I have been lucky enough to win a raffle spot in “The Writer’s Voice” is a multi-blog, multi-agent contest. Many, many thanks to Cupid of Cupid’s Literary Connection, Brenda Drake of Brenda Drake Writes, Krista Van Dolzer of Mother. Write. (Repeat.), and Mónica Bustamante Wagner (of Love YA)!
Entry #1:
QUERY:
Dear Coaches,
I am seeking representation for my 70,000-word young adult novel, OF
BLOOD AND ROSES.
A disillusioned music major, Maggie Mae Carter is sick of living life
timidly, adrift in a sucky sea of homework, papers, and wretched
mediocrity. So when she hears a voice on the radio that makes her
feel more alive than she has in years, she knows she has to meet the
singer – this mysterious Thomas Lynn. Armed with a penchant for
traditional balladry, Maggie steals away to The Hall – a labyrinthine
rock club teeming with secrets – to meet the man who spins folk songs
into rock ‘n’ roll perfection. But when she wakes up alone on the
greenroom couch with petals in her curls and her arms raked with
thorns, Maggie is plunged into the strange world behind the shadows of
The Hall, where words bind, where music manipulates, and where
mortality hints at something more. As Maggie struggles to unravel the
mystery that is Thomas Lynn and come to terms with her own complicated
feelings towards him, will she be able to save Thomas from the
eldritch forces that threaten him? And, more importantly, will she be
able to save him from himself?
With elements of paranormal romance and urban fantasy, OF BLOOD AND
ROSES is a retelling of the traditional Scottish ballad of “Tam Lin,”
set in modern-day Salem, Massachusetts, during the exquisite madness that is
Halloween. I am currently working on the sequel.
Graduating summa cum laude from Salem State University, I have
garnered recognition for my poetry, my fiction, as well as for my
songwriting. As a performing folksinger and ballad scholar, I have
spent years studying the ballad of “Tam Lin,” living with it, dreaming
it, imagining my own world within the fertile lines – a landscape of
sex, sacrifice, and the quest for true love.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Molly Pinto Madigan
OF BLOOD AND ROSES
FIRST 250 WORDS:
My father forbade me to go to The Hall that night.
- I listened to him calmly – he was being quite rational, a
welcome change – and then I went anyway.
- The beech outside my window shivered in the cool October
air, the light from the streetlight gathering golden in the leaves.
Hoisting open my window, I climbed down the sprawling,
silver-barked branches, and while I wish I could say that I was
graceful in the descent, I nearly broke my neck. My room’s on the
second floor, and the beech bark is smooth like polished stone. Add a
red ‘50s-style dress and a shoulder bag into the mix, and you’ve got a
recipe for disaster. After retrieving one of my leather flats from
the hedges, where it had flown seemingly of its own volition, I swore
to myself that next time, if there was a next time, I would dress more
sensibly.
- I wasn’t bold enough to swipe my father’s keys, which meant that
my mode of transportation for the night would be my bike,
which was fugly and too small, but its handlebars curved like a
bull’s horns, and I felt like a rapscallion when riding it, which was,
I thought, worth all the hideousness.
- I must have been a sight, riding into the dark with hair and
streamers streaming. Not only was my dress highly impractical for
tree-climbing, but it seemed equally unsuited to bicycle-riding. All I
could do was try to keep the flashing to a minimum.
Oooh, a modern retelling of Tam Lin? How wonderful! Good luck!
Thanks, Marieke! Good luck to you, too; your query/first 250 words looks great!
Great opening. Love the details and your query is definitely intriguing. Best of luck to you!
Thanks, Natalie! I wish you the best of luck, too! Your novel sounds really interesting.
This sounds awesome. I love that is a retelling of Tam Lin and I can already tell from the first 250 words that your MC is definitely her own person. Love that she’s wearing a 50’s dress!
Thanks, Amber! I just read your opening, and… ouch! I’m still wincing from the shackles, but wish I could keep reading!
I love retellings! This looks great–good luck!
Thanks, Christie! Yours looks great, too! Anything with faeries, and I’m hooked (that’s why I love Tam Lin so much, and writing about faeries who hang out in a rock club was just too much fun). Good luck to you, too!
I’m a sucker for re-telling and after looking up what Tam Lin is about, I want to read this even more. Great pitch and awesome 250 – Good work! Sounds great!
Thanks so much! COPERNICUS NERDICUS looks awesome, and I wish you the best of luck!
Molly, your QL is fantastic! Good luck!
Thanks so much! Yours is, too! Good luck!
This looks great!!! Anything with Salem, Massachusetts basically seals the deal–I love the history of that place (eerie as it is!). Good luck!!!
Thanks, Joan! I’ve lived one town over from Salem all my life, and so I’ve always been interested in its history. Your query and first 250 words looks great, too! Good luck!
I love retelling, too, and a Scottish one only makes it more interesting. Good luck!
Thanks, Melissa! Good luck to you, too, with The Princess Who Was Not!
Definitely sounds intriguing. Best of of luck to you, Molly!
Thanks! I have a friend with synesthesia, so I think your story sounds really interesting. Good luck, Wendy!
‘Rapscallion’ – what a great word! Loved the language and flow of your query. Good luck!
Thanks, Annette! I really enjoyed your query and first 250 words (I have a character named Rafe, too!), and I wish you the best of luck!
Really liked this. The last line made me laugh out loud–loved it! Good luck!
Thanks, Ann! A cross between North and South and Princess Bride? Yours sounds awesome! Good luck!
I already have a great sense of who your MC is and her personality sounds fun.
Best wishes:)
Hey, thanks, Talynn! Best of luck!
Your story sounds like an intriguing retell. Love the idea of getting hooked by a voice on the radio. Wishing you luck in Writer’s Voice.
Thanks, Leslie! Your story sounds great, and your first line is killer! Best of luck to you.
Good luck with your entry, Molly. Your MC sounds so fun. 🙂
Thanks, Hannah! Good luck to you, too (I really enjoyed your query and first 250 words!).
The premise is really cool and I love retellings. Tam Lin is one that hasn’t been overdone, either. Your first 250 had a strong, likable voice and drew me in right away.
Thanks, Carla! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This retelling sounds awesome! Good luck!
Thanks, Rachel! HARVESTER sounds amazing, too! Anything with faeries, and I’m in (it’s one of the many reasons that I love the ballad of “Tam Lin” so dearly). Good luck!
Very poetic first words. I’d love to read more. Good Luck!
Thanks, Karen! And thanks for following! I’m following your blog, too (through my email); ABEGALE FORCE looks great!
Fantastic!–don’t want to lose you. -gotta read your book! 😀
Your first 250 drew me in right away–girl sneaking out down a tree in a dress. I love retellings, especially ones based on lesser known tales. Best of luck to you!
Thanks, Jessie, and congratulations on being picked!
Good luck, I’d read it! I write about faeries and witches too.
Thanks, Kathleen! I’d read yours, too! 😉
I LOVE the title and I love retellings!! This sounds really awesome and very unique. Good luck 🙂
Thanks, Jen! Yours is great (I just adore your first two lines)! 😀
Okay, so. Salem is one of my favorite places EVER and my husband and I spent a day there in October of last year… it was magic. That alone seals the deal for me, but I also love the fae and re-tellings! WANT.
Good luck 🙂
Thanks, L.T.! Yeah, Salem is totally crazy in October, but also magical and enchanting and a lot of fun. I don’t live in Salem, but my college is there, and I’ve lived a town over my whole life. SEVEN LITTLE DEADLIES looks awesome, by the way! Right up my alley. Good luck! 😀
Really digging the idea of a scottish retelling. And your MC is relatable because EVERYONE knows homework sucks 😉 I like that she’s her own person and defying the rules.
Thanks, Melissa! PYRE looks great, too! I love the first line of your query, and the whole story sounds really intriguing. Werewolves and Fire Elementals? I’m in. 😉
Uber-great visuals in the opening. I’m convinced: this is gonna be a amazing ride. G’luck.
*an 😉
Hey, thanks! Good luck to you, too. I really enjoyed the first 250 words of PHREAK SHOW!
:: blushes ::
GORGEOUS 250, and the premise in your query made me yell “I NEED THIS!” I am always down for a fairy tale retelling, and Tam Lin is one I haven’t seen yet, but would love to read. Luck to you, this is fantastic 🙂
Wow, thanks, Anne! I’m so pleased that you liked it! You can read OF BLOOD AND ROSES if I can read A MURDER OF ANGELS. 😉
Love the idea behind this, and your first 250 are wonderful!
Thanks, Brandi! Yours are, too!
Love Tam Lin, and the idea of a modern-with-a-twist retelling. Best of luck!
Thanks, Angelica!
Your concept and story carried me away.
Wish your entry didn’t have to be so short
as I definitely wanted to read more. So it worked!
Thanks, Caroline! So glad you enjoyed it. ANNIE’S STORY looks great, too! Good luck!