And Happy Anniversary!

A year ago on Halloween, I launched the website. My audience has grown gradually and consistently, and I’m so grateful for all of you here!

And now, a little bit about Halloween, my favorite holiday although not so much for the candy. Halloween began as the festival Samhain, (pronounced sow-in). The word doesn’t mean “winter is coming,” but “summer’s end.” And, in The Last Summer Queen, the Winter King is to be sacrificed on Samhain, ending that year’s Summer Queen rite.

In Celtic tradition, Samhain is a threshold or liminal time when the boundary between the living and the spirit worlds is thin. While ancestors were celebrated and fed from the summer’s bounty, costumes were worn to confuse any malevolent spirits wandering about.

This year, I wanted to learn about the origins of candy corn, that ubiquitous candy found only this time of year. It turns out that back in the late 1800s, the Winderle Candy Company in Philadelphia decided to market the children of farmers. At that time, agricultural workers consisted of about half the American workforce. So Winderle mixed up three different colored slurries of mellowcreme (made from sugar, corn syrup, honey and maybe gelatin for a smooth melt-in-your-mouth experience). The resulting “corn” was marketed as one of several agricultural themed candies to children in farm country. Yum?

For a seasonal sugar rush, try a bag of candy corn. And leave some on your front step just in case you’re visited by the spirits of your ancestors.

Fraught Times

My October was fraught with things going wrong. Nothing dire or unresolvable with a bit of time and talent and treasure. Mostly first world problems: water in the basement, distressing car noises, trees dying in our current hot and dry climate.

But as a result, I haven’t been thinking too much about writing anything new.

What I had on my plate through most of the summer was the query letter (a letter to send to agents and publishers, hoping to entice them to take on The Last Summer Queen) and a fewer-than-one-thousand-word synopsis of the story. Summarizing an eighty-one-thousand novel in a thousand words (I actually hit under seven-hundred words) is a head scratching chore.

The Last Summer Queen Elevator Pitch

Here is my most recent pitch for TLSQ: A thirty-something witch agrees to perform a gruesome rite to save her village.

And here’s my question for you. Does that single sentence entice you to read this story?

How Many Queries?

In the past (last year) I sent out fifty queries for The Remnant of Air, and received forty-two polite rejections. This year, I’m sending only a few queries, focusing on what agents and/or publishers I want to work with based on their websites, manuscript wish lists, other books represented or published, and any other information I can find, such as interviews or social media posts. The count to date is ten, and while I’m hoping to garner interest, I’m pretty much convinced I’ll publish on my own.

So Indie Publishing is a Second Choice?

Well, no. I’m all too well aware that my story doesn’t fit neatly into any one genre. It’s a little bit contemporary urban fantasy, a little bit horror, and a little bit literary. I’ve said for years that indie publishing is the right road for me. Querying is more of an academic challenge. Is there a publisher or an agent out there (somewhere) that finds my work marketable?

I know I have readers. Figuring out how to help them find me is the issue.

Meanwhile…

One of the agents I’m interested in represents Kiran Millwood Hargrave, the author of The Deathless Girls. Published in 2020 and tagged as YA, the description intrigued me: “Gothic, intoxicating, feminist, darkly provoking and deeply romantic.”

Hmm. The reading age is pegged as 12-18 years, but I found the novel extremely dark as it deals with violence, including rape, and slavery. The writing is stunning (although I also wearied of the metaphors), and I felt a great empathy for the main character. If you don’t mind characters mired in impossible situations, this might be the story to brighten these fall days. https://tinyurl.com/5h95d2hh

And for Linzi Day Readers…

Half an Orange is out today, October 31. Having enjoyed the seven novels published in this cozy fantasy, I’m looking forward to reading number eight!

If you haven’t read Linzi’s amazing series before now, here is the Amazon link to her first, Midlife in Gretna Green, which is free on Kindle+. https://tinyurl.com/mr22zz5b

What’s Coming in November

Fingers crossed for a less intense month. The November newsletter will be out on the 20th for subscribers. If you haven’t already subscribed, I’d love to see you on the recipient list. Add your email address (it’s all that’s needed), but be sure not to check “no marketing.” All I’m sending is the newsletter.

Look for the next blog on November 30th, and if you have some burning questions about writing, publishing, tarot, or, yes, gardening, please leave a comment here. Promise I’ll do my best to respond.

Happy Halloween!