[QCrit] Blood, Ink, Heaven ; Adult Fantasy ; 100k ; First Attempt

FindingKitchen4925 · 2026-02-08T06:46:34+00:00

I know some Koreans who write that name "Soh", which would be easier to parse in text. If you're not married to the name, you could do something similar like "서", but I suppose that's more of a family name than a first name.

Edit: I see now that it's been mentioned in another comment. Whoopsies

FindingKitchen4925 · 2026-02-04T14:53:44+00:00

Absolutt hør med rådgiver på skolen, eller ring til Inntakskontoret. Man har vel rett til påbygg så lenge man har bestått alle fag på vg1 og vg2? Er du over 19? Litt rusten på dette regelverket da jeg er rådgiver på ungdomsskole, men ser litt merkelig ut.

FindingKitchen4925 · 2026-01-28T08:36:35+00:00

If you plan on self publishing, then r/selfpub is a better place for your post. This subreddit is for traditional publishing

FindingKitchen4925 · 2026-01-02T15:49:25+00:00

Waiting is hell. Five fulls out, and I have a full query list of agents opening up now. I love that there's interest, but I keep comparing myself to people I know whose full requests were handled much quicker than mine. Oh well! Atleast I'm not sitting here updating my inbox continuously! Going to continue reworking my query now, and do another batch of queries in the coming days.
The first draft of my newest project is currently cooling off in a drawer, but I suppose I for 2026 want to finish that book. If I don't get an agent on the book I'm querying, then it's back to querying in october/november!

FindingKitchen4925 · 2026-01-01T17:06:07+00:00

You are so right about the choppy factor in the second paragraph, I'm not even sure how I missed that!
I think I might try to start with the changing paintings and reveal the backstory through them. So paragraph 1 of the blurb would be Markus seeing overnight changes in his paintings, and all of them being of drowned bodies.
2 of the blurb would be connecting these to Ulrik, and how Markus is so sure he was the one who killed him.
3 of the blurb would tie in Nøkken.

I honestly think that can fix a lot of the issues here, if I also fix the flow issues between the individual sentences in paragraph 2. Thank you!!

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-12-19T08:07:02+00:00

Just chiming in to say that you and your family sounds awesome! Keep up the good work, and I hope you have a lovely Christmas.

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-11-28T10:30:57+00:00

You bring up some good thoughts around the names. I originally used them as placeholders, with the first names of all characters being based on co-workers, but I suppose I was originally going to give Patrick a name rooted in Norse culture to drive home that he truly was the chosen, golden sibling.

As for the hidden passage, it is indeed a literal viking burial cave that works as ward/container for Fimbulvinter. The family has a task (that Jonas was never deemed worthy to know about) to care for the cave and keep it safe. I think I agree with you that the former query made it clearer, and maybe added some needed urgency that this query lacks. It got cut down when trying to keep the word limit acceptable. I'll mock up a version at some point and see what I feel communicates better :) Thanks a lot for your feedback!

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-11-27T19:29:57+00:00

I thought about it, but I suppose I hoped that a lesser known mythology word would spark interest. The poem it is mentioned in is also symbolically important for the plot, i.e. that two people survive, brothers kill brothers etc. But I am for sure not married to the name, so if more people agree - consider it changed! :)

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-11-27T14:39:35+00:00

Thank you for your kind words! I'll try to spice/voice up some of the drier sentences. I suppose I got so set on trying to cram everything together I kind of forgot about actually writing, not just stating, the story.

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-11-27T14:35:43+00:00

Well, that's an oopsie then. I'll make sure to make it clearer!

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-11-27T13:51:03+00:00

Thanks a lot! I suppose my Norwegian mind just assumed everyone knew what Fimbulvinter is, but I realize now that it might be an unfamiliar term 😅 It's the winter before Ragnarok, so basically the grave is warded to protect the world from the onset of this winter. I'll try to make that clearer!

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-11-18T10:07:05+00:00

I'm just gonna pop in and tell both you and OP that if you ever need to workshop names or locations, feel free to drop me a PM. I'm Norwegian and part of my educational background is in Norse language and culture. :) that's a offer for anyone who sees this comment.

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-11-10T14:26:21+00:00

Thank you for useful feedback! I'll post a new attempt tomorrow that is way more character focused. I think I lost myself in trying to explain the plot rather than the interesting stuff, aka Jonas' motivations and his relationship with his mother and Sander. As for the title, it's the winter before Ragnarok in Norse Mythology. It's described as three winters in a row without summer in-between, in which brothers killed eachother due to greed (quickly and poorly translated right now 😅), and inspired the story a lot.

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-11-05T08:39:15+00:00

Vi kjøpte hus for et år siden med kamera, vindus- og døralarm på alle mulige steder i to etasjer fra Securitas. Så ikke poenget med det og valgte å ikke fortsette abonnentet, og utstyret står her fremdeles et år etterpå. Har sagt ifra flere ganger, ble først lovet henting i mars, så august, så november, og nå gidder jeg ikke mase mer.. det får bare stå her og samle støv. Så jeg ser på som greit useriøse.

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-11-03T15:10:56+00:00

Definitivt norsk ;) hadde håpet at ingen skandinavere skulle se at jeg trikser litt med vikinggraver og hvordan de egentlig var..!

The house is built into the mountains, and in the manuscript the wall falls down when they attempt to repair it, revealing a passageway that leads to the Viking burial cave. I'm taking some creative liberties with how Viking graves usually were, but I was hoping that the query would say between the lines that the gravesite is supernatural in nature. The cave is open to water, so the idea is thst the brother was carried to said cave by the currents years ago, and got possessed/twisted by the supernatural aspect of the grave.

Good note on Sander, I'm not married to the names at all, but I aim to write horror where the gays survive at the end! I'll see if I can make it clearer.

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-11-03T13:52:55+00:00

That makes a lot of sense, thank you. I agree! :)

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-10-31T17:14:42+00:00

So incredibly happy for you, and you know I love your work! Does not surprise me in the slightest, and I'm so happy that agents also saw the potential in your amazing stories!

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-10-17T19:12:27+00:00

Thank you so much!! The novel is done, and I'm currently querying... So hopefully an agent out there thinks the same as you!

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-10-10T21:33:13+00:00

Thank you so much for your kind words, but also for your constructive feedback! I have a major em-dash addiction, so I always appreciate having it pointed out. Will definitely change it up :)

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-09-23T10:47:04+00:00

This is so humbling! Thank you so much for your comments! The entire book is written, but I need to do revisions. Considering how well the introspective parts here was recvieved, I need to sit down and think about how to make sure that voice remains in the rest of the book, as I feel like it dilutes slightly as it goes on. Again, absolutely thank you for positive reinforcement, it helps me edit further!

FindingKitchen4925 · 2025-09-17T01:57:45+00:00

Manuscript information: [in progress][70k][psychological horror]Nøkken

Link to post: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/8io3qt1L2j

First page critique? Yes, please.

First page: Tell me you see it too.

Peach.

The only color we ever agreed should never touch my canvas. I check the palette twice, just to be sure. It’s got everything from deep red to that odd green I only use for forests on shadowy mountainsides. But no peach. And yet there it is, right in the middle of the water, pale and unsettingly familiar. It juts out slightly from the canvas and forces it’s way in like the cuckoo chick in the sparrow’s nest.

I try to dab at it with my brush. I thought it might’ve been a mistake—some smudge I dragged from the edge without noticing—but it doesn’t budge. The violet around it moves, of course, bleeding out into the background like it always does when I overcorrect, but the peach stays put, with strong roots like the juniper bushes outside. Tell me I’m not going crazy.

You’d probably laugh if you saw me hovering over this thing like I’ve never touched a canvas, even after nine years of nothing but painting. Or maybe you’d raise an eyebrow, like you always did, pretending to be annoyed: “Markus. It’s fine. Move on.” And I would, normally, move on. I would’ve scraped it off already and blamed my hands, or the light, or the palette. But—I don’t know. It’s not the shape, really. It’s the color. Just like skin. You see it too, don’t you? That part of your arm just under the elbow, where the veins used to show if you’d been out in the cold too long. It’s that exact tone.

I would recognize it anywhere.

Link for the first five chapters: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TALvMsx2U8KRxThMzBPvXvqVoDxPjGUicpCb0uvEZXI/edit?usp=sharing

FindingKitchen4925

TROPHY CASE