Tuesday snippet of WIP

“I mean it.” The scaly Nephilim said. “I will kill her.” to prove his point the black claws dug just a little deeper in the woman’s skin. A whimper escaped her lips.

Cassiel stood straighter, giving them his full attention.

“I don’t care.” he said. His voice was flat and even.

“You’re here to protect her! You can only save her if you back off.” Spit flew from the Nephilim’s mouth as he screamed at Cassiel in anger. The dark man shook his head slowly.

“You are wrong hellspawn. I am not here to save her. I am here to stop you from taking her to your master. I am not to allow her to be used by him.” Dark eyes flashed in the night. “If you kill her, my goal is still accomplished.”

Taaa-dahhh!

First draft. If this one goes like the last, it will be HEAVILY revised, so don’t be too harsh on it. It’s still a baby snippet.

and the no frills word meter:

I have written 2,641 of 80,000 words. I am now 3.3% done! no frills wordmeter

New WIP

So I haven’t written much on the new book, until today that is. I worked for about an hour.

So far almost 2000 words down. I am not quite done with the opening chapter. I did come up with a awesome little bit of dialog between the hero and the bad guy in this scene (he will NOT be surviving to return later. lol. The bad guy is a henchman, and thus, disposable)

It will show how OTHER the hero is since he is an Angel.

I also came up with a new twist on a biblical demon. Legion- Hell’s hitman.

This book is like a bright and shiny toy. oooooooooooo preeeettttyyy.

Speaking of bright and shiny toys the countergirl at the tattoo shop I own (who has been a good friend of mine for a few years now) GAVE me a new-to-me laptop.

It’s a small emachines, but it is lightweight and perfect for what I want it for, which is a portable computer that I can dedicate to only writing. Awwww yeah.

So to make it official, here is the cheesy word counter.

I have written 1,948 of 80,000 words. I am now 2.43% done! no frills wordmeter

Well, shit………

So I went to the two big e-publishers websites. Like I said previously, I am working on book two of the Deacon Chalk series while querying book one but I wanted to write a few short stories after the first draft of book two. I was thinking of just e-publishing these because they would be genres I am not really interested in writing full books for, but still want to explore.

Romance, erotica, and straight horror.

So I am on one of the two e-publishers website when I see they are taking submissions for an anthology. So the synapses start firing like a V8 motor and the Muse starts whispering in my ear and the next thing I know I am swirling with the plot, world, and characters for a whole new book.

Dammit.

So now I am researching Angels, legendary swords, mythological creatures, and scribbling notes. It will be a paranormal romance, bordering on urban fantasy, edging over into erotica. I have whole scenes in my head. Dialogue, a killer bad guy, a new spin on the rescued human trope. and all kinds of craziness.

Nephilim, Angels, Horsemen, hellhounds, demoniacs, and all kinds of other hell.

I did not want a new book when I started looking.

I did not want a new book when I started looking.

I did not want a new book when I started looking.

But I went and found one.

I AM excited by it. In fact, my head is on fire with ideas for it. And it is GOOD STUFF. In my head anyways.

(No woman in the history of the world is having better sex than the sex you are having with Ian… in my head.) sorry I went to High Fidelity on you.

So here we go. New book, tenatively titled BLACK WINGS a paranormal romance.

Progress so far:

I have written 446 of 80,000 words. I am now 0.55% done! no frills wordmeter

This does not include the three pages of notes on the story and characters, plus the hours of research last night.

Off we go folks.

All the news that is the news….

Not much happening on the query front. Twenty-two queries sent via email. Six total rejections. One partial still out.

So not bad so far.

Still working on book two of the Deacon Chalk series. I will finish it up and then start a new project. I have a few floating around in my head.

I am also going to go check out some e-publishers and submit some short stories. Those will be more straight horror, erotica, and romance. Things I am not really interested in writing in full, but the ideas still drift through my cerebral membrane.

Winter is upon us here in the tattoo industry, so I will be writing more. I am also thinking of dragging the laptop to the house so I can work while the Missus watches Stargate:Atlantis, or one of her medical mysteries shows that I hate.

I am thinking of setting up one of those word count meter things. If anyone knows of some cool ones, let me know.

My query weary…..

So here is the query I am sending out. I have of course edited out the contact info, simply because anyone who needs to contact me already can, all others use LJ. This is just for your amusement. If you want to critique it feel free.

Dear Agent,

Since killing the monster who took the lives of his wife and children Deacon Chalk has had one rule and one rule only.

He does not work for the monsters. He kills them.

So why would a vampire try to hire him to kill someone? After enforcing his one rule Deacon goes to meet the target, a vampire hunter named Nyteblade. After all, he would want someone to tell him if there was a bounty on his head.

In the alley where he was supposed to kill Nyteblade he finds the vampire hunter waiting.

Waiting to stake him.

A horde of vampires descend to finish the job once Deacon discovers that Nyteblade is a bumbling, fumbling, wanna-be instead of a badass vampire hunter.

Someone has set Deacon up. Someone wants him dead.

Someone should have sent more vampires.

Bound and determined, he will find out who tried to kill him no matter how many vampires, were-spiders, cursed immortals, undead strippers, or insanely powerful hell-bitches he has to wade through.

At just over 77,000 words NYTEBLADE: DEACON CHALK OCCULT BOUNTY-HUNTER BOOK ONE is a concisely written, action-packed, dark urban fantasy tale. It is set in a rich and varied supernatural world and contains a new origin for vampires I have never seen before.

It will appeal to fans of Laurell K. Hamilton, Jim Butcher, as well as those who watch the television show Supernatural.

This is the first book of a series and the full manuscript, plot synopsis, and sample chapters are available immediately upon request. BROTHERS OF MARROW AND BONE: DEACON CHALK OCCULT BOUNTY-HUNTER BOOK TWO is being written at this time with books three and four outlined and plotted.

As per the instructions provided I am including the first five pages of NYTEBLADE for your consideration.

Thank you so very much for your time,

James R. Tuck

Ok, ok, I get it. Queries suck just a bit.

So I finished my book! Yay for the James. Really I feel good. Written and revised it comes to just over 77,000 words.

So NYTEBLADE: DEACON CHALK OCCULT BOUNTY-HUNTER BOOK 1 is in the can. Wrote what I think is an intriguing query and began sending it out.

At this point I am only doing email queries. I dropped 20 on the last night of Dragoncon (monday) and have already received three rejections! No really, that is fine. It is part of the process, you query widely and receive rejections. The ones I got rejected on were the ones who wanted ONLY a query and no additional material. No sample chapter, no first five pages, no synopsis (which I do have to get busy writing.)

There is an agent out there for me. I feel it. And I believe in my material. It is good. It may be a bit of a hard sell since it isn’t a romance and is more of an Action/Horror. (but gentle fans, there are the seeds for the romance that blooms in the next book)

So three rejections do not make me feel bad at all. Then again, I wander this planet suffering under the illusion that things just fall into place and as long as I am putting forth honest effort, then it all happens when and how it is supposed to.

So far, I am have been 100% correct.

So now I am 5000+ words into the first draft of BROTHERS OF MARROW AND BONE:DEACON CHALK OCCULT BOUNTY-HUNTER BOOK 2 and furiously doing research and head-plotting a NEW AND EXCITING project. I won’t tell you what it is other than it is a form of urban fantasy and I am researching occult societies, dirigibles, and gaslights.

I will post my query letter soon for your enjoyment.

Take care,

James