Found in Flotsam (80,000 words) is a fantasy novel that’s like Pirates of the Caribbean meets Mad Max, drawing upon my Hawaiian heritage and love for world-building. I am writing in hopes that you will be interested in representing it. Based on Pasifika culture and inspired by visions of a indigenous world, the novel deals with themes of family, the past, and worth, with a powerful decolonization motif.

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Nuku and his pirate crew of misfits spend their days looking for easy prey in Tekainui, a vast and unforgiving ocean. A former slave, Nuku dreams of rising above the other flotsam and at last reuniting with his lost-love. He gets his chance when he finds a hoku whale, a species whose oil can grant bestial powers when tattooed onto skin- and a species humans had hunted to extinction. Now, every force in Tekainui, from the pirate lords to imperial assassins, is gunning for Nuku and his crew. A single misstep will lead to a watery grave. Yet if the crew navigate these treacherous waves, they might finally find a treasure worth dying for.

 

As someone who was born with less than nothing, who was considered worthless compared to those around him, Nuku pursues wealth and fame on the Eight Seas to prove everyone wrong, especially his own demons. This obsession will drive everyone away until his crew, his found family and even his love turn on him. Then, when Nuku hits rock bottom, he will learn to be better than he thinks he is and maybe even save a species in the process.