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 |  To get to heaven, you gotta go through hell. |
Featured in "Drama Newsletter (October 17, 2018)"  SHORT SYNOPSIS When an ugly gunslinger with the wrong skin colour dies in front of a saloon, little does he expect to wake up in a paradise where race and class do not matter, where man and machine co-exist in harmony. To stay, however, he needs the votes of three Elders. As he explores and falls in love, he must risk his life again in order to defend this unusual utopia and earn his right to live the dream that is Dead Man's Grin. WHY WILL READERS READ THIS? An expert gunslinging protagonist with a skull face come back from the dead? Clayton, or Skullface, is less a comic book anti-hero like Spawn or Ghostrider and more of a gritty survivalist like Denzel Washington's Eli in The Book Of Eli. Neither charming and heroic nor outright scumbag, his is the story of someone who does not quite deserve paradise but finds it anyway. 'Dead Man's Grin' is set in an alternative western steampunk reality populated by flying cities floating above a devastated planet. In some parts, it's Dirty Harry meets Blade Runner, except the machines run on coal-powered steam instead of batteries and electricity. In others, it's Pocahontas except John Smith is black and burnt beyond ugly. Beginning in a bar and with an exciting gunfight, it wraps up with a massive battle that recalls Butch and Sundance taking on the entire Bolivian army, except with killer robots thrown in the mix. The story explores how a non-capitalist system might work, when all labor is performed by machines, as well as how someone ingrained in capitalist culture would fit in or impact such a society. SAMPLE QUERY LETTER Dear Mr Coyle, since you like stories about heroes who can't stand being part of a broken system, I would like to interest you in my novella, Dead Man's Grin. This is the story of Clayton, an unsmiling, gunslinging survivalist who wanders the wilderness searching for an alternative to coal-guzzling flying cities that favour the wealthy and white. Just when he finds a clue, he loses his good eye and almost all of his skin after being set aflame saving a barkeeper from raiders. Nursed back to health by a shaman, Clayton finds himself in Dead Man's Grin -- a strange utopia where people have no concept of race or class, where man and machine co-exist in a hidden haven and nature remains unravaged. In order to stay in this paradise, Clayton must get the approval of three Elders -- an isolationistic spirit-world-walking shaman, an engineering genius who is half-crippled-dwarf, half-machine, and a grief-stricken mayor consumed by her desire for revenge. Meanwhile another raiding party is amassing to ride on the Grin. Despite his desire to move on from his violent past, Clayton must return to his gunslinging ways and defend the Grin or risk having his dream destroyed. This action-filled steampunk western story runs about 45,000 words and is targeted at fans of speculative fiction. I started writing in 2017 and my work has been published in Plot Pourri, an anthology of short stories by Notion Press, and on The Pangolin Review. Thank you very much for your time. As specified, I have attached the complete anonymised manuscript and look forward to hearing from you. Yours Truly, Azrael Tseng FULL SYNOPSIS Clayton wanders the surface wilderness and is set aflame in a gunfight. Nursed back to life by a shaman, he finds himself in a strange utopia where people have no concept of race or class, still live in caves and yet enjoy an abundance of leisure in nature with machines and robots doing all the work for them. He falls in love with the place, as well as the shaman's apprentice Halona. In order to stay, he requires votes from three Elders at a Gathering. Visiting each in turn beginning with the spirit-world-walking shaman Flies-with-Crows, followed by the Mountain Master -- an engineering genius half-man, half-machine, and finally the mayor Melanie -- grief-stricken by the loss of her son and consumed by her desire for revenge, he learns what he needs to do to get their vote. Meanwhile Halona introduces him to life in Dead Man's Grin, teaching him about its history, myriad workings and wonders. On the dawn of the Gathering, a large raiding party attacks. Clayton, Melanie, the Mountain Master and his automaton servant Em defend the Grin against overwhelming odds, including a killing machine called an Eviscerator. Melanie gets revenge on the man who killed her son. At the Gathering, the spirits listen to the people and the Elders and the Grin accepts Clayton as their newest member. Chapter by Chapter Outline Chapter 1: The Oasis Chapter 2: The Power of the Pearl Chapter 3: Welcome To The Grin Chapter 4: The Glade Of Storms Chapter 5: Halona Chapter 6: The Museum Chapter 7: The Mountain Master's Deal Chapter 8: Graveyard On A Cliff Chapter 9: After The Falling Stars Chapter 10: Trail Of Tears Chapter 11: The Calm Before Chapter 12: Ambush Chapter 13: Tides Of Battle Chapter 14: A Talent For Survival Chapter 15: The Gathering |
| Chapter | 1 | Oasis | 20.39k |
| Chapter | 2 | Tears and Ashes | 12.19k |
| Chapter | 3 | Welcome to the Grin | 17.75k |
| Chapter | 4 | The Glade of Storms | 22.57k |
| Chapter | 5 | Halona | 23.32k |
| Chapter | 6 | The Museum | 14.05k |
| Chapter | 7 | The Mountain Master's Deal | 16.31k |
| Chapter | 8 | Graveyard On A Cliff | 24.15k |
| Chapter | 9 | After The Falling Stars | 19.80k |
| Chapter | 10 | Trail Of Tears | 14.81k |
| Chapter | 11 | The Calm Before | 20.50k |
| Chapter | 12 | Ambush | 19.79k |
| Chapter | 13 | Tides Of Battle | 15.39k |
| Chapter | 14 | A Talent For Survival | 8.92k |
| Chapter | 15 | The Gathering | 14.05k |
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