Trick of the Mind is the third book in Cassandra Chan's mystery series featuring playboy Phillip Bethancourt and police inspector Jack Gibbons.

Scotland Yard Detective Sergeant Jack Gibbons has been shot twice, and even after the surgery he isn’t out of the woods and may still be in danger because he can’t remember how it all happened. While his colleagues dig into his personal life, his best friend, Phillip Bethancourt, focuses on his last case, the robbery of a collection of antique jewelry valued at hundreds of thousands of pounds. Although Phillip is a man of leisure---handsome, charismatic, and fantastically well off---he makes a point of tagging along on Jack’s more interesting cases.

But this time it’s different. Not only is it personal, but Phillip will have to fill in the blanks without Jack, and retracing his friend’s steps may put him in the same line of fire.




Book 1: The Young Widow : "Chan’s sprightly debut, a contemporary homage to Dorothy L. Sayers’s classic Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, introduces an appealing pair of sleuths. English mystery devotees should look forward to their further adventures."--Publishers Weekly

Book 2: Village Affairs : “Bethancourt is a charming character. . . . A well-developed plot, intriguing and likable characters, solid investigating techniques, and an excellent sense of place distinguish this second in a series."--Booklist

The first book in Shelley Adina's series: It's All About Us. Visit her website for an interactive community based on the books.

Tall, blonde Lissa Mansfield is used to being one of the "in" crowd--but being accepted by the popular girls at posh Spencer Academy boarding school in San Francisco is turning out to be harder than she thought. And then there's her New-York-loudmouth roommate, Gillian Chang, who's not just happy to be a Christian herself--she's determined to out Lissa, too! If Lissa can just keep her faith under wraps long enough to hook Callum McCloud, the hottest guy in school, she'll be golden.

But when Callum pressures her to go all the way with him, Lissa has to decide for herself how far is too far. How can she see that line when he's so gorgeous and popular and she's so dazzled? And besides, she's too busy shopping for a Valentino and booking the hottest celeb for the Benefactors Ball. Who knew finding a place at Spencer Academy would be so complicated?

***

All About Us #2: The Fruit of My Lipstick (August, 2008)
All About Us #3: Be Strong & Curvaceous (January, 2009)

# of queries read this week: 123
# of partials requested: 1
genres of partial requested: women's fiction (1)


random notes:

No matter where or how many times you say what you do not represent (in this particular case, children's picture books, which are a much different market from YA novels), there's at least a few submissions every week -- for example, two picture books about cats, from the same author.

First Star Trek query in a loooong time.

From a query: "My background is probably a little different from that of your typical author" -- which led me to wonder what *is* the background of a "typical" author? Or, more particularly, what might one assume it is?

Something that got my attention at the end of a query: a reference to an old colonial cookbook and a comment about my cooking blog. It was in a p.s. so it was extra just for me. That's personalizing a query and will get it a closer look. Of course, it wasn't just for show, either -- the cookbook actually fit in the reference material for the novel. Personalizations that are obviously just tacked on have the opposite effect. For example, mentioning a favorite author from my list and then saying something that makes it quite clear that it was a random choice and not actually based on reading anything.

Things not to do: email a link to your online novel and/or cc many agents all at once.

Favorite tunnel vision view of the week: The query that arrived with an explanation in the opening paragraph of how the author had visited the DMLA website, knew that their material was not something I represented, but decided to query me anyway. Why? You tell me.

In my post yesterday, I got a lengthy anonymous response which was really interesting, particularly the part about people who want to write but aren't even casual readers (it doesn't strike me as impossible but not taking part in the creative overmind seems like it might make some aspects tougher). Agent Jonathan responded today in that thread, and I agree completely with his comment:

Most publishing professionals feel the same way as me. Almost all could be making more money and working less hours in another profession. But they don't because they love their work.

Agent Jonathan speaks from passion and I applaud. I love being a literary agent. I did not go to college planning on being one, though I loved books and reading and knew that I wanted to be involved in publishing. When I ended up working at DMLA, the role was a perfect fit. It's me. And no matter how challenging some aspects of it can be or the day-to-day stuff that might bog me down (and about which I might talk too much), it's what I want to be when I grow up -- except I'm not growing up, so I'll just be it now. I know loving what you do is more rare than it should be in this world, so I'll count myself one of the lucky ones.

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2008/05/uncertainty.html

Interesting post.... and lots to think about. Getting an agent may seem like the end-goal to many new writers, but there are rocks ahead....

I'm not sure I agree entirely with his statement: "Even good agents can be wrong sometimes, which is why they're unable to sell much of what they acquire." Because, of course, I am never wrong (I wish). No, actually, it's the part where he says good agents are unable to sell much of what they acquire. It is true that occasionally a project might not sell. Some of those have languished in the author's trunk while we went on to sell other projects. If the market changes, we come back to them, and take another shot (and, yes, I've been successful at doing this). Or projects just might take a lot of time and a large number of submissions (I think my record is currently 2 1/2 years to make a sale, but it all worked out in the end). But it's true that one might not expect to sell everything. 100%? Who has that kind of luck in any job? I disagree with the "much," though.

That just the agent part. Go read the article to hear about all the weak links in the publishing chain: the editor, the buyer for the bookstore, the readers, etc.

He also says: If you're a guy, it's like having to propose to your spouse all over again every few years. And ladies, it isn't romantic. It's nerve-wracking. The possibility of being told no can terrify the stoutest heart when speaking of being between contracts, in which the author is the man and the publisher is the woman. I did pause to wonder whether our national divorce rate would go down if both parties had to make a recommitment based on merit (in his scenario, publishing numbers) on a more regular basis rather than just taking the next year (in his scenario, the next book sale) for granted...

This is my favorite line, I think (though I do think his solutions should allow for more communication prior to making decisions such as dumping your agent or changing publishers - as stated, they seem rather abrupt and are not always that simple and there are factors to consider):

I posit--and I'm 99% right--that your worst enemy in this business isn't your agent, your editor, or the publishing industry as a whole.

It's you.

Just got an email from Jennifer Banash (MySpace page) that she got a mention on MediaBistro's Galley Cat for her forthcoming book: The Elite.

Yesterday, Agent Jonathan had a followup post to a rant from the previous week. The rant had to do with the fact that he gets "quite a few queries that are utter and complete crap" and his suspicion that "some people think that anyone can write a good book."

His post yesterday added that he thinks his "duty as a literary agent is to represent [his] clients to the best of [his] ability, and by and large this entails selling the rights to their works. [He does] not believe that reading queries and providing feedback is part of [his] job description..." He reads "queries for a single purpose- to get clients in order to sell the rights to their works."

Go read his posts in their entirety before you respond to anything in comments. I've tried not to take anything out of context, but there is certainly context to be considered.

As I see it, there is only a slight flaw in his logic. If part of his job is to get more clients, then part of his job is to read queries.

However.

Getting new clients must necessarily come after providing services for current clients. That's just plain old triage. If there are no sales for the current clients, and therefore, no commissions, the agent has to get another job and then there are no clients at all. So, after all the clients outlines, chapters, and manuscripts are read. After their submissions are out to editors. After followup on their outstanding submissions is done. After their contracts are vetted and signed. After their payments are received and disbursed. After their subsidiary rights are seen to. And so on and so forth....

Then.... Then, queries and non-client submissions can get read. Essentially, R&D comes after paying products (to put it in a very mercenary sort of way). Feedback is a whole 'nother kettle o' fishy things. That's extra. It might turn out to be an investment, but there is no immediate return, except in extremely rare cases, so it's not an efficient investment to engage in on a regular basis.

In reality, if it worked this way, I think queries might never be read. This is why I end up reading them in the evening after dinner. Or on weekends. This is why it takes so long to respond to queries, in addition to the issue of sheer volume. And, yes, it would certainly be helpful if all the queries received were from people who had a mastery of basic grammar (too many don't) and from those who had taken a few minutes to visit the agent's webpage and do a modicum of research before submitting. That's the agent side of the query fantasy, though.

Jay Lake, was diagnosed with a type of cancer last week and is bravely facing the surgery and other curative measures. Lend him your support. And support your friends and family who are dealing with the same or similar challenges. And watch out for the magic cancer hat.

Among other things, Ken Scholes talks about the difference between his writing approach to Lamentation vs Canticle (book 1 and 2 of his new series to be published by Tor).

Steve Miller posts Liaden Infodump 68 which includes information about the new Liaden Universe novels to be published by Baen Books.

Sharon Lee on the contract between reader and writer. I, the Writer, agree to tell you, the Reader, a lie, hereinafter referred to as a story.You, the Reader, agree to suspend your disbelief in this falsehooduntil the end of the story, OR until I, the Writer, drop the cake.

Several of my clients express regret about Eight Belles and what people will do in the name of commerce.

Win a Tuckerization in the opening novel of Laura Anne Gilman's new urban fantasy series in Brenda Novak's auction for diabetes research. (The item I'm offering - evaluation of a proposal plus a meeting - goes live in 12 days for a one-day-only auction.)

C.E. Murphy is on Magical Musings talking about her new book: The Queen's Bastard (The Inheritors' Cycle, Book 1), and how she's both excited and nervous because this book is a departure from her previous ones. She wonders how her readers will react...

Think about the difference between the response detailed here: http://theswivet.blogspot.com/2008/05/lessons-in-how-to-never-get-agent-part.html

And this one in my own inbox:
"Thank you for your response.
It was a pleasure to contact you. Please allow me to wish you continued success in your endeavours."

If you feel that you want to reply to a response, please use the 2nd method and not the first. So far this weekend I have one of the former, though not nearly as bad as the one on The Swivet, but it did explain a lot to me about what I don't understand about the publishing business and my own short-sightedness. I hope the author felt better afterwards. Luckily, I also got several similar to the latter so the taste in my mouth is just the teensiest bit sour, and I will continue reading queries with optimism and trying not to anticipate the inevitable (hopefully, rare) bad apple in the barrel.

Also: queries sent via the MySpace page will not get responses. Just saying it out loud. Submission guidelines are here.

# of queries read this week: 79
# of partials requested: 1
genre of partial requested: YA



Dear Queriers:

Ironically as several of my clients were rejoicing and sending notes of congratulations to both myself and the author (thanks!), a number of other people seemed to view my announcement of a new client this week with trepidation. A sort of half-empty thing, it seemed to me, in which they were projecting that I was filling up my list and would soon have no room for more. I quote from our website: "Our list is always tight, but never totally full." So far, that's been true. I have always managed to find room for an author with the story and talent to keep me up late at night. I imagine there is some logistical upper limit but I don't feel near it yet.

Actually, until last Fall or so, I had been having a very slow time of finding new material that sang to me. I don't know what exactly unstoppered the block, but the quality of submissions I'm getting has been much higher. Based on my tracking, I've requested a higher number of submissions at this point in the year than the same time last year. This either means that I'm an easier mark this year (unlikely) or I'm getting more submissions that are right for me and targeted to me and of better overall quality. So, I viewed my comment of wondering which would be the 7th novel this year to knock me over the head and drag me back to its cave from a half-full perspective.

Signed,
In Search of #7

Beginning today: Brenda Novak's 4th Annual auction to raise money for diabetes research.

I was all set to post my link and couldn't find it at first because two days ago I was in the section for agent evaluations. But sometime in the last 48 hours my entry was made into a one-day auction, to run in 16 days (start time is listed as 05/17/08 09:10:00 PM PST), so save those pennies and get ready to bid. What do you get?

The Evaluation of a Proposal by Agent Jennifer Jackson at the Donald Maass Literary Agency, followed up by drinks at [RWA] National to discuss the proposal or other publishing questions. A Proposal consists of the first three chapters (up to 50 pages) of your unpublished manuscript, plus synopsis.

(I'm not adverse to doing drinks at another conference I'm attending if that's what holds you back from making a bid, though you can get the evaluation either way. My convention schedule is on my site in the sidebar under my client links.)

My thanks to Alison Kent, because I wouldn't have found this link without her post this morning.

You can also get a Tuckerization in one of my client Laura Anne Gilman's upcoming urban fantasy novels.

There are lots of non-writer things too, including hotel stays, gourmet food, winery tours....

Laura Anne Gilman's (AKA suricattus) Free Fall (Retrievers, Book 5) hits the shelves.

The Cosa Nostradamus is in disarray; the Truce holding violence in check has been broken. Magical Manhattan is at war, and Wren Valere is left without her partner/lover Sergei, whose past loyalties keep him from her side just when she needs him the most.

Hoping to keep herself occupied, Wren takes a job— but what should have been an ordinary Retrieval instead forces her to realize that it is time to do more. It is time for the Cosa to take the battle to the enemy.

But she'll do it her way. The Retrievers' way. Sneaky, smart—and with maximum damage possible. What was lost will be found, what was stolen will be Retrieved. And this war will be ended, once and for all.

Wren Valere always finishes the job. Always.

This week I'm welcoming author Loreth Anne White to my client list. Her blog is at http://lorethannewhite.com/blog/, which I've added to the sidebar here as well (and I've set up an LJ feed). Loreth is the author of several compelling novels for the Harlequin Silhouette Suspense line. Her most recent release is The Heart Of A Renegade.

from her website:
Loreth Anne White was born and raised in southern Africa, but now lives in Whistler, a ski resort in the moody British Columbian Coast Mountain range. It’s a place of vast, wild and often dangerous mountains, larger-than-life characters, epic adventure, and romance — the perfect place to escape reality. It’s no wonder it was here she was inspired to abandon a 16-year career as a reporter, features writer, and editor (under the name Loreth Beswetherick) to escape into a world of romantic fiction filled with dangerous men and adventurous women. When she’s not writing you will find her long-distance running, biking or skiing on the trails, and generally trying to avoid the bears – albeit not very successfully. She calls this work, because it’s when the best ideas come.

***

This is my 6th new client this year. That's the same as the number of clients that I signed up in all of 2007, so it looks like 2008 is going to be an even busier year! I'm really thrilled to be finding so many talented writers and so much new material. I wonder what novel will be the 7th to knock me over the head and drag my back to its cave....

C.E. Murphy's The Queen's Bastard is released today. This is the first of a brand new series called "The Inheritors' Cycle." It scored a starred review in Booklist:

"In a world in which women are considered weak and lesser than men, three remarkable women wind up ruling three powerful kingdoms in the first of what promises to be an outstanding series featuring a masterfully intricate dance of politics and intrigue in a world with parallels to the Elizabethan era. Belinda Primrose, supposedly an orphan but truly the bastard of Queen Lorraine and her secret spymaster, Robert Drake, learns to hide her thoughts and feelings at a very young age, masters several combat skills, and executes her first assassination before she is 12. Assuming the identity of Beatrice Irvine, a young widow from a Scotland-like country, her pious attendance at church draws the attention of a wealthy young merchant prince who is an intimate of young Javier, who will be king when his mother steps aside as regent. Belinda and Javier recognize in each other a kinship in their ability to harness powers and do things that would ensure their execution as witches should anyone discover them. Readers will be eagerly awaiting their story’s next installment in The Inheritors’ Cycle."


Also, Jay Lake's first novel in his clockwork earth setting, Mainspring, is now available in paperback. The second book, Escapement, is due to be published this summer.

"In Mainspring, Lake has created a grandiose, thoroughly engaging blasphemy. This book blends the best of nostalgic adventure fiction with a genuinely fresh voice and ideas. An instant steampunk classic." – Cory Doctorow

"The gears that propel this story run -- yes -- like clockwork. The world Jay's created here is one of the best wind-up toys a reader could ever want." – John Scalzi

"From the sweeping mechanisms of his clockwork world, down to the subtle movements of his characters, all drawn with a clockmaker’s eye, Lake gives us a story both grand and intimate, smart and savvy...and a whole lot of fun to boot." – Hal Duncan

Baby needs a new hot water heater. Estimated $600. Am now too depressed to write rejection letters. (Really, I can't write them when I'm down or they come out sounding awful and mean.) Luckily, I had a book deal last week, so I can pay for this.

Also, laptop is doing a funny pixelated green screen thing. That's not good either, I suspect.

And it's raining.

At least I got one manuscript finished, another read, and seven partials with notes done this weekend after being such a slacker last weekend (oh, wait -- Comicon counts as work!). Now I just have to convert notes to actual response letters (see first paragraph).

The weekend was definitely saved by getting to attend a Veda Hille concert last night with wojsvenwoj, mcurry, Vienna Teng, and other Ectophiles. Sure made getting home at 2 AM worth it. Must now put new album on Christmas wishlist. (ETA: To the Writers Institute Saturday dinner gang -- I got my Old Fashioned, finally!)

Someone responded to my Friday posting from the query wars with the following:

I know there's no exact science, but what typically grabs you in the first five pages enough to make you request a partial (the writing, characters, plot)? I've heard agents say most of what they receive is an obvious pass, but what about well written pages with something interesting happening and potentially intriguing characters, yet you still pass? What are the factors then? How much can you really tell in those five pages?

My first reaction to this was to feel that it's an impossible question. I thought about this and thought some more. It's one of those questions that if you answer you know you'll leave something out. So, I felt like if I did that I would not be helping either myself or anyone else. At the same time, I know that you really can tell a lot from the first five pages. Part of that may just be having read a lot of "first-fives" over the years and developing an eye for it. But I was still stumped as to how to sum this up, and then I was talking to a friend and this analogy (which appealed to my chowhound nature) came up:

You can go to a gourmet restaurant that's scored Michelin stars and there will be things on the menu that you just aren't going to eat, no matter how refined the ingredients or how skilled the chef. And you can often tell from the first bite.

What makes me read five pages and request more? When that first bite was a beckoning bit of all those ingredients (writing, characters, plot, etc.) that left my mouth watering.

TGIF - courtesy of Jim Butcher (who showed me this one)



(And now I'm off to read a pile of manuscript pages this weekend....)

# of queries read this week: 122
# of partials requested: 1
genre of partials requested: fantasy

What you need to have in order to query me:
- a finished manuscript of novel-length fiction (if you are a new author -- not an idea, not a work-in-progress; already published* authors can send queries on partials/option materials)
- preferably in English
- preferably in a genre that I profess to have an interest in (those genres are many, but do not include poetry or children's picture books)

Here is what you should send (to me, other agents may have other preferences):
- a query letter
- an SASE if by snailmail
- the first five pages of your work (plain text if by email, no attachments)
- a synopsis (not to exceed 5 pages)


*where published means paying market recognized as professional

This week, I closed a deal for Laura Anne Gilman AKA suricattus, author of the Retrievers series and the upcoming spinoff at Harlequin Luna. The deal was for a brand new series, currently titled The Vineart Wars. Before you read any further, go and read the author's take on this. And, then, there's my version of the story....

It starts off much the same. We were exchanging chatty emails as suricattus attempted to convince me to attend a Cooking/Wine Expo. I was reluctant. The venue, the date, the cost... so, it was suggested that if there was a way to make it a research trip and tax-deductible, then I might be more amenable. And there it was. A fantasy based on wine and vineyards, and the author was off and running because it was a lovely dovetailing of her interests and passions.

*time passes*

The author presented a proposal, which was discussed (revised, hacked to bits, blown up, revised some more). As I recall, there were other beta readers as well. Eventually, there was a more polished version that felt ready and, though the type of fantasy was a well-trodden road, the concept had a number of fresh twists and we decided to go for the multiple submission. (As an aside, I'm the kind of agent that decides this on a project by project basis. IMO, not everything is suited to multiple submissions and I am certainly no advocate of the throw it at the wall of publishing and see if it sticks method.) Four editors were chosen for a variety of reaons - their own interests, their publisher's approach to publication, among other things. We were looking for enthusiasm, commitment, an ability to give this somewhat upmarket packaging, and a good editorial fit. Money would be nice too (we both would need to increase our wine cellar selection, after all).

*time passes*

One editor passed (though she craved a glass of wine while reading the proposal). A bit more time passed and then one of the remaining three editors came in with an offer. A multi-book offer. Nice. The other two editors were informed that we would now accept a best-bid* as we were looking for the best fit for the material, not necessarily a bidding war. Due to bad timing, the London Book Fair added a few days to their response time. Of those two, one declined to counter-offer, but the other wanted to make an offer and came back with more money per book, but for less of them. At this point, much debate occurred.** The sticking point seemed to be commitment issues. But, also of interest were feedback on editorial issues, packaging intentions, and positioning in the market. Questions were asked and answered before a decision was made. It was a challenging decision with many factors, and I knew that both editors would do a great job, too.

But, now... it's time for the research. suricattus always brings great wine to match up with my cooking.... She even got me into Shiraz finally, so I was recently labeled by a sommelier as an ABC consumer.



*There are several kinds of offer/counteroffer situations:
(1) Open-ended: No closing date. Everyone who wants to gets to make an offer and bid and counter-bid.
(2) Closing date: The agent sets a date on which offers are due, and then bid and counter-bid ensues.
(3) Best Bid: Can also include or not include a closing date. Best bid means that each publisher bids once and only once and then the offer that the author considers the best is chosen.

**Factors considered in bids (not an exhaustive list):
(1) advance amount per book
(2) # of books covered by offer
(3) separate vs. basket accounting
(4) territory covered by agreement
(5) intended publishing format
(6) intended publishing schedule
(7) promotional package, if any

I found out after-hours last night that Jim Butcher's Small Favor will be on the NYT list for another week. That makes 3 weeks in the top 10! I am so thrilled for him. Thanks to all his wonderful fans and readers for helping to make this series a success.