Newsletter January 2025 - Ain't that a kick in the head

Hey everyone,

Happy New Year and Happy Lunar New Year! There's been quite a lot happening already in 2025, so I hope everyone is staying safe both physically and mentally. Writing is one of my ways of processing the troubling things I see going on in the world and managing the stress it causes. If you don't have a similar outlet, I recommend you find one. Creating and practicing art (writing, music, drawing, painting, etc.) help lower my stress in a way that's fundamentally different from consuming books, TV/movies, or podcasts. And there are a zillion youTube videos to help you get started.

If you are able to donate, you can also look for a charity that supports a cause you care about. Charity Navigator is a good site for learning more about specific charities before you donate. I'm looking at some smaller ones where my dollars will hopefully have a bigger impact in helping keep people and the world safer, including: the Transgender Law Center, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Environmental Defense Fund.

Ain't that a kick in the head also refers to the Dean Martin song (which is on my short list to learn next). After I published last month's newsletter, I made a big push and finished my first draft of Under the Diamond Moon! Huzzah!

But that's not all! I've now read about two thirds of the draft, and it turned out great. Sure, I have a lot of notes about things to fix, but there are no load-bearing plot holes, and I feel like I'm reading--in the words of my child--"an actual book". 😸

The good news doesn't end there, folks. As part of my writing group, the organizer arranges periodic pitch events. I had just finished my first draft, but I attended anyway. I went into each pitch and told them it wasn't ready to submit, but that I wanted to share my basic pitch and get their feedback. UTDM is a thriller, but it's set in the near future (putting it into the science fiction genre) and has magic (fantasy). The last time I blended genres, I didn't have any success finding representation, so my goal was to find out if I was setting myself up for more of the same.

Here's the pitch:

"Under the Diamond Moon" is an adult thriller with a twist of magic. When an archaeology grad student, Lan Wen, unearths a magical doomsday artifact in Antarctica, a greedy energy corporation takes over the remote dig site and unknowingly starts the countdown. Can Lan learn magic and sneak back to the site in time to save the world before the artifact triggers a super volcano?

All four agents I pitched were intrigued and said that editors are looking for genre-blending thrillers! Ain't that a kick in the head? They all want me to send it to them once I've finished editing! 🎉 I was blown away and super energized after the event.

The best part though, was the one agent who immediately wanted to hear all the details about how the magic works in my story. She liked how it's based on Conservation of Energy and other physics concepts. It was really weird and fun to geek out with a stranger about the details of my world building.

I hope you have a wonderful February. I need to get back to editing so I can turn this diamond in the rough into a diamond moon.

Best,
Todd

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