Hooked On Romance

Nikki will be hijacking my blog day by putting up all the juicy responses to the queries and questions sent to agent Laura Blake Peterson. I'm rather anxious to see what she has to say. In the meantime, you can read my ramblings on the Oscars at my personal BLOG...

So get to it, chop chop, Nikki!

Today's the last day to post your questions, pitches, or queries for Laura Blake Peterson!

At 5:00 central time this evening I will be compiling all the questions, queries, and pitches and sending them to Laura for her answers. She will try to answer any and all questions you have and she will respond to as many queries as possible by Monday morning.

Now is your chance to hear straight from Laura what she's looking for in this market, what her preferences are, and find out if she would request your partial or full manuscript based on your query letter. If she would pass on a pitch or query, she'll give some insight here into why.

Here's how it will work. By 5:00 pm central time today, post your query letter/blurb or your question here as a comment to this post or on Thursday's blog post (it will be a repeat of this post). If you're more comfortable, you can email the query/blurb directly to me at nikki@nikkiduncan.com, but the answers will be posted here.

Laura will address as many posts as she can by Monday morning. I will post her answers in a special blog post on Monday.

Make sense? If not, let me know.

To help you out, here is a little more information about Laura and what she is looking for.

I am a 22 year publishing veteran at Curtis Brown, Ltd., where I began my career in publishing as a summer intern. I am a graduate of Vassar College. I represent a broad range of fiction and non-fiction for general trade as well as some children’s books, primarily for the older age groups, always with an eye for originality and strong, literary prose. In general, I am taken by – passionate about -- strong story-telling. When it comes to queries, among the first things I look for are proper grammar and spelling and a clear, concise description of the plot. I am entirely dismissive of queries that insist that it’s something I’ll love, that it’s sure to be a best seller or that it would make a great movie. I want to know this author is serious and professional.

I’m always looking for commercial fiction – tightly crafted plots with fresh characters that come alive off the page. I have a soft spot for smart, coming-of-age literary fiction and material where nature plays as much a part in the unfolding plot as anything else. I usually steer clear of science fiction. I’m not a huge fan of historical romance; so much of the material I see feels too familiar, like I’ve read it before. I appreciate taut mysteries, particularly where there might be an unlikely sleuth or plot presented in an unusual way. Young adult fiction which is smart and distinctive is a favorite of mine as well. In the end, for me it’s about whether or not I connect with the material somehow. It’s hard to describe, though I always know it when I see it.

Enjoy the blog!
Naughty Nikki

I haven’t done any writing at all for the last two weeks. I have a good excuse though….I had the flu. All that is over now. The house has been thoroughly disinfected and I am happy to report that I finally feel well enough to write.

I got up this morning at four and managed to get about three and half pages done before waking my son up and getting him ready for school. I was feeling pretty darned proud of myself and couldn’t wait to drop him off and come back home to settle down for seven solid hours of uninterrupted writing.

His teacher had other plans in store for me. Just as I turned to leave the classroom, I was asked to help decorate the room door for a school competition. I’m class mom and this activity falls within the scope of my duties, so the request didn’t surprise me at all. What almost sent me into cardiac arrest was the added stipulation that it had to be finished by tomorrow. Are you kidding me?

So instead of coming home and delving into my WIP I headed to the craft store for supplies.

I’m determined to make my page count for the day…so I’ll guess I’ll be downing the coffee all night long.

Until next time....

Amusing Abi

I wanted to give you all a head's up that we'll be doing things a little differently for this week's guest blogger. We are honored to have Laura Blake Peterson, literary agent from Curtis Brown Ltd with us to take your questions and queries. Now is your chance to hear straight from Laura what her preferences are and find out if she would request your partial or full manuscript based on your query letter. If she would pass on your query, she'll give you some insight here into why.

Here's how it will work. By 5:00 pm central time on Thursday, post your query letter/blurb or your question here as a comment to this post or on Thursday's blog post (it will be a repeat of this post). If you're more comfortable, you can email the query/blurb directly to me at nikki@nikkiduncan.com. I will compile the questions and queries and send them to Laura. She will answer as many as she can by Monday morning. I will post her answers in a special blog post on Monday.

Make sense? If not, let me know.

In the meantime, here is a little more information about Laura and what she is looking for.

I am a 22 year publishing veteran at Curtis Brown, Ltd., where I began my career in publishing as a summer intern. I am a graduate of Vassar College. I represent a broad range of fiction and non-fiction for general trade as well as some children’s books, primarily for the older age groups, always with an eye for originality and strong, literary prose. In general, I am taken by – passionate about -- strong story-telling. When it comes to queries, among the first things I look for are proper grammar and spelling and a clear, concise description of the plot. I am entirely dismissive of queries that insist that it’s something I’ll love, that it’s sure to be a best seller or that it would make a great movie. I want to know this author is serious and professional.

I’m always looking for commercial fiction – tightly crafted plots with fresh characters that come alive off the page. I have a soft spot for smart, coming-of-age literary fiction and material where nature plays as much a part in the unfolding plot as anything else. I usually steer clear of science fiction. I’m not a huge fan of historical romance; so much of the material I see feels too familiar, like I’ve read it before. I appreciate taut mysteries, particularly where there might be an unlikely sleuth or plot presented in an unusual way. Young adult fiction which is smart and distinctive is a favorite of mine as well. In the end, for me it’s about whether or not I connect with the material somehow. It’s hard to describe, though I always know it when I see it.


Good luck!!
Naughty Nikki

I was watching TV last night with CIS (Hubby aka Calm In the Storm) and this commercial came on. I can't remember what it was about, I'm too traumatized to remember clearly, but this girl was riding a bicycle with a guy behind her. The wind was blowing through her arm hair that would have at least hit her knees if she'd been standing. I know there are cultures where the women don't shave, and I'm fine with that. This to me was just too much. Yes, I know it was fake, but honestly who is that supposed to appeal to? What are people thinking when they dream up these ideas? And what are the money spenders thinking when they approve them?

Thoughts?

Naughty Nikki

I've been really bad about writing lately. I don't know if it's because of the effects of the economy or I'm just unmotivated. I'm hoping it's not the later since I've always been a positive person...I must have a zillion books on my TBR list and yet I can't seem to get through the first five pages of any book I've picked up. I think I stopped reading more frequently last year because I was afraid it would influence my writing. Then there's the matter of re-reading my stuff and hating every word. I've heard many writers complain about this but that's where I'm at. Nope, I'm not saying I have writer's block, I don't believe in it...I think it's more about carrying too many emotional baggage that I can't shake off. I think that's one of the biggest problems for writers when they hit that hump. So I've taken a few days off just to clear the mind so I can be back in the zone again. Sometimes tackling new projects that challenge me will get me going. For instance, I've started this kick butt Young Adult Urban Fantasy that is so different than what I've ever read. Not that I'm an authority on YA, this would be my first full length novel. I recently wrapped up a really chaste YA novella for my publisher but I don't think it counts. :)

What does one do to kick start their mind? I seriously think I need to lay off the alcohol...but I can't help it, my newest obsession is this Rosa Regale...if you've never had it...O.M.G. it's the best thing ever!

Okay, after writing this post, I have an urge to write. Thanks!

P.S. Romance Divas got a nice plug at Publisher's Weekly. Check it out HERE...

If you love freebies, it's time for you to pop on over to Romance Divas and download the Free Reads.

This is the 3rd Annual Valentine's Day E-Book Challenge in which our pubbed and unpubbed authors have gotten together to provide free stories for their readers. This is just a way to thank everyone for their support and hopefully get new readers to become familiar with our author's works. See, everyone wins!

I've even participated this year and my short story, HOT SHOTS, is steamy fun! Hope you enjoy the read.

So, what are you waiting on....get over THERE!