Length of Novel:

105,030 words

Keywords and Market Focus:

Fiction, Washington State, Tacoma, Spanaway, Seattle, Computer, Pacific Lutheran University, Hacker, goddess, sushi, Redemption, kami, Japan, Shinto, torii, Shrine, engineering, math; will fascinate anyone interested in the spiritual, mystery, and suspense—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy historical mystery and suspense novels.

Genre:

Fiction Suspense

Synopsis: 

Dane Vale saw the girl come into FastMart about once a week. She was filthy and always looked hungry. She bought food, not with dollars, but with FastMart bucks you earned from purchases at the convenience store. She always used a different account and phone number, but because her password was correct, he didn’t think much of it. That changed when she used the phone number and password of another customer in line. Dane had to rescue her. That was Dane’s introduction to Lilly Lin Grant.

Lilly Lin was a genius. She was only sixteen, but had a full ride scholarship to his University. It oddly didn’t include room and board. For some reason, she suddenly was signed up for every advanced level class Dane was in. For some reason, she followed him everywhere he went on campus. Dane’s sister, Phelia, said Lilly was infatuated with Dane. He didn’t know much about women at all—he couldn’t understand why the genius, Lilly Lin wanted to hang around with him.

There was much more to Lilly Lin than met the eye. She could hack as easily as a person could type. She wrote software at the assembly code level. She made her own operating system and tricked out her junk laptop. Dane traded Lilly three squares for her operating system, computer enhancements, and her class notes. She shared her Spartan meals with an old homeless Japanese man. Since Dane helped Lilly get a job at the FastMart and fed her, he was suddenly part of Lilly’s gift of offerings. The old man appeared in the evening near a Shinto torii that Dane could never find without Lilly or during the day. Dane wasn’t certain if the man or the torii really existed.

The old man invited Lilly and Dane through the torii—they entered a Shinto shrine that could not be part of the world in Seattle. The old man claimed to be a Japanese kami, the Japanese god of metal. He was tired of existence and confused by the modern world. He had brought his shrine to Seattle because he hoped to find purpose in a new place, but there he only found unbelief and a young woman who would bring him offerings. He wanted Lilly to assume his duties as kami and Dane to become the kannushi, the priest of the shrine.

Dane and Lilly found themselves in possession of a Shinto shrine. Lilly discovered she had powers over metal. Dane was responsible for the shrine itself.

The old kami was gone, but Lilly and Dane now face the pantheon of Japanese gods and goddesses who are skeptical of a human made a goddess with her inexperienced kannushi. They must use their new-found powers to keep the shrine successful and purposeful in spite of its place. Dane must also contend with Lilly who is infatuated with him and now endued with memories and ideas from a different culture. He was struggling with her attention before—now she demands much more from him.

Author's reviewer’s quotes:

Lilly is a fun novel filled with mythical creatures and Japanese gods and goddesses—how Lilly handles becoming a goddess herself is delightful and suspense-filled.

Dane Vale became the infatuation of a genius math girl, Lilly who unexpectedly became a Japanese goddess—Lilly’s problems go well beyond the normal or the spiritual.

Lilly Lin Grant became a kami, a Japanese goddess—her kannushi, priest, is her boyfriend—their adventures in saving a Shinto shrine involve every Japanese creature of myth, dragons, and Japanese gods and goddesses.

Short descriptive teasers:

Lilly Lin Grant is a math genius who happens to know too much about computers—she finds a boyfriend, a Japanese god who wants to give her his powers, and a Shinto shrine to metal.

Dane Vale becomes the boyfriend of a young woman, Lilly, who inherits a Japanese shrine to metal—it would be more helpful if Lilly wasn’t the goddess of the shrine.

Japanese culture and spiritual ideas are the focus of Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer—everything would work out perfectly if her boyfriend will just go along and the other Japanese gods and goddesses would get in line.