Subject: Re: Query - Not Peace, But a Sword
From: "Barrett Brown" <barriticus@gmail.com>
Date: 4/23/08, 14:05
To: "Paul Lucas" <PLucas@janklow.com>

Paul-

Thanks again for getting back to me.

Attached is the original ten-page proposal for Not Peace, But a Sword.

Regarding the sample chapters seeming a bit like standalone essays - and this addressed somewhat in the proposal - these were intended to serve as the lunch meat of the book, to be flanked by an introductory chapter and a concluding chapter. The former will be a fairly standard non-fiction first chapter setting up the scene and whatnot, whereas the latter will deal specifically with the Evangelical view on jurisprudence, using the several Justice Sunday events as raw material (I'm guessing from your last e-mail that you're familiar with those; if not, they were the ones that Dobson et al held starting around the time of Terri Sciavo and continuing up through the Supreme Court nomination hearings). I was thinking that such a chapter, dealing as it does with the explicitly legal and political, would make a good concluding chapter because it would better bring the book together by showing very explicity why all of this really matters and why having such a large contigent of voters who believe the things that they do constitutes a threat to the nation's viability. It would also incorporate a good deal of tying-together material - referencing issues discussed in past chapters by way of an explanation of what's going on this chapter, etc. There'll be plenty of opportunity for this sort of thing since the problems with the Evangelical worldview noted in previous chapters all manifest themselves to some degree or another in the legal and political sphere. In addition, I could definitely re-work those three sample chapters themselves in order to tie them in to each other, as well as the first and last chapters.

Anyway, take a look at the proposal and tell me what you think. Aside from a little tweaking, this is basically the same one that I initially wrote; I wanted to see what you thought about this version before revising it any further.

Thanks again,

Barrett



On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 5:49 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi, Paul-

Thanks for getting back to me; I'm glad you enjoyed the sample chapters. I've got to head into Manhattan in a minute for some wacky art thing, but I'll write to you at greater length tomorrow regarding the direction of the book as well as the proposal.

Thanks again,

Barrett


On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 4:37 PM, Paul Lucas <PLucas@janklow.com> wrote:

Dear Barrett, I enjoyed the sample chapters you sent to me.  "Sex, Marriage" was probably my favorite of the three. It has enjoyable subplots and scalding interrogations of the central characters. I was also impressed that you must have sat through the entire Liberty Sunday affair once, let alone several note taking times.

 

I was wondering if you've made any headway with the proposal. The chapters are sadistic and fun twist but they feel more like individual essays on the current establishment and I was expecting more continuity/development. I'm almost fine with the jumping off point "these people are freaking crazy, don't ask questions" but part of me is going to be asking "how did the situation among the evangelicals lead them there?" Meanwhile, taking potshots at the Left Behind series and pointing out misquotes are good for keeping a reader enticed.

 

Let me know how you're progressing,
Paul

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Barrett Brown [mailto:barriticus@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 12:51 PM
To: Paul Lucas
Subject: Re: Query - Not Peace, But a Sword

 

Paul-

Thanks for getting back to me.

I've attached three sample chapters to this e-mail. I also have a ten-page proposal divided into the usual sub-sections, but I'm thinking of re-writing it, so since you're not in a hurry to see it, I'll wait on sending that along.

Thanks again,

Barrett


On Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 2:26 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:

Paul-

Our mutual friend Anna Bohichik tells me that you're actively seeking out non-fiction manuscripts, so I thought I'd drop you a line.

I'm a Brooklyn-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in dozens of publications including National Lampoon, The Onion A.V. Club, McSweeney's, Hustler, and American Atheist. My first book, Flock of Dodos: Behind Modern Creationism, Intelligent Design, and the Easter Bunny, was released last March by a small New York publisher called Sterling and Ross, and received praise from Alan Dershowitz, Rolling Stone, The Huffington Post, Air America Radio, and other sources. I've also worked as a copywriter for various media outlets and a couple of ad firms, and I do some blogging here and there both for pay and as a hobby/blatant bid at self-promotion.

I've been working on a second book which I'd like to eventually place with a larger publisher. The working title is Not Peace, But a Sword: Why Evangelicals Are Not Only Bad for America But Also Somewhat Irritating on a Personal Basis. As you might expect, it's a political humor treatise on the threat presented by the Evangelical movement. You're probably also aware that quite a few books have already been written on this subject. What sets this one apart, I hope, is the prose style.

Let me know if you'd like to see some sample chapters or a formal proposal.

Thanks,

Barrett Brown
512-560-2302