Novel Meme

Not novel, as in original, but more like the novels you've written. I'm jumping on the bandwagon after Carrie Ryan - on the Manuscript Mavens blog - said 'feel free to join us'. I'm feeling pretty free today, plus it dovetails nicely with yesterday's post, so here goes:

The Mist Stone - co-written in 1984 with my best friend at the time. She started it, pulled me in and I took over. I took all her hand-written pages and typed them up on my grandmother's portable mint green typewriter. While I was typing, I edited and added my own words. When I was finished, I kept going, even though by this time she was bored with the whole project. Needless to say, I never finished it.

Bethbook - That's the filename. I don't remember the real title, or what this was about. It was a romance I started in 1995 using Lotus WordPro. Since I don't have access to that program, and it doesn't translate into Word, it's lost to me until I can find a way to convert it.

The King's Crown - a romance I only worked through partially until I finally got tired of my significant other at the time constantly berating me for taking time away from him to write. I posted a bunch of it over at Tabula Rasa, and it's got a good beginning. Sadly, I don't think I'll ever finish it.

Summer Vacation Story - another romance I only wrote partway back in 1996. It's got a cute premise, but my days of writing with the hopes of being published by Harlequin are over.

Fear Itself (aka Spectacle) - flash forward to 2004. What started as an idea that popped into my head after watching the movie Armageddon turned into my first full novel. I did get some interest from a small publisher on this sucker, but in the end, it didn't fit their list. I still believe this one has publication potential, but I've moved on to other projects. Maybe someday. *sigh*

Nature of Destruction (aka Caldera ) - my second completed novel. This one gleaned some positive agent comments and a few requests for partial, but they never went anywhere. Like Spectacle, it's waiting for its day, but I'm not holding my breath.

Be Careful What You Wish For - another unfinished project. I have the beginning nailed, and the end, but the middle never quite got there. I've had the urgings to just turn the beginning and end into a short and try to sell it to lit journals. I think it would work, but time will have to tell on that one.

Redemption - another lost soul. I love the premise, and I think I can make it work, but I'm thinking it may not go over well enough to sell. I was going gangbusters on this one when an idea I'd been playing with for over a year finally came together in my head. Needless to say, this fell by the wayside. The idea became...

Blink - my third completed novel. I wrote this during Nano, but not as a Nano project. I started about two weeks before and finished by the end of November. I really love this book, but when it was finished, I'd also just finished the first draft of RTL, so it got set aside. It's ready for publication, but I haven't queried more than a few agents on it. RTL takes priority.

AWJ (aka A Widow's Justice) - my fourth novel, but not completed yet. It's stuck in the editing phase as Blink's polishing and the writing of RTL pushed it to the side. This was my first venture into the mystery genre (at least the first since a short mystery I wrote in 8th grade).

Nano - unfinished, but has promise. I fully intend to get back to this one. The idea is fresh and I think the market will respond to it. It just got kicked aside with all the other projects I was working on last year.

RTL (aka Right to Life) - My last completed novel. I'm really proud of this sucker, and I'm just wading into the query process. So far, with just a few queries, I've already got a request for partial from a well-known agent. It's in her hands now. LT around 4-6 wks on a partial, from what I've heard. Keep your fingers crossed. This could be the big one.

Title Redacted - Pseudonymous Mystery. This will be finished, but my current WIP pushed it aside. It's a break from anything I've done before, but so far I'm really liking it. Unfortunately, it's just not making the cut above the other idea. I fully expect to get back into this when I'm done with the first draft of...

Manhunter (lame title, I know, but it makes a good file name - short, simple and to the point). This suspense is a bit of a break from my usual stuff, but it dovetails nicely into what I've already written, and has some major sales potential. (Rather than the books I'm not sure the rest of the world is ready for - like Spectacle and Caldera.) I'm making some good headway on this book. I don't think it'll be the 6 week first draft RTL was, but I expect to get to THE END by June.

This is my typical meme - which means no one else has to play if they don't want to. Hell, it wasn't even directed at me, and I did it. I think it really helps to go back over what you've done in the past, to see the progress you've made along the way and give you a glimpse of what may be ahead. If you give it a whirl, drop a comment so I can come check out your answers.