After eleven months of sending my manuscript out to the ether—well, not really the ether, if I could make an analogy here it'd have to be well-calculated and possibly interested ether—I received my first "rejection" letter on Friday.

I have been expecting one now for quite a while, so it didn't damage me at all as a writer or a person to receive Friday's news. Quite to the contrary—it reaffirmed there was someone out there reading my work when I thought no one was and that means more to me than you'd think.

There is some back story to this rejection. When I hadn't heard anything from the first agent I sent Song of the Fell Hammer to, one of my author friends who had just had his first novel published suggested I send it to his agent. The agent in question does not specialize in fantasy or sci-fi. But she said she'd look at it and let me know what she thought.

She read it and called it "beautifully written." But like many submitted books, Fell Hammer needed work. She pointed out the areas she thought needed fixing. I rewrote the entire book and sent it back to her. After two months, this is what she wrote me in the letter:

Dear Shawn,

Thank you so much for your patience while I considered SONG OF THE FELL HAMMER.

I think the changes you made have certainly strengthened the manuscript, and it now flows far better than the original version. Your writing is very descriptive, and I see a great deal of potential here. That being said, after much internal debate, I'm afraid I just didn't feel the necessary enthusiasm to give this the time and attention it will need and deserve.

You're a true talent, so I'm sure that other agents will disagree, and I do wish you every success.

Thanks so much for the look!

Best Wishes,

R

I consider that a very nice "rejection" letter. And although it may be pure smoke being blown up my own arse to soften the blow, I find a lot of merit in what she had to say. I think I do have a strong book. My early readers think it is a strong book and deserves to be published. I also think it has potential.

But more than anything I want a champion to represent and publish my work. I want someone who has inexhaustive enthusiasm after they turn the final page. And I am happy that Agent R feels the same way as well and is professional enough to know what drives her own work.

So, tomorrow, I will be sending my manuscript out to two new agents. It is currently with two other agents and I am awaiting word from them any day. I am still pleased with how things are going, albeit slowly, and that flame of creation and drive to see my work in the hands of others remains strong.

And the process starts all over again.

Everyone has a daemon.

One of my favorite books is The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. It is everything a book should be—a great adventure story with wondrously creative fantasy elements that hide subplots of literary merit. If you have not read it, then you should go to your bookstore and buy it as soon as you can!

New Line Cinema bought the Rights to produce a live action movie of the book, and that movie will be released this December 7th. New Line, as usual, has produced a great website to market and publicize the movie, and part of that website is the ability to find out who your daemon is.

A person's soul lives on the outside of their body, in the form of a daemon—an animal spirit that accompanies them through life. A child's daemon can change shape, assuming all the forms that a child's potential inspires; but as a person ages, their daemon gradually settles into one form, according to their character and nature.

Below is my daemon—a female snow leopard by the name of Anthora—and those of you who know me can check it out and make sure it truly represents me.



Hope you have fun with it!