January 27, 2011

Snow and writing...

It feels like 1995 outside again. Mounds of plowed snow all over the place. Dogs diving into the snow banks and vanishing. FUN!

I do love the snow. Everyone loves how it makes everything so pretty. I like the quietness of it all. I noticed it fully the other day when I had the dogs in the tennis court. Suki always barks, loudly, and it normally carries through the air, back to the apartments, and makes another dog bark. With all the snow on the ground, it seemed like a whisper.

Someone mentioned more snow this weekend. I have no idea where it will all fit, but it's sure going to be interesting.

My new short is near 18K words now. I think I know where it's going, but since I didn't plot this one out very well, it's taking some time.

Next week I'm going to read through my latest novel, the Sci-Fi Romance and pick a few places to submit it. I'm still waiting to hear from four publishers about Tiva, but the news is slow coming.

Here's a portion of the query I want to perfect for my cover letter. I'm certain it needs work, but what do you think?

After Dina Ranger loses telepathic contact with her twin brother, Duncan, she breaks into his apartment and stumbles onto a special unit of the Department of Health and Human Services responsible for monitoring the psychic population in the United States. Due to an injury, Duncan offers Dina a consulting job, a place where she can use her psionic gifts to help people. She accepts and dives right into her first assignment investigating strange fires in Delaware possibly tied to psychic activity.

Liam of Shria has been stranded on earth for a hundred years. While searching for a specific metal needed to repair his ship, he finds a woman in an alien escape pod and saves her life before it explodes. He reveals his true alien identity and learns that Dina’s psychic visions led her straight to him. Together, they investigate an alien plot to rebuild an ancient weapon while hiding the clues from Duncan and his unit team.

As the mystery and their relationship deepens, Liam helps Dina learn the truth behind her special psychic abilities, uncover the men searching for the weapon, and unlock dangerous secrets about the past, including her family’s connection to the alien presence on Earth.

4 comments:

Terri Talley Venters said...

I can't wait to read it. Psychics, aliens, & twins, sounds fascinating. I'm curious, did you write blurb before or after you wrote the book? I've done both and find writng it before helps me with a rough outline of the story, without restraining my creativity.

Good luck!

Jenn Nixon said...

I wrote this after. I'm a complete Pantser, Terri. I rarely plot out my novels. I have a general idea where they are going and let it flow. LOL!

Now I have to find a publisher for it!

Cherie Reich said...

It sounds like a very cool story. As for the query, I think the last paragraph is really good. The first two could be tightened up a little, though. There's some information there that might not be necessary to get the gist of the novel until a person reads the novel.

Does Duncan work for the special unit of the Department of Health and Human Services? From the query, it sounds like he does and then offers Dina a job. I would leave out the part about the injury. That could come by reading the novel. And, what sort of psionic gifts does she have? You mention telepathy and then psychic visions. It might be good to clarify them a little, such as Dina is a telepathic seer or something. I don't know. I do think there's a great start here, and I'd love to read it. It sounds awesome.

Jenn Nixon said...

Thanks Cherie! Great tips that I will definitely use!