tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post5766551047810794821..comments2024-03-18T13:32:44.865-04:00Comments on Evil Editor: Face-Lift 372Evil Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-19310095415837533892007-07-08T09:04:00.000-04:002007-07-08T09:04:00.000-04:00pacatrue, was the architect Alvar Aalto? He'd be ...pacatrue, was the architect Alvar Aalto? He'd be my pick for Most Famousest Finnish Architect (and a wonderful one).Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06748534386740555038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-41672589010914221112007-07-07T13:07:00.000-04:002007-07-07T13:07:00.000-04:00To Stephen Hawking, the difference between eternit...<I>To Stephen Hawking, the difference between eternity and the end of the universe.<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>Killer, EE. Killer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-76479165225882108502007-07-07T13:06:00.000-04:002007-07-07T13:06:00.000-04:00An interweaving of the history with the story line...An interweaving of the history with the story line here might be just the ticket.<BR/><BR/>It's 199x, and Janne Valo, like many bright, ambitious young Finnish men after the fall of the Soviet Union and the subsequent economic collapse, secretly spends his free time in the X-stacy-fuelled underworld of a rising club culture marked by grunge raves and [promiscuity]. But when an embittered colleague threatens to expose this international market analyst's secret life, Janne [accidentally kills the man during an X-stacy high]. Janne flees in terror for his life, hiding out in the megaclubs of Ibiza, Spain, then in the Yakuza-joints of Tokyo, and finally on the hip-hop cool streets of New York.<BR/><BR/>There he meets [the equally bright and beautiful Russian emigree Pat], who sobers him up and gives him a reason to stop his self-destructive slide into oblivion. And when [the turning point action/climax of the story happens], Yanne [and Pat] forsake the tumult of New York to return to Finland to live in relative obscurity, but happily, in a remote woodland near the Russian border. <I>{This denouement seems to carry a lot of weight, but it's relatively boring. I'm assuming the dramatic turn is pretty dramatic and makes up for this seeming sleeper ending.}</I><BR/> <BR/>If your story has any other themes or historical parallels, try weaving them in as well so it's clear who and what Yanne is supposed to represent.<BR/><BR/>One caution: It feels like English is not your native language. Some overly correct phrasing and the odd use of a preposition or two tip us off. If you can, have a trusted native English writer review your final query letter before sending it off on submission.<BR/><BR/>Best of luck with this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-67482319246183436512007-07-07T10:08:00.000-04:002007-07-07T10:08:00.000-04:00Personally, I toss aside anything in which the maj...Personally, I toss aside anything in which the major plot issues are to be resolved by the main character "facing his past". WTF is that supposed to mean? Is it an elevated way of saying his troubles are all in his head so all he needs to do is change his mind about something and finally he does? That there are three main characters in the book: he himself, and him? That as an old man he develops a talent for time travel and gets into an altercation with his youthful self, who sets the old guy straight? That he undergoes Freudian psychoanalysis and comes out happy? That he ends up in prison, where, thanks to years of celibate meditation, he realizes the error of his ways?<BR/><BR/>He "faces his past", eh? This sort of "plot" might be enticing to others, but it does not sound like you've got the sort of gripping narrative I'm looking for.<BR/><BR/>You mention some interesting things here and make allusions to others, but the query needs to be more focused on your story and the description of the story needs to be more specific and vivid, or we shall suppose the book is also not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-82974337126798043722007-07-07T08:24:00.000-04:002007-07-07T08:24:00.000-04:00Hey, there's an idea -- a book you can only really...Hey, there's an idea -- a book you can only really enjoy if you <I>lick</I> the pages...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-20107965643824993292007-07-06T23:48:00.000-04:002007-07-06T23:48:00.000-04:00It comes with little packets of drugs. You take th...It comes with little packets of drugs. You take them at certain points during the book. It works perfectly then. Otherwise, it's trying to read a 3D-image book without the glasses.Peter Damienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17450924500401351569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-87555302773897919812007-07-06T22:32:00.000-04:002007-07-06T22:32:00.000-04:00If this is what Dave posits and it's really about ...If this is what Dave posits and it's really about Finlandic culture and/or the effects of socio-political issues around the Finnish or Russian culture(s) and the fall of the Soviet Union, your query doesn't come close to selling that. What it sounded like to me on first read was a drugged out, burnt out stockbroker type slips a cog and goes on a self-destructive spree, ending up in New York. And I wasn't interested in that. I am guessing you are telling us some of the actions but not what the story IS. Sometimes, telling the various activities is completely misleading. In your case, I hope that's what happened.writtenwyrddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02280711822302493122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-7439047349356619192007-07-06T20:12:00.000-04:002007-07-06T20:12:00.000-04:00It looks like two different stories. If you can me...It looks like two different stories. If you can merge the two and work the necessary history into the query (by that I mean, leave most of it out), this might read better.<BR/><BR/>pulpAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-69905642303689573652007-07-06T19:35:00.000-04:002007-07-06T19:35:00.000-04:00(note: Most westerners date the Fall of the Soviet...(note: Most westerners date the Fall of the Soviet Union with the fall of the Berlin Wall. November 1989. The stock crash happened on Black Monday, October 19th, 1987. Most westerners do not date the fall of the Soviet back to Gorbachov but those of us who do study history, know the truth. It was Gobachov who let the Union dissolve after the August 1991 coup and obviously Gorbachov who never insisted that the East Germany seal the wall in November of '99. I remember Honecker or Krenz announcing they would shoot no fellow German. none of those three get very much credit nowadays - history is a harsh mistress, sometimes.<BR/>Sorry to be long winded but I remember this well. A very, very good friend was an expatriate German. We followed this with much excitement.) <BR/><BR/>What links Janne's fall into drugs with the fall of the Soviet Union? Is Janne perhaps the son of Russians? Also, what event precipitates his fleeing to the USA? And once he flees, does he work in Wall Street before or after the Crash of 89? Or not at all? <BR/><BR/>Janne travels from Finland to Ibiza to Tokyo to New York and finally Finland near Russia. What drives that journey? Self discovery? Money? Drugs? <BR/><BR/>I know very little about Finland and Finlandic culture (mostly Sibelius is my Finnish culture). I suspect that I'm not alone. This exploration of Finnish culture and thinking will be a selling point to western publishers. I'm not sure of how to mention that in a query. The closest novel I can think of too look at is "War of the Rats" by Robbins about snipers in the battle of Stalingrad during WW2. Most people knew nothing of the battle other than "the Germans lost the battle" before this novel. Nor did they realize Krushchev was a part politico at Stalingrad. <BR/>I'm guessing that Janne Valo's journey in some ways mirrors the fall of the Soviet and the subsequent spiritual search by its citizens.Dave Fragmentshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17985158361431606939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-24801722571173023412007-07-06T19:10:00.000-04:002007-07-06T19:10:00.000-04:00I was hoping it was GTP #4. The sequel could have...I was hoping it was GTP #4. The sequel could have been 250Xsquared + C.Margaret Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05494509869588511267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-55180155040996187862007-07-06T18:11:00.000-04:002007-07-06T18:11:00.000-04:00I am sorry, author, I have nothing useful to say. ...I am sorry, author, I have nothing useful to say. Instead I am going to quiz you about Finland.<BR/><BR/>When I was in Finland (Helsinki) for all of one day, I visited a famous Finnish architect's house out in the countryside, which, despite being a horrible tourist trap I'm sure, was incredibly designed. Can you tell me where I likely went? I am sure there are many famous Finnish architects, but this guy was THE famous Finnish architect. I've always wanted to tell the spouse more about the house, but I don't know where I was.<BR/><BR/>My main thought from the query is to simply sing: "Finland, Finland, Finland, it's the country for me. So near to Russia, so far from Japan. Quite a long way from Cairo, many miles from Vietnam." -- an obscure Python tune.pacatruehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04125048243775811714noreply@blogger.com