Empress Overboard!

Yup, I went query-happy yesterday. A little too happy. I found an entry I'd made into a Miss Snark competition last October when Michelle Brower judged. She said she was interested, but wanted corrections made before reviewing the material. Since I've since made dramatic corrections, I decided to submit a query email to her last night. Alas! I had made an error in my excel spreadsheet on agents and targeting my submissions. Her data got mixed with the Lyons' agency and I misunderstood. I thought she must work for Jonathan Lyons. Sigh. So sometime within the next two weeks, he will conclude that I'm a dork or worse, careless. Double Sigh. I don't know how likely of a shot I had with him, but it's probably nil, now. But I submitted to a few more agents yesterday, including Michelle and Jonathan. I may hear from Jenny Rappaport this week, as well. I honestly expect her to pass as she says on her site that she is not interested in literary material. I may be a fantacist, but that doesn't mean I can't be literary!

Pity Party Cancelled

I'm too busy to attend.

I've prepared two submissions for mailing today: Jill Grinberg and Sandra Dijkstra. We'll see.

In moving news, it looks like we'll stay in Kansas City. THANK GOD! We may not even see much of a change in wages/debt/house payments. I'm so grateful. God is good.

When Perfect Agents Aren't

Sigh. It turns out Russell Galen is uninterested in my setting. Query letter was fine. I can't really fault him. I dislike anything set in the Americas for the most part. But CRAP. Otherwise, he was the perfect agent for me. We both seem to like strong religious and/or political elements to our fantasy, and emotionally engrossing, character-driven plots. There were very few books he'd listed on his site that I didn't find fascinating. Where else am I going to find an agent that mimics what I like to read? (Why am I so picky?) I've got a few more queries out and a few more possibilities lined up. Then I'm going to have to look into English agents and possibly Chinese. Chinese-speaking agents may not work out as well if I ever return to your typical Euro-centric setting. Sigh. *Sassafrassafrickinfrackin...*

Sleep Is Overrated

Between the Wiggle's "Crocodile Hunter" song and the VeggieTales' theme song and the Zombie-centered dreams last night, I may have got three hours of sleep. I'm ok....

At least today has improved

It looks like my initial query to Mr. Galen went awry. He asked me to resend it. I hope to hear tomorrow on whether or not he'd like to see a few chapters. That's good news.

In moving good news: Halleluia! It looks less likely. If I can convince myself Mr. Galen's unlikely to request the ms before 5AM, maybe I'll sleep tonight. I didn't last night, thanks to the work/move stuff.

Yeah, whatever. I never sleep. It would be nice, for a change.

Why Eat a Single Grain of Rice?

Why eat a single grain of rice when you've got a whole bowl to choose from? Okay, maybe there's not a whole bowl of them, but I've decided not to wait on any one agent. I've already sent to Jill Grinberg and will send to Matt Bialer tomorrow. I'd love to send to Scott Hoffman at Folio, but he's not taking queries right now. I'm also trying to get a faster copy of Tiger's Heart to research for Maya Rock. We'll see. That book's been on my request list since last fall!

In moving news, we're going out to discuss the pros and cons of moving with my parents. Because they're completely unbiased. I'm looking forward to it, I just hope I don't lose it. It's been a difficult two days.

Moving?

Oi, we're back to maybe moving. Geesh, this has been a day.

Miss Snark Competition

Well, I was #15 in this week's Snark-a-Thon. Not to say I came in 15th. That was my poll position, as it were. The comments gave me some good polish stuff and I'm pumped now. The Secret Agent was hooked, though she also wanted some cuts. Cuts are good. I can do cuts.

I've got three Alternative Beginnings to the book, now. I like the one I used in the competition (with the cuts), but I am flexible. We'll see. I still haven't heard from Russell Galen or Jill Grinberg and I suspect that's a good thing. At least now I'm a little more prepared.

I've found good reading in Outlaws of the Marsh, but I've not yet found a story I'd want to re-make like I did Mourn Their Courage. I'm not that far in yet, though. There's time.

ADDENDUM:

I received an honorable mention from Jenny Rappaport! I made her suggested changes last night, but I'll go back through some of it now.

Adoption Banner

Many of you know what joy adoption has given our family. I wanted to share information with anyone out there who is interested: this is the company and the process through which we brought home Lilly. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. God willing, we'll be able to bring her home a "baby broder" someday.

Mourn Their Courage - An adaptation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms

When Liu Jie vows to serve his Emperor, he embarks on an epic journey where ghosts are guides and heroes are traitors. Jie endures the brutality and anguish of war before facing his greatest fear: must he sacrifice his family to save his empire?

"MOURN THEIR COURAGE" is a 104,000 word fantasy novel based on the Chinese folktales collectively called "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms." Though adapted for film, television and video games that have enjoyed world-wide popularity, there are not yet any modern novelizations of this treasure. "MOURN THEIR COURAGE" retains much of the original story's plot, but dwells more on the emotional development of the characters than the folktales ever attempted. My work is similar in style to Guy Gavriel Kay’s “Lions of Al-Rassan.”

I am a member of the Wuxia Society and The China History Forum Online, where I contribute book reviews. I have studied Tai Chi and Mandarin, traveled to China twice, and corresponded with Rafe DeCrespigny, one of the leading authorities on the Three Kingdoms period. I have published fiction in online markets and can furnish those references upon request.

I hope to find an agent (and maybe a publisher) by the end of the year. If I do, I will shout it from the blogosphere mountaintops and alert any Three Kingdoms fans I can reach.

Are You Getting Started As A Writer?

Writing Quiz

Several years ago I questioned whether I was meant to write. I was satisfied with nothing I’d done and had tried many different avenues without success or satisfaction, yet I still felt driven. So if I had to write, what should I focus on? What were my strengths?

I created the following quiz for my husband who had read all of my best and some of my worst material. The answers he gave me created a new window after I’d been hermetically sealed inside the house. It changed my focus for the better overnight. If you’re just starting the writing process, this might be helpful. The last question might even give insight to those with more experience.

This quiz works best if the person being queried has read more than one type of your material: i.e. poetry, short stories, fiction, non-fiction, etc. The quiz will also work better if the respondent is familiar with literary terms since you don’t want to try and explain them before they take the quiz. Your explanations may give them an idea of how you want them to answer, rather than forcing them to rely on what they feel is a true response.

Lastly, if you can think of more questions, please add them!

What do you think I write best?


1. Quest
a. Internal/inner meaning search
b. Physical search

2. Dialogue
a. Internal discussions
b. External/people to people

3. Plotting
a. Character driven
b. Plot driven

4. Theme/Mission:
If there was an overall meaning to my best work, what do you think it would be?

If you don’t already know this information, you'll be a step closer to recognizing where your strengths as a writer are after you complete the story. Some folks intuitively know how and where to step off the ledge. Others need direction. I tried to follow the traditional method of making an outline and mapping out what was going to happen and for me, that was a mistake. I've discovered I'm not alone, (see Steven King’s “On Writing”). The best tip I or anyone involved in writing can give you is, don't be afraid to test and retest your work. If something's not working one way, try a different method, e.g. first person vs. third, fiction vs. nonfiction, plotted vs. unplotted. The time you've spent may be a frustrating loss, but when you find what does work, it's worth the effort! Keep testing, keep working. Above all, write and don't give up.

I don't want to move!

My husband's business may be bought and moved, or even liquidated. If the company gets moved, we'll have to decide to move or stay. Either way, if he loses his job and can't find a new one, we won't be able to stay in this house. My income isn't enough. We also won't be able to get our money back out of the sale of the house. Not in the current economy. The house has too many problems, for one thing. If anything, I think it may have more now than it did when we moved in! At least we were able to get the bank to remove the mold.
As of right now, we need a new furnace, water heater, garage door(s) and dry wall in the basement. And that's the starting point. After I have walls, then at least I can inhabit my house like a normal person. I feel like I've been camping out for three years, paying off debt and waiting for a miracle. Is this it, God?
Not only do I love this house and long to make it my own, but I don't want to move away from my friends and family! I don't want to spend the next year coping with those changes. The next year was already scheduled for researching and writing the new novel.
I want to eat a bowl of ice cream. I wish I had research material at hand, but I don't think I do. Ice cream it is. Hello, extra thigh dimples.

No News Is ... No News

I'm going to check my email every five minutes today and jump out of my skin each time the new email count changes. I have not heard from Mr. Galen yet. He responds fast - he's known for it and it's after 8AM in New York, now. Of course, if he's on vacation I might be screwed. Sigh. It's a good thing I have strong fingernails. Man, I sound needy. I'm going to go see what other folks do on their blogs. Better yet, I could look for research materials for the next book. Oooh. Productivity.

I'm back again after a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. I've knocked the Donald Massie agency off my list. Jennifer Jackson and McClure do not seem likely to be interested. While reading McClure's blog, I decided Russell Galen may be fast, but he's unlikely to respond as quickly as the internet suggests. Which is ok. Breathe, Vic. LOL.

My Blog Has a Boo Boo

There's something stopping folks from commenting. I'll save you, little Blog!

Okay, all ye who wish to comment. I think I fixed it. Does this blog make me sound silly? Hmmm. You know, I usually don't show this much of a sense of humor. Maybe I should write a humor novel in here....

NAH.

Word Check List - Use the following to delete unneeded words

It's too late to panic

Yup. I sent it out. No news yet. It's been, what, 5 minutes? It's going to be a long day....

Heartlandwriters.com

This group of writers are among the most amazing and talented people I've ever been privileged to know. If you're in the midwest, stop in and join us. We'll laugh, we'll cry, we may share cookies or other baked goods and we'll show you why so many members are already published.

Blogosphere - The Final Frontier

These are the ramblings of an unstable mind. But then, I'm a caucasian author who has tried to become Chinese over the past ten years. That said, I hope to send the MS to Russell Galen tomorrow or Friday.