Thursday, January 19, 2012

DL Hammons' Current Query


Before we get to Don's query, I want to announce that along with him, Katie, and Alex, I'll be hosting the Origins blogfest on February 13th. I would put the sign up list at the bottom of this post, but I don't have the code, and you really should just go read Don's announcement post, because he does a great job explaining what it's all about. You can also sign up there, which I encourage you to do, because blogfests are the best way to meet other bloggers and build a following.

EDIT: I do have the code, I'm just a moron, and lost the email. But I found it now, so you are able to sign up below, if you like.

Okay, so let's get to Don's query letter, but first, you know the rules, you have to follow Don's blog, and then you can come back and read his query.

Back? Great, here goes:

Mr. or Ms. Agent
The Most Awesome Literary Agency Ever,

Lee Hamilton is a small town HR Manager whose pedestrian life is only buoyed by his long-standing friendship with five old college buddies, the Knights. That all changes when he receives a phone call informing him that Steven Ebe, one of the Knights, has been found beaten and left in a coma. The group’s old motto comes rushing back -- you mess with one Knight, you mess with them all! Ebe is a reformed hacker who recently went to work for a private detective agency in South Carolina. Dianne Williams, the manager of the detective agency, surprises Lee with additional info explaining how her entire workforce has been sickened by some form of poison. Rallying around their fallen companion, the Knights join forces with Dianne and discover a series of numbers found in Ebe’s possession tied to a large scale cybercrime. The mystery deepens when the numbers are also linked to a Columbine-style high school shooting in Virginia?

Dianne and Lee decide to fly to Virginia where they encounter a city still reeling from the emotional impact of the shooting and distrustful of outsiders who won’t allow them to forget. Following leads withheld from the police and FBI, they quickly learn everything is not as it’s been reported in the news. The mysterious numbers are connected to even more crimes, the school shooter was not working alone, and he left behind a suicide note that simply read…I’m not finished yet! Lee and Dianne had somehow stumbled across the wizard behind the curtain, and the Knights weren’t in Kansas anymore. Now the group had a choice to make, return home and pass up a chance to clear their friend’s name, or put their very lives in danger by going toe to toe with an unimaginable fiend.

FALLEN KNIGHT is a mystery/thriller novel complete at 105,000 words. By day I am the writer of technical journals and instruction manuals, but when the sun goes down I'm an active member of the writing community. I am also a proud member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. Fallen Knight is poised to be part of a larger series and I feel a perfect companion to your agencies other offerings.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

DL Hammons
Dlh.hammons@gmail.com
http://dlcruisingaltitude.blogspot.com/

That's it!

Remember, today is just for introductions (although if you don't know DL, you probably haven't been blogging long), so please save your feedback for tomorrow, when I'll be sharing my thoughts. For now just say hi, and thank him for having the courage to share this with us.

34 comments:

Suzie F. said...

Hi Don! I've enjoyed your blog for quite a while. Great query! I'm looking forward to Matt's critique tomorrow.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Thanks for sharing your query Don. Sounds like an interesting story.

And Matt, you've been busy this week.

Karen Baldwin said...

Love the twists and turns in the story.

DL Hammons said...

I'm looking forward to this!

*GULP*

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Hi, Don! *waves from the Pocono Mountains of PA, slope-side*

I'll come back tomorrow with a suggestion or two, in between the ski runs!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Can't wait to see your suggestions!

Unknown said...

Great to read your query letter, Don! Looking forward to Matt's critique. Have a great day, both of you!

Scarlett said...

Thanks, Matt! Looking forward to Don's critique!

Don, LOVE your title, Fallen Knight! Your query has left me wanting to know more. From what I've seen, Matt is generous with compliments, but consistently honest. It doesn't get better than that!

Brinda said...

I'm excited to see this query and look forward to tomorrow.

kah said...

DL! WOOT!
I'd read ANYTHING DL wrote. :)

Marta Szemik said...

Interesting concept and a great title Don.
I'm looking forward to the critique tomorrow.

Bryan Russell said...

Interesting how it ties the various elements together...

farawayeyes said...

Hey DL, glad to see you here. Thanks for your courage. I appreciate the opportunity to learn. Great premise.

Pat Hatt said...

Seems like a great query letter, should be interesting to see suggestions.

Tasha Seegmiller said...

Sounds like an intriguing story - looking forward to the critique

Mina Burrows said...

I really like the story. Sounds really interesting. Oh, and I signed up for the blog too. :)

Jessica Salyer said...

Thanks for sharing your query letter with us Don. Can't wait to see what Matthew has to say tomorrow.

Sarah Ahiers said...

I've actually seen earlier drafts of this query, so i'm excited to see what you have to say, Matt.
And i've already signed up for the blogfest, though i'm not sure, yet, what i want to write about. Probably fanfiction, because that shit's hilarious

Nicole Zoltack said...

Sounds like an interesting story. Can't wait to see your thoughts, Matt!

ShaunaKelleyWrites said...

I concur. I'm intrigued... by the story and what Matt might have to say.

Christina Lee said...

So *THAT'S* what DL stands for...huh. :D I like the idea of the Knights as a group of guys in a contemporary novel!!

D.G. Hudson said...

Nice to meet you Don! I'm intrigued and I like the story idea you've presented in your query. Thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to Matt's analysis.

I'll check out your blogfest, too.

A Beer for the Shower said...

Hey Don! Thanks for sharing the query. It takes a lot of guts. I'm curious to see what agents think of it.

Elana Johnson said...

Yay for Don's query! I will be back tomorrow. *stretches fingers*

And I've signed up for the origins blogfest. Shocker, I know. :)

Michael G-G said...

Great idea for a blogfest, guys.

Nice to meet you, Don. I'm looking forward to what Matt has to say tomorrow (and chiming in with a few thoughts of my own.)

Angela Brown said...

Thanks, DL, for sharing your query. Something I'm sure I'll be brave enough to do one day, I think...maybe.

Phoenix said...

Well, I'm definitely intrigued! I would read this in a heart beat. I'm no query expert but I absolutely got hooked into the plot :)

Fallen Knight is a great title, too.

Bish Denham said...

Sounds like a quite a thriller, Don! And I've joined in your blogfest. It's right up my alley.

Jemi Fraser said...

The HR made me laugh (thinking back to Alexia's HR) :)

Sounds like a great story Don!

Rusty Carl said...

signed up and raring to go. Interesting query.

Nancy Thompson said...

Already signed up for Origins AND I'm already DL's follower. I'll be back tomorrow for Matt's big reveal. He always has great suggestions!

Arlee Bird said...

Sounded pretty good to me. I was really getting into the story.


Lee
A Faraway View

Abby Minard said...

Thanks for Sharing DL! Looking forward to the next installment.

Unknown said...

I want to read this book right now. Signed up for the fest and will now move on to see the critique of this query.