Queries On Demand: THE PLUMBER'S CANDY by Julie Cross

To learn more about queries on demand go here

Today's Title is Inspired By?

Suggestion from @biinou on twitter. Thanks so much for this, it made me work at least a tiny bit.

And remember, the books in my QOD segments do NOT exist in real life. It's just for fun. And yes, there will be mistakes and typos. I limit myself to no more than 20-30 minutes on each of these.

THE PLUMBER’S CANDY by Julie Cross

Queries On Demand: NEGLECTED DOG HOUSE by Julie Cross

What is Queries on Demand? 

Queries on demand is a special segment that provides me the opportunity to prove that I can make a teen/young adult story out of any title. So with queries on demand, I get a random title from an outside source and write a query for a Young Adult or New Adult novel. And I’m sticking to my genre because if I could write a query for any genre it wouldn’t make the task as challenging. There’s a genre out there for just about any title. 

For those of you who are more readers than writers, a query is just like the description on the back or inside cover of a book. The 3-4 paragraphs that exist to hook you and get you to read the whole novel.

And just to set the record straight before it even goes crooked, I AM NOT ACTUALLY WRITING THIS BOOK. It does not exist in real life, only on my blog in this query.

Today's Title is Inspired By?

I selected this title from the comment section of yesterday's QOD post. Thank you to Miss Page Turner who so kindly suggested it because she couldn't think any story that might evolve in the YA genre from this title. Well, I came up with one so here goes...

NEGLECTED DOG HOUSE by Julie Cross

Queries On Demand: AFFORDABLE BUTTS by Julie Cross

What is Queries on Demand?

Queries on demand is a segment that I’ve just started today. It’s a representation of the insanity that often goes on inside my head. I’m one of those authors with too many ideas, too many subplots in a novel, too many directions I’d like to take a story and this kind of fault comes with positives as well. A more focused disciplined writer is more likely to struggle with ideas and brainstorming (not always, of course). I need a team of disciplined folks who are willing to come at me with a lasso and reel me back in when I go wandering into the woods, chasing three different butterflies. So with queries on demand, I get a random title from an outside source and write a query for a Young Adult or New Adult novel. And I’m sticking to my genre because if I could write a query for any genre it wouldn’t make the task as challenging. There’s a genre out there for just about any title. 

For those of you who are more readers than writers, a query is just like the description on the back or inside cover of a book. The 3-4 paragraphs that exist to hook you and get you to read the whole novel.

Today’s segment was inspired by YA author, Melissa Landers who has written an amazing YA sci-fi book titled ALIENATED. I was lucky enough to read it last week and wow, Wow, WOW is it good. But the rest of you have to wait until next February. Anyway, after requesting suggestion for places to order custom buttons, Melissa suggested Affordable Buttons and then went on to tell me that when the company called her to review her order, the caller ID read: AFFORDABLE BUTTS and then I replied and said that I wanted to call my next YA novel AFFORDABLE BUTTS. 

Courtesy of author Melissa Landers

And just to set the record straight before it even goes crooked, I AM NOT ACTUALLY WRITING THIS BOOK. It does not exist in real life, only on my blog in this query.

AFFORDABLE BUTTS by Julie Cross  

L.A. native, Mikey McDonald might not be a Hollywood teen heart throb like his best friend Dan, but his backside has just been nominated for both an Oscar and a People’s Choice award.

WAIT FOR YOU by J Lynn

As some of you who follow me on twitter may already know, I'm on a New Adult kick lately and of course topping my TBR list is going to be those titles hitting the NYT e-book list because obviously those are all well liked and many are self-published and I'm constantly on the search for great YA/NA books that are selling for $2.99/$3.99.

Not to mention the fact that Mark Perini (aka-Model Jackson) and I have finished our New Adult novel, HALFWAY PERFECT and I've already got a love for writing characters that are 18+ years old. So NA books have been on my mind a lot lately.

Yesterday, on reddit I did a little analysis on what I believe is the formula found with all the current top NA titles. You can check that out here if you'd like and no this isn't some genius thing I discovered, it's just putting what's already been stated in various articles into accessible, usable terms.

Today I'm talking about WAIT FOR YOU by J. Lynn.

My Biggest Writing Challenge

So, this weekend I decide to face my biggest writing challenge yet. After reading a few incredible short stories on a site called Figment, I started to get super intimidated (even more than usual) and in the case of one particular 480 word story, I began to feel like a crappy writer. I've never been able to write a short story. I tell everything in novel form. It takes me an entire book to develop a character and to make a reader grow attached to them. It occurred to me that my strength might be in the fact that I don't focus on words, I focus on the people in the story and where they go.

BUT, if I could somehow get myself to practice focusing on the words, on zooming in on a tiny speck of a moment in a character's life and forcing myself to tell the story in less than 2000 words maybe it would really help me to grow as a writer. So, I just did it. Like literally just finished and I want to post it here before I chicken out and start to hate it. It doesn't matter if I hate it because then I'll know why I hate it and can try again. And again.

Anyway, if you're willing to take a look and let me know what you think that would be greatly appreciated. I'd also love title suggestions. Unless it sucks then I don't have to call it anything.

In fact, I'm going to do a signed TEMPEST + VORTEX giveaway entry for anyone who comments on the story (and seriously, be critical, it doesn't matter if it's good or bad feedback). And if you want to be entered, make sure to leave your email in the comments.

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I could count on one hand the number of times my head has been fully submerged. The water ripples, forming peaks and then flattening them again. The current’s strong. It will be quick.