ShannonThomas.Org

OK, OK… so I couldn’t stand it. I know I said I didn’t have any more time to spend on the map, but it was bothering me. I added a few more details, and now I really am done, for now.

In other news, I’ve decided to change the name of the western lands. It was Drakar. It is now Strogan. I changed it for two reasons. First, Drakar, Drakarian, and drak all sound and look too much like “drake,” and it was causing some confusion. Second, I found out that some one made a video game and ripped off my name, so I’ll change mine to avoid any potential problems in the future.

I need to do something. I don’t want to do it, but it must be done.

You see, there is a problem with the novels. The flow of time is inaccurate and inconsistent. I know that I could probably keep my mouth shut and very few people would ever notice, but I know, and it aggravates me. Also, I must consider that someday I might actually have loyal critics who have nothing better to do than to draw up time lines, see the problems, and scream with spiteful glee as they point out flaws in my tale.

My time line problems stem from three causes. First, I wrote the two books over a period of years, with many dormant weeks and months in between writing periods, during which I lost sense of time within the story. Second, I went back and added scenes to both books that throw off my original time line. Third, I redrew the map. The final version changes the spacing a little bit between cities, which obviously changes travel times between them.

Long story short? Every time reference in both books is wrong.

Solution? Rebuild timeliness for every plot line. Re-read both books, searching for time references to correct.

I know it doesn’t sound that difficult, but I am so SICK of re-reading these things. I want to be done with them – totally DONE! I want to work on new material. I have articles to write for my marketing campaign. I have a third book to write and agents to research/query.

Oh well. I should shut up. Alexi would tell me that time spent on complaining about a problem is time I could have spent fixing it.

Well, it only took me a couple of YEARS, but I finally redrew the world map. It still isn’t 100% finished. Some parts of it aren’t displaying correctly, and I need to put a few more labels on it. I also need to put a scale and a north seeking arrow to help put it in perspective, but it must do for now. I’m out of time to spend on it for now. Even in its incomplete state, I think you’ll agree that it is much nicer than any previous version.

See it!

It’s official: I’ve hired a freelance artist to draw ten character sketches for this site. About half of them will not be featured immediately since they are for characters that don’t appear until the second book, but at least I will have them ready when the time comes.

Assuming I am pleased with his work (and I expect I will be,) I plan to hire him again in the near future to draw additional character sketches, cityscapes, and other locations – just as soon as I have the funds readily available.

You can see samples of his work here.

Also, while we’re discussing artwork, I wanted to mention that I’m FINALLY redrawing the world map like I promised to do over a year ago. I still have a lot of work to do on it, but it’s already looking much, much nicer than any other version I’ve ever done. I also plan to draw up a few other miscellaneous items, and maybe use some cross sections of the map to liven up this place a little more.

It’s too early to release specific details, but I’ve made the first steps required to hire an artist who will draw character portraits for all of the major players in Warlock’s Wake and Heretic. If things work out with this fellow, I’m going to hire him to draw cityscapes and other locations as soon as I can afford it.

I’m also going to ply my limited skills to draw a new (much better) continent map and a few other simple things. So, hopefully the eye candy will be coming soon!

I pulled the following test from rinkworks.com. I thought it was an outstanding test for a prospective fantasy novel.  If you answer “yes” to a SINGLE QUESTION, you fail, and should start your novel over from the beginning:

1. Does nothing happen in the first fifty pages?
2. Is your main character a young farmhand with mysterious parentage?
3. Is your main character the heir to the throne but doesn’t know it?
4. Is your story about a young character who comes of age, gains great power, and defeats the supreme badguy?
5. Is your story about a quest for a magical artifact that will save the world?
6. How about one that will destroy it?
7. Does your story revolve around an ancient prophecy about “The One” who will save the world and everybody and all the forces of good?
8. Does your novel contain a character whose sole purpose is to show up at random plot points and dispense information?
9. Does your novel contain a character that is really a god in disguise?
10. Is the evil supreme badguy secretly the father of your main character?
11. Is the king of your world a kindly king duped by an evil magician?
12. Does “a forgetful wizard” describe any of the characters in your novel?
13. How about “a powerful but slow and kind-hearted warrior”?
14. How about “a wise, mystical sage who refuses to give away plot details for his own personal, mysterious reasons”?
15. Do the female characters in your novel spend a lot of time worrying about how they look, especially when the male main character is around?
16. Do any of your female characters exist solely to be captured and rescued?
17. Do any of your female characters exist solely to embody feminist ideals?
18. Would “a clumsy cooking wench more comfortable with a frying pan than a sword” aptly describe any of your female characters?
19. Would “a fearless warrioress more comfortable with a sword than a frying pan” aptly describe any of your female characters?
20. Is any character in your novel best described as “a dour dwarf”?
21. How about “a half-elf torn between his human and elven heritage”?
22. Did you make the elves and the dwarves great friends, just to be different?
23. Does everybody under four feet tall exist solely for comic relief?
24. Do you think that the only two uses for ships are fishing and piracy?
25. Do you not know when the hay baler was invented?
26. Did you draw a map for your novel which includes places named things like “The Blasted Lands” or “The Forest of Fear” or “The Desert of Desolation” or absolutely anything “of Doom”?
27. Does your novel contain a prologue that is impossible to understand until you’ve read the entire book, if even then?
28. Is this the first book in a planned trilogy?
29. How about a quintet or a decalogue?
30. Is your novel thicker than a New York City phone book?
31. Did absolutely nothing happen in the previous book you wrote, yet you figure you’re still many sequels away from finishing your “story”?
32. Are you writing prequels to your as-yet-unfinished series of books?
33. Is your name Robert Jordan and you lied like a dog to get this far?
34. Is your novel based on the adventures of your role-playing group?
35. Does your novel contain characters transported from the real world to a fantasy realm?
36. Do any of your main characters have apostrophes or dashes in their names?
37. Do any of your main characters have names longer than three syllables?
38. Do you see nothing wrong with having two characters from the same small isolated village being named “Tim Umber” and “Belthusalanthalus al’Grinsok”?
39. Does your novel contain orcs, elves, dwarves, or halflings?
40. How about “orken” or “dwerrows”?
41. Do you have a race prefixed by “half-”?
42. At any point in your novel, do the main characters take a shortcut through ancient dwarven mines?
43. Do you write your battle scenes by playing them out in your favorite RPG?
44. Have you done up game statistics for all of your main characters in your favorite RPG?
45. Are you writing a work-for-hire for Wizards of the Coast?
46. Do inns in your book exist solely so your main characters can have brawls?
47. Do you think you know how feudalism worked but really don’t?
48. Do your characters spend an inordinate amount of time journeying from place to place?
49. Could one of your main characters tell the other characters something that would really help them in their quest but refuses to do so just so it won’t break the plot?
50. Do any of the magic users in your novel cast spells easily identifiable as “fireball” or “lightning bolt”?
51. Do you ever use the term “mana” in your novel?
52. Do you ever use the term “plate mail” in your novel?
53. Heaven help you, do you ever use the term “hit points” in your novel?
54. Do you not realize how much gold actually weighs?
55. Do you think horses can gallop all day long without rest?
56. Does anybody in your novel fight for two hours straight in full plate armor, then ride a horse for four hours, then delicately make love to a willing barmaid all in the same day?
57. Does your main character have a magic axe, hammer, spear, or other weapon that returns to him when he throws it?
58. Does anybody in your novel ever stab anybody with a scimitar?
59. Does anybody in your novel stab anybody straight through plate armor?
60. Do you think swords weigh ten pounds or more?
61. Does your hero fall in love with an unattainable woman, whom he later attains?
62. Does a large portion of the humor in your novel consist of puns?
63. Is your hero able to withstand multiple blows from the fantasy equivalent of a ten pound sledge but is still threatened by a small woman with a dagger?
64. Do you really think it frequently takes more than one arrow in the chest to kill a man?
65. Do you not realize it takes hours to make a good stew, making it a poor choice for an “on the road” meal?
66. Do you have nomadic barbarians living on the tundra and consuming barrels and barrels of mead?
67. Do you think that “mead” is just a fancy name for “beer”?
68. Does your story involve a number of different races, each of which has exactly one country, one ruler, and one religion?
69. Is the best organized and most numerous group of people in your world the thieves’ guild?
70. Does your main villain punish insignificant mistakes with death?
71. Is your story about a crack team of warriors that take along a bard who is useless in a fight, though he plays a mean lute?
72. Is “common” the official language of your world?
73. Is the countryside in your novel littered with tombs and gravesites filled with ancient magical loot that nobody thought to steal centuries before?
74. Is your book basically a rip-off of The Lord of the Rings?
75. Read that question again and answer truthfully.

I am very happy to say that (so far) the Heretic’s Quest has passed this test with a 100% (Although we admit that we came really close to botching up numbers 17 and 19.)

I’ve loved fantasy fiction for most of my life – even before I learned to read. However, as I grew older, I often thought that the stories I read were too tame, to the point where the characters and events were unrealistic. Obviously, some things in a fantasy setting aren’t going to be realistic, but some things should be. At the very least, the characters should be as real and as believable as possible. The violence and passions should not be diluted. Events should still follow the tenants of cause and effect.

To say it another way, if most fantasy novels were converted directly to movies, they would be PG-13. I believe there is an adult audience who will pay for an adult fantasy story, something that’s rated R.

At the same time, I believe that many people avoid fantasy stories because the story is too far out. Many authors practice no control. Their stories are full of inhuman races and impossible monsters – all of which have names a mile long that cannot be pronounced. Worst of all, too many fantasy authors use MAGIC as the ultimate deus ex machina. They can write what ever they want, no matter how impossible or improbable, and they don’t need to explain it other than to say, “It’s magic. Isn’t it wonderful?”

No, it isn’t. It’s the reason fantasy fiction isn’t taken more seriously by the literary community. It’s the reason more people don’t read it, because they read one incomprehensible name doing something impossible to another crazy name, and they say “Why am I reading this stupid bullshit?”

Before I wrote a single word of my stories, I established a few guidelines to ensure these books accomplish my goals. Some were easier to follow than others, but so far, I am confident that I have achieved all of them.

1. These books will be written with as much skill and style as I can muster. I read too many books that are not written well. They use nondescript pronouns, passive verbs, and enough fragments to make my old grammar teacher rise from the dead. They have homophone errors, punctuation errors, an over abundance of adverbs, and misplaced clauses. My books will not be this way. They will be written well enough that I am proud to put my name on them.

2. There will be no races other than humans. Inhuman opponents will be few and far between. Most adversaries will be human, or derived from humans, because humans can be monstrous and evil enough in their own right.

3. There will be no names that cannot be pronounced. I see no reason to call the hero Xandeflopnigrotranese when I can just as easily call him Robert. Along the same lines, time will be measured in hours, days, etc. Likewise, distance will be measured in feet or meters. Some may argue that having special methods of telling distance/time is a good way to immerse a reader into a fantasy world. I say it’s an unnecessary distraction.

4. There will be fighting, and it will be violent. There will be blood and guts and screaming and loss of bodily functions. Characters will kill others. Characters will die. There is no guarantee that a primary character will live. If the story calls for it, they will die. I will not contrive and warp the story to keep someone alive.

5. There will be sex. I will not write a porno script, but if a man and a woman are attracted to one another, they very well could have sex. There will be no “fading to black.” If two characters decide to fuck, or if a bandit rapes a woman along the highway, I’m going to describe it. I’m not going to sugar-coat anything.

6. There will be magic, but it will be rare, and in most cases it will be subtle. I will not explain exactly what can and cannot be done with magic, because that’s giving away secrets, but rest assured that I know the exact limits.  If those limits seem to be broken, I have a very good, very explainable, reason for that.

7. The characters will be real. The setting may be fantasy. The battles may be epic. The deeds may be legendary. But the characters will be real people to whom adult readers can relate. They will have dreams, fears, strengths, and flaws. They will be caught in the same flow of cause and effect that pushes all of us. They will love and hate. They will create and destroy. The characters in these books will become the reader’s friends and enemies.

8. The book will be entertaining. It will be fun to read. Once the entire series is printed, readers will want to go back and read it all again, at least once, just for the fun of it. But behind the fast-paced fun, readers will also be given an opportunity to think about themselves. They’ll be prompted to consider the power of faith. They’ll be guided to focus on the way they handle the consequences of their own actions.

These are the goals and guidelines I keep in mind when I write. I think the result is a very worthwhile story that many people have read and liked. I’m sure it has flaws, and some critic somewhere will probably point them out some day. That’s fine with me. I realize I can’t please everyone. I’ll be content if I can make a few hard corp fantasy fans sing my praises side-by-side with a few folks who never liked a fantasy book before mine.

For years Alistar Keirnan was ridiculed as a madman and a heretic until the old warrior finally fell before the might of an immensely powerful mage, a wizard whose identity was never known. Young Alexi learned from his father’s fate. He learned to question doctrine of the Serene and to distrust their leader, the Sentinel. He also learned to keep his opinions to himself and to carve his own path based on his own morals.

Now, a man and fierce warrior in his own right, Alexi has earned a legendary reputation. He is the House Father of the mightiest noble House in the Empire. He is the Hand of the Emperor and lord of Bladespire. As such, he commands the every soldier and sailor serving in the Imperial military. He is also the deadliest and most celebrated mage slayer east of the Mirrored Mountains.

But Alexi’s position is threatened as stories filter into High Court, rumors of a warlock of unprecedented power who preys on villages lying on the border between the Sarvek Empire and the Strogan Clans. Alexi musters six hundred of his best men and rides to find the warlock, even though his presence in the borderlands could shatter the fragile truce with Strogan.

Convinced that he may finally meet the man who murdered his father, Alexi pursues the Warlock with unwavering confidence and determination. The mage slayer has no idea of the battle that waits for him. He does not know that soon he will face choices that will decide the fate of a continent and reveal him to be more like his father than anyone could have ever guessed.

The Manuscript is off and away.  As I understand it, the editor should have it in her hands right now, although I doubt she’s even taken time to look at it yet, with it being the holidays and all.  I know I wouldn’t take time to do work when I was with family for Christmas.

So I wait, and I pray, and I hope.  This is by far the best opportunity I’ve had thus far.  I keep telling myself, “This is it.  This is the break I need.  She’s going to call me or email me and tell me she wants to publish this book.  This is it.  I’m on my way.”

But I’ve said that every other time I’ve tried and been turned away.  So now I wait to see, hoping with all of my heart and soul, but also trying to be prepared for the possible rejection.

I thought about it earlier this week, and I realized that some where along  the line, my mindset changed.  For the longest time, I never doubted that I would be published.  It was only a matter of time.  But these days, in  the farthest corners of my mind, I’ve decided the opposite is true, that I’ll never be published.  I’ll try and try and die before it happens.

Well, I’ve put a stop to that sorry line of thought!  I will not think that way.  I will be published.  It is going to happen.

The question is: what will I do when I hear  that I am going to be a published author?  Hell, I’m liable to have a heart attack.  I think I’ll have a time of stunned disbelief.  I just won’t be able to accept that it’s true, that I really did it.

If you’re reading this, please keep your fingers crossed, and say a prayer for me, if that’s your way.  I need a Christmas Miracle.

I’ve finalized the edits on Warlock’s Wake. It’s done. I need to re-read all of Heretic and make changes as needed so it jives with the additions I made in Warlock’s Wake. I also need to add two new scenes.

I need to spend some time on this site as well. This journal needs some work, and I finally bought a little digital draw pad, in the hopes that I can use it to draw maps to my liking.

Here’s the most exciting news: I’ve sent a copy of Warlock’s Wake to a friend who is going to put it in the hands of an editor who works for a major US publisher. It could be just another rejection, but it very well could be the one lucky break I’ve been waiting on. It is the season of miracles, after all. So I have my hopes up again. I hope this works. It has to work. I need this so much.

I received the feedback from the judges of the contest. I’ve listed the highlights for both entries below.

Warlock’s Wake

Here’s what the judge had to say:

The author has a fairly strong command of language. An example of this is found on Page 1: “A creature of nightmares, an ill-begotten bastard of magic and inhuman imagination, the beast was all claws and teeth, nothing but rage and terror given life and form.”

The writer creates interesting questions in the mind of the reader with the following passage: “It had been created only to kill her. It couldn’t be distracted or bargained with. It didn’t stop and didn’t tire.”

Another clear strength that the author exhibits is that of descriptive language. Take this example from Page 12: “Maggots gleamed and writhed in heaps of squirming gluttony.”

The description of the dead bodies was equally effective, though that section lacked somewhat as a dramatic payoff. Granted, it is difficult for the reader to emotionally invest in characters, that, prior to the group’s arrival on scene, were only mentioned and not actually portrayed. Therefore, the author might consider inserting a flashback or two prior to the search party’s discovery. Such a flashback could lock one of the fallen villagers into the mind of the reader, so that when the dead body is shown, the reader might feel at least a little catharsis.

I’m especially interested in this last bit about the flashback, because the prologue that I didn’t send with the chapter is exactly what the judge thinks I need. I’ve often wondered if I should include the prologue or not, and I take this as an indication that I should.

The rest of the judge’s suggestions were less than helpful, since most of them were based on inaccurate assumptions about the rest of the book. For instance, the judge incorrectly guessed the identity of the surviving scout and also assumed that the scout has latent magical powers. Five characters are introduced in the first chapter, and the judge assumed they all survive to become prominent characters in the rest of the book. Most of her suggestions are based on these assumptions and conclusions, and since all of them are inaccurate, I find little merit in her suggestions.

Shadow Infraction
Shadow Infraction was a sci-fi story I wrote two years ago for an “adults only” online community. I wrote it by the seat of my pants, incorporating members of the community as characters in the story. I made it up as I went, writing a few thousand words a day, surprising myself with the way I managed to maintain a cohesive and relatively entertaining storyline despite the fact that I had no idea what would happen next. When I stopped writing it, it was around 35,000 words all told. I fashioned a portion of it into a stand-alone chapter and submitted it as an entry for this contest, just to see what would happen.
Here is what the judge had to say:

Shadow Infraction has the feel and (as it’s quite a visual piece, I’ll dare say it) look of a dark comic or graphic novel. This is not a bad thing. There’s a market for your material.

This submission rated nine outta an impossible ten for style: it knew what it was, and leapt right onto its groove without hesitation or apology. I can’t think of another entry in this year’s Writing Show contest which served up, so hard n’ hot, what it had. Attitude earns points. There’s a direct thrust here that calls to mind good ol’ Chuck Palahniuk.

This submission accomplishes what a surprising number of first chapters did not: it establishes character, setting, conflict and tone, the whole package capped with a hook. In 18 pages, a clear picture Citizen Five/Anubis is displayed and there’s a strong indication of what he’ll do. The story gets right into the gritty action- always good. Too many authors spent the first few pages stretching and warming up, rather than giving it their all right at the sound of the proverbial starter pistol. Well done.

The occasional turn of phrase impressed. “While in High Town, he was nothing but a devil sneaking around heaven in search of a halo.”

The straight-forward, full-on attitude is my favorite element to Shadow Infraction. It is what it is, and with a thunderhead of gusto too.

The judge said the main drawbacks to this first chapter were
It’s entirely visual – should be a script for a graphic novel, not a novel.
Some terms and visuals are cliché sci-fi and need freshened up.
Dialogue needs to be screened for clichés and different characters need different speaking styles.

The judge’s observations are accurate. if I decide to do anything further with this story, I’ll certainly keep them in mind.

Anyway, I’m not bummed about the contest. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I’ll enjoy the compliments and consider the relevant criticisms, and just keep on keeping on.

AID THE HERETIC IN HIS QUEST! PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT!

I didn’t win anything in the First Chapter Contest hosted by TheWritingShow.Com, not even an honorable mention. I’m a little disappointed and a little discouraged, but life goes on.

I’m aggravated, too. It annoys me to know that there are so many ill-conceived and poorly-written books in print. These hacks have their names on books, and books on shelves, but I can’t get anyone to give me the time of day.

I know my book is no Pultizer Prize winner, but it is good. The story is captivating and compelling. The characters are detailed people who a reader can relate to, and it’s written with some measure of skill. I’ve had it reviewed by a number of people. One is a professional fiction editor. A few others aren’t even fans of the fantasy genre. Ages have ranged from 21 to 60, with an even mix of male and female readers. Allof them are people I trust to tell me the truth, and the consensus is clear: the book is good. I don’t need them to tell me that. I know the book is good, but it does help to have unanimous supporting opinions in the face of multiple failures and rejections.

Losing the contest doesn’t phase me much. I was hoping to win, because every little bit helps. Losing doesn’t change the fact that this book is going to be published. I’m supposed to get 750 words of feedback on the novel, sometime between now and the 22^nd. It will be interesting to see what they have to say. With any luck, it will be something useful, maybe even a clue to what I’m doing wrong. One can hope.

I’ll end this post with two little rays of sunshine.

This weekend, I’m spending some time researching and compiling a new list of agents to query, and I’m going to re-write my query letters and plot synopsis to accommodate the changes I’ve made in the story structure. Very soon I’ll be sending out the first new queries since Scott Hoffman kicked me in the nuts earlier this summer.

I’ve got another card up my sleeve. It turns out that I have a friend of a friend of a friend who happens to be an editor for a major publishing company, and this editor has agreed to review the novel. I’m trying very hard to keep my hopes down, but it is an excellent opportunity that I can’t pass up.

So worry not, true believers. Just as the Heretic pushes ever onward in his quest for revenge, so do I press forward in my quest for publication. Neither Alexi nor Mary would ever accept defeat, and neither will I.

AID THE HERETIC IN HIS QUEST! PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT!

While the titles are still subject to change, I’ve made a tentative decision.

The first novel (originally the first half of Heretic) will be called Warlock’s Wake.

The second novel (originally the second half of Heretic) will still be called Heretic.

The third book is called Revenge.

Assuming Revenge doesn’t split in two like Heretic has, the fourth and final book of the series will be called Redemption.

I’ve written two of the three new scenes that I plan to add to Warlock’s Wake. I’m only adding one scene to the new Heretic. If all goes well, I’ll have Warlock’s Wake ready for my editor’s discerning eye by the end of the weekend. Depending on how things go, Heretic might be finished too!

After I get them finished, I’m going to focus on finding an agent before I put much more time into Revenge. I’m getting excited again.

Well, I haven’t been through here nearly as often as I had intended, but then again, there really hasn’t been anything to report.

As we move into August, I can look ahead and see September coming. I think I’m just about finished with my sulking over the Scott Hoffman rejection. The rejection itself didn’t bother me – it was the way we met in person and then he dealt with me so impersonally afterwards.

Regardless, I’m done feeling sorry for myself and being pissed over something I can’t change. It’s time to move forward once more. I’ve been struggling with some personal issues, and I’ve started a new job that has taken a lot of my time and energy. It’s rough, but I must regroup and set my sights back on my dream. I must move forward. I’ve already made the first steps.

I’ve made a meager beginning to the sequel to Heretic. It’s a short chunk of words that I’m calling Revenge, for now.

The LMP online contest will be finishing up in a couple months, and who knows? Maybe that will bear some fruit. It would be really great if it did. Even if it doesn’t, I’ll still get some feedback, and I have two months free access to their database of agents and publishers. I’m going to start making a very specific list of targeted agents to query and go from there.

I’ve also decided to cut Heretic into two smaller books. There are a few other story elements I want to add to it, but it’s already a long book, and I think that is hurting me. It costs a lot to print a book the size of Heretic, and neither an agent nor a publisher wants to take that kind of risk with an unproven author. Plus, it might help my credibility if I can say I’ve written TWO novels in the series and am working on the THIRD.

So, I’m going to whack it in two – I know just where I want to do it – and then add a few things to both new halves. If all goes well, I’ll end up with two books that are about 300 pages in length, instead of one that’s 540 pages long. I just don’t have any idea what I’m going to call them now!

The winners of the 2007 WV Writers contest will be announced in a week. I’m still hoping Heretic will place in the top three, and I’m hoping to place in the two short story categories as well. There’s going to be an agent from the Folio group at the conference, but I missed my chance to register and speak with him because I thought I was going to miss the entire Conference due to National Guard obligations. Now it turns out I can go, but it’s too late to sign up for the consultations.

I’ve also entered Heretic and Shadow Infraction in the LMP First Chapter contest, in hopes of gaining some exposure and accolades. It’s not judged until November, but I’m hoping to make a breakthrough with it. I hate waiting. Continue reading Website Update, Contest Update »»

I made a few minor but important modifications to Heretic this weekend. I wish I could tell you what I did, but I can’t say without giving away a major plot point. I’ll just say that it was a substantial gap in the logic of my storyline, one that all of my test readers and I overlooked, but it’s been repaired without a crack or seam to hint that it ever existed. The process also allowed me to introduce an entirely new concept towards the end of the book, something that makes a supporting character much more interesting and also makes the sequel more tantalizing. I’m happy with the changes, very happy indeed.

The final draft of Heretic is done. I may make additional changes based on test reader feedback, but I’m not initiating any other changes on my own. As far as I’m concerned, it is done.

Man, it feels good to write that!

The final counts are 146,358 words, 534 double-spaced pages, and 55 chapters.

I’m hoping to generate all of the rough-draft content I need for the website before I go to sleep Sunday night. We’ll see how that turns out, because I’m not off to a very good start so far. Continue reading HERETIC IS DONE! »»

I’ve identified 19 more agents to query for my novel.  I’ll be sending out emails to them over the next week.  I’m also entering it in the 2007 WV Writer’s Contest, in the hopes of earning a prize and being about to list placement as a credential in my query letters.  Last of all, I’m considering submitting it to another contest that offers publication as a prize.  I’m just not sure I agree with the terms and conditions.

The second agent who asked to see my novel has turned me down.  It doesn’t matter.  I’m not happy about it, but I’m not as upset as I thought I would be.  I  guess my hide is pretty thick.

I have no room to complain.  Some people go through hundreds of queries before they get a passing glance.  I got two shards of interest out of my first seven attempts.  The tally so far is

seven total queries

2 of which were rejected flat out

3 of which have been ignored thus far

2 of which resulted in requests to read, but ended in rejection.

So I have 4 rejections and 3 ignores, and counting.

Speaking of rejections, I heard back from a video game company I hoped would hire me to do some writing.  The email was… inconclusive.  Near as I can tell, they aren’t interested in hiring me right now, but they didn’t throw away my application…  strange.

This weekend I’ll put together queries for more agents.  I’ll keep at it until I’ve hit up every damned agent I can find.  I’m also going to submit the novel to another contest that offers publication as a prize.  I don’t have much faith or hope in it, but you never know.

I also need to put together a submission packet for the WV Writers contest.  I won first place in the humor category last year.  I’m going to enter multiple categories again this year.  I’m hoping the novel will place this year so I can have something else to distinguish it on my query letters.  I’ll know in June.

A few people have emailed me or called me, trying to make sure I won’t quit trying to get my book published.

I appreciate the concern, but I want everyone to understand that I will not stop. I can not stop.

I’ve been a story teller since I learned to speak, and I’ve been a writer since I learned to write. As far back as I can remember, I’ve never wanted to do anything but write, and nothing makes me happier than when I’m in that creative groove, dancing with my muse, and doing my best to just wear that bitch completely out before she decides to leave me again.

Considering this, some ask the question (and I’ve asked it of myself many times,) Why haven’t you been writing? Why aren’t you already published? Why are you almost thirty-two years old with no substantial publication to your credit?

People point out Christopher Paolini. He became a New York Times best seller when he was 19. People say, if you’re so great, Tom, why haven’t you made it by now when this kid got on his feet when he was 19? Continue reading I Will Not – I Cannot – Stop »»

I heard back from the first agent who requested to read part of my novel. He turned me down. I’m not happy about it. In fact, the news ruined the rest of my day. I just wanted to go to bed and cover up my head, but I had to get to school and do my teaching thing.

I’m not as down about it now as I was initially. I guess it had to happen, and it’ll probably happen again… and again… but I still have one other agent looking at it, and I have a list of others to pester, and I have that contest that I can still enter, so I’m not out of the race, not by a long shot.

It still sucks though…

After days of research, drafting query letters, and sweating over a plot synopsis, I emailed seven agents on Thursday morning and tried to put it out of my mind because I knew it could be a long wait. One agent said she would reply within three weeks. Another said it would probably be 9-12 weeks. The rest fell somewhere in between or simply stated that they’d reply at some point if they were interested, but would not reply if they didn’t like it.

I went to the gym and lifted weights just to try to get my mind off of it, because I was driving myself crazy. I just could not stop thinking about it.

When I came home, I had a reply from one agent waiting in my inbox. He said he’d be happy to look over my book and requested the first 100 pages for his “prompt review.”

I sat here in stunned silence, just staring at the screen, not believing it… Minutes passed. Then I chuckled. Then I giggled. Then I brayed laughter like a jack ass and whooped and hollered. Then I calmed down and sent the man what he wanted.

I haven’t heard back from him yet, but I’m not worried. I’m trying my best to keep from getting my hopes up, because it may yet amount to nothing. He could easily come back and say he’s not interested. But he could come back and want the rest of it!

I guess I’ll wait a week, and if he hasn’t emailed me back by then, I’ll send a polite note to make sure he received the 100 pages. I don’t want to bug him and piss him off, but I would like to know for sure that he has it.

I always try to have a back up plan. In this case, goal was publication of my book, and the Sobol Award was Plan A. Plan B involved doing things the hard way. I intended to gradually research book agents, learn about query letters, and be ready to seek representation sometime in July if the Sobol contest fell though at that time. Plan C involved doing things the expensive way: Self-publication.

So Plan A went tits-up about seven months earlier than anticipated, and I’ve been scrambling to put together Plan B on an accelerated schedule. What’s my hurry? I want to do something proactive before I get disgusted, disillusioned, and put the dream down again. I have to do something to keep the fires burning.

In the past couple days I’ve not exercised; I’ve neglected my websites; I’ve skimped on my class preparation, and I’ve barely slept, but I’ve drafted a query letter and plot synopsis, had them proofread, and compiled a list of agencies I want to contact. Today I emailed a query to seven different agencies. I’ll send out a few more this weekend, and then I guess I’ll get buried in the sequel to keep my mind off the clock and calendar while I wait and hope to hear back from some one.

I don’t like Plan B very much, but I guess there’s not much else I can do. I could quit, but I have too much riding on this to stop now. This is my dream, and I know I have to work if I want it to come true. But the clock is ticking, even if I choose to ignore it. I’m going to the gym now, because I that’s part of my plan too. By the end of this year I’m going to be in interviews and on TV for my book, or I’m going back to the Rangers. Either way, I need to be in better shape.