Lara Nance has recently signed with agent Christine Witthohn of Book Cents Literary Agency. Lara, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Congratulations and good luck.



QueryTracker: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Lara Nance: Sure. It's a steampunk adventure, planned to be a trilogy at this point. The Title is, Airship to Carabarras. It's the adventures of Lady Arabella Trunkett who sets off in an imaginary Victorian style universe to save her father. Her father is an important political figure taken by terrorists intent on starting a world war. She travels by airship, of course and has adventures a la Around the World in Eighty Days.

My inspiration was love of steampunk and stories by Jules Verne. Those tales are timeless and I wanted to create a great escape for readers in a similar way.



QT: How long have you been writing?

LN: Oh, now I show my age....I started writing in 1985. I had been moved to Birmingham, Alabama for a job and didn't know anyone there. So to entertain myself, I wrote a Star Trek novel in pencil as I didn't own a computer at the time. Since then, I've written off and on, but really got serious about persuing publication three years ago.



QT: How long have you been working on this book?

LN: It took me about four months to write the book and then another month of edits.



QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

LN: Yes, absolutely. In fact just before this book was accepted, I was at that point. I had really worked hard to improve my craft and do everything possible to find an agent. I was really at a low point. Then in the space of two weeks I had two paranormal romances I'd written accepted by Crescent Moon Press, and then had Airship accepted by my agent, Christine Witthohn. It just goes to show you, never, ever give up. Success can be right around the corner.

What kept me on tract was a 90 year-old patient of mine. He's a fabulous writer himself and he kept telling me how good my writing was and that the written word is one of the things that last forever. He saw it as a worthy goal and encouraged me, even reading three of my books even though here was nearly blind. He's my role model!!



QT: Is this your first book?

LN: No, I've written eight novels in all.



QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

LN: No, but I did take advantage of some classes at Gotham Writers, and on-line courses from RWA, etc. All very helpful.



QT: Do you follow a writing "routine" or schedule?

LN: Pretty much every day when I get home from my day job, I spend some time with the hubby, and then dig in until I go to bed.



QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

LN: Wow, at least five, if I remember correctly.



QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

LN: Funny, I'd always had beta readers for all my previous books, but for this one, Christine is the first person who read it.



QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

LN: Both. I had a general outline that was based on the map of the imaginary world and where the airship would stop along the way. But as every writer has experienced, there were times the characters took over and gave me some ideas I hadn't thought about.



QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

LN: I started querying agents seriously three years ago. And let me say that they were in a lot of different genres: fantasy, regency romance, paranormal romance, and then steampunk. But I actually queried the least for Airship. That was maybe a couple months.



QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

LN: Only nine for this book. But I had plenty of practice with hundreds of queries on previous books! LOL



QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

LN: I queried Christine because I met her at the RWA conference and really liked her. The others were agents I knew had expressed interest in steampunk.



QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

LN: If I knew they had mentioned a desire for steampunk, I would say something about that. Or If I had met them at RWA, etc. Absolutely.



QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

LN: First of all kudos to Query tracker! It's an awesome tool, not only for keeping track of your queries, but also for research. That's the next big advice. Really do your homework and know these agents and what they want. Always check their websites for specific submission criteria. Don't be excluded from consideration for something simple like submitting incorrectly.



QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?

LN: Yes, and always address the agent by name for each query.

Dear (agent's name):

I am seeking representation for my 90,000 word Steampunk novel, AIRSHIP TO CARABARRAS. In the tradition of Around the World in Eighty Days, this is a tale of high adventure with romantic elements set in an alternate Victorian universe.

When Lady Arabella Trunkett's father, the Lord High Minister of Urbannia, is kidnapped suspicion points to the mysterious country of Gandiss and the world is thrown into political upheaval. But Arabella is convinced the more sinister nation of Carabarras is to blame and sets out on a dangerous airship adventure to rescue her father before war breaks out. Only the fickle hand of fate would make the captain of the only airship available for charter a man who left her at the altar eight years ago, Rett Brockton.

Despite their differences and the tension between them, Arabella and Rett must work together to defeat the mad scientist responsible for kidnapping her father. For if they don't succeed, not only will her father die, the scientist's deadly new invention will allow him to conquer the world.

AIRSHIP TO CARABARRAS is the first of three steampunk novels that will follow the adventures of Lady Arabella Trunkett as she travels the globe amid airships and steampunk gadgets in this alternative Victorian universe.

In the second book, Arabella has decided she doesn't quite hate Rett anymore, but before she can declare her feelings he is taken by bounty hunters to pay his debt to an unscrupulous baron. She sets out to rescue him in his airship before the baron has him killed.

In the third book we find that the evil Dr. Krakov is still alive and out to seek revenge against Belle and her country for ruining his previous plot of world domination. It's up to Belle and Rett to stop him, this time, forever.

I am a PRO member of RWA and FF&P (Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter of RWA) and active in my local RWA Chapter, Chesapeake Romance Writers. My paranormal romance, MEMORIES OF MURDER will be published by Crescent Moon Press in early 2011.

I appreciate your time and kind consideration of this work.

Sincerely,

Lara Nance

www.laranance.com