Jan 27, 2010

Query - Shifting Sand

Dear Agent:

Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it.  That sounds just fine to Sadie Sloan.

Welcome to Tybee Island!  Savannah's Playground!  Mayberry on Acid!  The End of Highway 80!  And maybe the end of Sadie's marriage.  But maybe that's a good thing, because she doesn't even love her husband.  Or maybe it's a bad thing, because he is exactly what she needs.  She can't be sure.

While in self-imposed exile on this tiny Georgia island, Sadie runs into Kyle, the man who left her shattered eighteen years ago.  Seeing him releases a torrent of suppressed memories of that summer after high school when she fell in love with Kyle, her boyfriend's best friend and her best friend's boyfriend.  The shocking suicide of Sadie's best friend drove them apart and Sadie never quite recovered.  Now it seems like they have another chance to discover the happiness that was denied them so many years ago.

Sadie is too busy trying to pretend to be a teenager again to listen to friends and family who are all warning her to stay away from Kyle.  Sadie's husband is too busy trying to soothe his bruised ego to tell Sadie that he loves her and desperately wants her to come back home.

Before Sadie throws her life away for Kyle, she must learn for herself that the past only exists in her memories and that as much as she may want to, she can't go back again.

Shifting Sand, a work of women's fiction, is complete at 89,000 words.  Please contact me if you are interested in seeing my novel.  Thank you for your consideration.

Query -- The Butterfly Key (First Revision)

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Dear Agent,

Devastated by the recent miscarriage of her baby and inundated by a constant, never-ending crush of emotions, Nicole Kuefler is embroiled in an agonizing conflict against God and His so-called providence.

Upon reaching her breaking point on Christmas Eve, Nicole is losing her battle. With her soul fractured like a broken pane of glass, she is unable to purge the brutal despair that has seeped in through the cracks. Moreover, her seemingly indelible faith is at risk of erosion.

Determined to mend the shards of his wife’s shattered soul, Nicole’s husband, Drew, gathers his wife and children around the Christmas tree. Guided by something he could only consider extraordinary, Drew narrates a made-up tale of a young couple who also want children, but find themselves struggling amidst the providence of God.

As Drew spins his yarn, he is hoping to weave a story that will show Nicole that God has a purpose for all that happens – even the heartrending events in life.

When Drew finishes his emotional story, he is still unsure if Nicole can find it in her heart to forgive God. That is until a special gift appears under the Christmas tree from one of the invented characters in his story, which completely changes everything for both Drew and Nicole.

THE BUTTERFLY KEY is a 72,000-word work of literary fiction and is set within the small town of Columbus, Minnesota. A completed manuscript is available upon your request. I look forward to working with you.

Regards,
A.D.N

Query: TEMPUS VIATOR (draft two)

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Dear Agent,

Knees bent and body poised, Rochelle was ready to pounce with her knife. She kept her gaze on the man who above all wanted her blood. Little did he know it was his that would be spilled.

Twenty year old Rochelle was warned he was coming for her. Hadrian, a tempus viator, or time traveler like herself, is threatening the very existence of their kind. He has been killing off viators one by one for the past twenty odd years. His lust for power and envy for Rochelle's unique ability to see into the past, a trait not common among the time travelers, makes her his number one priority. Rochelle, together with a group of loyal friends, set out from her hometown of Franklin, Tennessee to make the hell Hadrian's created a thing of the past. A thing that cannot be changed.

TEMPUS VIATOR is science fiction complete at 73,000 words. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Joy Wilson

QUERY- YOUNG ADULT PARANORMAL THRILLER TAKE TWO: NEW TITLE: WHISKERS: HARBINGERS OF CHANGE

Click here to read the original query.

Dear [Agent Name]:

[Personalized opening sentence] I am seeking representation for my Young Adult paranormal thriller, WHISKERS: HARBINGERS OF CHANGE, complete at 77,000 words.

Sixteen year old Nickie Leone will do whatever it takes to find her father—even if it means trusting a stranger with her most guarded secret.

As if that isn’t bad enough, she discovers the leader of an opposing clan wants to kill her father and adopt her into his pride. When uber-handsome Xavian confesses his knowledge of the danger, Nickie wonders if her classmate is tricking her or trying to help. Before she has a chance to question him, her body undergoes changes no teenager would expect—pointed ears and whiskers are not the fashion statement she wants to make. Xavian witnesses her new appendages and when he transforms into a panther, Nickie is introduced to life as an Ailuranthrope, or shapeshifter.

Now Nickie must pair up with Xavian and find a way to win her father’s freedom—before she becomes a captive and her father becomes a murder victim.

[Bio]

Thank you for your consideration,

[Me]
[Contact Info]
http://lbdiamond.wordpress.com/