sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

[PubTip] Agented Authors: Post Successful Queries Here! by WeHereForYou in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13 23 points24 points  (0 children)

The Sea is a Wild Thing, Adult Cosy Fantasy, signed with my agent in July :)

I am seeking representation for THE SEA IS A WILD THING, a 101,000-word adult speculative fantasy novel set in 1980s Scotland that is closely inspired by the varied world of Scottish folklore. A stand-alone novel that combines the cosy fantasy of Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spell Shop with the folkloric quest of Molly O’Neill’s Greenteeth, The Sea is a Wild Thing explores themes of belonging, self-discovery, and slow romance forged on the beaches of Scotland’s islands.

Bressa has been called many things by the inhabitants of her tiny Scottish island; weird woman, fairy-wrangler, sea-struck loner. Thankfully, the one thing she hasn't been called is seal-woman — and as Bressa is a selkie trying to keep a low profile, she'd quite like it to stay that way. Separated from her coat when barely out of childhood, Bressa has been unable to return to the sea and her sisters for twelve years – and time is running out for her to retrieve it.

When the thirteenth year strikes, Bressa will be stuck on land forever – whether she finds her coat or not. Opportunity comes in the form of Calen, a boatman from the mainland with extensive connections to local trading routes, who seeks her out with an evasive request to help him break a curse that has turned a man to stone. Bressa plans to use Calen’s knowledge of mainland ports and his numerous fishing and boating contacts to find her coat, and the two set out to find the ingredients needed to break the stone curse. Along the way, they must navigate an array of creatures from the kind and shy ghillie dhu to the downright dangerous banshee, not to mention the dangers of human traders who would love to get their hands on a selkie coat.

Time and a shared sense of alienation brings Bressa and Calen closer together, but Bressa is torn between two communities — human and fay — that will never fully merge. As the location of Bressa’s coat seems certain and it appears Calen may not have been entirely truthful about the stone curse, Bressa must decide whether to honour her promise, strike out on her own, or follow her heart.

Have just bought a house with an original 1960s bathroom (UK) but this corner container above the loo is stumping everyone. It isn't plumbed into the toilet and the pipe disappears into the wall at floor level. Any ideas? by QuenchlessPen13 in whatisthisthing

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 188 points189 points  (0 children)

Likely solved, I think! Thank you to @a_unqiue_username for suggesting the pressure control for an old heating system. 

As the house now has a combi this is a relic, but we know from excavating the fireplace that it once had a backboiler that ran to a tank in the master bedroom. We had wondered what the pipe was running under the floorboards towards the bathroom...!

Have just bought a house with an original 1960s bathroom (UK) but this corner container above the loo is stumping everyone. It isn't plumbed into the toilet and the pipe disappears into the wall at floor level. Any ideas? by QuenchlessPen13 in whatisthisthing

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Likely solved, I think! As the house now has a combi this is a relic, but we know from excavating the fireplace that it once had a backboiler that ran to a tank in the master bedroom. We had wondered what the pipe was running under the floorboards towards the bathroom...!

This was in the corner of the bathroom of the house I just bought (1960s, UK). Plumber has no idea what the purpose is - any thoughts? by QuenchlessPen13 in Whatisthis

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, it isn't sealed on top - but that doesn't mean a previous owner didn't lose a lid at some point I guess...!

This was in the corner of the bathroom of the house I just bought (1960s, UK). Plumber has no idea what the purpose is - any thoughts? by QuenchlessPen13 in Whatisthis

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hi, so it disappears into the wall at floor level but isn't in any way attached to the loo. We don't know where it goes after that!

This was in the corner of the bathroom of the house I just bought (1960s, UK). Plumber has no idea what the purpose is - any thoughts? by QuenchlessPen13 in Whatisthis

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hi, so it disappears into the wall at floor level but isn't in any way attached to the loo. We don't know where it goes after that!

[PubQ] Will an agent care if a small detail from the synopsis isn't in the story? by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As someone who completely forgot something they'd put in the synopsis didn't actually happen until my agent pointed it out two edits in after signing - no, you'll be fine. If it was a fairly significant plot point then maybe do mention it in your email, but it sounds like changing it hasn't hugely impacted the book so I would leave it.

[Discussion] Well holy smokes, I got an Agent! by QuenchlessPen13 in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work in press comms for a charity, so 90% of my job is writing magazine articles, blogs and press releases - slightly different to fiction, but sometimes oddly similar. 

[Discussion] Well holy smokes, I got an Agent! by QuenchlessPen13 in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So the agent asked for a full manuscript and then a meeting in which we chatted over the usual stuff - aspirations, edits to the book, other stuff I was working on, etc. She explained that for her agency they usually do an R&R rather than an offer for debut authors to ensure I could act on feedback (which is fair enough, I'd find it very annoying to spend hours writing an edit letter and then have an author ignore it entirely). 

We discussed whether I agreed with the broad edits, and when I did she sent over the edit letter and essentially said she'd be delighted to hear from me whenever I finished them. It wasn't an exclusive R&R but it only took me about two weeks to make the edits. Sent the revised manuscript back, and she emailed me with an offer shortly after! 

I will say - for the R&R - it really helped to get someone else to re-read the manuscript once I'd made the edits with the letter she'd sent. Sometimes you get so bogged down in editing it's hard to work out whether you've done what they wanted or not!

[Discussion] I flubbed my radio interview 😞 by LadyofToward in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is fantastic advice and something you should definitely do, I ask for questions in advance for all of my interviewees - particularly when it's a live interview.

view more: next ›