Young Assassin's Poem

So I was feeling in a poetic mood again last week and this is what came out of me. My mind has been deep into creating book two and familiarizing myself with the characters. This poem is written from Yamini's perspective after she is given her first journal and expresses her apprehension for following Soliessen's leadership in the rogue's guild. In order to comply with her assignments, she learns to dissociate from herself and forms a vicious, cold alter-ego. Yamini has yet to name the piece.

A tangled web we weave indeed

From blades of steel so crass,

Withdrawn in part a once warm heart

To my dismay, alas.

We fight for those without a cause

And those who lack the skill,

But darkness hides behind those eyes;

She does it for the thrill.

I must get free from their decree,

From hatred and despair...

Find haven safe within this state,

I fear I know not where.

For there must be another way

To circumvent the lie,

To rescue those who'd flee in droves.

How can they? How can I?

"I am Not Reckless"

To celebrate my motivated progress with OSaD I thought I'd share an excerpt of a future chapter with you, dear reader. I thought this bit would be suitable for showing off the main character, Yamini, in her natural setting (and spunk!) three years after her story begins. For a fourteen-year-old, I'd say she's a pretty cool kid! Then again, I am biased...

"Wait, what are you doing?" Henrik asked, his face contorted with concern.

"Is it not obvious?" said Yamini. "I am going after him myself."

The two boys looked at each other and laughed. Then they realized she was serious. "You can't do that!" said Sebastian.

Yamini cocked an eyebrow. "Can is a matter of ability and ambition," she replied, "and I most certainly have both!"

Henrik watched with disbelief as Yamini unsheathed both daggers and concealed each blade behind her inner forearms. "It's bold enough that you've attempted to steal Master Soliessen's recruits--"

"She is no longer our master," Yamini spat, "and by being here you have proven my attempt successful."

"Breaking away from a former guild to forge your own is one thing," Sebastian argued, "but claiming Soliessen's marks is suicide, Yamini!" She ignored him as she stood and crept into the shadowed archway of the arena staircase. "There are codes to adhere to, principles to follow. You are nothing but a rogue, a brash vigilante with a taste for vengeance. Why should we follow you? Your impulsiveness would mean our deaths!"

Yamini glared at the boy. "I am not a vigilante," she breathed. "Vigilantes thrive on chaos. They are mindless seekers of blood and terror, aimless wanderers hoping to vent their discontent with the world on those who appear at first to have caused it. These individuals have become lost in their own corruption, their own greed, resorting to violence disguised as justice while they seek the definition of themselves. They do so recklessly and without planning. I am an assassin."

"And what's the difference between them and you?" said Henrik.

Her wicked smile was enough to make both boys step backward. "I am not reckless."

zOMG busy!

I've been so preoccupied going over edits and restarting Yamini's story that I didn't realize how long it has been since I've posted! My agent list is just about compiled, but after going over the manuscript with Sam I realize I still have quite a bit of revising to do, and that the query-perfecting and agent-spamming is still a little ways off. Nevertheless, I refuse to be discouraged. I've gotten this far, and I find myself still more than motivated to carry on.

Yamini's story, Of Shadow and Dissonance, is coming along nicely. With the confidence of having one novel under my belt already, I am sure that this next book won't take near as long to complete. Rather than give myself a nine-year deadline, I will aim to be done with the first draft come Christmas. Hey, it's a realistic goal, and that's a fairly trying goal for someone like me! *blushes* If I can manage to stay focused like I was with the last chapter of OAaE, I should be able to meet it...or possibly finish ahead of schedule! The revising should be a bit easier this go around also. Especially since I won't be trying to polish year-old writing, and I've learned a lot from going over edits this past week and a half.

That said, here's to editing. And to Yamini!

Anxiety and Reader Finish Lines

I am pleased that a few of my readers have already finished their first read throughs! (And I say first only because they've mentioned going through it again, not as an assumtion. That'd be silly!) I have yet to sit down and discuss the story at length with any of them, but I am hoping to get a few critiques and Q&A starting with the end of this week. Even if it takes me bribing people out of the house with coffee, I will siphon their thoughts one way or another! Ahem. Anyway, I am still every bit as excited about the progress everyone else is making. People stop in and say that they've been reading my book, even if they aren't close to halfway finished, and it makes me smile to know that my words are being read--and enjoyed. It's like...that first house party. You know there's a potential for mess...but you revel in the fact that others are sharing your space, your world, with you. This story is like, my universe, my escape from reality, and it finally is housing other live people exploring its mysteries and characters. My readers are, in effect, making my parallel world more alive to me. For that, I can not express enough gratitude and joy.

At the same time, I am still heavily researching the industry and agents...a task that is taking longer than I anticipated. I figure, if I'm going to put the time and effort into this, I might as well make sure I do it correctly from the beginning. The first book I bought on agents (I have my eye on two others) has quite a few useful articles about the industry in the beginning. I haven't even reached the listings pages yet. Nevertheless, I feel like I'm learning a lot all over again. What to do. What not to do. How to do both. Learning fills me with confidence, so naturally the more, the better. Just have to keep moving forward so I can progress to the query writing. And the rejection letters! <3

Or hopefully...an acceptance letter.

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.

Two Heads (or ten...or twenty...)

Definitely better than one.

As readers make their way through OAaE, I begin to realize the advantage of having so many eyes on the text aside from the feedback I receive. I've been buried so deep in this manuscript for so long that even the faintest mistakes elude me. It's almost as if I'm immune to typos, no matter how many times I go over the piece, because my mind knows how it is supposed to read and so my eyes skip over errors as easily as they overlook imperfections in the mirror. Thankfully I have enough people streaming me corrections to be made, both large and small, which I will "patch" in once more people have reached the end of the novel.

New Respect for Publicists!

Well, after an additional week of fine tuning, I've released Of Avatars and Elementals to quite a few of my contacts. I think that my spirits, patience and hope are not completely out of order, for while I sent notice to around one hundred people and have had correspondence with perhaps a dozen, I am not discouraged in the least. Quite the contrary, I'm overly excited about the few who have taken a sincere interest both in reading and in helping me to find more of an audience. I suppose one could say that the difficult part is now over. The story is in the hands of readers. I am in the process of agent research. Now all I really have to do is sit and wait patiently for feedback...and resume work on Yamini's story, Of Shadow and Dissonance.