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It's time... for another query letter!
I think things in general are getting better? At least, I can tentatively say so. More on that later.
And no, this isn't a new query letter! For now, I am rewriting my Wind & Foxes query letter, and I figured I might as well post it for anyone who might have some advice.
W&F is kind of tricky just because there are so many stories and intertwining story lines involved. I'm focusing on the Reian story largely because it's the one that ties everything together most easily. Still very much a work in progress!
As always, I'd be happy to read/look over something in return.
Dear__,
Not all fairy tales have a villain. In The Wind and the Foxes (140,000 words), two very different cultures must work together to heal each other's ancient wounds.
Blight exiled the Kelisavian nomads from their homeland for centuries, and they have since been scattered throughout the world. The isolated People of the Mering are separated from their true forms: they are foxes cursed to live as humans.
One might expect a hero to emerge to put things right, but instead, two traders arise: the impetuous yet kind Kelisavian merchant Reian and his partner, the sarcastic, secretive Imbri of the Mering. When their discovery of a famous family heirloom ends in a vicious attack, they realize that the old stories may be returning to life: the creature that confronted them and stole their artifact was created by sorcery, a power believed to have been wiped out centuries ago.
There is nothing so dangerous as the old sorcery, and Reian and Imbri set out to inform the leaders of the Kelisavian tribes of this threat. Their plan is complicated in the thorny grassland of the Mering, where they are offered shelter by two women of Imbri's people, the warrior Neri and her mate, the weaver Kai. Neri and Kai are exiled from their clan for harboring the strangers, and Reian and Imbri can't in good conscience leave them behind. They also can't ignore the appearance of Reian's betrothed, Pasha, who defied her royal father to bring them a message from one of the gods, telling them that they must find and face the sorcerer themselves. Together, the five travel in search of the sorcerer, sharing troubles and stories, and all their talents and resources will be needed before they are done.
The sorcerer is no villain, but an answer to the question of how to restore that which has been lost. The isolated Nelius, a half-Kelisavian young man in whom one of the old bloodlines has unexpectedly resurfaced, has taken the artifact to restore the Kelisavian homeland on his own, but his gift is erratic, and his mind is unstable. Reian and his friends must reach Nelius in time to save him from himself and heal an ancient grief that has poisoned the earth for hundreds of years.
The Wind and the Foxes is a fairy tale for adults, inspired by the collections of Andrew Lang as well as One Thousand and One Nights. Told from the perspectives of various characters and spanning centuries, the novel combines the past and the present, modern narrative and folk tale. The tales converge to change the future of both peoples, and a few miscreants and outcasts will undo the damage done by past mistakes and ancient tragedy with compassion and understanding.
And no, this isn't a new query letter! For now, I am rewriting my Wind & Foxes query letter, and I figured I might as well post it for anyone who might have some advice.
W&F is kind of tricky just because there are so many stories and intertwining story lines involved. I'm focusing on the Reian story largely because it's the one that ties everything together most easily. Still very much a work in progress!
As always, I'd be happy to read/look over something in return.
Dear__,
Not all fairy tales have a villain. In The Wind and the Foxes (140,000 words), two very different cultures must work together to heal each other's ancient wounds.
Blight exiled the Kelisavian nomads from their homeland for centuries, and they have since been scattered throughout the world. The isolated People of the Mering are separated from their true forms: they are foxes cursed to live as humans.
One might expect a hero to emerge to put things right, but instead, two traders arise: the impetuous yet kind Kelisavian merchant Reian and his partner, the sarcastic, secretive Imbri of the Mering. When their discovery of a famous family heirloom ends in a vicious attack, they realize that the old stories may be returning to life: the creature that confronted them and stole their artifact was created by sorcery, a power believed to have been wiped out centuries ago.
There is nothing so dangerous as the old sorcery, and Reian and Imbri set out to inform the leaders of the Kelisavian tribes of this threat. Their plan is complicated in the thorny grassland of the Mering, where they are offered shelter by two women of Imbri's people, the warrior Neri and her mate, the weaver Kai. Neri and Kai are exiled from their clan for harboring the strangers, and Reian and Imbri can't in good conscience leave them behind. They also can't ignore the appearance of Reian's betrothed, Pasha, who defied her royal father to bring them a message from one of the gods, telling them that they must find and face the sorcerer themselves. Together, the five travel in search of the sorcerer, sharing troubles and stories, and all their talents and resources will be needed before they are done.
The sorcerer is no villain, but an answer to the question of how to restore that which has been lost. The isolated Nelius, a half-Kelisavian young man in whom one of the old bloodlines has unexpectedly resurfaced, has taken the artifact to restore the Kelisavian homeland on his own, but his gift is erratic, and his mind is unstable. Reian and his friends must reach Nelius in time to save him from himself and heal an ancient grief that has poisoned the earth for hundreds of years.
The Wind and the Foxes is a fairy tale for adults, inspired by the collections of Andrew Lang as well as One Thousand and One Nights. Told from the perspectives of various characters and spanning centuries, the novel combines the past and the present, modern narrative and folk tale. The tales converge to change the future of both peoples, and a few miscreants and outcasts will undo the damage done by past mistakes and ancient tragedy with compassion and understanding.