The Game of Literary Agents

Does a writer really need an agent to get the attention of a traditional, high-class publisher? So it seems, or at least that's what people keep telling us when we are looking for a publisher. One of those Americans who looks like he is living on the outskirts of the publishing world has targeted me in an attempt to make me sign up for one of his courses. They may be good and worthwhile, but I don't feel tempted to try them out as I don't feel that's what I need at this stage. However, I've noticed that one of the "baits" he uses to get students is to insists that his courses may be a way of getting in touch with an agent who (of course) knows the "art of catching the eye of a publisher". To me that looks like a rather circumstantial way to get something published, but it is in accordance with the information I've had from other writers: One can't approach a traditional, high-class publisher on one's own, but has to go by one's agent.

When I read the pamphlets of the man who runs those before-mentioned courses in publishing it's obvious that the chance of getting an agent is one of the baits, right before the SUPER-BAIT, namely the publishing contract. What he is saying is, that attending his courses would open the door into the publishing firm through the agent. To me it's obvious that it shouldn't be like that, and neither should an author have to pay to get published, unless that's his/her choice to do so because he/she likes the idea of e.g. self-publishing. 

In 1998 a friend and I published this book with St. Martin's Press. We had an agent by the name of Florence Feiler who had done a lot for Karen Blixen and her works in English. Because of my good experiences with Florence as an agent I approached St. Martin's Press when I myself had a script I wanted to publish in USA. By that time Florence had died, and the publishers didn't even bother to reply which to me was a clear indication that those writers who had told me about the difficult modern ways of the publishing world hadn't lied: It's not at all customary anymore that writers approach a publishing firm without an agent. 

Do I want an agent? No, but I may have to try to get one nonetheless, which isn't as easy as one might think. That's why the man with the publishing courses may use the chance of getting an agent as bait for the students he is dreaming of getting ....

The stream of invites for those publishing courses made me think a little more about the nature of the job of a literary agent. What is the education of such an agent? It appears that it may be something of a more or less haphazard nature. There are no fixed exams, and to me it seems it's assumed that they are "well read in life", and - most important, I assume - have contacts in the literary circles. As to their duties they are supposed to find publishers and/or other outlets for their clients' writings. Also they should negotiate terms and contracts as well as collecting incoming payments and royalties. 

If they are on a commission - which definitely is the best - it's customary for them to charge 10-15 % of the money their client earns. That should be OK, I suppose, but what guarantee does an author have that his/her agent is worth his/her money? How does he/she know that they have those contacts that are their bait for an author and which are vital for getting a publishing contract? If there is anything I've learnt about the publishing world these years it is that a lot of people shatter promises of all kinds on the not too easily passable paths of all kinds of writers. All - or most of - these promises may prove to be nothing but air and unsubstantial dreams of getting the hopeful writer to pay much too much for nothing ....

 

https://www.fiverr.com/search/gigs?query=literary%20agent&source=top-bar&acmpl

  

https://vault.com/professions/literary-agents/requirements 

 

https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/literary-agent-job-description 

 

https://blog.reedsy.com/literary-agents/

 

https://www.theliteraryoffice.com/contact 

 

https://literaryagencies.com/list-of-literary-agents/ 

 

https://fabledplanet.com/30-top-fantasy-and-science-fiction-literary-agents/ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hands of the Killer

 

When seeing photos of the hands of the German serial killer Fritz Honka, who worked as a security guard at a Shell gas station, one almost exclaims a heart-felt "yes, of course, that's how the hands of a notorious murderer look. Those uncanny, but sufficient-looking hands were Honka's murder-tools and thus bore witness to how he (1970-1975), not only preyed upon elderly and more or less alcoholic women, but also kept their dead bodies in the walls of his apartment after killing them until the stench of their rotting bodies told the tale of their death. The man who took their lives was sentenced to 15 years in a psychiatric facility. After his release, he assumed a new identity, calling himself Peter Jensen, but in 1998 he died from excessive drinking and smoking. 

When seeing the photos of Honka's murder hands I come to think of an American serial killer, Samuel Little, who strikes me as one of the most uncanny and nonempathic individuals I've ever heard of. He too made such a "good use" of his hands that they seemed to attain a life of their own, as if they steered him instead of him steering them when he went on one of his numerous murder sprees. 

His fetish was the female neck and he really enjoyed strangling women. Most/many of his victims were sex workers which made it easy for him to get away with murdering at least 93 women over a time period of ca. 30 years. 

He had a certain way of manipulating his victims into letting him "touch and feel" their neck, pretending it was some kind of sexual foreplay. Those who have written about his method has stressed the fact that his hands were uncommonly strong and agile: They noticed them as something special and not only ordinary and anonymous hands. He appears to be a murder machine, whose sole thrill was sex, (i.e. rapes which he vehemently described as consensual), and the snapping of the necks of women.

Another killer - but not a serial murderer - is Susan Kuhnhausen, and she really did makeextremely good use of her strong hands.

In 2006 her husband, Mike Kuhnhausen, hired a hittman to kill off his 51-year old wife, emergency room nurse Susan. They had been married for almost 18 years, and she doesn't seem to have had any idea of his plans to kill her. In her opibion they were happy together, and when she was attacked by his hittman she kept asking him who had sent him. While asking that question she had a firm grip of the hittman's neck, choking him, and eventually killing him, bare-handed, in self-defence. 

Happier days with Mike

The main reason for her not just succumbing to the hitman was the skills she had got by working as an emergency room nurse. In her job she had had to fight off frantic patients and she had a good grip on what to do in such situations. Mike may have taken for granted that she, being a woman, couldn't compete in physical strength to his hittman, but he sure was wrong. 

I think that many women would be able to fend off some rapists as well as some murderers if they knew WHAT TO DO. Maybe women like Susan should give lessons, thus saving the lives of many other women?

 

https://www.multco.us/multnomah-county/news/susan-walters-who-fended-hitman-provides-guidance-multnomah-county-crime 

 

https://allthatsinteresting.com/susan-kuhnhausen 

 

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2014/04/woman_who_fatally_strangled_hi.html 

 

https://slatereport.com/news/she-met-a-man-online-and-ended-up-taking-down-an-active-serial-killer/  

 

https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/author-jillian-lauren-confronts-serial-killer-samuel-little-in-new-doc 

 

Wikipedia

 

 

 

The Killing of GOD ....

 

 

At The Pearly Gate

Archeologists believe God - yes, the God of everything - was considered female for the first 200,000 years of human life on earth. Statements like this one make many modern, religious people very uncomfortable, which is an interesting fact as it (to me) is a proof that religion isn't as much about faith and spirituality as about POWER. The very idea of a male god gives authority to the men of a given society, making them able to offer definitions of what should be considered female, both biologically and socially. To them being female means inferior to the male who has been set to rule by a male god.

And this religious evolution ends up in the modern worship of the mighty "$"??? Well, capitalist societies have taught us that the adoration of "The Golden Calf" is fully acceptable, even though "The Bible" is against it (Exodus 24-32). Yahweh was outraged and wanted to destroy "his chosen people", but Moses pleaded that they should be spared and so they were. However, "The Golden Calf" is an obvious warning against "false gods" ....

As to Yahweh then he is a later deity who seems to have started out as one of the consorts or "toy boys" of the true god: Astarte. She was worshipped by the people of the ancient world as the creator as well as the upholder of everything. Her consorts/toy boys were: El (Ugarite religion), Yahweh (Israelite religion), Amurru (Amorite religion), Anu (Akkadian religion), 'Amm (Qatabanian religion), Assur (Assyrian religion) and Elkunirsa (Hittite religion). As Yahweh is the one ancient god who is still "around", he is the most interesting because one can't help wondering at how he replaced the god(-s) of ancient times.  

 

We know that before the Babylonian Captivity/Exile the Jews had several gods, but afterwards they worshipped one god, Yahweh. That may be what it is, but what about Astarte? She had been very powerful, with followers all over the ancient world, but somehow she was replaced by a god who had been one of her numerous consorts/toy boys. As far as I know she and her cult simply waned away as Yahweh won foothold. Well, at least she wasn't ripped apart by her ungrateful progeny as was the primordeal goddess Tiamat.

When the patron deity of Babylon, Marduk, killed Tiamat he tore her body in two and the halves were turned into the heavens and the earth. Her saliva made up mists and clouds, and her tears became the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. This ancient Story of the Creation is very interesting and it holds a lot of suggestive details that ought to be studied thoroughly by historians as it seems to tell how the Matriarchal orders of the past - seen as and described as "chaos" - were replaced with patriarchal structures and ideologies. In mythology she herself became a many-headed dragon who attained new life in a game of modern days: Dungeons and Dragons.

 

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Creator_goddesses} 

 

^{https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Tiamat} 

 

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_science} 

 

^{https://www.vice.com/en/article/paw8bv/god-is-a-woman-history-goddess-worship-ariana-grande} 

 

^{https://www.britannica.com/topic/Astarte-ancient-deity} 

 

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astarte} 

 

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah} 

 

^{https://study.com/academy/lesson/mesopotamian-goddess-tiamat-history-symbols.html} 

 

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chaos_Monster_and_Sun_God.png}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHEN WOMEN FIGHT BACK

 

Yes, there was a killing, but, luckily enough, not the one that had been planned by a murderer. On the contrary, the intended victim, Heather Saul, not only fought him off, but killed him, thus putting a stop to new attacks and presumed murder-plans. As it is he brought with him some tools that made the police suspect that not only had he plans of killing more women, but that he might have done so before attacking Heather in 2015.

She was a sex worker at that time and met this new guy online, but it's unclear if she gave him her address or he found her by her name, Heather Saul. However, Neal Falls (born 1969), came to see her and as soon as he stepped in he attacked her, trying to strangle her. At one point he also pointed a gun at her, asking her to make a choice: "Live or die." 

She had no intention of dying and in the ensuing fight she hit him which made him set down his gun. However, that was when she grabbed his gun and killed him, even though she had been injured in the fight: Her shoulder was dislocated, and her back was broken, but still, she fought the man who was out to kill her. 

When the police came they found a lot of weapons which Neal Falls had brought with him and it was obvious what his intentions had been: Not only sex/rape, but murder. Strangely enough he also brought a "King James Bible" with him and one may guess at the purpose of this without finding any answers because it just seems weird ....

When one reads about the many, many defenceless women who have been butchered by men it's understandable that women like Heather attain heroine status. I, for one, like and admire these women and I hope we shall see more and more like e.g. Heather. 

Neal Falls have been linked to st least nine murders of women in several states, but there may be more - and it's not quite clear whether he killed these specific nine women. The list of other sex workers that was found on his dead body suggests that he had planned a massacre on women which Heather set a stop to once and for all. 

 

https://slatereport.com/news/she-met-a-man-online-and-ended-up-taking-down-an-active-serial-killer/ 

 

https://universe.byu.edu/2017/05/26/survivor-of-attempted-murder-tells-girls-to-fight-back1/ 

 

Wikipedia 

 

 

Victims of America

I often see letters to the editors and postings on various websites about social imbalances, but almost always without any realistic suggestions of how to solve this ongoing problem. Instead many/ most of these people, canalizing their frustrations into writings, keep looking for the "strong man with the magic wand" that in a second or less will make everything good for his followers. A sad delusion which reminds me of the hordes of naive Germans sitting in a crumbling Berlin, but still feeling sure that Hitler will save them with some "master plan" of their own imagination. Such a dependence on "strong men" isn't only stupid, but may also be turn socially suicidal, an unpleasant truth which the believers back away from, still desperately looking for a more convenient life lie about a "savior".

 

I've learnt a lot about the thinking of ordinary, non-rich Americans by reading some of the postings on these websites. For instance it seems that most/many of them don't believe in Global warming, in science as such, unpleasant historical facts, all of which they just refuse to take into account for e.g. whom they will vote for. As to the insurrection on January 6th which everybody is thinking of these days "it didn't happen or was done by the Democrats/FBI/Obama/Biden/Nancy Pelosi" to incriminate the "strong, non-criminal man, Trump". A "proof" of the strength of Trump is "that he has a strong hold on Putin", not he, but the Russian dictator is the "puppet on a string". Somehow Don the Con has attained the image of being a self-made, honest businessman. His father giving him a large sum of money, $400.000.000, which he squandered on wild schemes, the many bankruptcies, and all sorts of legal problems are being "explained" by "evil people are out for him". They keep trusting him and accusing Obama, Joe and Hunter Biden of being the "real culprits who are scheming to rob the ordinary hard-working American of money. This money they obtain through taxes which they are going to transfer to China."

I haven't seen any of these crazy/deluded people attacking their hero, Don the Con, over this evil tax scheme, and I bet they will deny its existence or blame Obama or Biden. Nonetheless it's obvious from what I've seen in postings and letters to the editors that what is of most concern to these people is their own economics. They know that they can't have a good life in a country like America without money. I suppose it's possible to live on the monthly Social Security-check, but still, it only replaces part of the income of most of the retired citizens so it's understandable that they are worried and driven by worry into accepting lies and crazy notions of Don the Con and his henchmen. To them it's obvious that Biden not only wants to take away their guns and social security, but also to start a civil war. Another concern is their fright of becoming car-less: The gasoline powered cars will be extinct by 2025 which will leave everyone without a car as most of them can't afford buying a new electric car. Also, no one wants these electric cars which they see as new and strange, a crazy whim of a president they don't love like they love Don the Con, no matter what ....

It's tempting to see these people as stupid, but they are not: They watch the system, which they know - at least up to a point - and they evaluate it as something of vital interest to people who can't stuff their pockets with money from others. One can't reproach them for this knowledge which everything in their life has taught them, over and over again: This is how the system is working so let us do everything in our power to stop that boat from rocking and stick with "the man with the magic wand" ....

Social Security in retirement | SSA

Social Security Administration (.gov)

https://www.ssa.gov › retirement

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medicare-advantage-medigap-enrollment-trap-switch-preexisting-conditions/ 

 

To Take Ownership of One's Body And Soul

 

In 2024 we know what it means when a young and pretty actress has to take off her clothes for a movie director, producer or the like, and that hard-earned knowledge protects her – up to a point. The movieman Harvey Weinstein was stopped in his tracks when he was convicted of assaults and sexual harassments, but before that he raped and took advantage of several young and ambitious actresses who filed against him. 

 

However, we are not blind to the fact that many other powerful men have been doing what he did, and that they or someone like them may still be doing it. To them it may, even be some kind of “male sport” which they don’t see as a crime.

How would these "fun loving" men have felt about the beautiful, young Austrian actress who in 1933 took off her clothes and ran through a forest, totally naked, before she took a swim in a lake, stark naked. Was she exploited by the director, Gustav Machatý? Naaahhh, I don't think so, and the movie, “Ecstacy”, was about a young and beautiful, but frustrated woman who marries a wealthy but much older and impotent man whom she replaces with a young, handsome and virile engineer. Thus the daring nude bathing scene was in accordance with the movie, which made her famous. 

She changed her name from Hedwig Kiesler into the much more flashy Hedy Lamarr, which is known even today, and not only for the many blockbusters she made in Hollywood, but also for her insight into technology, mathematics and science as such. Actually, she is the one who invented an important part of the internet communication system we use today.

I think that what made her able to make her name in a movie like “Ecstacy”, at a time period that wasn’t used to and therefore got shocked at seeing nakedness and female orgasms on the big screen, was a certain ruthlessness. She didn’t feel exploited by having to undress and show her nakedness in front of either the director or the besotted public all over the world. To me it seems that she sort of took the full ownership of her body and used it as she chose. For instance, she was married six times after fleeing her first and very wealthy husband who more or less kept her prisoner as a “symbol of male status”, a signal to his specific world of wealth and power, which she turned down in order to make her own. It seems that all of her husbands and lovers were powerful men, and she may have exploited some of them in a conventional manner, but she herself, wasn’t subdued by them. Or put in another manner: She didn’t become an obvious Harvey Weinstein-like VICTIM, on the contrary.

Bad boy Harvey doesn’t exactly look like a guy anybody would lust for, but he did hold a power, that would open certain doors in the movie industry that were of use for a lot of young actors and actresses. Did he go too far in his sex-ploitation and demands or was he sent into prison by all these young women because they found other ways to make an impression on the right people? Or, has the times really changed that much that the world of the ugly, non-attractive, but powerful men has been invaded by women who simply don’t accept more of that? People who dream of a career without being victimizing? I, for one, hope so ....

 

https://apnews.com/article/harvey-weinstein-verdict-los-angeles-rape-trial-1a3a9db4e4589a9e0fb03214bc01fecf 

 

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2017/10/27/weinstein-scandal-complete-list-accusers/804663001/ 

Wikipedia

 

Status And Subjection to the Principles of Victorian Morality

A pretty statue - some may even call it beautiful even though it doesn't quite fit our ideas of the looks of the one it depicts: Queen Victoria (24th May 1819–22nd January 1901) depicted by the sculptor as the 18 years old queen at her coronation. Victoria's reign ran for 63 years and 216 days, and one of the ultimate heydays of it was when The British Parliament granted her the additional title of Empress of India in 1877. Actually that seems to have been the doing of the wise Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, 1. Earl of Beaconsfield who knew that the queen just loved flattery and the new title of Empress certainly was flattering. 

Besides, knowing the queen as he did, he must have known that she wouldn't be too happy when her daughter and namesake, Victoria, came into her title as German empress which were bound to happen as her husband, Friedrich, was to inherit the title from his father. However, Vicky, as this English born German empress was called, didn't enjoy that title for long as her husband, Emperor Friedrich, died 99 days after becoming the emperor of Germany in 1888.

 

Vicky, Kaiserin Friedrich

Vicky took after her mother, but was prettier although not a raving beauty as one of her sisters, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria: Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848-1939). 

She, who was the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, is the sculptor who made the statue of her mother as a young woman, ready to take on the obligations as a queen. It was erected in 1893 and received a grade II in 1969. Louise became a widow in 1914 when her homosexual husband, John Campbell, the 9. Duke of Argyll, died. There have been some weird stories of their ill-suited marriage which was more of convenience than anything else: He liked boys and men, and she had a fling with one of her art teachers. Times were different then and both of them had to dance to the pipes of morality.

Louise as an elderly, but still quite pretty woman 

 

https://www5.open.ac.uk/research-projects/making-britain/content/queen-victoria-becomes-empress-india 

 

Wikipedia