Barbara Watson's Current Query

Today we have Barbar's query letter. Does everyone know Barbara? If not, please go follow her blog.

Back? Great. Let's get right to the query:

Dear Mr./Ms. Agent,

Twelve-year-old Mitch Brooks is a rule-follower but he’s disgusted with his parents about moving. So maybe that’s why he peeks inside a strangely labeled box on moving day.

Deep inside the box, Mitch unearths his mom's journal from 1967, the year before he was born. He knows he shouldn’t read it (especially the way his mom feels about “privacy invasion”), but come on now, who wouldn’t? And as Mitch reads, he discovers secrets. His mom got kicked out of her house when she became a hippie war protester. Mitch’s parents have these two best friends he’s never even heard of but were drafted into the Vietnam War. And his grandparents might not be dead after all.

For Mitch, even though moving really, really stinks, at least it’s interesting. Motivated by a story he hears from his new neighbors, Mitch enlists his best friend Brian and a librarian he just met in his new town to assist him with a secret history project designed to find answers and people.

MOVING SECRETS, my middle grade historical fiction novel, shifts back and forth in time between 1967 San Francisco and 1980 Cambria, California. It is complete at 52,000 words.

Although my background lies in teaching literature, I am new to writing it. MOVING SECRETS is my first novel, and I am querying you because [personalize with reasons I chose this agent].

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Barbara Watson

That's it.

Please remember to save your feedback for tomorrow, when I'll be sharing mine.