Edit My Query Letter

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Good morning, my lovelies.  I have a challenge for all of my readers, or  the ones that care to comment.  Below you will see my query letter that I hope to get out to a few literary agents this week.  Provided that my letter is actually decent.  I wrote on Escaping the Inkwell that I had a goal of submitting a couple query letters by my birthday.  Since my birthday fell on the weekend, I am fudging the actual time of letters being sent out.

Digressing some, but in regards to birthdays, think about this.  “Have you realized that your age is the number of times you’ve been around the sun?”  I read this on Tumblr earlier today.  What a motivating, exciting and well just thought provoking idea.  I’ve done my fair share of traveling having gone around the sun 31 times.  How many miles is that?  Well, in one year I travel 585 million miles.  Whew, I don’t even want to add that up.  It’s a bit astounding to think that I have ‘technically’ traveled that many miles.

Anyways, back to my query letter.  Feel free to take a harsh look at it as I will take each idea and play around with my letter.  I just need an outside opinion.  Does this make you want to read the manuscript?  If not, then I need to work on the letter.  If you would rather not leave comments, feel free to email me at  [kate_wordpress@hotmail.com]

Here goes:

Dear Blank,

I am querying you along with one other agency in the hopes that I have something to pique your interest.

When a girl loves hats as much as Lulu does, she has to have one for every occasion.  However, out of all the hats Lulu owns, she is lacking a fancy hat to wear when she goes out for ice cream on Sundays.  Lulu enlists the help of her best friend, Mimi, and the two of them scour the city looking for the perfect hat.  From large floppy hats to tiny ones that look incredibly silly, Lulu tries on everything without any luck.  Some hats are too big and others are too expensive.  Just when Lulu and Mimi are about to give up and go home, they spot one last shop they haven’t tried.  Does Lulu find her hat?  Of course! Because a girl has to have a hat for every occasion.

Lulu Buys A Hat is an unillustrated picture book complete at 1089 words, geared towards little girls, which is clear from the hat theme.  Hats are one of those quintessential items girls seem to naturally love, so I chose to write about a girl finding a hat after the experience of looking for my own hat.

I have been writing various things for 15 years, including managing two blogs, however I choose to write children’s fiction as a career, drawing from experiences in life.  I also draw on years of reading picture book at my home, grandparents, and many trips to the library.  While I want there to be the fanciful quality, I also like stories to have some realism included. Something a child can relate to when they read.

So, there you have it.  Again, I am open to any suggestion you want to give.  And thank you for taking the time to read this.

Signing off

~Kate

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Email Impatience

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For you, my dear. I have replied all these years……

When letters through the mail were the only form of communication you didn’t have the opportunity to be impatient for a reply. You just had to wait. While you might want a reply right away, you knew that it wasn’t possible so you might as well get on with your life, sit down have a cup of tea and enjoy the afternoon.

Then along came email. That instant gratification letter source. You could have a reply in a few moments if someone was so inclined to reply quickly. Granted, not everyone, including me, replies through email any faster than with a letter. I might take weeks to reply to an email as I mull it over in my head.

Oh, but I hate waiting for a reply. I hate, hate, hate waiting.

Right now I am impatient for an email from someone I sent something to last night. It was midnight and the person I sent it to is a very busy person. But we are friends, I think…. what do you call someone whom you have never met, but you have spent the last two years writing frequently and pouring your ideas out upon, having a bit of attraction to said person, and yet you are still as distant as acquaintances? You could be more but neither side is really willing to take that step?……. And I really digress….. Anyways, we are friends. I appreciate his advice, company and voice. Is it possible to just fall in love with a voice? I think so.

I know I won’t get a reply today, or probably even tomorrow. Heck, with the way things go with him, I might not get one for a week or more. (I will admit I am no better, so I shouldn’t get upset) But I hate, hate, hate waiting. ” It drives me completely insane”….. taken from French Kiss and one of Meg Ryan’s statements.

I know I should level off and relax, but rarely do I relax when I have sent a note and I want a reply. So instead I check my email obsessively hoping that something has come in, knowing full well it hasn’t. Before I even click the refresh button I know nothing will be there and I’m wasting my time.

Email has gone and all made us complete answer-aholics. We want that answer NOW. We want it that very second we send it off. We want that instant gratification, all because we can. But people are still people, and replies do take time.

So what am I griping for?

Signing off

~Kate

Mountain Life

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Stormy mountainsI live in the mountains.  Not technically in the actual mountain mountains, but in a valley surrounded by mountains.  At an elevation of 3000 ft. and being that I am in Northern California we are in what the Sunset gardening book calls a zone 1.  That means at any time of the year we can get snow or a freeze.  Yup, ever heard of snow in July?  Well it has actually happened here.  Not to me personally, but it has happened.

Usually though, the weather is pretty typical.  The past few days have been in that category after a week of nights down in the twenties.  We’ve had sun, a little too much, and warm temps, a bit more than I want.  But it’s finally Spring.
I mowed the lawns the other night, which is a challenge and a half using the electric mower (my parents say the gas is way worse, quit complaining) and dealing with all the excess weeds and various rock piles I may or may not run over.  But oh, when the lawn is mowed it looks so lovely.  Perfect.  Even the tall weed patches have some defined shape.
Throw in a sweet resinous smell that comes down from the mountains after the pines have baked all day in the sun, and then good clean spring smell and you have somewhat the epitome of the mountains.  Okay, it is actually better when you smell wood smoke but that was nixed the other  due to it being warm.  However there were the distant sounds of a dance going on at the small rodeo grounds.  Today is our annual local rodeo.  A joke in itself.  I’ve been once and I’m not impressed, but I love the sounds that come up from the rodeo grounds.  And it turns out after going up into town today and seeing the signs posted that it wasn’t a dance but actual rodeo proceedings.  Personally I would rather picture a rodeo dance on the grounds.  More fun, inspirational, romantic that way.

The mountains are cool, unique and very much me.  I told my cousin recently that was a city girl, and it’s very true. I am very girly girly, though I have to stick with jeans and boots most of the time due to living in the country/mountains.  However, I while I would love to wear heels and skirts more, have sidewalks and stores that actually carry what I want, I love being in the mountains.  I love that a storm can come up out of nowhere, which it did today. I love being able to step out at night and see all the constellations and stars.  Oh the stars you can see in the mountains.  So clear, so bright. I love the smell of pine, sweet grass, and cow manure.  I love seeing all the birds and having deer walking down the street, a la Northern Exposure style.  The mountains are kind of my home place.  I don’t have an actual home place after moving around all my life, but I could say I feel most at home in the mountains.

Signing off

~Kate

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Secrets

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We all have secrets we keep; secrets that are tame to outright ‘oh my gosh I hope no one ever finds out about that’.  Secrets reside in the darkest parts of our mind.  We guard them, holding onto them so tightly that sometimes one never knows we have them.  They are under lock and key, and it is only a select few that ever get to see some of those secrets.  We only share those innermost secrets with someone we trust.

I wonder what would happen though if people knew your secrets?  I only wondered this today after watching a bit of The Mentalist where LaRoche has a secret hidden in his safe inside of a tupperware container.  No one is supposed to know about this secret he keeps, and when the container is stolen, he thinks Patrick Jane knows what’s inside.  This secret could ruin LaRoche supposedly.

It made me wonder what would happen if someone found out a secret I keep.  Would it destroy me?  I suppose it all depends on the secrets we keep.  There are things we keep secret for the sake of a surprise, I.E. a present.  Those are innocuous.  They won’t hurt anyone.  Sure, it might take the oomph out of the surprise if they are found out, but it’s nothing that will do damage.

However, we all keep secrets that could hurt either us in the long run, or someone else.  And if all our secrets were found out, what then?  Because, we would all be on even ground, so to speak.

There is a chapter of The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen, where all the women at the society meeting start spitting out their secrets.  They can’t keep them in.  And the secrets are shocking, and hurtful.  They are about themselves or about others.  It does damage.

This is just a thought I had today.  Nothing in particular other than, what would happen if someone found out your secrets.  Would you be destroyed?

Food for thought.

Signing off

~Kate

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The Woman’s Study Bible, NIV – Review

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The Woman’s Study Bible is a very informative, easy to read, and encouraging Bible. Written as the NIV version, the text is easy to understand compared to other versions of the Bible.  One of the unique features of this Bible are the many areas of reference regarding our daily struggles.  From the mundane of shopping to the personal of a woman’s cycle and growing up, there are sections all throughout that talk about a particular subject then direct you to areas that are applicable.  Charts showing important women of the Bible, along with some you may not have known about as much.  There are quotes regarding spiritual life, and also character portraits.  The beginning of each book has a bit of history and the time period it was written, and by whom. This is definitely a Bible geared specifically and only for women.  There are even parts on the foods and herbs eaten in Bible times.  Clear and concise without a lot of extra dogma. There are lots of little places to get lost reading.

I was quite excited to try this Bible from Thomas Nelson books since I had missed the opportunity to request the Bride’s Bible.  I have this penchant for collecting Bible’s it seems, having about 10 in my collection, so one that was specific for women appealed to me.  I really enjoy this Bible, though I can’t say as I am one to read it all that often, but I’ve never been one to read my Bible all that often either.  Usually I prefer the New American Standard Bible, but this one is very easy to read.

I didn’t like the fact that the references and footnotes were more opinion than directing me to corresponding verses, like I’m used to, however, I still found it nice.  My other complaint would be the color of the cover.  Clay tan/brown would not have been my choice at all for a woman’s Bible.  Why not a pretty purple, lavender, pink, rose, coral, or even the color of the rose on the dust jacket?  The dust jacket was quite nice, but I had to take it off because it squeaked.  But honestly, the color was most annoying to me.  While inside all the highlighted areas are in this pale tan color, the cover is not appealing in the least.

That aside, I really enjoy this Bible.  There are a few areas I disagree with where the publisher put too much of their own specific views, usually in regards to birth control, marriage, children, and such, but on the whole, a very nice Bible.  I had considered possibly using it as a gift in the future for a friend or someone I thought might like it, as I have 10 Bibles, but I like it too much and it will have a place with my other treasured Bible from my uncle who passed away before I was even born.

I recommend this to anyone searching for a nice Bible to give to a woman, girl, or possibly even a  bride, though it is expensive.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Signing off

~Kate

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Boston – A Moment of Silence

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Boston skyline looking west with Boston Harbor in the foreground

Boston skyline looking west with Boston Harbor in the foreground

It’s Monday, at 2:49pm in Boston, Massachusetts.  One week ago our country changed again.  It was the first terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11.  Still in shock, we wait to hear what will happen to the surviving terrorist. We wait for answers. We wait for loved ones to heal.

I ask all of my readers, near and far to take a moment in silence and prayer for the survivors and families of the bombings.  I can’t convey in words or thoughts my views on this, nor do I feel it necessary.  But I do think it important to remember those we lost, those we still have, and those who will need us to lean on.

If you can, find something to help with the healing. Whatever it is you can do, do it.  This week I am going to be donating blood with the Red Cross.  While my little donation is nothing in the scope of things, every little bit we do, helps.

Again, a moment of silence to remember those we lost.  Krystle Campbell, Lü Lingzi, Martin Richard, and Sean Collier.  I also ask you to remember the other 183 civilians who were injured.

Thank you.

Signing off

~Kate

Really, Was Darcy and Rochester Any Better Than Today’s Romantic Life?

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Reality is so depressing.

Why is love so awkward and unstreamlined in real life? Can’t we all just be as brave as Mr. Darcy, or Mr. Rochester, or Jane Eyre or Lizzie Bennett?

I read this recently on Tumblr when I was hunting pictures of Mr. Rochester, aka Michael Fassbender.  I sat there for a while, thinking, oh this is a great line.  Why isn’t love like those books.

Then I got thinking.

It wasn’t really so clean cut.  In both Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, everyone is so vague.  No one just comes out and says, “Hey, I like you, wanna go get a cup of coffee?”  They talk in riddles and vagaries.

It takes Darcy forever before he actually tells Elizabeth that he wants her and he prefaces it with an insult .   Granted, it’s not the world’s worst statement, but a woman would take it as an insult, and I kind of think she should.  I would take it as an insult.  Yes, I would want to be told: “His sense of her inferiority–of its being a degradation–of the family obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit..”

Okay, sure, what he’s saying is that despite all of those obstacles he still wants to marry her, but really, do you want a man that is going to insult you?

And after watching Jane Eyre, and enjoying the film, though I thought there was much that they could have from the book, I found Mr. Rochester  a bit of a jerk.  Now, I have yet to finish the book, though I find I am enjoying it, and I have a feeling there will be more ‘meat’  than the film which seemed to leave much of the conversations out.

While I don’t doubt that Rochester loves Jane, he’s cruel at times, insulting, abrupt, and well, deceitful.  You want him and Jane together, because you can see the purity in Jane’s love, but you know she really needs to leave.  It’s heartbreaking for Jane because she has to leave the man she loves.

When she finally returns to Rochester, a woman grown instead of a somewhat starry-eyed young governess ; a woman who doesn’t need a man to take care of her, the love has changed.  Matured in some ways.   Of course  it took some extreme circumstances, but it’s better.  But the fact that it (the story)  had to go through so much ‘drama’.  And they say people have drama now.  What about Jane and Rochester?  Now that is drama.

Don’t get me started on Emma.  Why, if Mr. Knightly loved Emma, did he wait forever to tell her?  You almost think he’s never going to tell her.  You get so anxious that it’s not going to turn out okay.  I’ve yet to read Emma, it’s on my list, and I’ve not finished Pride and Prejudice, but I have finished Persuasion. Thank goodness for the films, otherwise I might not have gotten through them. The films are the only reason I actually read Persuasion.  Had I gone by just the book, I might not have finished it. Same with Jane Eyre. I had to see the movie to see what I was struggling to get through in the book.

I can relate though to that feeling Meg Ryan says in You’ve Got Mail.  “Confession, I have read Pride and Prejudice two hundred times. I get lost in the language, words like ‘Thither. Mischance. Felicity.’ I’m always in agony over whether Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are really going to get together.”   I feel that way with all of the Jane Austen stories. I felt it with Jane Eyre as well. You really are in agony over whether or not it’s actually going to work out okay, even though you know!

Well, I’m sorry, life is confusing enough. I don’t want a love where I’m in agony over whether or not it’s going to turn out okay.  I was in a relationship like that.  It wasn’t fun. I want to know when a guy likes me. I don’t want to have to sit and guess.  And it wouldn’t hurt if he’s kind, loyal, trustworthy.

So, do I want a Mr. Darcy.?  Only sort of. I would much prefer a Mr. Darcy that won’t insult me. That being said, I still get a delightful thrill thinking about both Darcy and Rochester.

Signing off

~Kate

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