Query: The Wings of Winter

After 12 iterations and a lot of gnashing of teeth and pulling out of hair, I think I have the query letter I need for "The Wings of Winter." Here it is. Comments most certainly appreciated; agents more than welcome to request a partial. :) (. . . dream on, Lisa. . . )

When Sparrow'’s adoptive family is slaughtered by mercenaries under the control of her uncle Elias, she fights for her survival and the future of Tremont, struggling to reconcile her mixed parentage and embrace a birthright that alienates her from her own humanity. The Wings of Winter is an epic fantasy of 125,000 words with themes appropriate to both adult and strong young adult readers.

After the destruction of her village, a chance encounter with a hunting falcon brings Sparrow stumbling into the path of Owen, Crown Prince of Tremont. The information she relays saves Owen from an ambush, allying them against their common enemy, Elias, an Aliud shape shifter. Elias is responsible for the deaths of the Human and Aliud monarchs and in the ensuing chaos, acts to take control of the Aliud kingdom and reclaim land from Tremont that once belonged to the shape shifters. Sparrow, half-Aliud, is heir to power that Elias needs. Because she is half-human, many of the Aliud see her as a threat and an abomination, but some accept her as kin. Because she is half-Aliud, many in Tremont doubt her loyalties, mistrusting her relationship with Owen. Elias exploits these fractures between Aliud and Human society to push the races toward war. In order to oppose Elias and help Owen prevent Tremont's destruction, Sparrow must harness her latent abilities even as her growing power estranges her from the human life she once knew and the Prince she has come to love.

My publications include non-fiction and creative writing credits. The most recent ("Chronic Pain" in Physical Rehabilitation, 5th edition, FA Davis,) is in press. My poetry has been published in Stirring: A Literary Collection, World Haiku Review, Poems Niederngasse, and New Solutions. I am currently writing MindBlind, a speculative fiction/thriller and outlining The House of Many Doors, a young adult ghost story.

My full manuscript is available upon request. Please find enclosed [whatever the agency lists] as per your guidelines. Thank you for your time and your attention.