happy release day

Available today: Raven Calls by C.E. Murphy

Murphy’s seventh Walker Papers urban fantasy (after Spirit Dances) shakes things up nicely. Shaman Joanne Walker has resigned from the police force after being bitten by a werewolf. Feeling called to Ireland, Jo trades in romantic interest Mike Morrison and Seattle’s cityscape for her old pal Gary Muldoon and encounters with the Morrígan and wild banshees, slowly learning about her new werewolf abilities as she goes. Some fans might be frustrated that Jo and Mike are separated so soon after finally getting their romantic opportunity, but it’s a crafty decision on Murphy’s part, forcing Jo to focus on immediate threats and the continuing revelations about her heritage. A few twists lead to a cliffhanger ending to set up book eight. Fans of the series will enjoy this chapter, while new readers should be able to put together enough of the backstory to jump on board. –Publishers Weekly

letters from the query wars 2.17.2012

# of queries responded to week ending 2/3/2012: 127
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 3
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: mainstream (1), suspense (1), contemporary fantasy (1)

# of queries responded to week ending 2/10/2012: 126
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 0
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: n/a

# of queries responded to this week: 158
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 0
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: n/a

Sometimes when I send a response to a query declining to read more, I get a reply asking for more details or for help improving the query or something along those lines or a plea to “just give it a chance.”

My regular policy is not to respond to these. It’s simply due to the volume of queries received. I haven’t been keeping track of what the other agents at DMLA are receiving but I’ve already had over 1000 submissions this year. Even if agents wanted to read all the manuscripts and send personal replies to everything they simply wouldn’t be able to. By necessity, this approach has to extend to engaging in continued correspondence, especially if anything other than queries is to get attention.

But this month, there are exceptions. Earlier this month, I started participating in The Month of Letters Challenge by offering to accept queries via post and randomly responding to at least one per business day with a personal reply and at least some feedback on either the query, the novel concept, or the pages. To participate they MUST follow my guidelines. Read the details here.

link salad (client edition)

Free fiction: Mary Robinette Kowal celebrated her birthday last week — happy birthday, Mary! She posted her novella “Kiss Me Twice” which appeared in the June 2011 Asimov’s to celebrate.

Congratulations to Kameron Hurley, winner of the Kitschies Golden Tentacle Award. Such an appropriate award. Read her acceptance here.

Chris F. Holm, author of the coming-to-a-store-near-you-soon Dead Harvest interviewed at Grift Magazine

Library Journal Q&A with Saladin Ahmed, author of Throne of the Crescent Moon

C.E. Murphy has a series of posts on her experience with crowd-funding. Start here.

Many of my clients have offerings in The Con or Bust auction, which helps fans of color/non-white fans attend SFF conventions. Bidding ends Sunday, February 25, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

* signed copies of The Cloud Roads and the Serpent Sea by Martha Wells
* trade paperbacks of Boneshaker, Dreadnought, and Ganymede by Cherie Priest, offered by Tor Books, who will arrange to have them signed by the author
* an ARC of Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal (sequel to Shades of Milk and Honey), donated by Tor Books, who will arrange to have it signed by the author if desired
* a signed copy of Heart of Iron by Ekaterina Sedia
* also, a signed copy of The House of Discarded Dreams by Ekaterina Sedia
* signed copy of Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

happy release day

Today is the official release date for Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed (with a trifecta of amazing reviews!)

Set in a quasi ­Middle Eastern city and populated with the supernatural creatures of Arab folklore, this long-awaited debut by a finalist for the Nebula and Campbell awards brings The Arabian Nights to sensuous life. The maturity and wisdom of Ahmed’s older protagonists are a delightful contrast to the brave impulsiveness of their younger companions. This trilogy launch will delight fantasy lovers who enjoy flawed but honorable protagonists and a touch of the exotic. –Library Journal, Starred Review

Ahmed’s debut masterfully paints a world both bright and terrible…Unobtrusive hints of backstory contribute to the sense that this novel is part of a larger ongoing tale, and the Arab-influenced setting is full of vibrant description, characters, and religious expressions that will delight readers weary of pseudo-European epics. –Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

As you might expect, the Arabian Nights theme dominates, and in language, style and approach, Ahmed carries it off with only minor slips into American vernacular. Equally impressive are characters who struggle not only against their opponents but against their own misgivings and desires, and accept that victory may be achieved only at great personal cost. An arresting, sumptuous and thoroughly satisfying debut. –Kirkus, Starred Review

The Month of Letters Challenge

On the 23rd of January, Mary Robinette Kowal, author of Shades of Milk and Honey, suggested The Month of Letters Challenge.

In support of this endeavour, I am offering a special query letter #LetterMo. Due to the nature of this proposal, the kind and beneficent Mary Robinette Kowal has given me a variance on rule #2 (see official site here and sign up to participate in the challenge). I will only be responding to the queries received once and not engaging in additional correspondence (unless, of course, I request your manuscript).

So, here’s the restructured challenge to allow for my participation:

1. Mail your query via post to this address:
Jennifer Jackson / #lettermo
Donald Maass Literary Agency
121 West 27th Street, Suite 801
New York, NY 10001

2. The query MUST follow my guidelines, which means it MUST include a one-page query letter, the first five pages of the novel manuscript, and a 1-5 page synopsis. It must also include an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) for reply.

3. I encourage the submission of new projects. If the project has been previously queried to me, it must be significantly revised and have been more than six months previous.

4. Submissions must fall into genres normally represented by me. Novel-length fiction ONLY. The novel being queried must be completed and polished and ready for submission. Query for one project only.

5. From among these queries, I will randomly choose at least one (1) query per business day in the month of February which will receive a personal response, mailed back via post. This response will include some feedback on either the query itself or the concept of the novel.

6. Any queries not receiving a personal reply will still receive the standard response as per my usual policy of replying to all queries that follow my guidelines.

Please leave any questions in comments.