What’s Up Wednesday

So I skipped out on last week’s WUW, and for good reason. These past couple of weeks I’ve been pushing myself to get this novel finished. And I mean all the Beta notes incorporated, scenes added, things cut, and then a final read-through to make sure everything flows and there’s no errant punctuation or missing conjunctions. So if you’ve missed me on the blogs and Twitter, that’s where I’ve been. More about that below. For now, here’s what’s happening with me…

What I’m Reading

My edition of WAR AND PEACE is in three volumes. I finished volume one, and I’m not picking up volume two until I’ve got some other necessary reading under my belt. What constitutes “necessary reading”? I’ll tell you: THE MARATHON CONSPIRACY by Gary Corby, SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY by Susan Dennard, and CHARM AND STRANGE by Stephanie Kuehn. I have a ton of other books I need to read, but these three are next. In fact, I’ve already started Gary’s book, the fourth in his Athenian Mysteries series, and it’s every bit as good as the others. I’ll post a review when I’m finished, but for those who don’t know, this series revolves around Nicolaos, a young man in ancient Athens, who is hired by Pericles as a private detective. One of the great things about these books is the fact that they are good detective stories, but they also draw in real historical events and people. If you love a good mystery, and you’re interested in Ancient Greece, you’ll love these books.

What I’m Writing

As I mentioned above, I’ve been putting the finishing touches to my novel over the past few weeks. I’m now pleased to say that it is query-ready, and, in fact, I sent out the first few queries just last night. For those who have not yet entered the query trenches, let me just say this is not easy–especially if you do it properly. That means, you research each agent to make sure your work is a fit for his/her list. A lot of agents like you to personalize the query somehow, either by referencing books they’ve represented (and you have read), or by noting something about them that makes you think they’d be the right agent for this project. But there’s more to it than that for me. I’m looking for an agent that can represent me throughout my writing career, so I’m following them on Twitter, reading their blogs, and getting as much of a sense of their personality and approach to work as I can. I really hope this book finds a home, because I’m very pleased with how it has turned out, and I’d love you all to be able to read it. If you want to read my query, it’s HERE.

What Inspires Me Right Now

My novel. Seriously. After the final read-through, I wasn’t at all ashamed of it. I’m very pleased with it. Some of the credit for that goes to Team Awesome (my Beta Readers) and their fantastic notes and observations. I don’t know that it’ll get any interest at all, but it gives me confidence to face the next project knowing I can write novels. And ones that are pretty good, even if I say so myself.

What Else I’ve Been Up To

Aside from the above and the usual (family, work, church), nothing notable.

How about you? How’s your week been? If you want to participate in this weekly meme, visit one of the founders’ blogs: Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. There you’ll find details of how to join in, and the link list of other participants.