Example Query: The Queen’s Rising

suzietownsend:

Wait until you get your hands on this book. It’s amazing. It’s another query that made me request right away. Then when I started reading the manuscript, I simply could not stop. 

Dear Ms. Townsend,

When her seventeenth summer solstice arrives, Brienna Colbert desires only two things: to master her passion and be chosen by a patron.

Growing up at the renowned Magnalia House should have prepared her well.  While some are born with intrinsic talent for one of the five passions of life, Brienna knows she is passionless.  Art, music, dramatics, wit…those four she failed so she settles for knowledge, the last of the passions, instructed by the rigid (yet handsome) Master Cartier.  But summer’s first night awakens Brienna’s greatest fear.  The solstice does not go according to plan.  

Through her shortcomings, Brienna discovers her mind holds more than the knowledge she worked so hard to master. She also bears coveted ancestral memories from the tumultuous northern region of Maevana. When a disgraced northern lord offers her patronage in exchange for her memories, Brienna accepts. If she can aid his retribution, she will consider herself impassioned at last. But she soon learns that she is assisting seven exiled lords, all eager for revenge, and her memory must guide them to dethrone the current king. And one of the exiles harbors an unexpected connection to Brienna, which begins to complicate her decisions along with her desires.

Upon realization that her ancestral memory belongs to the House she is sent to destroy, Brienna must ultimately decide whose side she will remain loyal to—passion or blood—and if the cost is worth becoming impassioned.

IMPASSIONED, a standalone YA fantasy complete at 115,000 words and inspired from Renaissance France, will appeal to fans of Seraphina and Graceling. I studied English at the University of Georgia and this is my first novel.  You can learn more about me at my blog: www.writerebeccaross.tumblr.com.

I understand you are seeking young adult fantasy novels, and you are a fan of Kushiel’s Dart, so I thought you might be interested in IMPASSIONED. Per your submission guidelines, the first five pages are enclosed below. I would be happy to supply additional sample chapters or a full manuscript upon request.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Ross

Everyone always asks me about comp titles. This is a great example of how you can use them–and how they can cause an agent to get even more excited about your project. Rebecca mentions 3 novels here that I loved: Graceling, Seraphina, and Kushiel’s Dart. Now only the first two were her comps, and I love them both. 

But that third book is one of my favorites and the fact that she mentions it added to my excitement about the project. Because Kushiel’s Dart has really complex and beautiful worldbuilding–that I was totally obsessed with as I read. And The Queen’s Rising (new title) has that same incredible worldbuilding which was exactly what I was hoping for.

Speaking of..this is a great example of how to query a novel that has really complex worldbuilding. Rebecca focuses here on the characters, only including the most essential world details. 

Now, The Queen’s Rising comes out 2/7/18 from HarperTeen. ARCs are out in the world now!