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Jonathan Hughes

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Hello everyone at Litopia. My name is Jonathan Hughes from Somerset UK and I have just joined this recommended club.
Having recently completed my debut novel, a historical drama/thriller, I thought it important to connect with other writers. I am in the process of trying to get it to an agent to represent me and my book but without any joy as yet.
It would be great to chat to others in a similar position, as we all know it can be discouraging, especially as I am writing the sequEl, and encouragement comes in many guises!
Jon Hughes
 
Thank you all for your kind welcome. My novel is based in Dorset in 1877 and concerns an intelligent and lonely young boy who is thrust into an aristocratic world of country houses, murderous rivalry, subterfuge and smugglers.
It is the first of a series of books and have today finished the first chapter of the sequel. That always feels good!
 
Welcome to the Colony—good to see another writer from the west country. I'm about to begin another round of querying literary agents are a soul-destroying five months of submitting to 160 in 2015.

The best advice I can give to you is research the agent thoroughly, by looking for interviews with them (including YouTube) and their social media profiles. These venues are where they reveal their likes and dislikes more openly than on their anodyne profile on their literary agency site.
 
Hi Paul. Thank you for your message. Where are you based in SW? I live in Taunton now, where I grew up and was schooled.
Wow, you've aproached 160 potential agents. I've only written to about a dozen, and as you suggested, after a certain amount of research. I'm also doing a second run, as it were, to agents in haven't been in touch with.
I think in this day of age to get something that you have spent years on, just a story to tell, is a very difficult thing to get out there. I write for myself, it gives me great pleasure, but wouldn't it be nice to share that work?
Just keep at it is what I tell myself. You might already know this but Agatha Christie wrote 36 novels before being accepted by a publishing house.
Never lose faith in what you have achieved. I repeat the cliché that everybody says they have a novel in them, but only a few actually comit themselves in achieving that goal.
This is an amazing feat.
Creating belivable characters within a plot line that engages is something that the world needs. As human beings we have been doing this for thousands of years. To have a voice is a wonderful thing and it will never go away. So have belief in your abilities (and yes I'm saying this to myself also) and keep writing. Always.
It might not be the first novel that creates interest but a few down the line might be the one that gets the agent or editor interested.
Peace out and good luck Paul. Let me know what you're novel is about.
Jon.
 
Jonathan Hughes said:
Hi Paul. Thank you for your message. Where are you based in SW? I live in Taunton now, where I grew up and was schooled.
Wow, you've aproached 160 potential agents. I've only written to about a dozen, and as you suggested, after a certain amount of research. I'm also doing a second run, as it were, to agents in haven't been in touch with.
I think in this day of age to get something that you have spent years on, just a story to tell, is a very difficult thing to get out there. I write for myself, it gives me great pleasure, but wouldn't it be nice to share that work?
Just keep at it is what I tell myself. You might already know this but Agatha Christie wrote 36 novels before being accepted by a publishing house.
Never lose faith in what you have achieved. I repeat the cliché that everybody says they have a novel in them, but only a few actually comit themselves in achieving that goal.
This is an amazing feat.
Creating belivable characters within a plot line that engages is something that the world needs. As human beings we have been doing this for thousands of years. To have a voice is a wonderful thing and it will never go away. So have belief in your abilities (and yes I'm saying this to myself also) and keep writing. Always.
It might not be the first novel that creates interest but a few down the line might be the one that gets the agent or editor interested.
Peace out and good luck Paul. Let me know what you're novel is about.
Jon.
Click to expand...

Hello Jonathan, I live about six miles from Newquay (or Sodom-on-Sea, as I call it). The nearest town to me is Saint Columb Major, which has one of most things including a library, but is still very dozy. It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here...

The novel I'm querying with is called Who Kills A Nudist? The title received a favourable response from other Colony members, and I hope that it catches the eye of potential readers. I've decided that the title of a book should be the first part of the 'hook' that draws people in. Hence, I chose intriguing titles for the next two stories in the series (already written): The Perfect Murderer, and An Elegant Murder.

The plot of the first novel starts with an elderly nudist found dead on a stormy winter beach in Cornwall. After checking on the veracity of a Ferrari entered at auction by a millionaire car dealer, my protagonist detective finds his name coming up in other investigations into steroid smuggling, gun-running and human trafficking. The villain controls key officials using fear and intimidation, for he operates a BDSM dungeon in the wine cellar of his mansion. The dead nudist is one of his victims, though the death was actually an accident that he tried to conceal.

All in all, a typical day in Cornwall!
 
Hi Paul. I agree with you about interesting titles. My book is called 'The Burnt Peacock's Feather' which is quite esoteric but hopefully intriguing enough to create interest. The Burnt Peacock is a notorious smuggler that works along the Dorset coast who my protagonist, a seven year old boy, meets half way through the book after receiving a troubling letter from him questioning the veladity of his esteemed Family's past.
Set in 1877 there are also stories woven within the main plot, of the astocricy, their servants, a bitter blood feud with an opposing Family and the fight for heir of the vast country estate
after the death of the patriach. It all concludes in a murderous confrontation that turns my protagonist's world on its head.
The sequel is titled 'Pioneers in Pink Pajamas' where my young protagonist experiences Victorian prep school and all its horrors.
I do like the sound of your work and would like to read it some time. I wish you all the best in finding an agent Paul. All we can do is keep pushing it and keep writing.
Jon.
 
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