- Joined
- Oct 2, 2010
- Messages
- 751
- Reaction score
- 81
- Location
- Lakeview, OR
- Website
- bryanrdurkin.blogspot.com
Edit: Currently closed. Thanks for all the interest!
A promising student of Repulse Tech--a technology replacing steam power to propel airships--Jonah hopes to have a brilliant career. He's also engaged to the daughter of a high ranking aristocrat in the increasingly corrupt and tyrannical Guv. But when his fiancée vanishes, leaving behind an encoded letter, Jonah is forced to abandon his future to find her. He unwittingly uncovers a dangerous political secret, and finds himself the focus of a Guv manhunt.
Jonah's only chance to stay alive is the obsolete, steam powered airship Kricket and her feisty female pilot, Skip. Kricket may be old, but her alien flight crystals are more pure than those of any other airship. Aboard her, Jonah and Skip might have a chance to evade the Guv warships sent to shoot them down. Their search entangles them in the Guv's secret war against Borealis, a mysterious flying city harboring alien technology that can control--or destroy--the flight crystals of every airship in the world. All Jonah wants is to find his fiancée, but with the freedom of the skies at stake, he and Skip must decide: keep running, or risk their lives to save Borealis.
Genre: KRICKET'S SONG is primarily Fantasy, but includes elements of Science Fiction and Steampunk. It is approximately 94,000 words long.
Feedback: Whatever you feel comfortable giving me. I prefer honesty. If it sucks, please say so. If there's a weak spot, please let me know. My goal is to make this the best book ever (I'm ambitious, what can I say?), not to feel good about myself.
The book has gone through three drafts and has been significantly polished. It has also had one beta. However, I do believe I need another viewpoint (or two). Thus, I'm not looking for line-by-line edits. Mostly I'd like feedback on plot (inconsistencies, holes, etc.), pacing, setting, and character development.
Publishing: Traditional Publishing is the hoped-for route with this one. I probably do need help with writing a good query letter for this one, too. Because of the mix of genres and the unique approach I took to airships and the technology level in this work, I'm having a hard time figuring out what angle to use with a query letter.
Credentials: Successfully published authors in a similar genre would be highly welcome, but are not required. I would prefer that you are well-read in this genre, however. Don't let the steampunk element scare you away/fool you. It's not really traditional/hardcore steampunk anyway.
Thank you for checking out this thread. If you're interested in being a beta reader for this work, please PM me here or catch up with me on AW's IRC channel. I would be happy to reciprocate, as well; if you read mine, I'll read yours!
A promising student of Repulse Tech--a technology replacing steam power to propel airships--Jonah hopes to have a brilliant career. He's also engaged to the daughter of a high ranking aristocrat in the increasingly corrupt and tyrannical Guv. But when his fiancée vanishes, leaving behind an encoded letter, Jonah is forced to abandon his future to find her. He unwittingly uncovers a dangerous political secret, and finds himself the focus of a Guv manhunt.
Jonah's only chance to stay alive is the obsolete, steam powered airship Kricket and her feisty female pilot, Skip. Kricket may be old, but her alien flight crystals are more pure than those of any other airship. Aboard her, Jonah and Skip might have a chance to evade the Guv warships sent to shoot them down. Their search entangles them in the Guv's secret war against Borealis, a mysterious flying city harboring alien technology that can control--or destroy--the flight crystals of every airship in the world. All Jonah wants is to find his fiancée, but with the freedom of the skies at stake, he and Skip must decide: keep running, or risk their lives to save Borealis.
Genre: KRICKET'S SONG is primarily Fantasy, but includes elements of Science Fiction and Steampunk. It is approximately 94,000 words long.
Feedback: Whatever you feel comfortable giving me. I prefer honesty. If it sucks, please say so. If there's a weak spot, please let me know. My goal is to make this the best book ever (I'm ambitious, what can I say?), not to feel good about myself.
The book has gone through three drafts and has been significantly polished. It has also had one beta. However, I do believe I need another viewpoint (or two). Thus, I'm not looking for line-by-line edits. Mostly I'd like feedback on plot (inconsistencies, holes, etc.), pacing, setting, and character development.
Publishing: Traditional Publishing is the hoped-for route with this one. I probably do need help with writing a good query letter for this one, too. Because of the mix of genres and the unique approach I took to airships and the technology level in this work, I'm having a hard time figuring out what angle to use with a query letter.
Credentials: Successfully published authors in a similar genre would be highly welcome, but are not required. I would prefer that you are well-read in this genre, however. Don't let the steampunk element scare you away/fool you. It's not really traditional/hardcore steampunk anyway.
Thank you for checking out this thread. If you're interested in being a beta reader for this work, please PM me here or catch up with me on AW's IRC channel. I would be happy to reciprocate, as well; if you read mine, I'll read yours!
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