Done.

It is done. Finished. Wrapped up and sent away. Aelemental Book 1: The Tree of Life is now being sent around to agents in London and New York. There are some really interesting men and women in the field out there, who are looking for exactly the kind of material I'm offering. This is my general pitch:

Synopsis -  The Tree of Life (Aelemental Book 1)

The novel is intended for young adults (age 9+) and is a fairy tale fantasy about a thirteen-year old boy, Simon Spangenberg, who armed with a mysterious artifact must follow a trail through mythical forests, filled with wonder and danger, while being hunted by a vicious corporate villain, in order to rescue his kidnapped sister Sally.

Regarding the Aelemental series.

The story is the first part of a larger storyline, which spans both fantasy sub-genres and global continents using symbolic themes as metaphors for current environmental and societal issues. Each book in the five-part series then brings these grand concepts to a personal level to challenge the characters to grow and empower themselves in ways that will speak to young and older readers alike.

Ultimately it's a story about an everyday brother and sister, who struggle with their new roles in restoring balance to the world while facing up to their own personal demons.

I have a good feeling about this. There are not only a lot of agents out there - I have done my research - there are really good ones out there as well. And they're accessible. I've found great agent-searching advice (http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/) and resources (http://firstwriter.com/), but there comes a point where you just have to dive in and hope for the best. So that's what I've done these last two weeks. Of course I'm also still polishing the final version (draft 4) of the book. I've done away with a whopping 100.000 words (basically a novel in its own right, just not a very good one), but there are still a few thousand words left that have to omitted to reach that magical 100K barrier. Ach, it will give me something to do on my 25 hour flight to Chicago today.

Yes, the bags are packed, Alex is bundled up in his winter coat and I've got enough Simpsons episodes on my iPod to last me until Istanbul (sorry, I love reading, but handling a 5-year old as well as an already tired wife coming home from a workweek in Africa, leaves me with no way to actually enjoy a good read while flying). I'll also be doodling some artwork I'd like to see in the book (is Chris Bachalo available by any chance?). I already designed a cover, but of course in the end that kind of stuff is all up to the publisher, right? Anyway, time to enjoy some snow, hot cocoa and the lovely company of my wife, son and family in law.

Happy holidays everyone! Catch you in 2011.