Agent Update and Book Review

Well, stick me with a hot poker and call me Bessie. I have an update for my agent search and I think today was the perfect day to get some good news.

Queries sent: 8
Rejections: 2
Partial requests: 1

Yes!

I was bummed about the two quick rejections. Then this morning, well let’s just say shit hit the fan, financially, and I’m just starting to get responses from my job search. So, having a partial requested, two days into the agent search…well, it makes me pretty frickin happy.

There are still five out there, could be interesting to see what happens. I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting responses so soon. It’s less stressful seeing a few trickles each day instead of waiting weeks for a deluge, right?

Whee!

What a nice and unexpected way to start out my search.


REVIEW TIME!!

I’ve finished reading my first book of 2008. I’m trying to keep track this year, and write up a review or commentary for each one. I definitely need to read more and expand my genre lists further. Reading Simon Haynes' Hal Spacejock was a great start to the year!

(Amazon link)

• Paperback: 349 pages
• Publisher: Fremantle Arts Centre Press (May 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 192073189X
• ISBN-13: 978-1920731892
  

First off, I won the book. Woot! I love winning things. I think the reason I never won anything earlier in life was so I could win all these cool books and talk about them online.

Well, I got this book and you want to know how silly I am? The first thing I noticed was the front cover. Not the image, I’ve see Hal a dozen times (love it!), but it was the slight indentation on the covers (front and back) that held my amazement for a good half hour. I HATE bending my paperback binders. I’ve read many, many books slightly cracked open for fear of bending my binders. Don’t ask, I have no clue why I’m like this. I just am. So this book has a built in unbending-your-binder-thing on the cover. Cool!!!

Then, I started reading and before I knew it, a few hours later, I was almost done with the book! Yes, I’m a fast reader…but I was hooked from the start.

Hal Space jock is Han Solo meets Homer Simpson. Must be in the initials or something! This big hearted, stubborn, goofball and his eclectic ‘friends’ make for a fun trip through space. Who wouldn’t love a future where elevators take revenge on you, robots have more common sense than humans, and your ship is a smart ass? Considering I rarely read stuff like this, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and found myself laughing aloud at least once a chapter.

Haynes found a nice balance for the silliness with the honest moments between Hal and Clunk. Even when I want to smack Hal around for being so difficult, it was worth seeing the end result, instead of how I’d want things to unfold!

As much as I did laugh, it reminded me of someone else who writes comedy (cdp). I think comedy is the hardest thing to write, probably because I don’t do it well. Though the styles are different, I think sci-fi humor is harder to pull off. It's been compared to Red Dwarf, but I've never read that either therefore I haven't a clue if its even close, though, funny it is!

So here’s the link for Simon Haynes. I’ll be getting the other two Hal novels just as soon as I’ve got some money in the bank!

Thank you for the book Simon! You've got yourself another fan.