I've been remiss in blogging lately; everything this week has just been terribly busy.

First, some "me" news, and then the client news in the next few posts.

Everyday Weirdness has bought another poem of mine, "The Warriors of the Dark", and it's up now.

You can read the poem here.

I tend to feel it's less sophisticated than the other poem of mine that was published, which makes sense considering that this is the first poem I wrote as an adult, and "Lucifer Defiant" was written much later.

It was inspired by THE WOLVES IN THE WALLS by Neil Gaiman, and an actual nightmare I had at the time--a nightmare where hands came out of my bedroom wall and strangled me in my sleep.

Enjoy. =)

As countless other people are doing all over the vast internet and science fiction community... I am here to remind you that your deadline to nominate for the Hugo Awards and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer... is THIS SATURDAY, February 28, 2009.

If you were a member of last year's Worldcon in Denver, or have bought your membership for this year's Worldcon in Montreal before January 31, 2009, you are eligible to nominate works--and I strongly urge you to let your voice speak for you.

I would be remiss in my duty, if I didn't remind you that many of my fabulous clients are eligible for awards.

And that myself and other authors of microfiction, Twitterfic, or whatever you call it, are eligible as well.

Nominate well, my friends!

Here is this week's BSG Spoiler Thread.

If you want to discuss the sixth episode of the Final Episodes of Battlestar Galactica, please feel free to do so here.

This is a spoiler-filled thread.

You have been warned. Do not click on the comments, if you do not want to be spoiled. I will put my thoughts in the comments.

Warning: This Book Block is for an erotica title. If you are reading this at work, be aware that the links are NSFW and the cover, while tasteful, may get you in trouble. =) You might want to read this at home. By the way, Jessica Freely and I do know each other in real life--bet you can't guess who it really is. =)



Written by Jessica Freely

Book Title: Virgin
Genre: M/M Erotic Paranormal Romance
Format: ebook
Publisher: Loose Id
ISBN: 978-1-59632-741-2

Everybody knows how tough the publishing market is these days. In recent months, we've been treated to one depressing headline after another. With the economic downturn restricting an already struggling print market, it's more important than ever for authors to think outside of the box. That's what I did when I started researching electronic publishing.

I had even more reason to look beyond traditional print markets for my story Virgin. A few years ago, I discovered I have a passion for love stories between male protagonists. Unfortunately, traditional romance publishers do not buy male-male romance, and lgbt publishers are (understandably) looking for tales of gay romance written by actual gay men. What's a girl to do?

Well, I knew there was a market for woman-authored romance between men, because for years I'd been reading bazillions of slash fanfiction stories online. At this time, Virgin wasn't even a glimmer in my eye. Nevertheless, I knew I wanted to do what the slash writers were doing, only I wanted to do it with my own original characters and I wanted to get paid for it. I discovered epublishing. Aha! I thought, here is a medium tailor-made to meet the expectations and desires of the already internet savvy slash audience.

Only just then, no one was doing much of anything with same sex romances. I went ahead and started writing the stories I love anyway. Six months llater, everything had changed. Ellora's Cave, the 800 pound gorilla of epublishing, had decided to give m/m a try, and wonder of wonders, it took off like gangbusters. All of a sudden, everyone was doing m/m. Before long, Virgin found a home with a wonderful publisher, Loose Id (who, incidentally, did not turn up in that first epub market survey), and we've all lived happily ever after.

There are a couple of morals to this story. The first is not to let market conditions dictate what you write. Markets change. The second is that there is always a workaround. Thinking creatively about who your audience is, where you can find them, and how you can connect with them are all essential marketing tools not to be neglected.

A bit about Virgin: When Joam, a shape-shifter with otherworldly sexual powers, makes love with hustler Blake, neither realizes they are foiling the plans of a cabal of sorcerers. Now, Blake has robbed them of their virgin sacrifice and they want retribution in blood.

Where To Buy The Book: http://www.loose-id.com/detail.aspx?ID=758

Jessica's Website: http://friskbiskit.com

People asked in comments to the prior post to see closeups of the "duck family" on my desk, as well the blue stuffed dog on it.



The "duck family" isn't really a family, as you see. It's three pirate ducks, one little hula girl duck, and one little hippie girl duck. I've collected them over the years, and they used to sit on top of my old CRT monitor which just got kicked off the desk.



The blue stuffed dog has no name, and was hand-made for me by an old friend, Peihan. Her Etsy shop currently doesn't have anything in it, but if you ask her for a custom item or send her a conversation, she'd probably be happy to make one for you too. Or something similar. =)

A few years ago, there was a trend of authors and agents and people in general, all posting pictures of their workspace. Meet mine. This is literally the cleanest you will ever see my desk, and was taken to celebrate the awesome new monitor I have now acquired. Welcome to flat-panel era, Jenny! =)



Also, here's a closer one of the monitor and the pretty new speakers I got with it.

Some varied administrative tidbits, before I retreat to bed to fight what I'm lovingly terming "the sinus infection from hell, which just keeps coming back". It's been largely responsible for the blog silence, as I've been putting all my energy into actually getting work done.

• We've seen a marked increase in queries around here, as have other agents like Jennifer Jackson and Nathan Bransford. I'm still going with my theory that people are dusting off their old novels and writing new ones because of the economy. I did a rough calculation, and if the current rate stays steady, we're due to see about 1600 more queries this year total, than I normally get. Keep sending books; I'm still looking for great clients!
• The best query we got this week was from an eleven year old in Uruguay. I LOVE young writers. Really, truly love them. Jodi and I told him to write back once he had his novel finished. I think he's my youngest person to query to date, although I've had a couple of 14 and 15 year olds query at times.
• Secret behind-the-scenes website improvements are happening at the agency website, although the changes probably won't be up for a few more weeks. But then it will be shiny, and I will dutifully announce the new shininess of the agency's website.
• There will be Book Blocks next week; they fell behind this week, and I apologize for not getting them scheduled in advance. If you are still waiting to send one in, please do. I have enough for one more week, possibly two more weeks of posts. And then it's a wrap, folks. I've been really enjoying seeing how people come up with their ideas for their books in different genres, which is really neat.
• There will be an upcoming "What Current Things Is Jenny Looking For" post, next week as well.
  

Finally, as I've been doing all year, I've been sort of treating any published books as "comfort reading". When I get sick, my head aches. I have been reading client material and submitted slush, but at the same time, sometimes I don't want to make a decision on a submission when my skull is throbbing. I view this as in the best interest for the authors making the submissions, since you'll get my undivided attention when my head isn't throbbing, and my decidedly grouchy side, when it is.

So instead, what I do, is I read published books. I go through them slowly, and some of them are fluff, but they let me do something that doesn't require immense amounts of concentration. So my question for my LIT SOUP readers, is what are your favorite types of comfort books to read when you're not feeling great? It's not been the best flu/cold/sinus infection/pneumonia (poor Colleen Lindsay had pneumonia!) season this year, so what have you been reading?

My latest is this one...

2009 Books Read:

6. PUPPY LOVE by Nancy Krulik
Utterly cute and fluffy, and what I would have wanted to read if I was a teenage girl mooning over a crush. I totally loved all the kissing that happened. I will be honest and say that the "saidisms" in the beginning did distract me for awhile, but once I got past that, I really fell into the story, and wanted to know how it happened. It was given to me by an editor at Simon Pulse, and I'm glad I got it. =)

Here is this week's BSG Spoiler Thread.

I've only watched the first part of the episode, until the first commercial break, because my poor husband had to work very, very late last night. That said, feel free to leave as many comments as you want in this thread, and I'll moderate them later today.

If you want to discuss the fifth episode of the Final Episodes of Battlestar Galactica, please feel free to do so here.

This is a spoiler-filled thread.

You have been warned. Do not click on the comments, if you do not want to be spoiled. I will put my thoughts in the comments.

I knew there was a book I read in January 2009 that I was totally missing in this whole keeping track of books I read. So nice to know that I wasn't misremembering I had read five books... just misremembering what that fifth book was. =)

5. THE STEPSISTER SCHEME by Jim C. Hines
Great fun and I can't wait for the next one in the series. I actually went and wrote a review of it on Amazon, which should be up at some point.

I did promise to update people about the status of microfiction and what I've found out about its eligibility for certain awards. As stated before, yes, you can nominate it for a Hugo Award for short story.

However, unless it meets the minimum qualifications outlined here, namely payment of 3 cents a word and at least $50, it DOES NOT start your Campbell clock.

Just passing word along.

Some people this year who are eligible for the Campbell Award and whose writing that I like (other than my clients):

Aliette de Bodard
Erin Cashier
Livia Llewellyn

This has been pretty much all over lately, but I wanted to wait to announce it until John had gotten confirmation from some authors. There's a couple more deals coming up in the next few days. I've been busy for a reason. =)

		February 11, 2009
		Fiction: Sci-Fi/Fantasy		John Joseph Adams's BY BLOOD WE LIVE, a reprint anthology of the best vampire literature of the last few decades, containing stories by Stephen King, Joe Hill, Neil Gaiman, Carrie Vaughn, Kelley Armstrong, Harry Turtledove, and Garth Nix, among others, to Jeremy Lassen at Night Shade Books, in a nice deal, for publication in August 2009, by Jenny Rappaport of the Rappaport Agency on behalf of the L. Perkins Agency (World English).

Also, if you're thinking of picking up WASTELANDS or THE LIVING DEAD and you live near a Borders store, they're currently running a special through March 9th. Buy one of the two books, and get the second book for half off. It's a great deal, and they are honestly both anthologies that are classic compilations (I'm entirely humble here, right?). Both books should be available on a table in the front of the store.

Note the use of hashtag, so that when this goes onto Twitter, it will be properly picked up by the search feed. I feel very social-media/high-tech oriented, using it. =)

My eyes are still struggling to adjust properly to having watched the 3D version of "Coraline", but suffice it to say, it was AWESOME. I did not get a headache or feel sick, like other people I know; the 3D effect is disorienting though, and I can understand why that would happen. But given my past history with first-person shooters, where I get extreme vertigo and can't play them... let's say I was very pleasantly surprised that I didn't get sick while watching the movie.

I cannot remember whether they ever released a 3D version of "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids", although I have a vague recollection of seeing one, although that might have been part of a ride at Disney World. The last 3D movie that I have a distinct memory of seeing was "Captain Eo" starring Michael Jackson, which I saw in 1988 at the age of seven. The technology has improved immensely. =)

Overall, "Coraline" was incredibly creepy, incredibly well-animated and acted, and just a wonderful movie. I am so happy that someone managed to finally nail Neil Gaiman's literary vision onto the moving screen. I did wish that the mice sang in the actual film; I do think they sang in the credits, but I remember loving them singing in the book. I can't locate my actual copy of the book right now, and I suspect that it's in one of the fifteen or so boxes of books I have yet to unpack. (Why yes, we've been living here three years already; I have a lot of books...)

But anyway, can someone with a ready copy of the book handy, verify for me whether the mice in the novel version sang? That's my burning question now. =)

If you can go out and see it though, I highly recommend you do so. And if you've seen it, leave your opinion of it in the comments!

Back by popular demand, I give you this week's BSG Spoiler Thread.

If you want to discuss the fourth episode of the Final Episodes of Battlestar Galactica, please feel free to do so here.

This is a spoiler-filled thread.

You have been warned. Do not click on the comments, if you do not want to be spoiled. I will put my thoughts in the comments.

I have a treat for you today! While www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com is undergoing maintenance, Smart Bitch Sarah has written an awesome guest post for LIT SOUP. She's currently undergoing blog withdrawal, so I'm happy I can offer her a space to blog today. Enjoy! =)

Written by Smart Bitch Sarah

LitSoup! WordUp!

Ok: off the top of my head guest post:

In response to this post: http://litsoup.blogspot.com/2009/01/more-novels-less-novels.html

Here's my totally amateur opinion: yes, more novels, yes, more people writing... and yes, more people serializing and self-publishing online and on paper. Yes, more people creating in general. I think that the faltering economy will cause a divide in how people conceive of their careers, in that people will do two things with their time: a job that isn't necessarily a Career Of Great Ambition, and then their true passion, the writing or creating they do on the side.

I think in the last 20+ years there's been a tremendous increase in pressure on college grads to BE your job, and acquire status socially and professionally through one convenient venue: employment. Creativity hasn't been as valued as much as straight up profit, and I think the economy taking a nosedive will divide interests among many people into two concurrent categories:

1. What is the thing that I do that provides income, and oh, Please, God, health benefits?
2. What is the thing that I do that makes me happy?

A lucky few will get both through one occupation, but many don't. So will that mean more novels and more fiction? Hope so. But I think that the increase will bring new venues through which people will share and publish their creativity, and that part, particularly the use of the internet in new and tricksy ways, will be the most interesting to see.

I predict: Web 3.0 - networking through creativity, only with MORE MORE MORE awesomeness.

Another book from Australia today!



Written by Simon Haynes

Book Title: Hal Spacejock No Free Lunch
Genre: Adult SF
Format: Trade paperback
Length: 383 pages
Publisher: Fremantle Press. Distributed by Penguin (Australia) and ISBS (USA)
Released: June 2008
ISBN: 9781921361081

Book Block - Plot

Each Spacejock novel starts with a relatively minor problem which escalates rapidly as Hal Spacejock ignores the wisdom, advice and assistance of his capable robot companion, Clunk, and applies his own meager skills instead.

With that in mind, I begin each plot outline with the minor irritant which is going to become a mouthful of toothache for all concerned. It could be a risky freight job (Hal's a cargo pilot), a suspicious passenger, a skipped maintenance on some vital piece of equipment or just a cup of coffee spilled into the wrong circuit. By Hal, naturally.

For No Free Lunch I settled on the following: Having blazed a trail of destruction across a whole sector of the galaxy in the previous three outings, Hal and Clunk decide to fly across the galaxy and make a fresh start. They're short of cash due to the lengthy flight, but Clunk did manage to find a modest cargo job with which Hal intends to fund their first tank of fuel. (Modest is an understatement . it's a single carton of bottled mineral water)

Having come up with the opening I turned my thoughts to the secondary characters and their plot strands. Each Spacejock novel features one or more opponents whose plans and desires clash with Hal's. Initially these subplots are unrelated to whatever Hal is up to, and I have great fun gradually weaving the stories together, setting up all the collisions.

No Free Lunch features a police officer with a problem: she's ambitious, but she's stuck on a backwater planet with no crime and therefore has no opportunity to prove herself and qualify for promotion.

In order to get this officer and Hal together, I made her the person who ordered the carton of mineral water. After their first meeting Hal and the officer attend a function together, but their date is cut short when she's invited to a neighboring planet to investigate a missing person. She jumps at the chance (leaving Hal at the function alone), then realizes she has to get to the planet in question.

When Hal finds out about her transport problem he offers to fly her as a passenger, and that's where the problems really start to snowball.

That covers the first 25% of the novel, or 25,000 words. I skipped the other subplots and characters in this brief block so I could concentrate on one major plot strand, and because the other elements develop in a similar fashion. Loose ideas teased and worried into a rough outline, which then changes substantially throughout my usual 15-20 complete drafts of each novel.


About the Hal Spacejock series:

These books are published in Australia and are available from all bookstores across Australia and New Zealand. ISBS is the North American importer/distributor, and they supply copies to Powell's Books and Amazon.com

Where To Buy The Book: Amazon US, Powell's, various bookstores in Australia [note from Jenny: I don't have links to Australian bookstores or know the bookselling market down there, apologies]

Simon's Website: www.spacejock.com.au/

Before I forget what I've read this year, I figured it was time to do another post on things I've read...

4. CHILDREN OF THE DUST by Louise Lawrence
A childhood favorite I got from the UK and now I *own* it. I can't quite explain what this book means to me, except that I discovered it at the age of 7 and have it adored it ever since.

Still reading (written down for my own benefit; I have books scattered across my whole house): THE NAME OF THE WIND, THE MAKING OF A MARCHIONESS, SAPLINGS, REMEMBER ME, LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH, THE ACCOUNTING GAME

I think that's it... and yes, I really do read that many books at once. =) I feel like I'm missing a book I've read this year, since I was sure that I had gotten five done. I just don't know what it is.

Because you know, your life isn't complete without getting the full experience...hearing me, instead of just reading what I write here.

Feel free to stroll over to the Odyssey website, and check out the first of two podcasts that they made out of some of the material I lectured about last summer. A bit of the information is dated, given the recent publishing upheavals, but most of it is still pertinent.

I am podcast #23.

Another non-fiction offering this time, this one an interesting fusion of travel and art. I'll put in a note here that I'm starting to run low on Book Blocks, and only have enough for another week or two. If you've been meaning to send one in, and haven't done so yet, please consult the guidelines on the sidebar and e-mail away!

Written by Angela K. Nickerson

A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome
Author: Angela K. Nickerson
Book Title: A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome
Format: paperback
Length: 180 pages
Publisher: Roaring Forties Press, 2008
ISBN: 978-0977742912

Book Block: Research

I’d lived with Michelangelo a long time before I started to write A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome. In my pre-writing life, I taught literature, and I developed a course called “The Bible as Literature.” To hook my students I used Michelangelo’s work as illustrations for the Biblical stories we studied. I’d been out of the classroom and writing professionally for a few years when Roaring Forties Press put out a call for proposals, but I knew that this was meant to be. A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome is truly a fusion of my great passions: writing, travel, and art.

Because I’d done so much research as a teacher, I did not have to start from scratch. I knew Michelangelo. However, I spent months and months immersed in the 16th century reading everything I could find. Dr. William Wallace, one of the world’s leading experts on Michelangelo, was a tremendous help and led me to a few resources I might never have found on my own. I was at a disadvantage in that university libraries were largely off limits, but I know a few librarians who helped me track down some obscure documents. And I checked out dozens of books from my local library – stretching the limits of our inter-library loan system, and sending a few research librarians on wild goose chases.

But the most fun part of my research happened in Italy. Casa Buonarroti in Florence holds the largest collection of Michelangelo’s papers and sketches. It is a remarkable place to visit. And in Rome I developed friendships with several people who work for museums and Rome’s archaeological agencies. They were a great help in collecting information as well. It was actually quite remarkable: all I had to say was, “I am writing a book about Michelangelo…” People smiled. Doors opened. And stories spilled out. I had some remarkable interviews. One scholar met me on the balcony where Michelangelo and his dear friend, Vittoria Colonna, spent their Sunday afternoons in debate and conversation. We sat under the clear Roman sky while he regaled me with stories of the great artist and his friends – and I took careful notes.

During interviews I always kept both a notebook and my iPod with me. I have a microphone for my iPod, so I was able to record each conversation. But I find note taking to be extremely important in helping to organize the conversation and my own thoughts as well. All of my notes – from interviews, books, and other resources – were organized the best way I know how: on notecards. When I was in sixth grade my English teacher guided me through my first scholastic research paper. We learned how to take notes using notecards to organize the information. We then learned to sort the notecards, make an outline, and write the paper using the notecards as our guard against plagiarism. This method served me well through high school, college, graduate school, and teaching, and it is second nature to me by now. So, out came the notecards once again.

In the end, my first draft of the manuscript was more than twice as long as it needed to be. And the editing began. But that research served me well. I would far rather have too much information and be able to choose than to be forced to fill in with fluff.

Where To Buy The Book: Amazon

Angela's Website and Blog: Website, Blog

Also, I want to congratulate my clients, John Joseph Adams and Ted Kosmatka, for getting named to the Locus Recommended Reading List for 2008!

John's WASTELANDS anthology has been named as one of the best reprint anthologies for 2008.

And Ted had two novelettes recommended: "The Art of Alchemy" and "Divining Light."

My clients are awesome people. =)

This is the 700th LIT SOUP post! And yay, Steelers! My latent Pittsburgh pride has been satisfied! =)

Back by popular demand, I give you this week's BSG Spoiler Thread.

If you want to discuss the third episode of the Final Episodes of Battlestar Galactica, please feel free to do so here.

This is a spoiler-filled thread.

You have been warned. Do not click on the comments, if you do not want to be spoiled. I will put my thoughts in the comments.