Kristine,

I have around 30,000 on my first draft, but its very raw. I think its a great idea for a story. I get stressed out from work at times and that hurts my creativity.

Thats the catch 22...Work to live...Live to write..HAHA

Thanks about the Pic comment. I very happy, Look at my pics...The Miller Girls and my fan club make every problem seem not as big.

Have any of your stories been published?

Take care

Joe

Kristine,

Tell you what. This is a question I've been asked frequently, so how about if I blog it? I'll be happy to try to help you with any specifics, but I think that way I can organize my thoughts and maybe prove value to others who wonder about publication.

j

Photo will be sent! We just got back yesterday and we're still so tired. I bet the weather is great where you are. We were really lucky though. Sunny since Sunday! Major cause for celebration! I'll send you the photo. all the best.

Kristine,

Nice to meet you as well. Hope the writing/marketing process is going well for you.

Hi, again, Kristine
I'll struggle to avoid saying anything too obvious or stupid. Personal trauma's, deep ones, are hell to write about. Easiest, if it's cheap and private therapy you need, is to do a diary or journal, getting down the really raw stuff -- it's only for you. But if you consider that Vonnegut took seventeen years to get the distance and clarity he needed to write Slaughterhouse Five for others, to inject them into his experience, that's probaly typical. I'll warn you I'm a nut about words, so I risk scolding you about ambidexterous, which literally means having the same right handedness at the ends of both arms. That would look funny. But if both hands are equally facile with objects, ambichiral would be better (dexter is Latin for right, chiros is Greek for hand). I do that same thing for elevators, which are really verticulators, they got down as well as up. Anyway, twins. Thomas Bouchard at University of Minnesota has done the groundbreaking work on identical twins raised separately, and common 'expressions' or 'preferences.' And identical twins are probably the first to dismiss astrology and horoscopes, which say they will both have the same experiences in the upcoming day (0r week). Fat chance. Advice: don't let anyone pry. Give what you want to, hold back the rest.
Best,

David

Hi Kristine - I didn't see the movie Freaky Friday and do not know which actress you think I resemble. My husband thinks I look like Stockard Channing, which is ok! I'd be happy to answer any questions about getting published although good writing, perserverance and luck have to combine.
I also have a nephew with autism and he's such a neat kid - just finishing grade 12. I'm sorry to hear your nephew is having such a rough go and hope they get it sorted out soon.
Brenda

As for how to find an agent, it just takes an awful lot of work to find someone you click with. There are a couple of websites that I've been told are very helpful in terms of getting out a lot of query letters at one time - rather than one at a time. Christa Faust, who is on here also, recommended one called bookblaster.com. You need to get to it by first going to scriptblaster.com, then clicking the link to bookblaster (for some reason it doesn't work to go straight to bookblaster.) It costs $99, but can send out 400 or more queries for you - which will save you money and lots of time - in the long run.

No, no, no, no, no! Do not use a query blaster. Never use a query blasting service. You must do the work of personalizing the query letters to agents. I recommend you read agent blogs, like Miss Snark (anonymous agent; blog is retired but information is still pertinent), Pubrants (Kristin Nelson), Nathan Bransford, and Writer Beware (A.C. Crispin and Victoria Strauss). I know Miss Snark and Writer Beware have talked about Bookblaster.

If you want more information on how to find agents, email me and I'll point you in the right direction.

Thanks for the invite and for reading my bio. If you just can't get enough of my antics, go to my website and click on "In Search of the American Sherlock Holmes". It's the true story of my misadventures researching the book.

Kristine,
Thanks for reassuring me that I have not made some irreparable gaffe. Funny thing about this forum. As writers we find ourselves dwarfed into media types looking for cute, vacuous sound bytes. Yet if we 'go on' we risk seeming... garrulous, no?

Hi, just added a photo of the mower creature my huz built onto my other photos so if you want a real thrill (yawn) you can check it out.

Hi Kristine,

Up late and thought I drop a line.

I have four kids with two teenage boys....I feel your pain...LOL

Joe

That's great! Welcome to the ranks. Who's your publisher? When does it come out? Spill all!

Hey Kristine, that is great news. Congratulations! Ditto the questions from Joanna.

Hi so thrilled for you! the best of luck and you go for it kid. i'll be you couldn't sleep. i just came online--internet not working all day. or i would have answered you sooner. all the best. here's to you!

thanks for that. i didn't like england at first, i was homesick, but then i got so attached to it. no it's not our house, ill see you photos some time, nothing special the house i mean, but we border farms and we have a great big bag yard for the doggies. by the way, one is pregnant and will give birth the end of august the other is the dad! i'm so excited and nervsou. will post photos as soon as it happens.
yeah, some work of art that lawn mower thingy. but it's his life, just about. yawn.

That sounds great. But you'll be amazed at how much of the PR work you end up having to do yourself - if you want it to get done well, or at all. And be careful with contracts, since you don't have an agent with a contract specialist to go over them for you, you really ought to have a lawyer go over them for you. It is way too easy to inadvertently give away stuff that you don't need to or shouldn't No matter how nice the editor at your publisher is, remember that the contracts were put together by lawyers working in the company's service, not yours. You really need to be careful to protect yourself. I've been through three book contract negotiations and two movie option negotiations so far. I'm no expert, but if you want some advice or referrals feel free to send me a non-public message.
Still, it's all very exciting, to say the least.

Sounds great. Good for you.

Will post pics of puppies as soon as possible. Not due for another two weeks. Hope some of your success rubs off on me! so thrilled for you. all the best!!

Hi Kristine
The very best of luck in your search for a publisher. Hope it's easier over there than over here.

no, I ain't stalkin ya, I just found out about this here consarned site and thought I'd kick over a few patties and see if i could find some clues

Calling out for Kevin Connolly!! =)

Thank you Kristine. Are you sleeping okay? still walking on clouds I bet! as for Penny and the puppies. Goodness. its two weeks to go now. so nervous. we're going to get things ready this weekend. a whelping box and other things. people say that Penny will do it all herself but with me on hand--but I am terrified! I might keep my husband home from going to work if she looks close (scratching on her bedding). I'll keep you updated! don't worry!

Thanks and congrats on your publishing deal. REAPER is not released in the States but may be available from internet booksellers - it's available from the UK arm of Amazon so who knows. You tell me.
The full title is :-
Reaper: Coming Soon to a Family Near You

Howdy back

Kristine,

Congratulations on your book....Great News

Luck to you and the family

Joe

Kristine,

I remember those days of looking cool and long hair....
Well, I still like to look cool...HAHA

Joe

Someone is messing with myspace account and I have a link from myspace to here on it. If you get a strange message please let me know.

Kristine,

Just stop by to say hello.

Joe

Hey there Kristine

Kristine,
We had a good exchange a ways back. I just wanted to let you know that e mails sent through crimespace to me are, for some reason, getting dropped. If you need to reach me for any reason, just use d.hoof@att.net
Thanks,

David

Actaully, Kristine,
I'm off for two weeks to the Grand Canyon and Zion and will pick up after that. As much of this area is a cell phone dead zone, it should be an interesting experience.\
Best,

David

Kristine,
Great to hear from you. I log on at night while writing. Congrats on your book...great news.
Stay in touch
Joe

Congratulations! When is the book coming out?

No, you never make money on any of them!

Hello Kristine...I hope your worries are over or at least minimal...

Hi Kristine, yep, getting excited, although I'm leaving for Alaska on Saturday to spend 10 days running in terror from bears and moose before Bouchercon, then returning to L.A. to begin the big book tour. This will be my third book tour and I still enjoy them. Nothing wrong with driving around the country chatting with people at bookstores. Although all that sitting in the car and eating roadside food doesn't do much for my health or waistline.

Hi Kris,
Nice new pic. Glad to hear that all's going well with you. I'm still in Anchorage in the waning moments of Bouchercon. Been haning out a bit with one of your fellow Portland authors - Bill Cameron.

hi kristine, you look so different! Nice photo, though.
Did you see the video I put up of the puppies?

Hi Kristine,
Congradulations on your book.
I'm working on a proposal for an editor that I met at the GRW conference.
Thanks for the message

Take Care
Joe

Kristine,
I'm about to send off a proposal to a agent that I met at the GRW Conference. Any advice for a rookie...

I have four kids with two teenagers...Please feel sorry, two teenagers, for me at this momment...LOL
Hope you have a great holiday with your family.

Joe

Hi Kristine
Hope you're well. I'm pleased to say Reaper is now available in the States on amazon.com at $16.99. In advanced search type Dunne for author and Reaper for title. Hope you take a look and spread the word.
Best wishes
Steve D

Kristine,
Thanks for all of your advice on proposals. agents, etc. I'm sending off this weekend, we'll see how it goes.

Hope you and your family are happy and safe this holiday.

Take Care
Joe

Hey, Kris,
Good to see another Oregonian! Do you belong to the Portland Sisters in Crime chapter? Willamette Writers?
I enjoyed participating in SIC when I lived in San Diego, but Ashland has no local chapter. I'm speaking at the local WW in March. Best wishes with your books!

Oh, lord, I wouldn't expect you (or anyone) to drive five hours to hear me speak! I'm not even talking about mysteries. The group, Willamette Writers, is a generic writing group. They invited me to speak on the use of obscenities in fiction, mainly because I sold an article to Writer's Digest on the topic. (Dec. 2007 issue, "Proceed with Caution") But I assure you, you could get all the info in my talk from the WD article if it interested you, and save a bundle on gas money! Nice to connect with another Oregon writer, though. Keep me posted on your progress.

Thanks for your support in the awards Krsitine.

Brian

Hi Kristine,

Thanks for your comment. I didn't win, but 'The Nemesis Cell' came 6th out of 75 nominations in the mystery novel category and 'Murder, Mayhem and Mexico' was placed 9th out of 128 in the anthologies category, so to have two books both voted into the top ten in their respective sections was a remarkable achievement and i'm very happy with that. I also get to display a P & E Top Ten Finalist logo on my work, which may help future sales etc. In fact, a few days after the polls closed my agent secured a print contract for 'The Nemesis Cell' which had previously only been available in e-book format. The publisher concerned also wanted more of my work so my agent managed to negotiate contracts for two more of my novels, so I think the poll did me some good in a real sense.
I hope everything is going well for you too, and I'll look forward to hearing from you again,

Best regards

Brian

Thanks again. I've had quite a start to 2008, and with five paperbacks due out this year I'm hoping that at least one of them finds favor with the buying public!

Best regards

Brian

Hi Kristine,

Thanks for that. Yes, today the world, tomorrow, the universe (or my own back yard)...lol

Best regards

Brian

I hope you have a merry Christmas and happy holiday season :) Sheri