Collecting Rejection Letters and Query no. #3

I fondly remember Marcus Carr, a classmate from USF. He was one of the best writers in our class and his fiction had, what I thought, a unique African-American voice. Even though we wrote different genres, we really appreciated each other’s work. One of my biggest regrets is never keeping in touch with him or any of my other classmates. I was too busy managing Country Pizza to attend writer parties. A decade and a half later, I still wonder what happened to Marcus.

What I do remember is that he was a no nonsense self-promoter. When I was daydreaming about fantasy worlds, he was submitting query letters. He used to tell me that he collected rejection letters like badges of honor—figuring that eventually, Fate would have to turn his way.

I never bothered collecting rejection letters before, but last night Marcus came to mind and I thought, maybe the guy had the right idea.

Dear Agent,

When Xandr meets Thelana, she is dangling naked from the hook tied to her waist, her arm reaching for the giant pearl eye of a stone idol. By the henna patterned across her body, he can tell she is like him, perhaps the last Ilmarin to be tamed by civilization. But Xandr can do nothing to save her from the angry zealots defending the temple lest he reveal himself a traitor.

Millennia ago, the sun expanded into a red giant, threatening to incinerate Ænya. To escape destruction, the Zo constructed a machine to move their planet, but something went terribly wrong; the western hemisphere became a scorching desert as the eastern half of the planet became an icy wasteland. Amid these extremes, a paradise formed: Ilmarinen.

As Fate brings new love into his life, Xandr chooses to fight for the world that rejected him. To prevent a second world-shaping cataclysm, he and his allies must follow the clues contained in the Ages of Ænya, a history book from the future.

Ages of Ænya is a dark fantasy/sci-fi adventure of 157,677 words. A spin-off and a sequel are in the works.

I was baptized Greek Orthodox, raised in a Baptist school, and married Muslim. I’ve spent every summer finding inspiration in ancient ruins or as a naturist on Greek isles. My life has given me a unique voice to offer the fantasy genre. I have been honing the writing craft since I was six years old, receiving my BA in English from the University of South Florida.

Please contact me if you would like to receive a synopsis, sample chapters or the entire manuscript.

Thank you for your time and consideration,