Post by thehobbitgirl on Apr 25, 2018 10:55:12 GMT -5
Witchy waitress Solena is coerced, by her jerk of a demon boss, into training her new clueless coworker, Jason. Avarice, the haunted tavern they work at, is about to be shut down due to magical law infringement. In order for a human to work in the magical world, the Otherworld, they must be taught the rules and regulations. Solena suspects Jason isn't a human though. After getting a magical DNA test, the duo learn that Jason is actually a demi-God.
To help Jason understand his place in the magical world, Solena and Jason begin looking for his immortal parent. After an awakening spell, the weak young man matures into a powerful demi-God, capable of greatness, if only he could get some parental guidance. But as the world suffers an odd surge in natural disasters that keeps the Otherworld government distracted from intruding, the duo face their own adversity, including an attempt on Jason's life.
After a lot of research into demi-God relationships with their immortal parents, Jason realizes that he was abandoned as a baby and to get his parent's attention, he begins terrorizing Boston. It falls to Solena to stop Jason from turning into a complete monster, all while trying not to lose her own identity in a new relationship. She's an independent witch, dammit!
AVARICE is an urban fantasy novel complete at 81,000 words. It is the first novel in a trilogy. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Witchy waitress Solena is coerced, by her jerk of a demon boss, into training her new clueless coworker, Jason. Isn't that her job? Avarice, the haunted tavern they work at, is about to be shut down due to magical law infringement.
I'm not sure what the link is between the tavern being at risk of shut down and humans needing to learn rules. There's a logical gap here, for me.
In order for a human to work in the magical world, the Otherworld, they must be taught the rules and regulations. Solena suspects Jason isn't a human though. Why? After getting a magical DNA test, the duo learn that Jason is actually a demi-God. Who is the duo? Herself and her boss? Is this a big revelation or not? Does Jason know? I'm having trouble gauging how important this is to the characters or how unusual. A reaction from them would help.
To help Jason understand his place in the magical world, What about the inn? Why is Solena invested and why would she help this guy? Solena and Jason begin looking for his immortal parent. After an awakening spell, What is that? the weak young man matures into a powerful demi-God, I thought he was already a demi god capable of greatness, if only he could get some parental guidance. How old is he? That makes him seem juvenile (needing parental guidance). But as the world suffers an odd surge in natural disasters that keeps the Otherworld government distracted from intruding, I'm not sure what that means or what the stakes are here the duo face their own adversity, including an attempt on Jason's life. Whoa, that was sudden! By who? :-)
After a lot of research what does that mean? How do they research? Library? into demi-God relationships with their immortal parents, Jason realizes that he was abandoned as a baby and to get his parent's attention, he begins terrorizing Boston. Was he doing this unconsciously? Without intending to? It falls to Solena to stop Jason from turning into a complete monster, all while trying not to lose her own identity in a new relationship. This is the first mention of their relationship. I'm not sure why she would lose her identity by default. She's an independent witch, dammit!
There's an interesting story here but for me, the query is currently asking too many questions it can't answer. No need to answer everything I asked - I suppose the goal is more to not raise questions, rather than provide ALL those answers in a query :-)
For example, you mention the tavern, and then it ceases to be important. But you could for instance give yourself some wordcount by simply saying "Solena's friend Jason doesn't seem quite human. He keeps doing X. A magical DNA test reveals he has the blood of gods in him" etc. Just a throw-at-the-wall example for cutting to the chase.
However, some prefer more emphasis on backstory so see what others say as opinions will probably vary.
Last Edit: Apr 25, 2018 15:02:45 GMT -5 by Nycteris
"Where shall the word be found, where will the word Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence."
Post by michelle4laughs on Apr 28, 2018 11:46:41 GMT -5
A couple of points:
I never get a good sense of what Solena wants. Her motivation. Why does she help Jason? They're working at a tavern and suddenly she's helping him to keep her job, I guess. Why does she continue to do so? Right now the query feels more about Jason and his needs than Solena, who seems to be the main character.
Your obstacle also seems to be missing. What is stopping Solena and Jason from getting what they want? He wants to find out his past. She's helping for some reason. What stops them? Without an obstacle there really isn't a storyline or plot, but more of a memoir or a series of events in the characters' lives.
There's no real stakes at the end. What will bad thing will happen if she fails? What happens if she succeeds? Is she doing this for love? It's unclear.
Post by bronniesway on Apr 29, 2018 5:37:17 GMT -5
Nycteris makes a good point about cutting to the chase. I think you could do a lot of trimming on set-up that would allow you more room for what Michelle's asking for: stakes, obstacle, motivations.
Right now this sounds like Jason's story told through Solena's eyes. But I get the impression from the last paragraph that it's actually a romance with Solena as the primary MC. You want to be clear on whose story this is, and why it's important.
I think you have the makings of a good novel here, but the query, especially at the beginning, feels a bit more like a synopsis, with some minor details, characters, and plot points included that don't seem like the major beats an agent would want to focus on. I think the protagonists motivations, hopes, goals, etc. need to be more at the forefront, and a little clearer sense of how the conflict develops: why is she the only one/chosen one to stop Jason? Does she have feelings for him? Could her boss help her? What kind of magical things can/will she do? Also, I think the query is a bit too focused on Jason, his backstory, and his descent. It feels like he kind of jumps in and hijacks the story away a little bit.
Maybe it is just me and I am totally off on this, but from reading the query the novel feels more like NA or YA than adult, maybe it was the focus on the childhood or lack of a parent figure, or the way Jason seems to be immature and needing guidance.
One other minor thing, probably not an issue, but there is a demi-god named Jason in the spin-off of the Percy Jackson series, he is one of the main characters, I don't know if an agent would get hung up on that or not, I mean, names are inevitably going to be repeated.
I like the idea and I think your protagonist would be an interesting character to follow, but I think there should be more of her and less detail about Jason. The line at the end about being an independent witch was a bit jarring, because it made me realize that I really don't know much about her and we are at the end of the query.
I agree with Michelle's assessment of this query. I think there's probably a really great story here, but for a query letter, we really need the stakes, the motivation and maybe a villain. It's really hard to see what is personally at stake for your MC because it sounds like the person with the more interesting story is Jason. From this query letter, I would assume that he is actually the Main Character. Be sure to stick to Solena so we know what she wants, what's in her way, and what's at stake if she loses.