{"id":3553,"date":"2025-07-14T14:40:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T14:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3553"},"modified":"2025-07-14T14:40:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T14:40:04","slug":"book-review-on-submission-by-michael-j-seidlinger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3553","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: On Submission by Michael J. Seidlinger"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Submission<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Michael J. Seidlinger<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Horror \/ Writing & Publishing<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9781960988812<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 264 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> Clash Books<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Shelby Zwintscher<\/em> | Content Warnings:<\/em> gore, sexual assault <\/em><\/p>\n

A gruesome and unsettling tale of the cold-blooded world of publishing and the risks an aspiring author will take to tell their story<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Henry Richmond Pendel is the hottest and most cut-throat agent on the literary scene. He\u2019s got clients like J.D. Church, king of horror, under his wing, so maybe he can be cut-throat. Pendel isn\u2019t afraid to back editors into corners to cut epic deals, and then walk away without bothering to remember their name. He\u2019s harsh, manipulative, and, as of late, paranoid.<\/p>\n

A seemingly routine query rejection has taken a turn for the worse. Pendel is getting bombarded with emails from Alex Moyer, an aspiring author blinded by his passion for storytelling, when he begins to feel as though he is being watched. Things are out of place at home and an entire book series has disappeared off his shelf.<\/p>\n

The timing is horrible for Pendel, as allegations of Church grooming underage students are swirling around, book deals are hanging in wait, and an industry wide dry spell is imminent.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Alex Moyer is taking his fate as an author into his own hands. He needs an acclaimed agent like Pendel on his side, but to do that, he\u2019ll have to get to know him and his clientele better. After a visit to Pendel\u2019s house, Moyer pursues Church, following him from the airport to his hotel.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, when it comes down to it, there\u2019s no difference between fact and fiction, a story told versus a story lived. A person\u2019s body of work is only as good as what remains in a person\u2019s memory. So when I start my story, I choose one of the biggest names in the business.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Like any good storyteller, Moyer has set the story up for success, booking the room next door to Church. During a \u201cchance\u201d encounter in the hallway, where Moyer plays the part of adoring fan, one thing leads to another, and the first body in Moyer\u2019s body of work is \u201cedited\u201d to perfection.<\/p>\n

Pendel is spiraling. Driven by his paranoia, he is manipulating deals for smaller authors and drinking while he texts Church. Except it\u2019s not Church, it\u2019s Moyer. Church is found mutilated in his hotel room, and his texts are the last contact anyone has had with him.<\/p>\n

Told in alternating perspectives, On Submission<\/em> follows an unraveling Pendel as Moyer sets his sights on Pendel\u2019s client-list. The characters of Moyer and Pendel are curiously parallel. They are both dark, both eerily sterile and detached, yet crisp in contrast. They stand out on their own as complex, bad humans at odds against each other. <\/p>\n

The pacing of the story is quick, methodical, and consistent, although it does slow down a bit later on. When the pace slows, the characters lose some of their unsettling edge, but the satisfying conclusion comes in to rectify all of that. <\/p>\n

On Submission<\/em> is good at being weird and twisted. The murder scenes are concise without taking away from the shock-inducing, disturbing gore. A couple scenes, particularly those that include sexual assault, are likely to cause some discomfort for more sensitive readers.<\/p>\n

The most compelling part of On Submission<\/em> is the conversation it opens about the publishing industry. It doesn\u2019t shy away from putting heartless agents, writers\u2019 desperations, and publishing biases under the microscope. Every time I\u2019d put the book down, I\u2019d be pondering what statement the story was making about these things. It\u2019s a showcase of it all, ridiculousness included.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have a story to tell. Some are just willing to do anything to tell it.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On Submission<\/em> is sharp in all the ways that matter. If you\u2019re not afraid of gore, want a shadowy look into the world of publishing, or savor the mind of confidently deluded characters, pick up On Submission<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Shelby Zwintscher\u2019s book review of On Submission<\/em> by Michael J. Seidlinger! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: On Submission by Michael J. Seidlinger<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Submission by Michael J. Seidlinger Genre: Horror \/ Writing & Publishing ISBN: 9781960988812 Print Length: 264 pages Publisher: Clash Books Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Shelby Zwintscher | Content Warnings: gore, sexual assault A gruesome and unsettling tale of the cold-blooded world of publishing and the risks an aspiring author will take to tell their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3553"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}