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C.S. Madsen

@csmadsen.bsky.social

89 followers 150 following 330 posts

I'm the author of the Mythicals universe, as well as a parent of two wonderful little kids. I drive a BRZ and love every second of it. Still trying to figure life out. https://linktr.ee/CSMadsen

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 8d

Begging Your Pardon, Mister Wolfe ( #BYPMW ) is now querying. I saw others setting up these neat slide decks for potentially curious literary agents, and thought I'd do the same. Thoughts and feedback welcomed!
🐺
#AmQuerying #UrbanFantasy #Supernatural #Thriller #Mythicals #Universe #Flagship #Entry

A hardcover mockup of a book, with text above it stating:

Begging Your Pardon, Mister Wolfe
By C.S. Madsen

An Urban Fantasy/Supernatural Thriller, with Mystery, Romance, and Mild Horror Themes
(Approximately 90,000 Words)

*All artistic assets featured were commissioned from Karianne Hutchinson, and are owned by me.

A simple slide listing comps in three categories:
TV/Movies:
Supernatural
The Crow
Lost Girl
Preacher

Books:
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

Video Games:
Cyberpunk 2077
Thief: The Dark Project
Control
Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines

An infographic showing the following:

Okay… What Can I Expect?
(Tropes and Concepts)
A World Shaded with Gray Morality
The world is never just black and white. Secret organizations, ambiguous powers, and ancient conspiracies fuel the narrative threatening to consume Erik’s life.

Found Family
A distant, mysterious brother with startling resources, a haunted seer, and many more unique characters come together to make a stand for Erik’s sake.

Reluctant, Everyman Hero
Erik never asked for power or influence. He only wanted to keep his head down and move past his personal tragedies. Fate had something else in mind.

Spirit/Host Bond
Lykaios.

A semi-feral, bloodlusting, mischievous woman’s spirit, battle-scarred and keen to exact revenge on Erik’s behalf.

…And it doesn’t stop there.

A stylized icon of a snarling wolf with its left eye replaced by a series of three jagged scratch marks, followed by a block of text:

The Wolfe series is the flagship of the Mythicals Universe, a shared world where every story is a different front in a single, ancient conflict. It explores an existence defined by a cosmic schism, where every unique character—primal spirits, dragon lords, and vampires contrasted by the very human operatives sometimes caught in the mix—must each choose their path through the infinite shades of gray present in humanity—and divinity.

BOOK ONE: Begging Your Pardon, Mister Wolfe—Currently Querying!

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 11h

#WIPSnips of the day is #Prize. From my #UrbanFantasy, Begging Your Pardon, Mister Wolfe:
Puckish #Lykaios has some strange coping techniques for her fear of flying. Erik finds insight into her sudden change in behavior, but isn't sure how to act on it.

#Supernatural #Thriller #BYPMW #OftDTftW

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A snippet of a word processor, with the word "prize" highlighted in pastel green. It is separated mid-flow by page number 270. The text reads as follows:

She noticed, or perhaps knew, that I was shocked by her attire. “What?” The word was at once both accusatory and wounded. “You’re surprised that I chose to wear clothing?” Her shoulders arched in an almost dismissive shrug, despite an undertone of discomfort I couldn’t quite place. Ah. I thought. We’re flying again. My realization was cut off by a tone that expressed hurt while still managing to wear a prissy facade. “Sometimes, I exercise my freedom by confining myself. Don’t bother getting used to it.”
It clicked into place, all at once.
The clothes, the fancy hair, her tone. It all came together to tell me that this was her way of armoring herself against her fear. It didn’t make much sense to me, but I knew it the way I knew I’d be physically ill if I bit into a pineapple. There was just something instinctual, something that had collected the clues where I had not, that was practically screaming that this was the answer to a question I didn’t realize I had.
Adroitly leaping over the desktop, she swung her legs around it like a world-class gymnast on a pommel horse. Placing a surprisingly soft fingertip on my nose, she suddenly toppled me backward with a powerful thrust of her finger. Standing over my sprawled form like a bored prizefighter longing for a challenge and finding me lacking, she sighed with a huff that could best be described as… theatrical.

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 1d

WHOA.

I'm getting serious #SilentHill and #ResidentEvil vibes from this. Way to make it wildly spooky without any other entities involved! I'm piqued. I'm interested. I'm ready for more.

#Hooked

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 1d

(TIL: finding gifs that express sparkling eyes with the "really?!?" vibe are actually super difficult to find, 'cause most of what you get is angsty "...really..." kind of vibe instead.)

Thank you for your continued interactions, Amanda. It really means more to me than you might know. :)

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 1d

#WIPSnips of the day? #Battery.

After a string of missed calls while he was working, his sister's phone is dead. Now Erik crosses two state lines in under an hour just to find her, hoping for a simple explanation... and fearing the alternatives.

#BYPMW #UrbanFantasy #Supernatural #Thriller
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Text snippet from a word processor, with the word "battery" highlighted in pastel green. The text reads as follows:

I considered what I might do when I got to my sister’s house. Daisy was always notoriously distant from the family, which made my attachment to her feel one-sided, at times. That was even compared to Jonathan, who, despite living literally halfway across the world, still visited more than she did. I couldn’t imagine my experience would be as simple as finding her at her house with a dead phone battery, but I really hoped that was the case. My mind was being particularly creative, and the alternatives it came up with weren’t anything good.
Making my way into Mesquite, I wound through the thickly suburban side streets. As if by some miracle, I remembered the way with only one or two wrong turns, arriving at my sister’s house a short time later. Her car wasn’t in her driveway, but her empty garage was yawning open like a husk. Bicycles, a lawn mower, camping gear, and other fairly valuable items were in plain view from the street.

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 2d

that I update my queries with agents, issuing a retraction and a resubmission of the new draft, explaining the above reasoning. Beta readers responded favorably, especially those who read both before and after the reshaping. Should I retract & resubmit? I appreciate your consideration and response!

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 2d

@victoriamharris.bsky.social (1 of 2) As someone familiar with the space, but not interested in manuscripts like mine, I feel it's safe to ask you:

I reread my manuscript and found about 1k words of bloat in the opening that slowed it down. I razored and reseeded the info. It was recommended to me

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 2d

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 2d

I just razored 1000 words of expository bloat from Chapter One of my flagship book, Begging Your Pardon, Mister Wolfe. The "lost" info was seeded in snippets throughout the book.
It took lots of thinking & examination, because I didn't want to lose its importance.
#UrbanFantasy #BYPMW #AmQuerying
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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 2d

Today's #WIPSnips was #dungeon. Synonym: #prison is my chosen word.
Here, #Wolfe's 'pack' has seen glimpses through Jonathan's smokescreen of plausible deniability. The 'gangsters' out to get Erik have become too convenient in Kenna's eyes.

#UrbanFantasy #Supernatural #Thriller #BYPMW #OftDTftW

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A screenshot of a word processor, separated by page number 66. The word "Prison" is highlighted in pastel green. The text reads as follows:

Most of my friends were behaving as I would have expected in the situation, but Kenna had me mystified. When she’d first come into my life as Tyson’s girlfriend, she’d brought with her a strong philosophy that was very Taoist in nature, calling it the “art of not giving any unnecessary craps.” This building dissatisfaction wasn’t a side of her I’d seen before. When Jonathan stood to speak to us, she was the first to say something.
“You can try to buy us off with gifts and sightseeing, but the danger to our lives isn’t worth it. An emergency rescue from our cruise ship after someone beat the hell out of Anna isn’t the way vacations are supposed to end, you guys! Surely you have enough evidence by now to put these gangsters in prison, right? How long do we have to put up with this crap?”

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 2d

There are so many rules of etiquette on this website that I have been completely unaware of... Is this the reason why my marketing deck only has 2 likes? I thought it was because it was garbage, but if it's out of respect for this concept of leaving likes to agents and editors... 🤔 Thank you!

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 2d

That's such a rad way to give a nod to your influences, man. I love that!

I suppose I could see where listening to lyrical music might take me. 'Cause of the kids, I can listen to HUNTR/X, and because of my own habits, Linkin Park and Twenty One Pilots, but... Hmm. Perhaps I should try.

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 2d

I was about to hit like. Is this not something I'm supposed to do? Have I become Old Man Yelling At The Clouds,™ now?

a cartoon of homer simpson is holding a newspaper that says old man yells at cloud

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 2d

That's an awesome variety! I can only listen to a song with actual talking/rap/lyrics if I've heard it so many times I can "stare off into space" with it without processing the words. Otherwise, it disrupts the letters hitting the page, as it were. For me, a bit of classical, and LOTS of electronic.

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 3d

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 3d

Not sure if I'd be a fit, but I'm willing to add to your slushies.

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 3d

👀

🤔

🫡

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 3d

My friend and fellow author H.A. #Carlson is a multifaceted #talent, as you can see here from the cover she designed for her #WIP! I hope that when I order my hardcover copy of her book, it comes that shiny... 🤔💭

H.A.Carlson @hacarlson.bsky.social · 4d

Apart from the other things I should be working on. Ooo shiney!

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 3d

@julius-am-brown.bsky.social Hey there! Your book series has a very fun concept! Just for the sake of striking up a conversation, I thought I'd ask if you listen to any specific types of music while writing? I have a very widespread variety of genres and artists for that, myself, so I was curious.

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 3d

Eeeee, I love this! Where/when do I get more of it?

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 3d

Ugh. Sometimes you catch the bad writing after several reviews, posting, and then glancing at it again. Fixed.

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 3d

Today's #WIPSnips is #safe.

In this #scene, Anna and Erik are headed for a swim when a suspiciously timed disaster strikes. Erik decides to take a big #risk, subtly displaying #superhuman powers to save a life. Anna briefly chides him.

#UrbanFantasy #Supernatural #Thriller #BYPMW #OftDTftW

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A screenshot of a word processor, separated by page number 24, with the word "safe" highlighted in pastel green. It reads as follows:

As we left the hallway and entered the waterpark, Anna’s arm shot in front of me, barring me from walking forward. I halted but didn’t even have time to give her a questioning look before a metal support strut snapped with the resounding screech like a hellish raptor descending from somewhere above. We were splashed with a cascade of water, and a segment of the waterslide crashed down where Anna and I would’ve been if she hadn’t stopped us.
Eyes widened with terror, several crew members swarmed into the area, checking to make sure nobody had been hurt. As they did so, I smelled the unmistakable evidence of fear in the water still pouring down from the broken slide above. Looking up, I shoved past the crew members in time to adroitly catch a young man in his early teens after he fell through the gap in the slide. Setting him down between two astonished crewmates, I returned to the place below the gap, watching for anybody else to come raining down from above. After about a minute, the water slowed to a trickle, and I felt it was safe to assume they’d closed the slide—I wouldn’t need to catch anybody else.
“Be aware, dear Wolfe.” Anna had stepped up alongside me. “Anybody who understands physics will be looking at you more carefully. Catching someone in free fall from that height isn’t a feat many can perform without someone getting badly hurt. Your selflessness sometimes risks your anonymity.” The critical words were softened by the admiration in her voice.

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 4d

You'll get it! The answer will develop as you write the stuff you know. I'm cheering for you!!!

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 4d

I'll read this, but if I like it, you're gonna need to prepare for me to buy some of your other work. Fair warning. :P

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C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 4d

I feel like the person visiting a well-known establishment for the first time, only to see a tearful, angry patron laying into the establishment's proprietor over something I can't quite understand, but know must be a very big deal.

Who are Dune and Link? What's happened here?

C.S. Madsen @csmadsen.bsky.social · 4d

Worldbuilding is critical, in my opinion. Anything you can do to breathe more life into your characters, their environments, and the stories that play out from them.

Make a floor plan.

Decide what their favorite pasta is, even if you never write a dinner scene.

Bring them to life.

Kate Heartfield @kateheartfield.com · 5d

Making a floor plan for your character's house counts as writing.