Queries
Done. Finally. Just sent out a ton of queries to agents. 66 email queries and 62 paper queries. Everything from a basic query letter to three chapters and a synopsis. The email queries went out first and so far the results have been encouraging. I received 8 requests for partials and 6 for full manuscripts for a totalof 14. Nice! Also received 12 form rejections and 3 of the partials have received rejections.
The paper queries have just gone out so I won't hear anything from them for a while.
Again, I have to thank Miss Snark and the Happy Hooker Crap-O-Meter. I believe the results are directly related ot how strong my hook is for this book. And the HH COM really helped me craft it.
Now, I just hope the actual book doesn't suck.

Yikes! Ten days since my last blog.
But I have a really good excuse--I mean reason. I sent out a bunch of queries by email about a week and a half ago (see the incredible coincidence?). Now at the time I sent the queries, I still had to do a final polish on the book and write a few pages to tie everything up at the end. I figured that wasn't really a problem, I could finish that in a few days of concentrated effort (I work well under pressure).
Well. I started receiving requests for fulls and partials right off the bat (thanks, I'm certain, to Miss Snark's Happy Hooker Crap-O-Meter). Now I sent the queries on Saturday so I wasn't really expecting to hear anything until Monday. By Sunday, I had a fistful of requests.
Oops.
I still had to do the polish. And write those last few scenes.
The first part of the polish went reasonably well. I already had the partial polished and gleaming when I did the queries so all of those got out right away. Then I discovered a problem. I had a loose thread. So, I've spent the past ten days finding every instance of that thread and eliminating it, which often included rewriting some rather large portions or adding scenes. Now that I'm finished with the loose thread, I need to write the last few pages then one final read through.
I swear, I'm never doing this again.
Oh, but I have some excellent news!
One of my "dream" agents requested the manuscript I was peddling in November. Since she was on the list for this one too, I was able to send the full of the first manuscript with a partial of the second. I've queried her on several projects and she's always had something positive to say. Also, I met her a few years ago at a conference and I think I could work with her very well. OK. Off to do that final read through.

Drive-by Posting

I'm swamped. But there are a couple of things I wanted to mention. I promise a longer post in a couple of days.

First of all, fellow author Kent Braithwaite just told me his Jesse Ascencio series has been optioned for development into a TV Series. The pilot will be based on his novel THE WONDERLAND MURDERS.
I love to hear news like this because I believe if it could happen to him, it could happen to me. At least that's what I tell myself in order to keep the green-eyed monster at bay.
Congratulations, Kent!

The other announcement is about ITW's (International Thriller Writers) 150 Thrillers contest. Some lucky winner will receive 150 signed thrillers by some of the best thriller writers in the business. Unfortunately, my books aren't included because I (as usual) was not paying sufficient attention at the correct time. Still, it's a great contest. And all you have to do is sign up for the ITW Newsletter. The website is www.150thrillers.com and as soon as I have time, I'll put a link in the sidebar. So, go, enter. Read thrillers.

I celebrated a belated holiday with my daughter today. She gave me a book (always an excellent choice) that will come in handy as research for my next novel. But, even better than the gift, was her inscription.

Knowledge is power.
Power corrupts.
Study hard, be evil.

Love,
Lani

It's always surprising to find that your daughter knows you so very, very well. And, perhaps, just a bit disturbing.