In this 90,000 word contemporary romantic comedy, GAMBLING ON LOVE, it's a case of the blind leading the blind when dating-impaired Galveston concierge Rachel McKnight agrees to play Henry Higgins for equally dating-inept gambler Mac MacAllister.
Rachel is a compulsive fixer—a handy trait for the Galveston hotel concierge; not so wonderful in the dating world.
Recently divorced Mac doesn't understand why lines like "Wanna get naked?" aren't getting him any dates. He wants Rachel to fix his approach to women, but dating is the one area of life Rachel hasn't been able to figure out. Turning down Mac's plea to "fix him" is like a junkie turning away from a heroin fix, but Rachel manages to do the honorable thing. Right up until she learns her mother expects her to bring a date to her brother's wedding. If she doesn't, she risks her mother meddling in her love life.
So Rachel and Mac make a deal. He'll play the attentive beau if she'll coach him on how to successfully approach women.
Escorting Rachel to the wedding creates its own complications when Mac realizes that the kisses he wants can only be found on Rachel's lips. This unexpected development leads him to discover Rachel's darkest secret and the intimacy issues that have kept her alone.
Now it's his turn to teach her. If she can't learn to trust him, she'll never have the family she yearns for, and Mac will always wonder what might have been.
Gambling on Love should appeal to readers of Jennifer Crusie and Rachel Gibson. I hope you will find Gambling on Love worth a closer look. The full manuscript is available upon request.
Apr 27, 2009
Query- Seven-Inch Vinyl Revision 1
Click here to read the original query.
Click here to read the second revision.
In 1953, the whole world was waiting for an explosion.
Both The United States and the Soviet Union possessed a weapon that could blow the world to bits. But when the explosion finally did take place, it didn’t come from an Atom bomb - but in the form of Rock and Roll music!
My first novel SEVEN-INCH VINYL, follows the evolution of rock and roll music as seen through the eyes of Joseph Rabinowitz, a young man who is introduced to R&B music while in the army in Kentucky training for the Korean Conflict and a wealth of other fictional characters. Joseph’s rise through the music business first as an employee at a record store, then as the owner of an independent record company and on as he becomes a legendary songwriter and record producer will parallel real-life people and events as the music changes through the turbulent decade of the 1960’s. Racism, political unrest, war and assassination will unfold in this family saga of success and failure - triumph and tragedy, all culminating in a groundbreaking reunion concert in 1969 proving that rock and roll will never die.
My past writing experiences are all about the 50’s & 60’s music genre. They include two articles published in Peace Magazine, as well as two articles published in The Las Vegas Tribune and LaVoce monthly newspaper and one published in Golden Oldies Forever, a national specialized music periodical.
The completed 140,000 – word manuscript for SEVEN-INCH VINYL is available upon request. A SASE is included for your convenience. I thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Click here to read the second revision.
In 1953, the whole world was waiting for an explosion.
Both The United States and the Soviet Union possessed a weapon that could blow the world to bits. But when the explosion finally did take place, it didn’t come from an Atom bomb - but in the form of Rock and Roll music!
My first novel SEVEN-INCH VINYL, follows the evolution of rock and roll music as seen through the eyes of Joseph Rabinowitz, a young man who is introduced to R&B music while in the army in Kentucky training for the Korean Conflict and a wealth of other fictional characters. Joseph’s rise through the music business first as an employee at a record store, then as the owner of an independent record company and on as he becomes a legendary songwriter and record producer will parallel real-life people and events as the music changes through the turbulent decade of the 1960’s. Racism, political unrest, war and assassination will unfold in this family saga of success and failure - triumph and tragedy, all culminating in a groundbreaking reunion concert in 1969 proving that rock and roll will never die.
My past writing experiences are all about the 50’s & 60’s music genre. They include two articles published in Peace Magazine, as well as two articles published in The Las Vegas Tribune and LaVoce monthly newspaper and one published in Golden Oldies Forever, a national specialized music periodical.
The completed 140,000 – word manuscript for SEVEN-INCH VINYL is available upon request. A SASE is included for your convenience. I thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
THE GRACES OF MERCY & CIRCUMSTANCE - REVISION #1
Click here to read the original query.
Dear Agent,
In THE GRACES OF MERCY & CIRCUMSTANCE, three childhood friends, now mothers in their late thirties, commit an act of vigilantism against a complete stranger when they become convinced he has abused his stepdaughter and murdered his wife. The three women are swept up by their newfound sense of control and power while they plot against the man, but their so-called “perfect plan” goes terribly awry during execution and they discover, only when it’s too late, that they didn’t know all the facts. Thanks also to their late night activities in a stolen van, the women unwittingly become suspects in a separate murder investigation of a police informant and find out how tenuous their beliefs—and their relationships with one another—have been.
In the end, the man at the center of the women’s vigilantism has a history and identity that none of the women could ever have imagined.
The story starts with Karin, Alaina, and Trisha as children. When they reunite decades later, Karin faces unimaginable grief with the death of her only child in a car accident in which her husband was driving in the direction toward his mistress’ house. Trisha confronts her own childhood traumas involving an alcoholic mother, a father she has never met, molestation by her grandfather, and the fear that the daughter she gave up for adoption when she was a teenager could, in any way possible, be in harm’s way because of Trisha’s self-perceived abandonment. Alaina, on the other hand, struggles with the guilt of her past failure to speak out against her adopted father who was engaged in the sexual abuse of boys and, then later, the secret and questionable paternity of her oldest child.
After Alaina’s son reveals that one of his classmates has run away from home because of the horrific deeds of her stepfather, the women’s weekly “girls’ night out” takes on a whole new and tragic misplacement of energy.
This 83,000-word manuscript of commercial women’s fiction is set within small towns in British Columbia, Canada due to my life-long familiarity with the landscape. Although I am an unpublished novelist, I have an entrenched fascination with all the trouble presumably “average” people get themselves into—due, in no small part, to my past work history writing investigative narratives of the professional and personal misconduct of lawyers. Take years summarizing indiscretions and bad decision-making (including fraudulent investment schemes, criminal charges of public indecency and unlawful confinement of minors, and run-of-the mill impaired driving and assault convictions), throw in a degree in English literature, and a work of fiction was destined to come to fruition.
I'd be more than happy to send you my complete manuscript for your review. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Dear Agent,
In THE GRACES OF MERCY & CIRCUMSTANCE, three childhood friends, now mothers in their late thirties, commit an act of vigilantism against a complete stranger when they become convinced he has abused his stepdaughter and murdered his wife. The three women are swept up by their newfound sense of control and power while they plot against the man, but their so-called “perfect plan” goes terribly awry during execution and they discover, only when it’s too late, that they didn’t know all the facts. Thanks also to their late night activities in a stolen van, the women unwittingly become suspects in a separate murder investigation of a police informant and find out how tenuous their beliefs—and their relationships with one another—have been.
In the end, the man at the center of the women’s vigilantism has a history and identity that none of the women could ever have imagined.
The story starts with Karin, Alaina, and Trisha as children. When they reunite decades later, Karin faces unimaginable grief with the death of her only child in a car accident in which her husband was driving in the direction toward his mistress’ house. Trisha confronts her own childhood traumas involving an alcoholic mother, a father she has never met, molestation by her grandfather, and the fear that the daughter she gave up for adoption when she was a teenager could, in any way possible, be in harm’s way because of Trisha’s self-perceived abandonment. Alaina, on the other hand, struggles with the guilt of her past failure to speak out against her adopted father who was engaged in the sexual abuse of boys and, then later, the secret and questionable paternity of her oldest child.
After Alaina’s son reveals that one of his classmates has run away from home because of the horrific deeds of her stepfather, the women’s weekly “girls’ night out” takes on a whole new and tragic misplacement of energy.
This 83,000-word manuscript of commercial women’s fiction is set within small towns in British Columbia, Canada due to my life-long familiarity with the landscape. Although I am an unpublished novelist, I have an entrenched fascination with all the trouble presumably “average” people get themselves into—due, in no small part, to my past work history writing investigative narratives of the professional and personal misconduct of lawyers. Take years summarizing indiscretions and bad decision-making (including fraudulent investment schemes, criminal charges of public indecency and unlawful confinement of minors, and run-of-the mill impaired driving and assault convictions), throw in a degree in English literature, and a work of fiction was destined to come to fruition.
I'd be more than happy to send you my complete manuscript for your review. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Query: Seven-Inch Vinyl
A revision of this query has been posted. Click here to read it.
In 1953, the whole world was waiting for an explosion.
Both The United States and the Soviet Union possessed a weapon that could blow the world to bits. But when the explosion finally did take place, it didn’t come from an Atom bomb - but in the form of Rock and Roll music!
My first novel, SEVEN-INCH VINYL, follows the evolution of rock and roll music as seen through the eyes of Joseph Rabinowitz and a wealth of other fictional characters. Their personal and professional stories will parallel real-life people and events as the music changes through the turbulent decade of the 1960’s. Racism, political unrest, war and assassination will unfold in this family saga of success and failure - triumph and tragedy, all culminating in a groundbreaking reunion concert proving that rock and roll will never die.
My past writing experiences are all about the 50’s & 60’s music genre. They include two articles published in a regional magazine, as well as two articles published in local Las Vegas newspapers and one published in a national specialized music periodical.
The completed 140,000 – word manuscript for SEVEN-INCH VINYL is available upon request. A SASE is included for your convenience. I thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
In 1953, the whole world was waiting for an explosion.
Both The United States and the Soviet Union possessed a weapon that could blow the world to bits. But when the explosion finally did take place, it didn’t come from an Atom bomb - but in the form of Rock and Roll music!
My first novel, SEVEN-INCH VINYL, follows the evolution of rock and roll music as seen through the eyes of Joseph Rabinowitz and a wealth of other fictional characters. Their personal and professional stories will parallel real-life people and events as the music changes through the turbulent decade of the 1960’s. Racism, political unrest, war and assassination will unfold in this family saga of success and failure - triumph and tragedy, all culminating in a groundbreaking reunion concert proving that rock and roll will never die.
My past writing experiences are all about the 50’s & 60’s music genre. They include two articles published in a regional magazine, as well as two articles published in local Las Vegas newspapers and one published in a national specialized music periodical.
The completed 140,000 – word manuscript for SEVEN-INCH VINYL is available upon request. A SASE is included for your convenience. I thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
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