Friday, December 3, 2010

The End of a Long Week

With working overtime on Saturday, buying suits for a funeral on Sunday, a trip to Nagano and back for said funeral on Monday and Tuesday, an observation in Hadano for my first day back on Wednesday, one bit of respite--drinks with some friends--on Thursday, and one last crazy day of one part training, one part observation, and one part insanely boring meeting all now behind me, I am quite exhausted.

But things are good.  Faye is cuter every day and says the most interesting things.  I've started working on my next short story, All Things Comfortable, and it's starting to shape up nicely.  I've also managed to watch some quality stuff.  I don't pretend to understand it, but Primer was quite good.  Garth Marenghi's Darkplace was amazingly original and funny.  I can't say how much I respect the writer(s) of that show since, in a way, that's what I attempted to do with Skull Kaiser, back in the day.  I've also been able to keep up with The Walking Dead, which is pretty good so far, though, from what I can tell, it's deviated from the comic quite a bit.  Anyway, good stuff.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Sinzer Rebellion

...is finished.  The first draft, anyway.  I think it turned out pretty much the way I envisioned it, which is satisfying.  I think I will be working on All Things Comfortable next to make good on a promise to a friend.  I'll also be going back and looking at the first Approaching Infinity book, updating it to reflect things that have been developed or expanded in the short stories.

In other news, I'm caught up on Fringe and Supernatural.  While I'm thoroughly enjoying Fringe, not sure what the hype about the 3rd season was.  With the events of episode 7, though, things should get pretty high stakes soon.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

A Select List of Favorites, Part 1

These lists are by no means exhaustive, but these specific episodes have stuck with me for one reason or another.  For those of you who have never given OTR (Old Time Radio) a try, I highly recommend it.

TV
1977    Kolchak, the Night Stalker      S1E01    The Ripper  
1996    The X-Files                            S3E17    Pusher   
1998    The X-Files                            S5E19    Folie A Deux   
1999    Buffy, the Vampire Slayer       S4E10    Hush   
2004    Angel                                    S5E14    Smile Time   

OTR (dates are suspect!)
1941    The Shadow                     The Shadow Challenged
1945    The Shadow                     The Case of the Burning Skull
1948    The Shadow                     The Man Who Was Death
1937    Lights Out                        The Dark
1937    Lights Out                        Little Old Lady
1938    Lights Out                        Super Feature
1943    Lights Out                        Archer (Ancestor)
1940    The Hermit's Cave            House of Purple Shadows
1943    The Weird Circle               The House And The Brain
1943    The Whistler                     Mind Over Matter
1953    The Hall of Fantasy           He Who Follows Me
1953    The Hall of Fantasy           The Shadow People

Saturday, November 6, 2010

'Tis the Season

Western holidays--really just Halloween and Christmas--are very interesting here in Japan.  They're mostly just merchandise blitzes in a culture that's crazy for character goods.  But that's okay. 

As I have mentioned before, I love autumn.  I'm not sure if one started the love for the other, but I love Halloween as well.  It's a shame there's no real trick or treating to be done here, but the imagery is sufficient for me.  And Faye loves obake or bakeke as she says (that's bah-keh-keh for the unindoctrinated).  This was essentially her first Halloween and it was a hit.


Christmas has all the Santa Claus imagery but none of the religious significance and that suits me fine.  To me, Christmas has always been a time for families to be together and that's exactly what we do.  And then there are presents of course.  Like Halloween, this will be the first Christmas that Faye will be able to appreciate.  We're all looking forward to it!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Maintenance

Don't know why I didn't think to do this sooner. It sounds silly, but it was like a flash of inspiration: how about links to pages/posts that really describe what the hell I'm writing? Yeah... Hey! That's a good idea!

Anyway, I'll be putting up a number of posts (permalinked!) to codify what I'm all about, with respect to what I write, that is, so those of you following my blog can better sing my praises and spread the word. Uh, or not.

This is unrelated, but I want to relate that I finished The Prisoner and was just as impressed as a full-fledged adult as I was as a teen-ager. The last episode was a bit rough, but I'm not complaining. I'm on to Fringe now and am enjoying that so far. Someone really talked up the first episode of the 3rd season so I'm terribly curious. Have a ways to go yet, though.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

An Unlikely Post

I've never been much for flowers. They make good gifts for moms, wives, and girlfriends, and I can appreciate their aesthetic value, but that's about as far as my interest goes. Before I ever came to Japan I wouldn't have been able to answer what my favorite flower was if asked--not that many people were asking, mind you.

Now, though, I can answer with conviction. I love autumn. Always have. And how nice it is to have it heralded by the blooming of 金木犀. That's kinmokusei, or fragrant olive. I'm sure these trees can be found elsewhere in the world, but I never encountered them around the Sacramento area or in or around Seattle. They don't last long but their scent is intense and they have, in a very short span of years, come to represent an integral part of fall for me.

That is as close to an ode to flowers as I will ever be capable of.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Yes, Indeed...

Three-day weekends are the best. We took Faye out to Kamakura today to let her feed the rabid pigeons at Hachimangu. Though her first experience with them there was good, this time she was a bit traumatized. I think she still had fun, though.

In other news, I must confess that I found out some time ago (09/29/2010) that Asimov's wasn't interested in Blue Squad, which was disappointing. I'm not giving up on magazines, but want to see if I might not be able to pursue another avenue which has been in the periphery but remained fairly elusive so far.

I've started a second Geiss Sinzer story, which might be considered, after all is said and done, the first Geiss Sinzer story, but that's not a problem. Kalkin's Dilemma is done, but I need to go over it one last time.

In still other news, I'm gearing up to watch The Prisoner, the original, not the remake, in its entirety. I just finished watching the remake during the three-day weekend, actually. It wasn't bad. Some of it was pretty cool, but the opening alone of the original was so iconic and full of great sound bytes, that the new one doesn't quite measure up. I have a soft spot in my heart for Patrick McGoohan as No. 6 and as the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, but it's been years since I've seen any of the original stuff, so we'll see how I feel after watching it all in order.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Kalkin's Dilemma

Three-day weekends are the best. We took Faye to her third zoo (this time Nogeyama Zoo) and, the third time being the charm, she was awake for the whole thing! We all had a nice time once we got there in spite of the crowds.

I also found some time to write! I'm happy to report that I'm very nearly done with my second foray into short stories. Kalkin's Dilemma is a bit longer than Blue Squad, but, like Blue Squad, there's at least one more story to tell, maybe two. I've got a couple of options for what to do next. Most likely it'll either be a prequel of sorts to Kalkin's Dilemma or story obliquely about Jav Holson. Or, I may revisit a couple of old ideas that have lain dormant for many years and that have nothing to do with the Viscain Empire... We shall see.

Oh, I submitted Blue Squad: One Last Go to Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine on the 16th via their electronic submission process. I'm trying not to hold my breath, but still hoping for the best!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Blue Squad: One Last go - Complete!

I just finished my first short story. It took just under one month (8/9-9/5) to write and I'm pretty pleased with it. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a nice pattern. I've asked several friends to take a look. After getting some feedback I'll be submitting it to some magazines so keep your fingers crossed for me--whoever you may be!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Shades of Viscain

Ah, another shifting of the gears. Once I got back to work on August 9th, even though I did write during my vacation, I felt really motivated to write more.

It's quite difficult for me to find an uninterrupted block of time to write--which, I'm sure is true for lots of people--but I've started using my lunch hour to write on my iPhone. I was a little skeptical about this method at first, but it's proving to be quite productive. I don't write more than 250 words a day this way, but I am making headway.

And what I'm making headway with is a short story. I took my friend Robert's advice which was to write independent stories set in the same world as the Approaching Infinity books and try to sell them to magazines to build interest in the idea of a series. I should finish the story (Blue Squad: One Last Go) sometime in September.

My plan, which actually should be rather accomplishable (that doesn't appear to be a word, but hey, that's okay!), is to focus on other Shades and story lines that won't necessarily appear in any of the planned novels. There may be a few Blue Squad stories to come and I have ideas for at least two other stories more or less ready to go. One involves one of Lor Kalkin's teachers and another illustrates the strange relationship between Jav Holson and another Shade, a relationship of which Jav is completely unaware. There, that should be vague enough.

I've gotta go do the dishes.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Spring 2010: Query Letter, Wave 2 (Updated!)

It may be a bit premature to post this, but I tend to think not. I know agents are busy people and I mean no disrespect by this putting this up. This is just for the record.

Rejection (Actual)
05/29-06/28/2010 - Diana Fox of Fox Literary (query, 1st 5 pgs)
06/05-08/11/2010 - Jason Yarn of Paradigm Agency (query, 1st 10 pgs)
06/05-08/24/2010 - Amy Boggs of Donald Maas (query, 1st 5 pgs)
06/05-10/10/2010 - Amy Hayden of Linn Prentis (query, synopsis, 1st 10 pgs)

Rejection (No Reply (as yet))
05/29/2010 - Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown (query only)
05/30/2010 - Evan Goldfried of Jill Grinberg (query, 1st 50 pgs)
05/30/2010 - John Silbersack of Trident Media Group, LLC (query only)

That's a total of 21 queries. That's not so many considering all the agents out there. But, then again, I am limiting myself to email queries, and, I don't know, are there really that many outlets for science fiction? Anyway, I'm not giving up.

Ah, Vacation...

I've been on vacation for basically the last two weeks, and it's been great. I have no idea what day it is anymore! I met some friends for lunch/dinner, we took Faye to Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Ai and I got out to see Inception (which was good) on my birthday, and I got a chance to really write, at least a little.

I had intended to start work on The Baker's Dozen, and I did do quite a bit of (re-)research, getting some things hammered out, but I just couldn't give up on the third Jav Holson book.

First, about that, I wanted to say that I am giving the series a title. A couple of people have mentioned that it's necessary and the fact was never lost on me (there's a story there, but it's boring and silly), so from here on out, tentatively, the Jav Holson books will be collectively titled Approaching Infinity. After going over lots and lots of ideas, this seemed the natural and appropriate choice that covers all angles and captures the overall feel of the series.

Now, not having given up on the third book, I have been able to write most of the first chapter. Still a little work to do and there's always polish, of course, but I'm fairly satisfied with what I've done so far. I think I might have some time today and maybe even a little tomorrow, so I should be able to say that I wrote chapter one during my vacation. That will please me.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Changing Gears

While I haven't been exceptionally busy with the 3rd Jav Holson book in my limited free time, I have been brainstorming, plotting, and working out some of the details. I was getting ready to start in earnest, but two people have suggested that I shelf it for a bit and work on another stand-alone project, then see how well that would fare in the hunt for an agent.

So that means a return (for me) to The Baker's Dozen. I started developing this some time ago, the initial idea in late 2002, then revisiting in 2004 and 2006. I guess it's good I've chosen an even year for my return! Before, it suffered the same undefined format problems that Skull Kaiser did, but I think I'm ready to write it now. Billy Weiss will make his stand against the Baker's Dozen!

A number of benefits to doing this:
1. The Baker's Dozen is stand-alone.
2. It's YA (still SF) which will open up the possibilities for sale.
3. I'll send a strong message to terrorist groups who dress up as bakers.
4. I can try all the agents I've already queried all over again!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Little Steps

Sent my query letter off to four agents this weekend. I had no idea when sending them that I was just in time for Memorial Day (different holidays here in Japan--for those of you back in the States, I bet you wish you had Beach Day, huh?).

Anyway, yes, little steps. But always forward.

Friday, May 28, 2010

6th (and last?) Query Post

Okay. Here it is. This is what I'm going with. It's got just one little change over my last post. Tomorrow I'm going to put together a new list of potential agents and set about sending this query out. Wish me luck. Please.

-----

Dear Agent,

Jav Holson is one of the Viscain Empire's elite, super-powered soldiers. But the Ritual Mask, the Artifact that makes him so powerful, was never meant to last. When it fails, Jav is a dead man. Unless, that is, he can win a new, permanent Artifact in a competition open only to the top fighters of the Empire.

To prepare for the competition, Jav must train in the Eighteen Heavenly Claws, a deadly empty hand martial art. With the Ritual Mask sealed away to conserve its power, Jav practices long past dark every day, enduring heavy gravity training and the petty abuse of other students. His only distraction is carving stone flowers for Lili Farina, still in a coma by his hand. But, when Mai Pardine takes over Jav's training, her beautiful performance of the Eighteen Heavenly Claws overwhelms him, and he feels for a moment like he's known her forever.

In an unexpected altercation with a band of alien pirates, Jav is shot through the back, with bits of his chest blown out before him. The seal now broken, Jav loses himself to the mindless fury of the Ritual Mask as it heals him by wrenching every drop of blood from every last pirate, leaving them desiccated, leathery husks. After recovering, the thought of this happening to those close to him--especially Mai--terrifies him so he trains even harder. He's running out of time, though. With the competition still ahead, he must gain control over the Mask and master the Eighteen Heavenly Claws or risk losing more than just his own life.

THE ARTIFACT COMPETITION is a work of science fiction, complete at 76,000 words. I chose to submit to you because blah blah blah. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Me

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

5th Query Post

Okay. I think this might be it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

-----

Dear Agent,

Jav Holson is one of the Viscain Empire's elite, super-powered soldiers. But the Ritual Mask, the Artifact that makes him so powerful, was never meant to last. When it fails, Jav is a dead man. Unless, that is, he can win a new, permanent Artifact in a competition open only to the top fighters of the Empire.

To prepare for the competition, Jav must train in the Eighteen Heavenly Claws, a deadly empty hand martial art. With the Ritual Mask sealed away to conserve its power, Jav practices long past dark every day, enduring heavy gravity training and the petty abuse of other students. His only distraction is carving stone flowers for Lili Farina, still in a coma by his hand. But, when Mai Pardine takes over Jav's training, her beautiful performance of the Eighteen Heavenly Claws overwhelms him, and he feels for a moment like he's known her forever.

In an unexpected altercation with a band of alien pirates, Jav is shot through the back, with bits of his chest blown out before him. This breaks the seal on the Ritual Mask, and he loses himself to mindless fury as the Mask heals him by wrenching every drop of blood from every last pirate, leaving them desiccated, leathery husks. After recovering, the thought of this happening to those close to him--especially Mai--terrifies him so he trains even harder. He's running out of time, though. With the competition still ahead, he must gain control over the Mask and master the Eighteen Heavenly Claws or risk losing more than just his own life.

THE ARTIFACT COMPETITION is a work of science fiction, complete at 76,000 words. I chose to submit to you because blah blah blah. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Me

Saturday, May 22, 2010

4th Query Post

And again. Sigh. This is what weekends are for.

-----

Dear Agent,

Jav Holson is one of the Viscain Empire's elite, super-powered soldiers. But the Ritual Mask, the Artifact that makes him so powerful, was never meant to last, and when it fails, Jav is a dead man. Unless, that is, he can win a new, permanent Artifact in a competition open only to the top fighters of the Empire.

To prepare for the competition, Jav must train in the Eighteen Heavenly Claws, a deadly empty hand martial art. With the Ritual Mask sealed away to conserve its power, Jav practices long past dark every day, enduring heavy gravity training and the petty abuse of other students. His only distraction is carving stone flowers for Lili Farina, still in a coma because of him. But, when Mai Pardine takes over Jav's training, her beautiful performance of their style overwhelms him, and he feels for a moment like he's known her forever.

Threats at home and away, both inside and outside the ring, test the limits of the seal on the Ritual Mask. A chance encounter with a band of alien pirates reminds Jav what can happen if the seal breaks: besides potentially exhausting its power, Jav loses himself to Mask's insatiable thirst for blood, turning everyone in range into a desiccated, leathery husk. The thought of this happening to those close to him--to Mai in particular--terrifies him and spurs him to train even harder. He's running out of time, though. He must gain control over the Mask and master the Eighteen Heavenly Claws in time for the competition still ahead.

THE ARTIFACT COMPETITION is a work of science fiction, complete at 76,000 words. I chose to submit to you because blah blah blah. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Me

Friday, May 21, 2010

3rd Query Post

A slightly different direction for my nemesis, the query letter.

-----

Dear Agent,

Jav Holson is one of the Viscain Empire's elite soldiers, given immense power by the Emperor's gift of an Artifact. But his Artifact, the Ritual Mask, was never meant to last, and when it fails, Jav is a dead man. Unless, that is, he can win a new, permanent Artifact in a competition to be held in five years.

With the Ritual Mask sealed away to conserve its power, Jav trains in the Eighteen Heavenly Claws on Planet 1287. He practices long past dark every day, taking time only to carve stone flowers for Lili Farina, the girl he accidentally put into a coma on his first day there. Amid punishing training conditions and with the competition still ahead, Jav struggles for control, balancing his raw ability against the latent power of the Mask, which is always there, just outside the reach of his senses. If the seal is broken, he runs the risk of exhausting the Mask completely, but also of losing himself to its insatiable thirst for blood, and that he just can't have. Especially not when fellow student Mai Pardine has started to remind him of a lover he's never met.

THE ARTIFACT COMPETITION is a work of science fiction, complete at 76,000 words. I chose to submit to you because blah blah blah. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Me

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Temporal Fugue Kicks Ass!

So I was just out having a drink with my friend Robert and was explaining to him how I wanted to have something in my book that might be to others what Temporal Fugue was to me.

I first read Roger Zelazny's CREATURES OF LIGHT & DARKNESS when I was in junior high way back in 1984 and it blew me away. I think it may have been one of the first books I ever read outside of school, and I was forever trying to find another book like it. I remember I was at Treehouse Books, no longer Treehouse Toys, with my friend Lars and picked it up because of the picture of Anubis on the cover--I'd been intrigued by Egyptian mythology ever since seeing the Tales of the Gold Monkey episode Trunk from the Past (3-Nov-1982)--jeezGOD! why do I remember this and why is the Internet so accommodating?!

At any rate, Zelazny's LORD OF LIGHT is of course comparable and I had heard that Zelazny spoke highly of Steven Brust's TO REIGN IN HELL, and that said book was often compared to Zelazny's more myth-based works. Terribly, terribly disappointed in TO REIGN IN HELL. No offense to anyone, of course.

Maybe you can start to see a trend here. I really like mythology and Zelazny has several books that play with various strains. I really liked THIS IMMORTAL (or AND CALL ME CONRAD), ISLE OF THE DEAD, and A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER--all of them playing with myth in some way, and all of them good, but not quite as satisfying to me as CREATURES OF LIGHT & DARKNESS.

Let's change gears for a moment. I first came across JOURNEY TO THE WEST in college in the early 90s and thought, "Holy crap! This is great!" It was like pulp mythology and it was way different from what we typically grow up with in the West (ironically enough)--well, maybe you in the UK grew up with Monkey, but it the States it was as good as unknown to the general public (or am I crazy here?).

Anyway, imagine my surprise when many years later I reread both CREATURES OF LIGHT & DARKNESS and JOURNEY TO THE WEST and realize that Zelazny has not just used the Egyptian pantheon and shot it into the future, but he's also retold JOURNEY TO THE WEST! Who knew? So the Prince Who Was a Thousand is Tripitaka; Sun-eyed Set is Monkey, of course; Madrak is Pigsy (because he's fat and succumbs to his own weakness); Vramin is Sandy (because he's green--well, in many Japanese versions, Sandy is a kappa--and really quite formidable). Set's boots are a clear analog to the cloud trapeze and his star wand is the pillar that held up the milky way (was it the milky way?) that was really heavy but could expand or shrink to any size. Then, of course, there's Temporal Fugue. God I love that. It's such a cool idea. Monkey could could chew his hairs, blow on them, and cause them to change into copies of himself that would fight his enemies en masse. Set used Temporal Fugue to go back and forth through time to pick moments of himself to build an army to attack his enemies en masse. There were other ways it could be used, too, which make it about the coolest thing ever, but I think you get the idea.

This rambling post has been brought to you by draft beer.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Episode 6: Poseur! There Is Only One Skeleton General!

It all started in 2000. I was living in Seattle and had two great friends, Will and Paul, to bat ideas around with. We were all writing various things; for Paul it was horror, for Will it was poetry, then there were various collaborations we all worked on. For my own part, though, I got it into my head to try to pull off a hoax of sorts. I didn't really think much would come of it, but my plan was to put up a website about this really cool Japanese TV show, with episode recaps and character bios, and hope that word of it spread with people wanting to know more about it. And of course there was no show, not really, just what I had created.
This was the birth of Skull Kaiser: two complete seasons of 22 episodes each, with a third season started but never finished. I kept the website alive when I came to Japan in 2002, but I found out that the page was spreading viruses so I eventually let it die in 2004.

But I couldn't let the idea go. I kept working on it, wondering what final form it would take. I gave up on it for a while, thinking I would focus on other, more important things, but it wouldn't be banished. I realized at some point that I needed to write it as a novel or series of novels, but still wasn't quite ready. The website content was also really the middle of a larger story, what will end up being books 4 & 5 of 6, so I had to think about a beginning.

I changed jobs in 2006, leaving eikaiwa for ALT work and suddenly had lots of free time. The ideas flowed and by April of 2007 I started to work in earnest on THE ARTIFACT COMPETITION, which goes back (at least) to Skull Kaiser's origin. Now there is no Skull Kaiser or Phantasma King or Gear Binder (well, I'll always remember them that way), but the story has really evolved. I finished TAC in October of 2007 and started immediately on the 2nd book, THE GUN GOLEMS, which took me considerably longer to finish. That's because I changed jobs again in April of 2008, moving from being an ALT to managing ALTs and suddenly had NO time whatsoever. Faye was born in February 2009, and she kept/keeps both my wife and I quite busy.

I'm still editing TGG, as mentioned in a previous post, and am taking my time. Also working on that damnable query for TAC. Time is the enemy! Well, it's not the only enemy, but it's the one that counts. But who doesn't need more time? Anyway, that's all for now.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Fall 2009: Query Letter, Wave 1

So in the summer of 2009, with THE ARTIFACT COMPETITION finished and its follow-up on the cusp of completion, I ventured forth into the world of the Literary Agent. Now Janet Reid, the Query Shark, would remind me that Literary Agent is not a proper noun, but for the sake of this post, I think caps are called for.

Now, the list below may not look impressive, but when I first started doing the research, there were very few Literary Agents who 1) accepted email queries and 2) were interested in sf/fantasy. I realize that I'm hobbling myself by sticking solely with email, but living in Japan and querying Agents in the States makes email the sanity-maintaining choice.

The purpose of this post is to remind me that I still have a long way to go and to chronicle the steps as I take them (or as I took them, in this case).

So, here it is: Query Letter, Wave 1

Rejection (Actual)
09/05-09/09/2009 - Nathan Bransford of Curtis Brown (query, 1st 5 pgs)
09/05-09/08/2009 - Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency (query only)
09/05-09/26/2009 - Jennifer Jackson of Donald Maas (query, synopsis, 1st 5 pgs)
10/04-10/06/2009 - Richard Henshaw of Richard Henshaw Group (query only)
10/04-10/14/2009 - Frances Collin of Frances Collin (query only)
10/04-10/30/2009 - Peter Rubie of FinePrint Literary Mgmt (query only)

Rejection (No Reply)
08/23/2009 - Laurie McLean of Larsen Pomada (query, 1st 10 pgs, 2 pg synopsis)
09/20/2009 - Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Gosh (query only)
09/20/2009 - Shawna McCarthy of the McCarthy Agency (query only)
09/24/2009 - Ethen Ellenberg of Ethan Ellenberg (query, 1st chapter, synopsis)
09/27/2009 - Kimberly Cameron of Reece Halsey North (query, synopsis)
09/27/2009 - Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency (query only)
10/04/2009 - Chris Lotts of Ralph M. Vicinanza (query, 1st few pages)
10/04/2009 - Susan Ann Protter of Susan Ann Protter (query only)

The above agents received my very first attempt at a query which looked, for the most part, something like this:

Dear Agent,

The only thing Jav Holson knows is that whatever cost him his memory would have destroyed him if not for the Viscain Emperor.

The gift of an Artifact--the Ritual Mask--made Jav one of the Empire's super-powered, elite Shades and he gladly fights to further the reach of the planet-snaring Undead Vine that makes up the Viscain Empire. But the Ritual Mask was never meant to last and the Emperor wants to see a continued return on his investment.

To replace Shades lost in recent planetary acquisitions, and to give Jav a chance to live past the death of the Ritual Mask, the Emperor schedules a martial arts tournament, the Artifact Competition, to be held in five years. Since the Ritual Mask is failing and a new Artifact is required, Jav must learn the Eighteen Heavenly Claws to meet and beat the challenges posed by the superhuman fighters he'll be up against. First, though, he'll have to survive his training, the murderous grudges of two of his seniors, a vacation cut short by the protestations of a dead god's ghost, and a pitched battle of fists versus guns with alien pirates.

THE ARTIFACT COMPETITION is a 76,500-word science fiction novel, the first in a planned series of six. This is my first novel. Agent-specific reasons for querying this agent. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Me

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

2nd Query Post

I posted the query below here this morning. I've already gotten some really good and useful feedback, and I realize that it's by no means ready, but I wanted to keep track of my progress on the damned thing on this blog. So, without further ado...

-----

Dear Agent,

Jav Holson is one of the Viscain Empire's elite soldiers, given immense power by the Emperor's gift of an Artifact. But his Artifact, the Ritual Mask, was never meant to last, and when it fails, Jav is a dead man. Unless, that is, he can win a new, permanent Artifact in a competition to be held in five years.

To have any chance of success in the competition, Jav must train in the Eighteen Heavenly Claws. With the Ritual Mask sealed away to conserve its power, Jav practices long past dark every day, enduring senior student Mei Pardine's abuse and outright attacks. His only distraction is carving stone flowers for Lili Farina, still in a coma by his hand. But, when Mei's half-sister, Mai, takes over Jav's training, her beautiful performance of the Eighteen Heavenly Claws overwhelms him, and he feels for a moment as if he's known her forever. He can't help but start to have feelings for her.

Together they have a lot of work to do. Besides first raising Jav to Mei's level, they have to survive a vacation turned deadly and be ready for the qualifying preliminary match. Jav unwittingly earns the hatred of one of his teachers and stumbles onto a nest of alien pirates all on his own. Every step forward is a hazard, but Jav has to make it to the competition. He has to master the Eighteen Heavenly Claws if he's to have any future at all.

THE ARTIFACT COMPETITION is a 76,000-word science fiction novel. I chose to submit to you because blah blah blah. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

I hate query letters!

No further progress on the query letter. It makes my head hurt, actually.

I did get some more work done on the 2nd book. Edits through chapter 14 of 24. Huzzah!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Progress

I had intended to try work on the query for THE ARTIFACT COMPETITION today after leaving it for a few days, but was unable to. Maybe tomorrow.

I did get some editing done for the sequel, though. Almost halfway through. It'll probably need at least another two rounds of edits for cosmetic things and weeding out passive voice where I feel I can, but all goes well.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Hopes & Dreams

Just about anyone who's done any research into finding/landing a literary agent will tell you that it's a bad idea to say that your book is the first in a series in your query--unless you've already been published, maybe. The logic is pretty sound: you have to sell one book before anyone'll even be interested in a series.

I understand and appreciate that.

But, my book is the first in a series. It doesn't need to be a selling point, but it would certainly suck if it was a deal-killer. I'm not there yet, but there are six books that will complete the story I want to tell with Jav Holson. There may be more to follow, but first things first. Six books, each book with it's own plot tied up by the end, and with elements that carry over throughout the series.

I doubt there's anyone out there (reading this, for one, but) who ever saw my first attempt at website about ten years ago. Jav's story started there. He didn't even have a proper name at that time. But the story outlined on that website will be the content of books 4 and 5. Book 1 is complete. Book 2 is undergoing edits. Book 3 is just waiting for me to have enough time to start picking at it. Books 4, 5, and 6 are basically all plotted and just need to be written. And I will write them, if only for me. I want to be able to share them with the world and even--warning: pipe dream ahead--try to earn a living from them. But I know, on some painful level, that that may not be possible.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Qualifying Statement

Always good to have a qualifying statement!

Well, Golden Week is over. I was really hoping to have that query letter whipped into shape and ready to go before my vacation was over, but that was naive.

Anyway, the qualifying statement is that the query in the first post is one of several iterations that I've been working on. If anyone is interested (that doesn't already know), you can follow the progress on Nathan Bransford's forum here. It still needs loads of work and everyone's feedback is helping a lot - I'm just not able to put it into effect somehow. I feel like I keep getting close, but then it eludes me again.

That's all for now. Back again tonight!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

First Post!

It was only a matter of time, and after such a long time, this is what I have to show for it (?!). I do like simple (maybe that reads boring), but I'm sure there will be changes with the format over time.

Anyway, for my first post I thought I would share the query letter that's been making my Golden Week a living hell. Well, that's putting it a bit severely, I guess. Take a look and see. Feel free to comment. Hurt me with your feedback to make me stronger! Those of you who manage to stumble across my page, I mean.

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Dear Agent,

Jav Holson is one of the Viscain Empire's elite soldiers, given immense power by the Emperor's gift of an Artifact. But his Artifact, the Ritual Mask, was never meant to last, and when it fails, Jav is a dead man. Unless, that is, he can win a new, permanent Artifact in a competition to be held in five years.

To have any chance of success in the competition, and since any use of the Ritual Mask will burn it out all the faster, Jav must train in the Eighteen Heavenly Claws. His first day at the school on Planet 1287 doesn't go so well, though. He feels like an intruder under the cold stares of the other students, and accidentally putting one of them into a coma doesn't help. He can't seem to get on senior student Mei Pardine's good side no matter what he does, ending up in the infirmary for thirteen days at one point because of her.

But Jav doesn't mind. He takes Mei's abuse, recognizing it rightly as pettiness, and uses it to push himself to improve. Mei's half-sister, Mai, who takes over his training and is the first to be friendly to him, helps. Jav is overwhelmed by her beautiful performance of their martial art and finds that he's starting to have feelings for her. At bottom, though, he has to improve. He has to master the Eighteen Heavenly Claws. He has to be ready for the competition if he's to have any future at all.

THE ARTIFACT COMPETITION is a 76,000-word science fiction novel. I chose to submit to you because of your interest in the genre and appropriate agent-specific reasons. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Me