Take up your prayer beads and raise your voices in song, dearly beloved seekers. I’m back with another bite-sized newsletter for you, featuring the query that landed me my agent.
News
Before we get into the query-talk goodness, I wanted to let you know that the first pages of the DOWRY OF BLOOD epilogue short story are up on my Patreon! Scurry over there to find out what Alexi, Magdalena, and Constanta are up to in a modern setting. And don’t let Alexi’s dramatic POV fool you, I promise a happily ever after with this one.
I just sent the completed story off to my wonderful editor and I hope to have the final product ready for release by the end of July!
Events
The incomparable Elizabeth Unseth is coming to visit me this Thursday, and we decided to hop on live together and talk about our experiences querying and going on submission. This is a must-watch for anyone interested in the business side of publishing, and we’ll be taking your questions during the live!
The Query
Since querying is the topic of the week, I thought it would be fun to share the query that landed me my agent. This was not the first book I queried, and the project is currently being backburnered while I work on other things, but I still love the story dearly and I’m proud of the work I did on the query.
Hi [Agent],
The day David Aristarkhov’s occultist father died, David bought himself an Audi, drank every drop of liquor in the house, and abandoned his life as a teen psychic prodigy. Now pushing thirty, David is a Boston attorney and recovering alcoholic who’s kicked his family’s magical reputation—but not his craving for the supernatural. Moonlighting as a medium for a secret society scratches that itch. Even if his ex-boyfriend Rhys’ machiavellian bid for High Priest is getting under his skin.
The rival sorcerers keep an icy peace by never socializing outside of society meetings or discussing David’s disdain for Rhys’ astrologer wife, Moira. But when the Devil comes to collect on an Aristarkhov deal, Rhys and Moira are the only two people David can trust. Reluctantly combining their supernatural talents, the trio unravels a centuries-old family curse—and gets a little too close for comfort. David’s worried he might be falling for Rhys again (and falling for Moira in an entirely different way), but if they don’t break the curse by his thirtieth birthday, he won’t live long enough to figure it out.
EVOCATION is a 99,000 word standalone contemporary fantasy romance with series potential. NINTH HOUSE meets CONSTANTINE with the romance of a KJ Charles novel, the book features vodka shots in summoning circles, exorcisms in haunted houses, and a polyamorous “V” relationship.
I’m a Bostonian tarot reader, SWFA mentee, and author of two indie fantasy novellas, one of which includes some characters featured in this novel. My short fiction is featured in Nosetouch Press’ THE FIENDS IN THE FURROWS anthology and Nyx Publishing’s UNSPEAKABLE anthology. I left my past life as an acquisitions assistant and romance novel ghostwriter to work as an editor for a marketing company, and I’m excited to leverage my marketing acumen and readership to promote any future project.
Thanks so much for your time and consideration!
Best,
Saint Gibson
I hope that was helpful to you, or at least entertaining to read! If you’d like to meet these characters, you can check them out battling a haunted house and relationship miscommunication in my first book, Odd Spirits.
That’s all I have for you today, dear reader, but I’ll be back soon with news and goodies (DOWRY epilogue soon!) As always, be safe and well until we two meet again.
-Saint