Title: BLOOD SONG
Genre: Adult Gothic Fantasy Romance
Word Count: 85,000
How Did You Fall for Writing: My husband and I had a discussion one night about what our dream job would be if time, money, etc. were no object. I told him I would write novels for a living. He paused, looked at me, and then asked, “So why don’t you? You can start today. Write when you have time, and who knows what will happen.”
I didn’t start that day. I came up with many more excuses why I couldn’t do that. However, about a month later I started seriously writing and haven’t looked back.
Query:
Dear Agent:
BLOOD SONG is set in a world inspired by 1800s Wales with fantasy elements, and is best described as BEAUTY AND THE BEAST meets THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.
Ceridwen Kinsley lived for her love of music—until the trauma of her mother’s death convinced her that music only brings death and sadness and should be kept away from the world. When Ceridwen witnesses the latest casualty in the vicious murder spree haunting the city of Teneboure, committed by something not quite human, she’s convinced things cannot get any worse. However, life throws her a pleasant change when the reclusive Lord Protector Drystan Winterbourne shows up at her door with an offer she can’t refuse: play music for him at his castle in exchange for the money her family desperately needs.
At first, Ceridwen is put off by Drystan’s unkempt appearance and harsh demeanor. Not to mention the secrets he keeps or the odd ailment that plagues him at times. But as she grows closer to the man who keeps everyone else at a distance and he reignites her passion for music, her feelings for Drystan transform from fearful indifference to love. It’s the perfect arrangement until Ceridwen learns his secret—he’s the monster haunting their city, the one who committed the murders.
Ceridwen yearns to flee the horrible truth, but turning her back on the man she loves proves just as hard, especially when Ceridwen learns that Drystan’s ailment is the result of his struggle to overcome the dark magic threatening to overwhelm their country. The truth leaves Ceridwen with a choice: return to the safety of her home and the quiet life she lived before or risk her own life and use her music to help Drystan control his monstrous side and halt the encroaching darkness.
I am a member of RWA and have ten years of experience at one of the world’s largest consulting firms in a position involving a significant amount of business writing.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
First 250:
Mother, are you watching tonight?
The chilly night wind brought with it the scent of pine from the nearby forest, mingled with a twinge of algae from bay to the east. I adjusted the shawl around my slim shoulders, a defense against the ever-approaching winter. The cool metal of the flute touched my lips as I began my fourth song of the night.
Mournful notes rang clear in the night from my perch atop our city house. It would never be home. That title was reserved for our country manor, or rather, our former manor—the one where I had grown up, the one where Mother died.
Every night I played for her, just as I had before our lack of fortune forced us to this out-of-the-way city. Almost every night I felt her eyes on me. A tingle across my cheek, a shiver down my spine, the slightest hint of a reply on the breeze. Always from the north where the city’s castle rose up just two blocks from our house.
I longed to play for others, but no one would pay to hear someone play the flute, a mistral’s instrument, especially here in Teneboure. Nor did Father consider it a proper occupation for a young woman of marriageable age. Instead, my greatest source of joy brought my family sadness.
On the roof, none of them heard me but Mother.
My mind added the words of the song that my fingers tapped out over the keys of the flute.