Формула 1 и Nestle, крупнейший в мире производитель продуктов питания, объявили о подписании многолетнего контракта.

На официальном сайте чемпионата продолжают серию весёлых интервью с гонщиками, и этот раз на вопросы отвечал Лиам Лоусон, вернувшийся за руль меньше месяца назад...

Перед заключительными этапами сезона машины RB будут модернизированы, прежде всего усовершенствования затронут заднюю часть VCARB01, где появится ряд важных компонентов от RB20///

Лео Турини, ветеран итальянской гоночной журналистики, рассуждает о смене поколений в Формуле 1, называя её «своего рода революцией» и «эпохальным событием»…

В следующем году молодой Андреа Кими Антонелли заменит Льюиса Хэмилтона в Mercedes, но не все уверены, что он готов сразу выступать в топ-команде.

В Alpine F1 подтвердили, что с 2026 года на машинах команды будут стоять двигатели и коробки передач производства Mercedes...

В 2025 году впервые в истории Формулы 1 пройдёт общая презентация всех команд – её организаторы сообщают, что это будет яркое и масштабное зрелище, посвящённое 75-летию чемпионата мира...

I've kind of been ignoring this blog for a while. That's nothing new... there have been multi-year periods with no posts. I'm still writing stuff...

This week's Top Comics to Buy for November 13 features buzzy books like Absolute Batman, G.I. Joe, and more!

As you continuously approach your fitness goals, you eventually hit a plateau, which occurs when you've nearly reached your ideal fitness level. At this point, you're basically stuck at one level, but you can take it to the next level easier than you make think.

Everyone who does resistance training―from newbies to professional bodybuilders―will hit this point, but what's important is knowing how to increase your productivity and enhance your workout, and with these 21 facts, you can definitely reach your fitness goals faster.

1. Are you exactly the same as your neighbor, or for that matter, even your sibling? Since we'll assume you answered, “No,” you must understand that everyone is different and doesn't respond to the same muscle building techniques; therefore, you should alternate the speed of your repetitions for optimal results.

2. What your parents gave you doesn't have to determine your goals. You should achieve your fitness objectives despite any genetic barriers you may have―i.e. a high BMI.

3. Establish your goals on paper. Research indicates that when a person writes down detailed goals with deadlines to meet, that the individual has a specific path to follow and is more likely to be successful at achieving that goal.

4. Age is nothing but a number, so don't let your age be a factor in achieving your goals, especially since you can't change this number. Focus on what you can control, such as your sleeping patterns.

5. Find a workout buddy. When you have someone to push you, you'll work harder than you would alone.

6. Keep in mind the ratio 10:1, because you generally need to gain 10 lbs for every inch of girth you add to your arm size. For instance, a majority of people gaining 50 lbs during the course of five years will also gain five inches in their arms.

7. Prior to increasing speed or resistance, increase the range of motion first, meaning you should fully contract and stretch your muscles. If you don’t, you’ll only receive partial results.

8. You need at least eight hours of sleep per night to build muscles, so aim to get this many winks as much as possible. Remember, a few late nights won't hurt, but making it a habit will take a toll on your target fitness level.

9. Stay hydrated! Your body needs at least 1 gallon or 16 cups of water per day for proper muscle growth. The composition of your body is 70 percent water, and in order for your body to maintain an anabolic state, water is essential.

10. Consume raw vegetables whenever you can. Cooking veggies removes much of their nutritional value. In fact, boiling these healthy treats removes between 50 to 75 percent of their nutrients. You may steam them, if you can't eat them raw, but never boil them.

11. Eggs are an excellent source of protein and despite their bad reputation, they're one of the healthiest foods you can select, especially for bodybuilding.

12. If you don't have one already, go out and purchase a blender. The amount of calories that you must eat as a bodybuilder are much easier to consume in liquid form. This vital piece of equipment is definitely important if you have a busy lifestyle that doesn't allow you to eat every three to four hours.

13. When you go grocery stopping, stick to shopping in the outer aisles. These aisles are typically where the fresh dairy and meat are located. The inner portion of the grocery store consists of processed foods and canned goods that should be avoided if you want to build muscle fast.

14. Never use a supplement in place of a meal. You must put food before supplements, so that you're consuming all the nutrients you need for bodybuilding. The nutrition you receive from foods surpasses that of a supplement.

15. In regards to supplements, creatine stands out as the top bodybuilding supplement. Beginning in the 90s, creatine has been at the top of supplement charts and has not seen a decrease in popularity since. The daily dosage recommendations vary; however, the most common dosage schedule consists of taking 20-30 grams for the first 5-7 days, then reducing the amount to 3-5 grams per day.

16. Maybe you don't have enough energy to workout, or maybe you want to increase the amount of time you workout. If either of these scenarios are the case, you should choose coffee for a pick-me-up, since it contains a mild stimulant known as caffeine. Caffeine is an inexpensive and safe performance enhancer.

17. You wouldn't drive your car without warming it up on a cold day, so why would you exercise without getting your body warmed up? Get those muscles warm to avoid injury while working out. Complete at least five to 10 minutes of stretching, in addition to some light cardio before you begin heavy lifting.

18. You've heard before that cheaters never prosper, but in certain cases, this isn't true. Although cheating to finish a set quicker or to lift more weight isn't positive, cheating on the last few reps makes the weight feel easier. This stimulates more muscle fibers with greater intensity.

19. Play nice and take turns! The you-go, I-go concept leads to an intense workout, because after you do a set, your partner immediately does one after you, then before you know it, it’s your turn again. You both use the same weights, but you take turns without any rests in between, and you see who can do the most reps per set. Try this technique with your workout buddy when you do barbell curls or other simple exercises.

20. During the 1940s and 1950s, Reg Park and Vince Gironda made a super intense technique for bodybuilding popular, which consisted of doing 10 sets of 10. This old-school procedure may have a modern name of “German volume technique;” however, this has been a preferred method to build muscles for quite some time. It causes your muscles to grow rapidly. Basically, you should do 10 sets of 10 reps for one body part at a time. Then, you should superset at two different body parts each workout. Make sure you don’t rest for more than a minute in between each exercise. Use this regimen for three weeks, and then return to a more traditional approach.

21. Switch up your routine. After three weeks, you should change your program completely. Basically, it should be opposite of the original order you did the exercises in. For instance, if you worked on your chest first, you should do it last next time. If you worked on abs on Monday, you should do them on Friday next time. Change up the amount of sets you do, as well.

Vince Delmonte

Go here: http://vtaperphysique.com/stage-shredded-status

NOTE: The workout is a "GIANT" set or "Tri" set. You will do all three exercises together for quads for 3-5 circuits. When finished with quads move on to hamstrings

(QUADS)

Barbell Squat 6 reps
Bulgarian Split Squat (Dumbbell Lunge) 12 reps
Leg Extensions 25 reps

Rest for 2 minutes and repeat for 3-5 more circuits.

(HAMSTRINGS)

Deadlifts 6 reps
Lying Leg curl 12 reps
Hyper extensions 25 reps

rest for 2 minutes and repeat for 3-5 circuits.

If you want to know more about Vince Delmonte's training programs he as a FREE video of an awesome presentation on how he got his pro card at the WBFF and went on to be a pro fitness model. He takes you behind the scenes at a rare look of what it takes to get super RIPPED and Shredded, just in time for summer! This video will not be up for VERY LONG!!!
Go here: http://vtaperphysique.com/stage-shredded-status

UODATE: The bike sold, quickly, for the full asking price to the first person who showed up. Which was cool. And even better, the guy was like, "Who did the pictures? They jumped out at me."

(Tiny speedlights FTW...)



Have you tried to buy a new bike lately? Or even a used bike?

The coronavirus pandemic has made them very tough to find. Between homebound people snapping them up and all of the various broken supply chains, most of the bike inventory — other than very pricey specialty bikes — has pretty much vanished.

Which means that if you have a functional bike in your garage that you don't need, it will likely never be worth more than it is right now.

My daughter Emily has an unneeded bike in the garage. It's a Trek 7100, which is decent hybrid. She rode it to middle school. But she's just graduated college and won't be bringing it to her new job.

But right now it should fetch a nice price in the Craigslist Bicycle Hunger Games. Especially if it is photographed and presented well.

So that's exactly what we are going to do today: photograph a bike with a basic two speedlight kit.Read more »

Seeing as no one is doing much traveling these days, I thought it'd be fun to pay a visit with a Strobist reader photographing somewhere far away.

Up for a little Lighting Cookbook field trip to Indonesia? Yeah? Then let's go... Read more »

Whenever you have control over the time of day in which you'll be shooting a location portrait, always remember that the hour that wraps around sunset will offer you at least five different lighting environments in which to work. 

And for today's portrait of birders Jo (left) and Bob Solem, we're going to use three of them. 

Read more »

There are two main schools of thought when it comes to lighting. One is to light your subject in a way that is not grounded in reality but merely looks cool. And the other is to use lighting to translate the way your eye sees light into a way that your camera can better understand it. 

That latter choice is the option we'll be exploring today in a walk-through of a sunset portrait of artist Wendy Ng for the Howard County Conservancy. 

Read more »

At first glance: a simple, one-light portrait of activist gardener Janssen Evelyn.

Dig deeper: a look at tonal mapping via specular highlights, stretching the range of your modestly powered flash, and how to discover your next project.

Read more »

Lighting with flash can give you more than just the ability to control the quality of your light. With the inherent consistency of light from (manual) flash, you can layer in slices of time as well. 

But first, you’ll want to lock down two things: the ambient light portion of your exposure, and your camera’s physical position.

Read more »

When lighting with small subjects, a speedlight is generally all you’ll ever need. Further, because of the scale and distances involved, even with a small flash you’ll be working at low power settings.

For these photos of some of the resident animals at the Howard County Conservancy, we used a single speedlight generally at one-eighth power, and let the environment of the impromptu studio to the rest of the heavy lifting for light modification.
Read more »

Five years ago I was pretty sure that all I would ever know was the plain concrete box I lived in. I was just a little pup, not even six months old, when they took me and my cousins away from the life we knew in the woods and put us in boxes. I started to forget who I was. I forgot about the woods I used to live in and that there was anything outside my box. Some of the other dogs forgot themselves before I did and believed that the box was all there was. Hector didn't forget and he would bark at the people that hosed us and our boxes and it would remind me that once I knew something other than the box.

Uba, NW1

Александр Буфетов, профессор РАН, рассказывает о Четвертой конференции математических центров России, прошедшей с 6 по 11 августа 2024 года в северной столице. Организатор — Санкт-Петербургский международный математический институт имени Леонарда Эйлера.

Сообщение «На рассвете, августовским утром…» Вольные заметки о IV конференции математических центров России появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

Главным событием ближайших недель будут, конечно же, кометы: C/2023 A3 (Цзыцзиньшань — ATLAS) и C/2024 S1, также обнаруженная системой ATLAS 27 сентября 2024 года.
Астрономы обнаружили уникальную тройную звездную систему под названием TIC 290061484. «Трисолярис» (как в книге «Задача трех тел» Лю Цысиня) был обнаружен с помощью спутника NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
Последние исследования, проведенные с помощью спектрографа ESPRESSO, установленного на VLT (Очень Большом Телескопе) в обсерватории Паранал (ESO, Чили), после четырех лет наблюдений дали интересные результаты. У звезды Барнарда была обнаружена планета, получившая обозначение Barnard b. Этот мир, масса которого предположительно превышает массу Марса, относится к категории субземных планет.
Космический аппарат «Вояджер-2» вышел в межзвездное пространство в 2018 году. Для поддержания работы научных приборов стареющий космический аппарат, страдающий от сокращения запасов энергии, уже начал использовать небольшой резерв, предусмотренный бортовым механизмом безопасности. Поэтому инженеры миссии пришли к решению отключить один из приборов с целью сохранения общей работоспособности.
Изображение номера — пара взаимодействующих галактик Arp 107.

Сообщение Астроновости: кометы октября, рекордный «Трисолярис», планеты у Летящей Барнарда и продление жизни «Вояджера‑2» появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

Актуальность Дарвина. Экспансия Маска. Памяти нобелевского лауреата Ли Цзундао. Алексей Кудря: Астроновости. О пользе предрассудков для развития науки. Отвечаем почти на всё. Самая яркая конференция в моей жизни. Бомба и только бомба. Мыслить носом.

ТрВ-Наука № 414 от 8 октября 2024 года в PDF
Материалы номера в HTML

Сообщение ТрВ № 20 (414) за 2024 г.: Актуальность Дарвина появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

В поколении людей, родившихся в 1930-е годы, были невероятно талантливые ученые, среди которых можно назвать Серафиму Евгеньевну Никитину. С. Е. обладала множеством способностей. Она могла бы стать певицей или актрисой, музыковедом, этнографом, географом, биологом, физиком или химиком (химиками были ее родители, а старший брат — физиком). Но стала филологом, и филологом необыкновенным, многопрофильным.

Сообщение Серафима Евгеньевна Никитина (01.09.1938–02.10.2024) появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

Нобель по молекулярной биологии. Пионеры нейронных сетей. Уроки корейского. Комета Цзыцзиньшань — ATLAS, полет к Европе, вспышка в Малом Магеллановом Облаке. Две межпланетные миссии. К гравитационному телескопу — под солнечным парусом. Из троицкой гимназии — в немецкий вуз. «Ее доклады превращались в настоящие концерты». Пункт приема стеклотары рядом с Театром на Таганке.

ТрВ-Наука № 415 от 22 октября 2024 года в PDF
Материалы номера в HTML

Сообщение ТрВ № 21 (415) за 2024 г.: Нобель по молекулярной биологии появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

Любительская астрономия сегодня. Сюрприз микроквазара SS433, подробности миссии Artemis 3, пик солнечной активности… Слет специалистов по двукрылым. Дорога в космос. Принципу запрета Паули — сто лет. Революция в языке. Самоходные статуи в Сивцевом Вражке.

ТрВ-Наука № 416 от 5 ноября 2024 года в PDF
Материалы номера в HTML

Сообщение ТрВ № 22 (416) за 2024 г.: Не думай об аттосекундах свысока появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

 

Everyone's talking about 2012 these days. But what is it really all about?

It's about a lot of things, all coming together. It's about the state of the world, and where it's going.

It's all about life, the future, and humanity's destiny.

Want to know what will happen in 2012? Want to know how to survive these tumultuous times?

The articles in this section will tell you what you need to know about the Transition coming up, including how you can both keep yourself safe and contribute to the well-being of the Earth at the same time.

NOTE: Until this section is finished, not all the links will be working. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it does take time to put it all together.

At this point, only 1 article is still awaiting completion! -- Heal the World: What You Can Do.

See the menu at the bottom of the page by clicking on the pentacle bar below, to find all the articles in this section.

 

The first place to begin is by clearing the confusion of information that's out there, sorting out the facts from the speculation.

So many websites are just repeating each other, even the stuff that's wrong!

What is real, about 2012? What is just confusion? What is illusion?

Find out what I've discovered in my research.

Indian, Mayan, Hopi, and other ancient sages left us calendars that seem to end on Dec 21, 2012. This date is called The Shift of Ages, The End of Time, etc.

Does this mean it's the end of the world?

Well, yes and no.

It's not doomsday, any more than the end of our yearly calendar on December 31st means the end of life.

But it IS the end of the world as we've known it.

Do you need to panic? No... read this article to find out why.

Astrology is the holographic image of life on Earth, projected onto the galactic screen. (Or vice versa.)

Everything in the universe is a 3-dimensional living hologram of the whole universe. That's what it means when poets speak of seeing the world in a grain of sand, and saints speak of knowing that one thing by which all things may be known (the self, that is).

So astrology resonates with what we experience on Earth.

In astrological terms, 2012 signals the Shift of Ages. We leave the age of Pisces the fish (also known as the Christian age) and enter the age of Aquarius the water bearer.

What does the Age of Aquarius herald? Find out more about the Age of Aquarius here.

The year 2012 is not a date picked at random. It's a very precise astronomical moment. It represents the turning of both the Great Year and the Galactic Year, as well as the Seasonal Year.

There's a lot of confusion about these cycles. I've seen websites saying the Galactic Year is 26,000 years long. They're confusing two great cycles.

Find out more about this Galactic Alignment.

The Indian texts and Greek/Roman mythology, we are currently living in the Iron Age, the Age of Kali (Kali Yuga). This is a time of metaphorical darkness, a dearth of spirituality and the dominance of ego/intellect over soul/heart.

The turning of the astronomical Year, just as in the Earth's seasonal year, represents a turning from the darkness and entering into Light.

The fact that two momentous and one smaller but potent cycles are simultaneously turning toward the Light is particularly significant. The power behind this transformation is immense!

Like seasons, fading from winter to spring, December 21 2012 is the official first day of Galactic -- and spiritual -- Spring.

But just like the Earth's seasons, it doesn't change like a door opening and closing. It's a process, a gradual shift from the season of darkness to the season of light.

And we are well into the 2012 Transition!

25 years before the year2012, an exceptional alignment of eight planets, including the Sun and Moon, were aligned in an unusual configuration called a Grand Trine.

At this time, there was tremendous energy to shift the planet from an energy of conflict and violence to an energy of cooperation and peace.

This is considered by many to be the clearest starting point for the 2012 Transition.

This was a pivotal year. On the Mayan Calendar, it signaled the shift into Galactic Consciousness.

You may have noticed that consciousness did shift dramatically and suddenly that year.

For example, in early 1999, Climate Change was still a fringe concept, actively being discredited by the government. By late 1999, an amazing shift had taken place: Climate Change was suddenly accepted as a reality by everyone. It was no longer seriously disputed except by the most gullible or sceptical.

There was no definitive reason for this shift in the Climate Change debates. Suddenly, without reason, it was just accepted by the global consciousness.

This is just one example of a world-wide transition.

2010 was another pivotal year, though in a different way. There was a strong energy dynamic that could have led to extreme violence and another world war. But that deadly potential was defused, and 2010 passed calmly.

What didn't get noticed, therefore, was the fact that by 2010, humanity had already made the shift toward peace consciousness.

You may not have noticed this if you were paying attention to all the stupid wars still going on, but against the possibility of world-wide nuclear war, we did pretty well.

And it's only going to get better!

To find out more about the significant dates in this Shift of Ages, see this article.

Let me state it plainly, in case you have any lingering doubts:

December 21, 2012 is not the apocalypse, doomsday, destruction of the Earth, end of all life, or even the end of civilisation as we know it (more or less).

The year 2012 is a point of transition, when we've irrevocably crossed a boundary into a new way of being, a new paradigm.

The question remains: what will be the new paradigm?

It can signal the end of a lo-o-o-o-o-o-ong era of darkness and a rebirth into Lightness of being. Or, potentially, it could be the release of humans from physical form on the Earth.

The really neat thing is we get to decide which!

What do we do about this change? How do we survive 2012?

That's what the Hopi Prophecy is about. It describes the two options we have, and how we get to choose.

One is very unpleasant. But one is very lovely.

Which would you prefer?

Either way, you have the power to make it happen!

The Mayan Calendar also gives us clues about Surviving the 2012 Transition.

No matter what's going to happen, this is undoubtedly a time of cataclysmic change. It's challenging for all of us.

With the right approach and tools, though, we can make the transition smoother for ourselves, and more beneficial to the Earth.

Find out the secrets to surviving the Shift of the Ages .

(All the articles in this section after this page, will continue the theme of surviving the Shift of Ages.)

You may be asking yourself why evil and darkness seem so much more pervasive, so much more powerful than ever, if we really are transitioning to a brighter future.

It's simple.

It's the last, desperate scream of a dying dinosaur.

The resistance to the Shift seems bigger than it is because it's so loud, but it's loud out of fear and pain and defiance of its own transformation. The ego-world is dying, and doesn't trust that it will evolve into something beautiful.

After the dinosaurs, came the birds.

But the dinosaurs would avoid that if they could.

Luckily for the world, they can't!

With Bright Blessings,

What are the Hopi prophecies, and how are they linked to the year 2012?

I'm so glad you asked!  Of all the 2012 predictions, these are the most important and exciting, because they not only foretell the 2012 Transition, they tell us what we can do about it.

This article reveals the signs of the end of the World Age, according to the Hopi prophecies... and what that means, in their point of view.

The Hopi nation, on the Arizona lands, has highly spiritual values. Hopi means peace; their name for themselves is the Peaceful People. The rituals they do are for the benefit not just of themselves but of the whole world. The clans are matrilineal, and with a balance of power between females and males. Life is religion, in Hopi culture.

The Hopi have carried an oral tradition for centuries. The Hopi prophecies come from that tradition, and they tell of the signs that will presage the end of the World Age (ie, Fourth World) and our entry into the Fifth World.

Note: I'd like to be clear that the Hopi's, as far as I know, didn't give a date for the end of the Fourth World. That's the point of all the prophecies: they will give us warning.

But since all of these prophecies have already come true, and since other sources give us a calendar date for the end of a world age, it seems clear that the Hopi prophecies are talking about the 2012 Transition.

 

Prophecy of the Theft of the Land: There will come a nation of white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana -- men who took the land that was not theirs.

(European conquest of the Americas.)

Prophecy of Thunder Strikers: These white-skinned men will strike and kill their enemies with thunder.

(Firearms.)

Prophecy of Wheels : Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices.

(Wagons moving west.)

Prophecy of Horned Creatures: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers.

(Longhorn cattle.)

Prophecy of Iron Snakes: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron.

(Railroads.)

Prophecy of the Skies: The skies shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web, and the white man will put metal wires in the skies.

(Chemical trails deposited by military aircraft, and power and telephone lines.)

Prophecy of Rivers of Stone: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun.

(Paved roads -- heat mirages.)

Prophecy of Black Seas: The sea will turn black, killing many living creatures.

(Oil spills.)

Prophecy of Seekers: Many youth, wearing their hair long, join the tribal nations to learn their ways and ancient wisdom.

(Hippies and generations of spiritual seekers.)

Prophecy of the House in the Sky: A dwelling-place will be built in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star.

(Skylab, which according to witnesses seemed to be burning blue as it fell.)

Prophecy of Ashes: The white man will create a Gourd of Ashes that will lay waste to the land and keep it infertile for generations.

(Atomic bombs and radiation.)

Prophecy of Moon Theft: The white man will steal rocks from the moon. Then the balance of universal laws and natural forces will be disrupted, causing earthquakes, severe changes in the weather patterns, and social upheaval. This is a danger sign, that we are in the final days before the purification.

(The Apollo moon landings. As a Wiccan and Pagan, I can only feel this theft from the Temple of the Goddess to be a terrible desecration, but infinitely worse is the massive bomb the USA exploded on the Moon!)

The Hopi prophecies are clear and explicit signs that the end of the Fourth World Age is coming.

They don't see this as a bad thing, even though they foresaw that they would lose their lands, their ways, and many of their people. They also foresaw that it was temporary, and the wheel of life would turn again to their ways.

Although -- according to the Hopi prophecies -- the imminent Fifth World Age will be preceded by an intense cleansing (expressed in some forms as massive and frequent natural disasters), still there is a positive future ahead.

What is even more important than these oracular signs, in my opinion, are the Hopi prophecies that explain how to survive this transition, minimise the harm, and create the best possible future.

That is the subject of the first article on The Hopi Prophecies.

The Hopi are not, by any means, the only aboriginal nation to have prophecied the dark times, and the end of them.

Other nations around the world and throughout history have similar predictions.

Continue to the article on Indian Vedic2012 Predictions to find out more.

With Bright Blessings,

Surviving 2012 -- There's definitely a trick to it! Part of the trick is simple knowledge. You need to understand what's going on.

When you know what's really going on, it can't hurt you (as much). When you know you've got stairs ahead of you, you're not going to trip on them and fall!

This also helps you develop the mindset that will sail you safely through these troubled times.

The other part of the trick is taking appropriate action. What is appropriate action during the 2012 Transition? That's what the rest of the 2012 articles are about.

In these articles, we'll start with the broad strokes, and then progress to the day-to-day details.

So here are the secrets and strategies for surviving 2012.

Surviving 2012 has become a very hot topic, but wrapped up in that one little phrase is actually 3 questions ... Can we physically survive "the end of the world," and if so, how? How can we influence the outcome of 2012, to avoid an apocalypse? How do we cope with these rapid fire, incredible changes and traumas?

The first question is covered in this article on What Will Happen in 2012.

The second is answered in the article on the Hopi Prophecies -- It describes the two options we have, and how we get to choose which path our future will take.

This article on Surviving 2012, and the rest of the 2012 section, deals with the third question. It will help you understand and deal with the effects of this time of transition -- the emotional and psychological challenges.

Because an unbalanced emotional or mental state, at this stage of the game, can be fatal.

In particular, the following articles explain not only how to get through this in one piece, but how to be part of healing the world, because at this point they are both the same thing.

Don't you feel, these days, like... you're being swept down a rapid river of life, and don't even have a paddle? everything is happening too fast, and you can't keep up? changes and surprises and challenges and catastrophes are coming at you (and the world) non-stop?

This is how everyone feels, these days. And that's because it's precisely what's happening.

Surviving 2012 is just a matter of knowing where to put your energy and what to let go.

The next several articles deal with this specifically...

As for surviving the 2012 Transition as a species, the Mayan Calendar also gives us clues.

With Bright Blessings,

Accessing the power of the Heart -- Intuition -- is fundamental to surviving the 2012 Transition.

As we've seen, the intellect can't function as the dominant modality any longer. The human brain doesn't have the ability, and even more important, it no longer has the prerogative.

The intellect (logic, rationality, materialism) has been the unchallenged overlord for millennia. But it has a number dire and insurmountable intrinsic flaws... It knows only what it sees/hears/touches/feels -- locked into material reality as the only thing of consequence. It is the slave to the ego's drive for comfort, control, and immediate physical survival at any cost. It is adept at rationalising even the most destructive, evil actions.It is designed to see what it wants and expects to see.It is cut off from Divine Wisdom and the ways of compassion.It is limited to a functional speed that is too slow to deal with the current speed of life.What other modality could have brought the entire planet to the brink of destruction? You can be sure that this is the paradigm that will also take us right over the edge, if we allow it.

We can't afford the intellect's self-delusions anymore.

If we are looking to prevent an apocalypse, we will need something completely different. As Einstein said, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."

 

If the intellect can no longer guide us, what source of information is left?

Only our intuition.

Luckily, that's more than enough.

Intuitive insights are the new dominant modality of thought. Without them, you won't be surviving the 2012 Transition very well. Because this Transition is all about liberating the Power of the Heart, and intuition is the Heart's Voice.

The intuition speaks through the spiritual Heart. You might perceive it through your body's sensations. It may appear as an idea, a sound, or words. The important thing to know is, it doesn't originate in your own brain.

Intuition accesses the Source of all knowledge.

Everything that can be known, is known by this Source -- past, present, future, alternate dimensions, etc. It is the source of infinite knowledge.

So the question is no longer, "What is the logical choice?"

The fundamental question is, "What does your deepest Heart tell you?"

That is the Voice of the Divine.

Learning to distinguish this Voice from the urges of the ego/mind is the tricky bit.

That's what we'll look at next.

 

Learning to hear and understand the quiet Voice of your intuition takes practice. It's a little like developing an ear for music -- at first, you're not really sure what to listen for, or what a good one is like. With practice, you learn to hear more clearly.

Really, you can only learn by doing.

Follow your intuition!

Start with little things. Don't use your intuition, the very first time, to decide to move across the country or adopt a child or something. Because in the beginning, it's trial-and-error. Sometimes you will hear your intuition precisely. But sometimes you may not.

But begin paying attention to it. Your intuition knows more than you think!

There have been studies on women who've been attacked on the street, and every time, it seems, something inside of them was warning them -- but they ignored the warning because it seemed impolite to just walk away or whatever. And if you've heard stories about people who survive cataclysmic events, they usually say they "just had a feeling" and they followed it.

Your inner Voice knows infinitely more than your logical brain ever could!

As we proceed with the 2012 Transition, it's really time to access this source of infinite knowledge.

The biggest difficulty is that we also have another voice inside of us -- the voice of the personality/ego ... and it definitely has its own agenda.

Learning to differentiate between these is the real key to accessing intuition.

When you first begin trusting your intuitive guidance, you may find that it seems to lead you astray at times. What's really happened, of course, is that your ego has tricked you into thinking it was Divine guidance.

Nothing is as tricky as the ego!

There's also an element of deep trust that is needed, though. Sometimes even the best intuition will lead you into an unpleasant situation. But I can guarantee it's because that unpleasant situation will turn into something you really needed.

The biggest block to accessing intuitive guidance is a cluttered mind. When there are a lot of thoughts, worries, plans, grudges, desires, etc. taking up space, how could you even notice when the Divine quietly offers a bit of advice?

Clear your thoughts and quiet your mind.

Clear your emotions.

Only when your mind is empty of the ego's thoughts and drives, can you clearly hear the Divine's advice -- and be sure of it. Then your intuition will seem much more obvious, and it will not lead you astray.

Meditation is a perfect practice for this. That's why intuitive ideas so often pop up when you are meditating.

A Mind-Watch, or Purging Papers, as well, are wonderful for clearing the mind and emotions. Reflection (spiritual journalling) and working with symbolisms like in dreams and with Animal Spirit Guides are also extremely beneficial. There are some things you can do that are like exercises for developing your intuitive muscles.

Divination helps develop this skill. Tarot or runes or palm-reading, even astrology or numerology? anything that offers you guidelines to follow (like in a book) gives a great starting place for developing intuition.

As you begin to interpret your divination readings, you can rely on what you remember, or what jumps out at you, that you read in the book.

After a while, you will realise that you will remember or notice the precise bit that is most relevant. Your sixth sense is already at work, and without any pressure it can work most effectively.

Gradually, you will start to extrapolate... using what you read as a starting point and making intuitive leaps from there.

Eventually, you may notice that most or all of your reading becomes intuitive.

With Bright Blessings,

Surviving the 2012 Transition involves dealing with loads of uncertainty and requires continuous adaptation.

There is no avoiding it. The only constant anymore is constant change.

This is something our forebears didn't have to worry about. For hundreds of generations, nothing much changed. They could mosey along with their noses to the agricultural grindstone, doing the same thing their parents and grandparents and greatgrandparents did. We have it in our genes to like things this way (mostly).

But that's not the reality any longer.

Surviving 2012 calls for a different approach, because life is different... even from 10 years ago!

Changes that took millennia in the beginning of time, half a millennium around the time of Christ, and decades in the 1900's are now occurring at 20 day intervals! We can't see anymore where we're going or what's coming next -- the only certainty is that it's coming fast.

And we have to change the way we live, to live with the change.

 

The more you hang on to what you already know, what you're comfortable with, the harder these times will feel and the more difficulty you'll have surviving the 2012 Transition. We are all being called to immense rapid change. It's natural to want things to slow down... but they won't.

And the more you resist it, the more suffering you create for yourself.

So let go of resistance.

Accept that this is the new reality.

Practice letting go easily and flowing with the tide of change.

I call this Dancing Lightly On The Edge. If you're standing on ground that keeps shifting underfoot, you just have to stay light on your feet.

It's kind of like levitation. 

I read one guidebook on levitation said it's a matter of switching your gravitational "pole" -- instead of being held by the gravity of Earth, you are held by the gravity of the Sun or Moon or stars. Then you naturally "fall" upward.

If you can shift your "polarity" from worldly-existence to Divine-process, you will be upheld by that energy.

What I mean is by worldly existence is holding onto ideas like... "I have to look out for myself first" "It's work work work that makes the world go 'round" "I must stay in control in order to survive" "I want things to go back to the way they were" "I already know who I am, and all I need is better stuff and a more obliging lover to make me happy" "All that spiritual mumbo-jumbo is pure fantasy; the world is made of dead rock, man is at the pinnacle of evolution, and the physical world is real enough for me!"

This is a recipe for not surviving the 2012 Transition! It's a recipe for a very hard, unpleasant life!

The more you can switch to Divine process, the more easily, successfully, and beautifully your life will flow.

That means working from ideas like... "The more I help others, the more I ultimately help myself." "It's love that will save me, and compassionate kindness that will save the Earth." "I rest my life in the hands of the Divine, and so I am perfectly safe." "I am part of the most wondrous evolution ever experienced, and I am thrilled to allow it to flow through me." "I am Divine Light; I am Divine Love; I need nothing else: I am One with everything." "The only real reality is Consciousness."

Surviving 2012 is do-able. It may even be easy, depending on how well you master this skill.

In fact, it could very well be the best thing ever, as the entire planet is uplifted to this more beautiful state of consciousness!

With Bright Blessings,

Learn Astral Projection Easily-CLICK HERE!

1. What is Astral Projection?

Astral Projection or Out-of-body experience is a process through which our consciousness leaves our physical body and is free to travel anywhere, unrestricted by  our normal physical boundaries. We all unconsciously travel outside our bodies every night when we are asleep. But with the right guidance and practice, we can train ourselves to achieve this with 100% consciousness and awareness.

2. Is everyone able to do Astral Projection?

As I mentioned, everyone does Astral Traveling at night when they sleep. But since they are asleep, they are doing it unconsciously. And when they wake-up, their astral experiences get distorted and they feel they have just had a dream. But with training and guidance, almost anyone can have a conscious Astral Projection.

3. When one does Astral Traveling, what is it that "projects" out of his body?

We are made up of several bodies. The grossest and the densest body is our physical body. The next one is the etheric body or the astral body. This is much less dense compared to the physical body. So during Astral Traveling, it is the astral body that gets “projected”.   I should also mention that for each these bodies, there is a corresponding “plane”. So there is a physical plane, astral plane and so on. So during Astral Projection, the astral body is projected into the astral plane.

4. Should we be really doing Astral Projection?

When we are born on this physical plane, we all come with a specific purpose. That purpose may be different for different people. But as we grow older, we forget why we are here. So we wander aimlessly and often end up wasting our lives.
Astral Projection is one way to help us know why we are here in the first place. So I sincerely feel we all should learn this amazing art and give a positive direction to our lives.

5. How much does Astral Projection cost?

You would be surprised, but there were actually 4 people who asked me this question!
The answer is - Astral Projection doesn’t cost you anything in terms of money. It is not something that you purchase. It is an art that you learn. The only real cost  involved is your time, effort and dedication.

6. What is the best, easiest, infallible and fastest method that works for  everyone?

Everyone is different, with different personalities and beliefs. So unfortunately, there is no best and easiest method that works for everyone. There are hundreds of Astral Projection techniques available. You need to see which one suits you best.

7. What are the best visualization techniques for reaching the vibration stage quickly?

As I said earlier, there is no best technique that will help everyone to achieve the vibration stage. However, Robert Monroe’s vibration technique is the most popular since many people have reported great success with it.

8. How can I learn to project quickly without having to take herbs such as  Salvia
Divinorum?

I never recommend taking herbs or drugs to achieve Astral Projection. It is safest to practice without any external aids. Also, unfortunately, there is no “quick” way to achieve Astral Projection. You will require patience and dedication. But if you follow the right guidance, you can drastically cut down on your learning curve, and often see success in a few weeks instead of years. Also, I would recommend staying away from anyone who claims to teach you “techniques” that can help you  project “instantly”

9. How to get into a trance easily for intentional OBEs

A good way to get into a trance is to comfortably lie down at night, and watch yourself going to sleep. Try to relax your physical body, but at the same time, try not to  go to sleep. For the first few nights, you might end up sleeping. But with practice, you will learn how to control your mind and stay awake during the entire process.

10. Can Astral Projection actually be done?

Yes, Astral Projection is definitely possible, and can actually be done consciously. There are thousands and thousands of people who can do it at will.                  

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 REVISION #1

Question: When comping a series, does the 3-year rule apply to the most recent installment or to the first?  What if the series hasn't been concluded yet? 

You want to use comps that are as close to the specs of your book as you can. That means using the first book of any series because yours is the first book in your series. And you want that first book to have been pubbed recently, no earlier than 2018 and 2019 is better.

If you're banging your head against the wall on a comp search, you're doing it right. 

 

Dear Query Shark,

 

Three years ago, Aman once had an entire barn full of horses he loved.  Unfortunately for them, the Düzen were desperate for food.

 

Three years ago, Düzen soldiers invaded Aman's village, slaughtering the animals he had been entrusted with.   

Let's put this sentence about the Düzen soldiers in the first paragraph, then start the next paragraph where there's a shift in time.

 

Thus:

Three years ago, Aman once had an entire barn full of horses he loved.  Unfortunately for them, the Düzen were desperate for food.  Düzen soldiers invaded Aman's village, slaughtering the animals he had been entrusted with.

 

 

 New paragraph here for shift in time.

Now in his early twenties, Aman serves in the Corthiaks' heavy cavalry, hiding his guilt, grief, and self-loathing from his fellow soldiers.  His only source of hope, the one horse he has left, is old and inexperienced with combat—far from an ideal war horse.   

 

I stumbled over source of hope here because we don't have any sense of what Aman wants. You've described how he is now, but not what he wants.

 

Surrounded by hardened warriors and their younger, better-trained steeds, (some of whom aren't even horses,) Aman can't help but wonder if he or his horse really belong here.

 

I am intrigued by a cavalry that doesn't have horses, that's a nice detail to include. 

 

The Düzen have a new king, named Karib, and he wants peace with the Corthiaks.   

 

And here is where I lose the thread of the plot. 

 

Aman is sent to recount the story of his village to Karib, but he didn't take his last horse into war so that he could forgive the Düzen.  

After all, Karib believes that animal welfare means nothing in times of human suffering.  He and his soldiers would kill this horse in a heartbeat, along with anything else that isn't human.  

 

 Well, the Düzen should all burn in hell of course BUT you've set them up here. In the first paragraph, they slaughtered horses for food. Understandable but yucky. But here they are simply equicidal maniacs and that's a whole different bucket of entrails.

If Karib wants peace, what's standing in his way? What does Aman need to do?

Whether from a negotiator's seat or a war saddle, Aman must show Karib that animals are worth more than their weight on a butcher's scale. 

or what? The or what is what's at stake, and that's what you need here. 

 

 One will have him face difficult questions about the value of animal life and the ethics of eating meat, but the other will pit him against hordes of infantry that outnumber the Corthiaks forty to one, volleys of arrows that darken the skies, and rideable, venomous, twenty-foot carnivorous lizards.   

 

This sentence is 49 words long. That means it's got too much information in it for your reader to absorb easily.  Let's cut it down to two or three shorter sentences for easier understanding. 

 

 One will have him face difficult questions about the value of animal life and the ethics of eating meat.

One what? It's not clear who/what you mean. 

 

 Nothing is more off-putting in an otherwise good query than the idea the book is some message driven polemic. No one reads novels to hear about the ethics of eating meat. They read novels for the story.

 

If you want themes about the ethics of eating meat in the novel, that's up to you, but here in the query focus on the story.

 

but The other will pit him against hordes of infantry that outnumber the Corthiaks forty to one, volleys of arrows that darken the skies, and rideable, venomous, twenty-foot carnivorous lizards.   

 

This is an odd choice in that they don't seem to be alternatives. You can philosophize about eating meat while you battle lizards. There doesn't seem to be an either/or here, and that's what you need. 

 

Either way, he cannot hope to succeed without his fellow cavalrymen, and the horse who has carried him all this way.

CURSORIAL is an 82,000-word work of adult fantasy. You can add here: It explores themes of the ethics of eating plants etc.  

You can mention themes here (rather than above). I know I've said in earlier QS posts that you don't need them, and you don't BUT it can help elevate the query beyond plot points and characters.

 

It will appeal to fans of The Masquerade (by Seth Dickinson) 

When you list comps in a query, the first thing I do is look at the books on Amazon. The Masquerade appears to be the name of the series, not the first book. And the first book, The Traitor Baru Cormorant, was pubbed in 2016.   You need to use titles of books, not series. Sales figures are by book, and that's what we look at.  And of course, the book is too old to be an effective comp.

 But the description of the book is utterly compelling. 

Tomorrow, on the beach, Baru Cormorant will look up and see red sails on the horizon.

The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and compass, soap and lies. They will conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is patient. She'll swallow her hate, join the Masquerade, and claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.

To test her loyalty, the Masquerade will send Baru to bring order to distant Aurdwynn, a snakepit of rebels, informants, and seditious dukes. But Baru is a savant in games of power, as ruthless in her tactics as she is fixated on her goals. In the calculus of her schemes, all ledgers must be balanced, and the price of liberation paid in full.

 If I saw that in a query I'd fall all over myself to request the full.

The closer you can come to this vivid writing, the better.

 

and The Unbroken (by C. L. Clark).

 

 Don't put parentheses around the author's names.

I've seen a lot of that recently. There's probably some query advice that says to do so, but don't. 

 

I'm an equestrian, and an absolute geek for natural history, paleontology, medieval warfare, power metal music, and the color green. This is a terrific bio. It's the most vivid thing in the query. That tells me you're holding back in the query, maybe trying to be all serious and business like. Businesslike does not mean flat. Vivify!

 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 I don't have a sense of the plot there that would compel me to request a full.

What does Aman want?

What does Karib want?

What's getting in the way of each of them getting it?

What choices do they face?  What sacrifices will be required?

 

Don't get lost in the weeds with lizards and vegans.

Focus on the plot. 

 

 

 ******

Original query

Question: I realize my comp titles are rather old, but I find them to be the best representatives of the emotional tone of this story. I've literally had beta readers tell me that they can't think of comp titles, so I went with my gut on this one. Is it a dealbreaker that the most recent comp title is almost 20 years old now?

Yes.

Comp titles need to be recent, no more than three years old (no earlier than 2018).

It's not up to your beta readers to find them (nice try). This is your job.

Dear Query Shark,

Aman once had an entire barn full of horses he loved. Today, only one of them is still alive.

Aman and his horse, Arty, barely survived when the Sacramouth army invaded their village and slaughtered everything in sight.

I thought Sacramouth was a person. Turns out, later in the query, it's a country. To avoid that misapprehension you might add the army.

Three years have since passed, and Aman and Arty now serve in Aerdoth's heavy cavalry together, seeking vengeance against the people who took everything from them.

You need to tell us what problem Aman faces. You have to get plot on the page here.


To Aman's dismay, the King of Sacramouth agrees to host a series of peace talks with Aerdoth. Aman is sent as an ambassador to recount his story to the King, but refuses to forgive him for what his country did. However, as the peace talks begin, the King proves to be more persuasive than even Aman could have foreseen.

Persuasive about what? The last thing you want to do in a query is be coy!

The threat of war looms throughout the negotiations, and Aman faces difficult questions about the value of animal life, his own capability, and the relationships that he chooses to make. His only hopes of success lie within his own intuition, his fellow cavalrymen, and of course, Arty.

The plot is not clear. Aman faces difficult questions, ok, but what problem does he have? You've said his only hope of success, but success at what? Plot must be on the page.


CURSORIAL is a 55,000-word war story that skirts the line between fantasy and ecofiction.

This is fantasy. The question is which shelf: adult or MG.

You have an adult plot and it sounds like Aman is also an adult (or at least not a child.)

But 55K is way too short for an adult fantasy novel. Fantasy needs world building and world building needs words. And the comps below are kids.


It closely follows the bond between horse and rider,

Really? Cause there's no sense of that here in the query.


inspired greatly by works such as War Horse (by Michael Morpurgo) and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The story can stand alone, but is also the first of a planned series.

War Horse is for grades 4-7. Spirit is an animated movie (not a book) ie for kids. That and your word count signal make me think this is not an adult book.


I'm an equestrian, and an absolute geek for natural history, paleontology, medieval warfare, and the color green.

Thank you for your time and consideration.


Another thing that leaps off the page to me is the plethora of A-names: Aman, Arty, Aerdoth.

But the biggest problem here is you don't know your shelf. You've got adult themes, and MG comps.

This is confusing, and confusing often leads to an instant pass.

If you can't find suitable comps, you're searching too narrowly OR you haven't read enough in your category.

If you're having trouble finding comps you might try reading reviews in Publishers Weekly (which is NOT the same as Publishers Marketplace). Your library has a subscription to PW, but they don't put it out in the circulation area. You'll have to ask. Read the reviews going back a year or two. It will take you a while, but it's worth it.

Get plot on the page, and get comps that reflect the book.

 

Dear Query Shark

The minute Elizabeth stepped off the train in Richmond, VA in 1860, she wanted to leave. After four years in Pennsylvania with Quaker relatives, she despises her new life in slave power high society.

 

I don't know what slave power high society means.

 

 

Her once close but now distant mother doesn’t help, setting her up to marry a buffoon while refusing to acknowledge her family’s abolitionist ways.

 

I'm VERY confused here. Mum is distant, ok, but she's still in the family, no?

So who are the abolitionists?

 

And what are abolitionist ways?

Ways means actions.

What is the family doing?

Or do you mean political opinions?

 

 

War breaks out after her mother’s sudden passing, 

 

The grammar here makes it sound like Mum's death caused the war.

I'm fairly certain that's not the case.

 

leaving Elizabeth to manage the household and farm, while deciding how to both hide and fight for her beliefs.

We don't know what Elizabeth's beliefs are. That should be explicit here.

 

Why isn't doing nothing an option?

 

Elizabeth first visits Union prisoners, baking them goods and bribing the guards for medicine. But when she houses a Confederate captain to save her image, 

 

Her image? It makes it sound as though this is some sort of flitter gibbet thing.

My guess is that social pressure is pretty intense in the capitol of the Confederacy.

 

she learns the weaknesses of the prison system, and plans escape routes, hiding Union soldiers in her secret attic and sending them back to the North through safe houses.

 

 

Her network grows as the War worsens. She plants a spy in the Confederate White House, sends daily intelligence to generals hidden in empty eggshells or encrypted with secret codes, and sends her brother to a safe house to avoid conscription. But her neighbors suspect her sympathizing ways and send ruthless detectives, the same detective who hanged and imprisoned other members of her network. Can she survive the war and bring the Union to victory?

 

 

Well, she's not going to bring the Union to victory. The Union Army backed by the industrial strength of the northern states is going to do that.

Your sentence structure is again saying something I'm pretty certain you don't intend.

This is a huge red flag in a  query. No matter how interested I am in the topic, this is the kind of thing that earns a pass.

 

 

 Miss Van Lew, my 170,000 word historical fiction novel,

170K is almost certainly an instant pass from most agents.

Historical fiction does run long, but not this long.

 

 

fictionalizes the true story of Civil War spy Elizabeth Van Lew, giving voice to an unknown heroine. 

She's hardly unknown.

There are quite a few books about her. One thing your query will need to do, even though you're querying a novel, is tell the reader what you're bringing to the table that is fresh and new.

 

 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

What you have is a series of events.

That's not plot.

Plot is choices and stakes.

 

Elizabeth Van Lew comes home to Richmond in 1860.

What problem does that create for her?

What are her choices to solve it?

 

If she's an abolitionist, what are her choices?

What's at stake with those choices?

 

 

But the word count means you're DOA no matter what.

That's the first thing to revise.

 

 

 

 

REVISION #1

Dear Query Shark,

 

I am writing to you seeking representation for my 122,000-word adult fantasy novel THE CROSSOVER.

This is better than the 137K you had the first time, but paring down to under 120K is a good idea.

 

The last thing you want is an agent seeing the word count and swiping left without reading another word.

 

When ELENORE and BENAIAH

don't cap character names.

 

 inadvertently stumble across a portal to another world.

 Elenore just wants to gather evidence of their strange discovery to prove it to her university colleagues.

 

None of this matters, not really.

The story starts when they arrive in Swordlandia.

 

Let's refocus to make that clear.

 

Driven by her curiosity, she

 

 

Eleanora and Ben find a portal and of course, they want to see where it leads.

 

She leads Ben, her horse, and her dog through the portal.

Not to pick nits but did you notice the dog is never mentioned again?

Having your dog with you in a strange land would be comforting, no?

And does the dog get superpowers too?

 

 

They pop popping out in an entirely different universe.

 

This is a big moment in the query. Making it a separate short sentence gives it power and drama.

 

You want to stay in Elenore's point of view here, so let's revise this:

 

Two sword-bearing forces arrive with one obvious goal:

They're met by two, separate sword-bearing forces.

 

Let's add separate here so the reader doesn't think these are two platoons of the same company.

 

 

capture the strangers from another world.

We don't really need to know what the SBFs want. They're not the important antagonist.

 

 Elenore is captured by the king's brigade, and Ben is captured by the resistance movement. against the king.

Let your reader do some of the work here. If you say resistance movement, the reader will fill in that they're resisting the King. 

 

 

From their captors inform them that they learn that when they entered the portal, they passed through “the pathways” and  coming through the portal developed gave them abilities  that allow them to wield energy from the space between worlds.

 

Out of desperation to

Desperate to reunite and return home, Elenore and Ben accept separate, yet similar deals.

 

So, you learn you have superpowers. What's the first thing you want to do?

Give them up and go home?

Really?

 

Cause if you told me I had superpowers, I'd want to know what they were, and how I could use them to do fun stuff, like fly (Sharknado!), or eat ice cream without sacrificing my svelte sharkly silhouette, or get the world to quit using the phrase safety deposit box (it's safe deposit box, and yes this is a hill I will die on.)

 

 

But here you have her using her abilities (still unspecified) to do something that she doesn't have a stake in. Why would she do it?

 

When we're puzzled by why a character acts in what seems to be an illogical or unrealistic way, we're NOT engaged.  You want your readers to engage, to care what happens to Elenore (and the dog!!!)

 

Elenore agrees to use her new abilities to help the king recapture the same city where Ben is held, and Ben agrees to use his powers to aid in the movement  resistance and to dethrone the king who captured Elenore.

 

These two characters don't seem to have much depth or personality.

It's ESSENTIAL that your characters be interesting and right now they seem lacking in imagination or sense of adventure.

 

 As part of the deal, Elenore gains a vast understanding of the nature of time, reality, and mortality from the space between worlds.

 

Well, that's nice but what can she DO?

 

 Despite that knowledge, she doesn’t realize the danger they are in.

Of course not. What's the fun of that.

 

 

 

VICTORIA, Elenore’s mentor,

 

wait, what?
Who the heck is Victoria?

And WHERE is she? As in which side of the portal.

 

Introducing a main character this late in the game is confusing.

 

 

 

 

has no idea that she is fated to inadvertently catalyze the end of the universe, causing it to be wiped from existence layer by layer. 

 

Ho hum.

If a character is fated for something they don't have any choice in the matter.

The essence of a good story is what choices the characters face and what path they choose.

 

 

 

Ben’s captor, the leader of the resistance movement against the king, might be the only one with information on how to prevent the destruction of the universe and has no intentions of sharing it. Unaware of their larger role, Elenore and Ben are sure their hardships will come to an end if they can manage to avoid manipulation and survive long enough to see the deal through, but it is only a matter of time before Victoria finds a way to seize power from the king, setting the unraveling of the universe into motion.

 

Ok, who's the antagonist here?

 

You've got (as you did in the first version) too much going on.

You don't need as much world building as you think.

 

You need to focus on Elenore. She seems to be the main character.

What does she want?

Make sure what she wants makes sense to us the reader.

You're in an alien world with superpowers! What would you want to do?

 

Then give us a sense of the dilemma she faces

There must be some sort of conflict or there's no plot.

 

 

You do need more three-dimensional characters and we must have a better sense of choices and stakes.

 

 

 

The style, tone, and characters of THE CROSSOVER will appeal to readers of are most comparable to A.K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name meets and Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library.

 

 

Here's the description of The Unspoken Name

What if you knew how and when you will die?

Csorwe does—she will climb the mountain, enter the Shrine of the Unspoken, and gain the most honored title: sacrifice.

But on the day of her foretold death, a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Leave with him, and live. Turn away from her destiny and her god to become a thief, a spy, an assassin—the wizard's loyal sword. Topple an empire and help him reclaim his seat of power.

But Csorwe will soon learn—gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due.

 

Notice there is almost NO world building.

There's one sentence of set up.

The choices the main character faces are clear, as are the stakes.

All in fewer than 100 words.

This is your goal.

 

You have 380 in the query.

 

It is intended to be the first installment of a series that I hope will span 3-5 books.

It can stand alone but I envision it as the start of a series

 

new paragraph for personalization

(Insert personalization here).

I am querying you because you like kale and I like rabbits (or whatever.)

 

 

Thank you for your consideration,

 

 

Focus.

Pare down the events and increase character development.

 

There are a million portal stories in my inbox.

Show me (don't tell me) how yours is better, faster, more enticing.

 

I'd start with the dog.

That's interesting.

 

Dogs? DOGS??

 

 

 

 

******

Initial query

Question/Concern:

I have been submitting queries to agents since May of 2022 and have only received kind rejections so far. I have decided to blame this on my query letter for now, and so I come to you with my struggle after reading the archives. I have a complex first installment of a fantasy series in progress, and it seems impossible to include the necessary information in a concise manner. I have left many important characters unmentioned, and I have failed to include the aspect of my plot that involves the protagonist's impending trek through the infinite layers of an infinite universe in a war of fate and freewill. In addition to that, I feel that some of the appealing aspects of my book, like the presence of ghosts and alternate timelines, alternating chapter perspectives, intricate arcs, and relatable societal problems can't be included without getting to a 1200 word query letter.

Dear Query Shark,

 

 I am writing to seek representation for THE CROSSOVER, which is a 137,000-word new adult, fantasy fiction novel.

 

For starters, your word count is high. 137K is an auto-pass for many agents.

Your category, new adult, is one that you might see referenced on Goodreads etc., but isn't all that useful for queries. New Adult started as a way to categorize books for readers above the YA age range (that tops out at 18.)

 

All too quickly it morphed into porn light. Think 50 Shades of Grey.

 

Now it's trying to make a comeback but in a query you want to use the most solid description you can. Your book is fantasy. You don't need to say fiction, cause fantasy is not non-fiction. (Current events not withstanding.)

 

And fiction novel is an instant pass for a lot of us.

 

So: The Crossover (137,000 words) is fantasy.

 

Except when you start with this, it just gives agents permission to pass without reading another word.  That's why I suggest you put this at the close of the query, NO MATTER WHAT.

 

 

(Personalize for agent here).

Personalization goes below as well. So many writers botch this up that it's just safer not to lead with it.

 

Comps go at the end too.

And you can NOT use Stephen King as a comp. He is in a category by himself. People read his books just cause he wrote them.  You don't have that advantage yet.

 

 

THE CROSSOVER is most comparable to Stephen King’s newest novel Fairy Tale mixed with Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone.

 

Shadow and Bone was first pubbed in 2013. It's too old to be an effective comp.

 

 

ELENORE (23), a curiosity-driven student of science,

This is not a police blotter, or a newspaper article. Don't put the ages in parenthesis.

 

and BENAIAH (Ben, 22), her grumbly companion with a heart of gold,

 

heart of gold is a cliche.

Agents are looking for things that are fresh and new.

 

 

inadvertently stumble across a portal to another world on their rental property in Indiana.

 

Elenore’s desire to prove their discovery compels them to enter the undulating void despite a vague, menacing message found graffitied on their wall promising death to Ben should they go.

 

What?

What does prove their discovery mean?

Also, try this without all the modifiers.

 

Elenore’s desire to prove their discovery compels them to enter the undulating void despite a vague, menacing message found graffitied on their wall promising death to Ben should they go.

 

A lot easier to understand without all the descriptors.

 

Over-modifying is a common flaw in early work.

Watch for it, and pluck out everything you don't need.

And you don't need anywhere near as much filigree as you think.

 

 

After entering the portal and becoming separated by the sword-bearing forces in the Kingdom of Corva, Elenore and Ben are informed that when they entered the portal, they passed through “the pathways” and developed abilities.

 

This sentence is 35 words long.

That means you've got too much information for your reader to readily absorb.

Short form work like a query usually means you want short sentences.

 

 

Other people have some abilities, but allegedly, none can wield the pathways like those that walk through time.

 

The construction of this sentence seems to convey that pathways walk through time.

My guess is that's not what you mean.

An easy fix is just to change out that for who.

Other people have some abilities, but allegedly, none can wield the pathways like those who walk through time.

According to the warring rulers, Elenore and Ben are potentially the most powerful in the kingdom. Out of desperation, Elenore and Ben accept similar deals by agreeing to help in the conflict that envelopes the kingdom in exchange for help returning home.

 

At this point I'm utterly befuddled.

 

Unbeknownst to Elenore, Victoria, her mentor and advisor to the misguided King Gael, has a vicious ambition to seize power. Despite the knowledge Elenore gains on her journey, she doesn’t realize the danger they are in. Opal, the scheming, untrustworthy leader of the resistance movement that captured Ben, is the only one who understands the extent of the danger they are in, and she intends to use the knowledge to bargain for her life when Elenore and the king invade the city she holds. Meanwhile, Victoria  has no idea her antagonistic actions will eventually lead to the collapse of the infinite layers in their cyclical universe. Even worse, Elenore, Ben, a dog, and several other friends are the only ones that stand a chance of altering fate enough to prevent it. They must decide between risking their lives for a foreign universe or living with the guilt of doing nothing to prevent its demise.

 

There's so much information here it's impossible to follow.

 

In a query you don't need anywhere near this much detail.

 What you need is:

What does the main character want?

What's blocking them from getting it?

What choices do they face?

What's at stake with those choices?

 

That's all you need.

 

 

I have been writing for as long as I can remember.

This may be true. It's not useful to say so in a query.

 

The ideas that shaped this novel often surfaced in the night, causing me to leap out of bed and take notes on a post-it stuck to a book next to my bed.

Also not useful in the query.

 

Now, as a 25-year-old high school English teacher with a Bachelor of Arts in English Education, I finally had the tools to sit down and finish it.

Also not useful

 

The manuscript is complete and ready for review.

I hope so, cause if you're querying an unfinished book, its an automatic pass.

In other words, no need to  state the obvious.

 

And review means something else. You're submitting your ms for consideration. But you still don't need to say so.

Agents do not generally care about how long you've loved to write or your process.

 

 I truly appreciate you taking the time to read my query,

Don't sound like I'm doing you a favor here.

I'm not.

I'm reading your query with the idea of becoming extremely wealthy by the sweat of your brow.

 

 

and I look forward to the possibility of hearing from you. 

Yea, my colleagues are notorious for no response means no which I find highly objectionable.

But let's not give them leave to do that by acknowledging it. Let them sauté in their own shame.

 

Thank you for your consideration, 

 

Unfortunately you've got a novel that has all the aspects of every other portal fantasy, and nothing that makes it distinctly your own.

 

That's the challenge to all writers. Fresh and new doesn't mean stories we've never seen. It means a different take or a different approach.

 

First Blood is essentially a fresh look at Beowulf.

Clueless is a new way to tell the story in Emma.

 

Every Jack Reacher novel is a Western, really: A stranger comes to town, shakes things up, then leaves.

A Western with no horses, no six-guns, no cattle rustlers. In other words, a fresh take.

 

So the problem here isn't the query. It's the novel.

Time to think about what you can change to put your own distinct spin on a portal fantasy.

 Think about what prompted you to write this. What do you want to say that hasn't been said before. 

As for your question: The problem is not lack of detail. It's too much detail. Agents don't expect to know everything about the book from the query. The query is the introduction, a brief taste of the meal that is the book.

You need to pare down here, but also figure out what makes your book distinctive, and get that on the page.