Intrepid Earth: Series Summaries in 50 Words

In the last year, I've been leaning more and more towards the independent self-publishing route. Even so, I took away a lesson from researching the traditional publishing methods. In order to catch an agent's or editor's attention and stand out from the slush pile, a perfectly-crafted query letter has to hook them with the plot. These query letters must be short and sweet, which often means boiling down your entire book to just a sentence or two.

This proved difficult. After working on my characters and worlds and stories for years and years, it's easy to get lost in all the plots, side plots and lessons. There's so much that I want a reader to experience! How on earth would summarizing an entire book with just a few lines possible do the story justice? How on earth could that ever seem interesting?

I started paying attention to movie summaries on the guide channels and Netflix and whatnot. These stories were also given limited real-estate with which to hook the viewers' attention. I started paying attention to what made me want to watch one film over another. Strangely, the short summaries did not always seem accurate in retrospect. It wasn't that they were far off; it's that there was no way to adequately sum up the plot.

Summing up the plot isn't the goal with the query teaser, and it isn't my goal in providing you with them. The goal, rather, is to give you an idea of what to expect as far as a general theme. Keep in mind that I've left most of these stories open to expansion. I'd already like to write a trilogy based off Yamini's adventures, and possibly a spin off featuring her guildmaster, Soliessen, as the main character. There's a ton of lore to explore.

Below are the "teaser" summaries that I might use if I were to write a query letter for each book and submit them to an agent. Which sounds most interesting to you, and why? Would you read them out of order so that you could skip to your favorite character's story first? Who deserves to have their story explored in more detail?

Book 1: Of Avatars and Elementals

Toughened outlaws and a peaceful forest dweller defend their homelands from otherworldly monsters while resisting the urge to kill each other. Humanity's last hopes lie in mana, a once-abundant alien mineral capable of unlocking powerful elemental magic, and the mysterious hermit Avatar who's not entirely convinced humanity deserves saving.

Book 2: Of Shadow and Dissonance

Eager to restore justice to a corrupt empire, Yamini joins an elite guild of adolescent assassins under the supervision of a mysterious woman. With the aid of her shadowspirit companion, Yamini becomes a favored student . . . until she refuses to kill the one politician who can bring balance to the territories.

Book 3: Of Wind and Vigilance

Devastated by the disappearance of his younger sister, Marik Keingel enlists in the military to seek revenge. Trained under Delenthias Epson, the most decorated commander in history, Marik soon discovers that he is the subject of a biological experiment . . . and that the war between territories is not what it seems.

Book 4: Of Water and Malice

Xearo and Aeria retire their weapons and take to exploring their roles of mage and shaman in the peaceful, hidden town of Orphalese. But things take a turn for the worse when DeBrei, the water elemental-turned-demigod, threatens to destroy the city--and the planet--with a great flood.

Book 5: Of Earth and Resilience

Aeria returns to a healing Rhevise to help Yamini and Councilman Turnbase restore the capitol to the Peacemaker's vision without Xearo's knowledge. She begins to fall for a strangely familiar man who seems to know her darkest secrets . . . only to find that he is ultimately out for Aeria's unborn twins.

Book 6: Of Fire and Vigor

Stirred by visions of killing his family brought on by his confrontation with the water elemental, unruly Xearo Ta'Lorence wreaks havoc through Rhevise to track down Yamini and sate his fury. As his destructive spree intensifies, Xearo understands that the only way to free himself is to embrace his enemies.

Book 7: Of Light and Glass

Finding a new vessel in the glass monument Xearo constructed, Avatar's spirit of light travels through time solving mysteries, preventing disasters and righting wrongs. His final vision leads him to a restored Rhevise where an anonymous figure works to assemble the world's remaining mana shards. And the surviving elementals themselves.

At the behest of my fans...

Okay. I should say fan. Singular.

I realize it has been some time since I've updated. This is due partly to life having gotten a bit busy recently, and partly due to there being very little to report. Work on Of Shadow has slowed considerably. Continuity issues. Fears and uncertainties. Nothing out of the usual for me. First drafts aren't easy, and they aren't quick. Couple those things with one of the world's most adept procrastinators and you'll have quite a wait for a piece of literature.

Thankfully, you can be assured that it ends up pretty good. =)

With weekends being the only time I can sit down and focus, and these past several weekends being loaded with weddings and festivals and everything else keeping me away from the keyboard, I've gotten a bit lazy. Sorry to report, I still haven't applied my edits to Of Avatars. That goes without saying, no query letters have been crafted, no agents or agencies submitted to--basically, no progress other than that of the new book. Maybe this is good enough, maybe it isn't. For me, it signifies failure and inadequate motivation.

I'm torn between perfecting my first piece and finishing the second. For being this late in the game, that's kind of bad. Especially since I have to literally wait for Yamini to finish telling the story. I don't know everything that is going to happen, and neither does she. I know where she ends up...just not how she gets there exactly. That is the fun part about writing these stories. It is as much an adventure for me as it is for the characters. They never fail to surprise, never disappoint.

I, on the other hand...

*sighs* Back to work.

Full Novel on Scribd

I've decided to make the entire manuscript available to read online @ http://www.scribd.com/doc/16868862/Of-Avatars-and-Elementals. I have, however, disabled the download option, as everyone in my circle has already been notified and sent a copy of the PDF and I don't want copies of the file to spread TOO far to people I don't know. (Call me paranoid or protective, I don't mind.) Anyhow, I figured having the story accessible online would make it easier for friends and acquaintances to get others interested in the story, and if they deem it a worthy read they can come to me directly.

Naturally, it will not be left up forever. I've set a tentative expiration date of one month, though that may be extended (or shortened!) depending on the responses I receive from queried agents (really need to get the ball rolling on that). Something tells me they wouldn't be crazy about the idea of a novel they're aiming to represent being available for widespread download!

In the meantime, I am researching (for the third or fourth time) the industry, mechanics, protocol and etiquette for agents, editors and publishers. There's so much to learn and take in. And perfect. My query letter (and possibly synopsis, I've learned) will have to be just as polished and intriguing as the novel itself if I'm ever to gain anyone's attention. Or representation. At this point, I'd like to think I possess the skill level to do these things with a bit of practice. All that is left is hoping that the market is open to what I've written, and that an agent will believe in it as much as I do.