QUERY THIS PAL!



TAKING AIM AT A BOOK DEAL



No more queries for this couch potato! Well, the couch is actually a chair in the man cave, seemingly chained to a desk and computer.



KATE FOLKERS, LITERARY AGENT



Something magical happened on Tuesday, November 16.  A long process of getting someone to believe in my 92 thousand word espionage thriller payed off.  I now have a literary agent!

Thank you Kate Folkers of the Martin Literary Management Agency.

Is it coincidence that a Field Of Dreams is on right now?

I realize this is just another phase of a continuing process, but it feels awfully damn good right now.  Of course, for all the hard work leading up to this moment, there remains plenty to accomplish.  Getting a book deal is no guarantee.  Over the past few months, I felt I was close to securing representation and I have all the rejection letters to prove it.  From the early stages of form written setbacks to letters of encouragement, some of which offered sound advice. 

Thanks to a connection with author Sara Paretsky, agent Dominick Abel gave me a phone call during the early stages of my search.  He offered sound criticism that I took to heart, leading me back to the dark, lonely days of rewrite, rewrite.  I'd come up for air to try again, only to realize I wasn't there yet.  The thought of giving up though, never crossed my mind.

Along the way I discovered the Guide To Literary Agents blog, a tremendous source of updated information.  I also stumbled across Thrillerfest, which I attended for the first time in July.  Talk about an invaluable learning experience!  I've interviewed Presidents, A-List actors and world class athletes but nothing was as terrifying as having to prepare for a pitch session before some the industry's best and brightest.  To help get me there, I owe a huge thanks to the kindness and advice of people like authors Shane Gericke and Lisa Gardner.  They were warm and inviting during a reception the night before as were a number of other authors.  JJ Cooper, my Down Under friend, thanks for the encouragement!  If you write thrillers and haven't yet sampled Thrillerfest, you really must give it a try.  Besides, it's in New York!

So why did Kate Folkers decide to offer me representation?  Why did I decide to sign with her?  From my end, it was a comfortable connection.  She got what my book was about.  She took the time to delve into it, offering both praise and criticism.  She was honest and had a plan.  I also was impressed with her multi-faceted background which I believe in the long run will pay off.

Since November 16, I've had plenty of time to come down from Mt. Small Achievement.  There's hopefully a book deal out there and I've got plenty of polishing up to do.  At least I'm not doing it alone anymore.

THRILLED ABOUT MY FIRST CONFERENCE

Having recently taken my 14-year old son to a Comic Con convention (one day pass, okay!), I was a little leery of registering for my first writer's conference.  But darn it if Thrillerfest V  in New York doesn't sound like fun.  It's a collection of some of the best murder to paper minds in the world gathering at one place.  If Agatha Christie were alive, she'd have a field day:  Murder At The Grand Hyatt, A Hercule Poirot Mystery.

For an aspiring author like myself (hello mystery agent, my novel is finished), it's a chance to network, schmooze, learn a lot, and kiss plenty of literary agent backside.  First drink is on me.  Second, third, fourth and so on if one decides to represent me. 

Ken Follett

From what I've read, Thrillerfest seems like a loosen your tie experience.  For thriller writers and fans of the genre, I can certainly see the appeal.  In Hollywood terms, it's like the Golden Globe Awards.  New authors are recognized and established pros like Ken Follett will receive special recognition.  Ken if you ever read this, you should know the copy of World Without End you left behind at the studio has enough fingerprints on it to shut down a CSI department.

I'm looking forward to meeting authors I haven't interviewed or spent time with as of yet.  The opportunity to pick their brains would be amazingly beneficial.

Brad Meltzer, who's also scheduled to attend, don't forget you owe me!  I look out for you, you look out for me.  Capeesh?  I also promise not to rag on the Michigan Wolverines.  And sorry I was on vacation when you stopped by to promote Heroes For My Son.

So I'm fine tuning my game and getting excited about heading to the Big Apple.  I'd love to one day belong to that exclusive community known as the International Thriller Writers.  But, if Thrillerfest turns out to be anything like the William Shatner episode on SNL, my wife will never let me hear the end of it.  That is if her stomach would ever stop hurting from laughing so hard.



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