I Was Asked If I'd Ever Written an Ace Character...

Usually I write high fantasy, so the word “ace” doesn’t really exist in those situations. However, my ace characters make it very clear that they are in fact ace. The one urban fantasy I wrote with an ace character and then “The Ride,” which is set in the future, were written at a time when I didn’t know there was a word for being ace so they don’t use it, but the urban fantasy - Glass - is being overhauled, albeit slowly, so the word is going to be used in the book.

How Many Fat Characters Do I Plan to Write? (And Why Did Someone Ask Me This?)

Quite a few. Janine is my current girl because I’m still working on Eidolon and she’s my MC. Juliet from House of Gears is built like Raven Symone and I’m going to hop back to HoG at some point in the future (it needs serious editing). My female lead in my unnamed VR book - I seriously need a name - is fat. So is my girl in Hit the Lights and my main girl in Frost & Fire. So is my girl in Empress of Ice & Oceans. That’s just a few off the top of my head. I’m sick today so I’m not firing on all cylinders; I apologize. :)

PS - why is this a question???

#NewAgent Round 2 Submission

TITLE: Eidolon

GENRE: YA gaslamp fantasy

WORD COUNT: 95,500

NAME: Cathryn Martyn-Dow-Jensen

EMAIL: JaenelleEbony@aol.com

QUERY: In the Victorian-esque principality of Thule, crown princess Madeline Usher has committed suicide. Janine Fortunata is a young noble, the heir of her House, groomed since early childhood to one day take the family seat on the Council of the Eight Noble Houses. She was also the late princess's best friend and a member of the Raven Society, a secret vigilante team of nobles organized by Madeline before her death. When a letter proves Madeline's death was no suicide, Janine must uncover a centuries-old conspiracy of dark magic, murder, and the ravenous specter of a long-dead monarch who once ruled all of Thule with an infamous lust for blood and no mercy. A woman whose name was once spoken only in frightened whispers—Ligeia.

In a corrupt city where the police are as cruel as the crime lords, and plagued by strange hallucinations that make her question everything she knows, Janine will need all the help she can get. But the only people she can trust are her cousin and Roderick Montresor: fellow Raven, the sworn enemy of Janine's family, and the man she's secretly loved for years. With fealty and forbidden love on her side, the Raven Society at her back, and a bloodthirsty killer calling themself Red Jack stalking her and her friends, Janine will have to uncover the truth behind what really happened to Princess Madeline and save the people she loves from the ancient shadow of Ligeia's vengeance.

FIRST 255:

Janine couldn't cry here. Her grandfather would kill her.

The Lillias Infernum Masquerade was the beginning of the grandest event of the season, the first in a series of winter masquerades ending on the solstice. At a month shy of eighteen years old, Janine was expected to act the part of a proper Eidolon noble, at least at social events. She didn't dare break down here.

Even if it was rather tacky to host the traditional masquerades with the country’s sovereign dead. Even if Madeline had…even if her best friend had…

Princess Morella Prospero, newly ascended to the Midnight Throne of the principality of Thule, had made it very clear—the Midwinter Masquerades would continue, even while the country mourned her predecessor. So Janine, heir apparent of the House of Fortunata, had no choice but to attend. Refusing would insult the host and irritate the new princess. On any other night, Janine would’ve loved it all—the dancing, the music, the food—but not tonight.

Tonight, she'd received word that Princess Madeline Usher, her best friend since they were little girls, hadn't just died. She'd committed suicide.

The purple silk and silver filigree mask felt cold under Janine's fingertips as she leaned against the stone wall. Her wig felt inexplicably heavy, threatening to crush her skull, and the ball gown's exposed corset felt like any moment it would snap her spine like a twig. Pain pulsed through her temples, matching the hitching staccato of her heart. Her eyes burned with the threat of fresh tears.

Results of Professional Critique - Farewell, Roderick

So it was hard, but I scrapped my Eidolon prologue. Why?

Both critiques from the pros said I didn't need it. Fare thee well, Lord Montresor. Alas, poor Roderick. I knew him well, Horatio. Le sigh.

But honestly, I can see the point. My query sells all the peeps on Janine, and then it's like, "Here, let's take a peep at Janine's boyfriend." Oops. >.> Didn't think that one through, I guess.

Actually, I did. I put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into that prologue. But it wasn't working. So there it goes.

Murder your darlings, mah peeps.

Unless they're actually people, in which case, don't murder them. Seriously.

#NewAgent Results Are IN!!

I WON A SFF SLOT IN #NEWAGENT

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!

*pants for breath*

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

#NewAgent Entry Round 1

Name: Cathryn Martyn-Dow-Jensen
Email address: JaenelleEbony@aol.com

Title: Eidolon
Word count: 102,000
Genre: YA gaslamp fantasy/mystery

Query:

In the Victorian-esque principality of Thule, the young crown princess Madeline Usher has committed suicide; her brother the prince is dead of an illness. With no heirs to succeed them, the royal House of Usher has fallen. In its place rises the House of Prospero with Lady Morella Prospero ascending the Midnight Throne.

Janine Fortunata is a young noble, the heir of her House, groomed since early childhood to one day take the family seat on the Council of the Eight Noble Houses. She was also the late princess's best friend and a member of the Raven Society, a secret vigilante team of nobles organized by Princess Madeline before her death. When a letter from the princess proves her death was no suicide, Janine must uncover secrets going back centuries, a conspiracy of dark magic, murder, and the ravenous specter of a long-dead princess who once ruled all of Thule with an infamous lust for blood and no mercy. A princess whose name was once spoken only in frightened whispers—Ligeia.

In a corrupt city where the police are as cruel as the crime lords, and plagued by strange blackouts, hallucinations, and nightmares that make her question everything she knows, Janine will need help discovering the truth. The only people she can trust are her cousin Berenice—aristocrat horticulturalist by day, lethal swordswoman by night—and Roderick Montresor: fellow Raven, the sworn enemy of Janine's family, and the man she's secretly loved for years. With fealty and forbidden love on her side, the Raven Society at her back, and a bloodthirsty killer calling themselves Red Jack stalking her and her friends, Janine will have to uncover the truth behind what really happened to Princess Madeline and save the people she loves from the ancient evil brewing beneath the city.

FIRST 255:

Roderick Montresor ignored the hammering of the rain against the carriage windows and stared at the three letters in his lap. Ribbons like nooses, caked in thick fragments of sealing wax, cluttered the seat beside him: purple, blue, burgundy. The color of bruises. Tight-lipped, he scanned the words in three different hands, all of them familiar. Betrayal could come from so many places, strike so close to home. His family crest showed it well—a serpent sinking its fangs into someone's heel even as it was being crushed.

We regret to inform you that Princess Madeline…

Your cousin, Lord Allan, is dead. You must take your place as my heir…

My dearest friend, you are in grave danger…

His princess was dead. The monarch and friend he'd served so faithfully for so long—dead. And her twin brother, the next in line for the Midnight Throne—also dead. Without heirs to the royal House of Usher, the kingdom of Thule passed to the next family in line, the House of Prospero.

And then Roderick's cousin, who looked so much like him with his dark hair and mixed-Nipponese and Thulian features; who'd loved him like a brother; who'd never treated him like the outcast society claimed he was: Allan was dead, too. He hadn't even been allowed to attend the funeral.

Roderick’s entire life had been upended in the short hours between when the three letters had arrived and when the footmen had finished packing his bags. And through it all, he'd only wished for one thing.

NAME THAT JUDGE ROUND 6 RESULTS

I WON ROUND 6 OF NAME THAT JUDGE!!!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!

This means I get a professional critique of both my query AND my first chapter! YAY! So excited!

And I owe it all to my husband, because without him, I would've never read Scott Pilgrim.

#SFFPit Results - 6/19

So #SFFPit was yesterday! So excited because I got 2 faves, one for each project! Sent in EIDOLON this morning and I'm sending in GEARS tonight. Cross your fingers and wish me luck! So nervous for this! These two ladies seem really cool. EIDOLON went with the first 10 pages, GEARS will be with a partial of 50 pages (if I can get stupid AOL to work, ugh). So nervous!

GEARS Pitch: Dybbuks. Cucuy. Golems. Cinderella w/ male Sleeping Beauty. Judeo-Spanish folklore. A kidnapped sister. Stolen memories.

EIDOLON Pitch:  The Red Death, a Ripper-esque killer, hunts the young aristo vigilantes of the Raven Society in the city of Nevermore.

#PitMad Results - 6/4

So I got 3 favorites, 2 of them from the same agent! She favorited pitches for both EIDOLON and GEARS! Another agent favorited my GEARS pitch. I'm super excited. What's funny is the first lady previously favorited an EIDOLON pitch during #KidPit, which was last week. She really wants me. :D

EIDOLON 1: Re-imagined Poe: House of Usher rules a Victorian kingdom of magical beings & the Red Death is a Ripper-esque serial killer.

EIDOLON 2: 17yo Janine must stop a killer targeting the members of her vigilante team. Criminal Minds+Black Jewels+Batman.

GEARS: Nightmare world based on Spanish legends & Jewish mythology. Girl must rescue kidnapped sister from monsters.

OTHER GEARS: Juliet must fight for her sister, love for a rebel leader, her life, and her right to choose. Steampunk fantasy.

Already sent in my EIDOLON submission to the first lady and my GEARS submission to the second lady. Cross your fingers, my peeps!

New Eidolon Book Aesthetic (Janine Fortunata)

I love making these! They're so fun! Here's one highlighting my leading lady, Janine. Plus-size, blue-blooded vigilante with a talent for sword-work and sorcery and a love of dancing, I'm very fond of her. Raven Symone is her face-model.

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo is DEATH!

Okay, no it's not. But it was HARD, man! And as a Latter-Day Saint, I couldn't write on Sundays (oh, the humanity!), and I don't have time on Saturdays because those are my editing days with my critique partner. This eliminates 10 days (count them! TEN!) out of the 30 I had for NaNoWriMo.

And yet...I still managed to make it to 52,000 words! WOOT WOOT! Yeah!

Seriously, everybody, I encourage anyone who needs motivation to do NaNoWriMo. I work 40 hours a week, and November is one of those accursed holiday months, but I still managed to make my goal and stay motivated without getting discouraged. Except for the time when my husband deleted 2000 words off my document by accident. Then I broke down into hysterical sobbing for a good 20 minutes because it was 4 AM.

But aside from that, it was actually pretty awesome. Of course I had like, zero time for anything else (including my Booktube subscriptions - cue sad panda) but I definitely intend to do it against next year.

Anyway, it's December now, which makes it NaDeFiMo - National December Finishing Month! Because I've only ever written a 50,000 word manuscript once, and it was my first book, and I was 10. So yeah. I've got at least another 45,000 words to go. Wish me luck!

Laters!

EIDOLON (Summary)

In the principality of Thule, the young crown princess Madeline Usher has committed suicide; her brother the prince is dead of an illness. With no heirs to succeed them, the royal House of Usher has fallen. In its place rises the House of Prospero with Lady Morella Prospero ascending the Midnight Throne.

Janine Fortunata is a young noble, the heir of her House, groomed since early childhood to one day take the family seat on the Council of the Eight Noble Houses. She was also the late princess's best friend and a member of the Raven Society, a secret vigilante team of nobles organized by Princess Madeline before her death. When a letter from the princess proves her death was no suicide, Janine must uncover secrets going back centuries, a conspiracy of dark magic, murder, and the ravenous specter of a long-dead princess who once ruled all of Thule with an infamous lust for blood and no mercy. A princess whose name was once spoken only in frightened whispers—Ligeia.

In a corrupt city where the police are as cruel as the crime lords, and plagued by strange blackouts, hallucinations, and nightmares that make her question everything she knows, Janine will need help discovering the truth. The only people she can trust are her cousin Berenice—aristocrat horticulturalist by day, lethal swordswoman by night—and Roderick Montresor: fellow Raven, the sworn enemy of Janine's family, and the man she's secretly loved for years. With fealty and forbidden love on her side, the Raven Society at her back, and a bloodthirsty killer calling themselves Red Jack stalking her and the other Ravens, Janine will have to uncover the truth behind what really happened to Princess Madeline and save the people she loves from the ancient evil brewing beneath the city. Unless that evil has already taken root inside her.