Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I had very good reasons.
One of my flatmates needed a computer and since writing can be done (and is best done) without the distractions of the internet, I was more than happy to lend her my laptop for the day. She'll need it again so maybe there will be another late night post or an early morning brouhaha, but I wanted to post to prove how dedicated I am to this blogging every day thing, and this project I'm about to do, and this project I am SO close to finishing.
That being said, PW got it's first official rejection today. And it was so lovely, I wish I could share it with you. But for now, I want to keep it close to my heart. To remind me that agents, at their core, are human beings. That no matter how many form rejections are sent, there are sometimes the ones that are personalized, to prove those aren't the only ones out there. And to remind me to keep pushing, because one day, an agent just like the one who sent that rejection letter, is going to send me a kindly worded response that has a "yes" attached. So I'm keeping it to myself for now, but I wanted you guys to know how amazing I thought it was.
Good night you guys! I mean... good morning.
Love,
Deserae
P.S. This is Due's song of the day. Enjoy! Oh and Sonal... Thank you kindly. :)
Wow! I asked and you guys responded. Did you see Maya's comments in Part I? I did, and I was SO thankful. And did you know Arianna emailed me immediately with feedback? Well she did and I showered her with thanks then and some more, well, now. Not to mention, there were two people who responded on Kate's post and both Krista V. and Lenna were really nice so I'm thankful to them, as well. And then there's Kate, herself, who took the time to read and critique and boy, am I grateful to her, too. I rewrote the query and... Well, I hope it's better. I want to know what you guys think. There's more words in this one but it's more descriptive and less destiny heavy ALTHOUGH I had to slip some of it in at the end because it's important. I think.
When
Drazoral steps out of a portal known as the Beyond, she is no longer the bronzed, long-legged warrior
from Andromeda. She is Drew Ophelia Vardaman, the short, pale-skinned thirteen
year old who has hopes of becoming an Earth citizen. While Drew learns to adjust
to Earth food, emotions, and all of the weird kids who make up Planet Jr. High,
she starts to understand what it means to be human. But when a parasitic shadow
starts possessing her classmates, she’s forced to confront the part of her that
is anything but normal.
Drew
presses her guardians, Wyatt and Windsor, for answers about the darkness that
haunts her dreams. But they’re not the only ones reluctant to dredge up the past.
Drew has kept the real reason for her sudden flight to Earth a secret in fear
of being sent home, but when mayhem strikes, she is asked to return to Andromeda
in order to absorb the source of her power. It is only then that she’ll be able
to use her gift without fatal consequence, and it is only then that she’ll be
able to help defeat the shadow.
But
while the part of her that is Drazoral wants to fight, the part of her that is
Drew wants to live on in peace. It is
no longer her duty to serve or to protect the universe. She realizes that
playing it safe isn’t always the right thing to do, but she sees that putting
herself in harm’s way is giving into the destiny she was pre-ordained. In
PLANET WEIRD, a 47,000 word work of middle grade science fiction, there is no
wrong or right in one’s decision to fly or fight, but Drew has to make a choice
before it’s too late to save either her classmates or herself.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope
to hear from you, soon.
So?... Any takers?... Here's a song while you read. Thanks you guys! I honestly do look forward to hearing what you think.
I've been trying to rewrite my query so I could post both my new and old ones for your side by side evaluations. But I can't. Do it. And I need to post this by midnight or else I FAIL!
So here, then, is the query that super agent Kate Testerman gave her comments on (and here is where she said... well... things that enticed me to rewrite it. Hehe!). Help me make it pretty? Or at least nod your head several times as your eyes glide over it and insert sporadic, "I see..."-s. I love ya'll. Do you know that?
PW Query, Phase I (which is actually phase gagillion and three, but we'll talk about that later):
A
near-death experience grants Drazoral a glimpse of her future, but after
hearing that her life is the key to cleansing her home planet, she runs away to
Earth, takes on a new identity, and, through trial and error, learns to blend
in. As thirteen year old Drew Vardaman, she has the chance to start over. It’s
her hope that, on Earth, she’ll be able to control her own destiny.
Although
she has a rough start, Drew soon discovers what it means to be human through
the guidance of her cryptic guardians, and her handler, Mr. Bleu. And just when
she comes to peace with who she is and what life could mean on a planet like
ours, a parasitic shadow starts possessing her classmates, forcing Drew to tap
into the powers she’s been promised but hasn’t yet learned to master.
As
the shadow grows stronger, Drew’s confidence becomes weaker. And though she
realizes that playing it safe isn’t always the right thing to do, she sees that
putting herself in harm’s way is giving into the destiny she was pre-ordained.
When the sacrificing of one life is necessary to save the lives of an entire
species, the choice to surrender seems clear. But when that one life is yours,
there’s no wrong or right in the decision to fly or fight.
PLANET
WEIRD is middle grade, supernatural fiction complete at 47,000 words. Thank
you for your time and consideration; I look forward to hearing
from you soon.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's new version and keep reading if you want to hear something cool!
"Tee-hee!"
Deserae <3
P.S. That wasn't the cool part. The COOL part is that Maya asked me a wonderful question on my last post (the blessed girl). She asked:
Is there a chance you could possibly post your WriMo on your blog?
And the answer to that is, YES! And... well... no. YES I will post some sort of something for every day that I write be that a screenshot of my Word document, a picture of me stressing out, a secret video telling ya'll something about what I intend to do or behind the scenes-y things about the characters, or a straight up excerpt for your entertainment. NO I will not post the whole thing because it's a book--- not a short story--- and that'd take up WAY too much space.
And I'm doing these special things because 1.) Maya is awesome and the fact that she asked makes me want to do SOMETHING and 2.) I am a HUGE fan of behind the scenes/ teaser-like things. Plus, I like you guys and would like your opinions so yeah. That's what we will do.
I still don't know what project I'm going to do but I have exactly a week to figure it out. I want to ask someone to pick for me but it'll take SO much time writing all of those ideas down and not getting enough of a consensus. So yeah.
