Saturday afternoon at the Farmer's Market Question booth

I don't know what genre to call my novel. The protagonist is a vampire (medical examiner), so urban fantasy seems the most appropriate. But, I don't write high fantasy. I don't even like to read high fantasy - and it seems that urban fantasy tends to focus on the fantasy part. Agents have told me my writing has a noir feel - and I do like to read noir and crime fiction in general.

Here's my question (finally) - is paranormal or supernatural crime fiction an 'acceptable' genre?

Intuitively it seems to matter if I call my work urban fantasy vs paranormal or supernatural crime fiction. I imagine the expectations for each category are different. Or am I worrying too darn much about this? Is it possible an agent would read my work, like it - but say 'hey, it's not really UF or the other, so you clearly don't know what you're doing."



When in doubt, don't mention a category.  It's really easy to get it wrong, and it's very hard to get it right. And none of us know for sure anyway. I've sold books that were urban fantasy much to my surprise.  Of course, I didn't refuse the deal cause I thought the book was a crackerjack crime novel, nosirreebub I did not.

When I'm thinking of which editors to approach for pitching a novel like this here are the questions I would ask myself:

Does the vampire solve crimes using vampire tricks of the trade? OR, does the vampire solve crimes the old fashioned way and his/her vampire self is just part of the character?

If the answer is yes, vampire tricks of the trade are key, I would probably approach editors who acquire urban fantasy or even SF.  SF/urban fantasy readers are more likely to buy in to vampire elements being "real" than crime readers are.

If the vampire solves crimes the old fashioned way, I'd approach crime editors. Crime readers are notorious for wanting the solutions to the crimes to be "real." The solution to the crime has to be logical.

Think of it like this:  if cats can solve crimes, that's pretty fantastical, but those books are always shelved in crime, not fantasy. Cats are real, vampire are not.

But it's a tricky question.  And I don't stop reading queries if someone fails to mention a category.  I do stop reading if they say "fantasy" cause I don't do fantasy at all.

Thursday morning special at the Question Emporium

Knowing how hard it is to craft an effective query, is it advisable to slant or bias a query based on the gender of an agent? Ultimately, it is the story that sells, but when I read in an agent's preference list, "Give me a strong female protagonist." I think my male oriented query might as well pound salt. It seems to me that some agent/gatekeepers have shut the door and encrypted the lock.

I asked my staff, all two of them and both women, what they look for in a book. They said, hot guy(s), plenty of steam and a choice by the female protagonist between two or more male, love interests. Of course, none of which fits my story. Keeping their advice in mind, I wrote a separate query using Meri, a character with a large POV footprint, and a love interest that can be construed as a triangle--without being dishonest. But it is disingenuous, because I don't see Meri as the protagonist. So, other than outright lying, is everything fair in love and querying to get an agent to read pages?



Your staff are describing books that would be shelved in the romance or womens' fiction category. Your novel isn't either of those (I know this cause I'm reading about it over at QueryShark.) They're the wrong focus group for you to consult.

There's nothing wrong with tailoring a query to an agent's interest. Tailoring it to the agent's gender is a recipe for disaster.  For starters, us girls have widely varying tastes.  For example, I've heard that LaSlitherina prefers her protagonists drink vodka. And Polish vodka at that. Or was it potato vodka?  I, on the other hand, prefer they drink the blood of ....well, never mind about that now. 

Then of course the troublesome case of Brooks Sherman.  My trusty cohort in crime has been addressed on more than one occasion as Ms. We think it's hysterical. He. Does. Not.  Unless you know the gender of the agent, some of those names can confuse you: Flip. Binky. Cameron.


What you're doing is the new wrinkle on the old art of Kremlinology: trying to intuit reasons for things based on what you can observe.  You must remember that much of what goes on here in the Query Corral is not visible. (Nor should it be--see cliche about making sausage)

I look for good stories that I want to read. There are many good stories I don't want to read. And sometimes, I want to read things that I thought were good and turn out to be ...well.. not.

Keep writing. Keep revising. Quit fulminating about gatekeepers. We're not. We're your first step on the road to success, and we're looking for you every single day.

Well done, good and faithful friend

The Wiggly One

When the Fabulous Stephanie Evans became my client, there was the delicate problem of what to call her.  She had a perfectly lovely name of course, but it was also the name of the head of our company here at FPLM. 

We thought it would be hilarious to call her "Miss Texas" since she lived in Sugar Land and wrote great books set there too.

Well, no. Stephanie scotched that at once. "I do NOT have big hair," she said (only much more nicely because she is, after all, from Texas)

So we tried a couple more iterations.  By then we'd gotten several photos from her featuring her two adorbable pugs. 

So "Pugnacious" it was and is, in honor of her tenacity and her beloved canine companions Mr. Wiggles and TommyLee Jones.

Mr. Wiggles was old in the way that that oak trees are old: solid and falling apart all at once. Bad vision, bad hearing, bad hips, but never ever bad tempered.

Today, Mr. Wiggles' work here is finished and he goes on to greater things.   I'm glad he will live on in the next book SAFE FROM HARM. I'm glad I knew him.

He is and always will be Quite The Dog.

TommyLee (l) and Mr. Wiggles (r)

Hey, how's that second book coming?

Me to Fabulous client: How's that next book coming along? The one that's due (mumble mumble)?

FC to Sharkly Agent: I have all the things I need.  Just one more step.

Publisher looking for mystery fiction

Adventure Publications, an award-winning publisher of outdoor guides (www.adventurepublications.net), is accepting fiction manuscripts for its new series of outdoor/wilderness mysteries. 

We are looking for mystery fiction (68,000 through 100,000 words) that will appeal to both the mystery reader and the outdoor enthusiast. The books will be produced in both print and e-book format. Example of authors we love are: Nevada Barr, Victoria Houston, C.J. Box, William Kent Krueger and Beth Groundwater. 

Currently, we are seeking novels set in the Midwest, Southwest, Northwest, Northeast and Rocky Mountains. 

Please email the first chapter and a synopsis along with a cover letter. Your entire submission must appear in the body of the email and not as an attachment. 

The subject line should be “QUERY” along with the title of your manuscript. Also, in your email, please include the number of words in your completed manuscript, as well as a bio, and pertinent writing and/or outdoor wilderness experience. 

Email your submission to: fiction@adventurepublications.net. 

Email queries sent to any other address will not be read.  We do not open email attachments, unless we request them. 

If you prefer, you may snail-mail your query, along with your first chapter and bio to:
Fiction
Adventure Publications
820 Cleveland St S
Cambridge, MN 55008

I may have said no but...

Prowling around the interwebz this morning I came across this tidbit from that Amazing Agent The Suzenator:

On top of my wishlist:
More adult manuscripts. I could go for a good contemporary romance (and I'll even look at new adult contemporary romances). Or women's fiction! Or magical realism. Anything really. I'd love to find another great adult project.

Suzie hangs her hat at New Leaf Literary Saloon. Give her a holler if you've got something AMAZING.