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Blogs by S G Cardin
Catching up 4/10/2008 6:55:07 AM
Well, I finished finished my latest novel, "The Wolf's Kiss." It's going to be a paranormal romance. The word count is a very acceptable 57,600 and I managed to get a couple of queries out back on 7 March.
I sent out a total of 5 queries. As they come in, I'll let you know the results. Some of the agents requested a synopsis as well. I tried to keep mine within 100-200 words. No easy feat. Here's my synopsis:
At the turn of the century the Victorian age was embracing new inventions which modernized the world. Yet, in Hungary, the myths of werewolves anchored the country in the past. It's in this exciting world that reclusive Hungarian Count Matthias Duma, haunted by a curse from the past, attends a glittering masquerade ball hosted by Lord Archibald in England.
Katherine Douglas, a young ward of Lord Archibald's meets the exotic count at the ball. Their encounter is charged electricity, rife with desire, and she agrees to travel from Britain to Hungary to be a governess to Count Duma's daughter. Katherine's passion to explore the world and her yearning to learn more about the enigmatic count set her on a journey few would undertake.
Matthias is thrilled when Katherine arrives in Hungary, but can he win her heart before he has to confess his unnatural secret - that he's a werewolf?
Here's a list of the agents I quiered on
7 MARCH 2008
Jessica Faust,
Helen Breitwieser
Ethan Ellenberg
Nancy Yost
Jennifer Jackson
I've gotten 3 replies back to my queries so far:
Helen Breiwieser - I received a photocopy letter saying they weren't taking on any more new clients, but check with AAR for another agent.
Jennifer Jackson - I received a letter with an authethic signature saying the project just didn't appeal to her.
Jessica Faust - I receieved a letter with an authentic signature saying the project just didn't appeal to her.
I was curious. Why? Obviously my opening didn't "grab" them. I couldn't figure it out. Then my good friend, Debbie Tinker, switched to day watch (at work) and I knew she wouldn't mind reading my story. I let her look at it and her feedback was invaluable.
Debbie said she didn't understand the whole "mysterious stranger" thing. Why didn't he just say who he was, she asked? Why make a big mystery out of it. Why was Matthias at Lord Archibald's in the first place? Why did he stay for the ball?
Well, hell - I guess my attempts to build mystery fell FLAT so I retooled the opening, identifiying Matthias as Count Duma, explaining he was there on a business trip, and that after seeing Katherine, he decided to stay for the ball. I think it smoothes out the bumps of the opening. I'm on vacation now, but I'll let Debbie look at it again next week to see if it works.
That said, I'll be identifying 5 more agents to query soon. As soon as I do, I'll put the list up.
