Space Rescue needs Rescuing

I've mentioned here that I'm trying to sell my next novel Space Rescue to something other then a self-publishing outfit. Well, today's mail brings two bits of bad news. The agent who requested a partial said "no thanks" and another agent who has a policy of getting the first three chapters sent me a pre-printed "no thanks." Well, shit.

I've got two more agent queries out, one of which I hold low hopes on. My writer's group is doing a comb-through of the novel, and I've decided to send a few Lulu copies to people who read the first one. Maybe I can fix it up. I'm also considering giving the folks at Flying Pen Press a shot, although as I'm not local to them, they may not be interested.

Wines of Westville

Or more technically, Fairmount. I mentioned that I went south for the weekend. While down there, I visited Sleepy Creek Vineyards, a new Illinois winery founded by Dawn and Joe Taylor. It's a small place, and features wines made with Illinois grapes. I don't know if it's the type of grapes that grow here or the weather (summer rains) but getting dry wines out of the local grapes takes a bit more work. Fortunately, I like all kinds of wine, so that's not a problem. They were out of several of their varieties (not sure if that's good or bad for them but I picked up:

* Sour Puss - a white wine made from two grape varietals, which was just at the sweet / dry boundary. Think lemonade.

* Henpecked - a red semi-sweet made from Frontenac grapes grown on site. Goes well with burgers and brats.

* Bull Headed - their flagship dry red, a mix of two local grapes, goes well with steak or pizza.