This morning I woke to a full email box. Some good news, some bad news, some news news, and no terrible news. At least it shouldn’t be terrible. It had me looking at the ledge, but it’s definitely not terrible. LOL If you get that reference… well… wish me luck as I jump off and make a big SPLASH!

I am rewriting my DEGLAN RISING query right now… In fact, I officially renamed it to DRAGONS FOREVER (Thanks in part to the following people: My husband, Denise, Branli and his 9yo brother). I am ready to knock this thing outta the park, I tell ya. But first, I need a good query that screams fun MG… so that is what I am doing today.

The other query I had was excellent… I mean really great… for a YA novel. But it was a little too dark sounding for a MG. So I am hoping this one comes across in the light I need it to. If not, I try try try again. Because that is the nature of the business… this is definitely not a business for the light hearted

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Ethiopia 2010
I thought I would start here because this is top most on my list today. Fundraising. Oy vey. It was hard to fundraise as a kid, and I won’t lie, it’s hard now too! But I have a few things I am working on, so I hope and pray they pan out to help completely fund my trip to Ethiopia. If you have no idea what I am talking about, click on the Ethiopia Goal tracker to the right, the whole story is behind there.

As you can see by the updated ticker, I have raised $1440 towards my goal of  $3150. I have no doubt in my mind that all the funding will come in for this fabulous opportunity and already as I see the sponsorship come in, I am blown away. If you are one of my sponsors, Thank you, from the bottom of my heart thank you. God is already preparing me for my time there and I am humbled that he has called me to go. If you feel led to give $5, $10, or $50 towards this trip, let me know. All donations (when written to the church we are going with) are tax deductible.

Middle Grade Novel – DEGLAN RISING
It’s in the hands of an agent at the moment and now I wait. I am still debating on a name change but we will see what this agency comes back with. I have a few good ideas roaming about my brain that I will share when the time is right.

I have been thinking about the sequel though, which thrills my beta readers. More then once I have been asked how long it will take me to write it. To which I have no answer. It took me just over a month to write DEGLAN RISING but I had a whole week off from most my “normal” responsibilities. So *shrug* who knows…

YA Fantasy – RINGS OF TIME
Some of you have beta read RoT, which I thank you for. It’s my first baby and I love it. The story is fresh and fun and it’s full of adventure. Some of you might even remember that I rewrote it back in April, hoping to give it what it needed… but suffice to say, it still doesn’t have it. Which I am strangely okay with. The realization came when one of my critique partners read the first chapter again and marked the heck out of it. I took a step back and really debated on if I wanted to shelve this one or rewrite again. Because it just does not work the way it is. My characters are too old for the YA market and too young for the adult market. So, what do I do? Think… think… think… Ah ha! What if I rewrite again and make it middle grade… hmmm. So this is what I am thinking on. It will take a bit of rethinking because of certain aspects, but I really think I can pull it off. I will rewrite the first couple chapters and then send it over to my critique partners again. See what they think… if it still falls short, it will go on the shelf.

Women’s Christian Fiction – RUNAWAY CHOICES
Is currently on the editors desk. When it’s done, it’s time to query. Which means I suppose I should start working on a query letter, eh? Haha…

Other Project Ideas
I have way, way, WAY, too many right now. I am trying not to think about them while I wish for more hours in my day. Whoa to me.

The Rugrats – aka my children
DD10 (almost 11) is doing well. She starts 6th grade soon… which is weird weird weird… I can’t believe I have a sixth grader! She is even in YOUTH GROUP now… Oy vey. Stop the world, I want off! And she is coming with me… As my only girl. I worry for her. *sigh* She still loves her dolls and her camera… thus lots of doll pictures. LOL

DS9 learned to do an ollie Sunday… He was so excited he could have peed his pants. LOL He is doing his last bit of 3rd grade work before he starts on his 4th grade year. How fun… uhh, maybe not. It’s Language Arts he is behind on, he just doesn’t like it so much.

DS7 is fighting with RAD (Reactive Airway Disease) right now. When we were on vacation, he didn’t get sick once. But we get back to Colorado and immediately he gets sick. What gives? Maybe he is allergic to Colorado? So we are nebulizing him and hoping this doesn’t turn into anything more then his normal sick. At least I have a Dr. I trust to take him to if he does get sick. On the Sensory Processing/ADHD front (same DS), I tried the coffee trick the same trusted doc suggested and by golly it really worked! I gave it to him before school time today and he is quiet and working! I think I will send him chocolate!

The Dreaded Day J-O-B
Some remember I used to babysit for my day job… what those some that remember might not know… I quit before I left for California. Sad for the parents, but good for me. I think It’s been 7 years since I have not had someone else’s kids in my home, so it was time for me to move on.

What will I do? Well good question. I have lots of talents that can be utilized here at home via telecommuting, but you have to have the right connections to be able to do it. Which I don’t have.

I am going to make a couple book trailers for my novels and showcase them for a while… see if I can get any bites there. Really I only need to make an extra couple hundred a month, but I have to be able to continue to stay home and homeschool my beautiful children. That is where my heart is…

Anything Else I Forgot
Honey, you could be here a while if I try to remember everything I have forgotten. But I will say that I intend to blog daily again and make it very relevant to my craft and the writing industry. So stay tuned…

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My vacation has been awesome. I missed my family dearly (it had been 3 years since visiting last! TOO LONG!) and spent some awesome time with everyone! We had a bit of drama here and there… nothing most dysfunctional families can’t appreciate It will be hard to pack up and leave… but I must. My husband lives in Colorado… and has been without his family for about 6 weeks… Maybe more. I haven’t actually counted.

The kids are anxious to get back to the normal… whatever that is. They really just want their beds. Actually… any bed would do at this point. Ha ha ha. They are such troopers… they’ve been sleeping on the floor!

When I get back, I have a to-do list.

DEGLAN RISING was just requested and they say they will take 3-4 months to get back to me… Well, okay then. I guess I will plot book 2 and think about rewriting RINGS OF TIME again Oh yes, another post all together… Brilliant I think I am taking is Middle Grade… Oh yea. For real. Still debating.

Anyhow… My blog/twitter/web hiatus will end on Friday morning when I will do nothing but enjoy my highspeed internet in Highlands Ranch, Colorado… and maybe a little Mile High sunshine!

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Yes…
Yes…
Awesome…
Hot…
Not yet…
and No.

But really my post today is about the dreaded query process when you write a novel.

Did you know it doesn’t take a break when you are on vacation? Well, I suppose you could take a break on vacation, but I haven’t. So today I sent out a few more queries… okay fifteen. I have my goals to meet here and I haven’t been sticking to my guns since the “No’s” have come in… My goal was to send at least two more queries each time I received a “No”… but since I was on vacation I hadn’t done it for lack of time to sit and research or whatever. That is my excuse anyway…

But now, since I have some down time… I counted the “No’s” that came in and sent some new queries out. Now we wait again… FUN! Indeed it’s fun in warped kinda way…

However, I thought you would be interested to see my statistics from my query process.

I started querying DEGLAN RISING on June 14th.

I sent out five… then six, seven and eight by June 15th.

Received my first response less then 24 hours later. And it was a FULL request. Wooot! However, DEGLAN RISING wasn’t for her. Drat!

Since that point… I have sent out a total of 62 (including those first eight) and received responses from 28 (well maybe more like 25… three of the agents are on twitter and said they were caught up and if you didn’t receive a response from them then it was a “Thanks, but no thanks.”) and no others have responded… yet.

The responses come in waves… seems like I receive one a day for 3-4 days then nothing for a week or more. Then again for a couple days.

I’m not surprised in the response times… Only when its like immediate. One agent shocked me with RINGS OF TIME way back when. It was a seven minute response time. Amazing.

Some of you will ask why on earth I have sent so many queries. Basically, querying is like trying on a pair of jeans… We all have junk to show off, we just have to find the right fit to help our junk shine. And you can quote me on that… It gives a whole new meaning to Junk in the Trunk

So ahem, are you getting your “Junk” out there to be viewed? There are enough agents out there willing to try your MS on for size… and if the fits it right… be ready to strut the catwalk… and show that “junk”.

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Or do I plot book two of DEGLAN RISING because it has series potential? Hmmm… Yes, that is what I think I will do. The thing is… this book is completely stand alone. I mean like, so much so if no one ever bought it everyone would be happily ever after… but the fact is, I left some strings danging just in case. Several of which can be tied in multiple books.

My 10yo Beta-Daughter-Reader tells me that I must write book two ASAP because of the last four lines of the book. She wants to see how this all “plays out”… which I can totally handle! Cuzz she is my audience. It’s how CS Lewis wrote… for his grandkids… I can write for my captive audience of three… Daughter-10, Son-9 and Son-7… I also have Niece-9 and Nephew-10 who are also there to add their fuel to the sequel fire.

So now I plot, or at least write down ideas for other books in the DEGLAN Series…

It will be so weird if this book sells before the other three… but oh well. Whatever the market wants… market gets.

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Which sometimes can be a blow, considering it’s your tip top agent! But at the same time, I think it’s good for your character to get a no. It helps move your forward and to the final goal of publication.

So yes, I did push send on five queries this morning… and I feel pretty good about it. I am actually thinking I will get at least one partial or full out of these requests. Not holding my breath, but I am crossing my fingers. *wink*

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Ten years ago, a legend was born among the Teken Clansmen; one Lord Arthus intends to keep secret.

Each Teken is born with a mark, but tenth year Deglan Borian’s mark has been morphing again, unlike any of his peers. His sleep is plagued with danger and a pale faced girl who is calling for him to find her. When the Teken authorities catch wind of his mark, Deglan’s parents encourage him to find the girl, regardless of where it takes him.

Daydreamer Meia is a troubled foster child who moves to a new home every few months. When she’s not in the clouds, she spends her time in a make believe world, far from the cares of the schoolyard. Normal ten-year-old girls dream of tea parties and dolls, but not Meia. Her dreams come from the pages of an adventure book and stretch well into the fantasy world and beyond.

Meia can hardly contain her joy when her new foster parents decide to take her on the vacation of a lifetime. The Cook Islands have been the backdrop for her dreams since before she could remember.

When Meia meets Deglan on the Penrhyn atoll, both of their lives will change forever. Secrets of the legend come to life and haunt their every move. Only one minor problem… Meia is a human and Deglan is… a dragon.

Delgan Rising is a Midgrade Fantasy complete at 37,500 words.

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Feel free to comment and let me know what you think… it’s a work in progress but it’s close Oh and go me, I finished Deglan Rising on Friday! Wooot!

QUERY: Deglan Rising

Ten years ago a legend was born, only no one knew it.

With the Rising Ceremony looming on the horizon of the lunar eclipse, Deglan is the only member of the Teken Clan not excited about Rising. While his peer’s dream of their place in society, Deglan can’t shake the feeling he was meant for something more.

Each Teken Clansman is born with a mark, used to place them into society. Deglan’s morphing mark brings unwanted attention of the leader of the Teken Clan, Lord Arthus. Scared for his life, his parents encourage him to run and find the pale faced girl from his dreams.

Daydreamer Meia is a troubled foster child who moves to a new home every few months. When she’s not in the clouds, she spends her time in a make believe world, far from the cares of the schoolyard. Normal ten-year-old girls dream of tea parties and dolls, but not Meia. Her dreams come from the pages of an adventure book and stretch well into the fantasy world and beyond.

Meia can hardly contain her joy when her new foster parents decide to take her on the vacation of a lifetime. The Cook Islands have been the backdrop for her dreams since before she could remember.

When Deglan meets Meia on the Penrhyn atoll, both of their lives will change forever. Secrets of the legend come to life and haunt their every move. Only one minor problem… Meia is a human and Deglan is… a dragon.

Delgan Rising is a Midgrade Fantasy complete at 37,500 words.

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By the way… this is in rough draft form!

Without further adieu…

Deglan Rising a 30-35K Midgrade Fantasy Novel

The time of rising has come for those of age in the Teken Clan. Marked at birth, each Teken must accept the role given to them to continue their society as it has always been. No one has ever dared challenge the ways of the Teken… until now.

Ten-year-old Deglan knows he is different from the rest of his Clansmen. While his classmates excel in their instruction, Deglan’s mind wonders about far off places he’s sure exist outside the borders of their Island Nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Deglan’s peers anxiously anticipate the Rising Ceremony, which takes place under the lunar eclipse, each knowing they will finally have a purpose to life. Deglan, on the other hand, can’t shake the feeling that he was meant for more than this.

Plagued with nightmares after finding out his mark may doom him, Deglan awakes the morning of the eclipse to find Teken authorities breaking down his door. His parents encourage him to flee and follow the voice in his dream to journey across his world and into the next searching for the answers to the meaning of his life. When he crosses paths with Meia, a face and voice from his dreams, he wonders if she could be the key to his destiny.

Only one problem, Meia is from the forbidden human clan and Deglan is… a dragon.

(EDITED with MVs Suggestions)

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The funniest/craziest part of this request… I didn’t query for it.

No, true story! Honest!

I did query HER… sorta, if you could call that a query I sent. It was more like a “Umm yah, here is the deal *blah* and what do you think?” #truestory, you can ask her when she is my awesome agent…! Anyhow, my email was about my non-fiction stuff. And so she emailed me back and basically said she was “fascinated” by the ideas and then proceeded to ask me for a partial of my fiction novel.

*SWEET*

Only umm, which do I give her? ROTFL… I have three completed. And she reps all three… Can you say PERFECT AGENT?! And one of my top 5… umm panic.

Yes, I have been saying “umm” a lot since reading the email.

So needless to say… I am polishing my RINGS OF TIME and sending it to her immediately. Wow, just wow.

If you need me… I will be slaving away at the spit shinning thing… or fainted on the floor. Whichever.

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