Lost my flash drive :(

I suffered every teckie's nightmare--I lost my flash drive. Thank goodness I keep copies in other locations--like my laptop--but I lost the most recent draft of my novel Son of Ogres. So I find myself having to redo that edit again. It will only take a couple of days, but nobody likes having to redo what they thought was already done.

Sigh...

PS: No word on the submitted query letter yet...I will keep you posted.

Sent out my first query letter of the year!

So I just sent out my first query letter of the year for Son of Ogres. Wish me luck!!!

Finale (hopefully) version of my query letter for Son of Ogres

This is my hopefully final stab at this query letter template. It's short, sweet and I think it has a hook for the reader.



Dear Agent,

Brue and Mark are twin brothers, unaware of each other’s existence, because they were raised in different dimensions. Their great-grandmother was an ogre, but only Brue inherited her tremendous size and strength. Brue lives on Pharll, a world of magic and chaos, while Mark was found as an orphan on Earth. Brue leads a small band of loyal followers in a struggle to end slavery on Pharll. Eighteen-year-old Private Mark Sampson has been recruited for a top-secret assignment: to journey to another dimension.

Brue and his band are meeting with little success. The slavers are too many, plus they have dark wizards and evil monstrosities on their side. Mark prepares to journey to another dimension, with no choice in the matter and no idea what he will find on the other side. Little does he know that the general who recruited him has his own secret agenda, an agenda that could get Mark killed.

My young adult fantasy, Son of Ogres, book I of The Sentinels of Pharll series, is complete at 80,000 words. I am a member of YALITCHAT and Gather.com where I participate in writer support groups.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,




James Baron
http://james-baron.blogspot.com/

Trying out for Wipeout Canada

There is a TV show in the States called Wipeout, where contestants run a large obstacle course built over water. As you run the course, there are certain obstacles that interfere with you...like boxing gloves on sticks, or swinging booms on pendulums...or the big balls!!! The big balls are these 4 red giant foam stuffed balls that the contestants have to run across to get the other side. They are very bouncy. As you try running across you tend to bounce...a lot...and rarely to people make it across. Usually they just—you guessed it—wipe out! It is a hilarious show and I recommend that you all see it sometime.

Now why am I devoting a post to this TV show you might ask? Wellll...they are creating a Canadian version of the show and took applicants for it online...and I applied:

http://www.tvtropolis.com/wipeout/index.html

So right now they are calling people back for face-to-face interviews, and I am hoping that my wonderful, entertaining personality shown through enough that they will want to take a second look at me. If I do make it, they will be filming the show in October in Argentina. Yes, that’s right, I said—er—typed Argentina. I have to have a valid passport—which I do—and they will pay all travel expenses.

So of course I will let you know if I get picked—or not.

Wish me luck!!!
-James

Query letter for Son of Ogres - Version 2

Hi all,

I got some really good feedback on my first attempt at writing a query, and I am hoping that this second version is an improvement. I am stepping away from the synopsis route and trying to give my two main characters a voice. I also hope it will entice an agent to want more. I humbly await your comments...

Dear Agent,

Brue and Mark are twin brothers, but they are unaware of each other’s existence, because they were raised on different worlds. Brue Overhill lives on Pharll, a world of magic and chaos, whereas Mark Sampson was found as an orphan on Earth. Their great-grandmother was an ogre, but only Brue inherited her tremendous size and strength. The people of his village call him Son of Ogres, and strangers speak of him in hushed tones.

After avoiding capture by slavers, Brue devotes his life to trying to end slavery on Pharll. He has a small band of loyal followers, but they are meeting with little success. The slavers are too many, plus they have dark wizards and evil monstrosities on their side. Even Pharll’s evil goddess is frustrating Brue’s efforts. The young giant also struggles with being a leader when he is just eighteen. Perhaps his quest is doomed to failure and he should quit before they all die in vain.

While Brue fights slavery on Pharll, his brother Mark has his own problems. Private Mark Sampson is taken to an underground base to participate in a secret project: to explore another dimension. It seems his former mentor, Dr. Zonov (who mysteriously disappeared three years before), invented a device that can open a portal between dimensions. Mark is nervous of the prospect of journeying to another dimension (who wouldn’t be?), but he doesn’t have much choice in the matter. And it seems the general who brought him in has his own secret agenda. Mark wonders what will happen when the portal is finally opened…and what could come out of it.

My young adult fantasy novel, Son of Ogres, book I of The Sentinels of Pharll series, is complete at 80,000 words. I am a member of YALITCHAT and Gather.com where I participate in writer support groups. I am seeking your representation to sell my novel to a publisher. I am also working on 3 other novels you might be interested in: Nanuq, a children’s book; Rust, a Sci-Fi novel; and Flame, a thriller.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,


James Baron
http://james-baron.blogspot.com/