You knew him as Jungle Vendetta, slayer of all who came against him. Survivor of five head to head query battles. Ultimate Query Kombat Grand Champion. Here is his story:
The judges went wild over your story
of a boy and his uncle stranded on a dangerous safari. Tell us a little about
the plot and characters of Savage Jungle.
My protag Kreith is a
technologically savvy videogame lover without an ounce of muscle and who is a
bit of a wimp. He looks up to his Uncle
Tonas, who plays opposite him as the big, macho tough-guy, and it’s through
Kreith’s adventures in the jungle that he finds out what true toughness is and
how useful his own strengths are.
Plot-wise, he and Uncle Tonas get stranded in the jungle by a man out
for revenge on Uncle Tonas (wrong place, wrong time for Kreith), and they need
to survive not only the lethal animals, but ultimately this vengeful sicko
himself.
What inspired you to write it?
Oh, man…that’s a tough
one haha. I think most of the time I
have no idea where my story ideas come from.
They usually just plop in my brain somehow, and the ones I love enough I
start to write. But I love sci/fi and
survival stories, so it’s easy to see how this one came to be J
Have you written other stories and
is middle grade and science fiction your preferred genre? How long have you
been writing?
I’ve been writing stories
ever since I can remember, but didn’t start writing “seriously” (with the
intention of publication) until about five years ago. I always wrote fantasy, and thought for a
while that middle-grade was my preferred genre, but surprised myself when I recently
finished the rough draft of a YA dystopian, and I have an idea for an NA
fantasy book that I’m pretty excited about.
How many drafts of your query did
you go through and did you get any help from other writers prior to Query
Kombat?
A LOT of drafts (too
many to recall haha). And yes—lots of
help prior to the contest. I have a
beloved group of friends I met during my Writing Popular Fiction MFA program at
Seton Hill University (we call ourselves The Troublemakers), and we’re
constantly critiquing each other’s work/queries. This query has also been critiqued by crit
partners I’ve met online who have really helped chisel it into shape.
What was your favorite/most helpful
part of Query Kombat?
This is tough to
say—the whole thing was fantastic! However,
I think my favorite part was working with a mentor to really hone and improve
my entry, and then having that entry go back into the crazy, frenzied battle
that is Query Kombat! Also—all the great
feedback from judges, mentors, and fellow kompetitors alike at all stages of
the tournament was incredible.
How was the Query Kombat experience
and how did you survive all those rounds without going crazy?
It was a fantastic
experience, and I’m so happy to have been a part of it. It’s awesome being part of this wonderful writing
community, and, like I said, getting all that helpful feedback from judges and
fellow entrants right from the first round was so beneficial. It was a win-win no matter what ;)
Any words of wisdom for everyone in
the query trenches?
It sounds so clichéd,
but it’s really a matter of not giving up, continuing to stick it out and get
better, both when it comes to sharpening your query and writing in general. The more advice you get (and give) and the
longer you’re at the game, the more things stick and obviously the more you
improve. You never know when it will all
come together for you, and at the end of the day, no matter what, you can be
proud of being a better writer than you were before!
We would love to have you as a judge
for the next Query Kombat. Would you come back next year and do some voting?

Sure. I’d love to come back. It really has been such a great experience,
and once again I thank the hosts, judges, mentors, and all the great kompetitors
for such an awesome tournament! See you
next year J
About Chris von Halle:
I’m an aspiring fantasy and science fiction writer. I recently obtained my MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, and I live in the otherwordly realm of Mendham, NJ. Feel free to visit my blog at: http://chrisvonhalle.blogspot.com/ or give me a shout-out on Twitter at: @ChrisvonHalle.
WOOO!!! GO CHRIS! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThanks SC Author! I hope everyone found Query Kombat as fun and helpful as I did!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Chris! Wishing you all the best and I hope to read your book one day. :)
ReplyDelete-Kicking Ash