Aug 24, 2010

Query - 468 MILES TO NASHVILLE

Dear Agent,

I am seeking representation for my contemporary YA novel 468 MILES TO NASHVILLE, complete at 65,000 words.

Kay Nelson is a pizza busgirl who knows she's meant for more than small-town Illinois. So when she runs into Naomi Pierce, a country singer who needs her help, she takes it as her chance to get away for good. Together, Kay and Naomi embark on a 468-mile road trip to escape Naomi's vicious, leather-jacketed kidnappers, and land safely at the country star's Nashville mansion. But to Kay, the distance between here and there feels a million times longer when the world thinks she's the one who kidnapped Naomi.

Naomi is a magnet for attention, which is exactly what Kay doesn't want. From twelve-year-olds looking for an autograph, to guys stalking them on the side of the road, no one can be trusted not to tell the police—or People Magazine—where they are. Kay takes responsibility upon herself to keep the country star from getting in trouble, but it's only a matter of time before Naomi does something really stupid. Like holding an impromptu concert on the sidewalk, sneaking into bars, getting drunk on camera, and inviting her famous ex to join the caravan southward.

Naomi seems bent on entering Nashville with a bang, and the night of the Music City Industry Awards, her wish comes true in a way Kay's been dreading all along. But when circumstances switch around and Kay's the one in trouble, will Kay and Naomi's new friendship survive? Will Kay ever make it home?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,
Gracie Bea Winterton

Query- The Tale of Lizzie Brogan and The Moon Goddess

In each query the paragraph about how I found the agent changed. They are all done individually. I have not yet sent this to anyone.


Dear _____________:
Lizzie, the over indulged baby of the Brogan clan, lives a life of privilege until the morning of her thirtieth birthday, when her older brother delivers her to a Brooklyn basement apartment she calls her cave dwelling. Concerned Lizzie will remain the baby of the family, he employs a formula of tough love and hard work to help her grow up.

For the first month, she believes all she must face in her new life is the responsibility and collective confusion of five little row houses. Not quite. Soon, Lizzie meets the ghost of her Aunt Annie May, a bawdy, talented Broadway performer, whose portal to this life is a tramp steamer and an old wooden trunk from the Belasco theatre.

During the next two years, while Lizzie discovers the secrets of the five houses, she also learns she is a direct descendent of The Moon Goddess, the Celtic Goddess of Love. By the summer soltice, using the book of sacred scribes, she must remove a curse, reverse each disaster that has plagued her and help clear the way for the true magic of love.

The Tale of Lizzie Brogan and The Moon Goddess, completed at 85,000 words, is humorous, women's fiction about a late bloomer who finally grows up with a little help from a ghost.

My eighteen-year career in community development and children's not-for-profit, has provided me numerous opportunities to hone my written and verbal skills. I am a comfortable public speaker, possessed the marketing skills necessary to gain valuable funding for our youth, and can create a network of support for my stories.

I found your name the first time on Chuck Sambuchino's Blog; A Guide To Literary Agents, read your blog every day, and I believe my work meets your criteria. I would be happy to send part or all of the completed manuscript. Thank you for your consideration and time.
Respectively,
Florence Fois (a/k/a Cronin)

My blog: http://ramblingsfromtheleft.wordpress.com.
e-mail: florencefois@aol.com

The Tale of Lizzie Brogan and the Moon Goddess By: Florence Fois

The late bloomer ...
"The term is used metaphorically to describe a child or adolescent who develops more slowly than others in their age group, but eventually catches up and in some cases overtakes their peers, or an adult whose talent or genius in a particular field only appears later in life than is normal – in some cases only in old age."
Paraphrased from an Internet Encyclopedia

CHAPTER

My name is Lizzie and I live in a cave in Brooklyn. No, not like the Indian caves inside the cliffs which rise above the Hudson River. This is what my brother Timothy calls a modern boutique single, real estate jargon for a Brooklyn cave dwelling, known as a basement apartment rising above the concrete foundation of a row house.

Until the lovely May morning of my thirtieth birthday, my life was one of leisure and discovery, a series of adventures, the tastes and sounds of traversing the globe and each birthday, a magnificent event with a deluge of presents befitting the "baby" of the family.