Nothing was more important to Aubrey than gaining her freedom, but the one man who could give it to her was the last man on Earth she could trust.
That’s the premise of my recently completed 90,000 word novel, Bait. This gritty suspense tale, reminiscent of Tami Hoag and Sandra Brown, explores murder, distrust and impossible attraction in a small Louisiana town.
Aubrey Donovan was a successful horse trainer until one tragic night took everything away from her. Wrongfully convicted of the vicious slaying of her sister Savannah, she's spent the last three years behind bars nurturing a seething hatred for the justice system and anyone associated with it.
Special Agent Levi Bishop is head of the FBI task force charged with catching a serial killer dubbed Sandman by the press. After a year of chasing shadows, the bodies of Sandman's victims are still turning up but Levi is no closer to catching him. A break in the case leads Levi to Aubrey and he realizes immediately that he's found the key to finally stopping this madman. Racing against the clock and running out of options, Levi is reluctant to use Aubrey as bait but knows it's the only way to bring Sandman to justice.
Joining forces, Levi and Aubrey fight attraction, then for their lives when everything goes according to Levi's plan and Sandman finally comes.
A Stanford University graduate with a degree in Psychology, I've researched extensively, spending time in Louisiana and visiting the actual prison that the heroine of the story is sentenced to. My writing credits include a published poem and edit of One Man Crime Wave, by Kasha Mona. I’m currently employed as a Senior Project / Account Manager. I would be happy to send you sample chapters or a completed manuscript upon request. Thank you for taking the time to consider my work.
Jun 6, 2010
Query: House Dreams
I am writing to introduce my novel, House Dreams, for your consideration.
House Dreams is a work of women’s fiction about mothers and daughters, and about the sometimes destructive power of the imagination.
The main character, Lillian, is a home health aide who has built her career around choosing assignments that allow her to live briefly in the houses of people much wealthier than herself. Her devotion is lavished on the houses she can pretend are hers for the duration of her stay, while her care for her patients is chilly and efficient.
As the novel opens, Lillian arrives at a new house, inhabited by a demanding, bed-ridden elderly woman, Ellen Whitmore. But this house is different: from the moment she arrives, Lillian finds the house and everything in it strangely familiar. As the days go by, she is drawn deeper into her fantasy of possessing the house.
The arrival of Ellen’s daughter and teenage granddaughter is an unwelcome interruption for Lillian. Ellen and her daughter, Carlotta, have been estranged since Carlotta’s marriage, and Ellen has never met her granddaughter, Maggie. Carlotta’s relationship with Ellen remains remote but Maggie is entranced by her grandmother’s stories of her youth. Maggie also tries to befriend Lillian, although Lillian is irritated by Maggie’s mannerisms, intrusiveness and aura of privilege.
Life for the four women settles into a routine of fragile alliances until a sudden crisis in Ellen’s health forces Lillian to realize that the imaginary home and family she has built for herself are necessarily impermanent: Ellen is failing, and Carlotta and Maggie will be leaving in time for Maggie to start school in the fall. Lillian will have to return to her life of brief sojourns in other people’s houses.
Carlotta and Ellen have several confrontations about Carlotta’s marriage and about Carlotta’s unhappy childhood. As her relationship with Carlotta deteriorates, Ellen starts to hint that she may leave the house to Lillian. Ellen is hoping for Lillian’s attention and loyalty, but that temptation, and her passion for the house, lead Lillian down a very different, and dangerous, path.
House Dreams is my first novel. Portions of my first book, a short story collection, have appeared in Kalliope and PMS, and in the anthology Prompted. I have had other short fiction published on line. I am currently at work on my second novel.
House Dreams is a work of women’s fiction about mothers and daughters, and about the sometimes destructive power of the imagination.
The main character, Lillian, is a home health aide who has built her career around choosing assignments that allow her to live briefly in the houses of people much wealthier than herself. Her devotion is lavished on the houses she can pretend are hers for the duration of her stay, while her care for her patients is chilly and efficient.
As the novel opens, Lillian arrives at a new house, inhabited by a demanding, bed-ridden elderly woman, Ellen Whitmore. But this house is different: from the moment she arrives, Lillian finds the house and everything in it strangely familiar. As the days go by, she is drawn deeper into her fantasy of possessing the house.
The arrival of Ellen’s daughter and teenage granddaughter is an unwelcome interruption for Lillian. Ellen and her daughter, Carlotta, have been estranged since Carlotta’s marriage, and Ellen has never met her granddaughter, Maggie. Carlotta’s relationship with Ellen remains remote but Maggie is entranced by her grandmother’s stories of her youth. Maggie also tries to befriend Lillian, although Lillian is irritated by Maggie’s mannerisms, intrusiveness and aura of privilege.
Life for the four women settles into a routine of fragile alliances until a sudden crisis in Ellen’s health forces Lillian to realize that the imaginary home and family she has built for herself are necessarily impermanent: Ellen is failing, and Carlotta and Maggie will be leaving in time for Maggie to start school in the fall. Lillian will have to return to her life of brief sojourns in other people’s houses.
Carlotta and Ellen have several confrontations about Carlotta’s marriage and about Carlotta’s unhappy childhood. As her relationship with Carlotta deteriorates, Ellen starts to hint that she may leave the house to Lillian. Ellen is hoping for Lillian’s attention and loyalty, but that temptation, and her passion for the house, lead Lillian down a very different, and dangerous, path.
House Dreams is my first novel. Portions of my first book, a short story collection, have appeared in Kalliope and PMS, and in the anthology Prompted. I have had other short fiction published on line. I am currently at work on my second novel.
Query - Silver Squirrel and the Crucible of Silver
Silver Squirrel realized that the hawk was planning something terrible for him, ever since she attacked his friend Morning, the crow, and left her in his care.
This relationship he had with the crows got him in a lot of trouble, with the community, with his girlfriend, and now with the hawk.
His plan to save the community was a good one, but somehow it all went wrong. Now lives are shattered, and here he is, caught in the hawk's talons. Why didn't she kill him? Silver could only wonder.
"Our leg bones lock into place. That's how we sleep while perched," the hawk said. "I could die of old age and rot, and you still won't escape my grip."
The hawk is a smart one, but Silver's experience with the birds might help, if he can only put together the pieces of the puzzle before it's too late.
Silver Squirrel and the Crucible of Silver is a coming of age novel completed at 75,000 words. Two additional Silver Squirrel novels are also completed.
I have been published in several trade publications including Keyframe Magazine. I studied screen writing, and have completed three novels. I worked in special effects for film (Star Trek, Spiderman 2) and published software and documentation for the animation industry for a number of years.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
This relationship he had with the crows got him in a lot of trouble, with the community, with his girlfriend, and now with the hawk.
His plan to save the community was a good one, but somehow it all went wrong. Now lives are shattered, and here he is, caught in the hawk's talons. Why didn't she kill him? Silver could only wonder.
"Our leg bones lock into place. That's how we sleep while perched," the hawk said. "I could die of old age and rot, and you still won't escape my grip."
The hawk is a smart one, but Silver's experience with the birds might help, if he can only put together the pieces of the puzzle before it's too late.
Silver Squirrel and the Crucible of Silver is a coming of age novel completed at 75,000 words. Two additional Silver Squirrel novels are also completed.
I have been published in several trade publications including Keyframe Magazine. I studied screen writing, and have completed three novels. I worked in special effects for film (Star Trek, Spiderman 2) and published software and documentation for the animation industry for a number of years.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Query - A Tale of Youth and Sorrow (revised!)
Click here to read the original query.
Dear X:
I visited AGENCY NAME's website and noticed that you are interested in YA and fantasy projects. A Tale of Youth and Sorrow, my 53,400-word novel, might interest you.
Traumatized by the death of her mother two years prior, twelve-year-old Potioneer Minette Bublee would like nothing more than the approval of her guardian, the master thief, Ilona Njis. Then one day, Minette saves the life of a victim of a brutal beating, one who utters to her one name in warning: Belphelial. It is a name that spurs Ilona to explode with unprecedented viciousness, shattering Minette’s faith in their friendship, and hurtling the thief down a path of self-destruction. In a race to save Ilona from herself, Minette unwittingly draws the attention of arcane forces, permitting her a glimpse into her world’s tumultuous history through the eyes of a tortured young Priestess – Ilona, in a former life. Minette will not only confront the ancient demon, Belphelial, himself, but come face to face with an even greater evil; the sole reason for Ilona’s demise. With the horrors of their past threatening to tear them apart, both friends will voyage through time to unlock the secrets of a power greater than any magic, the only power that can save them: love.
Five of my short stories were published in Malate Literary Folio (De La Salle University, Philippines) between 1997 and 2002, one of which won second place in my university's 1999 Literary Awards. A member of Writing.com, I received the 2007 WDC Wonderfuls Award for outstanding writing.
I would be glad to send you my complete manuscript for your review. Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely yours,
Michael Cunanan Logarta
Dear X:
I visited AGENCY NAME's website and noticed that you are interested in YA and fantasy projects. A Tale of Youth and Sorrow, my 53,400-word novel, might interest you.
Traumatized by the death of her mother two years prior, twelve-year-old Potioneer Minette Bublee would like nothing more than the approval of her guardian, the master thief, Ilona Njis. Then one day, Minette saves the life of a victim of a brutal beating, one who utters to her one name in warning: Belphelial. It is a name that spurs Ilona to explode with unprecedented viciousness, shattering Minette’s faith in their friendship, and hurtling the thief down a path of self-destruction. In a race to save Ilona from herself, Minette unwittingly draws the attention of arcane forces, permitting her a glimpse into her world’s tumultuous history through the eyes of a tortured young Priestess – Ilona, in a former life. Minette will not only confront the ancient demon, Belphelial, himself, but come face to face with an even greater evil; the sole reason for Ilona’s demise. With the horrors of their past threatening to tear them apart, both friends will voyage through time to unlock the secrets of a power greater than any magic, the only power that can save them: love.
Five of my short stories were published in Malate Literary Folio (De La Salle University, Philippines) between 1997 and 2002, one of which won second place in my university's 1999 Literary Awards. A member of Writing.com, I received the 2007 WDC Wonderfuls Award for outstanding writing.
I would be glad to send you my complete manuscript for your review. Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely yours,
Michael Cunanan Logarta
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