An Agent's Inbox #12

Dear John Cusick:

Obsession reigns in ROYAL TRIAL, a 85,500-word YA novel that combines dangerous friendship with madness, opulence, intrigue, and--of course--sword fights. 

King Andonel of Danri inadvertently banished his childhood sweetheart, Lena, five years ago. Though returning to Danri means certain death, Lena’s obsession with getting revenge on Andonel drives her to surreptitiously return. Within two days, she's committed treason, created a national crisis, and rejected the king’s marriage proposal. Andonel repeatedly attempts reconciliation, but he is thwarted again and again by his scheming council. Convinced that Andonel has set her up to die, Lena attacks him, adding another treason charge to her already-marred record. Humiliated, Andonel allows the council to charge and try her, not realizing they have already decided to sentence her to death and depose him if he tries to interfere.

I am a debut novelist, and I currently volunteer as an assistant for Brenda Drake. I have taken creative writing classes and work in the writing program at the J. Reuben Clark Law School. I thought you would enjoy ROYAL TRIAL because of your preference for vulnerable villains and bad decisions made with the best of intentions. Both of the protagonists suffer from terrible decision-making skills, though the male protagonist always does so to help someone else. Also, my villain is very much a relateable, likeable individual who is arguably the most sympathetic character in the book.

Thank you for taking the time to review my query. Should Royal Trial spark your interest, I would be delighted to send my manuscript for your consideration.

Sincerely,

R.C.

ROYAL TRIAL

Homecoming

The market had always been loud. Now it was deafening.

Lady Lena Zan Aurin skidded to a stop, paralyzed by the cacophony. Although she vaguely acknowledged the flashy new shops, she struggled to reconcile the market she remembered with the tumult around her. Her thoughts were as frenzied as the shoppers that scurried from stall to stall.

Taking a deep breath, the slender nineteen-year-old clenched her fists and drifted through the bustling multitude with an uneasy familiarity. Her dark traveling attire, bulging knapsack, and five-foot frame let Lena blend in with the unusually large crowd. Andon must have--

No. She wouldn’t even think that name. Not yet.

Lena tried to distract herself with the wares of the many vendors, but to no avail. The scene was much too odd for her to feel entirely at home.

Home. That made sense. Lor and Alessa would hide her until she’d exacted her revenge. But everything else had changed. They were probably gone, too.

No, she couldn’t think like that. They would never abandon her.

Lena strode in the direction of the Zan Aurin manor, as eager to reach her old home as the insatiable crowds were to buy the merchants’ wares.

“Delicacies and pastries sold here!” The smell of caramelized sugar and yeasty dough wafted by.     

“Fresh fish, caught in Da’an Sea!” Pungent brine and oil assaulted her, salty but familiar.

“Fine cloaks and gowns of all fabrics! Furs from the north!”

“A necklace for you, Your Ladyship?” The appeal rang out close by. As the blood drained from Lena’s face, one of her hands instinctively flew to her neck where a delicate silver necklace hung beneath her tunic and the other grasped her short sword.