An update...of sorts

I guess I've been pretty bad about blogging lately, huh? I've just been a little busier than usual these past few weeks. Also, I've been suffering a little through trying to re-do my entire query letter. I figured after fifty queries and no bites it was time to re-evaluate things a little to see if there was anything I could do to improve.

First up was the main bulk of the query letter, which consists of my synopsis. My good bloggy friend and fellow avid reader, Jenn, offered to help me out. So I re-wrote the synopsis, then sent her the old one as well. And we came to the same conclusions, nope, not the synopsis, the synopsis was good. She then broached a very sensitive topic with me...a tittle change. Yup, I knew it was coming. Several people pointed out to me the difficulty behind a title like "London Rendezvous", hard to spell, could be mis-construed as more of a romance than an action story. I reluctantly agreed to at least attempt to come up with a better title. See, I can be persuaded, I'm not THAT stubborn. Okay, it only takes about ten people to tell me I'm wrong first!

Thus began the harrowing process of renaming my very first novel, aka my third child. SO not easy. You can ask anyone I asked for input, I was losing my damn mind! My mom, Matthew, more blog friends and beta readers, Laura, Jenn and Lindsay. All had great ideas and the nerve to tell me just plain "No" if it was a sucky title. It took me literally FIVE days sitting on the couch ever night with a thesaurus and a dictionary, I swear I was completely mental. Sunday night I went to bed and just thought about it. I thought about all the things I liked about my original title, the fact that it had the name London in it because that is where most of the story takes place. I thought about what I needed to add to it, something that implied action and adventure and mystery...so BOOM! "London Escape".

That's the thing about writing sometimes, you can't force inspiration, you have to let it come to you. Well, something like that anyway. So there's that. One more thing taken care of. The other thing I've decided to do was write a prologue. Despite the fact that my novel is fairly fast-paced, I think it starts off slow. When I send out query letters I'm often asked to also send the first ten pages or first chapter. I want something up there in the front that represents the more exciting part of the book. So I'm adding a prologue, which will basically be a flash-forward to a more exciting moment in the book.

See? Busy busy! Not to mention all the regular life stuff going on around here! We have company at the end of the week, I'm organizing the church Easter egg hunt, as well as my little hair cutting side business has been blowing up lately. I've already done three haircuts last week and have...four more booked over the next week.

One last thing....my synopsis! Please let me know what you think!

Secrets and lies: all will be revealed and nothing will ever be the same…

Kit Hawthorn has been waiting for this moment all of her seventeen years: The moment when she can finally break free from her ordinary and neatly-ordered life. The moment when she can defy her overprotective father and change the way everyone sees her.

It was the message that started it. A jumbled, frantic text message sent in haste from her friend Jason. In the end it was clear, he was in trouble. Armed with only one small clue, Kit recklessly sets off for London in search of her missing friend and the missing jewels he is suspected of stealing.            

What she finds in London is not what she expects and the plot she uncovers will haunt her long after it is over. In a desperate chase against time and a dangerous enemy, Kit will use every resource she can to follow the trail of clues that will lead to Jason’s salvation. With only the help of a mysterious old man and her own intuition, she will follow the path that is laid out in front of her, to whatever end.

Countless secrets will be revealed, including the face of a long hidden enemy, and Kit will learn the stunning truth about those closest to her. In the end, she will discover her true self and realize that even ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things.