Hey, I made Round 3 too!

[CJF]

That's very cool. Congrats. Is there a way to read this without a Kindle now? I'd like to read it.

[SeattleUte]

Is there a way to read this without a Kindle now? I'd like to read it.

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showpo...9&postcount=29

[PaloAltoCougar]

Congrats and good luck, SU. I'm trying to figure out how one can shoplift an eBook.

[il Padrino Ute]

:rockon2:

That's awesome, SU.

My goal of being hated by a published author is one step closer to becoming a reality!

[NorthwestUteFan]

I.nteresting you led with Paul enjoying the company of men scenario.

[SeattleUte]

I really liked Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall. Did you compare your novel to it, or did someone else write the blurb?

Sounds interesting and epic in its scope; certainly a real undertaking. That's awesome you started the project and saw it through to its completion.

Honest criticism: for the next round, take out "matrix," "kaleidoscopic," and "symbiotic" and replace with less pretentious/cliche words.

Levin, thanks for the honest criticism of the query and I will continue to think about it. The query is my own work, except that the first sentence you reference was suggested to me by a successful published author of historical fiction that has read the manuscript. I have taken it out and put it back in and revised it and restored it several times for the very reasons you identify. One reason the opening sentence has stayed in the way it is written is that it seems to convey immediately that this is not a didactic "Christian" novel. There is a specific, narrowly defined market for those types of novels, and specific self-identified agents who represent that type of novel. Any other agent will automatically reject if she receives a query for such a novel. I could say explicitly that this is "not a 'Christian' novel," but I prefer a more elegant solution. I could say that this novel is about the origin of Christianity, and that would be accurate and straightforward plain English, but it would risk the very misperception I fear.

As for symbiotic, the word coveys precisely and economically the idea I want to convey in that sentence. I could say "mutually beneficial" but some of the meaning is lost. The symbiosis that has existed through the ages between Gentiles and Jews has not been addressed as frequently as the tragic aspects of those relations. But it is as interesting and vital; indeed, as LOGOS dramatizes, Christianity itself is a manifestation of that symbiosis.

Sometimes those fancy words serve a purpose and are the right words to use. In any event, I wonder if symbiotic is really so unusual.

Finally, I want the query to convey that while this novel is plot driven and has plenty of action, sex, violence, etc., it is consciously a literary novel, as the subject matter demands. So fancy words are not necessarily out of line in this query for a literary novel.

[SeattleUte]

I.nteresting you led with Paul enjoying the company of men scenario.

I have nowhere read that Paul was homosexual, but I would be surprised if I am the first person knowledgeable about his life who has not wondered if he was.

Except for borrowing some plot lines, I have tried to build my story by not regarding the Bible as a history book. For example, I assume that Paul was an unreliable narrator in portraying himself through his letters. I do love Paul, believe me, but I submit he’s a good candidate for an unreliable narrator. In his letters Paul condemned homosexuality. So how can I have him lying with a man? Maybe he, a man who (from his writings) seems to have been oddly insensitive (even hostile) to feminine charms, excoriated homosexuality (excoriating homosexuality a position I personally disagree with) because he himself had homosexual urges. Note also, homosexuality was not taboo, was even somewhat commonplace, in ancient Greek culture, a culture with which Paul closely identified. Is my conjuring far fetched? Some would say so, some not. But this type of contradictory behavior is not unheard of; indeed, it is human.

[TripletDaddy]

When do they make the next cuts? Do they notify you via email or at this stage do they afford you a phone call?

I've filled out my bracket and have you going all the way to the Final Four. Come on, SeattleUte!

[SeattleUte]

When do they make the next cuts? Do they notify you via email or at this stage do they afford you a phone call?

I've filled out my bracket and have you going all the way to the Final Four. Come on, SeattleUte!

They will post it on the site on April 26. Nationally televised. This time I will definitely need some luck. Probably one Publsher's Weekly critic will review and score the entire manuscript. As you know, tastes in fiction are intensely subjective. I need someone to fall in love with it. Also, I was nearing the end of but not quite finished with a major edit when I submitted this manuscript. The timing was not perfect. So the manuscript that's entered is not quite at the level of the latest version. I need what every debut writer who gets published gets at some point--someone who matters to fall in love with the work. This contest just gives you one more shot at finding that special someone; unlike most situations, someon HAS to read it. (If you're unpublished all the presumptions are against you; Stephen King could write crap and many of his fans would still talk themselves into loving it.)

[Jeff Lebowski]

They will post it on the site on April 26. Nationally televised. This time I will definitely need some luck. Probably one Publsher's Weekly critic will review and score the entire manuscript. As you know, tastes in fiction are intensely subjective. I need someone to fall in love with it. Also, I was nearing the end of but not quite finished with a major edit when I submitted this manuscript. The timing was not perfect. So the manuscript that's entered is not quite at the level of the latest version. I need what every debut writer who gets published gets at some point--someone who matters to fall in love with the work. This contest just gives you one more shot at finding that special someone; unlike most situations, someon HAS to read it. (If you're unpublished all the presumptions are against you; Stephen King could write crap and many of his fans would still talk themselves into loving it.)

Or John Grisham.

[tooblue]

I always welcome honest feedback.

I provided you honest feedback but you were less than welcoming. Regardless, congrats.

[NorthwestUteFan]

...wherein I simultaneously justify allowing Paul a little (Greek) deathbed enjoyment of a Boy Toy and sorta vaguely reference the fact that ancient Greek morality as filtered through Rome and into the early church probably would not condone the church's support of Prop 8...; j/k :-)

indeed, it is human.

I always understood that Paul was previously married and was perhaps a widdower, and maybe that led to some of his misogynistic writings.

I am willing to buy the homophobic angle as the genesis of his anti-homosexual writings.

FWIW, in relatively recent history (within the last few centuries) in the Hawaiian culture, consensual sexual contact between ANY two persons was an acceptable form of showing affection one for another.

I was only able to read for a short time yesterday before being interrupted. I will continue to read with interest.

Stephen King could write crap and many of his fans would still talk themselves into loving it.

Stephen King has been phoning it in for almost 3 decades now...

[NorthwestUteFan]

On second thought, did Paul suffer under the debilitatingly crushing weight of regret and despair brought on by this exquisite sex?

[SeattleUte]

A resounding moral victory:

Today I missed the Amazon cut to the final 50 (from 5,000; I was at 250). This is like missing the Final Four (the "Semifinals"). But I am immensely pleased at my Publisher's Weekly Review. It appears that maybe I did not miss by much, but the most important thing is the validation, or confirmation, and how delightful that here a reviewer does "get it," and likes it enought to accept it for what it is. It's exciting to read a professional review of your WIP. Moreover, the manuscript I submitted was not as advanced as the current iteration, and it is now undergoing further revision and refinement (excellence is ever elusive). In any event, my novel does not really fit the archetype that Amazon wants prominent in this publicity event.

Anyway, the review made it all worth it. Here it is. I like it!

ABNA Publisher Weekly Reviewer

A fair amount of research went into this novel of Christianity’s origin, and that scholarship cuts both ways. The protagonist, Jacob, is born into the House of David in Jerusalem, a handful of years after the death of Jesus. He’s raised to become a priest, a carpenter, and a patriot of Israel who dedicates himself to the fight against Roman rule. Through rebellious uprising, wilderness wandering and a final sea journey, Jacob is eventually involved with every single Jewish or Roman person of historical importance. He suffers terrible personal losses, reacting to the deaths of loved ones with vengeance. With nothing left, he is driven by bloodlust against his people’s betrayers and enemies. Jacob slowly begins to question traditional beliefs. Sexual interludes describe prurient details and bloody battles spare little when it comes to gore. Yet this novel’s core is a set of ideas more than a chain of events. The weight of monologues and exchanges slow the pace down. Those interested in how facts and myth synthesize to form a religion will be pleased by plausible extrapolation from reasonable assumptions.

[TripletDaddy]

Congratulations, hermano. That you went so far is a testament to your ability to express yourself persuasively with the written word. I think everyone here can attest to that gift. And as you implied, you went further than most aspiring authors ever do.

Please promise that when you finally do publish your book, you won't allow BYU or Deseret Book to carry it. Maverick!