Agent News - 11/15/09

Sophia Seidner has left Wiley after three years as an international rights manager. She will continue as a satellite literary agent with Judith Ehrlich Literary Management. She is looking for literary fiction and nonfiction including self-help, narrative nonfiction and memoir with special interest in current events, business and health and science-related topics.

Josh Getzler is moving to Russell & Volkening as an agent. He has been at Writers House for the past three years (prior to which he was coo of the Staten Island Yankees). He anticipates building his list of literary and commercial fiction, with a particular bias toward suspense and crime novels.

Gene Brissie is re-joining James Peter Associates, a literary agency founded in 1971, as president. Gene was most recently associate publisher of The Lyons Press. JPA represents authors in nearly all nonfiction categories, including business, finance, reference, health, sports, self-help, history, biography, current events, public policy, and more.Mary Jack Wald has announced her retirement at the end of this year after 35 years in publishing, most recently as an agent. Mary Jack Wald Associates, Inc. will be dissolved later this year.

(Source for all this week's news: Publisher's Marketplace)

November Update

Whew! I finally got back to working on Boomerang Wars this past weekend, and tonight I hit the halfway mark! At least I hope it's the halfway mark. I tend to go over projected word count on a first draft. I had to rein in a sub-plot I contemplated adding, although it's still in the back of my mind. Which could be a bad thing...'cause Miss Muse takes over my mind sometimes and I have no control (over Musey, that is). Anyway, after working on something else for a while, it felt good to get back to BW. I'd love to finish the first draft by the end of the year, even though the holidays tend to get in my way. Egads...I'm even toying with the idea of killing off another character. I don't know if my other characters can handle it without complete destruction of the family unit. Magic, murder and mayhem...Musey's moto.

The agent search has slowed down because I just haven't had the time. I really need to focus my energies on WRITING, crafting, creating, the art. Obsessing over agents and queries, etc. was really putting a damper on Miss Muse. I still have queries, fulls and partials out there, and the hunt will go on, slowly but surely. I will snag an agent. I will snag an agent. I will snag an agent. Clicking my heels now!

Agent News - 11/7/09

Just a couple of noteworthy items in agent news this week:

** New Agent** Former publisher at William Morrow Lisa Gallagher has joined Sanford Greenburger Associates as an agent. She notes, "I want to apply my extensive marketing experience to help bring writers and their work to the widest possible audience across various media and formats." (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

Dystel & Goderich Literary Management is opening a second office in Los Angeles in December, to be run by agency VP Michael Bourret, who has been at DGLM for 10 years. He will continue to grow his own list of author clients while also "aggressively pursuing new film and TV opportunities for the agency." (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

Debut Book: Tempest Rising

Seems like I've been waiting forever for this book to debut. I simply adore the cover (and it isn't just because purple and blue are my two favorite colors)! Most of all, I can't wait to dig into it! If you're an urban fantasy fan, you don't want to miss this one.


Title: Tempest Rising (click to Buy at Amazon.com)
Author: Nicole Peeler
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: October 27, 2009
Format: Mass-Market Paperback ($7.99)

"Living in small town Rockabill, Maine, Jane True always knew she didn't quite fit in with so-called normal society. During her nightly, clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean, a grisly find leads Jane to startling revelations about her heritage: she is only half-human.

Now, Jane must enter a world filled with supernatural creatures alternatively terrifying, beautiful, and deadly- all of which perfectly describe her new "friend," Ryu, a gorgeous and powerful vampire.

It is a world where nothing can be taken for granted: a dog can heal with a lick; spirits bag your groceries; and whatever you do, never-ever-rub the genie's lamp.

If you love Sookie Stackhouse, then you'll want to dive into Nicole Peeler's enchanting debut novel."

Agent News - 11/1/09

Welcome to November! Just a few agent updates, plus I've included a link to agent Janet Reid's "20 Tips on Query Letters."

Mary Grey James has joined East/West Literary Agency as an agent and partner. Previously, she served as a lead book buyer at Ingram for 11 years. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

**New Agent** Marissa Walsh at Shelf Life Literary reps Children's, MG, and YA. (Source: QueryTracker.net)

**New Agent** Jill Marr at Sandra Dijkstra Agency is looking for commercial, historical, multicultural, thrillers/suspense, women's, and YA fiction. (Source: QueryTracker.net)


Agent Janet Reid (Query Shark) of FinePrint Literary Agency gives good advice on writing query letters in her article “20 Tips on Query Letters.”

Happy Halloween!

Hope you have a spookatcular day!

Agent News - 10/24/09

Lots of agent news this week, which includes 4 new agents!

Agent Amy Tipton has left FinePrint Literary Management to join Signature Literary Agency. Amy is looking for both fiction and nonfiction–edgy or quirky, commercial or literary–in particular, she is interested in YA, middle grade, and women’s fiction. In nonfiction she is looking for women’s studies/academia, fashion/beauty, and pop culture. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

** New Agent** George Bick has joined the Doug Grad Literary Agency as an associate agent. A sales and marketing veteran of over twenty years at Warner Books, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins, he was most recently Senior VP, director of sales and associate publisher. Bick is actively looking for narrative non-fiction, business, science fiction, horror/paranormal, thrillers, military, comics and graphic novels, diet/self-help, memoir, pets/animals, romance, science, humor, pop culture, and travel. Query by email letter first at query@dgliterary.com. (Source: Publishers Marketplace)

** New Agent** Yishai Seidman joined Dunow, Carlson, & Lerner in 2009 after stints at Artists & Artisans and Writers House. He grew up in Philadelphia and has since moved to New York City, where he earned his degree from Yeshiva University. Yishai enjoys reading a broad range of fiction including literary, postmodern, and thrillers. On the nonfiction side, he likes books on sports, music, and pop culture. (Source: QueryTracker.net)

**New Agent** Gwendolyn Heasley is a new YA agent at Artists & Artisans, Inc. She is the author of the upcoming YA novel, Confessions of a Teenage Recessionista, which will be published by HarperCollins. She’s actively seeking authors of young adult manuscripts of all genres, specifically manuscripts that have a sharp voice and vivid settings. (Source: QueryTracker.net)

**New Agent** Naomi Hackenberg of The Elaine P. English Literary Agency is now taking submissions of her own. Naomi is looking for young adult fiction. (Source: QueryTracker.net)

Debut Book: The Shifter

Another recent debut book from one of the peeps who hangs out at the AW forums. Looks like a great young adult fantasy adventure! It has a very distinctive cover which drew my eye right off the bat. I never can resist a cover in blue tones! Add it to your reading list.

Title: The Healing Wars, Book 1: The Shifter (click to Buy at Amazon.com)
Author: Janice Hardy
Genre: Fantasy (Young Adult)
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Format: Hardcover

Nya is an orphan struggling for survival in a city crippled by war. She is also a Taker—with her touch, she can heal injuries, pulling pain from another person into her own body. But unlike her sister, Tali, and the other Takers who become Healers' League apprentices, Nya's skill is flawed: She can't push that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store it. All she can do is shift it into another person, a dangerous skill that she must keep hidden from forces occupying her city. If discovered, she'd be used as a human weapon against her own people.

Rumors of another war make Nya's life harder, forcing her to take desperate risks just to find work and food. She pushes her luck too far and exposes her secret to a pain merchant eager to use her shifting ability for his own sinister purposes. At first Nya refuses, but when Tali and other League Healers mysteriously disappear, she's faced with some difficult choices. As her father used to say, principles are a bargain at any price; but how many will Nya have to sell to get Tali back alive?

Agent News - 10/17/09

Not much in the agent news this week.

I wanted to point out a fun and constructive article on Agents' Chapter 1 Pet Peeves and Writing Cliches originally published in Writer's Digest in 2008. Good info here. Of course, these are agent opinions and not all agents may see these "pet peeves" in a negative light. However, the list gives you a good idea of what to avoid in your chapter one for your best foot forward. In this competitive market, us writers need all the help we can get!

Agents' Chapter 1 Pet Peeves and Writing Cliches Part 1 and Part 2.

Have a great week!

Teaser Tuesday #2

Here's a little teaser from my current work in progress. For the fun of it, I've entered the paragraph in Nathan Bransford's 3rd Semi-Annual Stupendously Ultimate First Paragraph Challenge. I don't normally enter these kind of agent contests, but something told me to throw caution to the wind and just do it. Check out Nathan's blog and read some of the interesting first paragraphs. At current count, I believe there are over 1,500 of them. Go Nathan!

Here ya go:

"The drag racers hit the intersection and twin sets of headlights flickered on. The hot rods slammed into the passenger side of my Camaro. Barreled through my twin sister. Steel scraped steel, screeched, tangled. The car flipped on its side, bounced and rolled. A strong odor of gas filled the air. Metal burned through my side as if a butcher had taken a cleaver to my gut. Something crushed my left leg and I gasped out a mangled sound. My last conscious awareness was Silver crying through the telepathic static shutting down my brain, It hurts, Lucas, oh God. Are we dead?"

Welcome to the world of seventeen-year-old telepathic twins, Lucas and Silver Alexander.

This is a "first draft" and things always change in revisions. So I don't know if I'll stick with this paragraph or if it'll change. I'm working up a prelude to this event and it might end up the last paragraph of chapter 1. Who knows? My brain works in mysterious ways.

Agent News - 10/10/09

Not a lot of agent news to report this week.

The Reece Halsey North, Reece Halsey New York, and Reece Halsey Paris literary agencies have merged into Kimberley Cameron & Associates. They've kept the same offices and staff, and you can find new contact info at their new website: http://www.KimberleyCameron.com). (Source: Agent Query)

QueryTracker.net has a new look and feel. Check it out!

October Update

I've been tweaking the layout, colors and updating graphics on my blog, so take a look around. I'm learning to use the latest and greatest version of Paint Shop Pro and having fun with text affects! My version of Photoshop is too old for my new computer and I'm not spending $400+ on the new version. So PSP, it is. Also, check out my new weekly feature on Agent News (for those of you looking for an agent).

Agent search: the interminable search continues. Someday soon I WILL have an agent.

Writing projects: Boomerang Wars has been on hold while I've been making a few revisions on another project. My intent is to get back to the first draft this weekend. I'm at the pivotal middle point, and to avoid the "sagging middle syndrome" I must keep the action going. Of course, putting the characters in peril is always a good way to thwart the dreaded SMS! As long as I don't kill them off...yet.

Other fun things: this week I learned how to make my own cellphone ringtones!! Screw spending $1 - $3 on a ringtone that isn't perfect. I downloaded free software to pluck out the 20 seconds of my favorite songs, found a free converter to convert snippet to a small MP3 file, and then "Bluetoothed" them to my cell phone. There you have it! Now I have favorite riffs of Second Chance by Shinedown and Never too Late by Three Days Grace as my new ringtones. Love it!!

And that's all she wrote, folks. See you on the flip side! Happy Autumn, Fall, Samhain!