create people only to destroy them. When Pallas learns that Elena has been captured, she steals a hovercraft and rescues her. This brings condemnation from the other gods who put her on trial. Far from being angry, Poseida is impressed by her pluck, deciding to name her the next queen of the sea. But just when Othello’s King-maker politics is finally going to come to fruition, she rejects her divine legacy, fleeing back to her mortal father.  

      This is Pallas’ defining moment. Unlike the gods who see nothing wrong with treating human beings like cattle, Pallas is unable to salve her guilt. Thus, the ignorant peasant learns the truth that they never comprehend - that when people pretend to be gods, they cannot help but become monsters.  

      In the next few books, Pallas journeys to a distant continent to find Teresa. There, she falls in love with a boy who she later discovers is already betrothed. The heart-churning relationship lasts for three books, ending in the boy’s tragic death. She also learns about the One True God, though she is still a skeptic.  

   In book six, a friend sacrifices her life to rescue Pallas’ mother. But unlike the idyllic woman Pallas remembers from her early childhood, Teresa is vengeful and bitter just like Pallas’ grandmother. Unwittingly repeating the mother-daughter battles of Poseida and Teresa, Pallas quarrels with her mother, jealous of the attention she gives to Othello and her cherished Sixth Column. Eventually reconciling their differences, they inspire the mortals to fight for their freedom, orchestrate a climatic battle against the gods, and free the clones from slavery.