Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Dear Agent, Vampire mania floods bookstores, theaters, even cable, and Reece Paine believes our world isn’t ready for the truth. Fiction may not be fact, but she thinks that a vampire with a demon spouse and flying toddler might be a bit more than her neghbors can swallow. Consulting for a secret pa...

All right, time for attempt 3 (at least on the forums. I think this is query incarnation 600 or so.) Dear Agent, Knowledge isn't power; it's trouble. Occult Detective Matt Allen knows about the supernatural, but he's an ordinary joe. He relies on his wits and his gun; too bad guns have more boast th...

It's time to try this again. The original thread can be found here: http://forums.nathanbransford.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2138 And now to the revision. Dear Agent, Knowledge isn't power; it's trouble. Occult Detective Matt Allen gets no power from knowing where to look in the shadows to find my...

Dear Dream Agent, Being labeled an undead bloodsucker married to a demon doesn’t mesh with Reece Paine’s idea of what a working mama ought to be. Those overblown rumors about vampires haven’t encouraged her to come out of the closet either. She’s married to a demon and freelances at a bureau secretl...

Dear Dream Agent, Being labeled an undead bloodsucker doesn’t mesh with Reece Paine’s idea of what a working mama ought to be. Awesome. Knowing those things are just overblown rumors about vampires hasn’t encouraged her to come out of the closet either. Just a little trim to tighten it down She’s ma...

AmyAshley, I am also a Moore-on, and Bloodsucking Fiends is one of my favorite books. I've also read a bit of urban fantasy, so it's hard to get the idea of a dark, gritty world laced with the supernatural yet have a Chris Moore approach. It's hard to maintain any sense of impending doom with the Em...

This is where the whole forum process gets messy, as I think you've got some good stuff in here. Dear Agent, My novel, WHAT A PAINE!, is a quick-moving, kooky urban fantasy novel with a women’s fiction feel. It should appeal to fans of Christopher Moore, Janet Evanovich, and Kim Harrison. Move this ...

Thanks to everyone who commented. I got some interesting perspective on it. So here is take 2. And I'm inclined to agree mostly with D.S. The plot is already in there, what I believe everyone was actually after was not plot, but conflict, so let's see if I succeeded. Dear Agent X, Knowledge isn't po...

It's time I take the plunge, so go ahead and let me have it with both barrels, people. Knowledge isn't power; it's trouble. Occult Detective Matt Allen knows enough to recognize a mysterious, glowing rock and a college kid under mind control. Tracking down the why and who means dealing with those th...

Maybe a different approach is to try and model it. Here is what I have garnered from your past queries. Dear Agent, After almost five years, Carmine Caudatus has almost fulfilled the demon contract. Unfortunately, his time is almost up. If he can find the Wheel of Fate before the contract expires, ...

Dear Agent BOZO, In the interview with______, you said _______. My 70, 000 word novel, WHAT A PAINE!, might be just the thing to buzz your senses. It’s an urban fantasy that should appeal to moms trying to juggle diapers and other duties. I know you think it sets the tone, but the agents don't care ...

I'm seeking representation for The whole point of a query is to seek representation. They know this. No need to waste words on it. YA fantasy HARP-BROKEN, complete at 67,000 words. Put this down at the bottom. Hook them first, then give the stats for the book. Based on Irish mythology, it should ap...

Yes, you do need backstory. We need to know the why of the whole quest, but you don't want to do an infodump at the beginning. Doing an infodump is a lot like a prologue, which is something else agents aren't crazy about. Weave the backstory into the query. Make sure you start off with where the rea...

The explanations are good, but they're also problematic. None of these questions has a quick, easy answer that you can throw into a query. They're major plot points, and the trick is to find a way of incorporating the things you need in there with the things you can readily keep the agent from going...

When Carmine Caudatus was eight-years-old, he lost his best friend and servant to murder. With the Power of the Rose and his genius mind, he attempted to reanimate Thomas with clockworks. However, without a soul, a body is just an empty vessel, and he was forced to open a contract with the Fallen W...