Matt Hentschel's Current Query

Happy Thursday, everybody! Man, yesterday was rough. I got up at 4 AM to come into work, because I had to leave early, to go see my daughter put on a play at school. My baby is graduating from elementary school next Friday. Yes, I could have just used PTO, but I'm kind of a stickler about saving that up.

Anyway, today we have another query letter. If you don't know Matt Hentschel, you can find his blog at From the Borderlands. You should go follow him. His blog is very new, but he's a great illustrator in addition to being an aspiring writer.

So here's his query:

Dear [Agent],

Bookish seventh grader Laurel Rooseveldt never imagined her family’s move to Lonewater would result in the loss of her soul. After all, life in the pastoral town starts out well enough – Laurel’s simple hope of making a friend is realized the moment she meets fearless tomboy Samantha Ellerton.

But beneath Lonewater’s serene façade lurks a dark and sinister secret: a boy named Charlie. For Charlie plays the unwilling host to something inhuman, something wicked which emerges from him to steal the souls of Lonewater’s children, leaving them in comas from which they never awaken. And Charlie cannot control it.

At first Laurel doesn’t believe the stories of Charlie and the Soul-Thief. But when her younger brother becomes the abomination’s latest victim, they suddenly become far more real. With the reluctant help of Charlie himself, Laurel confronts the Thief in a desperate attempt to rescue her brother…but things go horribly wrong when Samantha unexpectedly intervenes.

Torn from their reality, Laurel and Samantha now find themselves trapped in the world of the Soul-Thief, a strange, phantasmagoric dreamscape of endless night populated by bizarre beings and terrifying creatures. Together the two young girls must make their way through the surreal and frightening world, attempting to learn how to save not only Laurel’s brother, but all the souls the Thief has stolen – to include their own.

Complete at 78,300 words, A CHILD’S FAERIE-TALE is a young adult dark fantasy with series potential that I’m hoping will be of interest to you because [personalized reason].

I have been published as an artist and uncredited writer/editor for Mysterians (2008), a graphic novel available from Tokyopop. While not the first novel I have written, this is the first I have submitted for representation and publication.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Matt Hentschel

That's it.

Please save your feedback for tomorrow, and thank Matt for his courage in sharing this with us.